Chapter 25: Getting Answers
First off, GO CHIEFS!
Second, this is for Pyrrha.
***Edit 2/3/2020 1504 US central time***
I seem to have overlooked the fact that the contents of this chapter are probably not suitable for everyone and reader discretion is advised. The graphic violence depicted has forced me to up the rating to M.
"I'll make this simple: You answer our questions, and we won't have any problems. Refuse to answer, give a smartass response or talk out of turn, and there will be problems. If what you tell us has any merit or truth to it, then you'll be happy. If you lie, then you'll be very unhappy." Cinder and the other's didn't like how vague Alex's instructions were. It left much for interpretation, especially with those tools on that cart.
"I'm not telling you guys shit!" Mercury barked back, his now broken teeth on full display. With a neutral expression, Alex gave a nod to Nick, who grabbed one of the knives off the cart and made his way to Mercury. To the surprise of everyone, other than the Russians, he grabbed hold of Cinders hand and jammed the blade underneath her right index fingernail, causing the woman to yelp in surprise. Nick forced the blade further into the space underneath her fingernail and in one swift motion, ripped the nail off and sent it flying into the air followed by a small trail of blood. Ivan then tossed Nick a small container of regular table salt, who promptly submerged Cinders bloody finger into it. Although it was really uncomfortable, Cinder kept a straight face for the most part. Of course it was followed up by a nasty glare at Alex. The other criminals, however, were shocked to say the least.
"What the fuck is wrong with you people!?" Emerald cried out. Her cries fell on deaf ears. It was then that Greg powered up the portable electric Dust battery and struck Roman with a cattle prod like device, sending a very nasty shock through the criminals body and causing him to howl in pain.
"What the hell was that for?! I didn't say anything!" He shouted.
"Anytime those two say something stupid, you and Cinder are going to pay for it." Alex simply responded.
"Then why are we here?" Emerald asked. Her only response was Nick ripping off another one of Cinders fingernails. Said woman clenched her jaw and slightly winced at the pain, but still kept her composure as she turned to face Emerald and Mercury.
"Shut up you two!" Cinder spat in anger. It was the first time she's spoken since the night she was captured.
"Oh, now you want to speak up. You dumb bitch." Roman said to Cinder. Another electrified hit from Greg got him to shut up.
"In all honesty, we're only interested in Cinder and Roman, but you two conspired with them during your stay. Not to mention your history of crimes." Mercury and Emerald shared a glance while Alex opened up some files on a scroll and quickly read over the information on the criminal duo. "Petty theft, vandalism, trespassing, and a bunch of other small stuff that under current circumstances seem insignificant, and yet there was a murder at a local bookstore not too long ago…." Both of them now shared a slightly nervous look." …and a few passerby's described seeing a couple of people in the area that match your descriptions." Alex explained, noticing, the concerned look in Mercury and Emeralds eyes.
"That doesn't prove anything!" Mercury blurted out, basically confirming what everyone already knows. However, he did speak out of turn and Alex stepped forward to punish him for it. Grabbing a pair of pliers, he forced Mercury's mouth open and used the pliers to grip hold of his front tooth. A couple of rough tugs, and Mercury's front tooth was yanked out of his mouth with the bloody root still attached.
Getting a tooth pulled by the dentist is bad enough, but having one yanked out without any anesthesia is just downright a nightmare to some people. For Mercury, the sudden tooth extraction left him in an almost-state of shock. The poor boy couldn't even cry out in pain as he sat there with his mouth slightly open, lightly groaning as bloody drool poured out his mouth and onto himself.
"I would assume that by now you all would figure that speaking out of turn is very detrimental to your health." Alex calmly said as he took a quick glance over Mercury's tooth and tossed it away without a care. "Anyway, the murder victim, a Faunus man named Tukson, just so happened to be a former White Fang operative who appeared to have plans on fleeing to Vacuo after his defection from the group based on his records the police found in his shop." Alex explained. Cinder and Roman on the other hand, turned their glares to Emerald and Mercury, angry that those two pulled such an amateur mistake of leaving information behind. Their displeasure didn't go unnoticed. "Now don't be angry at them." He addressed the two. "They did a thorough job of scrubbing Tukson's computer and destroying any hard information. There just happened to be a false panel behind one the bookshelves in his store that contained all sorts of goodies concerning his role in the White Fang." There was no need to mention that the only reason the police found the false panel was because one of the officers was "investigating" near the adult section of the store. "And do you know what we found out?" Alex asked.
"I assume you're going to tell us?" Roman answered with a bit more sarcasm than intended. That arrogant, sarcastic attitude came as a result of years of dealing with the Vale police and other local authorities, and the knowledge that they can't do much to people in their custody. What the master criminal failed to comprehend was that he wasn't dealing with Valeans or Atlesians.
He was dealing with Russians.
