Benji

One of the electric lights was dying. Vanessa was busy fiddling with the complex locks and codes barring the door in front of them so he was forced to stand there, under the flickering, buzzing light. Why hadn’t they fixed it? It was like one of those muscle twitches, just hovering out of reach with no immediate way to fix it. A quick flick of the wrist saw his personal computer slip into his hand and, as Vanessa cursed over the final code for the door, a quiet doorbell sound echoed through the corridor. Message sent. The light flickered.

The walls of the Smith McGregor mental cells were not sound proof. This was a manoeuvre on the part of the founder, James Smith McGregor, before the war, so that problems in the singular holding bays could be sought out and dealt with quickly. At its height over two-hundred screams and groans had echoed through these corridors. Leaking pipes and occasional creak of the floors above had taken their place. Most had been moved on, sentenced properly or…but there were still a few down here that wore worth their time. Cell 162. Why they kept him so far away from the elevator was something Gregory had never figured out.

A hiss, a snap and a sigh from Vanessa let a sharp shaft of light beam across the man inside. Benjamin Gilles, prisoner 2953. Gregory’s lip curled a little. Oh he was important but worth their time? The man hadn’t talked in the last two years, treating all questioners with a stony silence or, on a number of dates that had no pattern to speak of, a smug, satisfied smile. They’d stopped questioning him regularly. He was just too creepy. They afforded him a single visit a month and solitary confinement had done little to loosen his tongue.

“You know the drill, Benji.” It was obvious Gregory thought he was wasting his time. The quiet scratching of Vanessa’s pen on paper sounded from the corner. Benjamin didn’t move. “We want you to talk, and you have no idea how tempted the higher-ups are to just leave you down here to starve.”

It was a lie. Benjamin knew it too, and the corner of his mouth jerked up into a crooked smile. Vanessa noted it but Gregory didn’t seem to notice. “You were there in the war. We want to know what you heard, the plans, why it hasn’t stopped. Benji, you know what you stand to gain…”

He was getting through to him. Before this, Benjamin had never reacted to questioning other than to smile, but this time his breathing had become ragged. Gregory glanced triumphantly at Vanessa, who ignored him in favour of watching Benjamin, and continued. “We can get you out, a clean slate…money. A home. You’ll be free, Benji, and all this will be behind you. You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

It took Gregory a moment to realise that Benji’s shaking wasn’t madness, or even tears. No, the man was laughing, laughing, as his rocking stopped. Thin arms remained wrapped around his waist but Gregory still took a step or two backwards as the prisoner slowly raised his head, grey eyes shining with insanity. “Oh yes, keep thinking she’s dead.” He got out through a trilling giggle, the right side of his mouth twitching higher than the left. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you, for her to be? Oh but she’s not, she’s not, and you’ll never find her.”

The last few words were said in a taunting lilt, before the giggles took over once again and Gregory looked away in disgust. Who could have guessed the man before him was once, years ago, one of the most feared in the country. It was disappointing; he’d been expecting more from Benjamin Gilles.

“He’s useless. Leave him here.” Vanessa, who’d been jotting down notes gave him a mildly curious look from under her rectangular glasses.


“But sir, he’s talking, and he hasn’t in – “

“It’s nothing of importance. Burn the notes.” Gregory’s heels snapped against the lino floor as he walked out, simply assuming everything would be put back in its proper place without him.

A soft sigh escaped heavily painted lips as Vanessa flipped her notebook shut, checked her watch, and decided she deserved an early lunch break. Maybe a smoke, if she could bring herself to. With practised ease she ignored Benji’s giggles and mutters as she cleaned her glasses off and slid them atop her head. As far as she was concerned the mad-man might as well have been some broken piece of equipment, only of interest as long as it worked. Benji wasn’t working, Vanessa was out of here. It took no codes to re-lock the door but she didn’t want to be blamed if the crazy guy got loose. She always watched the doors close and lock before leaving, and today was no exception. The last lock slid shut with a hiss, and she turned to go, only to stop in her tracks. Benjamin wasn’t laughing. The hallways was silent. She was definitely out of here.

The hall light above no longer flickered.

AN: Well, it stemmed from a plotbunny Evie threw at me a little while back. I kinda liked it so decided, in my sickness, to lengthen it a little. I'm actually...kinda happy with it. Without having re-read or had it beta read, of course!

Well, tell me what you think?