Myths: Fatherland

Chapter 6: Interrogation and Impetration

The ringing of my phone woke me up. It was morning already. The rays from the sun were streaming into the room, only dulled by the drawn curtains. The dream had been a recollection of my past, but it had felt like it was happening all over again. I looked at the bed which was now in disarray, the bed spread was off with only parts remaining on the bed anchored by my feet, both pillows were on the floor and my blanket was ripped almost in half.

I hadn't thought about that day in 60 years after the dreadful war, and now it comes in a dream, and after the recent incident, when... The phone was ringing again. I glanced at the clock on the wall. It was 9:17 am.

"Hello, good morning." "Morning, this is detective Lola. We need to talk. There's been another murder?" "Ok, but what does it have to do with me?" "The victim was the man you spoke with in our custody."

"Alright, I'll be on my way." If I was going to see the detective, I had to take care of work first, "Hello Monica, it's me Daniel." "Oh! Daniel. Wow! Isn't this the wrong time of the day to be calling...? If you krow what I mean." She said as she muffled a laugh. I sighed, "No Monica. That's not why I'm calling. I need you to cover for me at work, if you wouldn't mind. I need to follow up on a lead." "OK, alright, no problem." She said, sounding disappointed.

I went to the refrigerator in a locked room along the corridor to get to my meal. Taking half a dozen, 'These should take me till dusk if the sun doesn't get hotter.' I thought to myself. I freshened up, got dressed, and headed out, the dream now long forgotten.

The drive to the 15th Division was long with heavy traffic. Seeing the cause of the heavy traffic to be two unruly drivers, I thought for a minute whether ripping out the throats of some drivers would make the road a safer place. 'No, probably not.' I drove my car into the parking space beside the station, arriving almost an hour since leaving the house. The station was a 4-storey bulding painted in the colour grey, with windows made of glass. The Coat of Arms of the police was sculpted in the middle of a small fountain, which sprayed it from time to time, making the black gleam in the sunlight. The station was in an open space with two tall buildings on either side, flower beds were arranged in front, and a revolving door guarded the entrance. I walked in and moved to the counter, "Good moming officer, I'm here to see Detective Lola. Can you direct me to her office? She is expecting me." "Carry the elevator to the 3rd floor, go down to your right. Her desk is in the fourth room." "Thank you." I strode to the elevator and dialled the 3rd floor. The corridor was packed with officers of which

some were coming out of offices on the side, others going in, some either talking or working the machines or water dispenser. I found my through, holding my breath all the way. I wouldn't want to shed the blood of the 'good' men of the force. Now that would be a great loss, wouldn't it? I pushed open the glass doors leading into a light-streamed room , well ventilated. The desks were arranged in rows, some desks were together, which I assumed belonged to partners, others singly occupied. Officers in uniform, jackets, and civvies were all in the room, some talking to those seated behind the desks.

On one side stood an officer in uniform beside a scruffy looking young man in handcuffs who was engaging a detective seated behind the desk in a discussion. At the far end of the room, were two smartly dressed officers talking loudly and laughing just as loudly, male officer trying his best with a female officer, two partners and officer with heads bent speaking in a low voice. Some officers and detectives alike had phones to their ears, and a few remainders were either eating or staring thoughtfully.

And there she was, sitted and speaking into a landlline on her desk and looking stressed but still as beautiful. Her coal dark hair, gelled and framing her pretty face, she wore a brown necklace shaped like the moon. As I moved towards her desk, she looked up at me, and speaking hurriedly into the phone, she ended the call just as I got to her desk. "Good morning Mr Daniel. Please sit." She said, gesturing to the seat in front of the desk. I took the seat, "Morning detective, I didn't think I'd be seeing you again so soon." "Yes Mr. Daniel, I called you here concerning the man murdered in our custody." "How did that happen?" "That's what we are trying to find out, and that's why I called you here." "Me? What has this got to do with me detective?"

