Ptar: Ceilus and the revolution

12. A broken cop

"Don't play dumb with me; it won't take you anywhere," Dwart said, grabbing the man by the throat with his right hand and pushing him against one of the grey brick walls that surrounded them in the alley where they stood. He was young, in his twenties, wore a, seemingly brand new, stylish leather jacket, but underneath the nice jacket was ragged cloth, a white t-shirt, turning yellow, and a pair of worn out brown trousers. The jacket had probably been a bribe to keep his mouth shut. It happened all the time; people saw too much and they were either killed or had their silence bought.

"I swear man; I don' know what yer talkin' about" The man struggled, putting his hands over Dwart's, trying to untighten his grip.

Water came out of Dwart's hand. "Are you sure you don't know anything?" He asked again. The water climbed the man's neck; Dwart made it so that the movement was slow. He didn't like using that trick for interrogation; it was inhumane. But for every moment he wasted, innocent people were being mistreated the very same way, if not worse. The man fought back, trying to push Dwart away and moving his head in the futile attempt to escape.

"I already told ya. I don' know what yer talkin' about." The man insisted.

"Don't lie to me, Raff. I'm not so gullible that I'd fall for that." Dwart's water covered Raff's mouth and moved in his nostrils' direction.

"Yaa wonnn dwo iii!" The man spoke, his voice obstructed by the liquid.

"Are you sure I won't?" Dwart said before covering the street rat's nose with water. The man held his breath for about forty-five seconds after which, unable to hold on any longer, a burst of bubbles rose from his mouth and nostrils. Dwart uncovered his face. The man violently coughed up water and desperately gasped for air.

"Do you still not have any info?" Dwart asked with a threatening look on his face. It was a bluff. He wouldn't dare do such a thing to someone twice in a row.

"They hired Cutter; ok? They hired Cutter. That's all I know;" The man said, falling to his knees as Dwart let go of his, now red, neck. Dwart looked into his eyes; he was telling the truth; Dwart would know if he was lying; he had experience.

"Cutter? Are you sure? That means trouble." Dwart said, worried.

The man coughed some more and whipped his mouth with his jacket's sleeve. "Yeah, it was Cutter a'right, no doubt in ma mind," He said, sitting down with crossed legs.

"Thanks," Dwart said as he turned away and threw a bag of coins at the man's lap. "Get out of the city. If it really was Cutter they'll be coming for you"

Dwart knew the case would be hard, but with Cutter involved it would doubtlessly be excruciatingly so. Dwart had gone up against the mercenary more than once and been overwhelmed. Raff had given him good information; this time he would be prepared.

Walking out of the alley Dwart saw Nass, his partner, crouching over some ladybugs. Nass turned to him. "You're back already. Did you get any info?" He asked smiling as he stared at the ladybug on his palm.

"I didn't get a location as I hoped, but I didn't leave empty handed." He said, walking forward, away from Nass.

"What do you mean?" Nass asked, running a bit so he could catch up with his mentor.

"They employed Cutter." Dwart clarified.

"Cutter? It's my first job; I'm not prepared for that." Nass said, worried.

Dwart kept walking, dismissing Nass' worries.

"Where are we going?" Nass asked, clueless of was happening.

"I have an informant. I didn't want to resort to him, but it seems I'll have to." Dwart said, striding. Unable to keep up with the tall man, Nass had to periodically run.