Chapter 11

Oliver and Caroline have a heart to heart. Oliver has a surprise interview at the park.

Chapter 11

“Did you know he would crack?” Caroline asked as they drove back to the Lafayette.

“What?” asked Oliver. Caroline allowed him to have a cigarette under the condition that he kept his hand out the window and didn’t blow the smoke inside the car. Oliver didn’t feel like arguing the point, it felt like a fair trade anyways.

“With Malcolm. Did you know that doing what you did would get him to help?”

“We aren’t all great with words, Baby Cop.” He said, taking a puff on his cigarette, “I was tired of jumping through his hoops. He didn’t seem like the type of person to get physical.” He took another drag and carefully blew the smoke out the window. “Plus he was a d****e.”

Caroline let out a small chuckle.

“Why did you want to know his name?” Oliver asked.

“It’s a psychology thing,” she said dismissively, “If you establish a personal connection with someone they’re more likely to work with you.”

“Wow,” said Oliver, “That’s some manipulative s**t. You learn that at cop school, or whatever they call it?”

“You know it’s called the Police Academy, and yes, we needed to take a course in criminal psychology.”

Oliver took one last pull on the cigarette and flicked the butt out the window, “Got anything else up there that might help us?” he asked.

“Not really,” she said, disappointed, “I’m still kinda new to this and between work, Devon and the investigation its been hard to find time.”

“That kind of sucks.” He said reaching for another cigarette. Caroline saw and stopped him.

“I said you could have one, don’t push it.”

Oliver grumbled and put it away, “Still, we should have at least one competent person involved in this damn thing.”

“I’d say you’re pretty capable,” Caroline said, “we wouldn’t have been able to find Malcolm without your knowledge.”

“There’s nothing special about what I did.” Oliver snapped.

“Why are you so miserable all the time?” demanded Caroline.

“If you had to deal with the s**t I’ve dealt with, you’d understand.”

Caroline turned to look at Oliver, “Oh, please, what could have possibly have been so bad that you would be like this?”

Oliver looked down at his feet and took a deep breath, “There was this girl…” he started.

“Are you kidding me!” she said with a derisive laugh, “That’s your stupid a*s origin story? Some girl did this to you?”

“I wasn’t finished!” Oliver said in retaliation.

Caroline waved a hand to stop him, “No, no wait, let me finish it.” She said “You did something stupid and she got sick of you and you were too much of a coward or too proud to go after her and apologize. How close was I?”

“F**k you.” He snarled.

“C’mon, Oliver.” She said in an attempt to assuage him, “It happens to everyone, you’ve gotta move on.”

“You don’t know what it’s like to pick-up your entire life and strand yourself in a world you hate.”

“How do you think I got here?” she said fanning her four fingers on the steering wheel keeping her thumbs hooked around the upper hemisphere. “People almost never make the right decisions--especially when they are young--the trick is to learn from them. To grow. To become more than who you were when you made them. Life is built on a mountain of mistakes and you spend every waking moment scaling it, sometimes you slip or lose your footing but you have to keep going, otherwise, what's the point.”

“That’s some high and mighty wisdom coming from someone living in Sheltered Grotto.”

“I never said I was the perfect role model. I’m in the same boat you are, the difference is I’m not letting the bad choices ruin my life.”

“You are aware of what you’re doing, right?” Oliver asked, “I wouldn’t exactly call this the ‘best’ choice.”

“I’m not doing this because I feel guilty about Devon or anything. This isn't just some, some, thing to help me sleep at night. I’m doing this because I want to because it's important and necessary.”

“You sure about that?” he asked.

The car fell silent.

“I’m sorry,” Oliver said, “That was s****y. Whatever reasons you have for doing this are your own, but, for what it’s worth, this is probably the right decision.”

Caroline said nothing and the pair lapsed into silence again.

