Taken 17

Tony turned and stared at the cold smile of Derek Hawkins.

"Well, Detective..." he started.

"Spare me all that bull. You're in no position to act tough, Tony," he said, kicking the gun aside. "You really haven't changed at all, football jersey, cocky attitude, and all. Did prison do nothing to reform you?"

He lunged towards Derek, but Derek slapped him on the face", sending him crashing down again.

"That would be illegal - hitting you that is. But you tried to kill me, so I really don't care," Derek spat.

"You...'

"We both know that you're going to prison for a long, long time. What I need to know now is who you're working for and where the girl is."

"Go to hell." Tony cursed.

"Oh you will be, that's a fact. Two counts of premeditated murder, one count of attempted murder, illegal possession of a firearm, and obstruction of justice? Coupled with the fact that the death penalty is still in use in this state?" Derek asked, stooping low so that they were only a few meters away from each other. "I'd be surprised if you didn't get the chair."

He drew out his phone from his pocket as he began dialing a number.

"W-Who're you calling?" Tony asked uneasily.

"The appropriate department. The police. You've made your choice, and I can't force you to do otherwise. In the same vein, I wl also have to testify during your case. And I guess we both know what that...:"

"Stop!" Tony said, thinking about it. He could either say that he worked for Schneider, and protect Zoe, whom he was sure the detective wasn't aware of. Or he could as well rat Zoe out, and protect the Boss, who was going to ensure he got killed either way.

"Schneider. I work for Bruno Schneider.' he said.

Bingo!

"What do you mean?" Derek asked.

"Well, as you may already know, Marco kidnapped the girl. And then, he doublecrossed us and decided to hand her over to the Black Lotus. We all know how that ended up, but just like you, we don't know who he gave the child to."

"And you're saying that Schneider runs Personas?"

'Yes, Einstein. Isn't that what I've been saying?"

"Yeah. I just wanted to make sure I got it all on tape." He said, turning off his tape recorder.

"You sleazy..." Tony started.

"Save your breath for the judge. Now, I've gotta find the girl. I already have the evidence to bring Schneider down, and it's all thanks to you, old chap, he said, dialing the police call line."

Soon three squad cars pulled up, and Tony was bundled in, kicking and screaming.

"Well, that went..."

His thoughts were interrupted by two boys - more like punks - staring at the scene. They all had spiky dark hair, piercings in their noses and ears, and dressed like... punks really.

But something about them unnerved him. They both wore leather jackets with no seat shirts, so he could see their bare chests. Chests they both had a scorpion tattoo on.

"The girl... Sidney... the Park... Schneider... B-B-Black Lotus... Find the scorpion,"

He dashed towards the boys. Seeing him coming towards them, they both began running, but he called out "You're not in trouble. I'll just like to ask you about the band!"

That was a lucky guess. He had no idea if they were in a band or not. But they stopped anyway, and he soon caught up to them.

'Nice tattoos," he said, pointing at their chests.

"You bet, you old fart. Now, what tha hell do you want?" one asked, looking as malevolent as ever.

"Are the tattoos from a band or what?"

"How much do you need the information, Sherlock,' the other asked, stepping on his foot. He'd love nothing better than to flip the kid and force the information out of him before making them both spend a night in a cell, but he'd play their way instead.

"Ten bucks," he said, producing the note. They snatched it greedily.

"It's from the Bloody Arachnids. They're having a concert at Freedom Park tomorrow evening."

"Oh.."

'Yeah. Nice doin' business with ya, ya lousy piece of sh*t!" they called out, running off.

One day, he'd get the opportunity to put them behind bars. Today, they were of use.

"The Park... Find the Scorpion," he recalled Marco's dying words. The puzzle was complete. It was showtime.

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If you're looking for any of the Taken stories, please head to this post to read them