Dark Star

5. Truth

The door opened again, but this time it wasn't Josef that entered. It was another man, one Vesper didn't know. He was more of a boy, actually. He had to be the youngest thief that Vesper had seen so far. She thought he couldn't be any older than herself, if he was even that. He had blonde hair, dark blue eyes, and he was only a little taller than her.

“Here's your food,” He muttered, setting down a bag of takeout on the bed.

“Thank you,” She said, quietly, not really looking at him. He just stood there awkwardly for a second, unsure of what to do.

“Eat,” He said in a gruff voice. “I'll be back to get whatevers left.”

Then, he turned and left. The door shut and locked again. Vesper went over to see what kind of food he had brought her. It was Chinese food, her favorite. She tried to eat a little bit of it, despite not really being hungry, but she only managed a few bites. After a few minutes, she heard footsteps coming back down towards her door.

As he entered again, an idea came to Vesper. Just a mere glimpse of one, but she held onto it and decided to experiment with it. If worked out, then it might be the key to her freedom. She watched as he grabbed what was left of the food, trying to figure out where to begin. What does one say to their captor?

“You seem very young,” She started. “To be doing all of this.”

He turned and gave her a strange look. “What do you mean by 'all of this'?”

“Robbing banks,” She said, as if it were obvious. “Kidnapping people.”

“Where does it say you have to be old to do those things?” He retorted, looking like he couldn't care less what she thought of him, but she could tell it was only a facade.

“Do you like being a criminal? Do you like hurting people?”

“I've never hurt anyone!” He yelled, stepping closer to her. She could tell she'd made him angry. “I don't hurt people.”

“What about those people at the bank?” She said. “You may not have physically harmed them, but what about emotionally?”

“They'll get over it.”

“Maybe they will,” She conceded. “But what about me? Your leader, Josef, has all but said I'm as good as dead. Do you think I'll get over that?”

She'd caught him off guard, he hadn't expected her response. She waited for him to come up with some clever response, but when none came, she continued.

“Just let me go.”

He backed away, shaking his head. “I can't, sorry, there's no way.”

“Yes, yes there is,” She pleaded in a whisper. “Just let me go, give me a five minute head start, and then raise the alarm. You can tell them I jumped you or something. You're one of them, why wouldn't they believe you? They'd never suspect you'd help me.”

“No, I can't.”

“I'm scared,” She admitted, leaning towards him, whispering. “I don't know what's going to happen. Look, you've all gotten away safe, isn't that why you took me? You don't need me anymore. Just let me go.”

By some miracle, he seemed to actually be considering it. She realized right then, he must be a pretty nice guy in real life. He had probably just gotten mixed up with some bad people. Vesper realized she felt sorry for him. He was so young, to have to go through so much. In the back of her mind, she wished she had met him somewhere else. A different time, a different place, a different situation. They might have actually been friends.