CHAPTER 21
Locke hustled down the corridor. No doubts about what he was about to do. No pauses to check out the prisoners in the other cells. No turning around to see if the Guard watched.
He walked with purpose yet he lacked a plan. Maybe Hamilton would reveal the plan to him. The killer left those U Symbols at each crime scene for a reason, wanting someone to see them. Surely he’d want to talk about them.
But, Hamilton must’ve thought Locke was an idiot when he didn’t ask about them during the interrogation. No wonder the killer displayed nothing but strength.
One cell away, he had a flashback from two days ago. As before, murmurs emanated from Hamilton’s cell. This time, Locke didn’t slow down.
Hamilton sat in the middle of the cell, like before, pointed away from the cell door. His hands lay in his lap, his wide back straight as a post.His legs were pressed together, feet crossed in front of the chair. He didn’t seem to sense Locke’s presence.
“ . . . If the outcome is so different from our aims—if, instead of freedom and prosperity, bondage and misery stare us in the face—is it not clear that sinister forces must have foiled our intentions, that we are the victims of some evil power which must be conquered before we can resume the road to better things?”
Locke listened and once again Hamilton’s words confused him. It sounded like the OWG language but Hamilton put the words together in an odd fashion. Like before, Hamilton spoke with no hesitations. No pauses. No “uh’s,” “um’s,” “you know’s,” et cetera.
“That the present state of the world may be the result of genuine error on our own part and that the pursuit of some of our most cherished ideals has apparently produced results utterly different from those which we expected.”
Locke rolled his eyes. He didn’t have all night. “Hamilton . . . hey . . . Hamilton.” He banged on the bars. “Turn around. I want to talk to you.”
Hamilton ignored him. “That democratic socialism, the great utopia of the last few generations, is not only unachievable, but that to strive for it produces something so utterly different that few of those who now wish it would be prepared to accept the consequences, many will not believe until the connection has been laid bare in all its aspects.” Hamilton stopped. Without turning, he spoke. “Detective Locke, how are you?”
Hamilton swung his knees to the side of his chair and turned. A sly smile appeared on his face upon noticing Locke’s badge and black suit. “I knew it.”
“Knew what?” Locke felt like he was already on the defensive. Three words and Hamilton already had the advantage.
“Your suit. Your badge. You got recruited. That’s a first for Govicide, isn’t it?”Hamilton turned his chair 180 degrees to face Locke.
“It is a first. You know the history of Govicide?”
“I know a lot of history,” Hamilton answered, flattening the front of his black jumpsuit.
“What were you reciting?” Locke folded his arms.
“Those words? Oh, they’re quotes from an important book I know.” Hamilton leaned forward putting his elbows on his knees, peering up at Locke.
“What book? I’ve never heard those words put together like that.”
“Of course you haven’t. It’s a book that doesn’t exist.”
Locke scratched his scalp then knotted his arms together again. “How can you recite words from a book that doesn’t exist?”
“You tell me.” Hamilton leaned back, crossing his arms and mirroring Locke.
There he went again, talking in riddles. A path Locke had no desire to follow. He pulled one of the bills out from his suit, making sure it was one with a pyramid. “We have a lot to talk about, Hamilton. Let’s start with this.”
Hamilton saw the bill, his eyes came alive, and he jumped from his chair, taking two steps toward the bars. “Cash!”
Locke stepped back, surprised at the emotion from the killer. He crumpled up the bill and threw it between the bars, landing at Hamilton’s feet. The killer picked the bill off the floor like it was a flower.
“Yes. Cash,” Locke replied.
Hamilton’s expression was a new one. It seemed like genuine joy. Hamilton held the bill up to the light in his cell, running his finger over each side. He flipped it around, admiring both sides.
“The Limbaugh Division.” Hamilton rolled the bill around in his hands. “I can tell by the texture.”
“The Limbaugh Division? What’s that?” Locke took a slow step toward the cell.
“Something else that doesn’t exist.” His eyes strayed over to Locke then returned to the bill.
Locke’s jaw clenched, almost locking in place. This was going nowhere. He needed a different direction. “I went through the pictures of your crime scenes.” He reached in another pocket, unfolding the letter and envelope from Dale City. He pressed them against the bars. “And I discovered this U at all of them.”
