The Value of Life

  Chapter 29: K

  K waited in the back of the police van for two hours. He sat silently and patiently. After two hours his interest was peaking. There were two officers in the van with him. One was a young man who looked about twenty years and as many stones, and an older, weasel faced officer with a large pointed nose and protruding upper teeth.

  "I need the toilet," K said.

  "Tuff," said the weasel.

  "I need the toilet or I'm gonna piss myself," K said.

  "Piss yourself," said weasel man. K had his hands cuffed in front of him. He thought for a moment.

  "I need to piss," K said.

  "Tuff," weasel repeated. K slammed his elbows back against the side of the van. It sounded loud inside the confined space.

  "I need a piss I need a piss," he yelled banging. The younger officer dragged him to the floor and sat on him. It was only when the full weight of the man landed on him that K stopped shouting. The back door of the van opened and the man who had dragged K to the ground in the garage was standing there, three big unformed men behind him.

  "What's going on?" he said when saw the scene.

  "I need a piss," K said. The officer sat on K held his hand over K's mouth.

  "Sir he needed a piss. We told him to wait and he threw a paddy," he said. K mumbled from beneath the hand, then licked the inside of the officer's palm with his full tongue. The officer pulled his hand away suddenly.

  "You dirty fuckin' bastard," he said wiping the hand on his trousers.

  "Get off me before I piss myself," K said.

  "Let him up," the plain clothed cop said. The giant lifted himself off K and dragged him upright.

  "Come on," plain clothes said. He grabbed K by the shoulder and led him to the house. K could see there were arc lights in the garage, on the van and in the hallway. There were men in white paper suits taking pictures and everywhere.

  "Something interesting?" Plain clothes said. "Something you want to tell me?"

  "I need a piss, that's it," K said. Plain clothes led K through the garage into the house. K was aware the plain clothes was studying his reactions to the search, where he looked and so on. Plain clothes opened the downstairs toilet door pushed K inside then followed him in. He shut the door and stood behind K as he relieved himself.

  "I know what happened to you," plain clothes said. "I know about your son and your wife. You don't really want to hurt these kids. Talk to me now, tell me where they are and we can work something out." K said nothing.

  "Come on. There are plenty of people who'd do the same as you in your position. You give me the boys and they might go easy on you," plain clothes said. He was very good, but K had gone too far to go soft. He thought of Fletcher and allowed the old anger to rise.

  "What boys?" K said and turned to wash his hands. Plain clothes looked straight at him.

  "Fine," he said. Plain clothes led K back to the van. Walking in this direction K could see the police had taped off the street and there were a lot of people watching. He could see what he thought was a camera crew too. He climbed back into the van. The big officer smiled and pulled him up by his collar.

  "Have a seat," he said, and threw K only the wooden bench. The doors of the van closed. K thought about the press and the cameras.

  "What the fuck you smiling at?" weasel said.

  'Oh, nothing," K dismissed.