The atmosphere just got even heavier as they stepped out of the elevator. There was no more jazzy music to lighten it, and to be true, it wouldn't even work, as Peter already got the message and just panicked inside, while César himself was enjoying everything.
Though this time, they were welcomed.
Welcomed by officers, detectives, just staring at him in kind of disbelief of what the fuck is happening… why does Peter look like a ghost, and who is that man on his side… a man dressed in a purple velvet shirt, exactly looking like the man that the chief ordered to hunt down.
In short, everybody knew that César is the so-called sicario they are looking for, but seeing him just calmly standing there with that smug smile on his face, and not even a bit of sign of stress or anything else, was… strange, to say the least.
But nobody moved… it was just complete silence as they eyed them like time had just stopped.
Mmhh, they are shocked… how unprofessional.
[System: They never witnessed something like this, moreover you are with Peter and you are not in handcuffs.]
That is true. Still, I would have been already on the ground, getting beaten up in past lives… this is truly different… a lot different. How many cards do I have if something goes wrong?
[System Storage: Available Special Cards: 2x Heal Card, 1x One Will Two Lives.]
Hm, that is good enough…
"Peter, can you lead me?" César's voice came, pulling Peter out of his despair.
"Y-yeah…" He answered and started walking toward the end where the interrogation room was, though he felt it too… the eyes looking at him.
Everybody was deciding between the conclusions… one that Peter actually caught him but didn't have a handcuff on him, so just leading him in that way. They also saw two more pistols on him… but that smile just said otherwise. Like it wasn't the type of smile from criminals who are proud of themselves, proud of the crime, and just trying to act tough… no, it was a real calm smile, one that they rarely saw, and that led to the second conclusion.
He walked in to give himself up, which was the option everybody leaned toward more, not just because of the missing handcuff and the gun on Peter, but because of the whole atmosphere he was pushing toward them. The calm demeanor, the smile, the eyes looking at them, just a fucking nonchalant man who is supposedly a cartel member… which also meant that he did give himself up for a reason, with a goal. That's why Peter was looking like a ghost, and that's why César was so calm… and also, that was the reason why nobody really moved, asked questions, or panicked.
They were just shocked because they knew that if he got arrested or if he gave himself up… both are equally worse… though there was a third one which wasn't a conclusion but a fact.
"H-here." Peter said as he opened a door for César, which he without a word went in and sat down.
It was a typical interrogation room, fully white, not a single decoration, and definitely not good for one thing.
It isn't an torture room, so maybe I can save the Heal cards.
[System: You once got tortured in a minibus, also in the office of the NSA Director.]
Yeah, that was actually comfortable. I still remember that leather seat, the view out of the fifteenth floor to downtown… that was a great one, though that was not even torture, they just beat the shit out of me.
[System: They drilled into your kneecap.]
Ohh, yeah. He gigged. Though it was an impact driver and a big ass screw.
Memories… it all came up… as the Director of the National Security Agency just grabbed the impact driver and a few screws from the electricians who were working in the hallway and just drilled them into César's kneecap and all over his body… that was horrible, though it didn't last long as he passed the fuck out, and the miracle of the story was that they didn't kill him.
So the morale of the story is, if they want, they will torture me.
[System: Exactly.]
I don't think so, they're lame. They can only hurt women and the weak, once somebody like me steps in, they start to panic.
And indeed, there was panic as Peter burst through the Chief's office door. "Hoffa, we are fucke—" Silence… he forcefully shut his mouth the moment he saw who was inside.
"Oh, the star detective, Peter. It's been a long time since we've seen each other."
"A… a hello…"
"I was just as surprised, Peter." Hoffa laughed at his reaction as he stood up from his chair. "Director Sirina was nearby, so she thought she'd come in to say hi."
The worst fucking thing that could have happened… and suddenly, Peter understood even more why the others were standing in silence, frozen in shock. It wasn't just because of César himself, or the way he walked in… it was because of her.
The fucking Director of the National Security Agency.