the long drive twice a day or sit at home alone waiting for news. He liked the idea of having Crysis close but not underfoot all day. With that decided, they'd stopped at his and Zara's place so Jason could grab a few suits, but didn't even bother to stay the night.
Then, first thing Monday morning, Jason and Bradley arrived at the Federal holding facility in New York City. The whole thing had become a circus. Isaiah Dalton was there, along with a few other agents who'd been involved in the arrest. Jason and Bradley went through the reports, comparing it all to what they had, and then it was time to ask the man a few questions.
"Let me do this," Bradley said.
"I know how to get him to talk," Jason insisted.
"Uh huh, and your fist isn't it," Bradley countered. "Jason, you're too close to this. I stood behind you the whole way, and this is all I'm asking in return. I want you to watch it all. Take notes. See if there's anything I'm missing, but stay the fuck out of that room so we don't lose this case now."
"He's been abusing women for years," Jason insisted, "and now you want me to sit back?"
Bradley grabbed his shoulders. "Your job is to break the rules to get what we need. Mine is to be the perfect fed so it looks clean. Stand the fuck down on this, Jason."
"Yes, sir," Jason grumbled, giving in.
But the truth was that Bradley had a point. Jason wanted to make this man bleed. He had an entire list in his head of things Arturo should pay for, and any one of them was enough to set him off. No, Jason might not be a violent man by nature, but this was very, very different. Logic didn't work with assholes like this. Their minds were so warped that they couldn't fathom why anyone would see it as wrong.
Then Agent Dalton stepped into the room. "Who's doing the interview?" he asked.
"I am," Bradley said.
"Then Raige, you're with me."
He gestured, and Jason followed. They walked up a long hall, around a corner, and into a small room with a very large window on one side. That showed the interrogation room, and Arturo Ganza sat there in a blue-grey jumpsuit. The man looked like he'd had a rough few days, too. It was enough to put a smile on Jason's face.
"How'd you figure it out?" Agent Dalton asked.
Jason huffed a laugh. "You know those CIs I asked for? They got all the pieces. Each one led to something else. Once Knock - Jeff Andrews - realized that he had a tie to Eden, it all started coming together."
"But what's the motive?" Agent Dalton asked.
Jason couldn't peel his eyes away from Arturo. "Misogyny. That man is a serial rapist, and all of this gave him reason to think he was in the right. He surrounded himself with people called incels, or involuntarily celibate. They believe that women use sex as a weapon, and that they've been denied because of some conspiracy against them."
"What conspiracy?" Agent Dalton asked.
"No one knows," Jason admitted. "It's always in vague terms. Women want to make them pay, or things like that. The whole idea is tied to the belief that men are inherently the better sex, and women's equality has thrown off the balance, so they need to be put back in their place."
"That's fucked," Agent Dalton grumbled. "And I thought serial killers made no sense." Then he looked over. "Where's the dog?"
"Left him with my fianc茅e today," Jason admitted. "He deserves a little vacation after the last few weeks, and she'll take him to a dog park or something."
"You know, Agent Matthews talked to me about that." Agent Dalton shifted a little to face Jason even more. "He said you're not ok, but you know how to push through it."
"Started having problems in Afghanistan," Jason admitted. "Wasn't an option to break down out there, so I managed. Now, I still manage, and I'll keep managing so long as I need to, sir."
"What's your trigger?" His voice was kind, making it clear he was honestly concerned.
Jason licked his lips, and pried his eyes away from Arturo. "Killing people, sir. When the light goes out of their eyes, it takes a piece of my soul with it. Problem is that I never learned how to miss. If the choice is between watching a good person die or having a bad day, I'll take the bad