I asked looking over to the desk where the cuffed man was struggling with the officer leading him back to the cells. "No! Oga that's all I know. Pls don't take me back there! Oga pls..." "Mr Daniel, you told me you got to know about the private investigator my sister was supposed to meet on the night she died from this man. Now, we believe he was murdered because of the information he gave to you." "Oh! I see." I looked at her desk,

a file about the man murdered and Toxin were on the desk with her badge on them. "I'd like for you to tell me everything Mr Okon told you." "Mr. Okon? So that was his name, but he threatened me with the name 'Black Death'." I said as I smiled. Anger flashed across her face as I smiled, and for a fleeting moment, she looked like Victoria. 'Victoria! No, not here, not now'. I put the thought out of my mind also realizing the mater of her sister's death wasn't a topic she found funny. "Sorry," I said, clearing my throat, "I already told you all that he had told me." "I see," she said, a little disappointed as she looked at me for a few seconds, "sorry to have bothered you, thanks for coming on such short notice! We'll just make do with questioning the g**g members we have in our custody." She said, standing up. I stood up as well, "But maybe I can still help," I said, looking to make up for earlier on. "I could help you question any one of them." "No, thank you, but there'll be no need for that." "I can get you information you might be needing in no time, just like I did with Mr Okon when you all couldn't get him to talk." She gave a long, thoughtful look before finally saying, "Alright, come with me."

She led the way out of the large room to the elevator and called for it. I could see now that she walked quite gracefully for a human. We got into the elevator, which was already occupied by a messenger. He greeted her first, and taking a long, contemplating look at me, he extended the same. We got out on the second floor and took a left turn down a long corridor with posters of the rights of the unconvicted offenders; 'right to a state lawyer, to phone a relative, to be free from torture...', it also had rules guiding officers on the treatment of convicted and unconvicted offenders.

At the end of the corridor was a guard sitting by his post. He guarded the entrance to cells. He was not a tall man and carried a large belly. His head was bald and had a face without facal hairs, but his exposed arms had a lot of hair. His uniform was deep blue with no decorations and black trousers. He was a sweaty man, his palm wet as he took a card she handed over to him, which he examined and nodded. He stood up from his desk and moved to unlock the door leading into the cells. Even his movements were watery and almost seemed like he was going to drop at any moment. We went into the room, it had 3 doors on each side. The guard moved to open the 2nd on the right, and he went in, poked his head back out, and asked, "Is it the leader you want?" To which she nodded in the affirmative and he drew his head back in. She turned to me now, her pretty face with the pearly white eyes encircling a brown pupil, her dark hair gleaming as the light from the florescent fell on it. "I want to thank you again for wanting to do

this." She said, her cheeks reddening under her fair skin. "It's nothing. Anything to help the investigation and the paper." I replied. "The paper, yes, of course, that too." She said, looking away towards he door from which the pot-bellied guard soon came out of carrying with him a man with bloodshot eyes, an unkept hair, and stubs of facial hair. He had a scar that traced his left chin, he also wore a shirt with the face of the ripper on it and had on black jeans, his legs were bare, his hands were cuffed behind him. "To the 4th interrogation room officer." The guard nodded and ploughed the man along. "I'd ask him a few questions first before you do what it was you did with the late man." "That's fine." We waited till the guard had secured the man into the chair on the other side of the table in the centre of the room and then left the room before we entered. The room wasn't so big. It was a small square room painted yellow and lit by a white light from a small bulb. We took our seats on the other side of the table. "So they let a woman handle my case. That's stupid." He said scornfully, then looked at me doubtfully and asked, "And who is he?" "You don't have to worry about him." She placed one of the two files she had brought along on the table and opened it, revealing the picture of the recently deceased man. "Take a look at this. Do you know him?" He looked down at it for a moment, then looked back up and replied, "No. I've never seen him." His bloodshot eyes looking at me. "We believe your boss ordered his assassination after giving us valuable information." She said, but he looked back at her and said nothing, instead, resting in his seat which was hardly comfortable as his hands had been cuffed to the table, nor could he pose a threat to an interrogating officer. Sensing that he wouldn’t say anything, she slid the other file to him and opened it, bending closer to him. This time, the photograph was that of her late sister, and the event of that night came back to me in an instant. The flipping of the car, the crash, the broken bones, and the head splitting headache. Then the dream of the previous night came as well and ended just as fast. "And this one?" She asked. He looked at it, and I could hear his heart beat faster in his chest. "What about her?" He asked in a gruff voice to hide his fear. "She was the lawyer persecuting your boss, Toxin, before she had an accident a week ago." "So? You said it was an accident. What is my own concern?" He said smartly, his pulse still racing. I could also feel the detective heating up, her heart beating faster, his tone about her sister's death getting to her. 'Bad move'. I thought. "Did Toxin have her as well as this man who had been in our custody murdered?" Her voice laiden with impatience. "Well, he got what he deserved for talking to the police." He said. "If that is so, do you then agree that her accident as well was planned by Toxin?" "I do not agree to anything, and I don't recognise anybody." He said, looking at me. The detective now was near her breaking point. "And why are you questioning me about them? I thought I was brought here for the offence I'm being accused of, which I am innocent of, of course, and why are you shouting at me about these ones? How are you to them?" He asked, facing the detective again. "She was my sister, and she was close to bringing down your boss, Toxin." He took another look at the picture and looked back at the detective before laughing maniacally, "Your sister?! She was close to nothing! She was just a pestilent lawyer trying hard to handle a big fish but got dragged into the sea and drowned! And you are just as stupid going after him." He said, moving closer to the detective and looking her dead in the eye. "Well, I must say I should have seen the resemblance. Just as small brained and foolish like she was, and as fine too." He added as he sank back into his chair, looking smug, though still sitting uncomfortably.

