Austyn had been loaded up with a pile of manuals to read on the topic during his twelve-hour flight to Afghanistan. None of what he'd read or been told seemed to apply here. She wasn't what he'd expected. Even before talking to her, his instincts told him that this woman was not crazy, just… resigned to fate. He sensed that when he looked into her eyes, he'd know without a doubt if she could create a substance as terrible as the one that had killed in Maine.
"I'd like to speak to her here," he told the prison commander.
She looked up and down the hallway. "I'm afraid not, sir. We have other prisoners in cells along this corridor. It would be disruptive, and there is the problem of security. Every one of them would hear you."
Still, Austyn wanted her to come willingly out of that hole. He wanted to start off on the right foot. He wished they hadn't moved her. He'd hoped they had taken better care of her.
A thought crossed his mind, something that had occurred to him as he'd read Rahaf's files. It was the only useful thing that had come out of the reading that he'd done on the flight over. "When was the last time Dr. Banaz was outside?"
"You mean, out in the open?" Captain Adams asked doubtfully.
Austyn nodded.
"These prisoners are not allowed to exercise in an open yard, if that's what you mean. She gets thirty minutes of fresh air every day in a special containment unit—"
"And the rest of the time, she's in solitary confinement?"
"These prisoners are here because of special circumstances, sir," Adams replied defensively. "I have specific instructions regarding their handling."
"I know that," Austyn said testily. "When was the last time she saw a horizon, Captain?"
"I can't say, sir. Not since she was moved here. She was blindfolded the times that we had to transfer her to one of the field hospitals because of self-inflicted nutritional issues."
He looked at the pale skin of the prisoner's wrists, the short fuzz covering her skull. If she was listening to anything that was being said, she showed no indication of understanding. "Is there a place outside where I can talk to her?"
The prison commander motioned to him to step away from the open cell.
Austyn complied. She moved to a steel door that they had come through into this section of the prison. Beneath the fluorescent lights of the corridor, he could see she was trying to control her anger. He exchanged a look with Matt, who stood behind her.
"I don't know what you're doing, sir, but you need to keep in mind that this prisoner is a high security risk. Because of her classification, she is not allowed to be seen by other prisoners or by anyone other than a select number of guards. We've had to use extreme caution and use medical staff with a high level of clearance each time that she's had to be hospitalized. She's supposed to be dead, Agent Newman, remember?"
He remembered. "Is there anywhere private enough outside that we could take her?"
"You're obviously not hearing what I'm telling you, sir," she said sharply. "My orders regarding this prisoner are clear and specific."
"And do you really think that none of the other prisoners know she's here?" Austyn asked.
"There is absolutely no contact between them."
"Maybe since she's been at the Brickyard," Austyn argued. "But we have information from Iraq that the insurgents there know that Rahaf Banaz survived the U.S. attack on her lab. The only people we're trying to fool are the United Nations and Amnesty International."
"Look, Agent Newman, the communiqué I received regarding your visit doesn't change my overall charge."
"Captain Adams, my purpose here is to extract information that Dr. Banaz has not shared in almost five years under other interrogation. I want to try something different. I think it could prove beneficial to take her outside for some fresh air."
She stared at him for a moment. "I'd like to see your orders concerning the prisoner," she responded stubbornly.
"All right, Captain." Austyn motioned to Matt to dig the papers out of the briefcase. "I understand your concern, but as of today, her classification changes. These orders supersede your previous orders. As of this moment, she is to be classified as a Homeland Security detainee."
She took the papers that Matt offered and started looking through them. "Then take her. We can help you with transportation."
"We may take her with us if I deem it necessary, or she may remain here." Austyn watched her reading the orders. He would do what he felt was necessary, but he didn't want to rub her nose in it. He was after cooperation, not hostility. Captain Adams appeared to be very good at what she did, and there was no telling if their paths wouldn't cross again.
"I'd like to talk to her here in your facility before we make any decisions," Austyn said in a reasonable tone, trying to make her understand. "Because time is critical until we know more about the nature of the bacteria, we don't want to waste time moving her to another facility. According to her files, the one leisure activity that Rahaf pursued while she was studying in the U.S. was hiking, getting outdoors. There were a number of references to how she loved being out in nature. Now, it may be heading up toward 110 degrees outside, but if moving her into the open air can jolt her a little, help her to open up, then I'd like to try it." He paused a moment. "Can you help us out with that, Captain?"
His plea worked. She nodded, satisfied. "We've fenced in an area in the back of the building where they used to dry bricks. It's walled in on two sides by the old kiln and a garage building. It faces the hills. We don't use it, as it doesn't meet security standards. You're welcome to it."
"Could she been seen there?" he asked, not really caring, but at the same time not wanting to make the personnel here feel as if whatever they'd done so far had no significance.
"Probably not," Adams said. "We have guards' housing on the adjacent hill."
"Okay," he said. "We'll talk to her there."
"Agent Newman, as I mentioned before, I don't think you'll get any cooperation from her. The chances are that she won't go willingly outside with you or answer any of your questions. Do you want to have one of our interrogators work along with you?"
That suggestion had been made back in Washington, too. He was authorized to use whatever resources he needed.
"No." Rahaf Banaz looked like nothing more than a slender bag of bones. There was no way he'd risk losing her under rough interrogation. "Agent Sutton and I will handle it."
"Then would you like to have a couple of guards take her outside?"
So much for letting Rahaf go out willingly, Austyn thought. But he guessed there was probably no chance of that, anyway. He didn't know if she even had the strength to walk. He nodded. "Thanks."
As she relayed the orders to the guards, Matt motioned to Austyn and tapped his watch.
"Captain Adams," Matt said to her. "If you don't mind, I need to use a secure phone to call Washington."
"Of course. You can use the phone in my office. I'll show you."
Austyn decided to stay with Rahaf and make sure he didn't lose her, now that they were this close. As they opened the steel door, the soldier who'd been sent to find information on Rahaf's eating schedule came back. They really couldn't pinpoint the last time she'd eaten.