INFERNO │ Marvel

4.4 fire and flesh

Harley had given them a location for Mrs Davis. Tony and Amelia sent the boy home and then walked to the bar they expected her to be at. Amelia walked ahead of Tony, raring to get answers.

"Sorry," she heard Tony say. She stopped and turned as he leaned down to pick something up from the floor. "Lady, this uh..."

"Thank you," the woman he had bumped into said. Amelia watched from afar, narrowing her eyes as Tony cleared his throat.

"Nice haircut," he said. "Suits you."

"Nice watch."

"Yeah, limited edition."

"Oh, I don't doubt it," the woman said before walking off. Tony moved to join his sister.

"What was that?" she asked him, but he just shook his head and directed her into the bar.

The bar was rustic and filled with people enjoying a drink for the festive period. An older blonde woman sat alone at a table, an empty glass in front of her and a set of dog tags dangling from her fingers.

"Mrs Davis?" Amelia called as they approached. The woman looked up at the pair. "Mind if we join you?"

"Free country."

"It sure is," Tony affirmed, and the two took a seat. Amelia observed the woman. She looked tired and aged, more so by grief than by time itself. The way she clutched those dog tags like a lifeline showed just how much she loved her lost son. Although she couldn't compare their grief, Amelia found herself relating a little after almost losing Tony so many times.

"Alright. Where'd you like to start?" she asked.

"I just want to say I'm sorry about your loss. I want to know what you think happened," Tony answered.

"Look, I brought your damn file. You take it and go," she told them as she pushed a file across the table. Tony opened it. "Whatever was in here, he wanted no part of it."

"Clearly, you're waiting for someone else," Amelia pointed out. "Supposed to meet somebody here?"

"Yeah," she confirmed. Amelia looked back at the file to see Tony subtly pointing out a picture and name to her. Taggart.

"Mrs Davis, your son didn't kill himself, I guarantee you," he said. "He didn't kill anyone. Someone used him. As a weapon."

"You're not the person who called me after all, are you?" she questioned, tears in her eyes. At that moment, the same woman who Tony had knocked into earlier slammed a gold badge down on the table.

"Actually, I am," she hissed. She grabbed Amelia first, cuffing his wrists and pushing her against the wall. She then grabbed a hold of Tony's head and slammed him down onto the table. He quickly grabbed Chad's dog tags.

"Hey! Hey! What's going on here?" the sheriff of the town called out.

"It's called an arrest," the woman sneered, cuffing Tony and throwing him against the wall too so that he hit his sister and made them both fall. She felt fire tickle her fingertips but didn't make any fast moves yet. "Sheriff, is it?"

"Yes, ma'am, it is. And you are?"

The woman held up her badge to him. "Homeland Security. We good here?"

"No, we're not good. I need a little more information than that."

"Well, I think it's a little above your pay grade, Sheriff."

"Yeah, well, why don't you get on the horn to Nashville and uh...upgrade me?"

Amelia turned to Mrs Davis and nodded her head upwards, motioning for her to get rid of the file. She threw it under the bar.