Leanna O’Regan woke up on the cold, hard concrete floor of some kind of holding cell, wrapped in the white blanket she was given in the helicopter ride overnight. She was still wearing the the yellow hoodie and white t-shirt and shorts, identical to what her friend Rosa Jardine was wearing when they last parted in the desert. Her long black hair was tangled and matted from being blown around by the wind of the helicopter blades and the dust from the desert floor that was blown up by them earlier. She sat up, rubbed her neck, and tried to straighten her hair with her fingers, without much success. Leanna felt in the pockets of her hoodie and shorts, but couldn’t find anything to tie her hair with. She felt along the edge of her hood and the waist of her shorts, and found the tie cords were gone from them. She looked around the windowless room and only saw a bench built into the wall and electrical lights shining dimly from grates in the ceiling. She shivered and got up off the floor to sit on the bench in the wall, and wore the white blanket around her like a shawl. Her hair fell forward into her eyes, so she quickly braided them as well as she could, and tucked the locks into a bun behind her head. With her hair out of her face, she leaned into the wall and stared blankly ahead of her.

Leanna jumped at the sound of a sudden clang, as the door of her prison slid open to reveal Dante Valderez and a couple of grey-armoured guards behind him. Dante breathed heavily behind his respirator mask, and his black eyes glinted harshly at Leanna as he walked forward towards her, the black uniform of his towering body filling her view. “Rosa Jardine! You know where the secret base of operations for the California Independence Movement is located, and you know the names of the CIM leaders!” he roared at her.

Leanna pulled back a bit, tightening the white blanket around around her. Despite Dante’s intimidating appearance and manner, she stared straight into his eyes and answered back in a strong and steady voice, “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

Dante continued shouting at her, “You were transporting gold to fund the Independence Movement. Where were you going with it? Who were you going to meet with?”

Leanna quietly answered back, “Where am I? I need to use the washroom. I’d like to at least be able to wash my face… please.”

Dante ignored her request and growled at her, “What else were you delivering to a CIM leader? We intercepted several coded transmissions to CIM operatives in the southern California area! Don’t deny it, and answer my questions, Rosa!”

Leanna responded in a low voice, “I was going on a hiking trip in Joshua Park. That gold is mine and why I had it with me is none of your damn business.”

Dante turned to the men behind him and barked, “Leave us! I will deal with her myself!” The two grey-armoured men turned immediately and left the prison cell, the door sliding closed behind them. He leaned forward, bringing his face within inches of Leanna’s, making her cringe slightly and wrinkle her nose. Dante hissed under his mouthpiece at her, “I know that you are not Rosa Jardine. Who are you, then?”

Leanna, stayed silent, shifting her legs closer to her body and looking away.

“You are certainly one of these so-called CIM rebels, and you know the contents of those coded transmissions. If you are not going to tell me where you were going and who you were going to meet, I will soon find the real Rosa Jardine with the help of the PABs, and deal with her swiftly.” Dante studied Leanna’s blank face as he spoke, but she betrayed nothing. “Very well, I have other ways to make you talk!”

Dante backed towards the door and called out loudly, “Guards! Bring this prisoner to the bridge!”

*** This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. ***