Benjamin winced. The sound of Miss Anderson's voice and other surrounding sounds hurt his ears, which were still sensitive from what he had done to them with the Instruct Skill minutes ago.
"Who I am doesn't matter. All that matters is what I can do for you", Benjamin said.
Miss Anderson groaned with dissatisfaction, then she looked at Benjamin from head to toe— her gaze very condescending.
Clearly, she didn't appreciate his response.
"I don't have time for childish games, so if you don't want to tell me who you are, then it's your prerogative. However, what you are going to tell me is how you know about my father's health issues, and you're going to tell me now because only a small handful of people know about that— all of them friends and family— and you, young man, are definitely not one of them!" Miss Anderson said to Benjamin— her tone and gaze very threatening.
Benjamin looked at all the police officers around him, especially the police captain, and he saw that Miss Anderson had them all under her control. As such, she could and would make his life a lot worse than it already was if he annoyed her.
Her looks— though stunning— let anyone who saw her know that she had a no-nonsense attitude and Benjamin could tell that the lobotomy he would get for failing the mission would be nothing compared to what she would do to him if she felt like he was messing with her.
Feeling nervous, Benjamin gulped.
"My name is Benjamin Gray and I overheard you talking about it with the police captain in his office a couple of minutes ago," Benjamin said, and Miss Anderson grimaced skeptically.
She didn't know how to feel about Benjamin confessing that he had eavesdropped on a very private conversation she was having. However, one thing that was sure was that she didn't appreciate it.
Just then, the female officer, who had taken Benjamin out of his cell, frowned.
"That's not possible," she said, drawing everyone's attention.
"What's not possible?" The police captain asked her.
"This guy had been in the holding cell since the moment he was brought into the station. The only time he came out was when he had a seizure, and we wanted to check if he was okay—which happened right as you and Miss Anderson came out of your office. So, it's impossible that he could have heard your conversation as the distance between his cell and your office is just too great," the female officer said, and everyone looked at Benjamin.
"So you lied to me? All that nonsense you spewed with so much confidence was nothing but utter lies, and you had the gall to stand before me and act like they were true." Miss Anderson chuckled for a split second before her expression darkened. "I assure you, that was a massive mistake—one you'll regret for the rest of your life."
The woman looked at the police captain beside her.
"Captain James," she said.
"Yes, Miss Anderson?" the Captain replied.
"I don't know what this young man was brought in here for, but I want you to give him the most cruel punishment imaginable—" Miss Anderson said, but Benjamin, who was extremely desperate, cut her off.
"I swear on my father's grave that I wasn't lying," he said, but instead of believing him, Miss Anderson felt angry.
She sneered at him.
"That Officer just said that you were too far from the police captain's office door to have heard my conversation with the captain, so how exactly are you going to prove her wrong and yourself right? You have three seconds to convince me, otherwise this is going to—" she said, but Benjamin cut her off again.
"Because I heard more than just your father's declining health. I also heard why someone of your caliber came to the police station in the first place", Benjamin said, and Miss Anderson furrowed her eyebrows.
He had successfully gained her interest.
"The only way you could know why I'm here is if you—impossible as it may be—were somehow able to listen to my conversations with the captain all the way from that holding cell. So, tell me, Benjamin, why am I really here?" Miss Anderson asked.
Everyone looked at Benjamin, wondering what he was going to say and whether it would be the truth or not, as only the two people who had the conversation, Miss Anderson and the police captain, James, knew what really happened.
"You're here because you were attacked by some mysterious gunmen but, thanks to your excellent driver, you were able to escape and came here to give a report so that the police will try and find the assailants. Am I right or wrong?" Benjamin asked confidently.
The officers quickly looked at Miss Anderson and the police captain to see their reaction and to their surprise, the two looked… well, surprised.
That could only mean one thing— Benjamin was right. But then that raised the question: how on earth was he able to hear a private conversation from such a great distance?
They asked themselves.
"I know you want to ask me how I was able to hear what you two talked about, but as I said before, it doesn't matter right now. What matters is that we both need each other", Benjamin said, and Miss Anderson groaned with curiosity.
"We do now, do we?" She asked.
"Yes, we do" Benjamin nodded.
"And what is it we need from each other?" She asked.
Benjamin cleared his throat, and with newfound confidence now that he had piqued the woman's interest, he said, "I need your help getting out of these people's custody, and you need help with your father's deteriorating health. So, I say we make a deal."
Miss Anderson looked at Benjamin from head to toe once more and groaned skeptically.
"How is someone who is barely an adult supposed to help me with my problem? In other words, what could a child like you possibly know about medicine that the hundreds of doctors and specialists my family has brought in to help my father don't?" she asked.
Benjamin was silent for a moment— which unfortunately was a moment too long.