Why was he trying to help her, Oliver asked himself, they just met she would never do something like this for him. “I knew about you before we met.” He said, “Not really who you were, what your name was or what you looked like, but I knew that Devon had someone close to him. I didn’t like it. I wasn’t jealous that he had someone other than me, but it was right after Kassidy�"that was the girl by the way�"and hearing that someone else was happy while I wasn’t sucked.”

He looked at Caroline, she was staring stone-faced at the road.

“What did he tell you about me?” she asked.

“Nothing much,” Oliver answered fidgeting with his lighter, “He liked you�"I knew that�"you made him happy. Devon never really talked about his personal life, we had a very superficial friendship, mostly built on a mutual love of nonsense. So when he brought up the fact he was seeing someone I had a feeling that it was more than just a fling to him.”

“Yeah,” Caroline croaked, “that sounds like him.”

She paused slightly and said quietly, “What do you remember about him?”

Oliver stopped and thought about it for a moment and laughed to himself, "There was this guy who worked at the Ginger Burger down in Pleasantburg--a manager, real a*****e--who used to treat people like s**t in the park, guests, cast, you name it. I got off early and went into the security room and Devon called me over to his desk. He pulled out his computer and said 'hey, check this out'. They had a ticker-tape display in the restaurant for the day's specials, and every time the manager walked out to see the guests Devon would put up a verse from this guy's s****y poetry that he posted under a pseudonym. Devon spent the better part of a month tracing his internet activity until he found something juicy. We tortured the guy for months until he eventually quit."

Caroline smiled a feeble smile, "Devon never mentioned you, until that night. I was convinced that I was the only other person Devon knew."

“He must have thought that there wasn't anything to say.We didn’t really talk much after he told me about you. After Kassidy left the two of us couldn’t afford to live in the apartment anymore. I moved into a smaller place in Whispering Woods and I don’t know where Devon ended up. Before that, we hung out often, mostly due to the fact that we lived together. In fact, that picture you showed me the day we met, Devon took that.” Oliver looked out the window, “That was a good day. After he left, it was pretty easy to lose touch in Howell. He hardly left the security room and I was too busy digging myself into a hole of depression to spend any more time in Howell then was required.”

“He was always a pain in the a*s,” she said with a chuckle and a head shake. “in a good way.” She added.

“Then this whole thing happened. Devon was a high-strung guy by nature but everything got worse the longer this dragged on. By the time we got to break into the park I hardly recognized him. It was getting out of hand and…” Caroline trailed off.

“Yeah,” said Oliver softly.

“I was going to leave him.” She said at last, “If we didn't die breaking into Howell I was going to drop the job. The secrets, the seclusion, the…everything. I was done, it was too much. Obviously, I never got a chance to tell him. Just silence and then a call from the cops.”

Oliver didn’t know what to say, it had been a long time since he had anything approaching a “serious” conversation with anyone. It was weird. He had some ideas about what to say, like ‘you can’t blame yourself for what you can’t control’ or ‘Devon would have understood,’ but nothing seemed right in the moment and the remainder of the car ride passed in silence.

Caroline pulled into the gas station where Oliver parked. He could see its owner craning his neck to see if Oliver was back to retrieve his car and pay his mammoth bill.

“We, uh, we should keep in touch.” Oliver said, “We don’t know which one of us Dae�"Malcolm will contact.”

“Right, uh, yeah…sure,” Caroline replied. “Let me know if anything comes up.”

“Will do.”

Oliver watched Caroline drive away before turning around to face the music. Walking into the gas station he was met with a stream of obscenities and shouting, normally Oliver would enjoy the chance for a good fight especially over something pointless and arbitrary that he defined, but this time it didn’t feel worth it. There were bigger things to deal with right now. So he stood his ground and let the man say his peace and when he was finally blue in the face from yelling about how Oliver’s car was taking up a valuable space that could have been used by a customer and that no amount of money could cover what he lost Oliver grabbed his wallet and said, “How much?”

Oliver made it back to his apartment and flopped down on his couch and let out an exasperated sigh but it got caught in his throat and came out as a hacking cough. Damn cigarettes, he thought, why did I even start anyway?

