The Inquisition

"Please, no more..."

Chambers ignored the plea, he walked back to the table and selected a thin strand of wire. He donned some thick leather gloves and returned to his project.

"I will continue this until you give my employers what they want. This is all up to you, the more you hold out, the more mangled and maimed you'll be. "

Joey coughed, his throat dry.

"Water, could I have some water?" he croaked.
Chambers sighed, setting down the wire and walking to the locked door.
He knocked on it, and a moment later a mob member opened it a crack.

"How's it going? Any progress yet?"
Chambers shook his head, "Not yet, but I need some water for the man. Can't talk with cotton in ones mouth."

The mobster nodded and closed the door. After a few minutes he opened the door again, handing Chambers a bottle of water.
Chambers thanked him curtly as the guard closed the door and resecured it.

Chambers uncapped the bottle and helped Joey drink a mouthful, "That's all you get for now, the more you tell me, the more you get."

Joey coughed again and tried to clear his throat. Again Chambers walked over to the table, picking up the gloves and wire.
"Now; where were we?"

Joey wanted to ask him what he was about to do, but thought better of it. He could only stare with wide eyes as Chambers unfurled the line of wire.
"You like music Mr. Ferelli?" Chambers asked as he circled him.

"Yeah, I like music."

Chambers gave a smirk, a knowing smirk of what was to come.
"Do you like the piano?" he continued, pacing back and forth.

Joey couldn't keep track of his movements, his restraints made it hard for him to look over his shoulders.

"Yeah, piano is fine. I don't mind piano.."

"Good, cause I got a piece for you to enjoy. Talk."

Chambers was now in front of Joey. Joey couldn't make out Chambers face in the bright light beaming behind his shoulders, but he could see the glint of the wire in his hands.

"I..I..borrowed money," Joey stammered.

"Go on. From who?"

"From my boss, Don Antony. I stole it while collecting protection money."

Chambers pounded his tightly clenched fist on the table, making Joey jump in his seat, "Get to the point! You're not in this position cause you stole from your boss! You're here because you chose to screw around with the Irish mob! Tell me what they want to know, or I swear to God I'll rip your fingers off with this piano wire!"

Joey cringed from the shouting, he felt completely vulnerable and helpless, "C'mon! Gimme a break! I don't remember much!"

Losing his patience, Chambers began to unroll the wire, "Fine, you want to play bullshit games with me, I'll give you a break."

"No! Stop! I'll talk! I'll talk! No God No!" Joey screamed as he thrashed in his chair.

Chambers stopped his assault, "Fine, talk. But first; just some insurance for the truth and to make the conversation worth listening to.."
Without any warning, Chambers grabbed ahold of Joey's left index finger and started wrapping the piano wire around the first joint.

'No! What the fuck are you doing?!"

"Asking another question Mr. Ferelli, that's another no-no on your part," Chambers said through clenched teeth.
"Oh God no!"
Chambers unwrapped the wire and started rewrapping it further up his finger to the second joint below his knuckle. He started to tighten it, twisting it like a twistie-tie.

Joey started screaming as he felt the razor sharp wire cutting into his flesh and rubbing hard against his bone, "Oh God! Oh God stop! God will never forgive you for this you asshole! You mother fucker!"

Chambers stopped twisting, 'God? God? God has nothing to do with this. He won't help you, and he won't save you. Not a piece of low life filth like you. You wear a crucifix on you at all times don't you?"

Joey's jaw was quivering in pain, he was mumbling to himself.

"Hello!" Chambers shouted in his ear, "I just asked you a question! Are you going to answer it or am I going to have to start working on your big toes?!"

"Yes damnit! Yes I wear a cross on me! I'm a fucking Catholic for Pete's sake!" Joey screamed.

"I find that ironic and heretical, all you mafioso scumbags pull a whole lot of bullshit to make it through life. Why, killing whole families, muscling out money for protection when it's you who they need protection from! You think God would want to have anything to do with men of your kind? I think not." Chambers said coldly.

