It wasn't 5 minutes before Ace came back. He had a struggling red coated private in his iron grip.
The young man's face was pale and terrified and he wriggling in a desperate attempt to escape. I knew was a futile effort, but the soldier didn't know that and continued. His desperate eyes landed on me and he began to make sounds that I knew were muffled cries for help.
I shook my head at him. "Don't be asking me for help, buster. I'm with him," I said, motioning towards Ace.
I could see the hope die in his eyes and his face fall. He gave a whimper, and stopped struggling. His trembling, however, worsened.
"But," I continued, and the hope flooded back. "I won't let him hurt you as long as you cooperate." I flicked my hand in a gesture for Ace to uncover the man's mouth.
The young man gasped out, "W-What do you want from me?" Clearly he was eager to be set free and get as far away from Ace as possible.
I didn't blame him. There was nothing nice about the way he looked, the way he walked, the way he moved his body. Ace was, simply put, f*cking terrifying.
"Simple. Where are your commanders?" I said pleasantly enough, keeping my voice calm for the Brit's sake. The less he was scared out of his wits, the easier it would be to understand him.
"I don't know, I swear!" the man yelped fearfully, shaking his head. To an inexperienced interrogator, he would appear to be telling the truth. But I was not inexperienced; he was lying. The avoiding eye contact was a main giveaway. So much for not scaring him, for now I had to.
Ace knew he was lying, too. I could tell from the blaze of furry in his eyes. Thankfully he refrained from hurting the man.
I glared at the soldier, walking forward until I was right in front of him. He was a foot smaller than me, about 5'5. He'd would have had to tilt his head back to look me in the eyes. But, he kept his eyes cast down.
Better fix that.
I grabbed his chin roughly, causing him to gasp, and jerked it up. Now he had to meet my eyes. "I'll ask again," I growled, tone low and radiating with danger. "Where are your commanders?"
His lips quivered and his eyes darted between mine. His teeth chattered and his shoulders shivered madly as he whimpered.
I lowered my voice. "Last chance, kid."
That was the straw that broke the camel's back. "T-Trinity! Trinity Church! They're having a meeting at Trinity Church!" He looked ready to soil himself as he gave the news. Trinity Church was on the side of town that had been ravaged by a terrible fire back in September of '76. Now to get back and share the information with Connor and Haythem.
I gave the soldier a smile, albeit a slightly sadistic one paired with narrowed eyes. "Good boy," I purred. I released his jaw to ruffle his dark brown hair roughly. He must have lost his hat when Ace caught him.
He flinched and screwed his eyes shut. "Please... don't hurt me." He was once more avoiding my gaze. His shaking had grown worse and his teeth chattered in fear.
I looked up at Ace. He was glaring down at the soldier. I gave a grunt and he looked up and met my eyes. He raised an eyebrow, the question as clear as if he had spoken out aloud. What do you want me to do with him?
I remained silent as I contemplated, my fingers drumming on top of the soldier's head. Finally I sighed, fingers going still. "Keep him here until I come back," I said at last.
The soldier jerked his eyes up with a gasp, white as a sheet. "Don't leave me with him! Please!" he begged, eyes wide. He obviously was terrified of the thought of being left alone with a hot headed man who was known for being quite brutal to British troops. "I'll do anything! Don't let him hurt me!"
"Hush up." Ace covered the soldier's mouth with a massive paw. "You didn't cooperate. You don't get a say in this. You're lucky we haven't knocked you out."
The soldier whimpered, lowering his eyes. Faint sobbing came from him and he began to cry.
Poor guy.
"Relax, Ace," I said, bringing my eyes from the soldier. Now that my anger had subsided, I was feeling more in a clement mood. That and I couldn't help but feel sorry for the frightened soldier. He was no older than 18. "All it took was a little persuasion and he cooperated. No need to hurt him." I petted the soldier's head. "Besides, he'll not be any trouble, will you, mate?" I waited for the Brit to look up. When he didn't, I took the hand not on his head and tapped under his chin gently. "Hey, look up."
He hesitantly turned his eyes up to meet mine and gave a small nod.
