The woman in the bunk across from Rebecca cried during their first night in prison. Bec felt like she could have cried too, but she also felt that compared to what she’d been through over the last twelve months at least prison was a stable lifestyle for once. Most of her time confined to a cell, another cage, under guard. She was used to that by now. She’d spent most of her life this way. So, instead of crying, she simply stared at the dark ceiling, all night, and waited.
Bec fell into an abrupt routine, her life micro-managed to the finest detail, but part of her didn’t mind. The UN assured that she was safe from Hiroshi Inoue’s goons and she was lucky enough not to be sent to maximum security.
Were the people here anything like Rebecca? Had anyone here seen the things she had seen? In her solitude Bec decided that she wasn’t special, that everyone here – or at least the friendly ones – every poor unfortunate soul like herself that she spoke to, had a story that was interesting to some degree. Most of them were incarcerated for crimes that Bec had committed herself, in her previous life. Maybe she belonged here.
Bec was scheduled for visitation after about one week. When the time finally came, the guards ushered her and several other prisoners into the visitation room.
Kelly waited for her at a small metal table, gave that half-smile that Bec loved. Kelly was the only tie Bec had to the outside world, the only reason to keep fighting, to keep this place from tearing apart her mind. They sat down.
‘You look well,’ said Kelly. ‘Sorry I wasn’t quick enough to get you out.’
‘It’s not that bad,’ Bec shrugged, never thinking she’d make light of prison. It was awful there, but she was safe. Good things and bad things. ‘I mean, I don’t know what I expected it to be like, but there’s… stuff here.’
Kelly raised her eyebrow. ‘Stuff?’
‘You know, a gym, books, ping-pong table. The food could be better, and they’re strict on letting us use any tech. Although, did you know they have VR decks specifically for prisoners?’
Kelly leaned forwards. ‘What was the official sentence?’
‘Two years. Multiple counts of data-theft and sabotage – unamended by the UN – plus being an accessory to a major act of cyber-terrorism.’ Bec’s tone became solemn. ‘Please tell me you have Mikah.’
‘The good news is he’s alive—’
A small relief for Bec.
‘—and I’m close to finding him. The GCSD finally authorised an official investigation so I’ve got Akira, Connor and Yuri back on my side, and a legal team to help your case. Fact is, they know you were instrumental in taking Sato down and stopping his attack. They don’t know what to think.’
‘I heard you’re on thin ice with the higher-ups,’ Bec said guiltily.
‘Nothing I can’t handle. I do hold a little bit of sway with my commanding officers – they know me well. I’d like to think that they trust me.’
Bec couldn’t help but notice a glimmer of sadness in Kelly’s eyes in that moment, though she couldn’t tell exactly why. Was it because of the captain’s past, her old missions?
‘There’s still Hiroshi,’ said Bec.
‘Leave Hiroshi alone,’ Kelly said, firmly. ‘We completed our mission. Nexus Rogue is done.’
‘You can’t just expect us to drop it. He’s dangerous.’
‘He’s also not our problem anymore. Another team will handle him.’ Kelly reached out and took Rebecca’s hand. ‘I don’t want you getting involved in this. All that matters now is that we keep you safe.’
Bec no longer felt any pain when she rolled her left shoulder. Her doctor said that the collarbone had healed nicely and that it was time to remove the sling. Her nose throbbed after another inmate pegged a basketball at her due to a slight misunderstanding. Bruising coloured under her eyes now. She felt like an idiot walking through the hallway with her escort towards the therapist’s office.
Dr Jones, the prison psychiatrist assigned to Rebecca. A skinny man who had round glasses and wore a colourful tie under his ugly sweater vest. Even though counselling was compulsory for certain inmates such as Rebecca, she was open to it. She didn’t get along with the other inmates and enjoyed having someone to talk to.
She sat in a comfy chair across from Dr Jones and didn’t say a word. She watched him flick through her file which contained notes from her initial psych evaluation back when she first joined the task-force, details of her missions and follow-up evals, and other notes on her current court case. Dr Jones’s appeared to be baffled by the story it told about Rebecca’s life.
‘According to your file,’ he began, ‘my instructions are to talk to you about your “desire to partake in certain acts of terrorism”.’ He turned the page. ‘But it also says here that you have elected to undergo counselling. Unfortunately, I have to address the former issue before we can move on to anything else.’ He leaned forward and looked at Rebecca. ‘The question that we should probably start with, then, is whether you actually see yourself as a terrorist.’
Rebecca leaned back and folded her arms.
‘That’s what they told you? You know the charge was accessory to an act of terrorism, which I also happened to have prevented… eventually. The file does say who I am, right?’
Dr Jones lifted a piece of paper.
‘An ex-hacker, associated with the Australian Crime Syndicate, and it does say ex-hacker in quotation marks, formerly employed by the Global Cyber Security Division under the authority of the United Nations, until you broke your immunity agreement and ended up here.’
Rebecca leaned forward now and looked Dr Jones in the eye. Funnily enough, she smiled, like it was all a bad joke. Maybe prison was making her crazy.
‘I’m gonna be honest with you, I think this whole situation is bullshit, okay. I did some bad things, I’ll admit to that, but I more than made up for it. You know why? Because I witnessed a man who I worked for and respected kill himself, and I hunted down the fuckers who made him do it. I’ve been blown up. I’ve been shot. I was in a helicopter that got blasted down by a missile and crash-landed in the middle of a fucking sandstorm.’ She folded her arms. ‘Why don’t you ask me again if I think I’m a terrorist?’
Dr Jones looked at her, the condescension faded from his eyes. He put the notepad aside.
‘Very well, Rebecca, we’ll leave that alone for now.’
Rebecca nodded. ‘Thank you.’
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