The morning news announced the arrest of a potential suspect regarding the incident two nights ago. They reported that the incident resulted in the death of most members of the attackers, all but one.
A female who appeared to be the leader from eye witnesses, she disappeared from the crime scene after killing a number of police men and even engaged the Gotham City's vigilante, Batman. Also along with Tom Hendricks who also went missing from the scene the moment the police arrived.
Tom's picture was portrayed at the top corner of the screen as the news went on. Eye witnesses said she was so fixated on him when it all began, right on till the police showed up and that was when Tom disappeared while she fought off the police officers. The news then went on ahead to boldly tag an headline beneath the screen saying, "An inside job?"
BUZZ BUZZ
Jason who had a cup of tea in hand as he watched the news, was distracted by his ringing phone which displayed the name Leo on the screen.
"Why the fuck did I just see on the news that Tom got arrested?" Leo's voice reverberated through the phone's speaker, without first exchanging pleasantries or formalities.
"I don't know man, for some reason it seemed like he wanted to be arrested. It's a real headache trying to figure out what that crack brain is thinking at times."
"I doubt that, he's a kid that prefers to keep a low profile, unless something has changed from his initial objective. This would put him on the spot light for sure." Leo replied, while Jason kept on sipping from his hot cup of tea.
"Maybe that's what he wants, remember he plans on going to Metropolis and becoming a public figure or something. A low profile would have been difficult to keep anyway, I mean has he taken a good look at his hair in the mirror, in a society like ours, it's literally screaming the words, 'notice me.' From what I can remember, he sounded like he was going to become the next Lex Luthor, a good version from public opinion was the way he put it." Jason casual said.
"That would be pretty cool in a lot of ways, if he could pull it off. So the power he has gotten in the criminal underworld isn't enough for him that he's going for societal power too and out in the open. He sure has changed from the kid who didn't want anything to do with the media."
"Yeah."
"How about the police, they just let you go like that?" Leo asked, wondering why the police didn't take Jason into custody along with Tom.
"They just did a thorough search of the house and found nothing implicating, it just seemed like a house belonging to regular kids with no social life."
"If he's held for more than twenty four hours, then you should go see him or else it might seem a bit suspicious to the police."
"Will do. It's time for my program, I have to go." Jason said, then cut off the call without waiting hear what else Leo had to say.
…
[Tom Hendricks POV
Seated in an interrogation room and across a desk from Commissioner Jim Gordon, Tom had on a neutral expression on his face. The cuffs had been taken off of him and he was being questioned by the Commissioner himself.
"I apologize for the rude behavior of my deputy barging in on you like that, but I hope you can understand why he had to do all that to get you to the station."
"I get it, they were only doing their jobs." Tom replied as he waited for the actual questioning, knowing the Commissioner would try the friendly approach to get him to relax, then ask subtle questions that would provide him with the actual answers he is after.
"Now that we have that out of the way, tell me what exactly happened that night and why you went missing from the scene just like the metahuman did."
"I've been really curious as to how the police found out I was even at that restaurant that night. I thought since it was a private restaurant, there wouldn't be cameras." Tom asked.
"That's true, but the establishment had a camera or two which captures both the entrance and the back door exit. But like most typical robbery, they were disabled before the act, likely an inside job." The commissioner said, taking of his glasses to massage his temples, then proceeded to clean his glasses with an handkerchief.
"Now here's the part I don't get. If the cameras were disabled, then how did the GCPD get any Intel about me being present at that establishment that night and confirming that we both disappeared right about the same time?" Tom questioned, almost sounding like he was the one doing the interrogating.
The commissioner let out a sigh as he caressed his mustache for a few seconds, then reached for his drawer before going ahead to light himself a cigar. "Look kid, multiple eye witnesses described the leader of the gang engaged a kid with snow white hair, which matched your every description. And that kid wasn't present at the scene after the incident." He replied, trying to clear Tom's doubt and assure him he wasn't brought into custody based on feeble facts but he was an actual suspect.
"Basically I'm the only kid in Gotham City with snow white hair, great." Tom said with a sarcastic tone to it. "Although there's a possibility of the kid dying his hair or wearing a wig to avoid recognition but I do confirm the fact that I was present at the restaurant that very night." He admitted, not wanting to prolong making a fool of the police any longer.
"Good, now tell me what exactly happened and what reason you're left alive after being attacked by the lead robber. A majority of the bystanders confessed you were able to negate the attacks with ease while the others were being robbed of their valuables. But we walked you through a meta human scanner but the scan came out negative."
"Oh, you do have a lot of questions. I guess that's what interrogation is all about. Well, the details from that night is a bit vague to me but I will try to explain to the best of my abilities." Tom said with a sigh which made it seem like he was a bit emotional when thinking about that particular night.
