Rider walked out of Peter's interrogation room after what felt like an eternity. His expression was unreadable, his mind was on Gwen and that's where he was going.
"Yo Rider!" A colleague waved a takeaway bag. "Got your stuff!"
"No mayo and onions?" He confirmed.
"Just like you asked", he nodded.
"Cool, I'll have it later though. I need to deal with this first", he showed him his tablet. The agent nodded before sitting down then plopping his crossed legs atop the desk.
Rider whistled a happy tune as he walked. His head was in the game, ready to tear apart these two. He had just turned a corner on his way to Gwen's interrogation room when he spun around and walked back. His friend gave him a questioning gaze.
"I might as well eat it while it's fresh", he said as he put down the tablet on his friend's desk and sat on the edge.
His friend chuckled, "Coffee?"
"Thanks man", he accepted the cup and breathed in the pleasant aroma and relaxed.
"How did it go in there?" He nodded towards the interrogation room before taking a huge bite of his sandwich.
"I barely said anything and the guy almost shit his pants in there", he chuckled in amusement before his face fell as he looked at his half eaten sandwich. "This is not a good idea."
"Why?" His friend was puzzled.
"Skull face, are you forgetting who I'll be speaking to next?" He gave him a side glance whilst sipping on his coffee.
"Bro, she can't be that bad", skull face chuckled in amusement.
Rider looked around making sure the coast is clear before leaning in with his lips quivering to stop him from laughing. "You should've seen me after I disarmed her!"
"Oh yeah?" He chuckled.
The two went back and forth on Gwen's intimidating nature as they shared their meal. After a good twenty minutes, Rider went on his way to the interrogation room with a full stomach. It took about two turns to reach the room door. He exhaled sharply before twisting the knob open.
Gwen was seated with her back to him. Her posture was straight. Unlike Peter who showed he was aware of his presence, she remained unmoving as though she didn't hear him walk in. Again, unlike Peter, her hands were cuffed to the table.
Rider went around the table to sit down, facing her. She looked just the same from when she was arrested till date. He would expect her to have dark circles under her or at least a sign of fatigue but none of that showed.
Her lips slightly lifted but there was no mystery in her eyes. Her gaze gave him an uncomfortable twist in his stomach. She felt pleased when she saw him disguise the feeling with curiosly looking at her information like he had not done so already.
"Gwen Cancino, 39 years old, born and bred in America." He put down the tablet and chuckled like he was amused by something. "Still not planning on talking?"
She lifted her cuffed hands. "This is not necessary unless....." , She leaned forward and held his gaze with hers. "You're afraid of me."
"Feeling a little chatty today?" He arched an amused brow.
"Well?" She gestured at her hands with her eyes.
Rider let out a good laugh from her words. "If you knew what I know, you'd understand why that's very necessary."
She studied his face, he was genuinely amused and there was nothing else he let on. Would he really be telling the truth? That stirred what she believed was a drop of fear but she too concealed that.
"Well, what exactly is it that you do know?" Her lips stretched into a smile.
"We've already gone over this but let me refresh your memory. You conducted experiments on innocent people in the name of clinical trials killing a... Well, let's just say you have a lot of blood on your hands. You attempted to get rid of their bodies and planned to release these illegal and very deadly substances to the underworld."
"You know, the more I hear that the more I realize what a headache cooking all that up is. It sounds like something you'd see in a movie; unrealistic!" She shrugged.
"Those trucks came from your factory."
"What trucks? For as long as I was inspecting that place, we didn't send out any trucks. Our adalimumab was sent out to our customers about two days ago, all legal processes were observed", she smiled.
"Those bodies-"
"My gosh! Aren't you tired of retelling that fairytale?" She shrugged and shook her head at the same time.
"Funny, it's actually your reality", he countered.
"Really now? Hmmmm, but I didn't do it. Why won't you believe me?" She gave him a cheeky smile.
He returned her smile but there was no amusement in them. "Because that's obviously bullshit. This could be your last chance Gwen."
"Forcing me to admit to a crime I did not commit? I heard guys like you shouldn't do that to people", she clicked her tongue in disappointment.
"It's not exactly forcing when I have a witness, a strong one for that matter", he smirked.
"Witness?" Her brows shot up. "What witness?"
Rider's smirk turned into an amused smile and he quietly watched her with his arms folded against his chest. She wracked her brain, what possible witness could have sold her out? Can it be Amy? Is it possible she witnessed everything and waited for this moment! There is no way the girl would be that careless especially with the King openly showing his backing towards them. Then.....
"Peter?"
"I guess you know him a little too well. Ignore him for this long and it gets him shaking in his boots he practically spewed every little detail about you guys", he said with seriousness. "I wouldn't play dumb right now if I were you. Believe me Gwen, you won't like what prison does to women with beautiful features such as you."
She fell quiet. Her heart was thumping quite wildly in that moment. Seeing how serious he was, she could not tell if he was lying or not. However, she had been in nerve wracking situations before that she had learned to not let fear mess with her reasoning. Her mind went to work; there was indeed a chance Peter would rat her out but would that really be Peter's choice?
"Peter?"
"Mm."
Rider's chest swelled with pride when he saw her wavering but he tried not to show it. He was about to add more heat but she beat him to it with a smile.
"Well then, use whatever it is that you've got. You have my full cooperation", she leaned back in her seat. She didn't bother hiding her smug expression in that moment.
A minute later, a fuming Rider slammed shut behind him the door. Gwen had seen through his trap and that hurt his ego. The woman chuckled to herself.
Peter? Rat her out? It's more believable if he tells her he pleaded innocence and claimed he didn't know them. Rat her out?
"Please", she said under her breath and chuckled.
Gwen knew that all the allegations against her were simply 'circumstantial'. There was nothing to prove that she was the mastermind behind everything. And she could easily claim that she was simply visiting the factory site as expected of a C.E.O.
As for the secret lab, she trusted that the King was protecting it. She was too good of an asset to their organization so she trusted that he would not throw her under the bus. Not after all these years....
Rider grumpily walked to his cubicle. Gwen and Peter were being an annoying duo whilst their goons only claimed to have been doing their job: which was protecting their bosses. They didn't have much to work with....
Was he that desperate to get a confession out of her? He should have known when the same trick didn't work on the sidekick, what more the boss?
"Ugh!" He kicked his desk in frustration.
"Easy there buddy!" Skullface warned when he saw Rider's desktop shake from the impact.
Ding!
"Sounds like an email", Skullface told the sulking Rider.
He stayed unmoving still sulking over his, yet again, failed interrogation. But work was work. He ran a hand down his face and let out a heavy sigh. With an annoyed expression on his face, he used his mouse to click on the newly arrived email...
"No shit!" He said in disbelief.
Skullface's curiosity peaked from the change in emotions in his friend. He quickly went to join him.
In that moment, back in West Village....
George had a seriously expression on as he spoke over the phone. "Boss, the prodigal son has returned....."
"Good", Zach replied.
However, it wasn't just the 'the prodigal son' email with documents and video files that was sitting in Rider's computer. There was another email similar to that one with Gwen's name on it....
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