Story 02 – Part 3 – Dancing Around the Issue

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Regg asked Agent Driver loudly. “If Director Bosere finds out then we are never getting promoted, if we’re even still allowed to keep our badges.”

The con artist they had in the back of the car was pretending to not be concerned, but they had been dropping enough hints about the supposedly questionable nature of their actions. They had actually cleared it with Bosere, but Dev was playing the role of the rebel agent who was willing to do anything to get what he wanted. Regg got the part of the hesitant agent who would express his concern, but not enough guts to stand up and say no.

“Too late, we’re here.” Agent Driver was probably a little too good at grinning devilishly.

They pulled the con artist out of the back of the car and marched him into the lobby of the Freelance Agency. The plan was relatively simple: confuse and scare the living daylights out of the con until he decided to cooperate. Owens and his friend Jordan seemed confident that they could harass the con artist enough to get something out of him.

“He’s all yours,” Dev told Owens and Jordan as they came into the room.

Agent Driver lounged on a couch while Regg looked around for a place to be and just ended up standing next to the door. Owens set down a suitcase on the coffee table and popped it open. Regg could not help the surprised look on his face as he saw the assortment of sharp objects. Some of the knives looked like they had been pulled from the kitchen, but a few looked exceptionally malicious.

Jordan pulled off the jacket he was wearing and flexed his cybernetic hand. Agents Michaels, like the con artist, found his attention drawn from the knives and to the metal hand. Most cybernetics had a silicon outer layer to try to make them look more real. Either Jordan had peeled off the silicon, or else his hand was specially designed.

“So, what information do we need to get from this pansy?” Owens asked.

“Does it matter?” Jordan responded. “I say we go until we get bored.”

“You’re not actually going to do anything,” the con sneered. “I know my rights.”

“Yeah,” Dev called from the couch. “But your rights don’t mean a thing here. Especially since I’ve decided to interpret your actions as questionable enough for me to say you have no rights.”

“Can we do that?” Regg asked.

They then spent the next couple of minutes discussing what they could and could not do. Agent Michaels found it very interesting that they were not actually asking the con anything. Instead, they were having a conversation about what they could and could not do. More interesting was the con was imputing into the conversation as if he actually had a say in the matter. It actually took Regg several more minutes to realize that the con artist was trying to spin the conversation to his favor.

“Too much talk,” Jordan declared, noticing the same thing.

“I agree,” Vire said from the doorway, startling Regg. “This the liar?”

“Of course,” Jordan answered, not missing a beat. “Did you finish that bomb I asked for?”

Vire lifted her eyebrows and then shook her head with a smile. “Is that really necessary? I’ve got stun guns that would be just as effective, if not more.”

The show Vire put on was pretty effective. She pulled out a small fruit from her pocket and then something that looked a lot like a lighter. She flipped off the cap, revealing sharp prongs. Vire calmly stuck the fruit onto the prongs and then clicked a switch. That was the first, and hopefully last, time in his life that Regg had an orange explode on him.

“I haven’t tested it on a person yet,” Vire said, not even fazed by the mess she just created. “Can I try it out on him?”

“You’re nuts,” the con yelled.

Jordan grabbed the con artist with his cybernetic hand and whispered into the man’s ear. What ever he said, combined with Vire flipping the lid of her lighter-like stun gun, caused the con to yell a few names. The guy looked terrified, finally convinced that they really would do everything they were threatening.

“Tell me more, or you can guess what will happen,” Jordan said as he motioned for Vire to come closer.