HALF HOPE

Half Vengeance (XI)

"Bring me a chair and a packet of sherbet lemons. My ways are delusional but you get the results." Edd entered the room in a nuisance of becoming the center of attention. He liked it, mostly as people would talk about his unorthodox supplements and ways to treat a suspect. Word on the street was, he kept himself high on dopamine when in case.

"The room is yours." All the agents left in a bit dissatisfaction.

"What did he do? Un-cuff him. That's not the way you treat an innocent man," he ordered the agent sitting outside the glass dome.

"He went to Bordeaux for God's sake. He studied there. Completed his graduation and went on to become a detective." All the officers of the court stood outside of the suspect room discussing.

"He looks like a moron in a funny hat. I don't like the energy he brings on." One of them questioned his vibe.

"Well, he has a 100 percent success rate," a lady by the coffee machine contributed.

"I have heard, he once killed a suspect for annoying him too much. He's a sick bastard. Why the hell is this vending machine not working?" Detective Sophie hit the lower part to vend out some candies stuck inside.

This was a normal day at the DEA. Drug lords, Meth makers, chemists on the verge of making crystal, everybody was brought in and when they didn't budge, they would end up in a room bright as the sun and sometimes dull as ditch water. The suspect they brought today was found near the bank of Almazra, a river infamous for all the drug Cartel wars.

Edd studied for a minute standing. His file and all the productive work the NET guys did on this guy. He was clean as a rock but still, he was found on the scene near a racket of 1.5 pounds of crystal meth and some blood. The guy rejected all the offenses being drawn on to him.

"What's your name?" Edd opened his chords with a question in a tough tone.

"It says on the file Mijo. I didn't do it. Which part of the English you don't get?" The guy looked the other way while answering, "not interested."

"Look Akunèz. You can make it simple. I am not your day in, day out detective. I am different. You need to cooperate here. What were you doing on Almazra?" Edd sat with a calming tune. The table was the only thing separating them now.

Akunèz leaned forward. Looked him in the eye, "that's what you all say. There is nothing different about ya. I was tress passing. Hell ya, sue me for it."

"Why didn't you run when the DEA came?"

"You guys hunt dealers like dogs. I didn't want anybody shooting at me. Hell ya, I didn't. So I stayed. There were no fingerprints on the meth, were there? You are a smart man. You are wasting your time." He sat back and relaxed his voice.

A minute after his answer, an investigator came in the light of the room and whispered something in Edd's ear. He nodded with his eyes and the room held them both in a matter of birds swing.

"You are Martin Akunèz."

The suspect's eyes danced for a while in confusion. "How do you know that?"

"We know more than you'll like to know. I'll make you a proposition. And as a matter of fact, you should take it. You take me to one of your Cartels' residence, where you guys keep all the money. The drugs, the girls. I don't care what. I want the Cartel. You'll be left free to go. The money. We'll share it." Edd put his offer on the table decisively.

"Look. I don't want any games. I didn't do it. The blood, I don't care who was killed that day. I just want my liberty. You have nothing against me. The court's gonna grant me leverage in 4 hours. And I bet your grumpy ass can't find shit against me in those 4."