Who are you and how did you convince Agent Striker to update so quickly?

Thanks to:

sweetly-secret

And all my readers, too!

Cammie's POV:

I smiled, satisfied at our little interrogation room. The closet in one of the other bedrooms was much smaller than our command center with a single bright light bulb, clean but for a single dirty spot, making the plain white walls and the dark carpet look stark and unwelcoming. Duct taped to an uncomfortable plastic chair, Tom Harris sat in the center of the room with his chin on his chest, still unconscious. Charlie sat in the back corner of the closet, almost invisible in the shadows with a laptop.

She would be typing Tom's confession as he spilled it to Bex and I. She had really wanted to be in on the action until Bex reminded her that she wasn't aloud to injure anyone. Then she seemed to be fine with just being our secretary. Not that I'd ever call her that to her face. That chick is scary.

Maybe almost as scary as Bex. Almost.

Note to Self: Find out how Bex (and apparently Zach) know this Charlie character.

Bex stood against a wall by the door, picking at her fingernails with a rather long knife, a dagger really. She and I were to be the interrogators while outside of our little interrogation chamber, Zach was making sure Alex didn't storm in here and try to kill Tom. Everyone had his or her own part, nice and clean. (Except for that dog…I wondered where it (she?) was while Charlie was in here. Intimidating thought.

From the center of the room there was a groan, and we immediately jumped into action. I hung back a little bit and let Bex do her work.

"What's your name?" Bex snapped, getting really close to Tom's face.

Rule One of Interrogation: Bust personal space bubbles.

Tom opened his eyes blearily, looking more confused than frightened, "Wha- where am I?"

"What. Is. Your. Name?" Bex hissed, getting into Tom's face again.

He replied almost cockily, a little more awake this time, "Who are you?"

Stepping back a little, Bex unsheathed her long knife and let it glint menacingly in the light, "I asked a simple question. 'What is your name?' I'd hate to put this little beauty into action so early in the…interview."

Rule Two of Interrogation: A little fear-factor can open a person right up.

Tom clearly wasn't a very gutsy person, "Thomas Sullivan Harris."

"Age?"

"Nineteen."

Bex nodded, walking slowing in a semi-circle around Tom, "Very good…occupation?"

Tom became even more visibly nervous, "Umm. None?"

"Are you lying to me, Thomas…do you mind if I call you Thomas? Or do you prefer Tom?"

"No-no?"

" 'No' what? You're not lying to me?"

Tom shook his head wildly, "I'm not lying to you."

Bex pounced; and in a split second she was basically sitting on Tom with her knife on the flesh of his throat, "I know you're lying Tom. Do you know what I do to liars?"

All of this had been spoken in Bex's patented Icy Calm, but Tom's eyes bulged and he choked violently. Time for me to step in.

Rule Three of Interrogation: Good-Cop-Bad-Cop is a very effective technique.

I grabbed at the back of Bex's shirt and hauled her away from Tom, saving him from some of her more dreadful threats, "Hey! Take it easy!"

Bex turned on me, "What's your problem?! I told you to never interrupt me like that!"

I shrugged out of her grasp and bent down to grab a bottle of water I left near the door, "You're going to scare the poor kid to death. Just calm down."

Uncapping the water, I turned to the still choking Tom, "Would you like a drink?"

"Is this a restaurant now?" Bex demanded throwing up her hands. Tom, meanwhile, had nodded and I bent to untape his hands.

"What are you doing?!" Bex yelled again. She was really getting into this Bad Cop thing.

"Untaping his hands so he can drink. It's not like he can go anywhere," I motioned to the tape that pretty much laminated Tom to the chair from the chest down.

Bex nodded grudgingly, "True, I suppose. And if he did somehow manage to get away from us, there's no way he'd get out of the building alive."

Tom gulped. We let him drink for a second before Bex started in on him again, "Does the name 'Sheila' mean anything to you?"

Tom got even paler (if that was possible), "Ye-yeah."

"What does it mean?" I asked.

Tom looked at the ground until Bex's boots came into view (or it might have been the .45 tucked right in plain sight), "My sister-in-law's name is Shelia."

"Jerry's wife?" I asked gently.

Tom's head snapped up, "How'd you know that?"

"We also know about your three year old nephew. If you don't give us the information that need…well, it'd be a shame to hurt a child," Bex cut in, playing with the dagger.

Rule Four of Interrogation: It's playing dirty, but threatening family members is a great way to get what you want.

"He's barely more than a baby!" Tom gasped, looking at me beseechingly.

I shrugged, looking really down-and-out, "Nothing will happen if you just talk to us Tom. You can walk out the second we have everything we need and you'll never see us again."

While Tom contemplated, Bex began to talk, "So, Shelia is your sister-in-law. How did the two of you get mixed up with the Black Devil?"

Tom flinched, but hung his head and began his story, "My brother Jerry was always…well, an adrenalin junkie. He liked fast cars and extreme sports. And after he met Shelia and promised to 'be careful and settle down,' he liked espionage."

"Espionage?" I asked, encouraging him to continue.

Rule Five of Interrogation: Once they get started, just let 'em talk.

"Espionage. Somehow- and I'll swear on a stack of bibles that I really don't know- Jerry got mixed up with some shady people that eventually lead him to-" he shuttered, "Der Schwarz Teufel. The Black Devil. When Shelia found out about the 'work' Jerry was doing, she left him and took Johnny with her. She has a set of twin brothers that live in the States, out West somewhere."

"And what about Jerry?" Bex asked, "Where's he?"

I had a feeling I knew where this was going. Tom looked down and swallowed hard, "Dead. Murdered."

"The Black-" I started.

"Yeah," Tom cut me off savagely, "They killed him after Shelia left. Without knowing it, she'd taken something very important to the Devil."