Greg nodded at Ivan, who tossed him another tool from the cart. Said tool was crimper that was used for building electrical connectors on large cables using different die sets depending on the size of the cable. The thing is that once you start closing the crimp, it won't retract open until it closes down all the way. So if you say, got a finger stuck between the dies, the only way to release it was to close the crimp all the way, crushing your finger in the process. Of course, if you have the right tool on hand, you could open up the handle and manually release the spring to open up the crimper and keep your finger intact, but it seems that the Russians "misplaced" the tool needed.
Roman was unable to resist as Greg placed his right thumb into the die set and slowly began closing the crimper. Every click of the tool closing down was more and more painful until the last squeeze resulted in a sickening crunching sound and blood covered crimps. The master criminal spat and cursed at Greg who simply responded with whacking him upside the face with the bloody crimping tool and hitting him with another electrical shock from the shock stick.
"I'd be careful if I was you, Roman. Tukson appeared to have be some kind of logistics officer for the White Fang and your name, as well as your partner Neo, was mentioned several times in a logbook regarding Dust and weapon shipments. Care to elaborate?" Alex asked.
"What's there to say? Cinder paid me to acquire Dust and weapons, and then deliver them to the White Fang and ANTIFA. I'm just the middleman, she's the one who really knows what's going on." Roman replied without any hesitation.
"And the night you were at a White Fang rally and fought a local Huntress team in a stolen Atlesian paladin prototype?"
"Cinder said there needed to be a stronger White Fang presence in Vale to compete with the Atlesian forces and ANTIFA. It's simple logic. What good is it having all the guns in the world if you don't have the bodies to use them?" Roman answered despite the icy glares from Cinder. Again, Alex caught on and decided to press on.
"What you've said so far does make sense, however there's one piece I'm still trying to figure out: You were spotted at a White Fang base outside of town and subsequently captured on the day of the breach. That was a long enough period of time for you to simply cash out and leave Vale, yet you stayed to oversee the White Fang attack. It's very obvious that you're only in this for the money and have absolutely no loyalties to Cinder. So, why continue following her orders when she was out of the picture?" Roman glanced over at Cinder who now had a more worried look on her face but still maintained her composure. His rationale was telling him that he should cooperate with the Russians with the hopes that maybe they'll go easier on him if he throws Cinder under the bus. Besides, if it wasn't clear before, then his broken thumb sure as hell made it so that these guys weren't to be toyed with like the average policeman.
"Alright, when I was waiting for her to come back from whatever it was she was doing at Beacon, I got a weird video call from someone who told me that she was captured, and that I needed to oversee the White Fang." That statement got the attention of every person in the room, including the Russians. Behind the one way mirror stood Ironwood, Ozpin, Winter, and Glynda who were watching the interrogation with a sense of purpose. Though the latter two were more shocked and disgusted at the horrifying mutilations the Russians were imposing on the criminals. Despite their obvious objections to such techniques, they already seem to be on track to a new possible lead.
"I don't suppose you got a name?" Alex asked. Roman already shook his head.
"Afraid not. The guy's face was hidden behind a shadow and his voice was distorted. The only thing I could tell you is that he was wearing a gray suit-like uniform, if that makes sense." Ironwood was disappointed that there wasn't a name attached to the mysterious caller, but at least it's something.
"Anything else?"
"The only other thing I can tell you is that this guy or group apparently has lots of money to throw around and seemed to have access to all sorts of information, including my personal life." Roman said with a bitter undertone. "Not to mention that when he first called, I hung up on him but he was able to reconnect the call as if he was using my scroll himself." Both the Russians and Ozpin's group pondered that last statement.
"You do realize that if you lied to us about any of that information, your ass if fried, right?" Alex asked.
"And what do I have to gain from lying to you? Like you said, I have no loyalty to Cinder, and she was probably planning on offing me the first chance she got. So, I might as well even the playing field against her." He casually replied, making sure that Cinder and her crew heard.
"I should also inform you that just because you are being more cooperative than the others doesn't mean you're going to get much leniency in terms of punishment. You did after all conspire with known terror groups on top of your past history of crimes throughout Vale." Alex pointed out.
"You think I want to be set free? I've already ratted out that Cinder is taking orders from someone else, who may I remind you, has access to all kinds of information, advance technology, and a seemingly endless supply of cash. In what universe would I not be marked for death? My best chance of survival is staying in Atlesian custody unfortunately. You all literally have me by the balls." Roman explained in a very serious tone.
"I can understand your logic, however it's not up to me on what's going to happen to you. I suggest you start kissing some serious Atlesian ass if you truly believe you're in danger." Alex replied. Roman gave him a sly smile.
"How about I tell you about how we were able to get ahold of those paladins and other military assets from the Atlesians?" Before anyone could react, Cinder jerked up violently in her chair as if she was about to lash out at Roman.
"You're playing with fire you spineless rat! Everyone's going to suffer because you couldn't keep your fucking mouth shut! You have no idea who you're dealing with!" She spat out with venom in her voice.
"And who exactly are we dealing with?" Alex asked, attention now on Cinder. When she didn't say anything back, Alex looked over to the one way mirror. "Send Torchwick back to his cell. I'm done with him and the General probably wants a few words with him." The door buzzed open and in walked Captain Vert and two soldiers to escort Roman back to his cell. As Alex helped Roman out of his chair, the master criminal turned to face him with his trademark smirk.
