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[liuli]

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AQUILA | interrogation.

[liuli]

[ Standing in a little cave at the end of a conflict, you are perfectly calm.

You glance to your left. Someone stands beside you; you say something to him quietly, and he nods, turning to walk up to a loft area above where you have found yourself. You trust him to do his job; you turn to look instead at the situation in this little hideout.

In front of you are fifty some odd bandits, captured and defeated - their leader is at the end of their line. They've caused trouble beyond measure, lately - for you, for the people in the closest village, innocent civilians - and on top of that, they have information. It's information you need, and you will have it.

You tilt your head, glancing across the bandits, and when you speak, your voice is calm. Casual, even. Relaxed. "I only have one question. How many entrances and exits do you have in these underground rats' nests? Please be aware of your current situation."

Silence.

You smile, but it's not a real smile. "Let's do it this way. Starting from the first person on the west side - behead him on the spot if he refuses to talk. When the first person is finished, the next can add more details. If one can't add anything more, then, that's too bad. The ones at the front of the line may have some advantage - let's start. I'll count to three - not talking will result in being cut down. Talking nonsense will result in being cut down."

You can almost feel the current of fear in the room tick up a notch, and you keep your arms behind your back, and you watch. One of your men steps forward, weapon in hand, and the first bandit looks stunned - he is indecisive, looking at his leader.

You count. "One. Two."

You make a downward, decisive gesture with your hand - and an ally of yours, clothed the same as you, steps forward and slashes through the bandit's neck with his weapon. The soldier has some difficulty - the bandit's vocal chords don't initially split, and the bandit's bloodcurdling scream ricochets through the mountain as it takes a fully powered strike to behead him.

The second bandit shakily points to an underground tunnel entrance right behind you, as his friend's head rolls in front of his feet. You don't have time for this. You click your tongue.

"Nonsense. Can I not see it for myself?" It comes with a sneer as you make the gesture. Down goes another, this time smoothly, head separated from neck in the blink of an eye.

One by one, the remaining bandits drop information. The third man squeals like a rat, dropping several tunnels locations; you work your way methodically down the line, until you've removed the heads of ten or so men, stubborn to their ends, and left the rest trembling as they're trussed up to be thrown in prison. When you reach the leader of the bandits, he straightens and looks you in the eye.

You walk over casually, arms behind your back, as if this was a stroll through a garden instead of an interrogation, as if you walked through flowers, instead of a river of blood of your own creation. (And truthfully, a part of you is shocked it has taken this much, but you're too smart to think otherwise. A part of you is too tired for the violence that has to come from this moment, but you think about the village, and the you think about the people that you've sworn to protect, the position you uphold, and you know that violence is what will clear this rat's nest for good.)


The leader clears his throat. He tries to be proud. "I used to hear people say that your elegance was unparalleled. I did not expect that you'd be well versed even in torture methods for interrogation; truly, the more talents, the better."

Amused, you reply, "There's no need for flattery. The main activity in war is to slay people, isn't it? I didn't lock you in a dark room. Didn't place you on a nail bed, nor did I ask you to sit on a tiger's chair. The words torture to interrogate - I don't dare to accept them."

The bandit leader's eye twitches.

You know there's more to this interrogation than sixty-four tunnels and sixty-four entrances. You know there's more. There's no way these bandits could have gotten access to all of the supplies they had, without help from the inside. That is what you're interested in.

The soldier's blade lowers beside the man's neck, and your smile, cold and ruthless, remains, as you step in front of him and lower your voice. It's ice.

"If you have nothing to say, you can accompany your men as well."

The leader clenches his teeth - and you know that you have him.