Family Reunification

The screen on the wall showed an empty room, somewhere on the other side of the country. It looked much like this room, with cinderblock walls painted a despairing shade of off-white. Above the screen was a camera, because the other room also had a screen (and camera) mounted on the wall.

From the remote location came the sound of a metal door opening. A dark-skinned young girl, about 9 years old with thick, long, black hair walked in. She looked at her screen and camera. Her face broke into a smile. "Mami!" she cried in recognition.

"Mi nina!" her mother replied. "Como-" she began, then her voice was cut off by a flash and a loud, distorted sound from the other end. Her daughter's face showed confusion, as a small red circle appeared at her hairline. Before the small-caliber bullet hole could even start bleeding, she collapsed to the floor.

The sound of another shot rang out, this time clear and sharp. Now it was the mother's turn to be confused by the tumbling .22 bullet ricocheting inside her skull.

As her body fell to the floor, the officer holstered the weapon, and pushed the button on a lapel-mounted mike. "Case 1138, Ortiz, family reunification complete."