Till Deceived Do We Part

My footsteps echoed as I made my way down the hallway. I was heading toward the doctors room, and me being myself, had plenty of experience heading down this way. The hostage was secure and well... for now. I found it ironic how Jake went through all of the effort, to make sure he was alive and well, just to have it all torn away when I talked to him. I wasn’t complaining, for I was finally going to get some release.

I wasn’t naive to get my hopes up and think I, when Jake couldn’t, get information out of the man. But to be honest, I didn’t care. I just wanted to see one of the men who was behind Zane’s disappearance, and the man behind my pain, in pain. I wanted to see it in his eyes, but most of all, I wanted to see the submission.

He made me out weak, pulling low blows on me, and I was going to show him who truly ran the game. Who was truly in charge, but mainly I was going to show him what true pain felt like.

I pushed the door opened, a smile on my face. Dr.Graive had already been warned that I was coming, and warned that though the hostage was stable, I was to do my questioning in this room. So, with that said, Dr.Graive knew to expect damage.

Jake wasn’t risking me going in the basement with the betrayal going on. Seeing as that was where they ambushed him, no one was to go down alone. And everyone he did trust was already preoccupied. So that left limited options, but I didn’t complain. This way I had access to scapals.

Dr.Graive was still in the room when I entered, and though he made no move to turn to me or say he noticed me, I knew he did. It was like he had a radar against me, and every time I can within ten feet of him, it beeped loudly, letting him know the woman he hated was near. Now if only I could do that with Flint, then I would be happy.

The man was restrained to the bed, and at first glance I figured by not much. And even at second glance I got that, but Jake wouldn’t leave him there as a possible threat to Dr.Graive. Jake wouldn’t, I, however, may have.

His dark brown hair was matted with blood, and his neck held a nasty scar... as did about almost the rest of his body. Scars, cuts and bruises littered his body. Even though I could only see his chest, due to the pants he still wore, I could tell he had been beaten bad. And yet, he still didn’t talk. Nor did he look upset. He looked positively happy, as if he won the lottery.

“Out.” I said, glancing briefly at Dr.Graive. His eyes rose now, narrowed slightly. He had been filling out some sort of form, and about what, I didn’t care.

“You can-“

”Jake said his well being is my choice, so out. He won’t be needing a doctor.” With one last lingering gaze, he turned his attention back to his papers. He finished writing something before standing, glancing at the man. I watched him leave, made sure the door was locked, before letting out a deep breath. He may have been a doctor, but just the frustration he gave me would drive me to the grave.

“Andrayka Angiol.” The only indication of his state was the fact that his voice was slightly raspy, and also didn’t hold as much authority. At least he got some discomfort, but judging by his smile, it wasn’t nearly enough. And once again, he had the nerve to use my full name.

“How do you know my name?” I asked, trying to remain somewhat calm. I didn’t want to lose it right away and kill him. That would come later...

He shifted, the restraints on his arms pulling slightly. My eyes scanned over them again. His hands were tied with what looked like material, to the bars on the outside of the bed. His legs were also tied together, also with material. But why would Jake tie him with material? It didn’t make sense. We used rope and or handcuffs... sometimes even chains. But never material. For one, it could easily be slipped off, and not to mention it didn’t restrict many movements. Also, just the slightest strength added to it could cause it to fray, and to come undone. Something wasn’t right.

The mans head tilted to the side now as he smiled, a full blown smile. His teeth stuck out, and I couldn’t help but notice that he needed to brush more. Not that he would be able to once I was through with him. Just the fact that he was smiling, pissed me off. He shouldn’t have been smiling, he should have been cowering and begging for his pathetic life.

“Many know your name.” Was all he said, sparking my anger. All it took was one small ignite, and I wouldn’t be able to control myself.

“Such as?” I tried to sound calm, but even my ears heard the venom in the simple question. He didn’t even flinch.

“The ones who know who you are, are the least likely people you wish to know you.” Great. The man may be alive, but he wasn’t about to talk normally. Riddles was what he was up to, and if I had an idea why, it was because he was stalling. Buying time. He wanted to prolong the time he was alive, and though usually I found these games amusing, I didn’t have time now.

