Alyssa lay helpless, naked and shivering on the cold, stone floor. An empty bucket, used to great effect to lower her body temperature, lay adjacent to her its contents splashed on her over and over. Her captor continued to scream and berate her, but Alyssa focused the pain inward and out of her mind. She had endured their profane laced tirades and physical abuse for what felt like days.

       When she was first incarcerated at the Singer Psychiatric Ward she was inclined to be agreeable to their questioning hoping to use cooperation as a means to procure her freedom. Bergden had taught her that in the event she was found herself on the wrong side of the table to cooperate and answer what she could and do not attempt deception. She had done just that or so she had thought. She had answered questions about her youth, her parents, her family and most importantly what she knew about Bergden. Not once addressing the obvious question as to why she was brought her in the first place, but evidently, her previous understanding of her lover’s past was greatly mistaken or rather than wanted her to perceive such things. Again she would answer what she knew and again she’d face her captor’s wrath.

       She just wished for the pain to end.

       "Get the fuck up!" One of her captors commanded striking her across her back with a leather crop. Alyssa hardly winced at this point. The incessant barrage of ice water had numbed her to the point that the beatings were no longer effective or rather she could not feel the blows.  Alyssa’s vision had become faded throughout her ordeal, but she could still make out the feminine features stowed beneath a Regime officer’s uniform.

       "If I have to ask again, I’ll make sure you can’t get up!" The woman commanded. With that she strode over and struck Alyssa three times. Whap, whap, crack! The third strike breaking the skin sending a torrent of blood to the floor pooling near a drain before quickly receding to the pipes below. The room had been designed for the ease of clean up from the torture results.

       Alyssa stared up into the light her vision blurred, but could see the woman looming above her, crop held high. Alyssa weakly held her hand up in submission. She had mustered the strength to yield once again, but as with the attempts before her hands were slapped away and she again was struck. Whap, whap, crack! The skin again ceasing in its attempts to resist the damage from the crop. Blood seeped into the drain below. Alyssa could only watch as her life force disappeared beneath her feet.

       Near the precipice of passing out, Alyssa was shocked back to reality when a bucket full of cold water was splashed across her naked body. The water felt surprisingly good on her fresh wounds, but chilled her to the core after that a brief repose from pain. She braced once more for the lash of the crop, but instead heard the sounds of a speaker warming the static cracking to reveal the sound of a man.

       "Please place Ms. Crane in the chair Dr. Vossen. I will be in momentarily." The man’s voice ordered over the loudspeaker. Alyssa felt a haunting familiarity as the words poured out from the speaker. She couldn’t place it.

       Dr. Vossen groaned her disapproval and dragged Alyssa across the floor by her hair to a steel stool. As she forced Alyssa closer to the stool she grabbed her by the throat the tormentor’s fingers squeezing tightly before releasing her grip and sending Alyssa to the floor.

       Alyssa’s tormentor leaned in close and whispered. "Don’t think I won’t kill you if you try anything. Now, get your ass on that stool before I break it over your back."

       Alyssa’s body was tremendously weak, but she feared that any relapse to the cold stone floor might very well be her last. She forced herself on the stool and nearly fell back in a heap before struggling to regain her strength. Breathing deep, she looked up at the woman who almost seemed disappointed she had not fallen back down.

       "We’ll meet again Ms. Crane. The good doctor always accepts new patients." The woman said winking at Alyssa, before leaving her alone in the room. A man clad in a steel gray uniform strode in past Dr. Vossen. Alyssa struggled to focus on his face, but could see he was wearing a simple uniform tightly kept with knee high riding boots and a high peaked cap very much like the one Bergden would wear to work except the embroidery along the brim was surprisingly plain by comparison. Due to her blurred vision she was unable to make out any other real distinctive features suffice to say his voice was still eerily familiar to her. 

       "Ms. Crane. It is good to see you again. I must apologize for these conditions, but here at Singer Psychiatric Ward Dr. Vossen is in charge and this is how she chooses to spend her free time. For you see only those deemed a danger to the well-being of the Regime are placed here. The chancellor believes that Dr. Vossen can find a cure for anarchism and unfortunately for individuals in your predicament he waived any common medical decently." He took out a handkerchief, the symbol of the Regime embroidered on it and wiped his brow. "I suppose it is a fitting level of respect for those who wish to undermine the authority of the Regime. I doubt very much that Dr. Vossen can find any sort of cure for a social issue, but I’m not in a position to stop her from trying. The order of course coming down from Kroft himself."

