章 133: Better Lawyer Up! #133
As I sat on a bland metal gray chair behind an equally dull table inside a barely lit room with a cup of America's cheapest coffee on top of it, I couldn't help but think of how uncomfortable my suit felt.
After several months of wearing nothing but baggy, comfortable casual wear, putting on a suit again didn't feel right and made me wonder how I'd worn the damned thing almost every day in my past life.
But you're probably wondering what I was doing inside what seemed like an interrogation room, and the answer is simple; I was being interrogated, of course.
Several days have passed since my latest outburst, and I met with Richard and Benjamin to discuss it along with the previous one. The two did not seem surprised by how quickly I went from 0 to 100 on both occasions.
Ben jokingly explained that going from 0 to 100 wasn't accurate, as I apparently defaulted on 75, which I didn't know because it was the norm for me at this point.
He said the only reason I wasn't going around tearing people to shreds was that the chants and breathing exercises were suppressing my anger so that the regular stuff wouldn't trigger me.
Discovering I was ticking a time bomb, waiting to explode at any second, and not being aware of the fact was unsettling, and it led to the first argument I've ever had with my teacher for not telling me about it.
However, the discovery wasn't my only worry in the meantime.
Waller had managed to plant one of her people into the team of the federal agent advisors assigned to oversee Deborah's investigation. Yes. Captain Tiegel was still in charge, for some reason.
I wasn't complaining, but according to the usual procedure, Deborah would only be responsible for the crime scene as the first to arrive until her superior was there, as in Commissioner Gordon.
The commissioner would then relinquish charge of the investigation to the Federal Bureau or a similar agency. But none of that happened, and Deborah remained in command with a team of federal agents acting as her advisors.
Recently one of those advisors moved to another case, and one of Waller's people showed up to replace him, and the guy didn't waste any time before coming after me, leading me here.
The initial investigation was over. The GCPD scanned the crime scene, retrieved the evidence, and now it was only a matter of waiting for results from the forensics team while questioning the witnesses, as in me and everyone involved in the case.
And here I was, waiting for the assigned officer to question me for the past 30 minutes with a cheap cup of coffee in this dull, depressing, dark interrogation room.
In the end, I had to wait 15 more minutes before the officer showed up, and surprise, surprise! It was Waller's lackey. Who would have fucking thought?
"Good morning, Mr. Whitlock," the man said as he opened the door, quickly making his way to the table and sitting in front of me before putting his suitcase and another cup of coffee on the table.
"Good morning, agent Harlow," I replied, pleasantly smiling at the federal agent as I adjusted my posture while watching him do the same to get comfortable.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. Were your accommodations comfortable at least?" Agent Harlow asked with the fakest smile I've ever seen as he opened the suitcase and retrieved the papers inside.
"Comfortable enough..." I said, carelessly shrugging my shoulders as I watched him organize the papers and split them into three groups before turning back to me.
"In that case, we should begin. Please remember that anything you say can and will be used in a court of law," Agent Harlow said as he put away his suitcase on the ground.
"So, to recount the events..." Agent Harlow said as he removed his hand from the papers. "You were investigating the missing villains in Gotham when you happened across the secret basement under Gotham's general hospital..." he added, giving me a quizzical look, to which I nodded.
"That's when you encountered the people you recognized to be Amanda Waller's subordinates, and a fight ensued, which caused two casualties among the alleged victims," he added, turning to me with a blank expression.
"No. I didn't know the people there were Waller's subordinates at the time. I was investigating the case for a while before the basement incident..." I replied, raising my hand to stop the agent before he could interject.
"At first, I thought I'd encountered a meta-human trafficking organization, so I did not act immediately so as not to alarm them before finding where they would take the victims and gathering condemning evidence," I went on, shaking my head.
"It was only after more digging that I realized I wasn't dealing with some regular criminal organization," I went on, emphasizing the word 'regular' since it was still a criminal organization, even if sponsored by the government.
"Many of the people there looked like former soldiers and servicemen who carried government-issued weapons and equipment used to subjugate meta-humans," I added, waving to the side.
"Many of them mentioned one director Waller and Belle Reve penitentiary, and that's when I realized they were under Amanda Waller's command," I concluded.
"So you say, but nothing you said denies the fact that your involvement caused the death of two people, the criminals known as Copperhead and Merlin," Agent Harlow said as he pushed the middle stack of papers towards me.
I raised an eyebrow at his words, pretending to be surprised at his words, but I saw his little scheme coming a mile away, and I already had an answer ready.
"True. But I didn't feel the need to deny such a notion because I never thought anyone with two working brain cells would insinuate it unless they didn't review the evidence," I said, shrugging my shoulders.
"But I stand corrected, and to address the issues. No. My interference did not cause the two villains' deaths..." I continued, clearing my throat to hide the chuckle that almost escaped me at the agent's petrified expression.
"It was the brutal methods Waller used to control those two individuals that caused their unfortunate demise..." I added, watching with hidden amusement as the agent gathered his bearings and prepared to ask the next question.
'That's what you get, bitch! Play stupid games and get stupid prizes!'
"In any case, you still reacted aggressively despite claiming to have condemning evidence..." Agent Harlow said as he cleared his throat, having recovered from my insult quicker than expected.
"I'd say that still counts as reckless behavior and the chief cause of two people's deaths," he added, resuming his aggressive line of questioning in hopes of catching me off guard.
"I did react aggressively despite having condemning evidence as I didn't know how long Waller's reach extended," I calmly replied. "She was working under the government's approval and thus might be capable of refuting any evidence I provided through underhanded methods," I added.
"I needed the case to be known and scrutinized by the entire county to make sure no such thing happened, and for that, testimony from the victims was necessary," I concluded.
"But your actions did cause the deaths of Copperhead and Merlin. The two might still be living had you not acted that day and brought your evidence to the authorities," Agent Harlow replied, causing me to roll my eyes.
"Again, no. Merlin's actions caused his and Copperhead's deaths, as have the 52nd precinct's forensics team proved already, I believe," I replied, my tone growing colder at the agent's persistence.
"So unless you provide me with evidence that suggests otherwise, I will not entertain this line of questioning any longer..." I went on as I leaned into the table, staring directly into the agent's eyes.
"And if you insist on continuing to insinuate that my actions were the cause of Copperhead and Merlin's deaths as opposed to solid evidence..." I added, trailing off at the end of my sentence.
"I'd consider that slander and be within my rights to sue you accordingly. Choose your words wisely, detective," I went on with a scoff as I leaned back into my seat.
"You should know that the conversation is being recorded. Anything you say, might and will be used against you in a court of law," I concluded, grinning as I carelessly shrugged my shoulders.
'Take that, bitch! Who told you to come in here without a lawyer?!'
The agent grunted at my words uncomfortably, going silent for a second as he tried to find a counterargument and failed, based on his souring expression, which I enjoyed in silence.
"I meant nothing by it. I am merely trying to get to the truth," the agent said, putting on a sheepish smile as he cleared his throat again, having suffered mental damage for the second time today.
"Now about your alleged evidence..."
...
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