AN: A much needed shorter chapter after that monstrous 9k last chapter lol
Chapter 7 Interrogation
The last thing Karen expected to wake up to was the sound of SSS officers knocking on her door and arresting her for suspicion of espionage.
State Security Services, acronym SSS, seeked to root out spies from Ostania.
So why the hell did they arrest her!?
Karen clenched her fists, hissing when the metal handcuff dug into her thin, bony wrists even further. She didn't know if it was because she was a lady that they hadn't gone physical on her, but she had no doubt that if this interrogation went on any longer, they would surely lose their patience and use the inhumane tactics that gave them their infamous reputation within the country.
"I'm born and raised in Berlint! And my daddy is a patriotic man and everything he's ever done was for the sake of Ostania! I can afford anything I want, so there's no reason for me to betray my country!" She blurted out desperately, hoping to convince them their suspicion of her was unwarranted while they were still going easy on her.
The young-looking officer interrogating her slid a piece of paper across the table.
"Is that so? How do you explain this then?"
It was a bank statement of her recent transactions. Karen swept her gaze down the list, her heart nearly stopped beating when she noticed what the issue was.
"10k Dalc vanished after being withdrawn from the bank. Care to explain what this is for?"
Shit!
This was, of course, the amount she paid to Garden to hire them to kill Twilight.
This transaction should have been hidden! After her daddy found out about it, he promised her he would do everything in his power to sweep it under a rug and remove it from her ledger!
So how did they find it!?
"Plus, age thirty and still unmarried? Not even a boyfriend? You don't find many women like this nowadays. Even my sister who has no experience in romance managed to fall in… l-, ugh, and get ma… ughhh." The officer groaned with a sour look.
Like I give a shit about your sister!
And it's my fault that I don't have a boyfriend!? I'd like to see how you'd fare after being duped into a relationship by a spy!
Karen thought she had gotten over Robert. But after that encounter with Twilight, after hearing him whisper behind her in that unnecessarily sexy voice of his, she couldn't stop thinking about him. To think that she would end up falling for him even harder after seeing his dark side. It was embarrassing!
And every time she decided to leave it behind her and start a new relationship, she'd become wary of any man who hit on her and suspect them to be a spy. Even after she pushed past that suspicion and tried to date them, she'd hear phantom whisperings of Twilight's seductive voice and become hot and flustered.
"Hello Karen, or should I say, good evening?"
It continued to ring in her head like a broken record. During the day, during the night, and especially in her dreams. If he wasn't alive, she would've even suspected him of haunting her as a spirit!
"I will be taking your silence as a-"
"Wait!"
Why was she suspected of espionage when she was the victim here? Had she not suffered enough from Twilight's emotional manipulations?
If keeping quiet was going to put her in trouble anyway, then she'd rather be honest and tell them what she knew. So what if Twilight would come after her for snitching on him? She'd be punished for being a suspected spy anyway so it wasn't like she had anything to lose! Plus, the SSS might even put her and her daddy in witness protection so Twilight couldn't harm her!
Yeah, there was no point in hiding it!
It felt like a huge weight had been lifted off her chest. With newfound confidence, Karen straightened her back and smirked.
"Have you heard of 'Garden'?"
"What about them?"
"That 10k Dalc is the amount I paid them to assassinate Twilight."
The story spilled out of her lips so fast the scribe officer could barely keep up with the speed at which she was bombarding them with information.
"Blond, you say?" A chilling look entered the officer's narrowed eyes, but it didn't feel like it was directed at her. "And this…'Robert' fella was a politician's secretary?"
"Yeah, but that was just his stupid cover identity." Karen huffed indignantly.
"Hmm. And how did you know the man you kidnapped works for Twilight?"
"That idiot got drunk and let slip the fact that he knows Twilight, so I kidnapped him and used him as bait. I also searched through his bag and found intel about that club so obviously it was for Twilight."
"What's the name and address of this guy?"
"Name… Um, I think it's Franky…something? Frankly? I forgot. But he has really scruffy hair. That made an impression on me. And he works at that tobacco stand near the station."
