Chapter 6: 2541

 Rick

    It’s only my first week on the job, and they put me on security detail on one of their most prized pieces. I don’t know what it is yet. But I hear it’s a big fish. We are low on staff. Two guys retired, and one got hurt on the job, so they pulled me over. I am top of my class and graduated with honors. Even still, they never move newbies over to the black building. Too top secret. But I know not to ask questions. do…as…you’re …told… I am given my badge number, 2541. That’s now my name here. 2541. We do not use words in the black building. We can’t have any criminals knowing who we are. I do not have much of a back story. I am, in essence, no one. Like many, I feel like I have no real purpose. So I’ve made my job my purpose in life, and I guess I am alright with that. I don’t have much choice. I'm not good at much else. Some people are unique, and I’m not one of them.

       On my first day on the job, I am to change the bedsheets In one of the black rooms. That’s my job. Easy enough. I don’t get to see who they have stayed here. I am just the maid for now until they trust me. But I am sure it is a female. The body odor doesn't smell like a male, making me wonder what she did to end up here. 

      It doesn't matter in the end, whatever she did. It must have been harmful to end up in the black building. I've heard stories of the criminals that end up here. You never hear about them on the news. Top secret cases the government doesn't want the people to hear about. People with unique abilities, people who say they have been abducted by aliens and show signs of actually having been taken, people who the government can't have out in the general population. I've never seen one before, though. Not sure if the stories are even true. It seems more likely that it would be hulks like madmen or those who have good ass secrets that the FBI and CIA can't have getting out but also can't risk losing the person either. So they keep them around for information. I get paid. It's honest work. That's all that matters. All a man can do in life is simple work. 

     I look over the schedule for today, and again, I am changing sheets. Now I never look past my schedule. Ever. I'm not supposed to. I can't tell you why I got it in me to look past my schedule. But I did. I saw on the schedule medication dosage injection on patient "H." The name of the medication was: Apomorphine. Noted as given daily in the back of the neck, this note was in all caps and bold letters. This person has to be crazy and kept under high security. Her entire profile has a strict schedule. I don't have much more time to look at it before the next guard comes in to take a look at his plan, and I hand it off.

I grab my gear and head off. The last thing I saw was that she was, in fact, a female. Guess I was right about that, but what struck me as odd wasn't that she is on medication is that she is tiny as all get out. They have her listed as 5'5 and 126 pounds, and under threat, it said: EXTREME! I don't understand these government people sometimes. They can be so over the top. Hurry up, and then wait—very much over-planning for a one-person party. Working for the government pays well enough. It's about the benefits and job security at the end of the day, not about work satisfaction and happiness. Most you ask won't tell you they are happy. I am just honest. Government work is about the mission, not about the quality of life and being happy. We all put on our faces and keep it pushing until we reach the age where we get to retire and be old and miserable. Life indeed is wasted on the young. But you'll never understand that when you're young. One of the many flaws of life we as a species have yet to figure out, I guess.  Maybe we haven't meant to. Hey, you know, perhaps this girl figured it out, and they locked her up so she can't tell anyone. Maybe that would be something. 

    I work my shift, and today the change is different than the rest. The sheets smell like piss. Which makes me think she either put up a fight, or they gave her too much of that medication. They have a doctor here, so I don't think it's the second. But I don't see how she could put up a fight either. Maybe she just decided to give us a big "FU" and take a pisser on the bed. Hahaha. Well, funny girl. I am the one cleaning it up. But I good you felt good about it. We haven't allowed using any other color other than black. Guess they want everything to look as bleak and dark as possible. We also have to use unscented detergent. This place is worse than prison. No tv, no music, just a room, a door, a toilet, and a sink all together in a soundproof room. What you don't notice is the room is thermal. It has heat recognition and can tell even the slightest change in body temperature

The mirror is two-way except for the one next to the bed. That one is mounted next to the bed and is exceptional. Not sure what it is for exactly. There are five hidden cameras in the room and a light above the door, which an operator controls. There is always an operator on shift who stalks the occupant. If I worked here longer, I would know everyone well enough to get in and find out more information. But I don't, and even so, everyone here is so severe. I don't talk to anyone. Just keep my head down and do what I am told.

     Today I've decided I'll break a minor rule and add fabric softer to the sheets to help get the pee smell out. It's nothing big, but in life, sometimes, the little things can uplift even the lowest person, and I hope she notices.