29/10/07
9:50 AM
The Grid
"And how much of it did he drink?" Connie asked.
"Near enough all of it." Adam replied. "Once I'd taken a mouthful to prove it wasn't dangerous."
Connie huffed. "It's a nice trick, give them a drink that makes them lose so much water it actually makes them thirstier. What was it exactly?"
"Lucozade, Frusemide and… however you say that. Spiral-o-something."
"So poisoned chalice, twenty minutes of siren and ten minutes of stress position. I think he's ready for another round, don't you?"
Adam nodded. "You taking this one?"
"On my own, if I may."
"'Course. I'll be watching."
"Well, let's see if I can teach you anything." Connie pulled the last few things out of her pockets and set them on the tray, then strode through the first door. She turned the siren off and unlocked the second door, then walked in to the cell.
"Right." She said. "That's enough of that racket for now. Guard, he may relax." The prisoner dropped like a stone on to his front. The guard took his ear protection off and started towards the prisoner. "I said he may relax." Connie repeated. She crouched part way forward and set one hand on the floor, then folded her legs, grumbling like a woman with far worse arthritis than she had.
"Now," She said, pulling her legs in by the ankles so she sat cross-legged in front of the prisoner. "You and I are going to have a little talk about pragmatism." The man completely ignored her. She sighed. "How much longer do you want this to go on for, really?" Still no response. "I assure you, you'll tire of it long before John does. Now you've been identified as a torturer and arrested in possession of an interesting collection of schedule 2 and 3 drugs without a medical or veterinary licence, there aren't many good options open to you at this stage. Also, you're in the hands of the British Secret Service, or more accurately, you're in the hands of John Baxter." The man flicked his eyes up at her. "Yes, that's his name, not that it'll do you any good. John Baxter believes, and quite frankly anybody with any sense agrees with him, that you were not working alone. I imagine you know how this works, the first one to sing gets off Scott free. Well, near enough. You're going to be prosecuted for the drugs whatever you do, but if you sing well enough we might let the kidnap and torture slide." The man said nothing. Connie sighed. "Ah, but of course you won't talk. You're terribly loyal to your co-conspirators. Do you know where they are? What do you imagine they're doing, right now to rescue you?" Still nothing. "The thing is, we've talked to the CIA, we showed them your picture, said 'hullo, this man was caught trying to smuggle drugs and a naked, tortured man out of the UK, do you know him?' They said 'No, Ma'am, definitely not. Do whatever you want to him, he's not ours.'" What might have been a swiftly disguised smirk crossed the man's face. Connie sighed again. "Now, returning to the subject of John Baxter. He has it within him to be a very violent man." The prisoner coughed. "But he's not a sadist. Once he has what he needs, he will stop. But until he has what he needs, he won't. Not for as much as half an hour. People underestimate John Baxter at the beginning because he starts very gently, but believe me, he can and will make it worse until he gets what he wants." Connie let the silence hang for a moment. "I'm going to leave now, there's only so much sitting on a cold floor I'm prepared to do. As soon as I leave the room, the siren is going to turn back on and you are going to go back to the stress position. Unless of course, you want to answer me first." He looked up at her. "What is your real name, who hired you and where are the rest of your group?"
There was a long silence. The prisoner broke it. "Go to hell."
"Of course, I can't make you talk." Connie replied and got up. Her hips were stiff now. "That's John Baxter's job. Guard." She gestured to the prisoner. The guard kicked him back in to the stress position and covered his own ears.
Adam was waiting for her.
"John Baxter?" He asked.
"I was improvising. I don't think he's CIA though. He wasn't as stone faced as I'd expect him to be if he were, and he didn't really react when I told him the CIA had hung him out to dry."
"Should I call you Cassandra if Harry's meeting proves that true?"
"As you like. Only make sure you do make it worse for him in twenty minutes or so."
Frusemide: A drug which causes the kidneys to not retain water, so can relieve heart failure, but can cause dehydration.
Spiral-o-something: Adam means Spiranolactone, a very similar drug.