“I’m sure.”
“So who’s Forest? The man in charge?”
“He’s the middleman,” Barry says, panting like he’s run a marathon. “We don’t know who the head honchos are because they keep that a secret.”
It’s gotta be Bluff. I feel it in my bones.
“How long have you been scoutin’ in New Orleans?” I ask.
“About a week,” he says.
“Where are the girls?”
“Various locations.”
“Barry, you know what happened to your nose and your finger, and I’m not even warmed up yet,” I sing. “Let’s keep to the facts before you lose a digit entirely, m-kay?”
“I’ve got addresses, safe houses,” he bleats.
Safe houses? Oh, these people are fucking sick.
“We want those addresses,” Haze says. “Now.”
He sings like a canary as the boys start typing on their phones.
Logan rips the other restraint from his buddy’s mouth. “What about you?” he asks. “What do you have to say?”
“Fuck you!”
“Now that isn’t very nice, needle dick, here we were havin’ a pleasant conversation, and you have to go and ruin it.” Logan yanks him by the scruff of the neck, picking him up by the chair, and starts walking toward the back.
“Uh, oh,” I chime. “Looks like Papa Bear isn’t happy.”
I forgot how Logan can be. Hanging out with Brew and Haze so much, I know what to expect from them, but Logan is a dark horse, he operates on another level completely.
“W-where is he going?” Barry spits.
“Um, I think he’s about to drown.” I shrug. “Pity. If only he were cooperative like you’re bein’, it could’ve ended a lot nicer.”
Haze joins Logan, and sure enough, they start their own form of questioning over this fucking Forest guy and where to find him.
“Y-you’re gonna let me go, right?” Barry pleads. “I did everything you asked. I swear I don’t know anything else!”
“Umm, you see, I don’t think that letting you go is gonna send the right message to your guys,” I explain. “I think what we need to do is send you both back without your heads, just to let your bosses know we’re not in the mood for playin’ games.”
His face is red and angry, and he struggles again, the chair shifting slightly under his weight. “I’ve told you everything!”
“Not really. I already knew everything you told me, aside from Forest, and now I need to know where to find him,” I say. “If you even have a remote chance of making it outta here alive, you’ve gotta give me something.”
He winces when he hears his buddy choking and sputtering. I guess that’s what happens when you mess with kids and you fall into the wrong hands.Ourhands.
“I-I don’t know,” he cries.
I raise my hand, and the hammer up in the air.
“Wait!” he sobs. “We have a meeting tonight, or we’re supposed to. If I don’t show up, they’re gonna know something happened.”
“Oh, something’s happening alright,” Brew says. “You’re a sick fuck, do you know that? Where are you meetin’?”