"You're all right, kid. You and your friends aren't afraid to get their hands dirty in order to survive. It's nice to see one of the 'good guys' with a set of balls." If Alex didn't know better, he would've swore that Roman was buttering him up with a sort of compliment.
"If General Ironwood isn't pleased with what you have to say, then your balls are going to be nailed to the wall. Understand?" Alex calmly said to the criminal.
"Hey now, we're all friends here. I know when my back is against the wall and when it's in my best interest to cooperate with the law." He replied with a cheeky grin.
"And at what point during this did we become friends?" Alex asked, skeptical of what the criminal is alluding to.
"Okay, maybe not 'friends' in the traditional sense, but you've been pissing Cinder off to no end, and I find that extremely satisfying. Frankly, I'm sick of working for that cunt and will happily work with you to bring her down because," Roman leaned in closer to Alex, "Whoever she's working with, no doubt means business and are extremely dangerous." He said in a hushed tone.
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend. That cuts both ways just so you know." Alex pointed out.
"Oh I'm well aware of the position I'm putting myself into. Which is why I'm asking for a small request." Alex took a moment to ponder what Roman was asking.
"Okay, I'll humor you. What do you want?" In all honesty, Alex was probably going to ignore him and let him stew in jail, but the man was very cooperative, not to mention Cinders reactions to what he's been saying indicated that he may be truthful. He might as well throw Roman a bone.
"My partner, Neo, is still out there somewhere. I fear she is in danger as well, from Cinders associates and I don't want her in harm's way." Alex raised an eyebrow in confusion. From the limited police reports they had of the small, ice creamed colored girl they saw the other night at the casino, Neo was best described as an assassin/infiltrator/enforcer and occasionally Roman's bodyguard. Similar to Emerald, she also has a very dangerous illusion based Semblance, though hers are more of a physical manifestation rather than distorting a person's mind. There was at least one recorded instance of her using it to change her appearance to get access to restricted areas, which caused the Russians to alert the Atlesians to be on the watch for anyone acting suspicious. Fortunately, she has one weakness that can be exploited: she's mute. All they need to do is issue challenge questions that require a verbal response. She can change her appearance, but she can't change her inability to verbally speak.
"Trust me, I know she's resourceful, can handle herself in a fight, and can overall take care of herself. But the way Cinder is reacting alongside my limited experience with her associates, I assure you that these guys don't like to get their hands dirty and will probably put her in a very expendable position."
"Where are you going with this, Torchwick?"
"In the likelihood that she's going to be used by whoever to carry out whatever Cinder was supposed to do…I want her stopped and captured by you guys." If Alex wasn't confused before, he sure as hell was now.
"You want your partner captured? I honestly thought you were going to ask us to let her go." He replied to the criminal with a hint of surprise.
"Come on, I know you're not going to give us any kind of pardon of past deeds. In all honesty, I stick with the winning team, which would've been Cinder's, but seeing as how we'll be killed as soon as we're no longer needed, I had a change of heart for lack of better words. Don't get me wrong, I'd still bet my money on Cinder's team winning, but seeing the direction your taking with extracting information from us, and I say your odds are improving. So defeat Neo in battle, knock her upside the head, shoot her in the leg or if you can, convince her to surrender, it doesn't matter. Just get her out of reach of Cinder's friends because running and hiding for the rest of your sucks." Roman said with a very serious face.
"I can't promise any of that except for stopping her if, or when the enemy decides to use her in their next move." Alex replied, not sure exactly sure how to handle to information. At least they have a possible target to go after in the immediate future.
"It's better than nothing I guess." Roman said with a satisfied smile. "Alright boys, take me away." He said to Vert and the other soldiers.
"Roman." Alex called out. The criminal turned to face the Russian soldier only to have a fist collide with his face. Roman stumbled backwards and fell into one of the soldiers who caught him with ease. He then felt a small prick in his arm followed by a sudden feeling a nausea and dizziness. His eyelids were suddenly starting to feel very heavy and everything started to seem blurry. The last image Roman saw before passing out was Greg removing a syringe needle from his arm. The door buzzed open once again to allow the Atlesians to take the unconscious criminal back to his cell. Alex now turned his full attention to Cinder. "He was getting a little too comfortable, thinks he can charm his way through life. Not to worry, he just needs a little reminder of who's in charge." Although Torchwick was seemingly cooperative, Alex trusted a rattlesnake with a "Pet me" sign more than he did the criminal. "And now to the main event. All roads lead to you, Cinder. We're getting the information from you one way or another." The woman replied with a weak chuckle.
"It won't matter in the end. You, Ozpin, Ironwood, Vale, Atlas, Remnant. Nothing but a distant memory." She said with her usual confident tone, putting the group behind the mirror on edge at the threat.
"Have it your way." Alex gave a nod to Ivan, who proceeded to lift Cinder out of her chair and slammed her down on the table, face up. Nick then approached with a damp towel and placed it over Cinder's face while Alex adjusted the table legs so that the side with Cinder's head was at a slight decline. While Ivan held down Cinder's legs, Nick grabbed a large water pitcher and gave a nod signaling he was ready. "Do it." Alex replied.