The next morning Oliver woke up on his couch, Bithell and Burg were talking about some TV show that was on last night, it had something to do with zombies because don’t they all. Oliver never listened to the show this long before, “Ugh, d****t.” He said as he looked at his phone. He flung himself off the couch and quickly grabbed a uniform and ran out the door.

The mood was different in the park, Oliver noticed, yes, there was still the swarms of people wandering the park making those lifelong Kodak memories that Oliver found so sickening but the vibe was off. Oliver couldn’t describe the feeling, other than that it got worse in The Tunnels. Every dark corner, every locked door felt like it held some mystery that could unravel the universe, or probably just kill him. Both above and below ground the conversation of the day was Archie’s press conference that was going on this weekend. Normally, park staff has a general idea of the comings and goings inside the park, but this time Archie was playing everything close to the vibrantly colored chest. That didn’t fully describe the feeling, all it did was make the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

Oliver looked at his phone and briefly considered asking Caroline if she could feel it too, but decided that she probably had enough on her plate at the moment and put his phone away.

He made it to his ride and assumed his place before clearing his throat to make room for the over-the-top accent. He let a few families through, getting a weird look from some of them�"must have been the accent�"before Felix, his ‘Captain’, came up to him dress up as Captian Ward and said, “Oliver, we need to talk.” his fake beard swaying as he spoke.

That was weird, Oliver thought, why did he break character? Felix was one of those goody-goody actors that loved his job at the park.

“Arrg, tis no’one by that name ‘ere, Cap’in.” he replied.

"Thar be nuttin' to see o'er 'ere. Jus given me first mate a run down of today's activities. So moind y're own business before io make you wolk t'plank!" Felix said before turning his back towards the dozens of kids oohing and ahhing and leaned into Oliver, “Seriously Oliver, meet me up in the booth.”

“Aye�"er�"sure.” The entire ride was decked out, no pun intended, to look like a ship, but up in the control booth it more like a spaceship. A panel of blinking dials and screens displaying different sections of the ride. Once the door to the ‘Captain’s Quarters’ was safely shut Felix took off his tricorn hat and waistcoat, hanging them neatly on a hook by the door. He took his seat by the panel and let his eyepatch hang around his neck.

“Is there anything you want to tell me, Oliver?” he asked like a parent who caught their kid sneaking in the kitchen window.

“Uh, sorry about being late?” wagered Oliver.

Felix turned to face one of his monitors and opened up an email. “I just got word from the Nerve Center that you are to report there immediately. Did you get a new job without telling me?”

Oliver had been to the Nerve Center exactly once and that was to drop off a bank form when he got hired. It was a grey, dismal building totally antithetical to the Howell people knew and loved. He had no idea why they would want him there, well, he did, but he sincerely hoped it didn’t have to do with Devon.

 “Uh.” Said Oliver, thinking of a better answer.

Felix didn’t listen, “And you get an escort too.”

“What was that?” Oliver asked, shocked.

Felix looked over the email, “Yeah, ‘Please send Oliver Wolcott to the Tunnels’ entrance and he will be escorted to the proper room for a meeting’.” He read.    

“S**t.” Said Oliver.

“You’d better head out right now, they’re probably waiting,” Felix said.

“Ok.” Answered Oliver distantly.

“I’d say come back when you’re done, but...”

Oliver entered The Tunnels and was greeted by the faces of a man in a bright red polo shirt and a buzz cut wearing a crisp pair of blue jeans and stern expressionless face and a woman in a plain pink dress and white flats. Her hair was brown, shoulder length, and slightly messy like the wind had blown it around and she tried to smooth it back into place with some success. She had bags under her eyes which she tried to cover with make-up. They both stared straight through Oliver.  

“Are you guys the escorts?” Oliver asked knowing the answer.

“We are.” Said the Red Shirt succinctly.

“Where are we go�"“ started Oliver before Red and Pink turned and headed down one of The Tunnels’ many nondescript pathways.

