Rehash

Twelve.

I wasn't treated poorly at the military base. 

The first day I got proper meals, enough time to sleep, and a surveilled walk outside twice. When I was left alone in my cell, I did my workouts and even resorted to reading fiction. Back at college, going through the course material was like pulling teeth for me unless the topic was androids and the Singularity War. But boredom can do strange things to people, or so I found out.  

I tried getting my phone calls to the outside world which every prisoner has a right to multiple times, but my demands were all denied. They said my circumstances were too unique and they couldn't allow contact with anyone. 

Part of me knew this had to be some kind of military bullshit mind trick. Isolate someone for a while, and they're going to yearn for contact. I wasn't used to sitting still so much without talking to anyone. This was an abnormal situation in every way, and loneliness would be the perfect way to soften me up and get me to cooperate. 

On the other hand, I knew there was no time to lose for Mr. Shea and the others in this base. If there was an android outside, there'd be a public outrage if journalists ever found out it took weeks to recapture him. 

The automatic metal sliding door outside the bars of my cell glided open smoothly, making me sit up on my bed. 

Mr. Shea walked inside the prison area, his steel-nosed army boots making heavy, clacking sounds on the floor. His hands were behind his back as he walked, like a soldier. With him, was one guard armed with a pistol and a taser. 

"Mr. Rey," he respectfully addressed me once he stood in front of the bars. "I would like to show you something. Walk with me." 

"Not like I have a fucking choice anyway, huh," I muttered below my breath. 

I cooperated with the guard tying my hands before opening my cell and leading me out. Despite having seen the hallways several times now, I couldn't seem to form a mental image of where exactly we were. The building was like a maze and after I was led into an elevator, I gave up trying to figure it out. 

We were going down to basement level. I frowned, and Mr. Shea seemed to notice my confusion. 

"What I'm about to show you is classified information about the Singularity War," he explained. "It never leaves this base. This material was never in Lenora's electronic archive, and it never will be." 

"Why show me then?" I asked, even more confused now. "I broke the law. I'm a prisoner here." 

Mr. Shea glanced at me from the corner of his eyes. "I will explain everything shortly." 

"Can't wait," I muttered sarcastically to mask my real curiosity, which was definitely sparked by now. If there was anything I was always hungry for, it was more information about the Singularity War.

The elevator gave a ping and the doors slid open. The interior of the basement was full on concrete all around. Thick blocks that wouldn't allowed any signal to penetrate with industrial lamps flickering above us, and I got the feeling we could survive a nuclear blast down here. 

There were several pathways forking left and right, but we stayed on what appeared to be the main path and the further we went, the more it dawned on me how big of a deal this information had to be. Security cameras were installed left and right, and I even noticed some automatic turrets that would fire at unwanted visitors. 

When we finally came to a halt in front of a massive steel door with an panel on the side, Mr. Shea turned to me. 

"I believe it speaks for itself that this information must never leave the room. There will be consequences."