“Where are they staying?” I finally hissed, pulling out a gun in the process. I wished I could say my gun, but I still hadn’t had time to retrieve that. And I was starting to feel naked without it.

His eyes flashed to the gun, only a brief flicker of fear going into them. When he turned back to me, he was as composed as ever.

“So hostile. Have you ever tried deep breathi-“ I had enough. With three large steps, I was at him, and punching him. His head whipped in the direction, the restraints pulling. He made no move to hit me back, nor to break free, but he did turn his eyes back to me. “Yoga will do wonders for your ange-“ again I hit him, this time with the barrel of the gun. The sound echoed around the room, filling my ears with what should have been his pain. But yet again, he showed no sign of pain.

“Stop screwing around!” I practically yelled. “We both know you’re going to die, but do you really want me to deal with you first? And trust me, it isn’t anything any male will enjoy. It’s sheer torture and blood shed, on your behalf. I’ll enjoy watching you scream, and you’ll be crying for me to finish it!” He blinked then did something that made my blood boil. He laughed.

His laugh wasn’t just a small chuckle, nor was it maniacal, but it did hold amusement. He was baiting me again, wanting me to get angry, to lose my cool. Why, I didn’t know, but I realized that now... yet I had no way of undoing the already done damage. Zane was gone, and this... this... man knew some information. Information that could help him, save save him.

“You really want to know where they’re staying?” He asked, laughter still in his eyes. I took several deep breaths, ignoring his smile that seemed to yell told you so in my face.

“Yes.” It was said through clenched teeth, but still said nonetheless. He smiled some more.

“Then I suggest you stop wasting your time with me. I’m not going to tell you a damn thing. However,” he added when my arm rose, “maybe you could tell me something.” Hell no. But before I could say it, his arms had snapped forward, unravelling the weakly tied restraints. I knew they were weak, but even I didn’t see how weak they were.

But since I had suspected something was up, I did manage to dodge the blow he sent, sending me back a step. This gave him time to undo his feet and stand. I kept my gun on him, and his eyes kept on it.

“You won’t shoot me. Not when you want to know the whereabouts of your fellow assassin.” Zane. Damn it.

“Don’t tell me what I won’t do.” I hissed. “I’ll do anything to see you in pain.” He laughed again, this one sounding more maniacal than the last.

“Exactly.” He took a step forward, my arm tensed. “You want to see me in pain. A bullet is far too quick for you to enjoy, don’t you agree? A knife, maybe. But better? Beating me to death. Wouldn’t you love to see that, or could you not stomach it? If that’s the case, I don’t think you want to find your friend. That, surely you won’t be able to stomach.” I glared, trying to get past my anger. My mind wasn’t following, and it wasn’t the rage doing that.

Something wasn’t right, and I used all my will to push past the anger and figure it out. How could he know what was happening to Zane, when he was taken into our hands before anything happened? Oh shit.

There were only two ways he could know. Both which I didn’t like. One, the whole attack on me, and myself being able to get away, was a ruse. A ruse to set the panic and allow Zane’s capture. Two, there was another betrayal going on and he had been getting regular updates. It could even be both, and judging by how logical the first one sounded, and by his weak restraints, I was guessing it was both.

Everything was falling apart. It wasn’t an exaggeration. So, me waiting to kill him was only making it worse. Sure I wanted to see his pain, wanted to see him suffer, and sure it would ease a lot of my anger, I couldn’t afford to wait.

Without another thought, I pulled the trigger, catching him in mid lunge. His body fell to the floor, the bullet hitting him in the chest, just barely off his heart. He let out a strangled gasp, trying to get in his last breath of air.

“Don’t ever tell me what I won’t do.” I hissed again, giving him a swift kick before firing another bullet. This bullet hit his head, sending bone and brains up into my face. My eyes closed instinctively, but the rest still got all over me. My eyes remained closed for a few seconds later before I finally re-opened them. I let out a deep breath, my eyes glancing down at his body. His pathetic body. His words still rang through my ears, I don’t think you want to find your friend. That, you surely won’t be able to stomach. Images had already made their way to my mind, taking refuge.

