Chapter Fourteen
The air in the room was stale. The scent of disinfectant hung strong in the air.
Hawkeye was in a room looking through the two-way mirror, waiting for Warlock and Silver to step inside the interrogation room.
Some time had passed since Hawkeye had seen the kingpin, and it was a good thing they weren’t sitting in the same room.
At least the two-way mirror offered some protection for Silver so Hawkeye couldn’t strangle him.
The door opened in the next room and Silver meandered in escorted by a guard.
The silver haired man looked old and tired but still had an air of danger.
The orange jumpsuit did nothing to diminish the menacing impression he exuded.
He wasn’t a tall man, nor a man in good physical shape, but he had emotionless eyes that made him intimidating. Both arms were covered in prison ink.
He was shown to the long, rectangular table. His hands and ankles were chained and he moved slowly. As he sat down his gaze settled on the mirror. A sinister grin turned the corners of his mouth.
Warlock strode in and took the chair across from Silver. He too could be considered intimidating. Tall, muscular, with a wide scar down his cheek from his undercover days, he faced many wars and street criminals far more dangerous than Silver.
“Well, well, if it isn’t my old buddy,” Silver crooned. “I must admit this is both a surprise and a pleasure.”
“Let’s not waste any time.” Warlock lifted his chair onto two legs. “Wouldn’t want you to miss a minute of your allotted one-hour outdoor recreation time.” Warlock dropped his chair back onto all fours and leaned his elbows on the edge of the table. “What do you know about Leo Davani’s death?”
Hawkeye saw a glimmer of surprise in Silver’s expression, but the man was a pro at maintaining his composure. A slow, deliberate smile rounded his thin lips. “One less person who will pay for my current living arrangements at this wonderful resort for the criminal.”
“Did you order the hit?” Warlock was both blunt and to the point.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Silver retorted, his gaze flicking to the mirror and then back to Warlock. “A good agent wouldn’t need my help. You are still an agent, right?”
Hawkeye’s fist tightened on its own accord. He wanted to wipe the cockiness out of Silver.
“Yes, I would like to know,” Warlock said smoothly.
“Maybe I would too so I could thank them.” Silver lifted his handcuffed wrists and scratched his temple. The 11 tattoo was visible on his hand.
“Maybe you could offer some suggestions on who, outside of yourself, might like to see Davani put in the grave.”
Silver chuckled softly. The sound shattered the stillness in the room. “The list would be long, and unhelpful, I’m sure.” He tilted his head, his gaze unwavering. “Who’s watching?” He lifted his chin toward the mirror.
“We’re alone,” Warlock said.
“Bullshit,” Silver’s voice sharpened.
Behind the mirror Hawkeye became more unsettled.
Warlock’s gaze narrowed. “Still wanting to protect the people you did dirty business for, huh?”
Silver leaned in, his chains rattling. “Sometimes the answers are right under your nose. A dog never bites the hand that feeds him.” His words were a taunt.
“I bet late at night, when the shadows have moved in, you stare at the ceiling, chasing shadows,” Warlock said. “I’d say whomever you’re protecting has you right where they want you.”
This struck a chord in Silver. His jaw tightened.
“And I bet at night you wish you could be anywhere else in the world besides alone in a big bed. A little birdie told me your wife got smart and is divorcing you. I bet you miss that little woman. Mm. I bet she smells as good as she looks. Is it tough that she’s sharing that sweet cookie with someone else? ”
Don’t respond. Don’t let him get to you, Hawkeye chanted in his head.
Warlock didn’t even flinch. Hawkeye would stake his life on the fact that Warlock wanted to shoot Silver.
“The truth is, you’re a monster who is right where he needs to be. And for the record, I sleep like a baby knowing that I helped put you here.” A slow, easy grin crossed Warlock’s expression.
“Every story needs a villain.” Silver’s shady smile widened. “Tell that to whomever is behind that mirror hiding like a coward.”
“Last chance, Silver.” Warlock stared, battling the chill of Silver’s calculated words.
“What do I get? More outside time? I could use some more vitamin D. The lighting is terrible in this place.”
“I don’t have the authority to offer you anything but peace of mind,” Warlock said calmly.
“Time is an interesting concept in here,” Silver said, staring at the mirror. “It stretches for the first few months, seems to go painfully slow, and then it shrinks. I’m sure it’ll be a blast in my new digs,” he said in an almost lyrical tune. “I hear the inmates have TVs in their cells.”
“Just remember, you’re not in Upstate yet,” Warlock gritted, losing some of his cool.
Silver didn’t react as sharply as Hawkeye thought he might. Warlock was trying to break the prisoner down.
“Say what you will, but you don’t have authority over where I get transferred to. It’s a done deal.” Silver adjusted himself in the plastic chair with a superior air.
“Give me a name, Silver. These people aren’t worth protecting. They don’t care about you.”
“And you think anyone in that agency where you work gives a fuck about you?” He laughed. “We’re in a dog-eat-dog world, my friend,” he slurred the last words.
“Think about all the lives you destroyed. Think about all those suits who sat at desks, still sitting there eating their fancy meals on fine China while you get served mystery goulash on a paper plate. That doesn’t eat you up? It would me.”
A cold sense of dread roiled in Hawkeye’s stomach.
“If you had your way I would be convicted of human trafficking,” Silver said with a moan.
“I’m not the type to harm little girls like y’all said I did.
” The testimony in his voice made Hawkeye grit his teeth.
“But I’d love to get my hands on that pretty ex of yours.
She’s well over eighteen and her juices must be perfectly fermented. ”
Warlock ignored the remark and stood, sliding the chair back under the table. “I’ve heard enough. Rosetta,” Warlock said to the guard, “Silver isn’t feeling well so he won’t be taking his recreation time this afternoon.”
Silver chuckled, a low unnerving sound. “Maybe when I get out, I’ll show your lovely wife how a real man can make a woman feel. I bet she’s divorcing you because of your micro-penis.”
Hawkeye felt the chill slowly move down his spine.
Warlock had nerves of steel. “Also, take him off his recreation for the rest of his time here. Put him in the kitchen washing dishes. I know how much he loved that job. It’s a real man’s job.”
The placid mask fell away from Silver, revealing a dark, almost hungry expression. “You can’t fucking do that.”
It was Warlock who had the leverage now. “Yes, I can. And I will. You’re in prison, not a democracy.”
“You’re not getting a name out of me” Silver tapped his fingers on the table, low and methodically. The metal handcuffs clanked against the wood. “Do what you want to me.”
“Soon you’re going to be a used-up commodity.”
Silver’s smile returned, wider and more sickening. “If I told you a name that would ruin the show. And no one likes a spoiler.”