I twist to look him in the eyes.“It’s okay to be complicated.Believe it or not, I like you this way.”
I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to the spotlight that is Sterling’s undivided attention, but I’m also sure I never want it to stop.God, I wish I could cross this divide, reach out and touch the vulnerability I know is underneath the prickliness.
Hal coughs, and reality rushes back in.
The minutes pass slowly.Sterling is staring at the door.I wonder if he’s still planning on leaving.
“What is it?”I ask.
His brow is knitted tight.“You’re right; we’ve been in here too long.Something’s wrong.Anyone with access to the silent alarm is trained to hit it when suspects are leaving, so why press it early?”
“Fear?”I guess.“Everyone’s terrified.”
Sterling hums, but his frown stays.“That’s the other thing; not everyone has access to the alarm, and it went off when half the floor was already tied up and moved.It’s strange.”
“You an investigator or something?”Hal is staring intently at Sterling.It plants itself like a splinter in my mind.
Something doesn’t feel right.It irks me, but I can’t get to it, can’t work out what it is.
“Reporter.”
Hal’s shoulders relax.He dabs at his mouth with his sleeve.The bleeding has stopped, but it’ll be swollen for a while.Maybe he’s jumpy.I know I am.
“Are you one of the ones protecting the corrupt fucks who run this country or one of the good ones?”
“He’s one of the best ones,” I answer, offended by the mere suggestion Sterling would ever go against his morals.
Hal nods, but doesn’t look convinced.
“You’re right to be angry at them,” Sterling adds, his tone steady.It’s his interview voice.“There’s a lot to be angry about, but there are ways to go about change that don’t involve putting other people’s lives in danger.”
Hal scoffs.“Oh, really?What have you done?I don’t remember seeing your name on my daughter’s medical bills.”
I don’t like this.I don’t like his tone or the way he’s looking at Sterling like a threat.
“Why did you come to the bank today, Hal?”
Hal’s eyes harden, and my blood runs cold.Sterling’s grip tightens around me.
I think back on how we got here.Hal fighting back as T tried to tie his wrists, the way he kept getting in his face, how he wouldn’t stay down until T really hurt him.
If he’s really working with them, why go to all that trouble?Why get hurt?
The rest of them are all downstairs in the vault.
Sterling must be thinking the same thing.“Are they doing your dirty work for you?”
Shockingly, Hal laughs at this.“I don’t let anyone do my dirty work for me.You’re fishing in the dark, son.”
No, that’s not true.Sterling knows as well as I do that something isn’t right here.I’ve been feeling it since we came into this room.
But why?
Why be at the bank at all?
I’m so close to the answer that it’s frustrating.I need to think.
“You’re here for a reason though,” I say.I’m certain of it.