Freezing briefly, Hamilton stared at Locke’s presentation. “It only took you two years, Govicide Agent Locke,” Hamilton chuckled. After a moment, he continued inspecting the bill.
“I never said I was the smartest subject. What does this U mean?” Locke shook the envelope.
The shaking had its intended effect. Hamilton’s gaze drifted to the envelope, then the letter. He squinted but the writing was too far away for him to read.
“It does mean something.” Hamilton’s eyes narrowed. “But that’s not a U.” His attention returned to the cash.
“It’s not? Then what is it?” Locke turned the envelope around, taking another glance at the U.
“Oh, don’t get me wrong. It’s something. But for us it’s a Symbol. A reminder.” Finished with his scrutiny of the bill, Hamilton’s hands returned to his sides.
“A Symbol of what? A reminder of what?” Locke felt his forehead getting hot. He almost pressed his face between the bars.
“It’s a reminder of what doesn’t exist.” Hamilton retreated to his chair, kicking his feet out in front and lounging back.
Locke slapped the bars with the envelope. “All this doesn’t exist stuff. You think it’s funny, don’t you? This isn’t a joke. If you give me some straight answers I can make things easier for you.”
“First, Detec . . . sorry . . . Govicide Agent Locke. You don’t have to do anything for me. I’ll manage. Second, as far as this doesn’t exist stuff . . . ” Hamilton took a long pause.“ . . . there are certain things that exist to me but not to you. However, I’m in your world, of your making. So, I frame it in your terms.”
Locke grimaced. This murderer was crazier than he thought. Something either existed or it didn’t.
“Well, this U exists in both my world and your world.” Locke grasped to pull his ideas together into something coherent. “It’s here. It’s on this envelope. You put one at every crime scene. It was etched into a padlock I saw out in the middle of nowhere near Cornville--”
Hamilton interrupted, “You’ve been out there?”
“Yes, I’ve been there. So, this U exists. Will you tell me what it is?”
“I told you. It’s a Symbol for us.” The words came out quieter, like Hamilton feared the walls would hear.
“Us? And who are you?”
“Isn’t it clear? Wow, that OWG education of yours is worse than I thought.”Hamilton cackled.
“Who are you?” If Locke could have, he’d have reached out and banged Hamilton against the bars. His fear of Hamilton vanished like some convicted Offenders.
“I’m what the OWG fears.” Hamilton’s eyes returned to black, zeroing in on Locke’s.
Locke shrugged it off. “The OWG fears nothing. Who are you?”
The killer shook his head. “Govicide Agent Locke, I’m a Free Enterpriser. What did you think?”
At first, he thought Hamilton was joking. His body reacted with indifference. The last statement was the ranting of a killer. Another ploy to make Locke doubt himself. Hamilton hadn’t given a straight answer since they met. Why would he be honest now? He was trying to prey upon the fears every subject in the World possessed--That a bunch of subjects were going to come and take everything away.
And, after all, Free Enterprisers weren’t real.
While Locke let Hamilton’s answer roll around his brain, he watched the murderer. He showed no outward signs of lying. No darting eyes or fidgeting. No blinking. No heavy breathing.
Down the prison hallway, silence dominated. Maybe the other prisoners were listening. Did they know who Hamilton was? Had he shouted something to them when no one was around? They probably knew more about Hamilton than Locke did.
But Locke decided he’d give it another shot.
“A Free Enterpriser?” Locke forced a laugh, spinning in place. “You certainly do have delusions, don’t you? You’re just a killer. A killer with a bunch of Offenders who are moving cash. That’s all. This U could mean anything. But probably nothing.”
“You know about the moving of the cash?” Hamilton nodded, sticking out his lower lip. He didn’t seem bothered by the revelation.
Locke jammed the letter and envelope into his pocket. “Yeah, we figured it out. At the time, I thought you killed those Agents just for fun. But now Govicide Agent Hiss tells me there was a cash warehouse in every city where you murdered an Agent. Surely not a coincidence.”
The killer pointed at the Agent, a smile in his eyes. “You’re right. So, you’re partnered with Hiss? Unruly fellow, isn’t he? Goes off without thinking first. Nasty guy. A true, true believer in the OWG.” Hamilton retracted his legs, resting his elbows on his knees again.
