Chapter 201 ~The Fourth ‘Man’~

Chapter 201 ~The Fourth ‘Man’~
Darius's POV

I was at my desk going through the usual morning reports and business transactions when the knock sounded. I set the papers down and told the person to come in, already having a fair idea of who it was.
Tony stepped in and shut the door behind him. “The men are ready, Alpha,” he said. “I have them waiting in the meeting room and thought you would want to sit in on the questioning yourself, given everything riding on it.”
I considered for a second. There was still work on my desk, more than enough to keep me occupied for the rest of the day but I pushed off my chair. “Lead the way.” I said, following him out into the hallway.
The meeting room had been cleared out for the occasion and a single table sat in the center of the room with two chairs on one side and a single chair on the other. I took a seat off to the side, close enough to observe but far enough back that my presence wouldn't dominate the room. Tony gestured for the first man to sit.
The first interview lasted less than fifteen minutes. The man had been assigned to patrol the borders and that's why he'd missed out on the first interrogation. He was asked about his nights guarding the cell and his reply was similar to the other people's statement on the main report. He had seen nothing unusual and he had heard no raised voices or unexpected movement. He was then asked if he had any personal interactions with Camille. He said no and although Tony asked the same questions in multiple wording, his answers stayed the same. The man looked uneasy but nothing in his tone or posture suggested he was holding anything back so he was dismissed.
The second man had apparently been out on extended leave visiting family in a neighboring territory. He answered everything asked of him plainly enough, though when Tony asked whether he'd noticed anything unusual around the holding cells before he left, the man hesitated for just a beat too long before saying no.
By the third man, a pattern had started to emerge that I didn't like. Every single one of them, had the same response and it was almost as if we'd completely wasted our time.
But then the fourth name was called, and a boy walked through the door. I sat up straighter in my chair, studying him properly as he took the seat across from Tony. He couldn't have been more than seventeen, maybe eighteen at the very oldest, his frame still carrying the awkward and unfinished look of someone who hadn't fully grown into himself.
His clothes were slightly too large for his frame, and he kept his eyes on the floor as he crossed the room. When he sat in the chair, his hands immediately found each other in his lap and began to move restlessly.
I frowned and turned my head toward Tony. “Is he a guard too?”
Tony's lips pressed into a thin line for a moment. “No… not yet. He just volunteered during the shortage. He was eager to help and the senior guards were already stretched thin. They allowed him to take basic watch shifts.”
The boy was too young for that level of responsibility but I understood the reasoning behind it. I did not like it, but the explanation was clear enough.
I frowned and gave a short nod for Tony to proceed. My eyes stayed on the boy the entire time so I didn't fail to notice his hands tighten further in his lap the moment the first question was asked. Also, his leg started bouncing under the table and his eyes kept darting toward the door like he was preparing to bolt out of it.
The first three had been nervous but they had managed some measure of composure. There was the age factor but it didn't make sense why he would look this rattled if he didn't know something.
Tony's voice seemed to soften a little. “State your full name and your reason for missing the first line of interrogation.”
The boy paused for a fraction of a second, and a thin sheen of sweat gathered along his hairline despite the room being colder than usual.
"Marcus. I wasn't feeling too well at the time." He answered quietly, still not lifting his eyes to look at either one of us.
I let Tony continue with the next very simple questions. Like he did with the others he was planning to ease into the main thing gradually. But the boy's composure cracked far sooner than any of them had and by the third question his breathing had turned shallow and uneven.
I wasn't sure whether his reaction came from simple fear of the formal setting or from something he was trying to keep hidden but a gut feeling had me believing that we might discover something with the boy.