KELLEY REED

CHAPTER 7

-PART TWO-

-INTERROGATION 2: KELLEY REED-

"I am not going to fool around, do you have anything to do with Copper Richardson's death?" as the brave Pendelton interrogate the second man.

Dimly lit laboratory nothing but the machines meet his first gaze. There is no movement and no odor of any kind. There are lights, but like the stars in a night sky they do little to lift the blackness, showing only the activity of the hardware sort of plasma screens of gigantic proportions with text that's too far away to make sense of. Though the feeling is more of being in a high tech cave the size of a stadium, black metallic roof above, black marbled floor below. Every footfall echoes around, not loudly, but enough to give away position to anyone who happens to be concealed in here. What had thought to be a movie theatre sized screen is nothing of the sort. In that suspended moment, a fraction of a second drawn out to infinity, his brain offers an explanation and yet rejects it simultaneously. This is the stuff of science fiction, sort of movies either horror. Sucking in sharp breath of the dust-less air, suddenly seeming so thick and step forwards for a better look of the place. As quiet and cold as a morgue. Even the great machines lay silent.

The door flew open and harsh light flooded the Laboratory room. Kelley squinted, attempting to defend himself from the accursed light and struggling to make out who, or what, had assaulted his senses. Five amorphous masses lingered in the brightly-lit threshold for a second, then entered the room and locked the door behind them. Fear and uncertainty gripped Kelley Reed. As the shapes drew closer, he realized that he was not going to enjoy what was coming. He attempted to stand up, to meet the black shapes head-on, but the closer of the five forms shoved him violently back into his chair.

Now Kelley got a good look at the first intruder. The dark blob materialized into a tall, bulky man, his thick-rim glasses clinging to his head like moss to a Cliffside. His angry grey eyes bored holes into the timid office worker's skull. Stomping around the desk towards him. The man stared at him over the table, leaning on his elbows with his hands linked. Kelley stared him down. He wouldn't back down to him. He hated the whole lot of them.

They brought nothing but trouble.

She had an innocent role to play so she couldn't flee the scene of the crime but he wished that they had bought his little act. But this guy was too smart and saw past it in an instant. Stomping around the desk towards him, he spoke, his voice imbued with the bass of an rock slide and the pride of a lion.

"Mr. Reed, what were you doing when the murder took place? Apart from wailing over the dead body, of course." Pendelton utter as he was calculating Kelley's reactions

Kelley made sure to look the man straight in the eyes and not break eye contact. Any shying away would taint his name and he couldn't have that. Not after everything he'd been through. Most people would have been traumatized by what had happened to him just a few hours ago but Kelley was different. It almost excited him. The blood flowing from the head. The man's passed out body. It had taken place in a dingy alleyway so there were no witnesses as far as he knew. He had checked several times if anyone was looking out of the windows. Maybe someone saw at the last minute but he hoped against hope that hadn't happened.

"What is the problem?" Lock ask as he observes the movement of the man he beaten.

He realized he had been staring at Pendelton for some time. Long enough that he was making him uncomfortable.

Almost scared.

He knew it was suspicious but he enjoyed it all the same. He had to suppress a smile.

"Dude! He's way too different" Gray whispers to his twin brother

"He's acting weir and suspicious" Price utters while observing the man

"What is the problem?" as Lycko repeats Knight-lock's question

Kelley didn't understand. What was this idiots going on about? "I don't know what you are talking..."

The motion was so quick that Kelley didn't even have time to comprehend what was about to happen. One moment, the Pendelton had been standing completely still, and the next Kelley's left cheek was stinging, red from the vicious slap that had been applied. He was stunned.

Had the goon even moved?

"Do you want me to repeat again?" as Knight-drain utter with a death glare

"Ow! What the hell was that for? I swear, I don't know what's going on!" He shouts out of anxiousness either fear made by Pendelton

The second shape that had entered the room now calmly slid forward, materializing into a rail-thin woman with shoulder-length solferino-red hair. She calmly strode to the opposite side of the desk from the brute and sat primly on the corner of it, right hand smoothing out the creases of fitted pants as she did so, her left arm clutching a Large cup of strawberry milkshake. Kelley had to turn his chair in order to see her, but she did not turn toward him, her hair obscuring her face.

The Demon

Then, after what seemed like ages, she spoke, her voice a melodious whisper, "Look, Kelley, you're a nice guy, but we can't do our thing without you telling us what exactly happened, okay? So just help us out, and we can let you go." After saying those words, she sips some of her milkshakes and giggles. Those actions give Kelley a goosebumps.

"Let me go? That's impossible!" he shouted out of disbelief after hearing the last line Lycko stated

The solferino lady slowly nodded, then turned to look at the person whose reacted violently on their offer. Her rich greenish grey eyes, too dark and vivid to be natural, found their purchase and burned themselves into Bob's memory. "Oh, is that so? And yet, we can't let you leave, not until you give us what we want. We're on a fucking rush here, Reed, and you're holding us up. We need you to tell us what happened. Otherwise we can't do our things." Her tone was sweet yet dangerous that gives everyone chills.

Kelley was incensed, "Clearly you guys don't listen well. I already told you, I have no idea what you are talking about."

The woman's expression hardened, her silvery voice adopting a slight but noticeable edge. "Knight-drain and Knight-lock has already asked you once, and quite politely. Please don't make them repeat themselves." She smiles sweetly.

