"Look, my friend." Andrei continued, ignoring his reaction. "Half of
your leads point directly to me. Nearly all the juicy ones, in fact. I
know you don't have shit to publish, and that no one wants to listen to
your little conspiracy theories - even when we both know they're all
true. But, see, I don't like taking risks. You've already learned too
much. I have to make sure you stop your stupid games, and move on. Write
about the weather, for all I care. Just, stop poking your goddamned
nose around my businesses."
I was confused. Was he
lying? ... At this point, I could reliably tell when someone was lying
- years of experience with some of the best human lie detectors had
surely helped. But, he didn't seem to lie. So, could he be telling the
truth? Had he something to do with the Families? But... his words
implied a lot more than simply having something to do...
"I-I will stop, Mr. Zima..."
Andrei harshly interrupted him. "You can call me Andrei, my friend."
The
man started sobbing when he heard the name. "P-Please, I... I swear,
I'll disappear, you'll never hear from me again.... Please..."
Andrei
stood up and silently told me to follow him. He locked the door once we
were in the outside room. Then he pointed his chin at one of the chairs
in there, so I sat, uneasy. I had too many questions, and I was
starting to think I would not get answers.
He seemed more friendly than before, his mask now gone. Still, there wasn't a huge difference. "What's it, boy?"
"I... Is it true? The... the families thing?" I asked at once.
"Well...
to put it bluntly, yes. But, I have an explanation." He added before I
could say anything back. "You see, this is an uncivilized land. Those
people used to rule it, bending the laws at their will. I soon knew that
there was only one way to fight the Mob - by becoming one of them. So,
as the head of Detentions, I reunited my own family. You've ever
wondered how I have... so many... resources?"
Same old story. You can't fight monsters without becoming one. But this was taking it a bit too far, wasn't it?
"So... you're like... the boss of it?" I asked again.
Silence.
He proceeded to unbutton his shirt, revealing his tattoos. I gasped at
the sight - I didn't knew exactly what they meant, but I could make a
good guess.... Power. Lots of it.
"Do you really mind?" He asked, his ruthless mask back on.
I
had trouble finding the words. I had the impression that choosing the
wrong ones could end badly. But I had to be sincere - he could surely
see through lies too. "I... I mean, I'm used to Agencies stuff, but...
this is... this is something else, you know."
"That's not what I asked, Sandy."
I
sighed. "I'm... not sure I want to be a part of this anymore. Sure, the
Agencies have never been the good guys, but... this is awfully close
to... you know."
"Well, you know, tags aside, it's all
pretty much the same. Doing what's necessary. Even if you never get to
be on the good side. Plus, yesterday I thought you had made up your mind
about it. Does a mere tag make such a difference to you?"
I
had heard this countless times. Except this was different. Not only the
side of the law - no matter how many times he told me all of it was legal,
but... I would have sworn he didn't really believe a word he said. It
was all mere excuses. But... wasn't the same back home? Did any of them actually care about doing the right thing, no matter how wrong it was? I
sighed loudly. None of them cared. They just liked the job.
I
looked back at him, and for a split second, I saw behind his mask. He
was telling the truth. He truly wanted a better world. Shit. I
swallowed hard at the decision I was going to make. "No. I don't care.
I'll do it."
His eyes glistened in delight. "That's my boy. Now, I believe you have work to do?"
I paused for a second. Even after having made up my mind, this wasn't easy. "I... do."
"Good.
Now, Sandy, your card can open all the locks in here. The girls are in
the next room to the left as you exit. You know what I want. I'll be
doing some work elsewhere. Oh - here, have this so we can talk." He
handed me an earpiece. "Call me if you need anything, okay?"
"Okay."
"Oh, Sandy. One more thing. Remember our deal?"
"Yeah?"
"Forget about it. You want out, just say it. No price for it. No consequences, at all."
NOW I froze. "What... what do you mean."
"I just want to be sure you're here 'cause you want, there's no point in forcing you to do this, Sandy."
I stared at him. "Why... why are you doing this?"
"I
told you I'd make you go through hell, didn't I? ... Well, now you get
to choose what you really want. Nothing to lose. No excuses. Only
decisions." He grinned, a ruthless reminder that... he knew all too well
what I was gonna choose. "Now, if you excuse me, I have to go."
"You sick bastard" I muttered behind my teeth.
He turned around and winked at me, his eyes gleaming with delight, then went on his way.
