No Man's Land

29- A Dark Room

Jana O****

40 hours since leaving the island
_____

"Good afternoon Ms. Odele, how are you today?" The man asked, sitting in the corner chair.

"Don't call me that," I muttered, staring up at the harsh white ceiling. He scribbled something onto his notepad.

"Would you prefer Jo, then?" He asked, and I nodded. The man looked like he was about to open his mouth but I cut him off.

"I'm getting debriefed back at Langley, so what exactly is this about?"

The man shifted in his chair, just slightly patting an object in his pocket. I tried not to show a hint of recognition.

"I'm sure you recognize that the circumstances of the plane crash were much more than coincidental. The agency is conducting an inside investigation," He explained, reciting it in practiced ease. It certainly wasn't surprising, but an interesting development. They'd waited about a day to bring it up to me, so I couldn't help but wonder what had been found. Being on the other side of this process was not something I preferred.

"And you want to know what happened?" I asked, lowering my tone. The man shook his head and cleared his throat.

"We know what happened to them. We know what happened to the plane. We want to know the who, not the what. You were there. You know." I let out a light laugh, only worsening the aches all throughout my body.

"It wasn't her, and if I knew anything I'd tell it."

They already knew exactly who had done it. Yavuz made sense, and I had confirmed it. What the man really meant was who gave me away. I refused to believe that Carrie would do that. Yes, she'd helped him, but she could never kill an innocent person or risk the lives of the others.

"Believe me, Ms. Odele-"

"Jo. Or Jana at least. No last names," I interrupted. The man frowned, furrowing his eyebrows together.

"Well then, Jana, I anticipated that to be your answer, and I'm sure that's truly what you think. Thanks for the input." The man stood up to leave, but quickly ran his eyes over the room.

"That's it? All you wanted?" I asked, skeptical. The man smiled slightly and stopped at the door.

"You'll be debriefed at Langley, after all." As the man left, I groaned and sank bank into the fabric of the uncomfortable hospital bed. Just moments later, I heard the door click open again.

"J?" A voice asked curiously.

"Nate?"

Before I knew it, Nate was next to me and grinning from ear to ear.

"You owe me one, moj prijatelj." I groaned, sitting up in the bed.

"DId you learn Croatian just to spite me?" I muttered. He snorted and sat down in the bedside chair. "Also, what do I owe you for exactly?"

Nate glanced down at the clipboard hanging from the foot of the bed. "I worked with your boss to make contact.and gave her some. . . encouragement."

"You pestered Muriel into finding us."

"I certainly did not."

"Yeah for some reason I don't rust you on that. How exactly did you get into my room? This is a secure wing."

"I just told them who I was, not all of us lie our way through everything." His eyebrow quirked slightly

"That's a lie. You paid them off." Nate sighed and looked through the window, back at the office who stood at the door. Slightly painfully, I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stood. "Come on, walk with me." Nate stood, but stuck his arm out to block my path.

"Are you sure you should be doing that? Being shot and all?"

"I'm fine," I said dismissively. He shrugged submissively and we started for the hallway.

As we stepped out of the room, I stole one last glance at the note that had appeared on the bedside table.

______

"How's mom?" I asked to fill the silence as we walked down the hall. People in hospital gowns and doctors alike milled around, making us weave around them constantly. I liked the crowded atmosphere- it felt easier to sink into a group and not stand out.

"Still in France. The airports have been held up by protests. She would've flown out to see you if she could. Why don't you just call her?"

"That's a bit hard to do when it's still on the island," I sighed. Nate looked down at the floor.

"Right." The hole in my back pounded relentlessly, only numbed by a likely very large amount of drugs. Nothing but a reminder that Yavuz might have still been out there.

"Where are we going, anyway?" Nate asked, looking around.I kept my head down, trying to stay out of any of the nurses' views. I doubted that they'd appreciate me being up, but I was antsy.

"It's an unused rec room, I think."

"You think?" He asked skeptically, I laughed lightly., sending pricks of pain down my spine.

"I only took a quick look at the building;s schematics. Speaking of which," I looked up at the plaque that designated the room for recreational use, "We're here."

I examined the room, trying to assess what was so special about it. It was just a matted room with a treadmill, weight set, and rowing machine. The wall looked like it has once had a mirror, but only the frame remained. A security camera was planted in the corner, but the light on it didn't blink.

"So, what are we doing?" Nate asked, turning around himself to get a look at his surroundings. I opened my mouth to respond, but the lights flashed off. I jumped slightly as the door slammed closed.

"Get behind me, Jana," Nate hissed.

"I'm the one with the gun, stupid." Amidst the eerie quiet, I heard him groan.

"You what?" The lights flickered back on, revealing a figure.

Carrie.

"Honestly, I'm not surprised," I muttered, staring at her. She looked tired- really tired. Her eyes were red and dark, and she looked like she had taken a beating.

"I needed to check on you. Sorry for all the smoke and mirrors." She shifted her focus. "Hi Nate."

"Why couldn't you just come upfront?" Nate asked. I hadn't told him much about what had happened- only the things that were common knowledge.

"I'll tell you later. Now, back to you. You need something, don't you, Carrie?"

"Yeah, I do."

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