I presented my monetary system to the grand commander. He was pleased with the new bills but cared little for my ideas about how to raise revenue for the government. He insisted he had a plan in place already.
—The journal of Isaac Ryland
A dull pain in Andrew’s arm woke him up. It was pitch-black outside; he couldn’t even see the stars. That was when Andrew realized he wasn’t outside. He was in a room. His hands and feet were tied together, but he forced himself upright and took in his surroundings.
It was too dark to see much. The room he was in was the size of a closet and he saw light shine from a crack. He assumed that must be the door. He pushed himself up onto his knees and tried to feel for a handle.
“I heard a noise,” someone said.
“He’s awake already?” another voice asked. “That tranquilizer should have taken a few more hours. You better get Mikey.”
Andrew heard footsteps. He saw the light under the door break. Someone was coming to the closet.
“Are you awake in there?”
Andrew didn’t respond.
“Oh, come on,” the voice said.
The door flew open and Andrew didn’t wait to look at his newest captor before lunging forward and throwing his shoulder into the man’s knee. The man let out a yelp and moved out of the way. Andrew tried to push himself up but felt a blow to his gut as the man kicked him.
“That really hurt!”
Andrew felt his legs curl up and he gasped for breath.
“The guy tried to take out my knee,” the man yelled.
“So you kicked him in the gut?”
“He’s a government agent, what does it matter?”
“That other guy said he wasn’t,” a voice said.
Andrew forced his eyes open. The two men arguing looked somewhere between forty and fifty, and they were covered in dirt and wore similar outfits: tight pants with boots and long-sleeved shirts. Andrew saw he had been in a closet, now he glanced around the rest of the room. It was small and led right outside; there was no door. Part of the ceiling was missing and Andrew could see the stars.
“What’s your name?”
Andrew glared up at the man. He wasn’t about to give any information to someone who’d just attacked him.
“I’m JR and the man who kicked you is Dustin.”
JR bent down and hoisted Andrew up by the shoulders.
“I would like to cut off your ropes, but I need you to promise me you won’t hurt us again. If you do that, or try to run, I will harm your friends. Do you understand?”
Andrew nodded. The man pulled out a hunting knife and sawed through the ropes around Andrew’s hands; he bent down and did the same with his feet. Andrew had the perfect opportunity to kick the man in the head, but the size of the knife and the power behind his threat told Andrew not to.
“How come he’s awake so soon?” JR asked.
“I’ve been drugged before,” Andrew said. “Maybe I built up a tolerance.”
JR scratched his head.
“Why did that other agent call you a traitor?” Dustin asked.
“I’m not sure,” Andrew said.
“So are you a government agent?” JR asked.
Andrew glanced back and forth between the two men. He was about to lie when he took a good hard look at his situation. If these men stole a government vehicle they didn’t have much respect for RAG agents.
“No,” Andrew said.
“Then what are you?” JR asked.
“I am here to stop the Registry and mandatory service.”
The two men looked at Andrew and then each other. Andrew thought about the absurdity of the statement he’d just made. After everything he had been through his whole life could be summed up in one outrageous statement. He started to shake his head and laugh. At first JR and Dustin looked at him like he was crazy, but soon they joined in with him.
The three laughed for quite a while. Andrew had to keel over at one point and wipe the tears from his eyes. Dustin started clapping and stamping his boot up and down. Soon it slowed and the silence was deafening.
“You might be the craziest person I have ever met,” Dustin said. “And I mean that whether you’re lying or telling the truth. Are you hungry?”
“Starving,” Andrew said.
“JR is going to get us some food, maybe a drink or two, then I want you to tell me everything there is to know about you and your little traveling party,” Dustin said.
“I look forward to it,” Andrew said.
He meant it. Andrew wasn’t certain these men would believe him, or let him live, but if he was about to die he looked forward to passing on his story before he left this world.