see him?” I look back at the men in the hall. “He was right there—did you see him? You must have walked right past him!” I’m shouting now. “He was a man without a face—did you see him?”
The men look at each other, and one of them, an Asian man, raises an eyebrow. They think I’m crazy.
“Easy, Mikey, there’s nobody there. Okay? Just take it easy.”
“Don’t tell me to take it easy.” I’m supposed to be convincing them I’m sane, not freaking out like this. “It was just … a joke, Devon, it was just a joke.” That’s a stupid line, of course he won’t believe it. I crane my neck to see over the men to the hall beyond. The Faceless Man might be just out of sight behind a corner.
“These are the men I told you about,” says Devon, walking to the gate. I hear the beeps as he punches in the code, but they all sound the same; I can’t guess the numbers from the sounds. The men come through and Devon closes the gate behind them. “They’re here to see you, Michael, they’re from the FBI.”
My blood grows cold.
“I’m Agent Leonard,” says the tall one, and points to the Asian. “This is my partner, Agent Chu. We’d like to have a word with you if we could.”
“I didn’t kill anyone.”
“We never said you did.”
“You think I’m the Red Line Killer, that’s why you’re here, but I’m innocent—I’ve never killed anybody. I’ve never even hurt anybody.”
“We just want to talk to you,” says Agent Chu. “We’re hoping you might be able to help us.”
Devon stands next to me. “He’s not exactly … healthy … right now. I don’t know what you expect to learn from him.”
“Dr. Little explained his condition when we spoke with him,” says Agent Leonard. “We understand that he’s crazy—”
“We don’t use that word,” says Devon quickly.
“I apologize,” says Leonard. “Is there a room we could go to?”
Devon leads them to one of the private therapy rooms, a small room with a round table and a ring of plastic chairs. I don’t follow, but Devon comes back and pulls me toward it, coaxing me with a promise of candy.
“Does that work on the other patients?” I ask.
“Just come on,” says Devon, “they’re not going to hurt you, they just want to ask you some questions.”
I stand in the doorway, bracing myself against the wall so he can’t push me in. “Cell phones out first.”
“What?”
“No cell phones, no recorders, no electronic devices of any kind,” I say. “You want to talk to me, I want to make sure they’re not listening.” Unless the whole room is already wired—who knows what that man in the hall was doing here.
“Is it alright if we just turn them off?” asks Agent Chu. I stare at him, wondering if he’s part of it—if you take off his face, would he look like the other man in the hall? But no—even faceless, I feel like I can recognize them, and this man is different. They both are. I nod, and they turn off their phones.
I slip in carefully and sit down, pulling my chair to the door so I can run if I need to. Devon comes in as well, closing the door behind him.
“Let’s start by saying that this is not an interrogation,” says Agent Leonard. “We know about your condition, we know about the hallucinations and delusions, we know that everything you say here might be completely imaginary. Nothing you say today will be used as evidence against you, okay? We just want to ask you some questions.”
I sit still, waiting. After a moment he speaks again.
“You say you see Faceless Men,” he says. “Can you please describe them?”
“Why, do you know about them? That’s what this is, isn’t it—you’re FBI, you know all about the conspiracy.” I look at Devon, grinning. “I told you they were real.”
“Please just describe them, Michael, so that we know we’re on the same page.”
“They’re … men without faces.”
“I need you to be more specific than that. If the face is gone,
The men look at each other, and one of them, an Asian man, raises an eyebrow. They think I’m crazy.
“Easy, Mikey, there’s nobody there. Okay? Just take it easy.”
“Don’t tell me to take it easy.” I’m supposed to be convincing them I’m sane, not freaking out like this. “It was just … a joke, Devon, it was just a joke.” That’s a stupid line, of course he won’t believe it. I crane my neck to see over the men to the hall beyond. The Faceless Man might be just out of sight behind a corner.
“These are the men I told you about,” says Devon, walking to the gate. I hear the beeps as he punches in the code, but they all sound the same; I can’t guess the numbers from the sounds. The men come through and Devon closes the gate behind them. “They’re here to see you, Michael, they’re from the FBI.”
My blood grows cold.
“I’m Agent Leonard,” says the tall one, and points to the Asian. “This is my partner, Agent Chu. We’d like to have a word with you if we could.”
“I didn’t kill anyone.”
“We never said you did.”
“You think I’m the Red Line Killer, that’s why you’re here, but I’m innocent—I’ve never killed anybody. I’ve never even hurt anybody.”
“We just want to talk to you,” says Agent Chu. “We’re hoping you might be able to help us.”
Devon stands next to me. “He’s not exactly … healthy … right now. I don’t know what you expect to learn from him.”
“Dr. Little explained his condition when we spoke with him,” says Agent Leonard. “We understand that he’s crazy—”
“We don’t use that word,” says Devon quickly.
“I apologize,” says Leonard. “Is there a room we could go to?”
Devon leads them to one of the private therapy rooms, a small room with a round table and a ring of plastic chairs. I don’t follow, but Devon comes back and pulls me toward it, coaxing me with a promise of candy.
“Does that work on the other patients?” I ask.
“Just come on,” says Devon, “they’re not going to hurt you, they just want to ask you some questions.”
I stand in the doorway, bracing myself against the wall so he can’t push me in. “Cell phones out first.”
“What?”
“No cell phones, no recorders, no electronic devices of any kind,” I say. “You want to talk to me, I want to make sure they’re not listening.” Unless the whole room is already wired—who knows what that man in the hall was doing here.
“Is it alright if we just turn them off?” asks Agent Chu. I stare at him, wondering if he’s part of it—if you take off his face, would he look like the other man in the hall? But no—even faceless, I feel like I can recognize them, and this man is different. They both are. I nod, and they turn off their phones.
I slip in carefully and sit down, pulling my chair to the door so I can run if I need to. Devon comes in as well, closing the door behind him.
“Let’s start by saying that this is not an interrogation,” says Agent Leonard. “We know about your condition, we know about the hallucinations and delusions, we know that everything you say here might be completely imaginary. Nothing you say today will be used as evidence against you, okay? We just want to ask you some questions.”
I sit still, waiting. After a moment he speaks again.
“You say you see Faceless Men,” he says. “Can you please describe them?”
“Why, do you know about them? That’s what this is, isn’t it—you’re FBI, you know all about the conspiracy.” I look at Devon, grinning. “I told you they were real.”
“Please just describe them, Michael, so that we know we’re on the same page.”
“They’re … men without faces.”
“I need you to be more specific than that. If the face is gone,
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