       Alyssa was stooped over the stool shivering finally realizing the pain from the lashes as they throbbed down her spine. . She slipped off the chair shivering uncontrollably. Likely the first stages of hypothermia as it made its way into her veins. Days upon days of laying naked, cold and wet without the will to carry save for the fact there was the slimmest of chances she may get to see James and Bergden once more. Hunched over and her vision returning, Alyssa noticed out of the corner of her eye the man signaling back to the iron door. It creaked opened and her previous tormentor returned with a towel and a set of clothing they weren’t hers from before, but anything was preferable to being cold and naked. She watched as the woman scowled as she tossed the clothes at Alyssa’s feet before looking disapprovingly back at the man.

       The man gestured Dr. Vossen to leave the room.

       "You can have a fresh set of clothes provided you allow me to have a conversation with you. If it alleviates your concerns it will not be in this chamber. I prefer a more comfortable atmosphere for conversation. Dr. Vossen’s methodologies probably served their purpose whether you consciously realize that or not. I dare say she is not as versed in the art of civil discourse as you or I might be preferring a more.... Savage approach despite her title, but do not doubt the chancellor’s reliance in her though for she is quite good."

       Alyssa had no doubts that her tormentor was a savage. Her actions made that quite clear. Alyssa did not doubt the effectiveness of her interrogation.  After all, she was a school mistress not a hardened criminal. Bergden taught her much about the Regime’s tactics, but even he couldn’t prepare her for the real thing. Yet, the longer and harsher the treatment, the more she grew numb to her tormentors tactics. She had only spoken truths from the onset of the interrogation and in doing so avoided in compromising her integrity. Now she was at the mercy of a man that put her in this position in the first place.

       "Please Ms. Crane, get dressed and I will have Dr. Vossen here escort you, sans violence, to my office." The man urged. It was then she recognized his face from beneath the shadow cast by the wide brim. It was Commander Liam Grimm. The man from the cruiser who shuttled her away from the schoolyard and away from her life.

       Despite this fact she was strangely relieved, she took the towel and began to dry herself off. The towel was scratchy, but it felt warm against her ice cold skin. The clothes too were made out of the same wool-like material, but she took nothing for granted for at any time she could be strewn out on a cell floor again. Simple garments, but they covered her all the same.

       Dr. Vossen returned to the cell and grabbed Alyssa by the arm forcibly guiding her down the hall. As she was pushed further down the hall she peered into the other cells. Unfortunate men and woman, wretches in the greatest meaning of the word, hung from their wrists to the ceiling, chained to the floor or hiding from their tormentors in the darkness of the cells. Pock marks and gashes covered their pale, naked forms. Dr. Vossen stopped for a moment to spit on a prisoner as he reached out of the cell towards Alyssa. She gazed at the broken man’s face. His teeth beginning to rot, a long unkempt beard, but the thing that implored her to stop were his eyes. So beaten were his orbital bones he could scarcely open them. He moaned in pain as Alyssa reached out to him and for but a moment she gripped his hand. His fingers broken and his skin nothing more than callous bumps. Her heart ached.

       "Move it!" The doctor yelled as she shoved Alyssa away from the man taking a moment to slap his hand with the crop. The man bit his lip in pain as the riding crop slapped his bony appendage his hand retreating back into the cell.  Alyssa could see the pain in his eyes grow as he slunk into the back corner. The conditions of the cell were horrid. Finally realizing the smell caused Alyssa to stop and gag in revulsion.

       Eventually, she was led to a small office at the far end of the hallway.

       "Commander Grimm is waiting for you. Sit on the chair and do not move. Is that understood?" Dr. Vossen barked at Alyssa with a stern look in her face.

