IceWave
Veteran Member
Give Me Liberty...
by Stephen Moore
All Rights Reserved.
-----
Chapter 3
David and Michelle strolled slowly down the path that circled the lake at the center of Park 129. Both were taking the beauty that surrounded them. Ducks swimming and quacking quietly, birds singing, squirrels playing tag in one of the trees, the sun shining down. The serenity of the morning stroll was suddenly broken with a voice from behind.
“And how are the Alexanders today?”
Both David and Michelle froze.
“I trust that you are enjoying the gift that the DFL has given to you.”
Still frozen in place, David could only manage to nod. Michelle hadn’t moved. The DFL agent walked around the scared couple and turned to face them.
“Now, now, there’s no reason to be scared. We’re not here to hurt you.”
As soon as David heard the word “we’re” he turned to look over his right shoulder and saw four agents behind him. They were all several inches over six feet tall and very muscular. They completely dwarfed David and Michelle who stood only five and a half feet each and had the physique of the malnourished. Dressed as they were in DFL brown suits and dark sunglasses, the agents created quite an intimidating sight. David turned back to the agent that had spoken to him and waited for his next words.
“I am Agent Alan DiFranco, DFL. So, are you two enjoying your walk here at the park?”
It was Michelle who timidly answered first.
“Yes. We really are. Thank you.”
“Well, then we won’t keep you from your walk much longer. But I wonder if you two would mind joining us for a few minutes first?”
As Agent DiFranco said these words, a black van with tinted windows had pulled up behind the group and one of the agents walked over to open the side door.
David and Michelle turned towards the sound of the door opening and realized the offer to join the agents only had one answer. They had to no place to run and their car was three miles back down the path. They glanced back at Agent DiFranco, then back at the van. Slowly, they started towards the van, their feet feeling like lead, their stomachs aching.
Once the couple was inside the van, the rest of the agents followed and sat wherever there was space left. Agent DiFranco hopped into the front passenger seat of the van and closed this door. Then the side door was closed and locked, and the driver pulled the van back onto the road and drove away slowly. They drove around the park back towards the main entrance, past the lot where David had parked. He and Michelle looked over and both saw that his car was gone. They both knew that whatever was to happen next, they weren’t coming back to Park 129.
The driver continued through the entrance and drove down the road to the highway on-ramp. He didn’t even stop for the checkpoint as all DFL vehicles were exempt from passport and travel voucher requirements. The van quickly accelerated and merged onto the highway, moving left into the restricted lane. David noticed they were heading west, the opposite direction from their home.
After speeding down the highway only ten minutes, the driver began to slow and move to the right in order to take the next exit. After exiting the highway, the driver turned right and drove the van another half mile before turning off the paved road onto a barely noticeable dirt road. The van shook, as did the passengers, as it was driven over the winding and bumpy road a quarter mile before being stopped at a checkpoint. This time, the driver did stop as he had to exit the vehicle and approach a guard house. After showing his ID badge and entering a code on a keypad, he returned to the van and began to drive through the gate which had been opened for him.
David and Michelle both saw the coils of razor wire that topped the fence and were on each side of it in 3 rows. They also noticed the guards were carrying rifles. Whatever this place was, it was made to be difficult to enter or exit.
The van proceeded through the parking lot and pulled up to what appeared to be the main building in a set of three. The driver put the vehicle in park and turned off the engine. Agent DiFranco got out of the van and tried to open the side door, forgetting it was locked. He pulled at the handle only to have it snap back. He then swore at the driver who quickly unlocked the door. Agent DiFranco then tried the side door agent and this time it opened effortlessly.
“Please follow me.”
David and Michelle slowly got out of the van and walked behind Agent DiFranco into the building, the other agents following only a few steps behind. The building they walked into was very luxuriously appointed, much more so that one would expect for being at the end of a dirt road. The light fixtures were all polished brass, the floor covered in fine tile. They walked up to a dark mahogany desk behind which sat another agent.
“Agent DiFranco reporting in.”
“Very good, the Director is in Room A waiting for you.”
David almost passed out when he heard the word director. The Director? Here? And he was waiting for them? This couldn’t be good. Agent DiFranco began to walk but turned when he didn’t hear footsteps.
“Come, come. We can’t keep the director waiting.”
David was nudged from behind and he began to shuffle forward. Michelle hadn’t moved and was pulling back on his hand which she hadn’t let go of since they were at the park. One of the agents saw this and gave her a push from behind that almost knocked her off her feet. Luckily David held fast and kept her from falling. Then they both started walking towards Agent DiFranco who then turned and lead them to Room A.