A steady stream of water began pouring over Cinder's face. At first she didn't react, but as Nick continued to pour the water, she was starting to feel the effects of it entering through her nose and mouth, giving her the sensation of drowning. She tried shake away from the table, but the cuffs around her legs and arms made it extremely difficult. Not to mention Ivan restraining her legs down while Alex pushed down on her chest and abdomen with his knuckles to add further discomfort. The pitcher ran out of water, giving Cinder a moment to catch her breath. She tried to cough, but Alex's fist in her chest made it difficult. Her brief moment of relief was over when Nick grabbed another pitcher of water and prepared to continue. Alex however, held up a hand. Ozpin and the others thought he was going to ask a question to her but were corrected when they saw Greg walking up with another syringe in his hand.
The red liquid Greg just injected into her upper arm was described as a hallucinogen that caused extreme paranoia and anxiety, with some test subjects claiming to see things that weren't there. In short, a fear inducing serum. The effects only last a couple minutes at most, but many described those few minutes felt like a lifetime. It is unknown what the original purpose of the drug was for, but it didn't matter to the Russians.
Nick resumed pouring water over Cinder's face while Alex and Ivan held her down. Cinder was still struggling in a vain attempt to break free, only now she was having a panic attack thanks to the drugs mixed with the sensation of drowning. She thrashed and yanked at her restraints with much more force, all while crying out incompressible words between fearful sobs. From what everyone could make out, it sounded like she was begging for them to stop. Her cries of agony and pain made everyone behind the mirror, other than General Ironwood, very uncomfortable. Likewise, Emerald and Mercury could only watch in stunned silence as Cinder let out agonizing, blood curdling screams that were quickly drowned out by water.
After an extremely uncomfortable three minutes, Cinder appeared to stop screaming and thrashing about, indicating that the serum was finally wearing off. The Russians sat her up straight and removed the towel, revealing her face to her pawns and Ozpins group. The two groups looked on at what had become of the former beauty that was once Cinder. Before, she projected power and control over those around her. Now here she was looking broken and defeated. Her amber eyes once full of fire and passion, were dulled with fear. Her breathes were shallow and weak. Tears and mucus stained her once flawless face, while she shivered and made rapid darting glances around the room. A lesser man would've felt pity for her. Alex gently faced her towards the mirror, allowing her time to take in miserable appearance.
"Look at yourself, Cinder." He said, keeping a firm hand on her head so she looks into the mirror. "Is this worth it? Is protecting those people truly worth it?" With a knife in hand, he grabbed hold of a lock of her hair and hacked it away with the knife, letting it fall to the floor. "Look at you. You're falling apart." Another chunk of hair was cut off. "Was it worth going through our office and personal quarters the other night? Or what about the dance? Attempting to upload a virus into the Atlesian battle network? Not to mention arming and supplying local terrorist cells. Honestly, what do you have to gain?" More and more of Cinder's hair ended up on the floor as Alex casually hacked away at it until most of her long, beautiful hair was gone, leaving her with a mangled mess in its place. He then glanced over at Emerald and Mercury. "And what about them? Was it worth it to drag those two into all of this? Mercury didn't have to follow in his shitty fathers footsteps, yet you pushed him into it. And now he's just like him." The young man was content to keeping his mouth shut and attention off of himself but hearing Alex mention his father forced him to break his silence.
"Don't you dare compare me to that fucking piece of shit! I'm nothing like him!" Alex just gave him a blank stare.
"Really? Following someone like Cinder sounds exactly like something Marcus Black would do. But since his untimely demise, I'm guessing Cinder got stuck with you. At least Marcus was well known and respected as an assassin. You don't even have a Semblance." That last statement was the last straw for Mercury. He tried his best to lash out at Alex, but the restraints did their job. "Shut him up Greg. We're done with him." Greg nodded in reply. He prepared another syringe for use, only this one was filled with a sickly green colored fluid. Mercury could only sit and watch as Greg injected the fluid into his arm. It didn't take long for him to suddenly feel lightheaded and nauseous. Without any warning, he threw up on himself. Then he did it again. And again. And again. He did this five more times, vomiting up any food he had in his stomach. When there was no food left, he vomited up water and stomach acid. Finally, the serum wore off and he passed out from light-headedness and moderate dehydration. The door buzzed and two more soldiers arrived to grab Mercury, hose him off, and toss him back into his cell. As the soldiers hesitantly and carefully grabbed Mercury, Alex casually moved next to Greg.
"Let's not use that one again." He whispered to Greg, who nodded in response while ignoring the putrid odor of vomit.
Luckily, the room can easily be cleaned up with a hose. Alex then turned back to Cinder, who stared blankly at the mirror. On the other side of the mirror, Ozpin's group could only stare back at the pitiful display of Cinder. In terms of how they were holding up watching the interrogation, Ironwood was holding up strongest while he jotted down notes on what was said. The general knew what had to be done for the greater good, and what Alex said the other day echoed in his mind: "Sometimes, the end justifies the means."
