"He has a family, a wife and a daughter in college. I can give you the address."
Max tensed up. The smile slid off his face. Real fear flashed in his eyes for the first time.
"You're bluffing," he hissed.
"You wouldn't dare."
Bruno didn't answer him. He continued speaking into the phone:
"Yeah, it's him. If he doesn't start talking in the next few hours, I want his family to feel… some attention."
"Apply pressure, but not too much. Just enough for him to understand we're serious."
A short chuckle came from the other end.
"Consider it done. Say hi to everyone for me."
Bruno ended the call and put the phone away. He looked down at Max.
"I'm not bluffing," he said quietly.
"I still have old connections in the underworld. They'll do whatever I ask. Now the choice is yours. Either you tell us how we can remove Hale from his position and put someone in his place who will work against Gerard…"
"Or your family learns what it means to live under our watch."
Max let out a heavy sigh. Blood from his split lip continued dripping onto his expensive suit. His eyes darted between Bruno and Gideon. The fear in them grew stronger.
"You… you don't understand," he whispered.
"If I betray Hale… Gerard won't just kill me. He'll kill everyone I love."
Gideon stepped closer and crouched in front of him.
"And if you don't betray him, we'll do the same," he said calmly.
"Only faster."
"Either you help us replace the police chief… or we start with your daughter."
"Decide. The clock is ticking!"
Max closed his eyes. His body trembled. He understood he was trapped with no easy way out.
Bruno stood motionless with his arms crossed over his chest, his face like stone.
"Talk," he said quietly.
"Or we start acting."
Max Neville sat chained to the metal chair. He raised his head and looked at Bruno and Gideon with a long, heavy gaze. The arrogance in his eyes was gone, replaced by exhaustion and the realization that he had no choice.
"Fine…" he finally croaked. His voice was hoarse.
"I'll talk. I'll tell you everything I know about Hale,how he's connected to Gerard, how they control the police, how he can be removed… and who can replace him."
Gideon nodded slowly, keeping his gun trained on him.
"Smart decision," he said.
"Let's start with the basics. Who in the department works directly for Gerard?"
Neville opened his mouth to answer, but at that moment his pocket vibrated. The phone they hadn't taken away emitted a short incoming message tone.
Flash, standing off to the side, tensed instantly.
"Don't touch it," he warned.
But it was too late. Neville jerked his handcuffed hand and managed to tap the screen with his finger. The screen lit up.
Message from Richard Hale:
"They're coming for you."
Flash cursed through his teeth.
"Damn it. He managed to send a message. Hale knows."
Gideon stepped forward and snatched the phone from Neville's hands.
"You idiot," he snarled.
"Now they definitely know where we are."
Neville only smirked with his broken lips, though fear was clear in his eyes.
"I told you… Gerard is always one step ahead."
At that exact moment, the warehouse door burst open with a loud crash. A vampire stood in the doorway, tall, dressed in black tactical gear, with glowing red eyes and bared fangs. One of Gerard's elite hunters.
He had clearly been sent by Hale.
"Neville!" he growled.
"You alive?"
Bruno didn't wait.
He instantly raised his pistol loaded with silver bullets mixed with wisteria and fired at the vampire's head. The shot sounded muffled, almost like a clap. The bullet struck right between the eyes. The vampire jerked, his eyes widening in shock. Black blood sprayed from the wound.
But it wasn't enough.
The vampire was still on his feet, though his body had begun to shake.
Bruno stepped forward, drew a silver dagger, and with one powerful, precise motion severed the vampire's head. The head hit the concrete floor with a heavy, wet thud.
The body stood for another second, then collapsed.
Black mist began pouring out of the headless corpse, the vampire's soul trying to escape. But the wisteria in the bullet and the silver in the dagger did their job. The mist never formed into a scream or shape.
It simply hissed, twisted, and quickly disintegrated into tiny black shreds that fell to the floor and vanished as if they had never existed.
The warehouse fell silent again.
Bruno stood over the body. The silver dagger in his hand was coated in black blood.
"Clean," he said in a low, almost growling voice.
"No one will absorb his soul."
Flash stepped closer and looked at the decapitated body.
"Well done," he said calmly.
"But now Hale definitely knows we've taken Neville."
Gideon was already examining Neville's phone.
Neville sat on the chair, staring at the body of his former ally.
"You… you just killed one of Gerard's best hunters," he whispered.
"Now he'll definitely come for you."
Bruno wiped the dagger on the dead vampire's coat and looked down at Neville.
"Let him come," he said calmly.
"And you're going to talk. Tell us everything you know about Hale. Otherwise… you're next."
Neville swallowed hard. He understood there was no turning back now.
"Alright…" he whispered.
Flash nodded.
"Then start talking. We don't have much time."
"There aren't many people in the department," he began hoarsely.
"Most of them… are vampires. Hale has placed his own in key positions. And tonight there's an event at the police station, an exhibition. You'll have a chance to change something."