“I’m not going to talk about my partner unless it’s about Govicide work.” An image of Ames crushed head flashed in his mind, souring his stomach. He kept a smile pasted on his face. No good would come from showing weakness in front of Hamilton.
“Hiss doesn’t know you’re here, does he?” Hamilton’s head cocked to one side, his chin rose a few degrees.
Hamilton was kept in the dark about Govicide authorities being prohibited from seeing him. And Locke wouldn’t inform him. “He can’t stand the sight or thought of you. Especially since you killed his partner.”
The murderer shrugged. “Had to be done. Tell Hiss it was just business.”
“Business? I’ve never heard the word. What does it mean?” His question brought Locke closer to the bars again.
The killer smiled, showing enough of his perfect teeth to make Locke jealous. “Don’t get angry but it’s another word that doesn’t exist.”
“That again . . .” Locke bent his head back, closing his eyes. Like the interrogation, Hamilton seemed to have the upper hand. Locke couldn’t figure out a way inside Hamilton’s head. He opened his eyes to see Hamilton approaching the cell bars, stopping an arm’s length away.
Don’t backup, Locke told himself. Stand firm.
“Okay, Govicide Agent Locke. I’ll help you with that one. Business means work, kind of.” Hamilton tilted his head to the left and right. “It’s like when you get credits from the OWG.”
“Oh, I get it. I’m entitled to them because I work for the glory of the OWG. That’s business?”
Hamilton scrunched his face. “Uh . . . not really, but close enough.” Hamilton grabbed a bar with his left hand, keeping the bill of cash in his other fist.
“So,” Locke felt like backing up, but his feet remained glued to the concrete, “you murdered those Agents because you had to. You did it because it was work for the glory of something? So what kind of work is that? Where did the cash go? Who could use all that cash?”
“Somebody who needs something that can’t be obtained with your OWG credits. That’s who.”
“But OWG credits can get anything. Everything the OWG makes. Goods and Services, everything.”
Hamilton backed away, circling to the rear of his cell. “That’s true. But credits cannot get something the OWG didn’t make.”
“But the OWG makes everything,” Locke shifted his weight from one foot to the other, his legs tiring from Hamilton’s maze of thoughts.
“Govicide Agent Locke, you’re already angry with my exist but doesn’t exist phrases so I don’t want to say it again.” The killer leaned against the back wall.
“But what does that mean? How can something exist but not exist?” Locke gripped the bar where Hamilton had before.
“There are questions I can’t answer. Let’s just say a Free Enterpriser would need a large amount of cash.” Hamilton folded and unfolded the bill, playing with it as if it were a toy.
He’d listened to Hamilton’s utter nonsense. Now, it was Hamilton’s turn to listen to truth. “You keep bringing up that Free Enterpriser thing. They don’t exist. Little kid stories. That’s all.” A queasy feeling twisted his gut. “The stories are told to make sure everyone realizes what happens if the OWG ever collapsed. The Free Enterprisers are the opposite of the OWG. The OWG is the ultimate provider and Free Enterprisers are the ultimate takers. And although there may be some Offenders like you, no one has the ability or the desire to truly take down the entire System. The OWG is too perfect at what it does.”
“The OWG is perfect? That’s certainly one interpretation.” Hamilton folded the bill into a paper plane and threw it at Locke. It crashed at the Agent’s feet.
Locke thrust out his chest not bothering to pick up the paper airplane. “The OWG provides all the necessities of life. Water, food, healthcare, transportation, reading material, entertainment, clothes. Nobody needs anything. This allows subjects to live fulfilling lives.”
Hamilton’s chin dipped down, his brow pointing at Locke. “And Govicide Agent Locke, what if I told you there was another way to live that was better?”
Locke shook his head. “Talk about something that doesn’t exist . . . ”
“I understand. But, hypothetically, what if I told you there was a world where an OWG provided nothing?” Hamilton, smooth as a tabletop, strolled forward to his chair.
“Nothing?”
“Yes. Nothing.” Hamilton circled his chair once, pausing to eye Locke. Then he continued his lazy orbits.
“That’s hard to imagine because without an OWG providing everything subjects would die. You’re asking me to imagine something that’s impossible. It could never happen,” Locke’s back stiffened, his mind as well. “That’s why the Free Enterpriser idea is so dangerous. Without the OWG providing everything, the world would descend into chaos. Then, there would be no World. No civilization. No life.”
