The Revenge of Devil | Irondad, pepperony

Chapter 41

Everett wasn't even surprised when Adam called him last morning saying they had managed to catch Justin Hammer. His friend was a specialist in finding people. Unfortunately, he could not leave base yesterday, so he did not arrive until this morning. He now stood behind the one-way mirror, watching Justin's interrogation. Adam had already told him that they had not received anything from him, but that he was behaving strangely. Everett had to agree when he was watching them at the moment. Something didn't suit him, and he began to have a pretty clear idea of what it was all about. He had seen it many times in his career as an agent.

The blond man finished his interrogation and left the room, then appeared beside the minister in a few seconds. "So what do you think of that?" he asked curiously. He already had his theory, but he wanted to hear the opinion of his former colleague. He was a specialist in finding people, but Everett always excelled at interrogation. Somehow he always knew what to say... he knew how to get the detainee on his side.

"He knows something, that's clear. He's scared," he replied, staring at Justin. There was no emotion on his face now, but he often stuttered during the interrogation. At times he felt like he really wanted to answer Adam, but something was holding him back. "How much time do we have?"

"Less than two hours, then we have to let him go," he sighed. "Should I go there with you?"

"Not yet, I want to talk to him alone," he said, taking a folder from his desk and going to the interrogation room. "Greetings, Mr. Hammer. My name is Everett Ross. I used to be an agent, but now I've replaced our mutual friend Thaddeus Ross," he introduced himself and sat down where Adam had just sat.

"I didn't kill him," Justin said when he heard Ross's name.

"I know that at least I think so. I have no proof of that," he smiled friendly at him. "I thought you were supplying weapons for the military, so I ignored you for a long time. I have to apologize for that. Would you like to tell me now what you did with us when you didn't supply us?" He began lightly. Two hours wasn't that much time, but if his theory was correct, he would break him very quickly.

"Nothing," he replied simply, not lying much. After all, he did almost nothing there. He just jumped as Liv, Teresa, whistled. She did all the work herself or commissioned Quentin.

"It's hard to believe, Mr. Hammer. I won't lie to you, we don't know much, but we think our main pest was Quentin Beck. He killed Thaddeus, didn't he? Then what? Something went wrong between you and you decided to shoot him?" He presented him with a theory they knew was wrong. The chances of it happening like this were almost nil. But he needed to see his reaction.

Justin didn't show anything, but there was a movement on his face when Quentin's name was mentioned. He was locked up here all day and night, and though he didn't like it, it brought him a little peace of mind. He was far from Teresa. "I don't know if he killed him," he told him hesitantly.

"Okay, but what about you?"

"What about me? Are you asking me if I killed Ross? I already told you that I didn't!" he barked a little angrily. "You're as jammed as Agent Chase."

Everett chuckled. Adam sometimes sounded serious like a jammed gramophone record. "I did not ask about that. I asked if you killed Beck. In my opinion, you don't look like someone who could kill, but you're an arms dealer. Surely you've ever held one in your hand and you also had to learn to shoot. Only a few people can-"

"Shut up," Justin urged.

"A few millimeters next and he would be dead on the spot. But you didn't want that, did you? You deliberately hit him close to his heart to make him suffer for a while-"

"I didn't kill him!" he shouted, but this time there was no anger in his voice, but sadness. "I loved him, okay? I loved him!"

The gray-haired man paused for a moment. He certainly did not expect this confession. He just wanted to provoke him, which he did, but now he felt a little guilty about it. "I did not know that. I'm sorry for your loss," he told him honestly, and Justin just nodded. "Do you want to bring water or something?"

"It's not necessary," he declined.

"Justin, if you didn't kill Beck, then who did? You know that, am I right? Don't you want his killer to go to jail?"

"Sure I do, but if it was that simple, his killer would have been sitting for a long time. There is no evidence. Let's face it as I do! You'll never catch his killer," Justin hissed at him hostilely. If he was a good man, he would avenge Quentin himself. He would kill Teresa and definitely make sure she suffered as much as Quentin did. But he was not a murderer. He traded in weapons but was not a killer.

"You're withholding information, do you know we can lock you up for this?" he asked, watching him closely so as not to miss his reaction. He said nothing and just shrugged. He didn't seem to mind being in jail for a few months. On the contrary, he looked relieved. "Did this information reassure you, Mr. Hammer? Do you feel safe here?"

Justin grinned. That's exactly what he was trying to say himself, but when Everett asked about it now, he realized that believing it was foolish. "I'm nowhere safe of her," he said without thinking.

"So she's a woman? That narrows the list to us at least a little," the minister announced with satisfaction. It was only a matter of minutes now.

"You'll never catch her," Justin muttered resignedly. After all, what were his chances? Teresa finds out that the FBI caught him and what prevents her from killing him? Absolutely nothing. "I don't even know if she killed him. I didn't see it, and she never confirmed it to me."

"Can you accuse her of something else?" Everett asked hopefully, not wanting to give up so easily. Not when he was so close.

The businessman paused and thought. How did he even get into this situation? He got involved by accident but stayed because of Quentin and the revenge he longed for. But it was too late to find out what he was getting involved in. Could this be his way out? Could they protect him?

"Can you keep me safe?"

"Witness protection?" he offered but knew it wouldn't be that simple.

"You can kill me right away," Justin snapped, just as Everett had expected.

"It's not done very often, but if you insist, we can send you to jail until we catch her," he sighed.

"If it's a high-security prison, maybe. Don't underestimate her," he warned the older man.

Everett looked at him. "Careful with what you wish for, Mr. Hammer. I could send you to the Cube, where you'll be safe from your friend, but you probably won't be safe from the other prisoners. I may arrange a nice and secluded cell for you, but it depends on what you tell me," he informed him. It was his last suggestion. He couldn't offer him more.

"I've known her for months and I know almost nothing about her. Even when I met her, her name was Liv and she was blonde. Then a brown girl named Teresa emerged from her. I don't know her last name. I saw her kill a teenage child. She didn't blink at that either. She wants revenge on Tony Stark. I'm not sure why, she keeps a lot of things to herself. I think she is interested in the Stark's boy," he blurted out everything he knew, which wasn't too much. Even so, he was incredibly relieved. He was out of it.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yes, she's not very shared, but she talks about the boy almost constantly," Justin said, getting into a talkative mood. For the first time since Quentin's death, he felt hope.

"Agent Chase will continue the interrogation, I have to make a call," he told him, waiting for nothing. He didn't wait for Hammer's approval nod, or for Adam's arrival. He immediately left the room and found Stark's number in a flash.

"Come on," he muttered to himself when no one answered.

"You know who I am. If I'm out of reach, I probably don't want to talk to you, so don't leave a message."

"Damn it," he cursed and ran outside.