Still shaking from shock and pain; joey shot back, "Yeah? Like I'm so fucking bad?! Look at you, you sick fuck! You do this shit for kicks! You're torturing people for a profit!"

Joey spat blood into Chambers face, the crimson red spittle dribbled off of his eye and onto his chin.
Chambers smiled, then intentionally bit his lower lip open with his teeth. He sucked on his lower lip so his mouth filled with blood, then he spat it onto Joey's face.

"I get no pleasure from this. This is strictly business. I get paid for my services to punish wicked untasteful shit stains like you. If anything, I'm doing the Lord a favor."

With that, Chambers gave a hard tug on the twisted wire; degloving Joey's finger from the second joint down. His pale bone glistening in the light.

Joey started screaming hysterically, total disbelief that he was looking at his bone.

"Talk, or I'm going to go work on your leg again!" Chambers threatened.

"Fuck you! Fuck you asshole!"

Chambers sighed and threw up his arms in defeat, "I'm done asking you for favors Mr. Ferelli. From this point forward, if you want to talk, you will. I am going to keep mutilating you until you tell me something important."

And with that, Chambers fetched the surgical speculum and placed it on the leg wound.

"Wait! wait! I'll talk!" Joey screamed.
Ignoring him, Chambers squeezed the handles, and the metallic fingers latched onto the edges of the wound.

Joey screamed and screamed, "I'll fucking talk! Just stop! Stop!"
Chambers continued to squeeze, causing the skin around the wound to stretch to the maximum, then tear.
Blood oozed out from the jagged edges as Chambers continued to squeeze.
The flesh start to give, then tearing even further. The leg wound began to open up wider, the bloody slit filling with blood.

"I got money from the Irish mob! I..I..I got a loan from an Irish a...a..fuckin...loanshark!"

Chambers stopped squeezing, he loosened his grip and leaned forward; very intent on listening.
"Go on."
Joey coughed, his bloodshot eyes were tearing up and darting madly around the room.
"Go on Mr. Ferelli, or I start this all over again." Chambers warned.

Joey closed his eyes, "It was a fuckin asshole in..the..the..the.."
Chambers backhanded Joey across the face, the blow splitting open his brow, "Keep going or I'll jam a pair of forceps into your leg and pull out your quad muscles! Talk or I'm denying you all morphine!"

Joey opened his eyes wide, "No! No! Don't do that! Okay! Okay, gimme morphine! Morphine and I'll talk! I swear!"

"I don't make bargains with meat."

"Please, I swear I will talk! Just..give me..just give me a.. a little," Joey panted, short on breathe.

Chambers nodded. He walked to the table and withdrew a syringe of the drug.
He returned to Joey's side, searched for a vein in his forearm, found it, and injected it.

Joey's eyes rolled upwards, a faint smile on his face, "Thank you...th-thank you."

Chambers withdrew the needle and tossed it aside, "That stuff is watered down. You have 15 minutes worth of pain numbing goodness floating in your veins. If you don't talk right now; I'll keep doing this to you. Then; when it wears off, you'll have 15 minutes worth of pain to catch up to...all at once. That's shattered nerves, torn flesh, and broken bones, all at once. Do you want that Mr. Ferelli?"

Joey shook his head weakly, he felt too good to answer verbally.

"Talk, talk like you said you would, or I'll make you wish your daddy pulled out early."

Joey could barely hear him now, he was floating in a sea of calmness and ecstacy. He didn't care anymore, he just wanted to sleep.

"Even if you don't talk, blood will tell. It always does."

Still nothing came from Joey.

"Last chance Mr. Ferelli. Talk..."

Joey ignored him, responding with only a sheepish smile.

"Okay then, let's get crackin' on those piggies of yours then."

Joey kept his smile, he didn't feel a single thing that was done to him during those 15 minutes of bliss.

As Chambers proceeded to smash and crush Joey's toes with a sledge hammer.

"Like I said friend, blood will tell, it always does."