[The Kill List]—❈—13:: Yes Or No

Tuesday, 12, April, 2011.

Morning.

Agent Wallis pulled out one of those new, fancy phones that were all screen and showed him a picture; “Do either of you recognize this individual?”

Behind him, Taylor growled in barely restrained annoyance, and Danny, with the deepest feeling, muttered; “Fuck me.”

“So, you know him then,” Agent Wallis said, noticing their reactions to the picture like he would a neon sign outside his bedroom window.

“Yeah.” Danny sighed. “We know him.” He stared at the two agents for a moment longer. “Come in,” he said finally.

It would be best not to have the conversation he was sure was about to happen on his front porch.

He led the agents into the living room, and after they turned down his offer for refreshments, he sat across from them.

Taylor hung back, watching the agents with a scowl of suspicion and irritation.

Not for the first time in recent years, Danny wished he could know what she was thinking.

“So, why are you here asking about that Vinsmoke fellow?” Danny asked to start things off. “Has he done something?”

“Before that we need to ask Miss Hebert a few more questions,” Agent Wallis said.

Danny frowned at that, but he knew enough about these situations to understand that it was always best to work with law enforcement when they still being polite.

Besides, despite his myriad issues with them, this was still The PRT, and he was certain that Taylor hadn’t done anything actually criminal.

The worst case scenario he could imagine here was them already Taylor was a cape and trying to push her into The Wards. And honestly, considering she would be safer and getting paid Danny couldn’t really bring himself to see that as a bad thing.

“What questions?” Taylor asked, her suspicious scowl deepening.

“What is your relationship with Sophia Hess?” Agent Wallis asked without preamble.

Taylor stilled.

“I don’t have a relationship with Sophia Hess,” she said, practically spitting out the word like it was venom.

“This is untrue,” Agent Wallis said simply.

“Miss Hebert, please, we need you to be honest with us,” Agent Washington added.

“I don’t have a fucking relationship with Sophia Hess,” Taylor repeated vehemently. “Not unless you count her and Emma making my life a living hell as a relationship.”

Danny frowned. Emma? The Emma? Jesus, how much about his daughter’s life was a mystery to him?

“And when was the last time you saw Miss Hess?” Agent Wallis asked.

Taylor looked confused now. “Yesterday, at school. Where else would I have seen her? And why are you asking about Sophia? I thought you were here because of Black Leg.”

“And speaking of Black Leg, what is your relationship with him?” Agent Wallis asked, not so smoothly avoiding Taylor’s question.

“I don’t have a relationship with him,” Taylor said, anger barely restrained. Danny understood, he was starting to get a little pissed off despite himself. “He showed up here on Saturday, talking about… he must be a thinker, because he knows things about me that he really shouldn’t.”

“And you’d never met him before?” Agent Washington asked.

“No, I’d never met him before,” Taylor said.

“When—” Agent Wallis began to ask again but, this time, Danny cut in.

“If you want any more answers out of us you’re going to have to give us some yourselves,” he said, his tone leaving no room for argument.

If they didn’t like that they could get the fuck out of his house.

The agents shared another look, and, for one moment, Danny thought that they would say no.

“Right after midnight this morning,” Agent Washington began, “Sophia Hess was found in an alley in a near catatonic state. She is currently still under observation at the hospital.”

“The voice of the person who called it in is a 99% match for the new cape Black Leg,” Agent Wallis continued, piling onto the bomb shells. “And while it’s inconclusive if Black Leg was her attacker, we do know that his prints and Sophia’s are the only ones on her phone; a phone that provides evidence of a bullying campaign spearheaded by Sophia Hess and an Emma Barnes against Miss Hebert here.”

Agent Wallis’ words caused a swirl of emotions and realization to rise up in Danny, and it took him a moment to temper it.

This was neither the time nor place to deal with all of that.

“So, that’s why you’re here?” Taylor asked, sounding almost like she couldn’t believe it. “Because you think that I have something to do with Black Leg attacking Sophia?”

“Do you?” Agent Wallis asked.

Taylor stilled, and Danny gave the man a dangerous look.

“It is a simple question,” the agent said unapologetically. “Do you? Yes or no.”

Taylor stared at the agent for a long time.

“No,” she said finally, and then she turned around and walked up the stairs.

Danny rose.

“Mr. Hebert,” Agent Washington began, “we under—”

“Get out,” Danny said.

“Mr. Hebert—”

“Get. Out.”

Danny hadn’t screamed. But he hadn’t needed to.

Quietly, the agents stood and headed for the door.

Danny followed.

“The next time you show up at my house,” he said in parting, “bring a warrant.”

The door slammed shut, and, after a moment of going back and forth on it in his mind, Danny went upstairs to his daughter’s bedroom.

The door was shut when he got there, and just as he wondered if it would be better to walk away since Taylor clearly had no desire to talk to him, it opened.

Danny stared for a moment, then he went in.

—❈—

Outside the house, Hannah stared at Colin.

“You think antagonizing them was smart?” she couldn’t help but ask.

“We needed to know,” Colin replied.

“And what exactly do we know?” she asked.

“Enough,” Colin said and headed for the car.

Hannah followed after him.