Chapter Eighteen #2
“Oh fuck,” Wallen squeezes his eyes shut and drops his head, realizing we know everything he's done since he got here.
“How deep is Storm in with the Kivisto’s?” I ask.
He takes a few tries, but Wallen isn’t the kind of guy who can handle a prolonged interrogation or beating. He’s the guy who aligns himself with whatever path keeps him alive.
“Storm said Timo is the weakest link, the one we can use to get on the inside. I’ve been working with Timo.”
“Why don’t you go off the presumption we are aware of all the players involved. Including Armas Kivisto.”
He winces again. “The few times I’ve met Armas haven’t been because I’m in with him.”
“But?”
Wallen looks at us one after another. “The last time I spoke to Armas, he wanted me to keep an eye on Timo.”
“So you’re playing both sides, like a fucking idiot.”
“Storm was feeling me out and I think I did a pretty good job of convincing him to trust I can do the job properly because the Kivisto’s were happy with what I was doing.
So yeah, I’m not sure that is a good or bad thing,” he shakes his head, rambling like a fucking idiot.
“This wasn’t what I wanted to happen. I never wanted to get stuck in the middle of all this. ”
Nero got it right about Wallen. I push that out of my head for now, I’ve got shit to make up to my friend.
Having spent the night with Kinsley, it gave me time to calm down and see things from his perspective. For real this time.
I’ve gotten too hotheaded lately, too quick to fly off the handle every time something new happens. I push those thoughts aside for now.
“Whether or not you wanted to get pulled in, you’re the tie that binds everything together. And you’re going to tell us everything.”
I smile at him, and he cowers away from me.
“What will you do to me?” he whispers.
“If you do what we say, your life won’t be over, but it can also be fucking miserable if you’re not on our side. You remember Phantom?”
His face blanches and he looks around at Fury, then nods.
“He’ll be your new bunkmate.”
“You’re sending me back there?” he yelps.
“You left the state, Kirk. Your parole officer is unhappy about that.”
“I don’t want to go back there. I can’t.”
“The alternative is having your throat slit by the Kivisto’s. We’ve seen how they like to play with their food before ending them,” Fury says. “Ensio is particularly… brutal. Even I wouldn’t want to find myself locked in a room with that guy.”
“Shit,” Wallen scrunches his eyes closed and drops his head.
“Storm won’t do shit to you, or for you,” I add. “Trusting him was your first mistake. He’ll let the most convenient group deal with you. You mean nothing to him. We’re your best bet right now, Kirk. We’ll keep you alive, so long as you tell the truth.”
“You can’t guarantee they won’t get to me.”
I bend forward so I’m at eye level with him. He won’t try anything. He might be stupid, but he’s not that stupid. Stryker has done enough to remind him who he is up against, I’ve given him enough to see how big the river of shit he’s sinking in really is.
“I’m going to relieve a little of that pressure you’re feeling.
How you deal with this information and what you choose to do next is entirely up to you, Kirk.
Live or die. Those are your only choices.
” I pause until his head nods in compliance.
“You’re going to be re-arrested on a parole violation. ”
He barely flinches, but it’s written all over his face, he knows it’s his only choice.
“Your parole officer is going to find you later today, you’ll be arrested and returned to prison. By the time anyone finds out about it, you’ll be under our protection.”
“Phantom,” he mumbled, his shoulders dropping.
“It’s him, or Needles,” Fury says, making Wallen jump.
His eyes widen in horror. Understandable. Needles instills fear in anyone he meets. If there were such a thing as a second command system of the Disciples, behind bars, Needles is the leader. He runs that prison like his own personal playground.
He’s loyal to Nero, but he has leeway in there. He’s the kind of man who thrives on the inside and has no desire to get out. He’s more than happy to commit crimes behind bars because the alternative would be getting out and, for whatever demons he has inside him, Needles doesn’t want to do that.
Phantom is the kind of guy who draws you in with his charisma and sense of humor. When you’re on his good side, he treats you like a buddy, but get on his bad side and… well, Wallen knows who he is better off sharing a cell with, and he’ll be kept in line.
“The Kivisto’s don’t have any reach in the Baltimore prison system,” I tell him. “And Storm can’t get to you either. Phantom hasn’t forgotten him.”
Considering he’s the reason he is even behind bars.
“Don’t think you’re getting off lightly,” Fury says. “The second you fuck up, any protection will be withdrawn. And an enemy of the Disciples in there…”
“Becomes the biggest target,” Wallen finishes in a stilted whisper. He takes a moment to compose himself, then nods. “If you swear Stryker won’t come back in here, then I’ll tell you everything.”
“Jesus Wallen, do you have any idea how fucking offensive that is, you little prick?”