"Ok! I see," she said as she turned to face me, smiling, "Should I have a go at him?" I asked. "No, not quite yet." She said with a mischievous look in her eyes. The man in the seat was looking from me to her. She straightened up, walked up to the switch by the door, switched it off, and pulled open the door. It turned pitch dark in the interrogation room. Well, for the humans, it was. But being a well equipped nocturnal predator, I could see the man now moving restlessly in his seat. The door was shut back by the detective, who began to make her way back to the table. "Hey, I know it's still you, I can see you!" But the detective remained quiet as she found her way back to the table. Again, the thought of her being a witch crossed my mind, but I pushed it away. I've tried her out, and nothing had happened, and even now, she wasn't doing anything weird, well, except for the light trick she happened to be playing.

"Go on! I'm not scared of a woman!" But just a second before he had said that, she had found the table and was well within reach of him, and no sooner had those words left his mouth than she landed a brilliant left punch on his face, sending his head to the side and made him spurt out blood. 'Damn!' I thought. "You, you... you hit...", then came another one and another, "Hmphh...!" He tried to muffle his scream of pain, but then she went for his belly, and this he couldn't hold back and he began to cough and wheeze. "You can't t*****e me, I know my rights!" She stopped then, and all seemed calm before she landed another on his face and started to navigate back towards the door. The man had his head down now and was wheezing and groaning in pain. She pulled the door open, rubbed her knuckles clean on her trousers, and closed the door again before switching on the light. The man's face was bruised, and the detective acted to like she was surprised by this as she came back to the table. "That went well then." She said. I was seated, uncomprehending the event that had just unfolded before my eyes. He spat out a loose tooth and looked at her with sincere malice, then turned to me and screamed, "I'm going to sue both you! You here me?!" "Now, Mr Wale, do you have something you want to say about these murders?" "I've got nothing to say to you, you stinking..." He broke off his words as she moved menacingly closer to him, the fear visible in his eyes and instead said, "I want my lawyer." With this, she took her seat beside me and said to me, "Now you can question him." Every hint of impatience gone from her voice, replaced by satisfaction. 'She must have been needing that'. I thought. "Hey, don't think about it, I'm going to make sure you both lose your jobs, you hear me?! I'm going to kill you both...!" He screamed in terror, his eyes almost bulging out of their sockets. I inched closer to him from across the table, "No, no, no. No need to worry Mr Wale, I just want to ask you a few questions. `And you will answer me trutfully`." I said, looking into his fearful eyes and using the impetration on him. It was like travelling down a rail from the victim's eyes to the brain and on getting to the thought and consciousness centres, disconnecting them both from all other brain centres, and connecting them to the victim's subconsciousness which is all too willing to be active without the inhibitions by consciousness. With this, any question asked or command giving is answered or carried out without the slightest resistance. Though, there are a number of people who couldn't be impetrated, such as my kind.

