drag me down | grayson dolan

【twenty four】

The car ride to the office is completely silent. I don't have the words to speak, and neither does Grayson. I grip onto the steering wheel as I pull into the back parking lot. There aren't cameras on this part of the building, so nobody will see my car. I shut the engine off and get out of the driver's seat. I am not wasting any time on this.

Grayson follows closely behind me as I unlock the back metal door. I push it open and step inside. Everything is dark and my eyes are trying adjust to the lack of light. I continue to stay silent as I walk out of the storage closet, which is where we currently are. I make my way to the main floor, hoping not to run into any cameras.

"Come on." I whisper as I walk down one of the hallways. The sound of Grayson's boots are the only noise coming from this large building.

The room with the lie detector tests are extremely secretive. All of the information is confidential, so there are no cameras in the area. We enter the room and I turn the lights on.

"I'll set it up." I inform him while he nods.

I grab the delicate machine and instruct Grayson to sit down. He obeys, watching my every move. I take the equipment and start to set up the wires.

"Lift your arms up." I say in a monotone voice.

"Who said I was going first?" He looks up at me with a low smirk.

"Because this is my office, I make the rules." I sigh while looking at him.

He doesn't have a comment to respond with, he simply lifts his arms up while I wrap the wires around his waist. I take the finger clip and place it on his left pointer finger. Then, I set up a few more things on his body before I turn toward the machine. I hook the lines up and make sure they correspond with the wires. Lastly, my eyes check to make sure its reading properly before I get to the questions.

"Answer with your mouth only, no nodding." I sternly say.

"Okay." He responds.

"If the polygraph hits the top of the screen, that's seen as a lie. If it stays steady, you're being truthful." I quickly explain while looking down at the bulky machine. "We'll start with the basics. Do you live in the United States?"

"Yes." He answers.

The line stays steady, indicating he isn't lying.

"Is your real name Grayson Dolan?"

"Yes."

Again, he's telling the truth.

"Okay, now that you know how it works, I'll ask my questions." I look up at him.

"Ask whatever you want, I obviously can't lie."

"Is Bodhi the man with the turtleneck?" I gulp at the thought.

"Yes, he's the leader." He's quick to answer.

The machine is showing that he's telling the truth.

"Why did he start the masked phantoms in the first place?" I cross my arms over my chest as I sit down across from him.

"He wants enough money to move to Australia. It has something to do with that fifty year storm bullshit. That isn't the only reason, though. He's obsessed with adrenaline and beating the system. He wanted to prove that cops can lose against him."

My eyes never leave the machine, so far everything he said is truthful.

"How did the rest of you get involved?"

"When he first became friends with us, he mentioned this sick idea he had about robbing banks. He came up with this plan to be in and out in ninety seconds. He told Ethan and I that if we didn't join him, he would kill our parents. He knew their address and where they worked. He even took pictures of them." His voice breaks as he tries to stay still.