6ixes Get Stitches

“We know that you were involved, so talk dammit!”

Officer Marcus slammed his fist on the table, causing it to shake from impact. The young man who sat across from him was unimpressed and gave no reaction. The suit and military haircut of Officer Marcus contrasted heavily with the man being interrogated, who wore a sleeveless top that showed off his tattoos, and had long hair dyed with multiple colors.

Officer Jane, dressed in the same manner as Marcus, stepped up to the interrogation table. “Look, Danny,” Jane said in a soothing voice, “we’re just trying to help you. This is what we propose: you give us some names, and we’ll make sure your sentence gets decreased.”

Danny had been silent for most of the interrogation, but now he sat up and said, “I’m not a snitch. You’re getting nothing out of me.”

“If you don’t snitch, you’re going away for a long time, Danny,” Marcus growled.

“He’s right,” Jane said. “You won’t gain anything by protecting your fellow gang members.”

When she saw that Danny was back to not talking, she continued.

“This gang you’re a part of have been doing awful things, Danny. They’ve sold drugs, killed people, and taken advantage of children. Kids! You’re a father yourself. How would you feel if you learned a gang had them working for them?”

Danny didn’t respond, but Jane could see that she was getting to him by his frown.

“Your gang members kidnapped and robbed you. Why should you remain loyal to a bunch of backstabbers?” Jane added a pause for effect. “At the end of the day, this is your choice. Would you rather continue your successful rap career? Or would you rather be in prison for defending criminals who weren’t looking out for you?”

“You better decide quickly,” Marcus said.

The two officers nodded to each other, wordlessly agreeing that the interrogation was over. They turned around to exit the room, but Danny spoke up.

“Wait.”

The officers faced him again.

“I’ll talk. I’ll give you the names.”

Marcus and Jane looked at each other, both looking suspicious.

“Really?” Marcus said. “You’re going to give us the names? Just like that?”

Danny sighed. “Yeah, I will. I’ll tell you everything.”

“Huh,” Jane said, surprised. 

“What do you mean by ‘huh’?” Danny asked defensively.

“It’s just that we didn’t think it would be this easy. We thought you would put up more of a fight to not identify the other gang members.”

“I mean what I’m doing is the right thing though, isn’t it?” Danny said, lacking in confidence. “Like you said, the gang has done some bad stuff!”

“Yeah, you’re probably doing the right thing,” Marcus said. “We’re just surprised how quick you were to snitch.”

“What?” 

“Think about what the hip-hop community will say,” Jane said. “You’re going to lose a lot of respect among your peers.”

“What did you say your rapper name was again?” Marcus asked.

“6ix-6ix-6ix,” Danny replied.

“More like Snitch-Snitch-Snitch,” Jane joked.

The two officers laughed hysterically at the nicename, while Danny watched with a confused expression. 

“I don’t understand,” Danny said. “You guys are cops! Aren’t you guys for snitching?”

“Us?” Jane said. “No, we never snitch. Marcus here shot this teenager we thought was selling drugs. Turns out he was just walking home from football practice. If I had told the others what really happened, he would’ve lost his job and probably gone to jail. But I kept my mouth shut because I’m not a snitch.”

Marcus nodded appreciatively. 

Danny rubbed his temples and said, “So what you’re saying is I shouldn’t snitch on anyone? That I should just stay silent?”

“Well if you do that, then you’ll go to jail for a long time,” Marcus said.

“But I’d be remaining loyal!” Danny reasoned. “The hip-hop community won’t turn their back on me, and my gang members will still respect me!”

“Eh, not really,” Jane said. “They’ve already kidnapped and robbed you. If you don’t snitch on them, they’ll probably think you’re a chump they can take even more advantage of.”

“Okay,” Danny said, “So I should snitch on them?”

“If you do that, you can kiss your image as a gangster goodbye. Plus, I doubt your friends will be very happy about you snitching on them. You’ll be putting your life in danger.”

“You never mentioned that!” Danny said fearfully.

Jane shrugged. “We thought it was self-explanatory.”

The stoic man who had walked into the interrogation room had disappeared, and now all that was left was a fidgety Danny. “Oh my god. I just don’t understand what you want me to do!”

“Hey, it’s like I said before, it’s your choice. You can either be the man no one likes because he snitched on everyone, or you can be the chump who remained loyal to a bunch of thugs who beat and kidnapped him.”

“You didn’t phrase it like that earlier.”

“I was sugarcoating,” Jane admitted. “But it’s still up to you.”

Danny, regaining his composure, nodded. “Okay, I’ve made my decision. I’m going to snitch on my gang.”

The officers stared at the rapper. “Really?” Jane asked.

“Yes.”

“Are you sure?” Marcus asked.

“Yes,” Danny replied, getting visibly annoyed. “I’ve made up my mind.”

“But are you really sur-”

“Will you just let me snitch on them!” Danny said angrily.

“Okay, if you’re sure, then we’ll begin preparations.”

Marcus and Jane stood up. “Just for the record, Danny, I think you’re doing the right thing,” Jane said, smiling.

“Thank you,” Danny said. “I appreciate it.”

The two officers left the room and shut the door. Except the door wasn’t completely shut, so Danny was able to hear the conversation outside.

“Hey, guys,” a voice Danny recognized as Jane’s said. “We got him to snitch!”

The police station erupted into laughter.

“Yeah, not much of a ‘gangster rapper’ when there’s a prison sentence involved,” Marcus said. “Which should’ve been obvious by his stupid hair!”

“Of course he’s not a ‘gangster rapper,’” Jane said. “Martha Stewart snitched on less people, and she was on a cooking show!”

The police station howled with laughter while Danny sat there furiously. Having enough of the mockery, he yelled, “The door is still open!”

There was immediate silence. Danny heard someone walk towards the entrance. “Sorry,” Jane said meekly.