Interrogation Part 3

(I storm back into the room, slam the door shut, grab the chair I had been sitting in, and slam it under the door knob to ensure that no one else was coming in. I knew I was going to get in a shitload of trouble, but by now I was seething; rational thinking had gone far out the window. I slam the report I had just rapidly filled out onto the table to make sure he saw it.)

S: See that, Al? That's a fucking legal form giving me permission to do whatever I want in here, and it has your name on it. You want to get your name taken off it, you start talking to me, okay? Now- (I slam a paper on the table) What's with the drawing? (I slam another one down) What's with the symbol? Who else do you have working with you?

C: This is a waste of time, Mr. Strahm-

S: Where the hell are the kids? Clock's ticking, you'd better start answering before we throw you behind bars for good this time.

C: (laughs) You have nothing to take me on-

S: Obstruction of justice. Stalking. Kidnapping. Rape. Conspirator to commit terrorism. Conspirator to murder. Now start talking. Where are they?

C: I told you, He has taken them-

S: (slamming my fist down on the table) Cut the shit! Where are they?

C: If you don't start listening to me, you'll never find them.

(Right about then, I finally punch him. Right in the face. Knocked him right off his chair. Hey, I did say the slip gave me permission to do anything I wanted)

S: If you don't start talking to me, you're going to need to eat through a straw the rest of your life. Where are the kids?

C: He has them.

S: WHO HAS THEM?!

C: I told you already-

(I kick him in the gut. As hard as I can.)

S: Getting REAL fucking tired of you ducking me, man. Now I'm not going to ask you again. Who is he? What does he want? Where is he? How do we stop him?

C: (laughs) You can't stop him. He wants all of us...especially you...

(I grab him by his collar and proceed to just beat the shit out of him. At this point, I'm in a blind rage. I know it's hard to tell through text, but if you heard the guy's voice and how he's talking to me you'd get angry too. I punch until my knuckles feel like glass, and then I drop him and deliver a few kicks to the stomach. I told you I get pissed; this is what happens when it goes past that point.)

S: WHERE ARE THEY?

C: Not long now-

S: (kick) WHERE ARE THEY?!

C: -until He comes for you-

S: (kick) WHERE THE FUCK ARE THEY?!

(At this point, the chief and two officers finally get the door open after ramming every heavy object they can against it. Guarantee that broken knob is coming out of my paycheck. The officers pull me off the bleeding hulk that is Albert Conaghan and force me back long enough for me to get my cool together. Conaghan crawls behind the table and leans against the wall; he's still got that smile on his face and it takes everything I have to keep my cool.)

S: Put him back in the cell. Don't let me see him again until he's ready to talk.

(As I turn to leave, he takes one more jab at me:)

C: If I were you, Mr. Strahm, I would be less concerned with me and more concerned for your partner, Ms. Armeen. He has taken quite an interest to her too...

(Before the chief can say a word, I push myself past the two officers, flip the table over so that there's nothing between him and me, grab him by the neck, lift him up, and slam him against the wall with my arm spread across his neck to pin him there. I imagine my eyes have turned to a reddish color, I've never felt so angry in my entire life. The words that come out feel like some demon's speaking through me.)

S: If you so much as lay a finger on her, I will kill you where you stand.

(I hold it long enough to make sure the point gets across, then I drop him and storm out of the room without looking back.)



And that's how it went down. Needless to say, I'm in the doghouse. Big time. Chief's furious. I'm pretty sure the only reason I haven't been suspended is that I'm the only one working the case right now and I need to fill in the paperwork.

My office has never felt more lonely without Lizzie making jokes and cute faces at her desk, or Eric hard at work on something at his.

Yeah, Lizzie's still on sick leave. I've managed to keep contact with her this past week or so, after the interrogation. I swear, I must call on the hour, every hour, just to make sure she's okay. She keeps insisting she is, though she sounds more like shit with every call. I don't think she's been sick a day in ten years; maybe it's all coming back to haunt her now.

I'm not even going to try and make sense of everything Conaghan said. The guy is just gone. I don't know what the hell he's been smoking, but something in him has snapped. He's got something programmed in his mind that the rest of us don't.

I don't know. I don't fucking know. He still won't give up Eric's location, or drop a hint as to the fate of the kids. He must have someone else helping him, but apparently this person must be a close acquaintance, because he's not giving him up either.

I need to go home and rest. I'll post more later.