Because It's Me
Capturing the deserter known only as Undertaker turned out to be a rather anticlimactic affair. From what William had been able to ascertain, the retired reaper had simply turned himself in one day with his typical half-mad smile and a declaration that he had given up. It was rather doubtful that he had grown tired of being a deserter, so it was likely that this was all part of some bigger plan, although no one could figure out what this plan might be. William didn't think that anyone could truly understand the chaos that comprised Undertaker's mind, but Upper Management still wanted to know the full extent of what he had already done. For reasons that still escaped William, he and Grell had been assigned to take turns interrogating Undertaker to learn all that they can. William recognized that he had been given this task since he had a reputation for being rational and unbiased. As for Grell, there Undertaker might open up to her more quickly.
Chaos might respond to chaos.
The maximum security ward of the Shinigami penitentiary was a blocky structure on the outer edges of the city, and William had chosen to walk there rather than creating a portal. The walk was an attempt to clear his mind, although the questions still buzzed around his brain with the same ferocity. Grell walked just behind him, her heels clicking rhythmically on the pavement, and Ronald followed her. Ronald had been asked to come along so that he could be trained in interrogating suspects. This was the first opportunity he had had to observe such a thing.
They signed in at the main entrance and were led to a small, white room that was dominated by a large two-way mirror. While they would be invisible to anyone in the next room, they would be able to hear and see everything. Undertaker was already seated in the other room, and he was wrapped in a series of chains and cuffs. Despite his bound state, he was smiling casually as if he was simply waiting on a dinner guest to enjoy a nice meal.
William adjusted his glasses as he looked at Undertaker. "I suppose it is time for me to start the interrogation," he announced.
"Actually," a guard began. He was a tall, muscular man who seemed to radiate intimidation. "The agent Grell Sutcliff is to be the first to speak to the prisoner."
William raised an eyebrow slightly, but Grell didn't seem the least bit fazed by the information. "I suppose I should get this over with," she announced with an exaggerated sigh. Running her finger through her hair, she followed the guard into the room. Silently, William and Ronald watched as she entered the adjoining room. Ignoring the chair, she sat down on the table next to Undertaker and crossed her legs dramatically.
"Hello, Undertaker darling," she purred, as she reached forward to run her fingers along the chains, "I must say that I like this look on you."
William shook his head. "Honestly," he muttered to himself.
Undertaker smiled broadly. "Why, hello red rose," he said, "It is nice to see a bit of color and a lovely face in this dreary place. Did you just come here to cheer me up?"
She shrugged. "Perhaps that was part of the reason," she said, "but we both know that's not all. The stiffs in Upper Management wants to know more about what you were up to all this time. Why don't you tell me?"
"You should know I never give information for free," Undertaker responded, leaning back in his chair, "Come on, my dear, you know my price."
"I'm afraid I'm dreadful with jokes," Grell moaned, "Surely there's something else you want other than laughter."
Undertaker stood with difficulty, although the chains kept him from approaching Grell. "Perhaps," he said, dropping his voice, "Some attention from a lovely lady such as yourself would be welcomed.
William felt his mouth go dry. It was rare that anyone returned Grell's flirtatious, and he was unsure how she might respond. While he knew that she still held some anger in her heart towards Undertaker for the incident on Campania, there was some similarities in personality. Carefully, he watched as the situation unfolded and was prepared if he needed to stop the supposed interrogation.
Grell tilted her head as she looked up at Undertaker. "Why, Undie darling," she said, "If I didn't know better, I'd think you were flirting with me."
"I might be."
Laughing, Grell threw back her head; her glorious hair spilling across the top of the table like a crimson spread. "And why would you flirt with me?"
Undertaker struggled with his chains to take another partial step towards Grell. "Why wouldn't I?" he asked in return.
With another laugh, Grell suddenly stood up and walked towards the door. "Not bad," she commented, "but I'm the killer actress, darling. You need to work a bit more on your method." Regarding Undertaker with a sharp toothed smile, Grell left the room.
William let out a slow breath as relief flooded his system. He was pleasantly surprised that Grell hadn't fallen for Undertaker's act, although he didn't say so to Grell when she reentered the room. She smiled at William, but didn't say a word as she walked to the far side of the room and sat down in a chair.
The large guard walked over to William. "We're ready for you to interrogate him now," he said, "It appears Sutcliff failed entirely, so perhaps you can do better."
William nodded, although he thought saying that Grell had failed entirely was a bit too rough. After all, no one had been able to get anything out of Undertaker before, so it seemed wrong to expect something of a miracle from Grell.
As William started to leave the room, he heard Ronald talking softly to Grell. They must have thought he couldn't hear, but the acoustics of the room carried sound rather well. "He was really laying it on thick," Ronald said.
"A bit too thick," Grell agreed.
"But, tell me senpai, how did you know he was just acting?"
There was a pause, and William barely heard Grell's response as he left the room.
"That was easy, Ronnie," Grell answered, "It was because he acted interested in me."
William wanted to stop and say something to Grell, but he didn't have the time nor did he have any idea of what he would say. However, he carefully stored the words in his heart as walked into the room to interrogate Undertaker. He would have to talk to Grell later.
He only hoped he could find the right words.