Disclaimer: I do not own Human Target and intend no copyright infringement.
"You're going through what I call the five phases of fear. Denial... anger.. frustration, acceptance, and eventually…"
The signal of his mobile interrupted Guerrero and cost him his punch line.
Great. 80% of an interrogation session were about creating a certain atmosphere. A scared to death captive was much more likely to talk than one who didn't believe that the other 20% really were about blood and gore.
"Mr. Guerrero! When I asked you about specifics regarding the interior design of your new office, I was thinking height-adjustable desk, high speed internet connection and dimmable library lamp. What I had not in mind were soundproof walls and metal rings attached to the floor!"
"I'm busy, boss." Guerrero cut the connection and turned his attention back to the man sitting tied to a chair in front of him.
"The question is, how painful do you want this to…"
His mobile again.
"What the hell have you been thinking, telling Ilsa you need soundproof walls?", Winston thundered. "She dragged me into her office BEFORE BREAKFAST where she forced me to listen to a two hour lecture on human rights! And did I mention she did that BEFORE BREAKFAST?"
"Dude, I'm busy." He cut Winston off and opened his tackle box.
"I'll give you a choice, because I believe in every human being's right to be tortured democratically. You can either…"
The mobile… Chance's number this time.
"If this is about the soundproof walls, bro…"
"You were pushing Ilsa's buttons and the joke backfired, huh?" Chance's amusement was obvious.
"Look, dude, I'm kind of in the middle of something here…"
"And I really don't want to bother, it's just that Ames and I are a bit – uh – caught up in something right now and could do with a helping hand…"
In the background Guerrero could hear Ames' faint voice: "This is totally not my fault!"
"Be there in ten. " Guerrero tucked his mobile away. "We're going on a trip", he told the man on the chair.
"The password is peacock", the man said.
Now, that was unexpected. Come to think of it, the man looked a lot paler and more shaken than he had ten minutes ago, when Guerrero had chained him.
"Just out of personal interest, what made you…?"
"I've worked as an office clerk in a big company for years. 400 e-mails a day, two mobile phones, one reserved for calls from my boss alone, the pager that I wasn't allowed to turn off… I ended up with burn out syndrome. You force me to witness any more of your co-worker hassle, I'll probably get a heart attack. The memories you're coercing me to relive are too much. Stop it, please."
As Guerrero headed out to rescue Chance and Ames, he briefly wondered what Ilsa would say, should she ever find out she'd not only personally assisted in one of his interrogation sessions but also played a significant part in the outcome...