AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“If not chronologically, you could just list your crimes in order of severity. In particular, you could tell us about all of the people you killed, like Madeleine… Hank Lee… Sidney Traves. All of the times you coerced people into silence, every act of corporate malfeasance… Think of it like this: the more you confess to, the longer you’ll live.”
“No one’s going to believe a word of this. Anything I say will be disregarded. Why bother?”
“They’ll believe it, Anton. You’re going to spell it all out in great, great detail. We’ll find any loose ends that are still out there and get them to corroborate your stories.”
“And we have Jamison!” adds Kate. “As well as the courtesans. They’ll all talk.”
“Jamison won’t,” I say. “He’s not going to destroy his legacy by confessing. And the courtesans… Maybe they’ll be believed. Not by everyone. People will never be sure they can trust the alcoholic, disgraced ex-reporter — and they’ll never see the leader of Anarchy, Inc. as anything but a terrorist.”
Ingram taps his tablet, and a jolt races through my skull. I convulse, shaking uncontrollably in my seat. He may as well be using a live wire. My entire body feels burnt — there’s a smell in the air I don’t want to think about.
“You’re going to give a very, very convincing testimony,” Ingram says. “There’s no time limit here, Anton. You won’t run out the clock. No one will rescue you. Kate and I are going to kill you, but it’s not like we have a set day or time. It’s when the job is done. It’s when we’re convinced that your statement sounds like the truth. That’s largely in your hands. So, how would you like to start?”
I smirk, effecting a sigh.
“I need some time to think about it.”
“Kate, come here,” says Ingram.
She complies, walking up to his side.
“Would you like to push the button?”
“No. I’d like to do something else.”
“Whisper it in my ear,” Ingram says.
She does. He nods.
As I watch, she goes to pick out a small, red aerosol can, walks up to me and shoots pepper spray directly into my eyes. Cringing, I shake my head. Eyes searing, I squeeze them shut, trying to force the chemical out.
“How’s that feel?” Kate snarls.
“Shitty!”
“Let’s go,” Ingram says. “Anton needs time to think. We can give him a little. I’ll set the shocks to go off every ten minutes or so. He can give us a yell when he’s ready to talk.”
I can’t open my eyes, so I don’t see them leave, but I hear the door shut behind them.
Tears drip down my cheeks as I slowly recover from the pepper spray. I’m still trying to see again when the first shock hits me, a thousand hornets stinging me everywhere at once.
All I can do is breathe and wait.
Fuck you, Ingram. You think I can’t take this? You think I’ll crack on day one? Not a chance. I’d rather suffer.
Except, he probably doesn’t care either way, does he? Ingram will be happy to watch me get the shit shocked out of me. He wins no matter what I do. It’s illogical for me to hold out for the sake of saving face. What good does that do me? Pride has no practical value at this point, except to soothe my ego. Is that worth anything?
It might be all I have left.
When my eyes recover, I try to assess my odds at escape. My feet aren’t locked to anything, but the chair is bolted to the floor. There’s no way I can get out of it on my own. At some point, if they want to keep me alive, they’ll have to feed me and let me use the bathroom. I’m sure I’ll be under heavy guard the whole time.
I shouldn’t count on escaping. I should accept that, barring unforeseen circumstances, I’m going to die in this room.
—
Ingram and Kate return after the twelfth shock. I take it as a small victory that their patience runs out before mine. Still, if they put a bullet in my chest right now I’d probably die thanking them.
“What’s the… rush?” I laugh.
