Jerome has been in the room for what seemed like days, but was more likely to be a few measly hours since Carlson left the room in such a hurry. The young man was being watched by two large, menacing bodyguards who were each standing on one side of the door. Jerome got tired of sitting on the chair and was sitting on the floor with his back to the corner of the room. He sat in a specific corner so that it was impossible for anyone looking through the two way mirror to see him. He sat there thinking about what he was going to say next. Since this Carlson fellow hasn't returned for a while, it was evident that Edgar has pulled off the big shocker, and likely stolen one of their people. He wondered if the part Devon came up with worked as well, but he would likely find out about that later. Jerome turned his attention to the two men who were watching the door and likely looking at him through their cheesy, bono wannabe sunglasses. Without looking either in the eye, he asked them a pretty casual question.
"Do you guys have any idea how much time you'll do in prison if the public ever found out about this operation?" he called out to them, not caring which one would reply.
Neither of the men guarding him responded to his question, and Jerome suddenly knew that he had his work cut out for him. If he was going to get under their skin, he was going to have to crank his annoyance up as high as he could, maybe even to eleven.
"I'm pretty sure you guys are aware of what's going on here," Jerome continued, "You wouldn't be guarding me if you weren't pretty deep into the operation and its details. How many people did you take into custody that day? How many people were actually relocated? Are the more uncooperative residents currently in a secret prison, or did you put a cap into their heads and put them six feet under?"
"That's enough." one of the guards snarled, as he was no longer interested in listening to anything Jerome had to say. It was a response that only gave Jerome the fuel to keep pushing.
"Not a single person has died as a direct result of this operation." the other said, "And that's all we're going to say about this."
"Oh, that's total Bullshit." Jerome defiantly charged, as he stood up but remained in his corner of the room. "I'm willing to bet you guys probably know who killed Tuck and his people back at Edgar's office. So don't give me that no one got hurt crap cause it's just total garbage!"
This time the two guards stood silent and didn't respond. It was clear to Jerome they were beginning to regret saying anything in the first place.
"Then again," Jerome carried on, "Neither of you can tell me your operation wasn't responsible for the deaths of those people who died in the Pentagon. Sure you guys did your best to make sure there was no one in that wing when that cruise missile hit, but there was someone there. Someone tried their best to have the wing sealed off for renovations, but not everyone heeded the warning. There is a lot of blood on your hands, much more than you could ever imagine."
Jerome started to walk closer to the guards, and he could tell at least one of them was starting to tense up. He was getting to them.
"What about the countless troops who have died overseas?" Jerome asked. "That's thousands of our brothers and sisters in arms who made the ultimate sacrifice for a pointless war that has done nothing but stuff the pockets of the party fat cats. The politicians at the top used your actions to lead those brave men and women to their death. I'm sure you guys use that whole 'no one died during the operation' line so that you can sleep at night, but the results of your actions have killed tens of thousands of innocent lives, possibly hundreds of thousands if you believe some websites. I'm not even including the harm you guys have done based on the rights people have lost since the attacks. Every single security law that trampled on our god given rights and the constitution is also your fault, because you gave those bastards on the hill all the clout they needed to pass shit laws like the patriot act. People are being arrested and held without due process for months and even years while being declared enemy combatants. During this time they are never told what crime they committed and have no access to a lawyer, due process, or a fair trial. All this stuff is your fucking fault! Your actions against this nation, which by the way is nothing short of treason, has harmed this country more than any real terrorist attack ever could. We all put our hands on our hearts at a school and took the same pledge of allegiance to this nation, the same nation you turned your backs on the day you scared New York and Washington. You betrayed this nation and are traitors! You should all hang from the gallows for what you've done!"
"Shut up, you little shit!" one of the guards barked as he finally snapped.
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The big guy walked over and grabbed Jerome by the shoulders, dragged him to the other side of the room, and slammed him up against the wall with force. The impact against the wall hurt a great deal, but Jerome only smiled back as he knew a nerve was hit with those comments. The other guard tried to break things up, but he wasn't strong enough as the bigger guard kept slamming Jerome's back into the wall.
