World of Monsters

20. Interrogation

     While Gabriel preferred both he and Alyssa be seated in the same room for interrogation, he knew better than to make demands of Lycans. They were very proud creatures and didn't like to be told what to do, especially by other creatures that were assumed to think themselves better than them. Gabriel knew Alyssa would be alright anyway, confident she wouldn't say a thing that would put him in an awkward position. She was tough and the wolves wouldn't be too rough with her, not unless then wanted to answer to him later. Gabriel instead chose to sit there in silence and at least give the wolves a chance to control the conversation, at least from the beginning. The guards the escorted him there stood at the door and waited while Gabriel sat in the room at a table that had two chairs. Very cliché, he thought, but the cliché was new again since television had been off the air for over fifty years. He sat there and waited, wondering if this was a tactic they had been trying to use on him as well. Gabriel soon go this answer when the door flung open and a man wearing a suit walked in. It was the exact same man that had met up with him and Alyssa in the shopping center and interrupted them. Gabriel didn't even shift in his seat and watched as the man in the suit walked in and sat down in the seat across from him.

     "Gabriel," The man started.

     "Mystery Man," Gabriel replied, trying to be funny with his first response.

     "I have a name," the man aggressively retorted.

     "Then I suggest you share with the rest of the class," Gabriel continued, "Unless you want me to keep making them up as we go."

     "You can call me Clive," the man informed him, as he shifted in his seat a bit.

     "Well Clive," Gabriel said, not caring if the name was fake or not, "Maybe you can tell me what has gotten everyone so nervous around here?"

     "We've been getting reports from the west coast since hostilities began," Clive said, not breaking eye contact to see Gabriel's response. "New Lycan has chosen to remain neutral while the west fights it out for whatever the hell they're fighting over."

     "Water, oil, land," Gabriel guessed, "Some things will never change."

     "Regardless," Clive said, as he obviously didn't give a shit. "We got reports that a lookout was attacked by something that was supernatural. Since it wasn't us, we suspected that the only thing just as fast that could have done it was a Vampire. That suspicion was confirmed when we realized that one of the soldiers had been drained. Since you're one of only four Vampires living in this area, it makes you one of our top suspects."

     "You're only tracking four of us?" Gabriel said, smiling back at Clive.

     "I know you fly in that direction often," Clive noted, "We have scouts that spotted someone fitting your description going there a few times in the last several months. Do you deny being out there?"

     "I do not," Gabriel answered, "I have friends over there that I met when I used to work as a private messenger. I like to visit them and make sure they and their families are doing alright. Last time I checked it's not a crime to fly out to visit a friend on the coast."

     "It is a crime to murder someone." Clive replied.

     "Someone should take that up with California," Gabriel retorted, "Because they murdered a lot of people a few nights ago."

     "So you were there?" Clive asked.

     "Yes, I was." Gabriel answered, "I watched those punks from the coast knock down Denver's walls and then let the undead do their dirty work for them. It was quite an act of cowardice if you ask me."