"What?"

"A microchip with sensitive codes that the Devil was going to sell was embedded in the back of the Pietersen necklace. I'd given Jerry the necklace after I'd stolen it so he could use it to bribe his way out of the Black Devil's crew. Unfortunately, my brother had a better idea. He always had a better idea."

"He was going to blackmail the Black Devil," I summarized.

Tom nodded, "He stole the microchip and put it on the necklace. Shelia knew the necklace was expensive, she always had an idea what I did, and took it when she left."

"I know that you last spoke with Sheila the day you ran into Alex Rider in London, a little under a month ago. Care to explain that?" Bex 'asked.'

"She came back to take care of the…funeral arrangements. I tried to talk to her, but she wouldn't listen. She thinks I work for the Devil, too…which I don't," he hastily added.

"Why did you send Rider after her?" I wanted to know.

"Somehow, The Black Devil's organization doesn't know about Shelia or Jonathan…maybe it's because her hair's a different color every week…but they know about me. And they've been watching, hoping I'd lead them to the microchip. So I used Alex. Family before friends."

"And you've been looking Shelia…how'd you get rid of the Black Devil?" Bex demanded.

"I haven't been looking for Shelia. I figure that she doesn't have the necklace anymore; she can live happily ever after for all I care. And," he looked rather sheepish, "I had something that I needed to do."

"Steal the Hope Diamond," Bex supplied dryly.

"How'd you know that?"

Bex looked down at him, "It was painfully obvious. But it's also not going to happen. And I have one more question."

Tom looked frightened, but nodded.

"Who," Bex asked, leaning closer and closer, "is the Black Devil?"

"The name she usually uses is Der Schwarz Teufel-"

"She?!" I asked, really shocked.

Rule Six of Interrogation: Try not to show any emotion. (This is not always possible.)

He nodded, "But her given name is Jessica Parker. She's English by birth. Twenties, pretty, short blonde hair, blue eyes, petite. I swear that's all I know, I've only met her once."

Bex shot me a look, "Very good Tom. Charlie?"

Charlie materialized form the shadows and put a printed, four-page confession…how she printed it was anyone's guess.

"Shall we go for a stroll?" Charlie asked, taking me by the arm.

"Don't leave me!" Tom cried, looking at Bex, "What is she going to do to me? I answered all of your questions!"

"You are gong to sign this confession, return the necklace, then go to jail for stealing it," Bex said calmly, ushering me out of the room.

"Wait-"

The door closed behind me and I grinned. So many of my questions now had answers. Zach appeared in the doorway at the end of the hall, "Well, how's it go?"

I smiled thoughtfully, "Great, we got everything. Now Bex is trying to get him to sign his confession."

He nodded and I turned to Charlie, "Can you go find Alex and tell him what we learned?" She was carrying her laptop, "Let him read a copy of the confession. I need to talk to Zach."

She nodded and silently slipped down the hall and out of sight. When she was out of earshot, Zach approached and cocked his head at me, "What's wrong?"

I glared softly at him, "I'd tell you everything that we talked about in there, but I saw that nice little bug you planted on the light bulb."

He grinned, "Guilty."

"We need to talk," I said, my face serious, "Why are you here?"

"To help you."

"Macey told me that you lied to your superiors. If that's true, you are a much dumber person than I'd originally thought."

"What-"

Now I was annoyed, "Don't play stupid with me, just answer the question. Why. Are. You. Here?"

He sighed, running his hands through his hair, "It's not really because of Rider-"

"I gather that."

"-I…Well- Honestly?"

"A little honesty might be nice."

He looked at his feet and mumbled.

"What?"

"I said, 'I was planning on coming to see you. I missed you.'"

I'm pretty sure my jaw hit the floor. Zachary Goode, showing emotion? "Say that again?"

He shrugged, "I missed you. Rider's predicament was just a better reason to see you. And keep you out of trouble."

I was still stuck on the 'I missed you' part, "You missed me?" I asked, incredulous.

Then his arms were wrapped around my waist and he was kissing me and I knew he was telling the honest truth. Maybe for the first time in his life.

All too soon, there was a commotion down the hall and I pulled away from Zach just as Alex appeared around the corner, "I need to talk to Tom!"

"You can't kill him, he'll pay for his crimes in prison," I said, moving to intercept him.

"No, didn't you hear who he said the Black Devil was?"

I nodded, "Yes, a…Jessica Parker."

"Don't you recognize the name?!" Alex was nearly yelling now.

Running a million things through my head, there was no particular attachment to the name, "No, should I?"

"Yes," Alex said, exasperatedly, "She was in Oregon. The nurse I met at the cemetery. Mr. Preston Giles."

"What? You never told me her name! Are you positive?"

He nodded, "I'd stake my life on it. It's the same person; Tom described her to a 'T'. That's why she was so talkative, so helpful! I even remember thinking, that 'she certainly had a talent for getting people to spill their guts,' " he slapped his forehead, "How could I be so stupid?!"

Just at that moment, Bex opened the door and stepped out of the interrogation room, signed confession in hand, talking on her cell phone, "-ready to travel. Just put the necklace, leave him at the scene and call the cops. We'll get the microchip. Yep, I'll be waiting."

Taking one look at our face, Bex hung up and held out her hand for the necklace. Numbly I complied as Zach quietly told her that we'd been this close to the Black Devil and we let her get away.

Frowning, Bex popped the microchip off the necklace and handed the chip to Zach, "Well, at least we know who we're looking for. On to phase five."

Wow, that's like the longest chapter in a long time. And it only took me a little over three hours to write!

Review, THE END IS NEAR!

Lots of Love,

S

P.S. Zammie? Check. Surprise twist? I BET YOU DIDN'T SEE THAT ONE COMING!