Three more men, who were obviously watching from the other room behind the mirror came running into the room and were able to when working together peel the big guard off Jerome. He hit the floor with an uncomfortable thud and wheezed a bit for a few seconds as they dragged the guard as he screamed obscenities at him and threatened to kick the crap out of him too. The other guard turned back and gave Jerome a mean look as he struggled to get back to his feed
"Shut the hell up," the other guard told him, "I'll shoot you dead where you stand. Understood?"
Jerome was still a little dazed, but nodded his acknowledgement. It was this point where Mr. Carlson opened the door and walked in.
"Hey boss man," Jerome called out as he made a small waving motion that brought a little pain to his lower back.
"I see you had a few words with the guards." Carlson said as he motioned for the other guard to resume his duties outside the room.
"We were just talking politics," Jerome said, as he hobbled over and took a seat. His stay had been rather pleasant, but he kind of regretted provoking the guards like that as he winced a bit in pain. It was still totally worth it in his books. Chances are things were not going to get any better for him either. When Mr. Carlson returned to the seat he was sitting at not too long ago, Jerome could tell that he wasn't in a good mood to begin with. This gave the young man the impression that Edgar and Devon's crazy plan must have worked. The target and likely a few extras were caught and this is where the real fun was going to begin. Jerome used his time alone to come up with a plan to how he was going to work with his captors in the event the plan was a success. Chances are they were going to try to use him and Jessica as bargaining chips and the best way to avoid being worked over was to help Carlson get in touch with Edgar. The sooner those two started talking, the less likely they were going to question Jessica and himself over where he was. Jerome patiently waited for Carlson to ask the obvious first question.
"Do you have any idea where I can find Edgar Willis?" Carlson said, pretty confirming what anyone knew was going to be the first question.
"Fraid not," Jerome said, rather honestly, "The original plan was for Edgar and Devon to break ties at a certain location and then return back to me and Jessica at the location above the Thai restaurant. Now that our hideaway in the city is gone, I'm sure Edgar changed all his plans just in case either of us talked. That's way asking either of us is pointless. However, I would like to do what I can to help you get in contact with him."
"Is that so?" Carlson said, surprised by this offer to help.
"Absolutely." Jerome replied as he held out his hand, "Pass over my cell phone and I'll hook you two up. The sooner you two start talking, the sooner my ass gets negotiated outta here."
"You are a bright one," Carlson said with a smile as he reached into his pocket and pulled out Jerome's cell phone. He tossed it over, "Make the call."
"In a second." Jerome countered as he put the phone down on the table, "I have a few requests of my own before I help you out."
"You're not really in much of a position to make demands." Carlson snapped back obviously a little impatient since he was so close to speaking with his true adversary. He paused for a moment, "Such as?"
"How about a court martial for my mugger?" Jerome demanded with a hit of sarcasm.
"He'd be in a cell right now if you hadn't provoked him." Carlson informed him, "But since you did, rather well I might add, he gets a slap on the wrist and nothing more. What else?"
"Jessica and I haven't eaten a single thing since breakfast and we didn't have much before then either. In exchange for my co-operation, I wouldn't mind getting something to eat for both of us." he sat back and waited for Carlson's response.
"That seems like a reasonable request." Carlson admitted, "Is there anything specific you'd like to eat tonight?"
"We don't need anything special, just something to eat." Jerome answered, "As a matter of fact, I'll have what you're eating for supper tonight. I have a feeling you'll be working late anyway."
Carlson grinned as the young man was indeed right, Carlson and his men would all be burning the midnight oil that night, "Alright, I agree to your terms. Now make the call."
"I'm not done yet," Jerome knew he was pushing his luck, but this was the best chance he had to do so, "How am I supposed to know that Jessica got something to eat? The only way I would be able to confirm that is if we ate at the same time and in the same room."
Carlson usually didn't like doing things like this, but chances are they were both going back to Edgar in exchange for his people, so this request was worth giving into so that he could open negotiations.
"Alright," Carlson finally conceded, "Both Jessica and yourself can join me for dinner after I finish speaking with Mr. Willis."
"Then we have a deal," Jerome said as he picked up the phone, "That works for me."
Carlson and his men watched as Jerome dialed a number from memory and handed the phone over to his captor. Everyone in the room patiently waited as Carlson put the phone to his ear and waited someone on the other end to pick up.