Instead, he took the diplomatic approach, and said: “We need to talk.”
Juliette folded her arms and shook her head. “I don’t need anything but to see that ugly shit stain you call a face leaving my ministry. Right now.” Her voice was deep. Strong. Authoritative. Nothing like her appearance, but everything like her persona.
The militia that Roman had hustled past entered, obviously flustered. He seized Roman by the shoulder. “I’m sorry, Captain, he just—”
Roman glowered at the hand holding him. “If you don’t let go of me, I will tear your hand off. Then I will keep it as a memento while I feed the rest of you, piece by piece, to the hungriest mutie-hound I find.”
The militia let go.
“Is this part of my questioning?” The seated man mumbled, sputtering blood with each word.
Juliette back-handed him across the face. “Shut up.”
“That’s an interesting interrogation technique,” Roman smirked, satisfied with how mad he was clearly making her. “You’re meant to get him to talk.”
“Right now, I’m considering letting him go and making you take his place. Why are you here?”
“I told you: we need to talk. It’s about Candle.”
Juliette’s furious expression vanished, quickly replaced with a blank poker face. “What do you know?”
“I know that whoever he is, he’s out to destroy this ministry.”
“So?”
“I need information. Everything you have about Candle.”
The room was silent for a long moment while Juliette examined him. Roman didn’t flinch away from the stare. Finally, she snapped her fingers at the militia. “Leave.” She turned to Roman. “You have two minutes to convince me why I should tell you anything.”
The militia looked relieved to depart. The chained man watched him go, clearly envious. “Maybe I should leave too?” he said.
Juliette slammed her heel into his foot. “You’re staying.”
“Who is he anyway?” Roman asked, gesturing to the man. “Your new boyfriend?”
“A rado-weed dealer. And a tax-evading piece of shit.”
“I should have guessed this would be about your stupid taxes. It’s really important work you’re doing here, Juliette,” Roman said. “You’re doing a fantastic job at keeping this city safe.”
“Spare me your sarcasm. I can’t run a ministry on charity. And your two minutes are wasting away.”
“Fine. But I shouldn’t have to try and convince you. You should be begging me for help. We both know that the only reason Adrenalites haven’t overthrown the Ministries already is that they’ve always acted alone, with short-sighted goals. But if this ‘Candle’ character is real, and if he’s rallying other rogues to help him destroy this ministry, then you’re in serious danger.”
“And why would you care? You hate me and how I run this ministry.”
“You’re right. Truth be told, you’re a rat-faced, radioactive vulture. And I hope someone clips your fingernails with a machete. But I would rather have your useless ministry in charge of Legacy than the Adrenalites. And I know that without my help, you may as well shoot yourself now and give Candle control of this city.”
“If I wanted your help, I would be using your greasy hair to wipe my arse,” Juliette retorted. “Despite what you believe, you’re not the only one here with power. I’m the one with the army, remember?”
“The militia, an army? As if you’d ever have the balls to use them. They waste away here, protecting your little facade of civilization, while the rest of Legacy collapses. What power do you really have if you’re too afraid to use it?”
Juliette snapped her fingers and turned back to her prisoner. “Your time is up. Get out, Roman.”
Roman wanted to strangle her. Why did she have to make this so hard? He was literally offering help. It was insane for her to refuse him. Unless—
Of course. “You’re hiding something,” he said.
Juliette laughed. “Oh, great deduction, Roman. I’m not telling all my ministries secrets to a bounty hunter. There’s obviously no possible explanation except a conspiracy.”
“Listen to me.” Roman stepped forward, fists clenched. He towered over her, but Juliette stared up at him defiantly — there was no fear in her hazel eyes. “I don’t bring you rogue Adrenalites because I like you. It’s because I trust you. You may be inadequate, but you’re not evil. However, if you give me this reason to doubt that, even for a second, then I may decide to sell my next capture to the highest bidder. I heard Gavin’s always looking for pit fighters.”
“You wouldn’t.”
“I fucking would.”
It was a bluff. He would rather kill an Adrenalite then send one to a man like Gavin, but that didn’t matter as long as Juliette believed him. The silence stretched out as they glared at each other. Roman refused to look away first. Finally, Juliette sighed and said:
“Come to my office.”
Juliette’s office was on the twenty-first floor — the highest still in use. Inside, it was the kind of office that must have driven Edwards insane. Loose papers were scattered across her desk. Towers of binders leaned against the walls, some piled high enough to nearly touch the ceiling. A whiteboard hung from the wall, dozens of notes scrawled across it in tiny, illegible writing. The window covering the entire back wall was as filthy as the city it looked down upon.
Juliette took her seat behind the desk, instantly beginning to sort through her papers. “Should I ask why you didn’t bring the traitor with you?”
Ruby. “She sends her warmest regards and says she’s sorry for not being here in person, but she’s allergic to shit-talkers,” Roman said. “They give her a rash.”
“And she still works alongside Tan? She must be itching all over. But please, you must be tired from being an asshole all the time, have a seat.”
Roman frowned at the chair in front of him. It was the same style as the one in the interrogation room, minus the chains. “I’ll stand.”
“You always were a stubborn one. Now, how did you hear about Candle?”
“It was meant to be you giving me information.”
“Just answer the damn question.”
“Fine. I caught Burrstone last night. He was hiding in the eastern outskirts. District 17. He mentioned Candle.”
“Burrstone…” Juliette paused in her search through her papers. “BX77? The one who rampaged in the sixth district two months ago? I thought he’d vanished.”
“He did.” It hadn’t been easy to track him down. Months of cold trails, hundreds of people questioned, dozens of bribes. “Just not far enough.”
“So why aren’t you bashing in his head right now? Why come ruin my day if you could get the answers from him?”
“Uh…” She isn’t going to be happy about this. “He’s a little bit more on the dead side of things…”
“Fucking damn it. You said you caught him!”
Yeah, definitely not happy. “We did catch him. But then he decided he would rather kill himself than have to see your face.”
“And you couldn’t stop him? I need them brought in alive, Roman.” Juliette thumped her fist against the desk. Despite her size, the punch sounded solid. “I understand you rejoice in every Adrenalite death, but, just for once, think of the bigger picture.”
“Because you can’t find slaves elsewhere?” Roman retorted. Everyone knew what happened to captured rogues – the Ministry of Security kept them as workers on the wind farms south of the city, maintaining the machines that generated the city’s power. No one knew exactly what it was they did, only that it was a life sentence.