Oliver had never seen these two before, they looked like every other couple that came to the park, minus the screaming kids, something Oliver though the lady in pink enjoyed. They both looked to be in their mid to late thirties and wore matching silver watches. They were giant, bulky things and the woman's looked like a shackle on her wrist. They said nothing to each other or Oliver as they led them to wherever he was going because it wasn’t towards the Nerve Center, they missed that turn a dozen yards back. Oliver quietly hoped that they were taking a back way.

Deeper and deeper they descended into the bowels of the park. The air was getting heavier and the lights dimmer, but Oliver just assumed that was due to his nerves, which were currently screaming in fear. His brain was shouting unhelpful things like ‘run’, ‘cry’, and dumbest of all, ‘fight’. Oliver ignored them because they would most likely lead to his unsanctimonious death whereas simply walking with them had a slightly higher chance of survival.

Eventually, they stopped at a blank door and the two took up residence on each side of it. The woman opened the door and it swung a quarter of the way on its own, hinting at the conference room beyond. Oliver took a few tentative steps into the room. Inside sat a long black table that looked like polished obsidian and the ceiling curved to form a dome. Around the table sat five high-backed black chairs, one at each end of the table, two facing the door and one opposite those turned slightly inviting Oliver to take a seat. Sitting in the seat across from Oliver was a woman with luminescent blonde hair and impeccable make-up. Her face looked serious, but her eyes conveyed a sentiment similar to Oliver’s. Behind her stood a man in an orange polo who looked like he would fit in with Red and Pink outside. She had a stack of folders sitting in front of her.

“Hello, Mister Wolcott.” she said gathering the folders in her hands and knocking them on the table. “I’m Miss Waits and this is my associate, Townsend.” 

“Am I getting fired?” he asked.

Stephanie said nothing and opened up the folder. “Do you recall the break-in at the park a few weeks ago?”

“I remember hearing something about it, yes.” Oliver answered.

“Good.” Stephanie said scanning the document, “Do you have any knowledge of what was taken?”

Oliver shifted in his seat. S**t, they know, s**t, he thought to himself.

“What,” he said with an uneasy chuckle, “did they get a few Wally dolls?”

Again, nothing, the woman underlined something in the document. “I’m going to come out with it, where were you on the night of the break-in?”

“Is this an interrogation?” Oliver asked, “Because I have rights, besides wasn’t that guy caught or something?”

“Mister Wolcott, I assure you that there is no reason for you do get defensive.” She said levelly, “This isn’t an interrogation, and we aren’t associated with the law in any capacity, but we are working with them and they can get involved if need be. All we want is to get all the facts on the incident. I suggest you answer my question otherwise you could find yourself in more trouble than you’d like.”

Oliver looked over at Townsend he smiled brightly but there was something empty behind his eyes; he quickly looked away and sat back in the chair folding his arms, “I was at home, sleeping.” He said, “I got off work and stopped at a gas station before I went home.”

Stephanie looked over at Townsend, and reached under the table and pulled out a Howell branded tablet, she made a few taps and handed it over to Oliver saying, “Do you recognize this person?”

It was an old picture of Devon, back from when he started working at Howell. “Yeeess,” Oliver said slowly.

“Good,” Stephanie said again, “and are you aware of his involvement in the break-in?”

“No.,” he said quickly.

“While Mister Rozen no longer works at Howell our records say that the two of you shared a Howell owned apartment for a period of time.”

“Again, yes.” Oliver said, “What does this have to do with the break-in?”

Stephanie closed the folder and opened the one underneath, “Mister Rozen had help, Mister Wolcott, and Howell would like to know who this accomplice is and bring them in.”

Oliver said, “And you think that I’m that person.”

“We’re just having a nice chat. We like ya’ Oliver, just makin’ sure you’re a good egg.” said Townsend in a tone that made Oliver wonder if he was listening to the same conversation.

Stephanie nodded, “The lease showed that you lived with a third person, a Kassidy Windsor when was the last time you spoke to her?”