"You knew this woman but lied about it, did you not?" "Yes, yes, I did." "Why did you lie?" "What?! You know why! If you question me alone and then you find out about our operations, then the boss will know I talked and he'll kill me too!" "So are you saying Toxin ordered this man killed?" I asked as I pointed to the picture of the late Mr Okon. "Maybe! I don't know! It's possible, if he was there that night." "You mean the night she died?" The detective asked. He turned to face her but said nothing, his face defiant. "Answer her." I said. "No." He replied. "Then what night?" "The night the investigator that the lawyer hired came into our base and was taking photo evidences of our operation. We gave him the chase, but he managed to escape. The boss wasn't too happy about that, no, he wasn't." He responded, shaking in his seat and sweating, "Pls stop, don't ask me anymore pls!" He pleaded. "And then what happened?" I pressed on. His head fell as he began sobbing, he then raised his head and fixed his blood red eyes on me, trying intensely to resist the urging from inside his head to talk, and finally, "We called the...(sniffs)... the boss and he told us to take care of both the investigator and... and the lawyer." He said. "So Toxin was behind the car crash?" The detective asked. He looked at her and then at me but said nothing. The detective faced me, waiting for me to push on, "Was he?"

But I already knew the answer.

"I don't know?" "What do you mean you don't know?" She banged on the table, but he said nothing. "Answer me!" She dragged him across by his shirt, pulling him closer. Still, he sobbed, but there was no reply. "Answer her questions as well." I told him, the guilt building up inside of me. I watched the detective's face as he responded, "Someone else must have taken her out, or maybe it truly was an accident. We never got to her nor to the investigator. He gave us the slip." She just stared at him, taking in what he said. Then, she let go of his shirt, and he slumped back into his seat sobbing. She began to pace the room, "What else can you tell us about Toxin's operations?" I asked a few seconds later. She stopped, backing us both, but listened. "I don't know. I was to report back after dealing with the truck business and get a new task. This is all I know, I swear! Pls." "Then you are no longer of use to us." She said, starting to move towards the door. "No! No, no, no, I have something, heard something." He said hurriedly, "It is a bunker deep business the boss has going on, and he has been careful to ensure that only a few trusted men know about it, but, but I've heard whispers." "What business is this?" We both asked, and I thought she blushed, but her eyes were fixed on the cuffed man. "Weapons and human trafficking..." he was saying before she cut him off, "Oh pls! That's what we busted you for! It's not news. My sister already had the cases against him in court." She finished. "But that's not all," he countered, "he has started dealing in drugs and organs!" "What?! Organs?!" "Yes! He's been harvesting organs. You know? It's when remove organs in the body and you..." "Yes, thank you. I know what it is!" She said hotly. "He's been keeping it top secret because he doesn't want it to get out and be known by the lawyer, and so, only those he has handpicked carry out these assignments." He continued. "And have you ever gotten such an assignment?" Asked the detective. "No, I swear." "With this, we can nail him and help close your sister's case." I added looking at her. She managed to smile her pretty smile and asked, "What other tangible info do you have left?" He looked at her soberly and said, "I only have a name, Idris W. Wole." After a few seconds of digesting all this, she turned and was going out the door, I followed, but turned back to face the man and said, "That's enough now, Mr Wale, you don't have to answer anymore." And with that, he gained back his control and called out to me as I turned to leave, "Pls sir, pls help me! Don't let him get me!"

She was alrealy walking down the corridor when I came out of the room. I nodded to the pot- bellied guard, and he went in to take away the weeping man. I had to walk almost at a run to catch up with her in order to avoid being seen gliding by anyone. She was taking the stairs to the floor above, I followed behind, and then she entered a room on the opposite site of the exit, the sign read 'BREAK ROOM'. I went in after her.

The room was not too large and was lit by the sun through the glass louvres strewn across the walls of the room. Three medium-sized woollen sofas were arranged in a U-shape at one end of the room, small metal chairs were arranged around similarly small tables, about six tables were there, with 3 chairs to one table. On the other end of the room laid a 2-bunker bed. The matresses looked decent enough to lay upon, but with my heightened sight and sense of smell, I could see stains made from countless laying upon and perceived odour from countless bodies and other things. She stood over by one of the louvres backing the entrance. I could tell she was sobbing gently. Standing behind her, her frame was inviting. Tall, slender and fair with her neck exposed, gleamng in the sunlight, any other vampire would sink his teeth into her right here right now, and I would have as well, once upon a time. But I didn't want to live of human blood, although I had failed countless times to keep to it. But that wasn't what was keeping me back this time. It was something else, something stronger than the urge to feed.

