By the time Milo arrived back at the Facility, there were several guardians waiting for him.
"Milo Rion?" one of them asked.
"Yes."
"Please come with us, we have some questions for you."
"What's this all about?" he asked.
Milo was taken to a secure location inside the Facility and was instructed to take a seat. One of the guardians, Agent Archimedes, entered the room, exchanged words with another guardian, and then looked at Milo. Milo sat there scared half to death. Nowadays, lying was not so easy. Lie detection had been perfected so if the authorities wanted information out of someone, they could usually get it. He had heard the government had technology that could even read people's thoughts, but that had yet to be confirmed.
Agent Archimedes stared at Milo for a long moment, most likely in an attempt to make him feel uncomfortable. This was an interrogation technique designed to keep people on edge, making it more difficult to conceal the truth. When someone is nervous, they tend not to lie very well.
"Do you know why you're here?" Archimedes asked.
Milo's heart rate pounded uncontrollably. He knew why he was there, or at least he had a good idea. Milo knew lying would be futile, especially since they were analyzing his internal body chemistry from his accountability chip, so his plan was to be as vague and ambiguous with his answers as possible, without actually lying.
"That depends," he answered.
"Depends on what?"
"It could be about a number of things... why don't you enlighten me?"
"Where is Alexandra Gray?" the guardian asked, getting straight to the point.
"She moved out last week."
"I didn't ask when she moved out, I asked where she is," he snarled.
"Have you checked her apartment? I can tell you where she lives."
Agent Archimedes got right in Milo's face. "I know you two are friends, I know you went with her to the jail, and I know a lot more things you probably wish I didn't."
"Seems like you know a lot, I'm sure you'll have no trouble finding her. If I see her, I will let her know you are looking for her."
Agent Archimedes knew he wasn't going to get any useful information from Milo so he decided to let him go.
Milo waited for the guardians to leave before he rose to his feet. He left the small room and entered the main hallway. There were no guardians in sight, but he still had a strange feeling that he was being watched.
The first thing he decided to do when he got back to his room was to warn the others. Although he had no proof, he assumed his movements were being tracked and his communication lines were bugged so he did not want to use any form of electronic communication.
He searched his apartment for something to write on. The closest thing to paper he could find was a hemp shirt that he had. Milo tore off a small piece, dipped his finger in barbeque sauce, and began to write. It took all of his concentration and a steady hand, but he finally etched out his message.
Big brother is watching me, make sure our friend is safe.
After he scribed the message, he held up the cloth. Despite having very few experiences writing by hand, his penmanship was surprisingly legible.
Milo waited for the sauce to dry before he folded up the note and delivered it to a friend at the Facility.