Frank and Joe's mom pulled the car up to the police station. She spoke in her long-suffering manner, "Your father will drive you home, and you are only to walk and sit, nothing else! Then I'll get you boys back in bed where you belong."

They sheepishly agreed, and gingerly made their way to the front door. They were both hurting more than they cared to admit, but were far too stubborn to do anything but continue through the lobby, and to where their father was waiting at a table near the holding cells. Police chief Collig was sitting opposite a handcuffed (and decidedly disheveled) Adler Haas. Fenton had a row of chairs along the side of the wall of the room where Paul was sitting as far away from Adler as possible. Fenton led his sons to the chairs, where they sat.

Chief Collig clapped his hands together. "Excellent, we can get started." He clicked the record button on a large recording machine, and raised his eyes to stare at the listless criminal.

He continued, "I understand you have quite the story to tell us. Do you tell your story of your own free will?"

Adler refused to look up. "Yes," he replied sullenly.

"Good," The chief said. "You are accused of the premeditated assault and battery of Danny Spendlove, the vehicular assault of Ronnie Jameson, the shooting of Elijah Crowther and Frank Hardy, the kidnapping of said Frank Hardy, and the assaults against Paul Alton (formerly Viktor Haas) and Joseph Hardy."

The chief took a big breath. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

Adler twitched. "Perhaps you would not be so quick to judge if you knew the hell I've endured." His voice was quiet and raspy.

"From the time I was 12, my older brother over there (he gestured to Paul with a jerk of his chin) was my legal guardian. I practically worshiped him, and together we were going to crawl out of the gutter and make something of ourselves. We took what we wanted and in time, we were successful. By the time I grew up I was earning hundreds of dollars a week."

"I bought a nice house, married a beautiful woman, and gave birth to my son. Life was almost perfect, but I knew I was still capable of more."

He gestured again with his chin, this time toward the file folder in front of Chief Collig. "Your file will say what happened next. Some cops snooped where they oughtn't. They had to be silenced, and did what I had to do to keep my life safe. My friends and I killed them."

Paul let out a sort of mournful sigh. Adler's eye's snapped to him.

"Yes," he hissed. "My beloved brother was part of it. But someone slipped up. We were arrested."

He laughed, low and sinister as he turned back to Chief Collig. "You should have seen how fast Viktor surrendered. He lost his spine as soon as he was arrested. But I trusted him. I thought for sure, my brother, the mastermind, would have a plan."

Adler ground his teeth together, and Joe got chills. "He had nothing. We were sent to Eastern Penitentiary, the cess-pit of humanity's worst. They pushed me around, they scared my wife, my Bett away. Viktor did nothing."

"I learned quickly that you can't trust anyone," Adler spat. "Everyone leaves- your parents, your brother, your own wife."

He looked up, snarling. "I knew I could escape. But I had to do it all on my own."

He paused for a moment, almost as if he was enjoying the dramatic emphasis. The chief pressed, "How did you escape?"

With a smirk, Adler explained, "It was quite simple, really. I charmed the other prisoners, the guards. I punished those who opposed me. I got my way- which was to share a cell with a simpleton who matched my build and height. He also happened to be reaching the end of his sentence."

Joe saw his father nodding grimly; his father was bound to catch on sooner than Joe did. He turned again to the boasting Adler.

"I made my behavior more erratic. I was unpredictable. Some began to doubt my sanity. Then, on the eve of my cellmate's release, I made my move."

"I strangled him while he was sleeping. I shaved my head to match his, and took his uniform, glasses, and personal effects. I moved him to my bed, covered him with oil I had stolen from the prisoners' sweatshop, and lit him on fire. I made it look like suicide. I then laid in his bed, and assumed his identity. We both had beards, and I had studied his behavior. No one doubted that poor, crazy Adler Haas had killed himself. I walked out the next day a free man."

Paul had begun to rock back and forth at this story, shaking his head despairingly. "Oh, Adler," he whispered, "tell me you didn't."

Adler sniffed and twitched. "I did," he responded coldly. "Bob Nash was his name. The name I've lived under ever since."

Chief Collig made sure the recording machine was still working, then called to his secretary in the other room, "Nancy, can you call the Philadelphia office and have them send a file for 'Bob Nash?'"

Nancy gave an affirmative response, and Collig turned back to Adler with a stone cold glare. "So you killed him. What have you been doing ever since? Why only attack Paul now?"

Adler returned the glare, but stated, "My brother was in prison. That was a perfect place for him as far as I was concerned. Bett had left me, so I was done doing anything for her. I ended up overseas. Japan, China, Siam…. I found my way to a ship where I gained new allies, new wealth."

Adler looked down, and looked mournful for the first time. He said sadly, "The ship was forcefully dissolved as the new "United Nations" thing tightened their hold on the sea."

He sighed. "I lost everything again. My shipmates have scattered across the world, and I'm too old to rebuild a life again."

For a split moment Joe felt a stab of pity for this hateful old man, but he lost it again when Adler said, "So I figured I'd destroy my brother's life, as he had destroyed mine."

But Adler didn't look remotely angry or scary any more. He just sat, utterly defeated by his life and who he had allowed himself to become.

Paul seemed to see it too, and he rose, to put a hand on his brother's shoulder. Adler seized up as if he had been electrocuted. "I don't want your pity!" he screeched, as he lept in the air. He made a desperate lunge at Paul, though his hands were still handcuffed to the table. Chief Collig (as well as everyone else in the room) jumped up to restrain Adler, who was screaming vindictive words at Paul. Mr. Hardy held Paul's arm back, saying, "Perhaps we'd better go."

Paul looked grievously at his unhinged brother, but then nodded. He sadly followed Frank and Joe out of the room.