Agent DiFranco reached for the door to Room A and gave it a soft knock. The door was opened from inside and he stepped back.
“Okay, you two go inside and sit down. And don’t touch anything.”
The couple walked through the door, past 2 very large agents and sat down in the only two chairs available for them. The agent had meanwhile closed and locked the door and stood in front of it.
The room itself was finished very richly in a variety of fine woods, stone, and brass. The lighting was at a low level one might expect at a fancy dinner party. David couldn’t help but to look around, one hand on his leg, the other holding Michelle’s trembling hand. After a moment, he felt her squeeze his hand and as he turned back, he noticed that the chair on the opposite side of the desk was turning. It was the Director and he was being lit from above by a small halogen spotlight. David then noticed that behind the Director were two bodyguards holding MP5s. The MP5s were pointed past the Director directly towards their chairs. There was no chance anyone was going to do anything to the Director.
“Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Michael Richards and I am the Director of the Department of Freedom and Liberty.” And after a short pause, “But then again, I assume you two already knew that.”
The Alexanders both nodded and the director continued.
“You have been summed here as there’s something I wish to discuss with you.”
With that statement the Director leaned forward and put his hands on a heretofore unnoticed black cloth that was on the desk. He then pinched the corners of the cloth farthest from him in his fingers and pulled black the cloth revealing two items. A gold necklace and a small book.
Michelle began to shake violently and cry. David felt a lump in his throat and had to fight back the feeling of nausea that completely enveloped him. These were contraband items. The necklace belonged to Michelle’s mother and Michelle kept it when her mother died. Gold in any form, including jewelry, was forbidden to own (David and Michelle had matching stainless steel DFL approved wedding rings) and carried with it severe punishments but Michelle never turned it in, keeping it hidden. She hadn’t kept it hidden well enough though.
The book was titled “A Pocket Copy of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution for the United States of America” This was also outlawed as were all books that didn’t come from the DFL Printing Office. But this book was special. Not only was it not an approved DFL Printing Office book, it was also considered “Highly Subversive Literature” and carried with it a potential penalty of death. David had no idea why he even kept except that it was a gift from his now deceased father. He had never even read it as he promised his father he would. He looked back at the director with a tear in his eye.
The Director looked at Michelle who was still crying, and then at David who had become very pale. The Director leaned back in his chair, the leather creaking.
“So, David. Michelle. I think we have something to talk about.”
by Stephen Moore
All Rights Reserved.
-----
Chapter 3
David and Michelle strolled slowly down the path that circled the lake at the center of Park 129. Both were taking the beauty that surrounded them. Ducks swimming and quacking quietly, birds singing, squirrels playing tag in one of the trees, the sun shining down. The serenity of the morning stroll was suddenly broken with a voice from behind.
“And how are the Alexanders today?”
Both David and Michelle froze.
“I trust that you are enjoying the gift that the DFL has given to you.”
Still frozen in place, David could only manage to nod. Michelle hadn’t moved. The DFL agent walked around the scared couple and turned to face them.
“Now, now, there’s no reason to be scared. We’re not here to hurt you.”
As soon as David heard the word “we’re” he turned to look over his right shoulder and saw four agents behind him. They were all several inches over six feet tall and very muscular. They completely dwarfed David and Michelle who stood only five and a half feet each and had the physique of the malnourished. Dressed as they were in DFL brown suits and dark sunglasses, the agents created quite an intimidating sight. David turned back to the agent that had spoken to him and waited for his next words.
“I am Agent Alan DiFranco, DFL. So, are you two enjoying your walk here at the park?”
It was Michelle who timidly answered first.
“Yes. We really are. Thank you.”
“Well, then we won’t keep you from your walk much longer. But I wonder if you two would mind joining us for a few minutes first?”
As Agent DiFranco said these words, a black van with tinted windows had pulled up behind the group and one of the agents walked over to open the side door.
David and Michelle turned towards the sound of the door opening and realized the offer to join the agents only had one answer. They had to no place to run and their car was three miles back down the path. They glanced back at Agent DiFranco, then back at the van. Slowly, they started towards the van, their feet feeling like lead, their stomachs aching.
Once the couple was inside the van, the rest of the agents followed and sat wherever there was space left. Agent DiFranco hopped into the front passenger seat of the van and closed this door. Then the side door was closed and locked, and the driver pulled the van back onto the road and drove away slowly. They drove around the park back towards the main entrance, past the lot where David had parked. He and Michelle looked over and both saw that his car was gone. They both knew that whatever was to happen next, they weren’t coming back to Park 129.
