image [https://img.wattpad.com/story_parts/1481548386/images/17fb779a06fa9ae7315467726044.png]

Back at the police department,

Henry Miles:

I know I don't look like a hardened thug when forced to sit down. I don't seem threatening even before my hands are cuffed to the table before me.

I give the officer before me the best innocent smile I can muster. I can tell he's already uneasy with the idea of hurting or imprisoning me.

I'm sure my Purple Bandit costume, minus the mask, looks ridiculous. The purple sweats, sweater, ripped-up cape, and purple baseball cap reek of a child's Halloween costume. Of course, in this case, I suspect that helps me. It makes me look more like a lost kid and less like a hardened criminal.

In front of me is the interrogating officer, and behind him is one-way glass, so I can't see out. The table is metal, and the cuffs have very little give. The room is actually enormous, and the officer himself is very big. This is clearly set to make me feel out of my depth... and it's working.

I look at the man. He's apparently a heteromorph with the head of a dog and the fur of the same. Honestly, a big, well-built man with the head of a beagle is kind of funny, but I do my best to keep my chuckles to myself. The last thing I want to do is upset my... counterparty.

He sits down opposite me and puts a manilla folder on the desk. "So... you've been operating for quite a while, young man. Your guise was the Purple Bandit, is that correct? Woof."

"I... did you just bark at me?" I ask, still trying to stifle my laughter- it's best to never offend your counterparty. An unhappy counter is unlikely to give you what you want.

"It's a tick, don't get sidetracked. Some of the men want to lock you up and throw away the key, but your sister's display out there bought you time and sympathy. I myself am feeling a little sympathetic; don't waste that."

I nod. Then I close my eyes. I need to get in the zone for this- I've finally escaped the Miles syndicate with my sister in tow, but this is only the journey's beginning. I visualize myself in a dark room with the dog man, a simple wooden desk between us.

I fold my hands in front of me, undeterred by the cuffs. "I understand that. Let me say right now, sir, I fully intend to work with you, if only for a few paltry conditions." I cock my head to the side. "First, sir, can I know your name?" I remember the lessons my father... sort of father... Charles taught me about negotiating.

"I suppose. I'm chief Kenji Tsuragamae."

I nod. "Well, I would like to be called Henry if that's okay. Charles Miles kidnapped my sister and me and then forged our adoption to the authorities. He's been forcing us to do his dirty work ever since. I don't think of him as my father."

"I suppose that's fair. Very well, Henry, and what are your other conditions... and exactly what is my motivation to give you anything?"

I smirk, trying not to look too confident, but this is going well. I can see it in his eyes. Talking about Charles like an enemy puts me and the dog man on the same side. Friendly negotiations are much more manageable than adversarial ones.

This time, I let myself chuckle a little. "What do you think I can give you? I'm the son of Charles Miles, the heir to the throne. I can get you all kinds of crap. Names," I tap the desk with my finger. "Dates," I tap again. "Times," I tap again. "Addresses, associates, methods..." I tap my finger after each point, emphasizing in his mind that these are things he wants, these are his goals, and they are things I want to give him. "I can help you take down the entire Miles organization, piece by piece. Not only am I able to do that, I deeply want to. I want that man's empire destroyed- burned to the ground. I want to salt the ashes myself." I grit my teeth at that last line, showing my genuine disdain for my former "father". I sigh. "Look- I never wanted to be a villain. It was always "do what I say, or I hurt your sister"- what was I supposed to do? I hate that man with everything in me!"

The dog man's eyes open slightly. "You certainly have my attention, young man. It seems you have no loyalty to Charles."

"I spit on his name."

"Very well. I do want to take him and his syndicate down. What are your conditions for full cooperation? And make no mistake, that is what I want: full cooperation. Any deal we make can be discarded anytime if you become a thorn in my side."

"That's what I want." We're on friendly terms. He knows what I have to offer him, and he wants it. Thus, I open up with a deal that I know I won't get. It must sound like something I could legitimately ask for, but I'm unlikely to get it. "I want my sister and I both to only serve... six months community service and six months parole, or some equivalent. No jail time. That's what I want from you."

"Barely a year sentence for two years of crime? HA!" Chief Tsuragamae laughs. "You've got some fifty or more counts of burglary, at least thirty counts of armed robbery, sixty counts of theft, let's not even talk about illegal weapon possession for that ax you always carried around, resisting arrest on some thirty occasions- there's a reason you were eventually declared a full-fledged villain. I want what you've got, sure, but I couldn't give a deal that good to my own son if I had one."

I give the most subtle smirk I can, slumping my shoulders a little. I look like I was just delivered a defeat. I wasn't, but I look like it. I'm giving Chief Tsuragamae the feeling that he's winning. I need him to believe the deal he actually gives me is his idea, not mine.