Ozpin, while in agreement with Ironwood on needing information, was beginning to feel that these methods were too much. Just a quick glance, and he knows that Cinder is going to be suffering some type of psychological damage after all is said and done. Nobody goes through weeks of sleep deprivation, physical torture, waterboarding and injection with concentrated fear chemicals, without some sort of post-traumatic stress.
Glynda was downright horrified at what was going on. It wasn't just the fact that they've reduced themselves to torturing, but the fact that the Russians are capable of such awful things. That feeling was shared with Winter, who also couldn't believe what she was witnessing. The soldier in her knew that duty generally came before personal thoughts, but her moral convictions were telling her this was wrong. The other concern that crossed the women's minds were how did the Russians come up with this stuff? Pulling teeth and prying off fingernails. The thought was enough to make them cringe inwardly. The biggest fear shared between Winter, Glynda, and Ozpin, however, was that if these methods became a normal thing in the near future. Granted, Alex assured them that methods like this weren't that common due to sophisticated intelligence networks on Earth, but the idea that a world with such advantages compared to Remnant would still use such extreme measures as an option to deal with global threats sat uncomfortably with them. They didn't have much time to mull over it though, as they saw Alex moving towards Emerald.
"And you, Emerald." The green haired girl looked up at him, unsure what he has planned for her. "Such a sad life, growing up alone on the streets with no one to take care of you. And at such a young age. I'm guessing you discovered your Semblance early on to help you survive. It's certainly a better option than selling your body like other young women would do in similar situations." It was true that Emerald was thankful for her Semblance, but she didn't like how Alex had made her have flashbacks to her past. "It's a hard life, I know. But being a thief for the rest of your life is a bad idea. We've seen your fighting abilities. You could've joined an academy and made something out of your life, yet you chose to follow scum like Cinder." That was Emeralds breaking point.
"I owe my life to Cinder! If it wasn't for her, I would still be out there, alone and probably dead! And then you say I should've joined a Huntsman academy? You mean become someone who fights Grimm, yet ignores the people suffering in the cities they protect? The same people who are quick to respond to problems in well off places like Atlas, yet seem to take their time for poorer areas like Mantle? Those same people are the ones who chase off the homeless because we're making people uncomfortable and the city 'unlivable'! I wouldn't be caught dead becoming nothing more than a glorified mercenary!" While Ozpin's group might have felt a pang of guilt towards Emerald's outburst, Alex wasn't having any of it. The whole 'pity me because I've had a hard life' doesn't excuse her involvement in the recent attack on Vale. Not to mention trying to bring up the talking point of rich versus poor is not something new to the Russians. But, it seems he might have a way to fully break Cinder or the very least, isolate her from her allies.
"So you've put your trust and loyalty in Cinder then?" Alex calmly asked. It was a rhetorical question. Just from simple observation, one could see that Emerald followed Cinder around like a lost puppy. As expected, she didn't reply but it didn't matter. They were about to find out if Cinder returned any of those feelings to Emerald. Alex needed to send a strong message to both women. He was going to do something drastic that was also borderline sadistic. He went over to Greg and whispered into his ear. The look on Greg's face was enough to tell the Remnant natives that something bad was about to happen.
"Are you sure about this?" Greg asked in the Russian language, surprising everyone other than the other Russians.
"If this doesn't get Cinder to talk, then I'm not sure what else will." Alex replied back in his native language.
"Fine, but I'm not doing this again. This is the last time." Greg said with a very serious tone. Alex nodded in response before turning to Cinder, who was wide eyed listening to the brief exchange of Russian words.
"I'm impressed Cinder. Your dedication to your associates and ability to inspire loyalty from others is quite commendable. However, your stubbornness in refusing to disclose any information is going to cost you down the road. Now, I don't know much about the anatomy and physiology of the human brain, but I do remember learning that most of your personality comes from the frontal lobe." He placed his finger on Cinder's forehead for clarification. "It's also responsible for other things like decision making, critical thinking, creativity, and a lot of other functions that you use every day." Everyone watched as Alex made his way to the cart to search for the tools he needed. "Before we had all these sophisticated medicines and technologies to help with people who had brain disorders like schizophrenia, doctors use to perform a procedure that attempted to cure them. Granted, the patients were 'cured' of their disorders, but the side effects practically left them as walking shells essentially. This procedure was called a lobotomy. There were several ways the procedure was done, but they all had the same premise of severing brain connections via direct surgery on the brain itself." Just the mention of what a lobotomy was disgusted the group behind the mirror. But, they were growing worried about what Alex was alluding to. "Probably the 'simplest' procedure was the transorbital lobotomy (1). All you needed was a small medical hammer, and a pick. An icepick could also work." Cinder watched as Alex held up the tools in his hand and walked over to her. She instinctively scooted back but found herself stopped by Ivan. "You first take the icepick and stick it underneath the eyelid, and then maneuver it through until you reach the skull." He placed the pick right up to Cinder's eye, making the woman extremely fearful of the Russian. "Once it's in place, you just gently tap away with the hammer to pierce the skull until you break through. Then it's just a matter of poking around until you've been 'cured' of your aliment. So simple, it could be done at a doctor's office. No need to check into a hospital."
