Innocent

Chapter 12: The Wire

To live is to suffer, to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering.

~Fredrich Nietzsche.

        I tapped my fingers against the marble counter. I had better things to do than watch Agent Collins interrogate a prisoner. And fail might I add.

        "Tell me what you know about The Wire!" Agent Collins demanded pounding his fists against the table of the interrogation room. He was clearly frustrated that he wasn't getting anywhere, and that behind those glass walls of the interrogation room, his superiors were watching. I leaned in my chair, I tried to look like I was not enjoying myself, but I couldn't keep the smile on my face.

        "I don't know anything!" He replied wildly, his blue eyes piercing Agent Collins. I saw Agent Collins shuffle in his seat and look at me. He wanted to know, if he was making the same mistake he made four years ago. The prisoner, was young, too young in fact to be here. He was at probably eighteen or nineteen, too young to be involved with Mafia, and an assassin known as The Wire. They call him the wire because after each kill, he hangs his victim to the nearest telephone pole. Quite a bold move, may I add. He ties them down with gold wire, leaving them for the police to find. I could feel Agent Collins giving up, and I debated whether or not I should step in. The prisoner was found living near the telephone pole where the Wire's latest victim was found. I really should leave Agent Collins to public humiliation, but I needed the Bureau's resources to catch whoever put me in prison. I wanted answers. I had a feeling this urge for justice would be my undoing.

        "Agent Collins, would you leave the interrogation room, please?" I intervened, I gave Agent Collins a pointed look to know I mean business. I knew I had the attention of Agent Collins, and the people behind the one way glass screen. They're watching, why not give them a show? Agent Collins raised an eyebrow, but obediently left the room and left the interrogation room. Calmly I grabbed the cup of water to my left, and walked to the other side of the table and offered him a sip.

        "How do I know that it hasn't been poisoned with something?" He asked looking nervously at my gesture. I was silent as I took a sip of the water and then again offered it to him. He willingly took gulps of the water, quickly finishing it down in what felt like a matter of seconds.

        "So what's your name?" I asked.

        "Jamie." He said firmly, trying to act like a tough guy.

        "How old are you, Jamie?" I questioned.

        "Eighteen and a half." The ghost of a smile appeared on my face. This told me a lot about Jamie, more than he would ever know.

        "So Jamie, eighteen and a half year old," I said mocking him, "How does someone like you end up in the mob?"

        He shrugged his shoulders, trying to seem indifferent but I know I've struck a nerve.

        "It seemed cool to be a mobster so why not? Joined at fifteen." He said wiping the sweat on his brow. Liar.

        "Can I tell you a story?" I asked him.

        "Sure, why not?" He said cockily.

        "Once upon a time, when I wasn't in prison," I said deciding to add that in just to rub it in the Feds faces, Jamie interrupted me.

        "You went to prison?"

        I nodded, and continued my story.

        "As I was saying. Once upon a time, there were these two neighbors that lived on my street. They were two brothers they lived right next door actually. Anyway, one was named Reed, the other was named David. They were twins. One day they decide to go fishing. They go fishing in a small pond in a nearby park. Reed, the brother who was older by about five minutes doesn't catch a fish, but David does. So young David shows the fish to Reed who is on the other side of the pond. Now, Reed is mad that he hasn't caught anything and then David shows up with a fish. Imagine how Reed must feel that his younger brother has something that Reed doesn't have. So what does Reed do? He takes the fish away from David. Pushes David in the pond, and sadly David doesn't know how to swim. But Reed doesn't know that, so he turns his back on his brother all for a fish. Now, sweet David almost drowns, but by some miracle he doesn't. Now David is angry, after all he can't let his big brother take what is his, so he goes back for the fish. And David steals the fish back when Reed goes on a business trip. When Reed comes back from his trip he sees the fish in love with David. So he kills the fish. If he can't have the fish then no one can. Reed does this again and again. Taking away everything David holds dear. Now David doesn't tell anyone anything because Reed is his brother. And Family is everything." I finish strongly.

        "Is there a point to that story? Because I don't see it." He replied.

        "Really? 'Cause I read your file." I said casually, as I fingered with the file on the table.

        "You have a twin brother," I said, "His name is Nicholas. I did some extensive research on you. He was three minutes older than you. For the last eight months he's gone AWOL, from the mob, from the world. Weird, huh? You know he's killed eight people. All who have had some connection to you one way or another. Your new boss, your new girlfriend, I think you get the gist. After each murder, I notice exactly forty minutes later, you get a phone call from a pay phone. The call lasts exactly ten minutes and then it's over. Everything is exact, and the murders are clean. All DNA is scrubbed away. Another fact that led to your missing brother is that he has been diagnosed with paranoia and OCD. I then, looked around, and figured out it all started over a fish, named Cassie. But, of course I have no hard evidence so this is just some theory, my mind conjured up. So tell me, Jamie, what do you think about my little theory?"

        He looked broken, like he entire world has become to unravel and all he could do was watch. And I really, really understood his brokenness. "I want my lawyer." He said quietly.

        "I could help you."

        "I want my lawyer."

        "Just give me a location!"

        "I want my lawyer!" He demanded banging on the table.

        I grabbed him by the collar, I held him close and whispered in his ear. "I'm not a Fed, I will hunt you, and track you down until I get what I want. You can run, but you can't hide. Jamie, it will haunt you, this moment, the moment where you let a guilty man walk away. Don't let him walk away, Jamie. Don't do this. Don't let him get away for this, Jamie. Your decision now will torment you, are you really going to let your brother get away with this? Are you really going to let more people get hurt because of your brother. If you walk away from this, the blood will be on your hands too, don't you dare forget that. Give me a location, Jamie."

        "I want my lawyer!" He yelled again, trying to push me away from him. Unfortunately for him,  years of prison fights, made me too strong.

        "All I need to know is where your brother is. Tell me!" I yelled shaking his collar.

        Suddenly the door opened, and two agents attempted to drag me out, but were struggling to pull me away from Jamie.

        "A location, Jamie!" I yelled again.

        He was silent, debating whether or not to tell.

        "Tell me where he is and I'll let the FBI handle it, don't tell me and I'll find him myself and I will personally kill him. Trust me Jamie that is a promise, one I intend to keep!" I threatened. The agents keep trying to pull me away from Jamie. Why no one was helping them was probably because this was too funny.

        He sighed defeated. "A warehouse by the docks. It's warehouse 254." I let go of him, and shrugged the agents off my shoulders.

        "Now that wasn't so hard, was it?" I replied.

        I exited the interrogation room, with a slight smirk on my face at the look on their shocked faces.

        "Who's ready to go catch a murderer?"