Caught

13.

I retired to my office. Evening had come, but I didn't want to go home. My head was throbbing, my eyes were itching and I was exhausted. My mind kept conjuring up the most horrific scenarios involving Maya and all the things her captors could do to her.

Should I accept Shira's offer? What if he really was able to save Maya? What if this was my only chance and I'd blown it?

"Commander Imara?" an unfamiliar voice broke through my thoughts, a stranger standing at my office door.

"Yes?"

"Governor Palla is waiting for you in the director's office."

"Governor?"

Was he still around? Hadn't he already left? Perhaps he had received some new information about Maya.

I walked briskly down the corridor and up the stairs to the second floor. The building appeared half empty. I didn't encounter anyone except for two guards.

It wouldn't be that hard to get Shira out, a treacherous voice whispered in my head.

I knocked on the director's door and entered without waiting for an invitation.

The Governor and the director were sitting in front of a computer monitor. Their focus was on the screen, but as soon as they heard the sound from the door, both men turned to me.

"Commander," the Governor was the first to greet me. He gave the impression of a man who was very happy about something.

"Any updates on the attack?" I asked, hoping for a miracle.

"None, unfortunately," he extinguished that little flame of hope with two words, "but there's something I'd like to talk to you about."

"What is it?" I asked, trying to feign interest. As long as it wasn't about Maya, I didn't care.

A peculiar expression crossed the Governor's face, then he turned the monitor towards me without a word. Now even I could see what the two men had been watching.

I froze. On the screen was a recording of my recent visit to the prisoner's cell.

My every word.

Shira's every word.

"What is the meaning of this?" I snapped at Palla, furious. "You've been spying on me?"

"I apologise, Commander," the Governor replied calmly, not in the least impressed by my angry outburst. "After my failed visit, I instructed the director to keep the prisoners under constant surveillance."

" We've secretly installed CCTV cameras in his cell," the director added, and my stomach clenched.

Cameras in Shira's cell. They must have been there for the past two days. That meant the director, and inevitably the Governor, were privy to the intimate details of my interactions with the prisoner.

They overheard my every sentence, watched my every move... The heat of embarrassment flushed my cheeks as the realisation dawned.

But the embarrassment was quickly replaced by pure rage.

"You put cameras in the cell and didn't tell me?!" I shouted, slamming my fist down on the table. "Who did you want to keep an eye on, Governor?" I hissed with contempt. "The prisoner or me?"

"Calm down, Commander," the director spoke up. "We want you to..."

"I've had enough, I'm leaving!" I declared, storming out of the office.

"Commander Imara, do you want to help your friend?"

The Governor's words stopped me before I could walk through the door. Slowly, I turned around and looked at the calculating face. I remembered Shira holding Palla in his deadly grip and wished that I hadn't stopped him that time.