Zane ended up waiting only fifteen minutes before the men came back. The time felt like torture however without anything to distract him. No cigarettes and no more alcohol to keep his buzz alive. Without a reason to bring Clive in, he had to wait it out on his own. Things didn't get any better once the men were back. In fact, they only got worse.
"What exactly is going on here." A deep frown covered Zane's face at the sight of their catch.
"Zane, Don." The man quickly corrected himself as he greeted the young mafioso.
"I asked you a question. I answer it." Zane demanded. Not at all impressed with the young, feisty, and rather unafraid thing they drug in. Did they lose their heads and forget how things worked in their world.
"This is the person you have been looking for. This Kid is responsible for the missing drugs." With this announcement, they unceremoniously tossed the kid at Zane's feet. Rather than scurrying away in fear, the young kid shifted his position in order to glare at the other.
"And what exactly made you think bringing him here was a good idea?" Zane looked away from the kid to the man who seemed so proud seconds ago.
"Because Don, you asked us to bring the person responsible here to you."
"Did you perhaps forget your brain this morning before you left?" The cold glare caused the man to shrink back.
"Might I remind you that we have some rules about this? Even if the person is this brat here in front of me, you don't tag kids."
"I'm right here you know and I'm hardly a brat."
"Apparently he calls anyone younger than him or 'lacking experience' a brat. Don't take it to heart." The young man from before piped up. Ah, people really must've wanted Zane to lose his temper tonight.
"I didn't say that you had permission to speak." He shot back at the other who seemed different to the harsh remark.
"As for you kid, you don't even look like you're above twelve. To be as young as you are and doing this, you're definitely a brat." Zane huffed as he ran a hand through his hair.
"Do you want us to take him back?" No one seemed to quite know what the young mafioso wanted. They just wanted to ensure he wouldn't explode on them.
"No. I want you to stand there and shut up until I'm done." It didn't turn completely useful to come all the way out. Just more complicated than what he wanted to deal with tonight.
"I have a few questions for you kid I'm hoping you'll be willing to answer."
"Why should I answer to a bully like you? I've been told I shouldn't speak to such strangers." The young boy crossed his arms over his chest in a rather defiant manner.
"What a cheeky thing to say. I hardly doubt you actually follow that rule. If you did, you wouldn't be sitting right here in front of me right now." Zane leaned down to tilt the other's chin up to force the kid to look at him.
"See here, I'm not going to do anything to hurt you. I just need a little help from you in getting some information. Once that's done, you'll be free to go." The defiance in the kid's eyes shone brightly as he stared Zane down.
"What exactly do I get out of this deal? Someone like you can't tell me you don't know what I'm doing or why." Zane smirked. Seemed the little fellow did have the mind to be a little negotiator. Fair enough.
"I am well aware of what you're doing and the amount of trouble you could get in. Seeing as you're not quite what I was expecting, let's come up with a mutual agreement, shall we?" He'd be willing to strike up something with the kid. He turned out to at least be more interesting than the others surrounding him.
"Clear out and make space. I want to talk with the kid on my own. Except for that one over there. I want him to stay here until I'm finished."
"How generous of you. Not at all worried about me listening to you bribing a kid?" The dark-haired boy certainly had a way of annoying people.
"Of course not. We both know that you wouldn't like the end result if you spoke of anything outside this room. Besides, I'm not done with you yet. I still don't believe you have no connection whatsoever with this case." Zane would deal with him once done with the kid.
"Make sure the others stay around as well. I don't know if I will need anything else from them. A talk will certainly still be in order after this." The men seemed rather hesitant but moved to fulfill the young Mafioso's order.
Zane didn't say anything else until everyone left. Only observing the kid who had begun to look around. Perhaps he could've been older yet looked young because of his ratty appearance. Skin and bones and worn clothes that were one size too big for him. Didn't look as though a decent meal had come his way in quite some time.
"Before you say anything, I will take a guess that what you're looking for is money?" Zane circled the young boy, further taking in his appearance.
"Maybe you're not an only sibling. Need money for a parent or to take care of someone younger. Many reasons why people turn to snatching drugs. I don't believe you have selfish reasons for it though." The boy watched his every move intently.
"Am I hot or cold? I can't tell much by your silence. Your eyes though seem to be saying a lot."
"I just want money and I won't be around here ever again. That's all you need to know." The defiance hadn't left the kid's voice as he shifted to stand up.
"You see, that's not exactly how negotiating works. It's generally tit for tat. You give me what I want. Then after that, I will give you what you want. For a kid who handles drugs, you have to try a little harder than that." Zane stopped, kneeling down to stare the kid in the eyes.
"I want to know why you decided to do something so dangerous. What's your motive, or reason? Family or not? If you want something from me, I need to know you did it for an honest reason. Otherwise, the outcome might be different."
"Different how?" The young mafioso shrugged his shoulders.
"You know that things work differently for adults in this world. I have a rule about hurting kids or those under sixteen to be exact. My men don't always remember that it seems. If you were an adult, you could say the consequences would be quite different. Take this for example." He grabbed the kid's hand and pulled it up, shifting it until he held his pinky firmly. The other tried to pull away but couldn't.
"If you were an adult, you could kiss this right here goodbye. A world consequence for poor decisions. Since you're a kid though, you don't have to worry about that with me. Instead, you just need to tell me why you did what you did and we can part on good terms." The kid's expression changed to something more hesitant as his hand was finally let go.
"You're not going to do anything to me or my family if I do." Did he not listen to anything that was just said to him.
"Kid, I just told you that. All I want is answers for what you're doing. After that, you can get what you want."
"I just don't want this to get back to my family. Especially not after we just found someone to help us."
"Help with what?" Too much time kept ticking away. Too much more and there wouldn't be enough time left for a decent night of sleep.
"Legal issues. I don't know what exactly. I just know a woman came to talk with my mom about it yesterday. No one else wanted to help us. That's why I thought this would be a quick way to make money." A light bulb when off in's Zane's head as he listened to the kid. Could this be the missing piece? The one he needed to fit everything together?
"What kind of legal issues? I want you to tell me everything. Including this girl you mentioned. If you do and don't leave any details out, I will give you a little something more than money to help."
Zane could only hope to be right. If the pieces did end up fitting together, one major problem would be down. He would just have to figure out how to work some magic. Everyone could be persuaded if the right kind of magic was used. Maybe this would the magic the young mafioso needed.