Cry to Me

21. Epilogue

The next few days she spent restlessly pacing around the condo and taking long walks in the city. She felt like she had been cut off from everything to do with the base, as though it never even existed. Her only solace was the meeting she had a few days after returning, and she counted the hours until that morning. She was hoping she would be able to find something more out then, but her hopes were not high.

The morning of the meeting it was raining. When she stepped outside, she took a few seconds to look up into the sky and let the raindrops fall on her face, a refreshing change of scenery from the months she had spent in the heat. When she arrived at the facility, she was greeted at the door by a desk person, who motioned for one of the guards to come over after she announced who she was. The guard was instructed to take her to some room, and she followed him into the elevator and up to the fifth floor. Once there, she was taken to an empty room with a table in the middle, one chair on either side, and a camera pointed directly at her mounted in the corner of the room. She was starting to wonder if this was a debriefing or an interrogation. It did not take long before a woman with short hair arrived and sat in the other chair, accompanied by two guards who stood behind her against the wall on either side.

Woman: Good morning officer Jones. My name is Felicia, I work with our reassignment department. How are you doing today?

Taylor: Fine.

Felicia: Well that's good. I just want to let you know that we bring back all of our recruits after they return from deployment to discuss future plans. We wanted to give you a few days to adjust back to the city before we had you make any serious decisions in regards to our organization – as we do with all of our recruits. In your particular situation, we would like to offer you a permanent position at our medical clinic, which is located in this building just a few floors below us. You may choose not to accept our offer and return to civilian life, but please know that in emergency circumstances you may be recruited back to our organization at any time. Alternatively, you may also sign up for another tour of duty, if that is something that interests you...

Taylor: No.

Felicia: Fair enough. And our other offer?

She took a moment to consider her options. She felt like she had nothing else right now, and she knew she had to do something to keep her sanity. For a moment she pictured herself leaving the city and living a normal civilian life, getting an average job, and working regular hours. But what then? How could she pretend to lead a normal life, whatever that even meant. Something was drawing her in, preventing her from getting up and walking out of that office forever. If she did accept the offer, she suspected it would be a lot like her time in Capital City before, and that was manageable – seeing a few patients every day, handling emergencies that came in. At least it was something.

Felicia: Your decision?

A realization came over her.

Taylor: You said you're with the reassignment department?

Felicia: Yes.

Taylor: There's someone I'm looking for, a man I was brought in with six months ago – David Hobson. Can you tell me where he is?

Felicia: I'm sorry, that information is classified.

Taylor: But I just want to know if he's okay – I have no way of contacting him and I don't know what happened to him after I left...

Felicia: I am here solely to discuss your circumstances, Officer Jones. The information you are requesting is not only classified, but above my pay grade. However, with that being said, I have been authorized to advise you that you cease any further attempts at contacting Officer Hobson. Failure to do so will result in further disciplinary action. That is all of the information I am authorized to share with you.