The driver continued through the entrance and drove down the road to the highway on-ramp. He didn’t even stop for the checkpoint as all DFL vehicles were exempt from passport and travel voucher requirements. The van quickly accelerated and merged onto the highway, moving left into the restricted lane. David noticed they were heading west, the opposite direction from their home.
After speeding down the highway only ten minutes, the driver began to slow and move to the right in order to take the next exit. After exiting the highway, the driver turned right and drove the van another half mile before turning off the paved road onto a barely noticeable dirt road. The van shook, as did the passengers, as it was driven over the winding and bumpy road a quarter mile before being stopped at a checkpoint. This time, the driver did stop as he had to exit the vehicle and approach a guard house. After showing his ID badge and entering a code on a keypad, he returned to the van and began to drive through the gate which had been opened for him.
David and Michelle both saw the coils of razor wire that topped the fence and were on each side of it in 3 rows. They also noticed the guards were carrying rifles. Whatever this place was, it was made to be difficult to enter or exit.
The van proceeded through the parking lot and pulled up to what appeared to be the main building in a set of three. The driver put the vehicle in park and turned off the engine. Agent DiFranco got out of the van and tried to open the side door, forgetting it was locked. He pulled at the handle only to have it snap back. He then swore at the driver who quickly unlocked the door. Agent DiFranco then tried the side door agent and this time it opened effortlessly.
“Please follow me.”
David and Michelle slowly got out of the van and walked behind Agent DiFranco into the building, the other agents following only a few steps behind. The building they walked into was very luxuriously appointed, much more so that one would expect for being at the end of a dirt road. The light fixtures were all polished brass, the floor covered in fine tile. They walked up to a dark mahogany desk behind which sat another agent.
“Agent DiFranco reporting in.”
“Very good, the Director is in Room A waiting for you.”
David almost passed out when he heard the word director. The Director? Here? And he was waiting for them? This couldn’t be good. Agent DiFranco began to walk but turned when he didn’t hear footsteps.
“Come, come. We can’t keep the director waiting.”
David was nudged from behind and he began to shuffle forward. Michelle hadn’t moved and was pulling back on his hand which she hadn’t let go of since they were at the park. One of the agents saw this and gave her a push from behind that almost knocked her off her feet. Luckily David held fast and kept her from falling. Then they both started walking towards Agent DiFranco who then turned and lead them to Room A.
Agent DiFranco reached for the door to Room A and gave it a soft knock. The door was opened from inside and he stepped back.
“Okay, you two go inside and sit down. And don’t touch anything.”
The couple walked through the door, past 2 very large agents and sat down in the only two chairs available for them. The agent had meanwhile closed and locked the door and stood in front of it.
The room itself was finished very richly in a variety of fine woods, stone, and brass. The lighting was at a low level one might expect at a fancy dinner party. David couldn’t help but to look around, one hand on his leg, the other holding Michelle’s trembling hand. After a moment, he felt her squeeze his hand and as he turned back, he noticed that the chair on the opposite side of the desk was turning. It was the Director and he was being lit from above by a small halogen spotlight. David then noticed that behind the Director were two bodyguards holding MP5s. The MP5s were pointed past the Director directly towards their chairs. There was no chance anyone was going to do anything to the Director.
“Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Michael Richards and I am the Director of the Department of Freedom and Liberty.” And after a short pause, “But then again, I assume you two already knew that.”
The Alexanders both nodded and the director continued.
“You have been summed here as there’s something I wish to discuss with you.”
With that statement the Director leaned forward and put his hands on a heretofore unnoticed black cloth that was on the desk. He then pinched the corners of the cloth farthest from him in his fingers and pulled black the cloth revealing two items. A gold necklace and a small book.
Michelle began to shake violently and cry. David felt a lump in his throat and had to fight back the feeling of nausea that completely enveloped him. These were contraband items. The necklace belonged to Michelle’s mother and Michelle kept it when her mother died. Gold in any form, including jewelry, was forbidden to own (David and Michelle had matching stainless steel DFL approved wedding rings) and carried with it severe punishments but Michelle never turned it in, keeping it hidden. She hadn’t kept it hidden well enough though.
The book was titled “A Pocket Copy of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution for the United States of America” This was also outlawed as were all books that didn’t come from the DFL Printing Office. But this book was special. Not only was it not an approved DFL Printing Office book, it was also considered “Highly Subversive Literature” and carried with it a potential penalty of death. David had no idea why he even kept except that it was a gift from his now deceased father. He had never even read it as he promised his father he would. He looked back at the director with a tear in his eye.
The Director looked at Michelle who was still crying, and then at David who had become very pale. The Director leaned back in his chair, the leather creaking.
“So, David. Michelle. I think we have something to talk about.”