The Manifest

Chapter 41

     It took them a little under an hour to drive back to Cyrus' compound. That was the best word to describe the camp that he called home. It was surrounded by a menacing fence that was garnished in barbed wire, and was likely hooked up to a generator as well just for an added electrical touch. Inside the fence were several large houses, all of which were connected underground which was the biggest marvel of Cyrus' crib. There was a compound twice as big as any house underground that was the location of Cyrus' main operations. He didn't do anything illegal, but was a mercenary for hire for almost any job. A lot of his thugs kept busy with the bounty hunter business, but he also was for hire for security as well as an assortment of other jobs for a man of his talents. Edgar knew that he also took jobs from other countries, but was careful to do nothing that would piss off Uncle Sam. It was evident from the manpower and size of the compound that business was good for Cyrus and he was prospering rather well. He was taking a big risk bringing him and his prisoners to his home, but there was a chance that this was likely the safest place for them to be right now anyway. It would take a small army to penetrate the gates of this place, let alone find the underground hideaway. For now, it was perfect.

     Mrs. Johnson was shown to Cyrus' personal house and welcomed by his wife. The women chattered up a storm and seemed alright to leave alone for the time being. Edgar was more interested in his prisoners and what intel they might be able to retrieve from them. Both agents were frisked for any kind of devices and then escorted to a holding cell that was located in the belly of the underground compound. Both Edgar and Devon had expressions of awe as they realized how advanced this place really was. The rent Edgar was going to pay to stay there for a while was going to be worth it. He was going to be able to get a lot of work done from this very secure location. Cyrus opened the door to his cells, and gestured for everyone to walk through first.

     "All the comforts of home." he said with dry sarcasm as both agents were escorted into the area.

     One of the agents fought a bit and struggled, but was dragged into the area. Edgar whispered some instructions to one of Cyrus' men and he immediately complied, tossing one of the men into a cell and locking the door. The other was dragged to a different room and then tied down to a chair. Devon had been looking forward to this for a while, and Edgar who really didn't like to get his hands dirty was more than happy to let Devon take over from here and get things underway. With the younger agent taped to a chair and clearly unable to move, Devon closed the door behind him to give them a little privacy. Edgar and Cyrus were behind a one way mirror in the hallway watching with interest.

     "Should we order a pizza?" Edgar said, trying to ease the tension of the moment.

     "Gail's has got something special planned for tonight. It's not often she gets to cook for guests." Cyrus said as he tossed a cold beer over to Edgar. They both watched with eager anticipation as the interrogation began.

     While eager to have his hands on one of the people that might have connections to the people responsible for the death of some of his crew, Devon wasn't going to rush this one bit. He casually walked closer to the table and took off his coat. He changed in the back of the truck while on the way to the compound and was no longer wearing the brown delivery boy outfit and was very comfortable and ready to start. He causally strolled over and tore the piece of duct tape that had been keeping the agent silent this whole time. The agent gave out a yelp of pain to having the tape torn off and was about to say something, but Devon held up a hand to cut him off.

     "You've had some time to think during our ride over here." Devon said pacing around the room, "But I want you to think a little more. Think hard about what you say here because the words you speak will determine whether or not you're going to get out of this hole alive. The more you co-operate with me, the less likely I am to lose my temper. The less likely I am to lose my temper, the better chance you have of not leaving this compound in a body bag."