"To answer the question that's been bugging you since I entered this room, I'm not a meta human. A well trained combatant happened to be in the restaurant that night and I think one of the robbers spanked her ass in and attempted to harass her, that's when it all went down hill. She killed most of them."
"Can you describe this lady?" The officer seating next to him asked, pulling out a pen and a small booklet as he asked.
"No I can't, I was too concerned with the fire which had started. That was when the lead robber threatened me with her electrical powers. I didn't do anything like the others said, she just did a couple of light shows when the fire was suddenly put out." Tom seemed to describe the scene with subtle changes in his body language to help show he did feel fear.
"How did you get out then? And where did you go after that? " The officer asked, giving Tom an unbelieving look.
"I think she got distracted by how sudden the flames were put out because her colleague who seemed to control the flames was the one responsible for it in the first place. She turned around only to see him dead, by then the hostages were making their way out as the police had arrived, I managed to slip out but got extremely dizzy, probably from inhaling excessive smoke and passed out at a near by corner somewhere."
"Did you say you passed out?" The commissioner asked.
"I think I did, because everything went blurry for a second then blank, I woke up in the early hours of the morning, stripped of my cloths and possessions." Tom said to them, reacting in a manner like reminiscing about that moment sent some kind of shiver of unpleasantness down his spine.
"Your testimony is quite different from the others in some sort of way but it's also more in depth than the others. Is there anyone we could call to confirm this testimony of yours?" Commissioner Gordon asked, adjusting his glasses as he watched for any subtle change in Tom's body language which might indicate panic or discomfort while giving his answer.
"Of course, you could ask my housemate who wouldn't let me hear the end of it, he made fun of me for showing up at the house with just boxers and nothing else, not even my socks was left with me. I would have also called out the taxi driver who gave me a lift home, at first he thought I was just another psycho but my hair and looks made him think I was the kid of some rich man who got robbed in those parts that night." Tom let out a sigh as he continued.
"Of course he only did so because he knew he would be well compensated for it and he wasn't disappointed at the end of it."
The officer seated next to the commissioner raised a brow, clearly evident he wasn't buying Tom's story. "Don't believe me? How about you make a call to my home right now and ask my housemate questions regarding this matter." Tom suggested,
"We'll make the call but we'll be keeping you here until further investigations throw in more light on the matter, maybe until you confess to your crimes." The commissioner then stood up as he gestured for the officer for them to take their leave.
"You don't seem to want a request for your lawyer." He said, taking a close look at Tom. "An innocent man has nothing to fear from the law." Tom boldly said without breaking eye contact.
That morning, the people of Gotham City and beyond woke up to the news of the arrested young man Tom Hendricks. Who was still in custody under charges of being an accomplice to the incident that took place some nights back, causing quite stir on the media.
"The kid said he had some business to take care of, wasn't expecting him to get himself arrested for it." Deathstroke muttered as he wiped his blade with a peace of white cloth, displaying an array of lined up bullets on the table right in front of him.
"Is it that surprising? I only spent a brief moment with that ass hole and even I can tell he's a complete nutcase." She said to him with mockery in her tone.
"I see you've regained enough strength to speak, now we can either resume with your torture or you could use that little strength of yours to spill the answers to the questions I asked you." Deathstroke said as he stood up from his seat, grabbing a pair of bloodstained pliers from the table next to him before approached her.
"Why are you after that brat?" He asked her while snapping the plier as he walked circles around strung up girl.
"Has it occurred to you that maybe I just happen to hate him bad enough to want him dead?"
"No, from what I heard this isn't a personal vendetta. Someone wants him dead, and am getting paid a good sum to find out who." He paused, then continued.
"You still have five good looking fingernails left on you, I suggest you start talking or it would only lead to more pain." Making a stop right in front of her, he continued. "Who do you work for and why do they want the kid dead?"
"What does it matter to you anyway? I didn't think a big scary man like yourself would answer to a little boy who couldn't even get himself from getting arrested." Deathstroke smacked her so hard across the face that she got bleeding lips. "That's none of your business, and I do not answer to him but someone far above.
Spitting some blood on the ground, she turned to Deathstroke by her side, then said in a mocking tone. "You hit like my girlfriend."
"Now that's some information, now tell me what I need to know." He said, grabbing her right hand which still had it's fingernails and seemed to be her dominant hand from the way she tried to protect it struggling to pull it away from him but was futile.
"I admit it was a smart move disguising your assassination attempt as a robbery, making it seem like he was just at the wrong place at the wrong time." Adding more depth to his gruff voice as it added more tension to the situation. "Let's try this one more time, who do you work for?" He asked, clipping her index finger with the plier before forcefully ripping it right out.
