Random Encounters Change Lives
by TMax
Copyright© 2026 by TMax
Thriller Story: What would a corporation have to offer you to spill your ultra-secret? Don't know? Find out?
Tags: Science Fiction Futuristic
“Tell us what you know.”
The voice came from a small speaker on the metal desk, an old, beat-up, scratched desk, with dried blood on the edge and a rotten hunk of meat in the middle, complete with maggots that wiggled and squirmed on it.
I leaned back on the chair’s two metal legs and stared at the white ceiling. A drawing of a cat stared back at me, well drawn, with cute whiskers, wide, oversized eyes, and realistic triangle ears. They hadn’t finished the body, or they had decided on a tailless cat.
“I don’t know nothin’.”
A lie, but all negotiations start with a lie and a low-ball offer. Officially, I didn’t actually know what they wanted, because officially, I really didn’t know anything. But, unofficially, I had a good idea what they wanted, because I only had one piece of information worth anything to anyone except me and my bff.
“We know you know, so just tell us so we can let you leave.”
Not a great offer. I wanted more than just my freedom. Not sure what as I didn’t know how much they valued the information. I really didn’t know what I could charge for it, but then again, I guess officially, other people’s lack of information gives you power, leverage, and something worth something.
I let the chair fall back onto all four legs and almost put my elbows on the table. True, the meat smelled horrible, and I wanted to leave, but I figured I could handle it for another twenty or thirty minutes of the stench, so they would have to do better, much better.
A photo of a happy couple on the wall stared into the room, his eyes on me, while hers stared behind me. His smile appeared forced while hers looked strange, with the right side of her smile higher than the left. They stood in a photoshopped green field with blue skies, white clouds, and tall majestic trees in the distance. A flock of birds flew in a V pattern, which gave away that they used AI to create the image, because it hadn’t made all the birds the same species.
The man had well-groomed hair, brown with blonde highlights, and wore a casual T-shirt, shorts, and sandals. She had her blonde hair up in a ponytail and wore a thin white sundress and no footwear. What couple could walk the needed distance to have their photo taken in that spot of the field with flip flops and bare feet? Sure, they could have a transport out of frame, but the slight fuzziness around his knees and her toes showed how the AI missed those parts. Plus the birds.
“If I knew, I’d tell.”
In other words, they needed to sweeten the offer.
On my left, they had a photo of their new interceptor spacecraft, all sharp angles, massive engines, antennas, missile pods, and rail guns. The stars behind it didn’t match any constellation that I recognized, so either a better AI image or taken well away from Earth.
“We could torture the information out of you.”
Amateurs. Torture never works. Any interrogator knows that, so likely a bureaucrat or mid-level manager, which meant they didn’t have time to bring in a professional, so time sensitive to them, which, given the piece of information I had, made sense, however, my price just doubled.
In the back left corner, on the ceiling, the air vent rattled on. The blast of cool air helped push the rotten odor away from me. The sweat on my neck tickled as it evaporated and helped cool my body after the pursuit. I hadn’t run for long, as their security force had sufficient numbers to surround and corner me. I also knew enough not to resist.
“That would suck, but can’t tell what don’t know.”
In front of me, the dark screen turned on and cast a blue light that competed with the bright white fluorescent light of the room. A softer light that helped soothe my panicked mind. Sure, I knew to control my breath. Sure, on the exterior, I looked casual, relaxed even, but unless you drug yourself, no one in my situation could stay calm and cool like a sensor net, invisible as it floats in the endless void.
On the screen, a face appeared, my best friend, in another room. She sat as I did, with a hunch and her eyes on the screen. They likely showed me on the screen in her interrogation room, which looked nicer than mine. Hers had a dark wood desk that shone in the soft yellow lights. Real plants lined the light wooden walls, yellow, green, and purple leaves fluttered in the breeze from an unseen fan. She smiled, which meant that she understood the situation.
She didn’t know anything but trusted me.
“Tell us, and we will let your friend go.”
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