"Interesting…" The officer's lips curled into a bone-chilling grin. Despite knowing it wasn't directed towards her, Karen couldn't help but tense up under the increasingly murderous glare. She didn't even want to imagine what he planned on doing with this information. "And Nguyen kidnapped that girl because he thought she's related to Twilight?"
"I have no idea. He only told me he has a weapon to bring Twilight down once and for all. Maybe he thought using a child as a hostage would make Twilight falter." Karen forced herself to maintain eye contact with the officer, hoping he didn't catch onto her lie. Revealing she knew the girl's connection to Twilight would lead to the SSS discovering Edgar's encounter with the girl. She couldn't let them know her daddy had a lead to Twilight and kept quiet about it. That'd get him in trouble too.
"I see." The officer's face lit up and made Karen brighten as well, thinking this meant she was free of suspicion.
But his next words plunged her into the deepest depth of the ocean.
"You're under arrest for kidnapping, aiding and abetting a felony offense, conspiracy to commit murder, misprision of felony, and a list of other considerably minor crimes you've committed in the past." As if this wasn't enough, he added with a toothy grin. "Oh, and of course we will thoroughly investigate your beloved 'daddy' as well, so rest assured he will soon be imprisoned with you."
Franky Franklin.
Worked at a tobacco stand.
But that apparently was just a cover job.
And his true job was an informant for Twilight.
And guess where else had he heard this name?
Yuri recalled with a twisted grin.
"Go to sleep, Anya. Didn't you wanna play with Franky?"
"Okay! Anya will stay with Scruffy!"
A blond haired man who had connections to a pink-haired girl and was on close terms with Franky Franklin.
Who else would perfectly fit this description if not for 'Loid Forger'?
Maybe Twilight really did have nothing to do with the chihuahua girl and Nguyen only kidnapped her in the off chance that the bastard would falter at the sight of a kid being taken as hostage, but there were too many coincidences for him to be innocent (as if any man who charmed his sister into a marriage would be innocent!). His daughter got kidnapped by Nguyen who had a grudge against Twilight, he was friends with that Franky guy, he was blond (though Robert could be wearing a wig), and most importantly, he had the face of a liar! Yuri could tell the first time he laid eyes on that man that there was something iffy about him. As if such a tall, handsome, considerate man who could cook and was a doctor could exist! He was too perfect! Too much of a husbando material! He must have charmed his way into Yor's heart and duped her into a sham marriage with him!
As for why…
Well, he was a goddamn spy! What more reasons did he need to toy with Yuri's pure, innocent, and gullible sister's feelings!?
But boy oh boy, whatever evil master plan he had in store for Yor would not be brought into fruition because Yuri was onto him! What Karen gave him was already enough to warrant Loid Forger's arrest for suspicion of espionage, but Yuri decided to wait.
When dealing with an elusive spy like Twilight, patience was the key to a successful capture.
Since Yuri was already living in their home, Twilight had nowhere to escape so he could arrest him at any time.
Plus, it might prove more beneficial if Yuri laid low and acted clueless so he could investigate in the background without alerting that bastard.
He would act like the ordinary civil servant he was, just your average twenty-year-old brother who was a bit overprotective of his sister. Nothing suspicious. And then once he had obtained enough irrefutable evidence, BAM! He'd whip out his badge and arrest that bastard before he could even cry for help!
Hehehe…
Just thinking of the face Twilight would make when he sat behind bars made it worth the wait.
As for that Franky guy, well, Yuri would arrest him once he was ready to arrest Twilight so he wouldn't alert the other prematurely and let them slip away.
Yuri chuckled darkly as his subordinates wrestled a screaming and crying Karen down to her cell.
Your days are numbered, Twilight.
A few days later.
Twilight, once again, cooked a table full of de– definitely not delicious food, putting the phrase "the way to a man's heart is through his stomach" to full use. Though in this case, it'd be "a woman's heart" because it was Yuri's poor sister who was fooled by his cooking. So what if he could cook and was handsome and considerate and tall and was a doctor? He was still a goddamn spy!