I didn’t want to see them, I didn’t want to think about it. Zane was fine. He had to be. Jake had made it clear he was the bait, and surely they wouldn’t kill him... right? But the man didn’t say anything about him being dead, he only implied torture, and even that made my stomach churn. If the thought of it did that, I knew the man would be right. I wouldn’t be able to stomach Zane’s torture, but I would be able to stomach it enough to reek havoc on the men who did it.

My whole body was trembling slightly by the time I reached the door. It took a few minutes, and a lot of curses, for my shaking hands to open the door, but I did get it open. My mind was refusing to accept what he had said, and as a result, my body couldn’t take it. I was beginning to break, as Flint and Jake had done. But never had I experienced trembling so bad it was almost to the state of convulsing.

My chest was heaving up and down rapidly by the time I made it to the end of the hallway. My eyes scanned the area, but nothing seemed to stick. Not the men walking by, not the sound of scared voices; nothing stuck.

I lent back against the wall, my eyes closing again. My chest was constricting and I wasn’t breathing enough air. My body was shaking worse, and my knees could barely stay locked.

Zane is fine. I kept repeating it in my mind, but my body didn’t believe it. It wouldn’t believe it. It just kept screaming in agony as the images of him bloody, beaten and defenceless played over and over. The way his eyes would hold the pain, the way he was so, so, close to death, yet so far from freedom.

I gasped, not from the pain of the thoughts, but the lack of oxygen in my lungs.

“Drake! What’s wrong? Where does it hurt?” Jake’s frantic voice filled my ears, momentarily deafening my thoughts, but only momentarily. They began faster and faster, the images now swarming in front of my eyes. Even when I opened them, all I could make out of Jake was his outline. Zane’s face kept swimming past me, and I couldn’t help but wonder what was happening. Why was I suddenly losing it? Why was I suddenly reacting so badly?

Jake’s hands went on my shoulders, putting enough pressure that I couldn’t walk away, but not enough that it would hurt. In all and all, it was soothing. Relaxing in a way. Jake was by my side, suffering everything I was going through.

“Deep breaths. In, out, in out.” He said, his voice sounding almost like a melody. My body complied with what he said, and soon the tension in my chest eased until it was nothing but a mere annoyance. After some more deep breaths, Zane’s image slowly vanished, and Jake appeared. His eyes held darker circles now and a little bit of panic. But when he noticed my focus on his eyes, he relaxed, letting out a breath.

My eyes slowly moved past him, hoping that Boris hadn’t witnessed my little break down. He didn’t. Flint did.

That was almost as bad, but seeing as I had witnessed Flint’s two breakdowns, I could live with it. Flint also looked slightly worried, which shocked me all the more. He was worried for me? Since when?

“You need to sit down.” Jake said, his voice breaking my gaze with Flint. I gave a small nod and allowed him to lead me to his office, Flint tailing. I accepted the help until we entered it, then I pulled away and went the remaining distance. I was fine for the most part now, but I still couldn’t forget those images.

I sat down, and waited. Jake seated himself behind his desk, and Flint sat beside me, after closing the door.

“What did he say?” Jake didn’t need to ask what had happened, he was smart enough. I had no physical wounds, so obviously something had been said. And seeing as he was the one who sent me to the man, he knew the basics of what happened.

I didn’t bother beating around the bushes, just came straight out. I explained everything from the restraints to what he said. I also explained my thoughts on it.

“I had handcuffs on him.” Jake said, a frown falling on his features. Flint had been unusually silent the whole time, and up until Jake had spoke, he hadn’t. His face showed he was thinking, thinking hard.

“So,” Flint said slowly, his eyes now meeting Jake’s. “There is yet another betrayal going on.” It wasn’t a question, but more of a statement. Jake looked at Flint for a moment before shaking his head. No? Of course there was one.

“I don’t believe so.” Even Flint looked dumbstruck. Jake fell silent for a while, and neither myself, or Flint, broke it. It wasn’t until a knock on the door sounded, that Jake spoke. “You two know what you need to be doing, go back to it. I’ll deal with this.”