       Alyssa took her place on the wooden chair across from a near barren desk. A single coffee mug stood alone on the metal table. She could see the steam from a fresh cup of coffee, but the smell eluded her as the pungent odor of the man’s cell still hung in her nostrils. She was surprisingly calm considering her predicament. The commander had been much kinder than she imagined and although she had suffered a great deal, it was not from his hand directly. There remained a glimmer of hope in his custody. She feared if she remained in the hands of Dr. Vossen she would not survive.

       She sat alone for what felt like hours periodically looking over to the door to see if the doctor had peeked inside. Suddenly, her stomach growled as a reminder of her hunger. Since she arrived she had not had a single meal. Throughout the torture and pain the pangs of starvation were a mute feeling, but as she sat waiting the groans reminded her that she needed to eat something. Her eyes fluttered as she fought sleep. Until the door swung open behind her and in walked the Commander. He had changed into less formal attire. A simple, blue officer’s shirt and slacks. His appearance had a calming effect that steadied her nerves. As he sat he took a sip from the mug and frowned.

       "The coffee isn’t the way I like it. I’m sure you could care less considering your position, but I’m used to certain standards. Spend a few weeks in my position and you’ll come to expect things that the average man or woman would not or could not. Even with something as trite as a cup of coffee. The bitterness of Regime issued beans is disconcerting."

       Commander Grimm reluctantly sipped on the drink before pulling a folder the top desk drawer and placing it on the table her from of Alyssa. She could see her the initials A.C. in the upper right hand corner of the folder. She made the reasonable and expected assumption that the information contained therein was regarding her arrest, but she was curious if there was more involved. Did the commander have an extensive file on her? On her family? Bergden rarely talked about the particulars involved with the Regime’s vast intelligence network.

       The folder sat on the desk in plain view cutting the air between them. She doubted that the Commander was overtly taunting her with his silence, but it felt that way just the same. Inside the manila envelope sat either her salvation or destruction. Her mind wondered. She thought about the information the Regime might have on her and her family. Buying forbidden goods on the black market had become such common place under the Regime’s nose that she reassured herself that alone would no cause her incarceration in such a place.

       "I’m sure you are sitting there asking yourself what could possibly be contained in this tiny folder. Believe me when I say I’ve seen far worse come through these doors, but that does not excuse what has been presented. It doesn’t make you any less culpable for your actions."
          As the pages turned the Commander’s expressions did as well. Gone were the hopeful grins and in their stead was a grim reminder of the reality of the situation that Alyssa faced. He continued to scan through the documents stopping abruptly and peering up from the desk. She knew he was studying her face. Bergden often remarked on how, in the present moment of a situation, that body language and cues could determine an individual’s guilt or innocence with or without their knowledge. The process seemed purely arbitrary to Alyssa, but Bergden assured her that the Regime discriminated in other ways so egregiously that it was more of a formality after the evidence had been collected. She thought about what the Commander say in her face, but evidently it had not been much.

       "You know I read what the black jacks at Pemply Station wrote here and I have my suspicions regarding the validity of the charges against you. Why do you think I feel that way?" The Commander asked clearly baiting Alyssa for a response.

       Alyssa decided to remain quiet and shrugged her shoulders in a cold response. He hadn’t been vicious as his reputation had preceded him, but the truth of the matter was she hadn’t a clue. Her days were as mundane as anyone’s and her nights the same. The same in and out routine followed her from one place to the next. From home to work to bed, her life met with only a few select moments of diversion. The extent of her deviance began and ended with buying black market spices from Marcus and Lindy to provide a small luxury to her family. Was that truly a crime worth being locked up in such a place?

       "I don’t know and that’s the honest truth." Alyssa admitted.

       The Commander closed the folder and tapped his fingers on the table. "Glancing at the first few pages of your record is rather....how should I say? Boring, but I’m assuming you knew that. South Sea rum from a black market merchant are about as lame as a reason to get arrested. I know the Regime wants our citizenry to avoid anything that might inadvertently or directly support what little remains of the Coalition or its constituents; however, that is rarely cause for alarm for the wife of a Black Jack and school teacher."

        She suspected as much from the report, but she became increasingly discouraged that there was more information that she could not even begin to speculate on. She decided to break her silence.