Hamilton stopped, hands on the back of the chair. “And what if I told you at one time a civilization existed that was the opposite of the OWG?”
Locke’s slapped the bars, hurting his fingers, but anger defeated the pain. “Before the OWG, there was nothing but chaos. You’re lying.”
Hamilton pushed the wooden chair out of his way, the legs screeching. “I’ve never lied to you, Govicide Agent Locke.” Hamilton took a step toward Locke. “I know. You think I talk in riddles.” Another step. Locke felt himself wanting to retreat. “How can things exist and not exist at the same time. The Pyramids. The U is not a letter but something else. All of it.” A step. “I’ve always told you the truth. Why? Because I want to.” Another step. “I never claimed I didn’t kill those Agents. I never claimed I did it because I lost my mind.” One more step. “I’ve always been honest. Why would I lie now?” Hamilton plodded closer. “And why would I make such an outrageous assertion? I’ve already murdered fourteen Agents. You can’t get much more outrageous than that.”
He stopped within arm’s length of Locke. One quick move and Hamilton could’ve pinned him up against the cell bars.
Yet, Locke felt no specter of fear. No, that wasn’t correct. He felt it. But it wasn’t from Hamilton’s presence. The fear came from his words. What if Hamilton was really telling the truth?
Now that was crazy.
“You’re just a killer,” Locke uttered, staring at Hamilton. Neither male blinked.
“I’m more than that, Govicide Agent Locke.” Hamilton bent over and picked up the paper airplane just inside the cell. He held it up. “This cash and the Symbol prove it.”
Hamilton’s was so close Locke could smell his breath. He expected it to stink. Instead, it smelled fresh, like he’d been chewing gum.
Hamilton stepped away from the bars. A sly smile formed on his face. “Tell me. Your doctors did all those tests on me. Examined me. Poked me. Prodded me with their OWG Instruments. And I’m sure you’ve read my file. Tell me about my teeth.” Hamilton showed his teeth for effect.
What a strange request. However, after remembering what he had thought about Hamilton’s teeth--the murderer’s entire physical condition for that matter, Locke could see the logical end to the topic.
However, the word, “teeth,” also caused Locke to think the word linked to something unrelated to Hamilton.
Hamilton must have sensed Locke’s hesitation. “Go ahead. I know what condition they are in. You can say it.”
“They’re perfect, according to our OWG Doctors,” Locke answered, the words finding their way between his own clenched teeth.
“How perfect are they?” Hamilton slid his chair back to the center.
“They’re the most perfect teeth the doctors have seen.” Locke’s gaze fell to the area just in front of Hamilton. He knew where this was going.
Hamilton sat down. “So, I ask you: If the OWG is the perfect provider of Goods and Services. And its healthcare is perfect. How can there be no record of me ever being in the System, yet I have better teeth than anyone. Even better than the Director himself?”
Locke tried to answer this question a few days ago.He had no answer then and he had no answer now. “You must have cheated.” He still couldn’t look right at Hamilton. “Subjects do it all the time.”
“For thirty years? C’mon, Govicide Agent Locke.” Hamilton flicked his hand in Locke’s direction as if a fly was buzzing around him.
“You got lucky.” Locke heard his words, remembering his interview with the Director.
“Lucky? You can’t imagine any other way besides the OWG, can you? You can’t because you only have one idea in your head and it’s wrong. I would think a person with the last name, Locke, would be smarter.”
Locke had forgotten all about that cryptic statement from the interrogation. It got buried by the talk of rights and pyramids.
“What does that mean? You know someone with my name?” Locke pressed his face against the bars.
“I know a lot about a guy named Locke. But, you know what? He doesn’t exist.” Hamilton raised his eyebrows, smiling once again.
Locke threw his hands up in the air. “That again?” Why did he even bother with this male?
“I’m sorry, Govicide Agent Locke, but you have to understand something. I can’t teach you about topics if you deny they exist. There is no reason for me to waste my time.” Hamilton unfolded the paper plane.
“But you’ll waste your time trying to take Goods and Services from subjects with your cash?” Locke scoffed. “You and your little gang want to overthrow the OWG for your own ends so the Goods and Services will cease and everyone will die.”
“Well, there’s no doubt Goods and Services from the OWG would come to a halt. But you’d be surprised . . . ” Hamilton’s voice trailed off.