If only Yor could be less gullible… Honestly, every second she was away was excruciatingly long for Yuri who feared she would be taken advantage of by people like Twilight. But he wouldn't have to worry about that much longer, because he had already obtained irrefutable evidence that Loid Forger was Twilight and soon, this bastard would be eating prison food rather than his own de– d-disgusting homemade meals…
"By the way," Twilight began, and Yuri clenched his hand into a fist beneath the table to refrain from covering his ears so he wouldn't have to hear the bastard's annoyingly smooth voice. "While taking out the trash last night, I noticed the trash bags were all ripped open like some animal had gone through them. Have you guys seen any animals around here?"
"Maybe it's the raccoons? Or crows? I heard they love to pilfer food or shiny things from the trash," Yor suggested, earning a frown from Yuri.
Stop talking to him! He's a spy!
The chihuahua girl who had been staring at him with a bizarre expression the entire morning suddenly said, "I think it's a chihuahua! Me and Bond saw a chihuahua yesterday by the dumb star! It was glaring at that broken mop nearby."
Twilight hummed in contemplation. "That's dangerous. They love to bite at everything no matter what or who it is. If you see it again, be sure to stay away from it, okay?"
"Okay!"
Yor looked a little confused but she shook it off and said, "Oh, someone gave me a really beautiful rose yesterday and I've been keeping it in a vase at work. Should I bring it home or leave it there?"
Yuri growled silently.
Who the hell gave you that rose!? Were they trying to hit on you!?
"You should bring it home. Our bedroom can do with more decorations. But be careful of the chihuahua on your way back. Don't let it see you cause I don't want you to get hurt."
Is that chihuahua really the issue here when your w-w-wife was apparently hit on!?
Master spy my ass. Can't even play the husband role correctly. No surprise here since he obviously has no love for my dear sister.
The reminder once again put Yuri in a sour mood.
So what would he gain by marrying Yor? It wasn't like men would get suspected for being spies if they remained single past a certain age…
Unless!
Yuri realized with an audible gasp, drawing the chihuahua girl's attention to him.
Could it be that… He married her for her body!? All so he could do those...THINGS to her at night!? In their shared bedroom!?
Is that what they were doing when I heard sounds from their room half past midnight!?
Grrrr… Twilight you bastard!
"Anya?" Twilight gave the little girl a look, and she laughed dryly like she was caught doing something she wasn't supposed to do.
"Oh, I forgot to mention. I will be home late today. I have some work to catch up on," Yor said with an awkward smile. It was the kind of smile she always had on when she acted like she understood something when she didn't.
Yuri hid a smirk with a spoonful of definitely not delicious porridge.
"Papa, papa! Are there any more bags of peanuts? I finished the last bag easterday."
"No, we'll have to restock. But not today."
The chihuahua girl sat there with her mouth open like she was doing some sort of advanced mathematical calculations in her head, then she slapped her palm on her forehead. "Oh, Becky told me she wanna hang out after school! Her driver will drive us home! Can I? Can I!?"
"Yes, go ahead. But be careful out there."
Perfect.
Yuri bit his spoon to stop his lips from quirking up.
With both Yor and the little girl gone, there would be no one seeing him reveal his identity and arresting the bastard.
Twilight would be at his mercy.
"Papa should be careful too! The chihuahua might attack the mop today so if you go near it, it'll attack you too!"
Good riddance.
"Don't worry about me. A chihuahua isn't enough to take me down."
Yor and Anya giggled like this was some sort of inside joke.
Yuri bit his cheeks to stifle his own laugh.
Indeed, a dog can't take you down.
But I can!
Anya laughed even harder.
After breakfast, Yuri volunteered to wash the dishes because that bastard Twilight dared to make Yor do it, claiming she didn't cook so she had to take care of the dishes (not his exact words but that was the gist). While rinsing the soap bubbles off of a plate, he was reminded of that one time he offered to help Yor with the dishes but ended up making a mess and adding more workload to her plate. He had felt guilty for ages and wanted to make up to her, but she refused to let him wash any more dishes after he dropped a plate and cut his hand the second time he tried.