"He wouldn't." Winter said in disbelief as everyone watched him wave the icepick in front of Cinder.
"But I'm not stupid enough to lobotomize you, Cinder." She let out a breath of relief as he withdrew the pick from her face and handed the tools to Greg. "The last thing we need is for you to become a drooling idiot. The information you have is too valuable. But…since you're the only one that knows anything, surely you'd give up the information if it meant saving Emerald." Ivan and Nick quickly grabbed hold of Emerald before she could even react.
"Let's see if Emerald's loyalty and devotion means anything to you." Alex said as he took hold of Emerald's head to keep it steady for Greg. Emerald struggled and cursed, but a hard punch to the nose got her to settle down. "You may want to stay still for this, Emerald." Alex said in a deceptively soothing tone. Greg gently pulled the skin around Emerald's left eye to get a better grip on her eyelid. He then angled the pick upwards as he steadily got closer to her eye. Then without any warning to Emerald, the pick was slid in underneath her eyelid. She could only sit in frozen fear as the sensation of Greg moving the pick across her eyeball was too much for her. Her breaths were heavy yet shallow and sweat was pouring down her face, but she had enough awareness to stay still lest Greg slips and ends up blinding her or something. Then again, blindness would be the least of Emerald's worries. She then felt a slight pressure on her forehead that indicated Greg was in position. "Just sit back and relax, Emerald. Think happy thoughts. You know, while you still can." Alex said in that soothing, yet malicious tone.
"James, you have to put a stop to this!" Glynda screamed. She was against this from the very beginning and this was the final straw for her.
"Cinder's about to crack. Just give them a little longer." Ironwood replied, eyes glued at the other room. All he needed was a name or location, and they could finally have a leg up on their enemies.
"Are you listening to yourself?! This insanity has to stop!" She replied back.
"Dammit Glynda! How can you call yourself a Huntress if you're not willing to do what is necessary to save lives?! You've never had the stomach for doing the dirty work that a Huntsman does, and that's why you chose the sheltered path of academy instructor!" He angerly snapped back. The whole room was surprised at Ironwoods outburst, but not as much as Glynda. The woman's face was a mix of mostly anger and surprise, but her eyes showed traces of sadness and hurt. Instead of arguing back, Glynda turned and stormed out of the room. She couldn't stand to be in Ironwoods presence at the moment. Ozpin and Winter awkwardly stood by, not sure if they should interfere. It was the ironic saving grace of Alex demanding answers from Cinder that shifted their attention away from the awkwardness.
"Who are you working for?" It was more of a demand than a question. When she didn't respond, he struck her hard across the face, and onto the ground. A pained whimper from Emerald followed when Greg tapped on the pick, letting him get ever so closer to piercing her skull. While Greg was gradually chipping his way into Emerald's head, Alex continued beating Cinder as his patience for the woman was starting to wear thin. A few kicks to Cinder's midsection, followed by one square to her jaw before stomping and grinding his foot down onto her hand, making sure it was the one with her fingernails pried off. He then yanked her back up by what was left of her hair, and roughly threw her back into a chair. "You're a dumb, selfish bitch you know that right?" Alex commented as he pulled out a cigarette and lit it. "Emerald is going to suffer a fate worse than death, and all because you won't open your fucking mouth." He took another drag and blew the smoke right into her face. "You clearly live a miserable lifestyle. You only see people as pawns to be disposed of, with life being nothing more than a game. Or perhaps a means to an end? Either way, you're alone in this world. No friends, no lover, nothing. Why, Emerald here was probably the closest thing you had to a friend, and she's about to die…in a way." Tears started to appear in Cinder's eyes. It wasn't because Alex just burnt her face with his lit cigarette, but because what he said wasn't that far from the truth. She looked over at Emerald to see her paralyzed with fear with the pick still lodged into her eye socket. The two female criminals made brief, teary eyed contact with each other, and could see the physical, mental, and emotional pain they had in common. Emerald whimpered again after another strike from Greg. Cinder watched as Greg wiggled the pick around, no doubt monitoring his progress.
"C..C…Cinder…" Emerald said between rapid, shallow breathes. Her heart sank at the pitiful tone of Emerald, but then it shattered when Greg turned to Alex and held up one finger.
"It looks like he's just about through. One more strike, and Emerald will be lucky if she can still remember her name or even function on her own. Any comments on that?" Alex asked. It was now or never. Either Cinder reveals what she knows, or Emerald will no longer be a threat. While Emerald may have been a victim of circumstances, her past crimes don't allow any room for forgiveness in their eyes. She choose to follow Cinder and will suffer the consequences by either spending the rest of her life in prison or rendered completely docile. He'd rather not lobotomize her, but you cannot show weakness to your enemies.
"I…I…" Cinder started to speak but found it extremely difficult. She was after all, considering revealing the information Alex wanted.
