Reborn Heart of Steel

The dim lighting of the room and the walls of the small space were penetrating deep into my feelings, along with the feeling of a heartbeat in my ears. It felt like I had been handcuffed, and I hadn’t even realized until now that my wrists were painful where the cuffs had been only moments before. The occurrences of the last few hours were spinning in my head like a roulette wheel and I still could not grasp what was truly happening. Detective Reeves disappeared from here nearly an hour ago, leaving me with nothing more than a brief round of questioning, which just served to enfeeble me further. I tried to tell him about The Raven, about the USB drive, about the danger of the city in the near future. The detective sighed at every word, but I knew disbelief was rising from his face with each word I said. Without proof, I was an illusion of the guilty party’s hustle, making tales that no one wanted to listen to. The door of the interrogation room opened with a loud sound which snapped me out from my thoughts. I glanced up thinking that perhaps Reeves was coming back in for his second round of drinking. Rather, my heart violently soared to my throat once I registered to enter the room with my parents alongside a rather large woman dressed in a formal black and white business outfit. “Mom? Dad?” I could barely say, my crying now drawing out a ragged sob at the end of each word. My mother began to run to me in what felt like slow motion, and it is not every day that you see your mother get this excited; the hug practically suffocated the air from my lungs. “Oh sweetheart,” my mom mumbled, her lips trembling from anxiety. “I’m alright you know, they haven’t harmed me. ” I put my head in the negative, my ability to cry threatened to surface. “It’s fine mom. ” She wiped her tears. “It’s okay, mom, I just… I’m sorry. ” My Father was standing a few steps behind me with that look on his face like he was trying his utmost to restrain his anger and deep-seated concern. “They will find out the truth Bri,” he answered with low, decided tones. “We always keep very close tabs on him and make sure he fits the right profile for this sort of thing. But I thought I warned you to stay away from this fight. This is not your fight, Bri. ” The woman in the suit looked at everyone and gestured towards her, an abrupt clearing of her throat. “I am sorry to butt in,” she said politely but strictly, “but actually, you do not have much time left before the detectives get back. My name is Evelyn Marsh, and your parents hired me as your lawyer. ”

I nodded, still attempting to gather my mental equilibrium back in an effort to put my thoughts in the right order. Ms. Marsh nodded, and I could only stare at her and say, “Thank you, Ms. Marsh. I… I don’t even know where to begin. ” “Okay, let me begin with the simple things,” suggested Evelyn, and created a new file on her leather portfolio. “Please let me know all the facts from the get-go and make sure not to spare even a single detail, even the one that you consider to be irrelevant. ” For the next half hour I talked telling my side of the story from the moment when I met Agent Harris to the horrible episode at the observatory. For some time, they remained simply silent, but their emotions gradually changed from surprise to despair when the entire scale of the problem became clear to them. When I finished, Evelyn leaned back in her chair, her forehead wrinkled, as she considered what I said. “This is… quite a story, Brianna, I won’t lie to you with no USB drive or anything like that. It will be quite difficult to tell the police that you are innocent. ” “But surely they can’t just ignore all of this” my father said, angrily interrupting me. In reply: There must be something we could do. Evelyn put her hand up to stop me, “Continue” she said with a look on her face that I could tell she was deep in thought. “There might be some. The reason why I’m asking this question is that you told me you have a friend named Zoe, and she was arrested earlier too. Have you been able to talk with her since then?” I shook my head. “Oh, no, they have been keeping us apart. Now I don’t even know where she is. ” “Well that is the first step then,” Evelyn wrote in her portfolio. “It is best if we talk to Zoe, cross your narratives and possibly find out what befell to that USB drive. We can try to back your story up that way . ” Suddenly, there was a loud knock on the door, and we were detained in our conversation. In stepped Detective Reeves and his face automatically wore a stern look as he focused on the scene before him. “I regret that I am going to have to ask all of you to move out,” he said in a very unfriendly manner. “Interrogation of the suspect still has to go on. ” Evelyn got up straight for her towering frame to be seen. Detective Reeves paused at her response and then nodded and said, “That will not be necessary lady. I am Evelyn Marsh, the lawyer for Ms. Brianna and my client will not be answering any more questions without me. ”