Years flew past. He moved out and lived by himself and finally learned how to wash dishes without dropping everything, but he had no one to show it to, to impress, to make up to. And now when he was finally living with Yor again and could show her how much he had grown, her attention was instead focused on that bastard Twilight rather than her own brother.
The sound of Yor giggling at whatever Twilight was saying to her, the running tap water splashing onto the dishes, a popular song playing on the radio, the noisy chatter from the chihuahua girl as she played with her dog… Together they made a dissonance of noises that was jarring on the ears. Or at least, they should be.
Yuri should be feeling annoyed that a spy was making his sister laugh so genuinely, that he had to endure a little girl who wasn't related to him laughing obnoxiously in his presence, that a goddamn spy was making him, a SSS officer, do the dishes, that a big, stupid-looking dog was nudging him with its toy wanting him to play with it… Technically, he was undercover and investigating Twilight. He didn't belong here. This wasn't his home. He should not be feeling like…like…he was part of this loving, this perfect family.
But this was the kind of atmosphere he and Yor had dreamed of for the future as they struggled through life without their parents. Since Yor was often working till late, Yuri pretty much spent all his time alone. Returning to an empty house after school, doing his homework all by himself, having no one to ask when he encountered a problem, the house only becoming livelier after Yor returned all bloodied from her part-time job. But there was a limit to how lively two people could be. It may be enough to appease his loneliness, but he couldn't help but want more, more laughter, more affection, more things to fill up that emptiness within him.
People could survive alone, and some people may prefer being alone, but eventually they would feel like they were missing something. A peaceful quiet became a suffocating silence, and the desire for solitude became a desire for someone to talk to. No matter how much someone desired to be alone, they'd instinctively want to share when they saw a funny story or when they achieved a major feat, and this required human interactions. It was human nature to seek companionship because humans were social creatures.
And Yuri, after years of growing up practically alone, yearned for this kind of liveliness. Even if the chihuahua girl may annoy him sometimes, even if the dog's barking may grate on his ears sometimes… This was the closest to an ordinary family life he could ever get and no matter how much he tried to convince himself he didn't like the Forger family (except Yor), deep down he cherished them (except Twilight) and was grateful of them for bringing this liveliness into his solitary life.
But soon, this would all go away.
Because Twilight was the core of this family.
With Twilight gone, Yor and him would be separated from the girl and the dog, and they would return to being just the two of them again, alone, and living separately. The noisy mornings, eating together as a family, waking up to a dog licking his face, watching Spy Wars with Anya, listening to her rant about Becka and the scion kid… Those had already been ingrained in his life, and to cut them off was like gouging a piece of his heart out.
And this made him hate Twilight even more.
As if disrupting the peace of Ostania wasn't enough, that bastard would even go as far as to meddle with Yuri's peaceful life and take away what he grew to love and cherish.
Nothing was more important to Yuri than his family.
Now that Anya and Bond had invited themselves into his life, they were essentially part of his family. If arresting Twilight and thus removing them from Yuri's life was the only way to protect them, then so be it.
He didn't need this liveliness. And he certainly wouldn't miss their presence.
After all, he had survived twenty years without it.
By the time Yuri finished doing the dishes, the rest of his family were fully geared up and ready to go about their day. Anya, dressed in her school uniform, was staring at him with an indecipherable look and only looked away when Twilight ushered her over to help her put on her backpack.
Noticing Twilight and Yor exchange a knowing glance, Yuri turned off the radio in a hurry and ran out of the house after grabbing his belongings. He'd rather not see Twilight smear his lips all over his dear sister. No thank you. He needed a full stomach for what he was about to do today.
First things first.
Sort out the audio transcripts from the wiretap, wait for both Franky Franklin and Twilight to return home, arrest them at the same time (after making sure Twilight was alone), then retrieve the wiretap he installed in the Forger residence.
Yuri entered his car and began driving to the SSS building.
Time to catch a spy.
AN: Rating will be bumped up to Mature next week
Next chapter will be more than double the length