S.H.H.A.

Interrogation

Harsh yellow light reflected off the metal table into the young boy's eyes. The only other things in the room besides him, the table, and the uncomfortable metal chair he was forced to sit in were the three teenage girls sitting across from him.

I leaned over the table, my head resting in my palm. My lips tilted down in a dissatisfied frown and my eyes tiredly watched the stubborn boy. It's not that I wanted to keep him in the terribly dull room with a blinding light above his head, but we had no choice. In order to keep our identities secret, we had to play the role of cops interrogating their suspect.

Being a raccoon semi-human, the boy no doubt knew we weren't normal cops. However, even in the semi-human world, secret identities had to be upkept. Especially the identity of S.H.H.A.'s leader.

To my left, Pudding sat straight up with a painfully fake smile stretched across her face. To my right, the black-haired rebellious teenager hampered all efforts to make the boy feel safe. Echo leaned back in her chair with an evil grin, portraying a psycho staring at her prey.

"Please Abacus, we need to know as much as possible to stop Hydel. We need your help," pleaded Pudding. The twelve-year-old boy, Abacus, scowled at her, his lips sealed tight.

As if trying to hide in his sweatshirt, he pulled the light blue hood down over his face. Emerald green eyes peered out from under his dark brown bangs. His stiff shoulders shook ever so slightly, reminding us just how much the poor boy didn't belong in the situation.

"Pud- I mean Paige," said Echo in a bored tone. "It's no use. At this rate, we won't even find out if he knows how to speak, much less if he knows English. Let me have a try."

The kid's eyes glanced between Echo and Pudding frightenedly. Echo's grin widened, "Oh look, he knows English. Now onto seeing if he can talk."

"Cut it out, you're scaring him," replied Pudding, her smile dropping. Indeed, the kid seemed to be regretting his silence as he stared at Echo, his quivering fingers grasping the edges of his jacket. "Misha, you help."

I suppressed a groan. We'd been talking to him for what felt like hours. However, I knew that if I didn't step in, Echo would. There was a reason why she was always assigned spy or assassination missions- not interrogation.

"Hey, kid, we really need you to talk," I told the boy, reminding myself I'd be just as frightened as him if I were in the same situation... who am I kidding? I'd be screaming my mouth off and insulting every interrogator even after they gagged me.

The kid shook his head and I turned towards Pudding to say, "There, I tried." She tilted her head in the boy's direction to reply, Try again.

"Okay, we'll start simple. If you answer, I'll give you candy," I grabbed a tootsie-roll out of my pocket and dangled in front of his face. Don't judge me, bribery is an art.

The boy stared calculatedly at the candy as I set it down on the table. "We'll start with an easy question. Did you have any other semi-human raccoon friends? You don't have to tell us their names."

He looked between me and the piece of candy hesitantly before nodding his head. That would explain how there's so many robberies in just one night. Maybe some of them were distractions. I pushed the candy towards him before replacing it with a blue jolly rancher.

"That must be fun, hanging out with your buddies. Have you ever gone to the zoo? There's a pretty epic one nearby." The kid shook his head as he stashed the tootsie roll in his pocket. "Never? You're missing out big time. Don't you want to see an elephant or an alligator?"

The kid shook his head quickly at the word 'alligator', fear evident in his eyes. Interesting. "No alligators? They're not my thing either. Water and animals with big teeth that want to kill me are the worst."

The boy shook his head again and repeated quietly, "No alligator. No alligator." To my left, I could feel Pudding staring at me with a victorious smirk. It took all the self control I had to force a smile on my face and not grumble at her.

I twiddled the jolly rancher in my fingers and said to the kid, "Okay, this one's going to be harder. Does the name Hydel Triant ring any bells?"

The boy searched around the room frightenedly as if saying the name would summon the monster. Once his eyes landed on mine, he slowly nodded his head and spoke just above a whisper, "Yes."

I slid the jolly rancher across the table which he hurriedly stuffed into his pocket. What he was planning to do with all the candies was beyond me. Taking out my last candy, a miniature snickers bar, I told him, "Don't worry. We won't let him find you. All we need out of you is information."

"I don't know anything," insisted the boy as he stubbornly turned away. "I won't steal the parts if you leave me alone."

"If we leave you alone, who's going to make Hydel Triant leave you alone?" asked Echo with a smirk. I sent her glare that said, you mind?! which she shrugged off. "I wonder what'll happen to you when he finds out you gave away information?"

"But I didn't give away any..." The boy's voice trailed off as he desperately tried to figure out what information he'd given.

"Echo, let Misha handle this," Pudding warned the black-haired girl. "You're making things worse."

"Whoops, my bad," she replied without a hint of guilt in her voice. "I was just getting a little bored."

"Then you can leave," I replied without looking at her. The boy, Abacus, actually looked relieved at my suggestion, causing me to smile.

"Wouldn't want to miss anything," she replied, causing both me and the boy to frown.

I sighed and locked eyes with Abacus. He shouldn't have been there. It wasn't right to interrogate an innocent kid who got caught up in the crossfire.

I lifted my head up from my palm, still remaining eye contact. Tired of the whole thing, I let the truth fall out, "Look, we don't want to be here either. Our mission is to stop Hydel Triant so he can't hurt you or any of your friends. I know this may be confusing in all, but trust us, okay?"

"You're strangers," deadpanned Abacus. Well, he has a point.

"We're stranger than you think," replied Echo in her oh-so-helpful way. I'll let Pudding deal with her, I thought, noticing Pudding peering around me to give Echo a much-deserved glare.

"Who would you rather trust? Three teenage strangers or Hydel Triant?" I asked him with a knowing smile. "Look, kid, we may not be the best crowd to stick around, but Hydel's absolutely no competition."

Abacus paused, contemplating my words that honestly didn't even make very much since. He warily glanced towards Echo that shot him back a smile only fit for a lunatic. Her smile "corrected itself" with a little stomp on her foot. Abacus returned his gaze towards me and Pudding before slowly nodding his head.

"Fine, but I really don't know much. I can tell you where we take the parts, but," he paused before stating the requirement. They always have a requirement. Can't we get information for free every once in a while? "Only if you let me and the other raccoons go." He crossed his arms stubbornly, showing us he wasn't going to change the deal.

With a smile, Pudding answered him as I handed over the snickers bar, "That can be arranged."

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How are you doing?

I hope you're having a fun time reading my book. I will admit, I'm enjoying writing Marsh and Ninjy's part more, but soon they'll be reunited. After a few things happen...

So, what's your favorite breed of cat? I honestly don't know. Every cat I've ever had was as mixed as they come. However, I do enjoy the appearance and personality of maine coons.

Well, anyway, don't forget to vote! See yah!