Chapter 23. Interrogation
The accident near the café was gathering like a snowball, and twenty minutes later, the story reached the security service. But only after some details were clarified, and the participants’ appearance was described, the case was believed to be something extraordinary. A brigade of field agents was sent, a police checkpoint was arranged on the way towards the Silencers’ desert, and the Chief himself showed his willingness to interrogate the detained on his own.
He got down to a special room for interrogating. Special lighting was hiding the interrogator’s face, while the suspected person, on the contrary, was lit excellent to watch the prisoner’s facial expression.
Experienced interrogators can see through the trick, that is why hard core criminals prefer to keep silence. The interrogator himself controls the recording. Sometimes, through torments, it is interrupted, it must be said though that torturers refer to their job more elliptically: ‘special means’, or ‘special measures’. A prisoner is exposed to tortures only in cases of emergency, when it is necessary to fish for information about terrorist attacks being prepared. If there is no hurry, the prisoner just is not allowed to sleep, and on the fifth day, the majority of the arrested persons agree to cooperate with police. However, pursued by hallucinations, they can hardly tell reality from dreams, which make interrogation more complicated.
In the center of the room, in the chair, the Bumblebee was sitting, tied by the leg. He took two doses of strong sedative drugs, but even that did not sleek him ruffled piece of mind.
The Chief nodded towards him, looked at the gloomy investigator and said in a chummy manner:
“Come on, Bumblebee, why droop head? That was ordinary hypnosis. Didn’t you hear of such things?”
The criminal shifted his lost glance onto him and whispered:
“What the fuck hypnosis, boss! God visited us, the sinner.”
The director gave a sigh: it makes no sense to talk with a madman. The Bumblebee does not pretend, enough to look into his eyes to see this.
“Have you junked up? You met with a hypnotizer. Not a big deal, have a rest for a couple of hours with us, and then we’ll go on.”
The next prisoner was much more tranquil.
“Tell! I have no time to listen to lies. Tell nothing but the truth,” the Chief ordered.
“Well,” the criminal began, “we were waiting for them…”
“For whom?”
“I don’t know. I was told: stay near the Bumblebee when the one starts talking.”
“What talking? What was in question?”
“I don’t know. I was told to stay. I was staying.”
“What next?”
“Then that… whatsename… yeah… the Stranger… began preaching, the Bumblebee and I were touched and moved to tears.”
“The Bumblebee is still crying,” the Chief interrupted.
“To cry befits a right man,” the criminal mentored.
“What was next?”
“That’s all. The preacher’s gone; the brother Bumblebee couldn’t get off the ground, was standing and crying. I stayed with him until your people came and took us,” he finished his short narration, shifting his glance. That man could control his feelings despite being suppressed and frightened.
The Chief was listening to his unpretentious narration with undisguised contempt:
“That’s it. Take an hour to write down all details. I don’t want you to describe your dirty deeds. I don’t care about it. You will put down everything you know about this story. Otherwise, you will leave the house heels foremost with severe heart attack, or suicide. I’ll consult friends to decide on how to kill you best of all. Do you believe me?”
The criminal nodded grinding his teeth. This is not the police: nobody will look for the reason for his early death.
Talking to witnesses has clarified the situation more or less: the Stranger and the Soldier were confronted by the Bumblebee’s gang-band for some young woman. The Stranger tried to ransom her offering a precious stone. The gangsters took the stone but stood him up. Then, somewhat baffling thing happened. The Stranger accused the Bumblebee of crimes threatening with terrible scourge. The word struck down the band, however surprising it might seem. Having examined the case, the Chief of the Service understood, why it was the Stranger, not the Soldier, that came under the Seer’s notice.
Chapter 24. The Bird