Her voice brought me back, "My sister and I, we weren't very close," she started saying, "I wasn't very close to her, I should say. We didn't bicker at each other or have arguments. She always tried to keep me close, but I would always find excuses to be away from her and the family. Well, it's a long story." She said, turning to me and wiping away her tears with a handkerchief which she drew from her pockets, "Pardon me, no use crying now is there?"

"You loved your sister, that's all. It's alright to cry." A lump appeared in my throat as I said the words. "Thank you." She said. looking at me with those white eye ball now having red lines streak through them, "I mean for everything. The information you gave me at the bar, saving me at the same bar and today, for being here on such short notice and helping with the investigation. My sister would have appreciated it." The latter hit me like a wrecking ball. "I appreciate it, too. The police force does too." She said, moving closer and stopping a few feet from me. I moved closer to shorten the distance between us. Her heart picked up the pace, and she held one hand in the other in front of her. Her cheeks were flushed. "It was nothing, anything to help with the investigation." I said, "and my report too." I added. "Your report, yes, I almost forgot." She said, her hands now by her sides, her pulse steadying. She kept her eyes and head up but avoided mine. I moved closer again, the gap almost disappearing, she turned her head to the side, her ear which had been hidden behind her hair now showed, and a earring the same colour as her necklace hung there. I stretched my left hand to take her's, the heat in her body rose, and she jerked a little. But it wasn't only her body that reacted. Mine was as well. Her skin was soft and tender, I wrapped my hands around her long, slender fingers. My throat burnt, but not from hunger, but for the taste of her. "How did you do it?" She asked, withdrawing her hands, "How did you get him to talk? Both of them at that." I stared at her for a moment before replying, "You wouldn't believe me... You see, it's quite unbelievable." But she kept a straight face, unyielding not ready to let it go, so I said, "I'll tell you if you tell me why you put on that light show back there." Her pretty face broke into a laugh, and she took a seat by the nearest table, I joined her. "You see, it's against the law to t*****e, but some prove difficult and are never forthcoming, not without a little nodging. But for an officer to be punished for torturing, he or she has to be identified by the tortured offender or suspect." "So that's where the light comes in." I said. "Yes, we turn off the light, open the doors for a few seconds to give the pretence of an exchange occurring. No words are said during the whole proceeding events, and when you feel they've had enough, you go back to open the door and wait, then close it and turn on the lights, but not before you remove any evidence of assault from your person." She said. "I thought you already knew this and thought that that was the reason you remained calm through it all." 'Well there's nothing a vampire has to fear from two humans in the dark where I could very much still see' I thought jokingly to myself, but instead, I said, "That's very clever of course. But how effective is it? Couldn't he still tell his lawyer all that happened? And I'm sure it'll be very hard convincing a judge an exchange did happen." "Even if he got a lawyer to press his cause, he still wouldn't be able to identify the officer responsible. And besides, he's being charged for human and weapon trafficking, no right thinking judge/lawyer with a conscience would oblige to charge an officer for getting a little hands on." She quipped. And I nodded, half amused, fully impressed.

"So how did you do it?" "Hmm..." I remained quiet for a while before saying, "it's my juju," I said smiling, "like some sort of hypnosis I picked up from somewhere around, and it's been handy for my profession and in cases such as this." I finished. She took a long look at me in deep consideration. Her look seemed to penetrate, and I thought to myself if perhaps I had said more than what was worth. Finally, she shook her head and raised a hand to her bow-shaped lips, and muffled a laugh. "That's OK, a good explanation for children, I might add, but I think you don't want to say, no problem." She said, rising from her seat, I rose as well, almost too instantly, and I feared she might have noticed the uncanny speed, but her eyes were looking out the window. "Hey," I said, trying to lighten the mood, "I could add the police force's method of covering up t*****e in my report if you don't mind." She turned and looked at me surprised, "No problem." She said flatly and strode out of the room. I raced up to her and held her hand in mine, turned her gently to face me. She looked at me and then to the arm I held, I let go and said quickly, "I didn't really mean that. I just made a joke with it." "Do you always joke with everything?" She aaked, but before I could reply, she continued, "But it's fine Mr Daniel, you really are free to put whatever in your report." "But I won't be putting whatever in it. I know how serious and delicate this case is and how much it means to you." She pondered my words for a while, looking at the unnaturally handsome creature in front of her and then said, "Thank you Mr Daniel, you know your way out."