       "If it was not the rum, then what falsehoods are contained in your report? I’ll freely admit to buying small items with little value from Marcus, but that is the extent of my indiscretions I assure you Commander."

He smiled and shook his head at Alyssa.

"I’ll give you a moment to think about your past injudiciousness and if you can recall any other events from your past that might warrant further investigation then I suggest you tell me. However, if you cannot then do not. Lying is counterproductive even if you think it is what I and by extension, the Regime, would like to hear."

       Alyssa thought carefully about her response and dug deeper into the recesses of her mind. Deception on the part of the Commander was to be expected. The Regime carefully manipulated situations to gain the results they wanted. If the Commander wanted her to admit fault, she would not do so willingly but he would eventually elicit an admission.

       Her conversations with Lindsey had, in the past, yielded much information about her private life, but Alyssa had not made the emotional investment to properly listen. She remembered stories of Marcus, her and strangers engaging in salacious deeds. Such discussions were often one sided as she and Bergden rarely took part in those particular activities. Bergden was hardly straight laced, but obeyed the Regime’s morality laws. He considered it counter intuitive not to considering his role in its enforcement.

       "Perhaps you have me confused for another Commander? I have thought carefully about what you have insinuated and cannot recall any additional moments that did not fall under the Regime’s watchful guidance." Alyssa said with a false sense of confidence hoping to throw off the Commander’s trail.

       Her hopes of feigning her knowledge of the situation were quickly dashed with a wave of his hand.          

       "Enough Ms. Crane. I’ll ask you kindly again to tell me the truth. If it helps I have irrefutable information in front of me that can only be refuted by yourself. Thus, if you do not tell me the truth you are proving its merit." He demanded.

       Alyssa quickly shot back. "Tell me what happened to Bergden and James. Is my husband still alive? And James is he still safe?"

       The Commander steadied himself in his chair and stared at Alyssa for a moment then pursed his lips again tapping the folder impatiently.

       "I told you that lying is counterproductive and I suppose that means for the both of us. Yet honesty is often painful. Mr. Crane, Bergden, I fear is more than likely deceased. He too was going to be brought him for questioning to Singer, but elected to challenge the Regime when confronted. I cannot say for certain though as the body has not been returned. Considering the overwhelming odds of him escaping, I would not hold out for a hope. At best he’s in a cell at Cherry Hill rotting from the inside out."

       Alyssa feared the worst, but without a body she would keep hope. She could not say for certain if the Commander told her the truth yet had he wanted her to truly believe, beyond a doubt, of Bergden’s demise then why leave open a window probability?

       "And my son James? Where is he? Can I see him?" Alyssa tried in vain to stifle her exasperation with the vague approaches to her predicament by the Commander. She continued to press about her son.  "Let me see James just to know he is safe and I will tell you anything. You have my word. "

       The Commander almost seemed disappointed that Alyssa tried to negotiate her way through the questioning. She had no leverage other than information that she did not know or was not true, but she continued to pose as though she could provide value. For Alyssa, that became a means to the end, whatever that may be. She would do anything, at any measure, to find out what happened to her husband and to see James safe.

       "James is quite safe I can assure you of that. He is in the loving hands of the Headmistress at the Kroft Academy and is getting his education steered to something more appropriate for his particular skill set. I dare say that he is on the right path, but we can address this later. For now, we have more to discuss and we need to determine your innocence or guilt." He added.

       A sense of relief that her son was safe stayed her nerves for the time being, but the thought of Bergden’s death crept in. She fought back her grief by remembering that Bergden would not hide information from the Regime. It was hardly a secret to her or his closest friends that he had a penchant for going easy on people who did not nothing more than catch an Inquisitor on a bad day. He was a good man and perhaps that was what placed under the Regime’s microscope.

       "There is nothing more to tell Commander. I have admitted my guilt to buying black market goods from Marcus. I suppose I should have been aware of his other activities, but to be fair I was not and am still not inclined to take part in such things. I do not know where you go your information, but I can assure you that it is utterly and ultimately factually incorrect."

       The Commander turned his head and mulled over his next move before passing the folder over to Alyssa.

       "I’ll let you see for yourself." He said grimly.

