Vector watched as the (a/t) quietly sniffled to herself, curious as to what they had learnt. He had seen the rage in Espio's eyes as the chameleon had disappeared down the hall, and the crocodile had only every seen that sort of rage twice since teaming up with the other.

His curiosity spiked, and he leant back in his chair, the old leather squeaking in the awkward silence. What should he ask first? He knew the (a/t) was shy, she hardly talked to himself or Charmy.

He shook his head, don't think of Charmy. Not right now.

"So..." He started, wanting answers and to get rid of the thick vibe in the room, "Care to tell me what happened?"

(Y/N) slowly lifted her head to face the large Mobian, her muzzle was red and puffy from crying but she gave a small nod and moved her chair closer to the desk.

"Th-The cat..." She mumbled, "Works with my b-brother..."

"We guessed that much."

The girl blinked, her ears pressed back against her head and the crocodile felt guilty, he leant forward, turning his voice into a hushed whisper,

"Did you get any leads that could help us?" He asked almost gently, although still demanding, "To find Charmy, or your brother?"

(Y/N) stared at him for a moment, her (e/c) eyes watering again, "My b-brother is... They... He's..."

She started sobbing quietly again, and Vector tilted his head. What was the worst case scenario in this situation...?

... Oh ...

"Well, did you believe him?" He asked next, "How can we trust what that cat says anyway? He could be lying to make us give up. But we're not going to. We're going to save Charmy, and we'll prove your brother isn't..."

He cut off, the she-(a/t) was staring at him again, something swimming in her shining gaze.

"Th-Thank you..." She mumbled, sniffling into the tissue he had given her, "I-I hope he's lying... Because..."

"Because...?" The crocodile leant on his hand.

But the (a/t) stopped talking once again, rubbing her arm subconsciously. She didn't feel it necessary to tell the detective her life story; it wasn't like it would help them. Although maybe the information could help them feel more confident about their approach.

She leant back in the seat, leaning her head back against it as she thought about it. Should she spill her living situation to him? Or should she stay as reclusive as possible? She had already seen what he thought of her, since she put Charmy in danger.

Vector watched her, once again confused. He wasn't sure if he should prod or not, and wondered what Espio would suggest.

"It's best to leave it." He could hear his voice, "She's not the talkative type, she won't tell you if she's not comfortable."

Dammit Espio, the information she has could be helpful. But he was right, Vector had already seen that the (a/t) would cut off when someone got in her face. He then started to wonder what Espio was doing, and why he had been so angry.

The purple chameleon was currently sitting in front of the grey cat, much like (Y/N) had moments before. He stared at the feline for a moment, keeping contact with his ruby red eyes. The cat had only stared back, clearly doing his best to look bored.

Espio then started to move his wrist, fidgeting with one of his Kunai*. He flicked it over his hand, moving it through his fingers skilfully and repeating the action. It helped him think, kept him calm. The captive didn't need to know that. The cat's gaze flicked to the weapon, then back to the other's golden gaze, a smirk appeared on his lips.

"Nice try, but I'm not easily intimidated, especially not by fake ninjas."

Espio only snickered, before flicking the kunai at him; it struck into his arm. The cat flinched slightly, but that was it. He merely shrugged,

"I've experienced worse from my boss." He said.

"I'm sure." The chameleon nodded.

"Ah, he talks." The cat chuckled, "So, do you have questions for me as well? Will you try to beat them out of me? Or maybe cry and make me feel bad. Don't tell me you have someone mixed up in this as well."

"I do, a young bee." Espio lowered his gaze, rubbing his hands together, "Though I'm sure my boss already questioned you about him."

"I don't know about the bee, that's why." The cat said, "I had no intentions of dragging a child into this, I didn't even know it was a part of the plan. Children aren't my go-to target."

"And yet a child's life is in danger." The purple Mobian raised his head, "How does it feel knowing you could have made him homeless? Had you killed myself and my boss, he would have been better off in your hands."

He grimaced on the inside, knowing that Charmy had many other places he could have gone. But he wanted to get inside this guy's head. It seemed like the feline had a soft spot for children; assuming he wasn't lying.

"Again, it wasn't a part of my plan. I was just there to get rid of the evidence. You just happened to try and get in my way."

"We did get in your way. Look at where you are." The chameleon stated, he shifted forward. Time to take a new approach, "But enough about that. I want to talk about you, and how you seem to enjoy lying to make innocent girls cry. I know her brother is alive, and you're going to tell me where I can find him."

