Interview - Stage Seven

The chief inspector was ready for the meeting, though a grey haze had been hanging over him since the incident with the body. "It's fine," he kept telling himself. The haze would shift once this was all dealt with in an appropriate manner.

*

All these rendezvous points had gotten a little confusing. So many twists and turns, deviations and reversals from expected routes.

"Come alone, and don't be followed."

A little trick from the investigation days, before he'd headed the team. It helped to slip into paranoia. "To catch a criminal, it is sometimes necessary to think like one..." He couldn't remember who had said that first, but he held to it. He knew it was a dangerous game to play, but he knew it was never going to be easy. That wasn't why he joined the force...

*

"An overarching sense of duty... a crusade, you might say..."

He hadn't come here for this.

"Enough. No more games."


Spoilsport

"Alright. Sit down."

"I'm not in the mood for..."

"SIT DOWN!"

Cold concrete. No chair, but thankfully no rope. He couldn't see the convict, and his pulse quickened. Attempting to control his breathing, he waited for the silence to shatter.

"I suppose you're wondering about the body..."

The chief inspector nodded, still unable to see his man.

"Trying to make a fool of me were you?"

"You tried to kill me."

Grey.

"The body was supposed to be me, wasn't it? Admit it!"

The grey began to tighten.

"You weren't following orders."

"Orders? Do you even know where my orders come from?"

A moment of clarity.

"You answer to me."

Silence. Grey silence.

"My orders come from higher up."

He tried to breathe.

"Inspectorate."

No. Impossible. He tried to regain control.

"That's right. Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary."

No. No, it couldn't be true. It had to be another sick joke.

"We have reason to believe you have been liaising inappropriately with criminals and attempting to influence their behaviour with a combination of violence and psychoactive substances."

The grey tightened around his chest. He couldn't speak. The haze was much tighter than before. A pain in his left arm. His breath drew shorted.

"You have the right to remain silent..."