Kelley stole a glance at the man, who was now towering over him from across the desk, and desperately racked his mind for something, anything, he could tell these goons to make them leave him alone.

He came up blank.

"What, about my knowledge about what happened? What incident?" confusion flows throughout his system

The man stepped forward, as if to strike Kelley again, but the woman held up her hand and he stopped. She sighed, and gracefully stood next to the corner of the desk. Even though when standing she was several inches shorter than he, at the moment, while sitting in his chair, Kelley felt dwarfed by her presence.

"The incident," the woman said calmly. "Specifically, the case of Copper Richardson happened last October 03 1901, that is the entire reason we brought you here."

Her eerie eyes met Kelley's quizzical gaze. "I think you know what I mean." She smirks as she paths Kelley's head.

"I am not going to fool around, do you have anything to do with Copper Richardson's death?" as the brave Pendelton interrogate for the second time.

With a flash of insight, Kelley understood what these people were after. "murder of Copper"

The young lady's expression softened, and she leaned ever so slightly toward him. "Yes. That's all we need. You haven't given us enough information to do our thing, Reed"

"that night of October 01 1901, Copper and I had a fight that cause me to beat him and punch him until he passed out" His voice faded away. It was how he thought someone would act if they were innocent in this situation, which he clearly wasn't.

He hoped he had gotten away with it and people in front of him would sympathize with him but he only got a hollow stare. He scowled at them.

"A likely story-" Price murmurs

"What do you mean a likely story?" he cut him off, his voice echoing around the bare room. He didn't mean to break character but he couldn't have anyone slandering him like this. "That's exactly what happened!"

Gray put up his arms in surrender. "Jesus, Men. I wasn't implying anything. A lot of people come up with that excuse, see, and-"

"Excuse?! It's the truth!" he shouted

Price suddenly smirked. "Oh, is that right? because it sounds like you're guiltier by the second."

Kelley cursed inwardly. That moment of silence brought more confidence to each one of them. they'd had a feeling he was guilty of doing something as soon as he remembers what does he try to forget. This is going to be a long day.

Lycko turned, walked back around the desk to a couch sitting against the wall, and gently placed it directly across the desk from Kelley. He took his seat, Pendelton moved to stand behind her, his arms folded across his massive chest.

"Am I to believe that you didn't kill Copper?" Lock ask him angrily

Kelley just nodded.

"We need you to be descriptive, give us as much detail as you can remember," Price instructed, "This will help us solve this one. Otherwise, we'll have to come back, and you don't want that, do you?"

Kelley shook his head.

"Good. So let's get started." She gracefully took a sip from her milkshake

"First of, what precisely happened on exactly October 01 1901?" Price asks

"that night of October 01 1901, as I've said Copper and I had a fight that cause me to beat him and punch him until he passed out" His voice cracked as he utters Copper's name

"but that day, Copper and Peterson we're together at the Le Club de Minuit, can you please elaborate that truth?" Gray teasingly utters

"the night when Copper got home, he called me to meet him at the Pier" he starts telling story

"what is the reason why Richardson called you?" Knight-lock blankly stare at him

"first it's just because of drugs, but then, when I got to the place he mentioned. He was freaking drunk and tease me to call the police, he kept on saying that I'm a drunk addict though I'm not until he got into my nerve and punch him" he stated

"So? How can you say that you're not even an addict though Richardson meet you for drugs?" Lock ask

"I'm not drug addict. I've many stocks of different drugs but I don't use them regularly. I'm just using them as a stress reliever and for relaxation if someone or something triggers me"

"the million-dollar question, did you kill Richardson?" the lady asks him while staring straightly on his eyes as if it was a dagger that kept on stabbing him inside

"No… I didn't… I'll just punch him until I satisfy myself and leave him at the pier"

"and then?" Price impatiently utter

"then I decided to go back and help him but he was not there anymore" he stated

When he had finished telling everything he knew, the woman got up from her chair. "Thank you for your cooperation. Now can I ask you something that is out of the box?"

She returned the chair to its original place and motioned for Knight-drain and Knight-Lock to sit down. They obliged, striding over the threshold, and do what she wants.

The tension rises as the clinging sound or the dagger echoed to the room.

"tell me, what do you know about cyanide?" Lycko utter as she tries to fish an answer

"that was a poison everyone knows that thing" he teasingly answer

"of course she knows that!" Gray murmur

"what she wants to know is that, do you know who struck cyanide on knight-lock?" Price asks

"I can say that Knight-Lock actually meet the Toxicant Supremo" he smirks as he utters the lines

"Toxicant Supremo?" Lock utters

"yes! The supreme that controls poisons" he explains

"What do you mean by 'controls poisons'?" young lady ask curiously seems there was a vague idea on her mind.

"He was expert at some sort of poisons. Not like any other he uses poison as a weaponry… he's way too unique" He exclaimed

"How do you know all of this? How do you know him?" she continuously murmurs

"do you mean them? Not only him" he murmurs

"What? Them?" Price hissed as he absorbed the information

"there's three supremos and I'm quiet not sure about the two." He utters

Silence covers the whole Place, each one of them tries to absorb the knowledge they just discover

"The reason why he struck poison to your veins is that, he wants Knight-Lock to be his ally" he stared at Knight-lock

"Ally?" Knight-lock utter out of disbelief

"This was his first test"

"and seems you passed and survive"