That question hit him like a bullet, “I haven’t spoken to her since she moved out.” He spat.

“What about Devon?”

“Look,” Oliver started, “There’s no way Devon would have talked to Kassidy and you should know that, you a******s shipped her off to the other side of the country.”

“We’re all friends here,” said Townsend, “there is no need to get all huffy.” 

"According to our records," started Stephanie with an edge in her voice, "she asked us to move."

"She what?" said Oliver with a hit to the chest.

Stephanie scanned a new folder with her finger, "Yep, here it is. Kassidy Windsor, transfer request form. She wanted to move to our west coast park. I can show you the document if you want."

Oliver shook his head and took a sudden interest in the corner of the room, “No.”

Stephanie continued, “What do you know about Mister Rozen’s personal life, did he have any hobbies?”

“I don’t know,” Oliver shrugged, “TV, reading weird s**t on the internet. He wasn’t much of an outdoors guy.”

“What do you mean by ‘weird s**t’?” Stephanie asked.

“Conspiracies and s**t like that. The kind of things that people like you check out before hiring someone, just to make sure they won’t show up to the office in a foil hat.”

“So Mister Rozen had no one else in his life that would be inclined to help him, right?” said Stephanie in a leading tone.

Caroline thought Oliver. “No.,” he said. “Are we done? Can I go now?”

Stephanie looked up from her folder and gave a tight-lipped smile, “Sure, I think we’re done here.”

“Don’t you go far now, Ollie.” Said Townsend with a broad smile and a jerky point, “We might want to chew your ear off again.”

Oliver tried his best to run out of the room without actually running. He turned to look back and saw that Red and Pink had left their post and wondered how long into the interrogation they left and if he could have run. No, he thought, that’s an idiotic idea. When it came down to it he was still a couple hundred feet underground and security would be on him the second he broke the surface. Then how did Devon do it he wondered?

Oliver found his way back to the ride and did his best to push the incident to the back of his mind if he left they would know he was involved.

His heart was pounding, he was sure they knew, or they were close to it. How long before they discovered Caroline’s involvement? What would they even do to her if they did? What would they do to him? If Malcolm and Devon were right about Archie he was looking at far more than a quick and easy death. That became the best case scenario. Asking for a vanilla death seemed like wishful thinking.

The day didn’t want to end and every second felt like an hour. Five o’clock rolled around and Oliver casually walked out of the park and drove away. Once he felt he was safely far enough away he pulled off of the road and called Caroline.

The phone rang once, twice, three times. Oliver paced around his car, driver side door open. Other vehicles zipping by on the street, some taking a second to check out the crazy looking man running around his car. 

“Yeah, Oliver?” said Caroline over the phone.

Oliver leaned on the roof of his car, “I’m done, f**k this, f**k you. It’s over.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” she asked.

“Do you know what I just went through?”

“Obviously not.” She said more confused than angry.

“I was just grilled by someone at Howell, don’t know who, but she was high up. They know!”

Oliver could hear the change in Caroline’s voice, “What? How much do they know?”

“Too much, enough to call me in personally,” Oliver said panicked.

“What did they ask? Did they know about me?”

Oliver looked around him to make sure he wasn’t being watched, he wasn’t, but he got back in his car and locked the door to make sure, “Don’t worry, Caroline,” he snapped, “I’m not an idiot, they didn’t even mention you, but they’ll know soon. If I were you I’d drop this thing and pray they forget about it.”

“You know I can’t do that,” she said on the other end.

“Because of your stupid f*****g morals, I know, but I don’t have to get killed because you want to; I don’t have much worth losing, but d****t, it’s mine to lose. Remember our mountain of mistakes? Air’s getting pretty damn thin up here, Caroline, time to head back down.”

“Look, Oliver. You can’t quit�"“started Caroline

“Save it, Caroline, save your speech, I really don’t want to f*****g hear it right now. I won’t sell you out, but I won’t continue to help you either.” Then he hung up.

 

 

Author's Note

Thoughts on Oliver's anecdote and the interrogation scene?