"Look- I want to get out of this alive. Is that so unreasonable? You lock me up in a cell with all the guys I help you put away... c'mon, you know I've done nothing worthy of death."

"We're not talking about a death penalty. We wouldn't be talking about that even if you weren't cooperative."

"But what do you think is gonna happen if me and my little sister serve with the people we testify and inform against?"

"You both will serve time in juvenile detention, not adult prison. Charles will never have access to you in prison, nor will his associates. Of that, you can rest assured."

I raise an eyebrow. "You serious? Considering who you're sitting across from, I would have thought this would be inherently obvious, but I'll spell it out. Charles uses underage people in some of his dealings. You'll be locking me up with his associates either way." I look up at him, again trying to look like the ideal, vulnerable twelve-year-old boy. "I don't wanna die..."

He sits back a little, looking into my eyes for a bit, but eventually, he has to look away. Good, he can't look me in the eyes. That means I'm getting to him. "There are things we can do. You and your sister will be safe." He pulls out a calculator and some paper. "Let me crunch some numbers."

I sit and wait patiently. This is going pretty well so far. I think he's going to give me something- something without prison time. He wants to protect me, after all. "I can give you... three years in prison, and I can maybe get your sister down to two years. After that, six months of community service. If we manage to convict and put away the big man, I'll even see about expunging your records." He taps the file in front of him. "It's an outstanding deal, kid. You really should take it."

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

Crap... that is a good deal, but it's not what I want. Not even twice as many years in prison as I was actively committing crimes for, and even a clean slate. But I know Charles. If I or Tori are put in a cell, we're dead.

"I can't take that, sir... sir, you have to understand, Charles will kill us. He'll find a way to influence someone in whatever prison you put us in. If you make us helpless, you'll be offering us to him on a silver platter. Please work with me." Crap- I'm begging. Don't beg, don't ever beg. Everyone has a predator in them. If they sense weakness, they'll pounce.

"You want a sentence of less than a year based on nothing but my pity and your cooperation? Henry, we can ensure your safety. Stop worrying. Take my deal, help me take down the people who hurt you and your sister, then serve your time and get back to your life. You're smart and resourceful. I can tell by just talking to you. You have a bright future, and I'm offering it back to you. We can even offer you an education in prison."

I tighten my fists. "Look- I'm a big brother. Tori did whatever she did cause she was relying on me to figure a way out of that hell hole. So just- make me take it all, okay? Throw the book at me, but let her go. As much community service as you for her want, and as much jail time as you want for me..." I know I'm breaking down, but I don't know what else to say. This man thinks he knows the dangers here, but he doesn't.

His eyes soften. "You're just trying to care for your sister, is that it?"

I nod, almost ready to cry. I can't betray her. I can't let those monsters near her when they have a reason to hurt her! "She can corroborate everything I say... if we move fast enough, we can get physical evidence of everything, sir- please!" I squeeze my eyes shut and now I'm looking away.

I have to recover.

He looks at the file again. I look like a piece of meat right now. C'mon, think Henry... "Look- forget all that pleading, I'm sorry. I'm sure I'm making you feel like a monster right now; I'm sorry." He looks back. "Max our community service and parole, Tori and I will work with you- full cooperation. I'll even send in clones of myself to spy out operations for your men."

"That last part is out of the question. You can inform us and testify, but putting you or anything directly associated with you in direct danger as a minor- no." Kenji tapped the desk hard on that point.

I hate this. Kenji wasn't trying to hurt me, I could see it. Once again, I was pitted against someone who just wanted to do the right thing.

"Fine, take that off the table..." I have an idea, haggle. "Three years of community service."

"Three years prison, six months of community service, and a clean record."

"Four years service, and we keep our records."

"You're really gonna want that clean record, kid."

"Five years service, what do I care about a clean record? My face is already infamous."

He gives a growl. "One year in prison, three years community service, and a clean record."

He moved! "Six years community service."

He looks at me again. "You're turning down incredible deals, kiddo, all for a detail." He folds his arms and looks me in the eyes. "You're that scared of prison time? It's not that bad in the end. Especially juvenile detention. It's no picnic, but you're acting like it's the end of the world."

I want to speak again, but he puts up his hand.

"I'll take your word that this will be dangerous for you. In fact, I don't doubt it. You're not trying to get out of paying a price. I can read that, and I appreciate it." He shakes his head. "But I sense we won't progress until I take prison off the table. That's not easy to do with everything you've done..." He taps his furry fingers on the table.

My eyes look scared despite myself. I know I'm ruining the presentation- that could cost me the entire negotiation. I need to protect Tori- she's all that matters! "Screw it- ten years prison for me, ten years service for Toru."

