Page 3 of All He Sees
"I'll do whatever it takes to make you talk," Nicky said coldly. "Do you understand me? Whatever it takes. I can make your time in this prison very shitty, Felix. No reading material. You’ll spend your days staring at a wall. Is that what you want?”
Felix laughed again, a sharp, cackling laugh that made Nicky's teeth clench.
"You don't scare me, Agent Lyons," he said.
Nicky stared at him, trying to figure him out. She could see his eyes. His face. His expressions. They all told a story, if only she had been able to decipher it.
"I'm not afraid of you, Agent Lyons," he repeated. "You've done nothing to me. Even when you put me in this place, it felt more like a vacation. I like being here."
Nicky's teeth clenched. This man was infuriating.
"If you're not afraid of me," she said, "then tell me what I want to know. Tell me what you know about Rosie."
Felix's smile grew wider.
"You're not going to break me, Agent Lyons," he said, shaking his head. "You're not going to get a single thing out of me."
Nicky's face fell. She put her elbows on the table and leaned forward.
"How do you know my sister's name?" she snapped. "How did you know about me? Do you know who took us? What was his name?"
Felix had been smiling, but the mention of her sister's name made that smile vanish.
His eyes narrowed, and his lips curled into a sneer.
"I know what I know," he said, flicking his fingers dismissively. "And that's that."
Nicky's hands turned into fists. Once again, this man was taunting her. He was playing games, and she had no idea how to unmask him.
"You're going to tell me what you know," she said, her voice growing more and more firm. "Or else, I'll make sure your stay at this prison is extremely unpleasant." It was a bluff, mostly, as Nicky likely wouldn't have much of a say--but she could try to get his rights restricted, make it so he had no access to reading materials or anything to pass his time more pleasantly. That wasn’t a bluff. Nicky was with the FBI—she could pull some strings. Maybe even get him put in isolation.
Felix leaned forward, staring right at Nicky. She was surprised at his boldness.
"You can do that if you want to," he said. "But I think you'll regret it."
He leaned back in his chair, and his eyes changed, as if he wasn't looking at her anymore. Instead, he was looking into the past, remembering something, something that Nicky was desperate to find out.
Nicky leaned forward. "I'm waiting," she said.
"You know, Agent Lyons," he said, his voice turning cold, "I've got a lot of time on my hands. I've got nothing but time. And I think you'll regret trying to play with me."
Nicky frowned. She leaned back in her seat and drummed her fingers on the table. She didn't know what to do, what to say. She was frustrated, and she was tired of this guy. She was tired of his games, tired of being here in this prison, tired of trying to get answers out of him.
And she needed to clear her damn head.
Coming in here, being all aggressive—it wasn’t the right move. Nicky knew that, but it was hard to keep her head on straight when so much was at stake.
She straightened her jacket. She looked at Felix--really looked at him. She considered him. She thought about him. What would work? She had tried being harsh, being demanding; but she hadn't tried being nice, or making him think she was, somehow, on his side. She wasn't sure if it would work. Felix was deranged, but he wasn't unintelligent. He’d probably see through her ruse, but at this point, Nicky was willing to try anything.
"I think," she said slowly, putting her hands on the table, "that you and I can come to an agreement."
Felix raised an eyebrow. "What kind of agreement?" he said, his voice turning wary.
"You're right that you'll have a lot of time here," Nicky said. "What kind of books do you like, Felix? I could get them for you. Make it so you can read them in your cell."
"I've got all the books I could possibly want in my cell," he said. "And I've read them all multiple times."
"Well, what would you like?" Nicky asked. "Some art supplies? Are you an artist? I can get them for you."
