And There was Light
I woke up in my bed, the curtains were closed, almost, bold rays of sunlight divided the room in three alternance between soft dark and brutal light. This room faced east, so it must be morning.
I sat up, my body ached all over. I threw the bedsheets off: I was naked and there were no traces on me of whatever I’d just done.
I pulled a t-shirt with a happy rainbow over my head wincing because of a sharp pain in the right shoulder and slipped my legs into a thick pair of fleece indoor pants, the right knee was stiff and the left hurt like hell when I bent it. I could hear voices in the lounge, a male voice and a female. I opened the door and my mother turned around smiling,
“Thank god you are up, I was about to come and wake you sweetie, this gentleman wants to talk to you about some bank account hacking.” She turned back to the suit, a fat latino who looked like he hated being here. I reached out with my hand, he took it with a wet palm pulling a badge from his pocket.
“Agent Lopez, are you Mr Poe, John, Fitzgerald, Salem Poe?”
“Yes, that’s my name.”
“I am with the financial crimes units, we believe that your account has been hacked.”
“Oh, my god! Is that true?” There was a sense of displacement between what was being said and how I was meant to react and it all felt wrong.
“Purchases were made to illegal web sites through bank transfers.”
“Sweetie I was telling agent Lopez that you left the advent to the trustfund I sent you some time in the mail box, someone could have gotten to it.”
“Do you remember if the envelope looked like it had been opened or tempered with in anyway?”
“I don’t know. It was wet, I remember. Some of the glue had dissolved so it was partially open.”
“I see. I have to confirm some intel. I will ask you some questions, I need you to answer truthfully. Can we proceed?”
I nodded sitting next to my mom on the sofa crossing my legs.
“Mr Poe, did you go at any time recently to the state of New Mexico?”
“No, why would I go there?”
“Not relevant. Just answer the questions, will you.”
I nodded again.
“No, I did not.”
“Mr Poe, do you know what a Katyusha is?”
“Is it a cocktail, like the Moscow Mule but with red berries instead of lemon?”
“No. Do you know what an AK 47 is?”
“Oh, that’s a kind of machine gun. They use them all the time in movies.”
“Do you know how to operate a mortar?”
“I have one in the kitchen, to crush spices I put in my tea and when I cook.”
Agent Lopez frowned but kept going,
“Do you own a gun.”
“I do.”
My mom looked at me with shock.
“Johnny, do you? Really?”
I looked back at the agent, it was time for my oscar worthy performance:
“I am a sexual assault survivor and a gay man. I live here in isolation because people scare me and I get crippling anxiety attacks. I am taking self defence classes with a local girl called Krystal, with a ‘k’ and a ‘y’, she’s got pink hair. Her brother has the general store in Saratago, on the main street. He’s called Terrence his husband is called Chad. He sold me a light blue and pink MP Smith & Wesson.” I stood up and went to the kitchen drawer and pulled the gun out with two fingers and placed it on top of the surface. “I chose it because it is the colors of the trans community pride. I shoot it in the forest at the back. I don’t like the feeling, I don’t like the sound and I don’t like the smell of it. Terry did everything by the book. We filled the paperwork and I did the four day’s training session at the range…” I made a show of swallowing with difficulties and added, “I don’t know if I feel better or worse with it here, it’s complicated.”
Lopez was looking at me with a mixture of compassion and contempt, probably thinking that he’d rather his son be dead than like me, if he had one.
“It’s probably just a case of financial fraud, you may not recover the money. I’ll send you a notice when I file my report, your bank will contact you with added security measures you can implement on your accounts.”
He flipped his pad closed and nodded as if to confirm that it had all been a waste of his time and walked off through the door wishing us a good day.
My mom turned towards me and hugged me.
“Johnny, I had to drive your car from Beckley. You left it there. Your Canadian friend, Laurent, he called me and said you had wanted to go back to, you know, to where it all happened. That you freaked out and called him asking if he could get you to the airport urgently. Him and his uncle got you there. You were not well. He said you panicked because you had forgotten your phone in the car and couldn’t call me. So, he did and I found the car, it was unlocked with the keys to it. What a mess, cans of energy drinks and junk food. Sweetie, are you alright.”
“Yeah, I am now. I thought I could go back and be strong but I wasn’t. I’m sorry you had to drive up here. You must have missed work.”
“I’m working with Daniel now, deputy director. I wanted to tell you but…”
“It’s ok mom. I’m happy for you. I swear I don’t want to be a problem.”
“You are not. And you are eighteen soon so technically you are your problem.” Her laugh sounded hollow but I recognized that she was trying.
“I love you mom.”
“Are you alright on your own here?”
“yes, I am happy. I spend a lot of time online playing with some guys and I plan on going to a cosplaying convention for fantasy gamers, so really, I'm good. I just wanted to put what had happened behind me. You know, make a clean start. I guess not.”
“Well to each in his own time my father used to say. I’m glad you are ok. Now, for the money thing, we’ll try and secure the trust and your accounts, maybe move them to a different bank. The gentleman, Lopez, he said it was something in the vicinity of twelve thousand. It’s a lot but I am glad it isn’t more.”
