"You'll get better treatment if you tell us what you know," you tell the thug. All right, not being the thug's buddy per se, but not as bad as you could be. The thug acts contemptuous, looking like he's calling on some higher morals you never would have thought he had (and which he probably doesn't have). "I'm not going to spill the beans just on your fickle promise of 'better treatment'," he says. "What kind of person do you think I am?"
Answer that. Take the option you could have taken with this. Let Laine answer the thug. Maybe he'll have a better response.