The Debt Collectors War

Chapter 80

“I’m looking for someone,” Ellie said. “This someone.” She held out her tablet with a photo of the missing kid showing on the screen. “And I’ll hurt you all badly unless you tell me where he is.”

Terry just looked at her face. He didn’t even glance at the tablet.

“Take a look,” Ellie said. “Please.”

“I don’t need to.”

“I’ll hurt people,” Ellie said. “You heard that bit, right?”

“I heard.”

“Well?” Ellie said. “Why not just tell me whether you’ve seen him, and save yourself the problems.”

Terry didn’t answer.

“Wouldn’t it be easier to tell me?” Ellie said.

“Easier for you.”

Ellie sighed. “Why not just tell me?” she said. “Please?”

“I’m not going to help someone like you. I don’t think anyone here is.”

“Of course not, not by choice,” Ellie said, trying to be reasonable, to give him an excuse, a way to keep his pride. “That’s why I said I’d hurt people.”

Again, Terry didn’t say anything.

“I’ll hurt people if I have to,” Ellie said. “You must know I will, from what’s happened so far.”

Terry shrugged.

“You know I will,” Ellie said. “Don’t you?”

“I know you will.”

“So spare everyone that. Please.”

Terry shook his head. “You’ll have to do what you have to do.”

“People,” Ellie said, in case Terry had missed that part, hoping he cared more about his friends than himself. “I’ll hurt other people. Not you.”

Terry just looked at her.

“You get to watch,” Ellie said. “Are you prepared for that?”

“Everyone here knows what standing up to the recovery corporations means. We’re prepared for it.”

“But are you?” Ellie said. “You personally. For just watching, while it happens? Watching your friends die, one after another? Are you sure you can stand that?”

Terry just shrugged again.

Ellie supposed he had just watched his friends die, one by one. That might make a difference to him.

She sighed. She was starting to feel like she was repeating herself, that she was talking too much, going on and on, and that the more she talked, the less believable her words became. It was probably starting to seem to Terry as though she was talking to avoid having to hurt anyone, talking herself out of torture because she wasn’t brave enough to do it. That was bad. That was exactly the opposite impression to the one she wanted to give.

“Please,” Ellie said, a little desperately. “Please don’t be an asshole here. This is your last chance to tell me before people start getting hurt. I don’t want to do this, I really don’t, and I’m trying to be nice about it, but if you make me beat everyone here to death, then I will. Don’t doubt that for a moment.”

Terry seemed to be thinking.

“I mean it,” Ellie said. “I’m sick of killing people and I’m sick of what I’m going to need to do in a moment if you force me to. I don’t want to do it, but I will if you make me.”

“I’m not making you…”

“You are, because you won’t help me. I don’t have a choice about this either.”

Terry looked a little unsure, now, but he still didn’t answer.

“Help me,” Ellie said, pressing him, hoping she was getting through, finally. Hoping he could see that she was telling the truth. “Help me and I’ll help you. Please. Then no-one gets hurt.”

Terry shook his head again, but slowly, as if he was thinking.

“Fuck,” Ellie said. “Come on. You must know how this works. There’s plenty of people here to pick from, so I can be as unpleasant as I need to be, for as long as I need to be. In the end someone’s going to tell me, so it may as well be you, now, and then you save everyone the misery.”

“I don’t know…” Terry said.

“No-one gets hurt, I promise. Not unless you make me hurt them.”

Terry hesitated, then said. “Or arrested?”

“Not that either.”

“We won’t be arrested?”

“Not by me.”

“Yeah,” Terry said, and suddenly his face was hostile once more. Suddenly he was looking sceptical, resigned, as if his expectations had been confirmed. “That’s it, though, isn’t it?”

“What?” Ellie said.

“Not by you. Of course it won’t be by you.”

Ellie hesitated. She was losing Terry again. He was angry, and seemed to feel betrayed. Ellie could guess why. Terry thought he’d caught Ellie in a lie. He thought she was being clever, playing games, trying to be devious about the technicalities of who arrested who.

“No,” Ellie said. “Nothing like that.”

Terry shrugged, now apparently disinterested in what she had to say.

“No,” Ellie said. “I mean it, you won’t be arrested by me. I’m trying to be honest with you. Because yes, you’re right, my people know we’re here. They know who you are, and our data feeds are probably being monitored right now, so yeah, someone might turn up here and arrest you later on, but if you help me, if you tell me what I need to know, then I’ll talk to whoever I need to talk to, to help you. I’ll do my best to make sure no-one gets arrested, if that’s what you want me to do.”

“Yeah right,” Terry said again.

“I will,” Ellie said. “I promise.”

Terry looked at Ellie, and seemed to be thinking again.