Reeves’ eyes narrowed. I don’t think you understand what you are dealing with here, counselor, this is a murder investigation. We have the right to questions to ask-” “You are being informed that you have the right to request an interview,” Evelyn interrupted, “which my client is not granting at this time. ” “Additionally”, I added, “I am hereby demanding a chance to talk to Zoe, who I understand is also in custody. They are co-defendants, and they should be able to speak with each other, if they wish to. ” The detective narrowed his eyes and stamped his foot, but he soon gave a short, stiff nod. “I’ll try to get this for you and, in the meantime, Brianna will be moved to a detention area. ” When two officers in uniforms came in to take me out, my mother grabbed my hand: she was crying. “Don’t worry sweetheart, we will sort this thing out soon,” It is another kind of soothing statement that one might give to a lady. I simply nodded as I attempted to muster a smile. “I will, Mom. I promise. ” As I was led down the corridor of my thoughts, the wheels began to spin in my head. The holding cell resembled a jail in a way; it was very cold, without any furniture except a bed and a small window with iron bars from which light entered the cell through a narrow opening in the ceiling. This was the first time I realized the gravity of the situation when the door slammed shut behind me. I found myself collapsing on the cot and putting my face on my hands. How then did everything go wrong? Only a few days ago, I was like any other college-going student with concerns as basic as the next examination. Now I was in a cell, awaiting a murder trial while a lunatic planned the destruction of a great city. Days spent away from the comfort of the house, each hour passing heavily, as if days. I walked back and forth in the limited space of my cell; my mind was tormented by concern for Chase, the rising fear for the city and the faint glimmer of hope that maybe Zoe would be able to tell something that could be useful. Last of all, the sound of footsteps rushing in the hallway brought me back from my worries. The cell door opened and standing across the prison’s hall was Evelyn Marsh, her face void of any emotion. “Come with me, Brianna,” she softly whispered. “There’s been a development. ”

My adrenaline rushed as I trailed behind her to a small conference room. When we entered, I exclaimed `Wow’ because of the pleasant surprise. I saw that Zoe was sitting at the table pale and thin, but she was alive, thank God. “Bri!” she exclaimed, getting up and wrapping her arms around me before throwing me a powerful punch in the arm. “Oh my God, I was so worried about you,” she said with a plastic look and nervous giggling. “I am fine,” I told her as I hugged her back as well. “What happened? Were you able to give the USB drive to Detective Reeves?” Zoe looked disappointed. Then, with her head down, she shook it. “I never got there. I was apprehended by some of The Raven’s men on my way to the station. They took the drive, Bri. I am so sorry. ” My stomach dropped. “Then we’re blank. I can’t find out anything that is going on behind the scenes. ” “Almost,” said Evelyn, but she said it very carefully, as if she was still not convinced. “Zoe, you remember I asked you what happened to the man who grabbed you?” Zoe’s eyes lit up. “Yeah, that’s right, Bri, one of the guys who attacked me I saw him clearly. It was that nasty cleaner, the one from our dorm, you know the one, the guy who always sneaked?” I frowned, thinking back. “Lay off the old man!” I exclaimed in surprise, “Mr. Finch? The old man with a limp?” Zoe nodded eagerly. “That’s exactly what she said, and he didn’t limp when he attacked me. I don’t know how to explain it. He seemed to move like a fighter or something. ” Evelyn angled towards her and scowled. “This is good, girls. It’s not proof , but it is a direction, something that the police will take seriously. If we can connect with this Mr. Finch to The Phoenix organization , then they will believe everything that you have been telling them. For the first time, I regained some hope that this nightmare would soon be over. “Well,” I asked, laughing, “now all we have to do is figure out what we want to do once we leave here. ” Evelyn remained standing, taking her papers. “Now I am going to Detective Reeves with this new information. Hopefully, it will be enough for him to start searching in the right way. Meanwhile, you two have to try harder to remember anything you know about this Mr. Finch or any other person connected to The Raven. “Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.