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“Think we should open it? Make sure he didn’t already hand it off while our backs were turned?” Madison stepped up beside me and crossed her arms. At this point, we would think of any excuse to justify opening it up to get a peek inside. Curiosity always wins in the end.
“I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to check. Besides, we should probably know if we do or don’t have anything to deliver to Charlotte.” She shrugged and pressed the two buttons on the front of the briefcase, an audible click echoing throughout the small room as the latches popped open.
We all fell silent as she opened the briefcase. I think Madison may have stopped breathing for a moment. Inside, there was heavy foam padding, with a single slot in the center holding the vial of the drug. Madison and I leaned in to get a better look, and I tilted my head to see it more clearly.
“It doesn’t look all that special for a miraculous wonder drug that's supposed to cure the world of addiction.” I deadpanned as I inspected the vial from a distance. The vial was medium-sized, and the liquid inside was a bright violet shade. It was a very pretty color, but it still didn’t scream ‘top secret stolen drug’ at first glance.
If I am being honest, I was actually quite disappointed with its appearance. I was hoping it would look like something out of Resident Evil. After a few minutes, a groan came from the monitor behind us, and Alexis slammed the briefcase shut, snapping the three of us out of our thoughts.
“Looks like our guest is finally waking up. You ready, Chy?” Madison grimaced, knowing what was about to happen to him. I didn’t blame her; to put it bluntly, what I did was completely fucked up, but you would think she would be used to it at this point. She’s been doing this work a lot longer than me.
“You two need stronger stomachs, seriously.” I rolled my eyes and picked up the balaclava that I had set next to the monitor. I breathed deeply, pulling my mask back over my nose and my hood over my head. With a casual wink, I opened the door and exited the room, making my way across the floor to where the man was now squirming against his restraints.
I melted into my role effortlessly, flipping my switch, detaching from the world, and becoming a shell devoid of all morals. I have practiced disconnecting myself from reality for years, making it a simple and fluid task now.
I have scared both Madison and Alexis with the dark side of myself. They know not to push me too far because of what I'm capable of. Sometimes, I wonder if Madison regrets introducing me to Charlotte all those years ago. I don't think she ever expected this to happen to me.
I was the sweet, lost little sister to her.
Now, I was a fucked up monster, ripping the heads off innocent people for fun.
I pulled the hood from the man’s head. He let out a groan as he lifted it and turned his gaze to take in his surroundings. This warehouse had been abandoned for years, and recently, we decided it was the best place to interrogate the employees we had kidnapped.
Since the place was abandoned, we could come and go as we pleased. We didn't have to work around the owners' schedules, and the chances of getting caught were significantly lower with this location.
We were near the Mississippi River, so the building always smelled damp. The river was a convenience; it made disposing of what was left of the bodies easier and quicker. We tried not to leave much of a mess behind once we were done, but sometimes it just got to be too late—and if I am being honest, we got too lazy.
The inside was dark, and the windows were covered, so very little light entered the building, even during the day. We installed a single floodlight in the center of the massive room for dramatic purposes and to avoid lighting up the entire building and making it evident that we were using it. From the outside, this building looked as abandoned as it was.
I have gotten comfortable with this warehouse over the years. It's actually surprising that we have been able to use it for this long without being caught.
“Go light today, Chy… We don’t have time for one of your ‘in-depth’ interrogation sessions. Get the information and be done with it. Sweet and simple.” Madison said over the earpiece.
I might have gone a bit overboard with my questioning the last few times, but I was frustrated with constantly falling short on answers. This assignment seemed to be dragging on forever, and I was starting to feel worn out. It's infuriating how difficult it has been to locate Roman Atwater; even Alexis is amazed by his elusiveness.
I stood before our victim, dropping the hood to the floor. The only identifying feature he could see was my eyes. Unfortunately for him, he wouldn’t be breathing long enough to tell anyone what they looked like.
I pulled my knife from its sheath on my right thigh and tossed the handle in my hand before tightening my grip on it. The light that refracted off the blade caught his attention, and his eyes snapped up to meet mine.
“Wh—where am I? Please don’t hurt me.” His eyes moved to the knife in my hand, and he immediately began pleading for his life. I was hoping he would have lasted longer than two seconds—at least five. He was already disappointing me.
“How about we start with the easy questions first? What’s your name?” I asked, cocking my head to the side and lightly twisting the blade’s tip against the pad of my finger. I could feel the animal inside of me sizing up its prey before the slaughter.
“T—Tyler. My name is Tyler.” He stuttered and swallowed the lump of bile in his throat. He looked like he was going to throw up, and most likely not from the alcohol. I was always good at eliciting fear in my victims.
“Good start.” Amusement dripped from my lips. “Tell me, Tyler, what was in that briefcase you brought with you to The Landing tonight?”
He didn’t answer, which was a bad move. He would be making a huge mistake if he decided to play the hero role now.
“Let me make this clear, Tyler.” I took my knife and rested the tip lightly on the back of his hand. If the girls want “sweet and simple”, I will give it to them. “The longer you take to answer my questions, the more blood of yours I will spill. This can be as painful as you choose to make it.” I pushed slight pressure into the handle, the tip of the knife breaking the skin, and blood began to slide down the side of his hand.
“It’s a sample of Mr. Atwater’s new drug.” He mumbled.
“A name, please. I need a name for it.” I gestured my free hand in a circle and then placed it back on my hip. If he keeps giving me these short, vague answers, we will be here longer than any of us want.
“Ataraxia.” He blurted out, his voice trembling as he looked down at his hand and the blood that was slowly flowing over it, dripping to the floor.
“Ataraxia.” I echoed, testing the sound of it on my tongue. It was not the kind of name that I had expected. “And where is Mr. Atwater right now?”
