29/10/07
2:30 PM
The Grid
Adam turned the siren off and walked back in. The guard looked questioningly at him, Adam nodded. The guard took off his ear guards. The prisoner was standing in the middle of the room, swaying slightly. His eyes locked on the water bottle in Adam's right hand.
"You want this," Adam said, holding it up to the light, "don't you?" The man didn't answer, but the sudden grip of his jaw was clear enough. Adam smiled. "You know what I want for it." The man stood stock still. Adam stepped closer. "Who hired you to torture the officer?" He held the bottle out in front of him, just out of the man's reach. The man grabbed for it. Adam snatched it back. "You drink when I say you can drink. Who hired you?"
"Only the boss knows."
"Who's 'the boss' then?"
"We don't know each others real names."
"Don't give me that." Adam stepped closer. "You're a mercenary pack. You live together, travel together, you can't have friends outside the pack. You can't possibly conceal your names from each other." Silence.
Adam took the lid off the bottle and raised it to his mouth as though to drink. The man snatched it. Adam resisted the urge to step back as the man took a gulp, then coughed half of it back up again, spraying Adam in the face with strong saltwater. His breath stank. Adam kept himself stone faced. "I said you drink when I say you can drink." He said calmly, stepping back and drawing another bottle from his pocket. "This is plain water. What if I said… twenty mils of water for every genuine name, fifty for a location, fifty for the client." The man had turned paler, but didn't reply. "Have it your own way." Adam walked out.