"See, Ace?" I switched my gaze back to Ace. "He'll behave. No need to hurt him."
Ace gave a disbelieving snort, but didn't say anything about it. "So, what can I do with him then?" he growled, tightening his grip on the soldier.
The man gave a small whimper as the constrictor-like grip grew tighter, gasping for air through his nose. His eyes had gotten redder from tears.
"Well, don't hurt him, for starters," I said. I reached forward and tugged Ace's arms to loosen his grip. "Bind his hands if you want, but don't cut off the circulation. And for Alphia's sake, no teasing him. I think your bulk and mere presence is enough of a fear factor without you taking a knife to him." I really hoped Ace would listen to me and not hurt the guy. Contrary to popular rumor, I didn't like beating up or killing prisoners. That went for hostages, as well.
In all truth, Ace didn't like hurting or killing prisoners. Unless they lied, were troublesome, or backtalked. Then they could expect torture of some sort.
Ace growled, but said, "Fine. So long as he behaves."
"Thank you," I said, then looked back down at the redcoat.
His eyes pleaded, begged me to tell Ace to just let him go. I'll be good, his eyes swore. I won't tell anyone. Please, let me go.
I said gently, "Let me tell you a little secret about Ace. He will only hurt those who hurt or try to hurt him. If you just cooperate with him, you will not be harmed. Understand me?"
He blinked, looking off to the side. He seemed to ponder for a moment. He then met my gaze and gave a slow nod.
Ace's grip immediately eased and the hand was removed from the young redcoat's mouth.
The soldier twisted his head and looked back towards Ace.
Ace cracked a small grin. "See? Cooperating with me is a sure way to stay on my good side."
The soldier blinked. "S-So… if I behave… you won't hurt me?"
"That is correct," Ace confirmed with a nod.
The soldier seemed to think it over. He was a smart kid. "I-I'll behave."
Ace gave him a pat on the head. "Good. You'll be glad you decided that."
I said, "I'd best be going. Hayth and Connor are waited. Remember Ace. No torture."
Ace pouted. Seeing a man his size pout never failed to amuse me. "Not even tickle torture?" he whined.
I sighed, rolling my eyes. "Ok, fine. You can do that. But only a little! No tying him down and taking off his boots like you normally would do."
The soldier was worried again. "Huh? T-T-Tickle torture?" he stammered.
"Yeah." I reached forward to poke him in the belly a few times. "Kinda works like that."
"Ah! Don't do that again, please!" he yelped.
Ace snickered. "No promises." He covered the soldier's mouth before the man could protest. He carried him into the shadows of the dark alley, the man struggling again. "Bye, Scarlett!"
After they had vanished, I ran back to where Haythem and Connor were waiting. Haythem was leaning on the wall while Connor paced back and forth. As I reappeared, both men looked over at me, eager to hear the information. "Well gents," I said in a forced cheery tone as I put my hands together. "Seems we got a meeting at Trinity Church to attend that I'd hate to miss." I tried not to worry about the prisoner Ace was keeping.
If the soldier ticked Ace off, it could be detrimental to the Brit's health. But the soldier seemed like a smart guy, at least smart enough to be respectful. He was scared to death of Ace, anyway. But he was in for it with the tickle torture. Ace would ignore my words and take his boots off.
"How did you acquire this information?" Connor asked, halting in his pacing.
I glanced over at him. Should I tell him? The Assassins, namely Achilles, were averse to working with the headstrong and aggressive Furyan. To hell with it, I thought. "I had Ace catch and trap a redcoat private for me. After some persuasion, the man, or boy, I guess, gave up the information."
"Ace? Are you referring to the Alphian with the giant battle axe and a temper worse than a rabid dog?" Haythem asked. His brows shifted upward in surprise.
I glared at him, slightly ticked at the Templar calling one of my close friends a dog. He was more like a bee. Only attacked those who attacked him first and left the others alone. A killer bee, but still a bee. "He's a Furyan, actually, and yes, that's him. Look, are we gonna stand around discussing my connections and alternative methods, or are we going to go find out what the loyalists are planning?"
Haythem nodded. "Let's be off then, shall we?"