Ezekiel was ready to take their information to the grave; ready to fight tooth and nail so that they might stay together. He didn't want to admit anything, but for River, the threat of separating them was too much. The situation was escalating, both boys getting more upset, feeding off one another. Watson was trying to get them to calm down, unsure how to proceed when River offered both of their first names. River was begging, and Ezekiel was stiff, clutching the taller man, frozen like a trapped animal. He watched Watson, waiting for his next action, prepared to do whatever it took to keep River at his side.<br/><br/>The officer tried to calm the situation down by assuring the two boys wouldn't be separated. They had something, at least, and after a little corresponding with the other officer, he sent him away with what they had. The pair were still weary, and it took a long time for Watson to get them to calm down again. He offered water, and snacks from the vending machine. It may as well have been poison for all Ezekiel cared to touch it. He didn't trust the gesture for a second. Watson left it all on the desk, clicking away on his computer without bothering to press any further. He was saving it for when they did find something, and not too long after, the officer came rushing back, pulling Watson aside again.<br/><br/>Ezekiel had been easy. When the boy had gone missing in a town not too far, every surrounding city knew about it. River was a little harder to dig up, his family no longer so close to home, but they at least knew who the boys were. They'd both been missing for the better part of their lives.<br/><br/>“Fuck.” Watson pulled up pictures to look at the two boys, both happy, normal looking children. “This is unbelievable.” They had no reason to lie, and the similarities were there. Without a doubt, they had found not just one, but two boys likely thought dead long ago. No, no longer boys. They were both legal adults at that point.<br/><br/>“Some cult, you think? Maybe they escaped?” the other man reasoned, and Watson figured that highly possible. He came back in with all the information they had on file of the boys, along with all the paperwork to go along with their investigations. They had gotten up when he came back in, and he urged them once more to sit again.<br/><br/>“Now, I need you boys to tell me where you came from. Do either of you remember what happened all those years ago? How did you two end up here?” Watson questioned, getting a pen so that he could write anything down that the pair said. Ezekiel eyed him suspiciously, and then placed his hand over River's mouth, trying to convey to him the importance of keeping it shut right this second. He wouldn't let him be bullied into saying anything further. Ezekiel was getting irritated. He wanted to leave.<br/><br/>“We don't have to say anything. You can't make us. We told you who we were, and now we want to leave,” Ezekiel told him, trying to keep himself calm.<br/><br/>“Boys, I'm not here to work against you. You both are legal adults, yes, but considering the circumstances of your disappearance, there will be an investigation. We aren't going to separate you two. We just need to know what happened, and why you were gone so long. Someone had to have taken you. You two were both five,” Watson tried to make clear, concern etched into the harsh lines of his face.<br/><br/>Ezekiel didn't believe him. They'd already been prepared. Nothing Watson said surprised him, nor did it put him at ease. If they held out, he was convinced that they would just be let go. Father Lamont had said people would eventually stop asking questions, and so Ezekiel shut down completely. He curled up and put his feet on the chair, leaning over, arms wrapped tightly around River, and refused to utter another word. The officers didn't want to traumatize the boys any further than they already had been, and he could only press so much. They had their rights, but a crime had been committed, of that he was sure.<br/><br/>“Okay,” he said, letting them have their way after a prolonged period of the two of them just sitting there. He made their rights known again, in greater detail than what the officer had repeated just picking them up, and explained that they were entitled to a defense attorney, but they did not have to speak with them. He tried to impress upon them the idea of restitution if they were to come forward with any new information, either now, or at a later date.<br/><br/>“I strongly suggest allowing us to go forward with a physical examination,” Watson told them, knowing that they could refuse, but anything they might not be willing to speak verbally, their bodies might tell them. If they were lucky, and the boys willing, there would be some trace of evidence remaining.<br/><br/>“Your property will be held as evidence, but you can have it returned after it's been examined.” He tapped the folders on his desk, and pulled out two sticky notes. On each, he wrote the phone numbers of the parents, and turned the phone on his desk to either of them. Ezekiel had stood, already starting to strip. If it got them out of there sooner, and it was clothing they wanted, they could have them. Seeing what Ezekiel was doing, Watson shook his head.<br/><br/>“No, no!” he said, waving his hand, though if they were willing to give up the clothing they were wearing for evidence, he would not refuse. “I can bring you two different clothing. Not right this second, but you'll be given privacy if you do.” He passed the two sticky notes forward. Ezekiel snatched his out of his hand, staring at what was written.<br/><br/><br/>'<span style="font-family:Throw My Hands Up in the Air">Cassandra Benett <br/>
(2 0 3) 5 2 7 8 8 9 1 <br/>
<br/>
<br/>
Randal Benett<br/>
(2 0 3) 5 5 1 0 7 9 9</span>'<br/><br/><br/><i>Benett</i>, his last name.<i>His parents names. </i>The look on his face made the officer quite aware the boy had never considered this a possibility in his life.<br/><br/>“I don't know what I'd say to them,” Ezekiel admitted.<br/><br/>“I'll let you two have some privacy. You can decide, and you can call if you want to. Each of your parents have been looking for you two for a long time.” Watson showed them how to use the phone, and shut the door, leaving them to figure things out.