Word: Pawky

pawky

[paw-kee]

adjective, pawk·i·er, pawk·i·est. Chiefly British.

1. cunning; sly.

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             “You tricked me, you bastard!” Roared Tess as the handcuffs were clicked into place.

               David simply smiled in that aggravatingly smug, confident way he did when he knew he had the upper hand.  He held up his hand and the agents that stood on either side of Tess stood still. 

               “My dear, I did no such thing.” He said.  “After all, trickery implies falsehood.  I never once lied to you.”

               “Oh yeah, then what do you call this?”

               She moved her head around to indicate what was happening.  All around them, federal agents went through her things, rummaging through her drawers to find any evidence of her wrongdoings.  It was futile, of course.  Tess was smart enough not to have anything incriminating in her home. 

               “This is merely a poor government worker doing his job.  I did mention I worked for the government, didn’t I?”

               “You didn’t mention it was for the FBI.”

               “True, but then again, you never did ask which department I worked for, did you?”

               Tess clamped her mouth shut.  It was an unfortunate oversight on her part.  One she would make sure not to repeat.

               With her remaining silent, David continued.  “Think back to everything I’ve ever said to you.  Really think.  Was any of it a lie?  I mean, an outright lie.  Half-truths and a few omissions, yes, but never a bold-faced lie.”

               She did just that.  “Huh.  Okay, I admit, you’re good.  I never caught any of that.” Tess admitted. 

               “Thank you.” David said with a slight bow.   “Now then, to business.  I’m sure that there isn’t anything of importance here, but we’ll finish our check, just in case.  But you could save quite a bit of time and effort if you simply told us where you stash everything.  Oh, and yes, I know asking won’t do any good, but I have to try.”

               “Well good luck with that.  And I really hope you take your time finding my stuff.”

               “You know we will find it, right?  That’s inevitable.”

               It was Tess’ turn to smirk now.  “Oh sure, sure. Masters of investigation and all that.  I won’t bother saying it’s impossible to find either.  But I sure as hell didn’t make it easy.  And by the time you do find it, you’ll just be left wondering if it was all worth it.”

               “I’m sure it will.  Besides, this will be an excellent time for us to get to know each other better.  Like I said, I never lied to you, even when I said I consider you a friend.  I really do, or maybe did would be more appropriate here, feel that way.  Maybe now we can continue that, without the need for secrecy.”

               Tess huffed.  “Yeah, that’s not going to happen, buddy.  You can go rot in a pit for all I care.”

               “Shame.  This could have been so much easier for both of us.”

               David nodded at the escort agents.  They took Tess and led her out of the building and to a waiting prisoner transport.  Tess had to work to suppress her grin.  While the exact methods were not what she envisioned, nor were they ideal, the results were the same.  And at the moment, Tess was exactly where she wanted to be.

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Okay, so maybe it's a bit cliched and stuff, but whatever.  Cliches got to be cliches because they have some value, right?  As long as they're used properly they can still make for a good story.  Not sure if I used them right here though.  Oh well.