Hush Harbor by Anise Vance

Author:Anise Vance
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hanover Square Press
Published: 2023-07-07T13:44:13+00:00

* * *

The guards tied the bomber’s ankles and wrists to a chair before letting Jeremiah see him. His body remained limp and his eyes stayed closed. The guards asked, several times, if Jeremiah would like one of them to stay in the room. Jeremiah politely declined. He only intended to have a brief conversation. Poke a little. Maybe he’d get lucky and the bomber would slip. Jeremiah wanted just one piece of information: John Marbury’s location.

Jeremiah took a seat across from the bomber and studied him. Early twenties. Almost handsome. The face of a former high school athlete who tried rugby in college. Angled and broad. A little stubble. Tanned, in the manner of white people who hiked. Jeremiah imagined the bomber shotgunning beer on a fraternity lawn. The image made sense; the one in front of him did not.

One of the bomber’s eyelids fluttered open. He cackled and tilted his head to the ceiling. He hummed a lullaby Jeremiah could not quite place. When he finished, he lowered his chin and glared.

“Jeremiah Prince,” he said. “Unbelievable.”

“What’s your name?”

The bomber balked and shifted his head sideways.

“It’s not a trick question,” Jeremiah said. “We already have you imprisoned. I just want to know what to call you.”

The bomber sniffed. “Samuel. You can call me Samuel.”

Jeremiah recognized the lie and thought it silly. What difference did it make if he was Samuel or Bill or Daniel? No matter the name, the boy had attempted to bomb them. Jeremiah wondered if he could make him feel remorse. To break him down to a core humanity. How long would it take? What would it prove? Maybe it couldn’t be done. What would be proven then?

“Okay, Samuel,” Jeremiah said. “You almost killed hundreds of people today.”

“You got lucky.”

“Yes. We did.”

“No. You. Specifically.”

“How so?”

Samuel tongued his upper lip.

“Your boy with the notebook. He spied me following you. Kept checking me out like I was his type.”

Jeremiah curled his toes. He took a moment to suppress his unease.

“I’m not surprised. You don’t exactly fit in.”

Samuel grimaced. “I should’ve set it off right away. But I saw the big fish. I’d be a legend if I took you down.” He cocked his head and smirked. “Guess you’ll be someone else’s prize.”

Jeremiah let Samuel’s words slide by. He centered on his own aims. He kept silent until the moment reached calm. Then, he found his angle.

“You must feel...strange.”

Samuel flicked his gaze to and away from Jeremiah. Quick enough for Jeremiah to know he’d hit a truth. He went on.

“You must feel disappointment. Rage. Confusion, even.” He let Samuel stew. A handful of seconds floated by. “Nothing in your plan prepared you to be alive.”

“You don’t know anything about me.”

Jeremiah could tell Samuel did not quite believe his own statement.

“What I know is that you planned to do something you thought was heroic. Then, you failed. And now you’re wondering why you feel a hint of relief.”

Samuel tried to laugh and sputtered instead.

“Are you my fucking psychologist?”

“I’m someone who understands your dilemma.

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