       Alyssa cautiously read through the notes and became alarmed at what she read. Instances of infidelity that she allegedly committed in the company of Marcus and Lindy. She bore witness to sodomy, and herself took part in illicit behaviors long condemned by the Regime and supposedly assisted in the propagation of a business founded on such behaviors. She could not believe what read. The lies seemed endless with each page. Stories placing her in areas of Blackwell she had never even seen, providing sexual services to inquisitors in exchange for them turning away at her other illegal undertakings. The list went on and on and the more she read he more anger built inside her. She suppressed her desire to lash out and slid the folder back across the table and onto the floor.

       "That is a folder of nothing but falsities and slanderous tales. I have never been so sure of anything in my life than to know that nothing that I have read contained in that folder was true. Whomever reported this should be punished and removed from whatever position they hold!" Alyssa’s fury had boiled over causing Dr. Vossen to race into the room a pistol leveled at Alyssa.

       "Is everything okay? I heard shouting. I can take her back to the cell if you require it." The doctor said almost too eager to drag Alyssa back to her own personal torture chambers.

       The Commander shook his head much to Alyssa’s relief.

       "It is quite alright Ana and while I know you would relish the opportunity to continue what you feel was left undone, I don’t think that will be required though. Ms. Crane and I have much to discuss still. I will call you in when we are completed." He ordered.

       Ana stared daggers Alyssa as she strode from the interrogation room. Alyssa did not know what she did to draw the ire of such a woman or if that was her very nature, but either way she wished to never confront her again.

       "You shouldn’t worry about Ana. She’s a strong woman who takes her job far too seriously. She couldn’t be behind a desk at this point, no sir, but I have her under control. Now, back to the matter at hand lest of course you are not calmed down from the audacious libel you’ve endured?"

       Alyssa stared at the door and for a second, just a blink of an eye, questioned if she had the mental and physical fortitude to remove herself from her position, throw the door open and race from the prison. Her captivity, however brief, emboldened her as nothing had ever before. Was it the humiliation? The beatings? She dared not hazard a guess to the origins of her new found flame, but rather chose to embrace it.  Yet, rationality prevailed once more as she optioned to stay put.

       The Commander wore a toothy grin the first semblance of happiness she had seen. He laid his hat upon the table and positioned himself to speak frankly with Alyssa. "I am going to make you an offer Alyssa that you will find difficult to refuse. For, you see, refusal is the less desirable option of the two and hence the decision will be obvious to anyone who has not been diagnosed as a fool. I must ask then if it is even worth the effort to provide you with an option. You’d be the first in Singer to receive such an honor. Most here are resigned to their fates."

       Again the urge to flee bubbled inside her mind boiling her rationality nearly to breaking. She could feel herself gathering her courage without prompting. Would her body do what her mind was unwilling as it fought what was sensible? She needed to stifle these urges before they got out of hand.

       James. She thought of her son and the ability to see him once more even if from a far. It was all she needed to tune out the instinctual flight mentality and reaffirm her faith in finding her family.

       Alyssa closed her eyes and took herself back to a time of happiness. A time when her family was just a family and not subject to the Regime’s subjective whims. She could picture Bergden sitting at the kitchen table drinking his coffee and waiting for her to join him. James would be in his room reading his lessons and preparing for the school day. She would fry eggs on the stove and listen for the toast to be finished happily serving Bergden and calling James into the kitchen. The serenity of each morning came and went but it was what drove her happiness in such a desperate world.

       "Commander, I’m dare not say what I believe my choices to be in this prison, but I am willing to listen. If it means someday my life can return to some semblance of normalcy with my husband and my son then I will do what you ask. In my heart I do not believe that Bergden is dead and I do not believe my son will succumb to the pressures placed upon him by the Headmistress. We are a strong, proud family Commander. The Cranes of Blackwell do not break."

       The Commander was unmoved by her speech instead choosing to take the time to light a cigarette. He took an excessively long drag before sending a cloud of smoke from the corner of his lips taking care not to blow the smolder towards his prisoner’s face.  He gently dabbed the butt before squashing the flame dead.

       "I can assure you your life will never be the way it was my dear.  The Regime will see fit to that no matter the outcome of this investigation, but I believe you and I can come to some sort of agreement. Do you know what I’m thinking?"

