Fallen Comrade
"Why did you do it?"
Logan Goodwin sat facing Paige Middleton across a bare table. They were alone in the interrogation room. So far, she had offered up little information.
"That's a stupid question," Paige replied, sneering at the detective.
"Maybe," Logan shrugged, "but I figured it was worth a shot. You haven't answered any less direct questions. So, why is it a stupid question?"
She rolled her eyes, "Because the answer is obvious."
"Enlighten me."
Middleton glared at Goodwin, then leaned back in her chair. She crossed her arms over her chest. He returned the stare, face impassive.
"Because they let us down," she said eventually. "The Guardians. During the Red War. All these years they promised to take care of us, promised to defend us. The Cabal showed up, and what happened? They failed us, we died, and now they have to pay. For all my dead friends."
Logan nodded, "So the recent anti-Guardian graffiti around the Tower. These pamphlets that were passed out," he produced a piece of paper filled with anti-Guardian propaganda from his pocket and set it on the table, "I take it you had a hand in it all?"
Paige just glared defiantly.
" I see. So you single-handedly shifted the balance of power in a few different criminal groups to get back at some Guardians. Makes perfect sense."
That got a reaction. "Criminal? What are you talking about?"
"Jackal-9? The Guardian you framed? Turns out, he was getting involved with the illegal narcotics scene in the City. And the victim, Albert Brann? He had his finger in all sorts of operations. Looked like he was setting himself as some low-level boss. With you taking both of them out of the picture, it's left a vacuum."
"I don't know anything about any of that," she said, shifting in her seat.
"Really?" Goodwin questioned, arching an eyebrow. "So I'm supposed to believe that you just happened to randomly target the shadiest Guardian in the Tower? And then, coincidentally, just happened to target someone like Brann to be the victim in your little scheme?"
"I didn't 'target' anyone," she said. "I didn't kill anybody. I just took the gun."
"Even if I believed you, that would still make you an accomplice to murder, at the very least."
Middleton sat silent for several moments and Logan waited her out.
"I want a lawyer," she said finally.
"Fine," he replied. "But, ah, one last question, if I may. Why that gun? What made it worth the effort?"
She shrugged, "I don't know. That was the gun he said to get. Said it was special. And it's a Guardian gun, so of course it had a fancy name. He called it the Ruinous Effigy."
"He?"
"I'm not saying anything else until I get my lawyer."