Captive

My helmet and headset were off before my feet even hit the ground. I was greeted with a row of soldiers who saluted me in synchrony. Then Major General Muller personally welcomed me.

“We’re glad you’re okay, officer. I need you to come with me, we have some questions we need you to answer,” he said to me in his usual flat tone.

I was expecting to be asked questions, but the way he took my arm was a little unorthodox.

“Officers, take Captain Shaw to the clinic to be checked up then to the interrogation room. We’ll be there shortly. She may be offered food and water in the meantime,” the General ordered and my eyes widened.

I couldn’t understand why I was being treated like a criminal. I knew it was protocol, but God did his words upset me. The interrogation room, really?

I wasn’t handcuffed nor forcefully taken, but the two officers followed their orders, steering me gently. I looked over my shoulder and saw Greg taking off his helmet and Crosby being escorted right behind me.

The infamous traitor’s smug face crossed my mind at that moment.

*****

Following a routine physical examination, I spent two hours recounting my story to one senior officer after the other. They wanted to rule out any possibility of me “sympathizing with the enemy.” I get that. But what I had difficulty grasping was the line of questioning they used. I knew that tone all too well; it was the one used with enemies of the state, in other terms, traitors.

I was very tired. All the excitement of being free was currently being crushed and stepped on by no other than my own diligent people.

It was when I was finally given a break that Greg came to see me.

“What the fuck is going on here, Greg!”

Greg gave me a stern look. We may be friends, but that shouldn’t give me the right to disrespect a senior officer.

I was too aggravated to apologize though. So, I crossed my arms and waited for some sort of explanation.

“There were videos released a few weeks back,” Greg said as he rubbed his forehead.

“Yes, I know. Like I said, they made Crosby say those things. He told me himself, go ask him.”

“Shaw, calm down. Everyone here believes you.”

“Then why doesn’t it feel this way?”

“What you had told us and Crosby has indeed confirmed was not what we saw.”

“What do you mean?” I asked surprised.

“One of the videos we received shows you sitting on a couch and watching men bring in Sidney Crosby handcuffed and blindfolded.”

“So what?” I was at a loss.

“They came from untraceable sources. The sender must have a deep knowledge of our digital intel operations. What you told us about Hassan Kadri may explain this.”

No shit, I thought.

“Listen, Shaw, you are an honorable officer, the Forces have no doubt about it. All that we’re doing here is simply piecing together the truth of what really happened.”

“But it seems that the Forces have been questioning my integrity for the past few months!”

“No, I can reassure you that was not the case,” Greg said, clearly exasperated. “You both talked about the Ali brothers and Hassan Kadri wanting their freedom in exchange for yours, right?”

I nodded.

“And we believe you. But the strange thing is that the Ali brothers were transported back home a week after your abduction. Also, Kadri was found dead three weeks ago at the Syrian borders.”

Hearing this made me realize how the story of a hostage exchange may be a little confusing to the Forces.

“We’re exploring any possible ties between him and the brothers. But so far, we’ve got nothing. Claiming they’re his brothers was likely a fabricated lie to earn your sympathy.”

I covered my face and planted my head on the table. “That was his game plan all along, wasn’t it?”

Three long months and two hours of excruciating interrogation later, the reason behind our abduction finally became clear. The clouds have dissipated to reveal the bright truth of Hassan’s play.

“Kadri, that bastard! He had us believe that it was a hostage situation all the while plotting to make me, another CAFs officer, look bad. Of course, I was the perfect target because I had every incentive to betray the army that couldn’t save my brother’s life.”

“We actually got a tip saying that you wanted to avenge your brother’s death,” Greg said pensively.

“And you believed it?”

“Not for one second, Mia. No one here thinks that you are blaming the Forces for Josh’s death. It was a ridiculous claim,” Greg said as he took a seat next to me.

He placed his hand on my arm and I involuntarily flinched.

“I guess Kadri died long before finishing up his plan. We will question Kassem when he gets better. But we may never be able to get to the bottom of what Kadri was plotting. Not only did he betray us to join ISIS, but he had many agendas. We’ve only scratched the surface. If the sophisticated tactics used during your abduction are any indication, he was up to no good,” Greg said, pressing his lips together. “But what I don’t quite understand is why Crosby?”

“I think Crosby was just the cherry on the cake. Kidnapping someone like him goes to say that our Armed Forces fail to protect their citizens once again, even the high profile ones. It makes us look bad. That’s what he wanted ever since he was caught and kicked out of the Forces.”

Upon my request, Greg showed me the videos that were clearly cropped and manipulated to show what Hassan wanted the world to believe. I could see how they may have misinterpreted the facts.

The footages were all taken in the mailman’s house, showing how “friendly” I was being with the enemy. Crosby was nowhere to be seen except for when Hassan’s men brought him to the house after the deal I made. I was portrayed as the abductor somehow.

The video they made Crosby record only showed him saying that he was taken as a hostage, with no mention of the Ali brothers.