       Alyssa shook her head silently.

       "I’m thinking that this report is exaggerated. I’m thinking that the Black Jack that put together this investigation used largely unfounded information. Normally, that wouldn’t matter as the Regime typically does not challenge the investigations put forth by its agents with any real effort. I see something different though. I see an opportunity that could benefit the both of us." He said reasoning with Alyssa.

       She worried where this was headed. It was not lost on her that senior leaders in the Regime often took advantage of prisoners for personal satisfactions. She was a young and attractive woman in a vulnerable state desperately seeking an escape from this hell.

       "As I said earlier you have two options, but only one takes you away from this place. I am offering to take you into my home."

       Her fears began to feel validated, but as the Commander continued she felt strangely...optimistic.

       "My wife Jocelyn and I will host you. I reviewed your record intensely and know that you are strong instructor. Your students perform remarkably well and often exceed Regime standards. I am going to place you in Kroft’s personal academy. We are in need of a new school mistress and I believe that you would serve him well."

       "And if I refuse?" Alyssa challenged.

       The Commander motioned to the door. Dr. Vossen stood tapping the glass with the butt of the pistol a devilish grin stretched from ear to ear.

       "Then I call Ana back in here and you never escape this hell. I assure you that you will be treated well in my home. I may call upon you for duties that may seem unorthodox. I can promise you there is a purpose for such things and if you should refuse then you will return here. Is that clear?"

       The door seemed further away that it had ever before. She doubted she’d survive another week in Singer, but she dreaded at what other duties the Commander had in mind. Was he going to make her break her marriage vows in some way or would it be something worse? He was not lying to say that she really had no alternative. Alyssa thought of the man in the cell on the way to the room. How he wasted away, forgotten. A man that once had a family much like her and a family that likely missed him. She did not want to fall victim to the same forgotten memories. She took a deep, heavy breath.

       "It is clear decision for me Commander. I will accept your offer. I only ask that I be allowed to see James and learn of what became of Bergden. It will pain me so if I cannot garnish some closure during my time with you and I fear that it will encumber my work."

       The Commander again was not moved by her pleas.

       "You’ll do well not to let that happen. You are not in a position to make demands Ms. Crane. You will do what I say, when I say it. This is an opportunity that many in here would kill for. I suggest you do not delay and try my patience any longer. Now, as a mistress in the Blackwell Academy you will gain access to some of the most important people in the Regime. You will do well not to forget that."

       The Commander rose from the table and pulled out his lighter. Holding the folder high he lit it aflame dumping the contents on the steel table.

       "Consider it a new beginning Ms. Crane. Ana? Please come in here and escort Ms. Crane through the back and to my cruiser."

       He turned his attention back to Alyssa.

       "A driver will drive get you to my residence in the countryside. You will be given a day or two to rest and recuperate. I will not have a mistress at the school bruised and battered."

       He bowed politely.

       "I bid you adieu and long live the Regime." He raised his hand in a salute.

       Shortly after the Commander exited Dr. Vossen marched in. Her demeanor had changed little and she grabbed Alyssa tightly and forced her towards the door.

       "Just remember sweetheart if you screw up once then you’re right back here with me and if you think for even a second I will take it easy then you have another thing coming." She warned.

       Alyssa didn’t bother to answer. Ana had blustered and boasted of her demise since she was first processed, but she was given a chance to free herself from these shackles. She could hear her go on and on about the pain she’d receive. Alyssa nodded her head before stopping cold. The man from before again reached out to her his hand clasping around an unknown object. She looked at him and past the pain she saw a man with hope. Somehow she knew that the man had discovered the Commander’s plan for her. He appeared to be mouthing something as she tried get closer. Suddenly, he shot out grasping at her clothes. Alyssa struggled to get free, but as Ana hit the poor man over and over he whispered to her.

       "He is not what he seems to be. Listen and watch closely."

Before he could speak another word Ana struck him knocking him out cold. Alyssa looked in bewilderment. She wanted to know more. What did the haggard man mean? She wanted to know more, but for the moment she just needed to continue her mission. Her mission to survive and see her family together once again.