“Surprised about what?” Locke heard his voice cracking, a sure sign this conversation with Hamilton was a failure.
“I’ve said enough. Are we finished here? Anything else?” Hamilton puts his arms out to his sides as he asked, stretching.
Locke tramped away, talking over his shoulder. “You’re no Free Enterpriser. We’ll catch the rest of your comrades.” Locke tried his best to sound nasty, but the doubts Hamilton’s words stirred up kept his tone as plain as a sheet of paper. “We’ll find that cash. We’ll throw all of you in prison. And you’ll be nothing but a footnote in the history of Govicide.”
“And maybe, just maybe, I’ll be written out of OWG history altogether?”
Locke didn’t respond. He wanted to say something smart, but “written out of OWG history altogether” had him stymied. The phrase struck a note in his mind, as if it answered a question he’d long been asking. But, he couldn’t remember the question. However, it caused him to stop in his tracks.
Hamilton continued, “I couldn’t help but notice, Govicide Agent Locke, your letter said something about your girlfriend, I mean, girlcomrade being pregnant. Is that true?”
Had his back not been tense from the last few seconds of conversation, Locke would have bent over as if Hiss punched him in the stomach again. How could he have been so stupid to show Hamilton the letter? And he’d only displayed it for a few seconds.
“I will take from your non-response that it’s true.” Hamilton paused. “And yes, my eyes are as in good a shape as my teeth. Well, like the letter says, congratulations. Children are a tremendous gift. I have children myself.” Locke still had his back turned and couldn’t see Hamilton. He didn’t want the killer to see his worried face. “But I understand why you’re here. It’s not all about the cash, is it? Sure, you want to know why I mentioned the Pyramids. And rights, of course you want to know about that. But you’re here because the U . . . that’s what you call it . . . was on the envelope that contained the letter about your girlcomrade’s pregnancy. That’s why you showed it to me first.”
Locke took a long, slow breath then crept back to Hamilton’s cell, reeling from the sudden twist in their conversation.
“Why did they give you the letter?” Hamilton stood and met Locke at the bars.
“You tell me, Hamilton. They’re your comrades.” If Hamilton knew the full extent of Locke’s predicament, it could cause problems.
“I have no idea. I’m in here and I don’t get much news.” Hamilton shifted from one foot to the other. “Why did they give you that letter? Hmmm, probably because they are genuinely happy to hear the news. How did they find out about it?” Hamilton’s face had an expression of genuine care. His voice, too. Or was Locke imagining it?
Locke sidestepped the question. “They’re going to use it to blackmail me, aren’t they?”
“Why would they . . . ” Hamilton’s jaw dropped. “Oh, now I get it. Govicide doesn’t know. An un-mandated pregnancy during non-sex credit sex?”
Locke nodded, still not believing his huge mistake. Well, both mistakes. Getting Jade pregnant and allowing Hamilton to find out about it.
“I see. . . What are you going to do?” Hamilton asked, his voice soft like an OWG Counselor.
“I don’t know. I’ll figure something out. But your comrades will blackmail me first,” Locke leered.
“Blackmail? Not our style. Especially when pregnant women and kids are concerned.” Hamilton closed his eyes and shook his head as if the mere thought repulsed him.
Was this an act by Hamilton? For the first time, he suddenly seemed almost human.
“Not your style? You murdered fourteen Govicide Agents. What’s a little blackmail mixed in?” Locke laughed.
“Not one of those Agents had kids. Check it out. Kids need their parents, no matter what the OWG says,” Hamilton responded, pointing at Locke.
Locke did a mental calculation. At least seven of the dead Agents didn’t have children but he wasn’t sure about the rest. Could Hamilton be telling the truth?
“I’ll have to get back to you on that,” Locke answered. What was he going to do now that Hamilton knew the pregnancy secret now? He corrected himself: It wasn’t a secret anymore, not when this many subjects knew about it.
“You know, Locke,” Hamilton for some reason left off Locke’s official title, “there was a time when subjects were allowed to have sex when they wanted. No credits. No un-mandated pregnancies. The authorities had no idea what people were doing in their sex lives.”
“You mean in between beating each other’s brains out providing for themselves with Goods and Services?” Let Hamilton try to get out of that one.
“Joke if you want. But it’s true.” Hamilton shrugged.
