Milwaukee Deep

“Okay, they’re gone,” Perks said. “I’ve done what you’ve asked, so tell me what I need to know.”

Harding looked at up at Perks as he sat in his chair, handcuffed to it.

“What about the recorder – the camera, the audio tapes? They all have to be off before I even begin to talk to you.”

Perks looked down at Harding. He thought long and hard about adhering to his prisoner’s request.

“I tell you, Perks, if these things are not switched off, then I’m not saying a God damn word, do you understand? In enough time my superiors will find out where I am - they’ll know to look here and when they find me they’ll pull me out so fast your head will spin away from your shoulders.”

Perks rubbed his chin, the stubble from his beard scratching his palm.

“Mike,” Perks said as he pressed down on the red button on the desk, “Shut it all down. Make sure the recorders are all off.”

Harding looked up at the camera in the far corner of the room - the red light that was on went out. He looked down at the tape recorder imbedded in the desk – the tape spools stopped turning.

“Are you happy?” Perks asked.

Harding didn’t respond.

“Now tell me what I want to know,” he continued.

Harding looked up at the man standing above him.

“You don’t get it do you? Once you find out, you’ll wish you never knew. Your life will be over. Once they know that you know they’ll kill you.”

Perks sat down opposite his prisoner – he ignored the last comment.

“Who’s David Reese Ganton, Tom? Why was Willow willing to risk his daughter’s life to stop us from finding out who he was?”

Harding looked down at the desk.

“You don’t want to know about David Reese Ganton.”

“Yes I do. I have a man missing because of him.”

“I told you before - I don’t know where they’ve got your man held.”

“I believe you, Harding, but that still doesn’t mean I will ignore the fact that I was nearly killed to protect the identity of David Ganton.”

“He’s nobody, let it go.”

Perks looked into Harding’s eyes.

“Did Ganton have anything to do with Willow’s death?”

“Yes. He killed his daughter and because of that Willow had a heart attack and died.”

Perks stood up and walked to the far wall of the interrogation room. He turned and looked down at his prisoner.

“What are you hiding, Harding? You do know that we work for the same team, don’t you?”

“We do normally, but not this time.”

“So what are you going to give me? I agreed to remove the interrogation team. I agreed to turn off all recording devices, and what have you given me? Nothing!”

“Okay, I’ll give you something, but before I do can I ask you one question first?”

“What?”

“Have you ever heard of Michael Burton?”

“Michael Burton? No, should I have?”

Harding looked up.

“I was hoping. Someone from your department was sent to find him and we’ve lost contact.”

“Who is he?”

“Someone we need to find and fast.”

“And one of my guys has him?”

“That’s what we believe, yes.”

“Do you know who?”

“Agent Sam Crease - you wouldn’t happen to know where he is, would you?”

Perks looked down at Harding – he took a moment before responding.

“I did. I sent him to Florida – to follow up on a missing person’s case. But then you and Willow came into my life and I haven’t heard from him since.”

“Well he found that missing person and brought him back here to New York. But we lost contact with him a few days ago.”

Harding took a deep breath.

“Perks, I need your help in finding this man.”

“Who is this guy? What’s so important about finding him?”

“I can tell you all about it, but not now. What I need is for you to get me out of here so I can find him.”

Perks again returned to his seat. He looked into Harding’s eyes.

“If I help you, what’s in it for me?”

“What do you want?”

“You know what I want – I want answers.”

Harding lowered his head. The room was silent.

Perks kept quiet – he was waiting for Harding’s response.

Harding looked up.

“You get me out of here and help me find Burton and I’ll tell you everything you need to know. Agreed?”

“If you fuck me-“

“I won’t. You have my word,” Harding replied.

Perks took a moment, while his prisoner sat patiently waiting for a response.

“Okay, sit tight. I’ll see what I can do.”

President Stoker walked into the Oval Office - Crane was sitting at his desk.

“Have you heard any news?”

“No, and to make matters worse, I’ve lost contact with Harding,” Crane replied

The President sat down – he didn’t say a word – he could tell that the strain of it all was getting to Crane.

“Bill, have you read the latest projections?”

“No, I haven’t ,” replied Stoker

“Four and a half billion people dead within 72 hours. The rest of the world uninhabitable within 7 days.”

The President sat silent.

Crane turned his chair around and faced the window.

“I need a sitting of the Joint Chiefs immediately. I need to discuss plan B.”

The President dropped his head.

“You don’t think we can find him in time?” Stoker asked.

“No, Bill, I don’t, and I’m not prepared to take the risk of waiting another minute.”