She let out a scream from the pain, while her hand began to shake as blood dripped from the injured source. "Here we go again." He said as he clipped onto another finger, she struggled against it but to no avail. "When am done with your fingernails and you still haven't told me anything, then I'd start with your toes, one after the other untill I am done with each one of them."
He tightened his grip on her arm and was about ripping out another finger when she screamed…"Wait…" She paused, taking a deep breath of relief from the halted torture. "Speak." Slade commanded, tightening his grip on her hand.
"I don't work for anyone, I'm only a mercenary who got the job of exterminating the white haired." She confessed.
"There's more to it. Spill it all and do not lie to me, trust me, I'd know if you do." He threatened. "Who made the request for his head?" He asked.
"I don't know." She replied, but Deathstroke wasn't having it. He ripped out about finger and say… "Try again." While she screamed out, unable to bear the consecutive torture anymore.
"I don't know, I just accept request passed down to me. I don't care about the identity of a client or the target, so long as I get paid." She winced out in pain, tears finally made it's way to her eyes as it gathered around it, just a push away from dripping down her cheeks.
"Request passed down to you? Meaning you're nothing but an underling. Tell me about your superiors, their identities and what this little organization is called." Sounding like he was just one wrong answer away from ripping out another fingernail, he pressed on.
"I can't do that, I don't even know them myself." She denied in a low but desperate tone, trying to justify her self proclaimed ignorance.
"Wrong!" He remarked as he ripped off her last fingernail, while she broke into another scream and the hovering tears began to drip down her cheeks like waterworks. "I swear I don't know."
"You're all out of fingernails, but still have a good number of toenails in place." He taunted as he walked over to the table in the workspace, dropped the pliers on it, then took a pair of pincers.
"There's quite a number of body parts to dismantle till you're willing to talk. Believe me when I say am starting to enjoy this little game of ours, hopefully you act tuff a few more times and refuse to crack." Deathstroke continued to torment her both physically and psychologically, working to break her down at both ends.
Beneath her was a puddle of her own blood, a testament to Deathstroke's heartless methods of getting the information required.
…
It's been twenty four hours since Tom was taken into custody and according to the law he was to be released since the investigation they conducted had nothing on him being guilty for the accused crime.
He was currently seated with the commissioner who ran a close follow up of the case, leaving no stone unturned in his attempt to avenge his murdered colleagues.
But this time there was no proof of Tom's affiliation to the committed crime, there for he required no more condemnation but his obsession with wanting someone to at least be punished, made him keep Tom a while longer even though he was going to be acquitted of all charges.
"I know how this looks, and if you're innocent of the crime then it's all been one heck of a misconception and I would apologize for all that. But if you're found guilty of this crime, then you would have to lead us to your accomplice who murdered quite a number of our officers that night."
His expression changed into one of a more serious one as he looked Tom straight in the eye but Tom just kept staring like he had nothing to fear but exhibited a subtle change in his body language which indicted he was somehow affected by that.
"She killed a lot of our good men you know, and you would definitely be doing a serious jail time if it's found out that you were somehow an accomplice to the robbery and attack that night, so it's best to spill the beans, and I would ensure you get a reduced sentence." He said with a stern and intimidating tone.
"Sorry about that Mr Commissioner but I'm just an innocent victim of this situation, through out my stay in Gotham city for the past year, this is the first time I've been in the heat of the action. I have to admit that it had me almost shaking in my boots when she approached me, I was sweating profusely from the fear of loosing my life from the slightest of wrong moves." Tom's eyes slowly morphed into one's filled with a soft and emotional expression as he looked back at the commissioner.
"Tell me about the other lady who killed off the remaining robbers, a full description." He asked, shifting the conversation to get more detail from Tom since he seemed more compliant and open to sharing what he knew.
"Honestly I don't know, all I remember was that she had black hair and was extremely deadly. She killed them with ease, seemly slitting their throats one after the other while dodging bullets as she closed in on them." Tom elaborated.
"You seem a bit shaken by this, I have to say am a but surprised because you didn't look the least affected earlier."
"Seeing the bloodied bodies on the ground almost triggered a trauma of mine as it kind of reminded me of the most tragic and only memory of my parents I can currently remember." His he looked away from the commissioner as if trying to hold back the water works.
"Sorry son, I know such incidents can be triggering, we do apologize for the mental and emotional trouble this might have caused you, but we have to do our job."
Commissioner Gordon said, feeling a bit sentimental as he had read Tom's file and felt pity for the poor kid with diagnosed amnesia, and who had him convinced that he was indeed innocent of the crime, and was just at the wrong place at the wrong time.
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