Michelle Gagnon - The Gatekeeper

Madison sat on the cot, one hand wrapped around her knees, the other holding her DS Lite. The screen was flickering with a low battery warning. She’d done everything she could to reconfigure it, but the last bit of juice was draining away. It would stop transmitting in a few hours, tops.

She dropped her head in frustration. She’d known it was a long shot, chances were no one would be searching for the signal, but still. She’d allowed herself to hope, which was probably a mistake. Her only choice now was to give up on the idea, or ask Lurch if he’d charge it for her. There was a chance he’d do it. Since that torture session he’d been gentler with her, almost paternal. Small gestures, like the cake, but she got the sense that he didn’t want to hurt her. Unlike his partner.

She shuddered involuntarily. She’d ask Lurch. After all, it wasn’t like she had anything to lose. Once the battery was dead, it was just a hunk of metal anyway.

The door to her room swung open and she glanced up. The other guy stood there, leering at her. She paled and reflexively skittered away from him.

“Time for some more fun,” he hissed. His attention shifted to her hand. “Whatcha got there, kitten?”

Madison tucked it under her legs. He crossed the room in three long strides and caught her wrist, twisting until she yelped in pain. His eyes narrowed as he yanked the DS Lite from her grasp.

“Where’d you get that?”

“It’s mine.”

“Fuckin’ moron,” he swore. “Which model is this?” He checked the back, then spat, “I’ll kill him.”

Madison shrank away from him, feeling the cold steel of the wall through her shirt.

“So you like playing games, huh?” he said. “That all you been doing?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t talk down to me, princess, I’m not like that retard. This thing has a GPS receiver. But then, I’m guessing you knew that.”

Madison ’s heart sank. Tears rose hot in her eyes and spilled over. “I don’t…”

“Yeah, sure you don’t. You and that smart daddy of yours.” He tucked the DS Lite into the back pocket of his jeans and bent down. His breath was hot and smelled like old meat. “Rain check for today, sweetheart. I gotta go deal with our friend. But don’t you worry, I’ll be back before you know it.”

The door slammed behind him. Madison hugged herself tightly in an effort to stop shaking.

Randall Grant ran a hand through his hair. It felt thick with grease-he couldn’t remember the last time he’d washed it. Even Barry, whose hygiene was notoriously lax, had moved his chair away when he entered the office. Not that he gave a shit anymore.

Randall was sitting in a park a few blocks from the facility. Absurdly ugly brown blocks formed a fountain that hadn’t produced a drop of water in all the years he’d been coming here. Benches stood in forlorn formations, shedding paint and broken boards like molting skeletons. There was always a foreboding aura to the place, as if something bad was imminent. His colleagues shunned it for that reason. Which was why he liked it.

Those monsters had his daughter and he was sitting here. He’d followed their orders and gone back to the office, ignoring Barry’s raised eyebrows, saying he felt better and had work to do. They hadn’t called, which meant they’d probably succeeded in getting what they were after. And he was responsible for whatever they did with it. He’d left work early, pleading a resurgence of the flu, and came here to think.

Randall shook his head hard. If they had anyone competent involved, and he had no reason to doubt that, then thousands were at risk, possibly more. All because he’d been a greedy asshole.

The first request, nearly a year ago, had been harmless enough. One day a man had approached him in this park. Randall had retreated there to eat in silence, mulling over the recent collapse of his marriage and trying to figure out how the hell he was going to pay his attorney. When the guy slid onto the bench next to him he’d stood, prepared to move away. The last thing he wanted was to engage in casual conversation when his life was crumbling. Audrey had packed up the girls the week before and driven away in a blur of accusations and hysterical tears. He’d spent the past six nights padding around the house in the dark, as if they might miraculously rematerialize.

The guy stopped him, saying his name and asking for a minute of his time. Against his better instincts, Randall listened. All they wanted was a minor piece of information, for which they’d pay extravagantly. In fact, they offered almost double what he’d need to pay off his lawyer, enough to keep him satisfied through the entire litigation. Randall had asked for time to think it over. Went back to the office and found what they were interested in: nothing serious, just some financial records. They weren’t even kept in a secure section of the building, but were tucked in an unlocked filing cabinet in storage. He had no idea why those records would interest anyone, he read them through twice and found nothing of note. So after a few days of consideration, he’d copied them and handed them over. No harm, no foul, he figured. Hell, he’d given this facility his blood, sweat and tears for his entire adult life, and how had they repaid him? Long hours and promotions that amounted to demotions, all of which contributed to the dissolution of his marriage. No, it was time the company helped him for a change, and why not now when he most needed it?

Thinking back he berated himself for his stupidity. Of course they had only asked for something minor that wouldn’t raise many moral qualms. That’s how they’d hooked him. Then a few months later, when what they wanted was more sensitive and he balked, they reminded him that he’d already committed treason. There was a stack of photographs documenting the exchange, a tape recording of him discussing it…everything they needed to disgrace him forever and send him away for life. His daughters were already barely speaking to him. Imagine if they thought he was a traitor.

So he’d complied. A few items here, others there. Nothing that would be too damaging if a foreign power got their hands on it. At least, that’s what he told himself.

But then they asked for access to low-level radioactive materials. And finally, Randall put his foot down. Despite all their promises to the contrary, he realized they would never stop. They would milk him until he was dead, fired, arrested or all three. He’d stalled for a few weeks, trying to get his affairs in order, figuring out what to tell Syd, how to break the news to his daughters. He lay awake nights breathing in fast, panicky pants, the walls closing in as if a cell was already mounting around him.

And then Madison disappeared. He’d already ruined his life, and now he’d probably destroyed hers as well. In retrospect it all seemed so absurd. If he was honest, all along he’d secretly expected to outwit the situation. The downside of always being the smartest guy in the room is that occasionally it made you do stupid things.

Well, now he’d given whoever was behind this all the power they’d ever need. And in doing so, he’d probably condemned thousands of people to death, his daughter among them.

Randall stood and absentmindedly brushed off the legs of his pants. He was done. He’d given Syd her chance, and so far it had only caused Madison to suffer more. Hiring her and Jake had been one more stalling tactic designed to stave off the real authorities. Everyone wanted to believe that when faced with a terrible situation they’d rise above it, become the hero that lay hidden inside them. It was a shame when that moment arrived and you turned out to be a coward.