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“As I was saying,” Fox continued, “it occurred to me that maybe torture isn’t the way to go.”
“And what would you have us do to the bad people in the interrogation room?”
“We should ease it out of them, make them so comfortable that they willingly hand over the information,” he grinned. “Sometimes, using force doesn’t get you what you need. Did you see how easily you gave it up to me with just a little shoulder rub?”
“I didnotgive it up to you,” I snapped, feeling my face flame as I remembered moaning from his touch. “I had a sore muscle in my neck. That’s hardly handing over enemy secrets.”
Fox grinned at me, jumping up from his chair. “Admit it, boss. I had you right where I wanted you. If we apply these same tactics during interrogation, show the baddies that we’re the goodies, and make them comfortable, they’ll roll over for us.”
A snort of derision came from Rae, but she quickly covered it up as Fox leapt to his feet and continued, walking around the table as he told us his plan. “We need to heal those old wounds these men feel. They don’t need pain. They need to be cherished and feel like they have someone on their side, someone who can rescue them from this life of treachery and despair!” He rested his hands on Lock’s shoulders and started to massage. “If we treat them with love and kindness, we’ll get further than if we torture their souls and make them feel worthless.”
He pulled a small vial from his pocket and held it up for everyone to see. “This is a creation of my own making. Filled with the most calming and influential scents in the herbal industry, it is sure to bend our enemies to our way of thinking, and get them to turn over all their secrets. Just a small dab on the neck and the pressure points on the face…”
He turned the bottle over, pouring just a few drops on his fingers.Then, he slid his fingers around Lock’s face, dabbing here and there, then spread his fingers wide. He closed his eyes and gently rubbed the liquid into Lock’s skin, paying particularly close attention to the zygomatic and maxilla.
Lock’s fingers tensed around the arm of the chair for only a second, then he moaned, instantly relaxing under Fox’s unorthodox methods. I’d seen some strange shit in my time, but this one took the cake.
“Are you really suggesting that we…calm our enemies into submission?” I asked incredulously.
“Boss, did you see what I just did? These hands,” he said, holding up his palms. “These are magic hands. They’ve taken life, and now it’s time to use them for healing. I promise you, this is the way to go.”
I literally had not one single argument for him. As much as I didn’t like this new idea, the fact that Fox was bringing the crazy down a notch was a good thing. Well, it was a new brand of crazy, but if it worked, it could mean big changes for him, and that would be good for everyone.
“Great,” I answered. “Tell me what you need and I’ll make it happen.”
“Seriously?” Fox grinned, rushing over to me.
“Yeah, seriously?” Rae asked. “Boss?—”
I held up my hand, cutting off her argument. She knew we’d discuss this later. Now wasn’t the time.
“Boss,” Fox laughed, wrapping his arms around my neck from behind. “This is so awesome. I’ll show you. This is gonna be amazing!”
“I’m sure it will.”
“I’m gonna work on that list now,” he said, rushing from the room.
“Take Dash with you!” I shouted.
When the door slammed behind him, I let out a harsh breath and turned back to everyone else in the room. “That should keep him busy for a while.”
“Are you really letting him do this?” Rae asked. “We need him to be Fox.”
“Clearly, he’s going through something right now. Stifling his creativity will only make our lives harder. Moving on…” I said, trying to gather my thoughts. “Johnny,” I barked.
He was slouched in the corner, with his arms crossed over his chest and his legs stretched out, crossed at the ankles, you’d think he was taking a nap. And with his hat tipped down over his face, I couldn’t be sure he wasn’t. Slowly, he tipped his hat back with only his pointer finger. He quirked an eyebrow at me, clearly not happy with me calling him out.
“Yeah?”
“How’s Jack?”
He shook his head slightly. “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I had Rae pull the tracking data when you disappeared. You led us right to Jack,” I answered drolly.
“Maybe that’s what I wanted you to think,” he answered.
My head swiveled to Jason. “And what do you know about this?”