The cat smirked, before shaking his head, "You're smart, that's for sure. But I'm not telling you anything."

Espio shrugged this time, another kunai in hand. He held it up, as if to examine it, but didn't take his eyes off the captive. The cat, however, watched it with a sort of uncertainty, assumingly because the first was still in his arm, causing blood to slowly trickle through his fur.

The feline could tell that simply holding up the small weapon was a threat, but he still didn't speak. Instead he lowered his head, chuckling to himself. The ninja's wrist flicked, and it was imbedded into his right shoulder.

The cat hissed, flinching away and curling his head to his shoulder. But he still didn't talk. That's fine. Espio had time. And patience. And a lot of anger towards the illegal worker.

An hour passed, and the cat was now covered in blood. He had many kunai sticking out of his arms, his chest, and in his legs; some far deeper than others. He also now had a black eye, a bloodied nose and a split lip. Espio had taken beating a lot more seriously than Vector clearly had.

Even if he wasn't the violent type.

But something about this cat. The way he could lie to such a nice girl. The way he smirked as he told (Y/N) her brother was dead, and looked amused as she burst into tears. There's a special place for guys like him, and Espio felt like he had taken her torment personally.

Knowing she wouldn't fight back, he decided to do it for her. The only other way to get rid of the rage was meditation, and that would only really help himself.

At least what he was doing would get answers. Especially when he pulled out one of his many Shuriken**. The cat seemed to falter, curling up on himself as if to protect his body from the shiny weapon.

"Okay! I'll talk." He finally gasped out, blood dripped down his muzzle.

"Good. Tell me what you know." Espio sat down, playing with the star-like weapon.

"The girl... (Y/N)..." The cat raised his head slowly, "It's better if she thinks her brother is dead."

Espio frowned, "That doesn't tell me anything."

"Trust me." The cat said, his eye had started to swell as he raised his red eyes, "It would hurt her less if she thought he was dead."

"Why is that?" The chameleon pushed forward, leaning towards the bloodied feline.

The cat was panting, his shoulders shaking as he lowered his head again, "How much do you know about her...?"

"That's not an answer."

"But it's important."

The purple Mobian huffed, crossing his arms, "Not much."

"Do you know about her family? Her life?" The cat tilted his head. When Espio gave him a questioning stare, purposefully flipping the shuriken through his fingers, the cat tried to move, "I swear it's important."

He thought about it for a moment. Knowing (Y/N) and how shy she was, there would have been a reason she hadn't told them about her living conditions. Whether she just wasn't comfortable, or if it was a touchy subject.

Actually, thinking about it, Espio could only think of her staring eyes, swimming with longing at the restaurant; with sadness at the pictures on the walls. It was an assumption but...

"What happened to her family." The chameleon finally asked, "I want the truth."

The cat blinked, before letting out a sigh, "So you don't know then?"

"I can guess. Talk."

He shook his head, "It's not my place to say. I'll tell you everything, but only after you learn about (Y/N) more. Then you'll agree with me, you'll agree that she's better off thinking he's dead."

Espio raised a brow at the cat, before shaking his head, this was stupid. No way would he push (Y/N) for something so personal, something she had clearly kept to herself for a reason. But... The cat was willing to cooperate if he learnt more about her, and he himself was sort of curious.

"Fine. But before I do, is there anything I should know?" He let out a sigh, holding his head, "Scratch that, what's the truth about her brother? I want to know."

The cat shook his head once again, "I said I'll tell you if you learn more about her. Then you let me go, I'll arrange for your little bee friend to be returned safely, and we'll pretend it never happened. Do we have a deal?"

The purple ninja sucked in a breath, before the shuriken disappears and he nodded. It felt wrong but... He could tell the cat wasn't lying. If they could save Charmy, if they could help the (a/t) and find out what happened to her brother...

"Fine. We have a deal. But you better tell me everything."

*(Kunai is made of steel and the shape is like a wedge. One end is a blade, across the grip, another side is a circle with a round hole. - ninjaencyclopedia.com/weapon/)

**(Of the several kinds of shuriken, maybe the most typical kind is the Flat plate type. The shape of it is like an asteroid with four arms. But actually, there are no more than 40 to 50 types of shurikens. - ninjaencyclopedia.com/weapon/)