“Yeah, whatever, Hamilton.” Locke turned away again. “I think I’ve had enough of you for today. I can only take so many lies. I thought we could work something out. You help me out. And I help you out.”
“See? That’s what you don’t understand, Locke. I don’t compromise. The reason I don’t is because your way is evil.”
“I’m not evil.” Locke spun around, facing Hamilton.
“You’re part of a system. Not the system, the invasive computer monitoring everyone. I’m talking about the entire thing put together. OWG, Govicide, the System, bar codes, scanners. It’s all evil. And I can’t compromise with evil.”
“Pretty funny coming from someone who kills Agents providing everything for everyone. Who is evil exactly?”
Hamilton stepped toward the bars, the old version of himself returning. His face burned with anger. “No. You want to know what’s evil? I’ll tell you. There was a time when a Homicide was the worst crime. You murdered anyone and you went to jail for many years, if not your life. Now, when a murderer takes somebody’s life, unless the victim is a Govicide Agent, they get maybe five years, usually less. That. . . is evil.”
“A life sentence for murder? That must have been one crazy world.” Locke twirled his finger around his ear.
“It’s not so crazy when you believe in rights.” Hamilton flinched like he hadn’t meant to say it.
“There you go talking about rights again. What did you say? People . . . an un-mandated word, I might add . . . have no rights when the OWG is never wrong? What does that mean?”
“It means not everything the OWG does is correct. There are rules it must follow if every person is to live as a human.”
“But the only goal is to make sure the OWG is healthy so it can provide Goods and Services. And without Goods and Services we don’t exist.” Locke threw his arms out to his sides. “So any OWG mandate is just. Any subject who gets in the way is unjust. Because without the OWG, we’d all be dead.”
They stood nose to nose, the bars separating them as if they were caged animals.
“Don’t you get it, Locke? If you are expendable at the whim of an OWG mandate no matter what it is, you’re . . . already . . . dead. You just haven’t gotten in its way yet.”
“And I won’t.” Locke’s voice echoed off the cement walls.
Hamilton allowed the reverberations to ease and replied in a whisper. “Well, I believe in a place where an authority can’t do anything it wants, where it can only do very little. Where no person, no subject, gets in the way. Where mandates, if that’s what you want to call them, don’t get people killed for simply being alive. Think . . . about . . . that.”
Like the quickness of OWG justice, Hamilton’s right hand shot between the bars and grabbed Locke’s suit.
“Hey . . .” Locke tried to pull away but Hamilton’s grip was a vise. Out of every pore came the sweat of death. He’d allowed his defenses to slacken and this killer took advantage. Locke tried to kick Hamilton but the bars deflected his feet. Both of his hands grabbed Hamilton’s but they couldn’t unlatch it.
He tried to snake out of his jacket but Hamilton had a hold of his shirt underneath as well. Locke was about to yell out to the Guard when--
“Govicide Agent Locke, relax. Just wanted to give this back to you.” Hamilton placed the bill of cash back in Locke’s hand. But it was not in the shape of a plane like Hamilton created before. Nor was it flattened out in its original form.
It was in the form of an S with a line through it. Hamilton released Locke and backed away, sitting down in his chair.
Locke examined the bill, him rotating it 360 degrees. “How did you make this?”
“I have a lot of time on my hands,” Hamilton crossed his legs.
A few more seconds of checking Hamilton’s work and Locke put the bill back in his pocket. “Uh-huh. Well, that’s nice, but I still don’t trust you.”
Spinning away, Locke retraced a few of his steps down the corridor. He heard scuffling behind him. Turning around, he saw Hamilton’s nose sticking out between the bars.
“You really want to trust me?” Hamilton’s voice had just a tinge of disbelief.
“Yeah, I really do.” Locke felt the genuineness of the sentence sweep over him, warm and soothing.
“Turn your world upside down and you’ll see the U everywhere,” Hamilton disappeared back into his cell.
“Pathetic,” Locke said under his breath. Hamilton fooled him again.
This time was no different than the first. No straight answers. Paradoxes. Games. Puzzles. The rewriting of history. Distinguishing lies from the truth was tough with so much misdirection.
If there was any truth at all to anything Hamilton said.
But, as Locke approached the first bloc door, the craziest of thoughts nagged at him no matter how many times he flicked it away.
What if it was all truth?