We’ve been played, badly. But it didn’t matter now, it shouldn’t. The Armed Forces believed us. What about the rest of the world though? These videos have apparently been leaked and gone viral on social media.

“Crosby seemed quite traumatized,” Greg said, breaking my thoughts.

“How did his evaluation go?”

“Well, I believe.”

“Is he being questioned still?” I eagerly asked.

“No. We gave him a room and a computer to connect with his parents. You’re in luck that the Internet is back on, it’s been down for four days.”

*****

At the end of the interrogation, Greg and General Muller have reassured me that the Forces will take all the necessary actions to end any speculations about my loyalty to my country.

As they made their way out, a familiar face peeked through the open door. Her teary eyes contrasted the broad smile that I thought I would never get to see again.

“Miller.” I gave my friend a long overdue hug. Tara remained silent, but the way she held on to me said it all.

Once our tears subsided, my friend and right hand took two steps back to salute me. “Welcome back, Captain Shaw,” she grinned.

“It’s good to be back, Lieutenant,” I answered as I hugged her once again. “They had me believe that you were all dead,” I sniffled as Tara rubbed my back.

“We’re fine. You need to rest. But before you do, your parents are waiting for you to call. I’ve been on the phone with them ever since Colonel Siegel told them we found you.”

The hustle and bustle of the base at noon filled my ears as we walked down the halls towards our wing. New faces turned, some smiled, others came to welcome me back home.

“Sidney Crosby is in this room. We’ve been told not to disturb him,” Tara pointed to a room a few doors away from ours.

“Is it true that you shared the same cell?” she whispered, her tone full of intrigue.

“That is true.”

“What is he like?”

“He’s... well, like normal, I mean. I don’t know.”

Tara gave me a look, but before she could comment on my stuttering, Colonel Jake Brown appeared out of nowhere and gave me a bone-crushing hug.

“There you are,” our Chief Medical Officer said, his voice oddly emotional.

“Colonel Brown, how have you been?”

“I’m much better knowing that you’re okay,” he said with his hands clutching my shoulders. He bent his head down, “our team was not the same without you.”

I didn’t need to look to know that Tara was rolling her eyes. She never really approved of Jake and I. Her reasons were valid though. Our relationship would have gotten us into trouble if someone on the Forces were to find out. While this was the exact reason why I ended things, it didn’t change how I felt about him.

“Captain Riley said you’re doing well. Were you hurt in any other way, Shaw?” He asked with concern.

“No, I’m fine.”

Jake sighed, worry painted his handsome face. “Let’s go to my office and talk. I need to hear what happened from you, Mia.”

“Colonel Brown, with all due respect, sir, Captain Shaw hasn’t spoken to her parents yet,” Tara interjected.

“Oh, then go now, we’ll talk later, okay?” he said before giving me a long hug that certainly went beyond professional. His face wasn’t in my hair by accident.

“Mr. Crosby. Welcome back,” I heard Tara say. “Lieutenant Miller, I’m a Nursing Officer with Captain Shaw.”

I broke our embrace and looked over my shoulder to see Crosby standing in the door and awkwardly shaking Tara’s hand.

“Hey,” Crosby said nodding my way, but his eyes were solely on Jake who was still quite close to me.

“Mr. Crosby, like I said before, you should be resting,” Jake said. Oh, he must have been the doctor who examined him this morning.

“Captain Shaw, you need some rest, too,” Jake said, his tone was more formal this time. “We’ll talk after,” he whispered in my ear. “Take care, Mr. Crosby.”

Crosby’s eyes were still trained on our senior doctor as he walked away.

“Hey, so you spoke with your family?” I asked, getting his attention back.

“Yeah, it took a while to convince them that coming here is not worth it since the General said I’ll be flying home tomorrow night. You?” he said, stepping closer to me.

“Not yet, they just finished questioning me,” I said as I looked at him for the first time in three hours that certainly felt like three years.

Anger flashed suddenly in his eyes, “Did you hear what that motherfucker Hassan has done?” he said between gritted teeth then looked at Tara with wide eyes, “I’m so sorry, Officer,” he said embarrassed. Tara smiled and shook her head.

“I guess we now know what happened,” I said with a sigh. “They’re gonna talk to Kassem and Zahra this afternoon. Hopefully, we’ll get the whole story then.”

Crosby sighed, his lips set in a line, but his gaze never left mine. We just stared at one another, and although I had many things to say and many questions to ask, it would have to wait.

Tara cleared her throat, “Captain Shaw, Karen is going to kill me, they’ve been waiting impatiently to talk to you.”

“I’m going to sleep, I’m exhausted. I’ll see you later?” Crosby said softly. I could have sworn that I saw his hand move towards me but he caught himself before touching me.

“Yes, of course. I’m gonna call my parents then get some sleep,” I said pointing to my door. I tucked my hair behind my ear nervously and gave him a small smile and wave.

“Will you be going home?” Crosby asked me before I got too far, and I didn’t miss the distress in his voice. I knew that tone.

“I don’t know yet. I need to sort some things out first.”

Notes