"Yes?" He asked with anticipation.
"…I'm sorry Emerald." Cinder turned away from the poor girl, not even willing to look her into the tear filled eyes. Everyone inside and outside the room had mixed reactions to Cinder's choice. They were surprised, yet not surprised at the same time regarding her actions.
"You selfish cunt." Alex calmly said as he punched her square in the face, knocking Cinder back onto the floor. "I can't say I'm surprised. It's not like you have any empathy or compassion in that black void where a heart should be." He repeatedly kicked and stomped all over her body as she laid on the ground. Each blow to her body resulted in a groan of pain and blood being spit up, alongside a couple of teeth when he stomped down on her face. After what felt like forever, Alex grabbed her by the throat to look her in the eye. "You're not getting off that easy. I want you to look Emerald in the eye as she essentially becomes dead on the inside. Remember the look of betrayal in her face. I want it burned into your memory as you spend the rest of your miserable life in this prison. You think it was bad before? You haven't seen anything yet. Our orders were to keep you alive. That's a very vague order if you ask me. A lot of room for interpretation. Emerald will technically be alive, but…" He glanced over at Emerald, who was quietly sobbing as Greg readied the final swing into her head. "So what's it going to be?"
The last thing any of them expected was Cinder grinning wickedly at them while Alex had her by the throat. Alex thought she was simply doing so as an act of defiance but didn't notice she was moving something around in her mouth. He saw her bite down and heard a faint snapping noise inside her mouth. It took less than a second for her body to rapidly convulse while foamed oozed out of her mouth. She looked Alex in the eye, gave a sinister teary eyed grin, and uttered her last words to him.
"Hail…Salem." Her head fell backwards, eyes rolled back into her head, and the body went limp. Cinder Fall was dead. Alex simply released his grip and let her body crumple to the floor.
"Get Emerald out of here." He ordered to Greg. Although Emerald was relieved to have that pick out of her eye socket, she was still in utter shock at Cinder's death. Before she could even react, she was injected with the blue serum used on the others, rendering her unconscious. The last blurry image she saw was Alex looking over Cinder's body. The door buzzed open and unsurprisingly, Ironwood came rushing in.
"What happened?!" He shouted at Alex, who promptly ignored the general while he searched inside Cinder's mouth. A little bit of prodding around, and he found what he suspected.
"A false tooth. No doubt used to contain a suicide capsule." Alex commented, holding the fake molar up to show the general before tossing it away. Needless to say, Cinder killing herself was not part of the interrogation plan, and she was their best lead on finding the ringleader behind the troubles going on in Vale.
"We were so close." Ironwood grumbled to himself as he stared down at Cinder's body. While the life had clearly left her eyes, she still had that sinister smile plastered on her face, as if she was laughing at him through her foam filled mouth. In a fit of rage, Ironwood kicked her head, knocking away some of the foam and spit. It was this moment that Winter, Ozpin, and a couple of soldiers entered the room. The soldiers quickly grabbed Emerald's unconscious body from her chair, and left for her cell, leaving the Russians and Headmasters to themselves.
"You mean to tell me that Cinder didn't go through a medical examination when she was locked up here?" Alex asked the general in a not so subtle accusing tone that implied incompetence of the Atlesians.
"How was anyone suppose to know she had a suicide capsule in her mouth?!" The general argued back.
"Gee, I don't know, how about a full medical examination of captured prisoners of war? You don't just search their pockets and bags. You have to search everywhere for anything and everything they could have on their person. You'd be amazed at what people can hide on them, and where they've hidden them." That statement left a rather disturbing image in Ozpin and Winter's minds. "And I'm not a dentist, but I can tell you that teeth are not that white, no matter how much you brush and floss." Alex reprimanded Ironwood as he pointed to Cinder's fake tooth on the ground. While the two alpha males argued with each other, Greg approached Winter, who felt it was in her best interest to not interfere while her commanding officer was arguing with a fellow ally.
"Where's Professor Goodwitch?" Greg asked.
"She and the general had a falling out over what you were going to do to Emerald and stormed out of the room." She said in a neutral tone.
"I take no pleasure in doing things like that, but as the old saying goes: The end justifies the means." Winter was about to reply but was drowned out by Ozpin yelling at Alex and Ironwood.
"That's enough! What's done is done. We can't look at this from a hindsight perspective. We must move forward with what we know!" The normally calm, collected headmaster yelled out. It was enough to get Ironwood and Alex to cool it for a moment.
"You're not going to like this general, but I'm almost positive that the weapons and equipment Torchwick was eluding to are coming from Atlas directly." Alex calmly stated.
"I don't want to believe it, but I'm afraid it's the only explanation." He reluctantly said. There was just no way a large shipment of new paladins and knights could just disappear and end up in enemy hands so easily.
"Roman also said something about his partner, Neopolitan. He believes that she's going to be used in our enemy's next move. If we time this right, we can stall their plans and maybe find out who's pulling the strings. Of course, we need to find her first." Ozpin calmly explained, easing the growing tension that filled the room only moments ago.
