Iosif crept slightly towards Elias, who seemed slightly angered at the comment. “Keep focused. You came for information.”
“Silver Tongue is a man. Men like him hurt Iosif before. He will try to. So I learn about him from the poor.”
“He is called Silver Tongue because of his power. What is his power? Speech. Nobody knows more than that. Nobody survived.” Elias seemed almost more robotic than Runa did, like he was vocally sifting through memories instead of just saying what he knew. “Everyone said the same thing. Detective man is dead. Killed by Silver Tongue. I do not know if they know. They believe they know. The man with no left leg. He said he met him. Talked with him. Learned his plan. Can’t remember.”
Iosif coughed involuntarily. “Ugolovnyy shvets.”
Elias seemed to lapse out of his mechanical state. “Brooker. He climbed out of the sewer a block from here. Tried to yell, to ‘others’, his friends. Definitely part of a gang. Had three slugs and the chamber of a revolver. I tried to break him. He wouldn’t. Iosif froze his limbs and I dumped him in the brink.”
Iosif seemed absolutely mortified. “Nemyslimo- you lied to me?!”
“You never asked.”
“Wait!”
A man in a blue beanie and thick pants came running out behind some ductwork on the rooftop. He appeared to be a repairman, but the clear outline of the pistol in his jacket pocket said this was a part time job.
“You- you work for Silver Tongue?”