You Could Have Given Me a Warning

(8) Debriefing

Gemma and I rushed out of our sleeping quarters, the thoughts of the people around me barely being a nuisance anymore. Gemma took the lead as per usual and headed towards the cells connected to Interrogation. When we got there, there was a binder hanging on the wall that held the information regarding the patients.

"Wait, Gemma," I started as she began sifting through the pages. "What does he mean by escape? Like escape this job, or go outside to get Advil?"

"Probably escape this job. And with what we've discovered, that's very tempting," she thought. I then realized I had distinguished a difference between a thought and someone speaking out loud, which made me very proud of myself.

"Yeah, I don't really need Advil anymore. I'm getting the hang of it!" I said, proudly.

"Found him! Cell #54, lets go," she said as she pointed at the page. She closed the binder and we headed that way. When we got there, the cell was empty. We stood there, not knowing what to do.

"Where could he have gone?" I mumbled. Just then, a doctor passed by. Gemma tapped him on the shoulder and he turned around.

"How can I help you?" he asked.

"Um, where is patient #0012? We were told to... ask him a few questions," Gemma asked. The doctor looked at the cell and then back at us.

"He was moved to Hospitality, I heard that they put him in a coma to keep him from messing around," the doctor said.

"Oh, thanks for the help!" I said and he walked away.

"Well, I guess that won't work out. Not only is he probably not awake, we don't have clearance to Hospitality!" I whispered.

"I know," Gemma thought.

"I wish you could hear my thoughts, then we could have a better conversation about this," I mumbled and began walking the way we came. Naturally, Gemma caught up to me.

"Sorry I am not as special as you," she said. There was an awkward silence as we walked towards our sleeping quarters. On the way, we ran into Damien.

"Oh! There you are. My mom wants to see you both," Damien said and then walked away. He felt more distant than usual, maybe it was because he had realized we saw him in the basement. I couldn't catch any of his immediate thoughts, unfortunately.

"Do you think Damien has clearance to Hospitality?" Gemma asked me in her head.

"Maybe..." I said. I didn't want to say too much or it would look like I was talking to myself.

When we got inside of our Boss' office, she was staring at her computer. We both took our usual seats and waited for her to start talking.

"Are you feeling any better, Lina?" our boss said without looking up from her computer.

"Yeah... my head still hurts a little..." I said, and then held my head for that added dramatic effect.

"Well, I got you some Advil from Hospitality," she said, looking at me. She reached under her desk and pulled out a bottle of Advil.

"Oh wow, thanks! I was just thinking about how much I needed some!" I said and took the bottle.

"Yeah, you're really going to need it because I've got a crazy mission for you two, if you're up for it," she said.

"I'm in," Gemma said.

"Same," I replied. This whole time, I had been trying to get inside of our boss's head, but it seemed like her thoughts were blocked off by some sort of barrier.

"Great, there aren't any other capable people for this. Of course, you'll be taking my son with you," she said. We nodded.

"Okay, so, there's this chemical that can only be found in certain crystals. And these certain crystals can only be found in certain caves. We just received intel that there is a cave with these crystals only an hour away from here. I need you to go retrieve a few bags full for me. Preferably three, but do what you can."

"Is there a catch?" I asked. Where I had suddenly gained the confidence to ask, I have no idea.

"Well, an enemy has found it recently as well. Not only is it in a rough spot, but you might have to fight off others," our boss said. She grabbed a folder from the filing cabinet next to her desk and put it in between us. Gemma opened it and inside was a tracking device.

"What's this?" she asked, picking it up.

"It'll help you find the cave once you reach the destination. I've sent you both the driving location to your phones," she clarified. "I also want to make sure Lina's health is in good shape for the job." I could feel Gemma's eyes glaring at me.

"We have to do this. We could get out, maybe find somewhere to run off to. Damien could even help his love interest escape. This is perfect," Gemma was thinking. I could hear her thoughts swarming my head as I tried to act natural.

"I think I'll be good enough to go. The Advil will help, I'm only getting headaches. And the gash is slightly uncomfortable, but I can definitely deal with that," I said.

"Yes, I can see that it is healing quite well," our boss said. "Okay, so, I want you to leave either tomorrow or the next day. If you need tomorrow to recover, that's fine, I'll let you have one more day."

"Thanks! That's... very thoughtful," I said, genuinely surprised by that kind act. This made me suspicious of her motives.

"Of course, you must be feeling your best for the mission," she said. That comment made me see her actions more selfishly than before, but it still felt weird to me.

"Is that it?" Gemma asked.

"Yeah, just make sure you let Damien know when you're planning on leaving," our boss said as Gemma stood up and grabbed the folder and device. I stood up as well and followed Gemma out the door.

"I didn't dismiss you!" our boss called to us. I froze and backed up back into the room. Gemma scowled outside and then came back in.

"Sorry, it felt like the conversation was over..." I explained. Then our boss did something we'd never seen her do: she started laughing. Gemma and I looked at each other in complete shock.

"I'm joking, you can go," our boss said and then waved us out the door. We awkwardly walked out.

"What was that?" I asked.

"Why don't you tell me? You're the one that can read mi--" Gemma started, but I shushed her.

"Nobody else can know, so talk about it quietly. Anyway, I could not read her mind right then. It felt like there was a barrier protecting her thoughts..." I explained.

"Weird..." Gemma said.

"Should we find Damien? Debrief the plan for the mission?" I suggested.

"I'll just text him to meet us in our room," Gemma said and pulled her phone out of her pocket and started typing.

"Alright," I said as we walked back to our sleeping quarters.