"The second word gets out that we're looking for her, she's going to go into hiding. Added to the fact she can literally disguise herself as anyone, it'll be all but impossible to uproot her." Ironwood replied.
"Then we'll have to draw her out and back her into a corner." Alex spoke up. The two headmasters looked to him to elaborate. "Chasing directly after Neopolitan is stupid and a waste of time. However, she is going to need to rest and reorganize from time to time. If we take out her support network of any know hideouts, safehouses, allies, and associates, then she won't have any place to hide or resupply."
"Torchwick could probably give you what you need. If anyone knows anything about Vale's criminal underground, it's him." Greg added.
"And what if she doesn't receive any orders from our enemies?" Winter asked.
"Either we capture Neopolitan and find out who's behind everything, or we shut down the criminal underground that's clearly being used to distribute weapons to terror cells in Vale in an attempt to divide and destabilize the city." Alex replied.
"Yes, I agree it's a step in the right direction. But we'll need to do this quick and quiet lest Neopolitan or anyone catches wind. I think we need the Ace Ops." Ironwood concluded. If the Russians remembered right, the Ace Ops were the best the Atlesian military had to offer. Having them here would be beneficial.
"Then I guess that's the plan for now: Search for Neo and destroy the criminal network in Vale." Alex confirmed with the general. While it wasn't exactly how he had hoped the day would go, it was a success for the most part up until the part of Cinder killing herself. Speaking of which, Alex was wondering about something that maybe Ozpin or Ironwood would know about. "General, I almost forgot to mention that Cinder mumbled something before she died." This got the attention of both headmasters.
"What was it?" Ironwood inquired.
"Hail Salem. Does that mean anything to either of you?" Alex could've sworn the temperature in the room dropped 20 degrees while the life drained from both Ozpin and Ironwood.
"It can't be." Ironwood said in disbelief.
"What?" Alex asked, not sure what was going on.
"I think we have a few more things to discuss." Ozpin said with a sigh.
A/N:
(1) Yes, Bioshock infinite burial at sea was the inspiration for that scene
So yeah, it's been a long time since I've updated. A lot has happened since then. I moved away from California to my original home state of Missouri where I'm going to school right now. It's been difficult rebuilding my life out here but I'm taking it a day at a time. School's been fucking rough on me. And I'm not just saying that because I'm an accounting major. I'm far away from my family, and my old friends have lives of their own now. I'm also older than most of the people in my classes which also sucks because they seem to pick up accounting topics better than I can. Obviously, I have more life experience than them, but I feel like I'm wasting my time in college. I already have experience as an avionics technician who's familiar with working with tools. I went with accounting because I wanted to try something different in my life and I have military benefits that pay for my college so I'm not stuck in a financial hole.
I guess I'm feeling that if I continue on and get my bachelors in accounting, I'm still going to be at the bottom of the barrel because then I have to learn how to actually do the job. At least when I was still active duty, I was learning as I worked and it slowly became second nature. But I'll be 27-28 when I graduate and if I get an accounting job, I'll be working with someone much younger than myself who's way more knowledgeable and tech savvy because that's also the big push these days. I know it doesn't really matter but when your 25 years old in college and see your friends already graduated with jobs and getting married and starting families, realization starts to set in. And lately I have been feeling pretty down. Maybe it's just because of the weather here but I find myself having trouble relaxing, always feeling anxious, and not enjoying stuff I used to do. Reading about all the shit going on in the world on social media is not helping obviously. But I have managed to avoid smoking and drinking, and have been going to the gym to try and help myself. Schoolwork isn't helping because it takes me forever to do it and worse, it doesn't get retained well. Probably because I'm not working a job where I use that stuff everyday.
Long story short, I'm not sure when the next update will be, but I'll work on this when I can. Sorry for the rant but I felt I owe an explanation. Side note for anyone concerned, I am going to talk to a counselor this week to address my concerns and see if they have any advice.
*****Spoilers(?) for vol. 7*****
On a happier note, I finished Volume 7. The ending was a little meh, but it wasn't too bad overall. I'm not too keen on the Ace Ops getting so easily defeated by RWBY, but for the sake of story I'll let it go, considering I'm guilty of plot armor for main characters. Also the fight with Qrow/Clover/Tyrian seemed weird to me. I know it was a three sided fight between them, but I really feel like logically, Clover and Qrow should've focused solely on Tyrain seeing as how he's the common enemy between them, not to mention the most dangerous. And then there was the whole Ironwood turning into the bad guy thing. I'm not saying RWBY is wrong on the whole "let's save every single person because it's the right thing to do" theme, but a lot of times you can't save everyone and trying to do that will do more harm than good. I'm not looking for a big philosophical debate about what should've been done but that's just something that irks me about RWBY.
Also, last episode, Winter with her hair down...nice. Not to mention there's a brief scene towards the end that I sense will start a new ship because this fandom loves shipping characters even if they've only had one interaction: QrowXRobyn.
*****End Spoilers*****
Anyway, thanks everyone for your support and hope you all have a great 2020
Hawk out.