"Stop," he says, and now he sounds annoyed. "I doubt you would get ten years even if you didn't cooperate. You were clearly coerced, manipulated, and abused, not to mention how young you are." he looks into my eyes again. Then he sighs. "You really think you'll be that much safer if you don't go to prison?"

I nod. No matter what, in a negotiation, never lie. I know I'm probably screwed, but I can't throw things away until I get the final word. I can settle for a deal with jail time if I have to... then hope like crazy Tori and I somehow live... it's better than what we were going through... I'm sorry, Tori...

"Seven years service. Probation the entire time, and you will owe a significant amount upon your eighteenth birthday, payable in installments. Both of you will have to pay... I'll throw in the possibility of expunging Tori's record but you have a point, the Purple Bandit is infamous enough that expunging yours would be a meaningless gesture. This is a far way worse deal than I initially offered, but no prison time is hard to justify. But if that's how you feel- that's what I can do."

"You... you'll let me take that?"

"It clearly means a lot to you. You seem like a good enough kid, and I want to give you what you feel you need. If you tried to get off scot-free, I'd have thrown you out of the room without another word, but you're not a sleazeball like that. I'll have to talk to your victims and see if they're okay with this, but I doubt anyone will care. After all, all of the damage you did was monetary in the end."

I swallow, keeping from crying as best I can. This is such a relief. "I... I'll take it..."

He unlocks my cuffs, and my eyes go wide. He's... trusting me?

He takes my sister's purse off a nearby file cabnet. "Now, this thing sure seemed important to Tori. What's in it?"

I take a second to recover... What happened? I lost the negotiation, but he broke and gave me a deal I wanted anyway?

"I..." I close my eyes. "I'll take the deal."

"Yeah- we already established that. The purse?"

"Oh-" I return to a smirk. "That just full of stupid girl stuff... and my sister's personal journal... and mine... and a notebook full of names, dates, locations, and all kinds of stuff- more than you would ever need. It's in code, but well- empty out the handbag, and let's do this."

He smirks back.

Charles Miles:

"That boy got away from you scot-free, is that right?" I ask Henry's bodyguard.

The former guard and I sit in lawn chairs by the dock. I sip my coffee while he sits uncomfortably with his hands tied behind his back.

"Hey Charles, boss, what could I do? The number four hero in the country was right there. I tried to get the boy taken down afterward, but you know how slippery that little bastard is-" I slap him in the face so hard he almost falls in the water.

"You do not call my son a bastard; I reserve that privilege."

The man spits out a tooth, then nods his head, fear filling his eyes.

I continue. "After all I've had to do to raise him, after all, I had to do to train him, after all I had to do to find a boy like him, you think I would now be happy if he were dead? A male, orphan, savant... you think kids like Henry grow on trees?"

The man takes a few seconds to recover, then returns to making excuses. "What was I supposed to do, boss?"

"Oh, you're right. How could I ever expect a mere man to keep up with two middle schoolers?" I ask sarcastically."

"But how-"

I smack him again. "I don't know how you were supposed to stop them, I wasn't there. I do know that Henry probably knew ways you could have stopped him, which is why he had his ax on him. He was plotting to kill you. But apparently, you're so stupid that it wasn't even necessary."

"I swear I saw his weapon on the rack before we even got in the car."

"Doppelganger lets him clone anything he's wearing or carrying. Just hang up the copy and carry the real thing. Is that really all he had to do to trick you? Did you pat him down before the trip?"

"I swear I did, sir."

"Did you pat down Tori?"

The man looks ready to respond when he freezes.

"Really? A simple double-bluff was all he needed? Put a fake on the rack, give the real one to Tori, then have her get it back- it was that easy?"

"Look... if I... I..."

"Should I take solace in still having you? Hmm?"

"Yeah. I mean, I'm an investment, too, right?"

"A poor one. Seeing how he weaved around you, clearly, Henry was the better investment, and you lost him for me. Do you know how much that child could reveal to the police?"

"What are we doing here then, boss? We need to start getting prepared quickly!"

I shake my head. "He escaped into police custody. Henry won this round. He's my son. He knows this organization better than some of the highest ranks in the company. There's no way to predict where he'll have the police strike first."

"So... what are you gonna do?"

"All I can do. Cushion the blow as best I can. Prepare my contingency plans." I sip my coffee again. "I'm only talking to you so I can vent."

" Well, I... I hope I've been of service..."

"You have. I must thank you." I give him a contented smile as I cock my head.

The man cringes for a bit but then gives me a slight smile. I smile back.

Then I kick the cinder block next to his chair into the water. He screams, but he's pulled in after it anyway. I watch the ripples go out from where he fell in. Too bad that chair was a little spendy.

Next, I should call my lawyer. No, first, I start looking up my connections in the police department. I need to know what kind of deal Henry is getting. I need to make sure everyone sees what happens when you double-cross Charles Miles.