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“We can do this two ways,” Aiden started, his voice strange and frightening even to Sienna’s ears. “First way is the easy one, which is that you answer my questions of your own free will. The second option is also one of my favorites, so if you care about me at all, that’s the one you’ll choose, but if you care about yourself, you’ll go with the first one. I have to warn you though, the second option can be quite loud and dirty.”
The expression on the guy’s face was unfazed and bored. His eyes were determined and when he spoke up, there was not even a hint of fear in his voice.
“You can’t do anything to me that Kyle hasn’t done before. I’ll never be afraid of you, not when Kyle’s the one I answer to. His wrath is something even the devil himself would want to avoid.”
Aiden looked coldly at the guy, his face showing no reaction. He stared at him for a couple of seconds, letting the silence stretch, until his lips turned up into a small, wicked smile. Sienna’s heart banged against her chest, and she had to remind herself that Aiden was simply playing a role.
“You’ve just made my day,” Aiden told him, and turned to his bag of horrors.
He loudly rummaged through the tools until he found what he was looking for. Slowly to build the tension, he pulled out a scalpel. He circled the prisoner like a vulture, and despite his claims that he wasn’t afraid, Sienna could see the beads of sweat gathering on his forehead.
“Since I expect you to be honest with me, it’s only fair that I’m honest with you too,” Aiden said, his cold voice carrying a hint of excitement. “Do you know what flaying is? No? Well, don’t worry, I’ll explain. Basically, what I plan to do is to skin you alive. Do you know anything about the process?”
Aiden pretended to wait for the guy’s answer. After a couple of seconds of silence, he took the role of an eager professor, trying to educate his students on the very important topic.
“There are a couple of very interesting things I’d like to point out, making sure you have all the facts before I offer you a chance to reconsider your choice. Skin is very important because it prevents your body from dehydration. Without it, you’re fucked. Also, without it, you’ll bleed to death within minutes, although, if done right, you might stay alive for a few hours and even up to a few days,” Aiden said, then scratched his chin as if lost in thought, before adding, “I think that my record is twenty-seven hours, but don’t worry because since then, I’ve perfected my technique and I’m quite confident I can help you stay alive for at least two days. I’m also not against using medicine to keep you from getting into shock, because sometimes the trauma of flaying is enough to kill you.”
Aiden turned to the prisoner whose face was void of all color. He played with the scalpel, moving it from hand to hand.
“Let’s start,” Aiden announced, holding the scalpel firmly in his right hand. “What’s your name?”
The prisoner met Aiden’s eyes, giving him a look of disdain. He growled, displaying all his crooked teeth.
“Fuck you,” the guy hissed at Aiden and spat, hitting him in the face.
Sienna didn’t need to see Aiden’s face to know that the guy crossed an invisible line as Aiden’s expression darkened and his eyes glowed with barely contained fury. With slow and deliberate movements, Aiden reached into his pocket and wiped the spit off his face.
“I suppose we’re doing this the hard way then,” Aiden said and took a step toward the prisoner, but before he did anything, he stopped and threw a helpless look at the double glass mirror.
Only then did Sienna see the foam coming out of the prisoner’s mouth. His face contorted with pain and agony. His muscles inconsistently contracted and relaxed, making his body spasm and shake. His face turned blue as he was unable to breathe, which was followed by a cardiac arrest. He was fully conscious through it all and experienced every bit of the agonizing side effect of the poison he took.
“Cyanide,” Jensen whispered next to her. “He must’ve had it in his tooth.”
“For fuck’s sake,” Jaxon cursed. “Don’t they know that it’s one of the worst ways to go? They should at least update their techniques. The thought of it being quick and painless is so fucking outdated that even towards the end of World War II wasn’t believed anymore. What the fuck is wrong with him?”
“There’s nothing and no one that he fears more than Kyle,” Sienna said, remembering the words the guy had spoken not too long ago.
“Another dead end,” Jensen said, his voice full of barely contained anger.
The high hopes of ending the incoming war dwindled and crashed. The atmosphere in the room was devastating and hopeless. The guy was dead, and Sienna had no reason to stay there.
“I’m going to check on Tina,” she told no one in particular and left the interrogation floor as quickly as she could without giving the appearance of running.
CHAPTER 8
JensenandXavierstayedbehind with Aiden to deal with the aftermath, leaving Jaxon to escort Sienna to her old room where Tina was resting. Jaxon followed her in silence, undoubtedly contemplating the suicide scene they’d just witnessed. Sienna was grateful for the silence because, even though Jaxon was easy to talk to, right now, she felt a mix of emotions that would make it hard to put the shortest of sentences together.
It took them a good fifteen minutes to maneuver themselves through various hallways until they reached Sienna’s old room. It was the first time in her life that Sienna didn’t complain about the distance because that little extra time was exactly what she needed to collect herself.
Sienna exchanged a look with Jaxon, wordlessly asking him if she should knock. He shrugged, just as unsure how to proceed. Despite it being her room, Sienna decided to give Tina some semblance of privacy and knock.
“Come in,” Tina called from inside the room and Sienna allowed herself to relax a bit when she heard the strength in her voice.
“Wait here,” Sienna told Jaxon, who frowned but for once didn’t argue, although he did mutter something about being demoted to a glorified bodyguard.
Sienna pretended not to hear him as she pushed the door open and stepped inside into the familiar room. Her heart ached at the sight of it, reminding her of yet another thing that she had lost thanks to the Remingtons and their greed.
“Hi, I’m not bothering you, am I?” Sienna asked softly, her eyes landing on Tina’s frail-looking form lying on the bed.
