Seven Deadly Sins - Pride (Book 1)

Chapter 2

I sit on the bed for a while, and I observe my surroundings. I can hear chatter from out the door, and pounding music, but other than that there's nothing. The room has one window, a large skylight, but there's no way to get up there. The door has been locked from the outside, and I can't escape. I can't escape. Amber has taken my gun and hasn't returned for hours. The clock on one of the walls says it's already six. I hear a key turn in a lock, and Amber comes in.
"Laia wants to talk to you." 
She barely looks at me, and motions for me to come. She grabs my arm and looks straight into my eyes. She grins.
"Try anything, and I will make you regret it." 
I look up at her, wide-eyed.
"Please let me go," I whisper.
She chuckles under her breath. She brings her mouth close to my ear and whispers.
"I could kill you right now if I wanted to. But I don't want to. Laia? She finds you dispensable. She will kill you, and I can't stop her. So I suggest you keep your mouth closed and do as I say."
She pulls away from me. She takes my hand, and I hear a clink. She's cuffed me to herself. She looks back at me and grins.
"And make sure not to ask Laia to let you go. She always finds it annoying. Now come on. Walk."
She pulls me through the halls, her pace decidedly quicker than mine. We go up another flight of stairs that I haven't noticed before. The chatter of people becomes fainter and fainter as we stroll through the halls. Amber stops in front of an ornate oak door and knocks. The sound rebounds and fills the hall. 
"Come in," says a voice from inside. Amber opens the door, and we step into a well-furnished office. Books in dark mahogany shelves line the walls, and in the middle of the room is a dark brown desk. Laia sits in a chair behind it, her dark eyes boring into me.
"We need to talk," Laia says.
Silence.
"Are you talking to me?" I say incredulously.
Laia rolls her eyes. 
"Yes." 
I can hear Amber snicker. I turn to her, and she regains composure. I turn back to Laia.
"What do you want?" I ask her.
She puts her hands on the table, interlacing her fingers. Her nails are sharp yet rounded, and look as dangerous as the rest of her.
"You have become a very valuable asset to all the gangs of Detroit. It seems that your mother was involved with some people....such as Cascade." 
The name rings a faint bell, but the memory is murky and all I remember is a gunshot and a scream.
"That might be true, but my mother died when I was five. I don't know anything. I don't even know who Cascade is." 
Laia closes her eyes eloquently, and turns to Amber.
"Tell her." 
Amber nods and begins to speak.
"Cascade is the leader of the most powerful gangs in Detroit. He is violent and ruthless, and this has helped him keep his power. However, we think that you know something that could help us take him down. And then we would have complete control over the city." 
I scoff.
"And what makes you think that I would want to help you, even if I knew something?" 
Amber grins and pulls out her gun. She pressed the barrel of it against my temple.
"Because if you don't want to cooperate, you are no longer an asset. You're just a liability. And we would have no further use for you." 
I look at Laia, who is still sitting calmly at her desk as if she's seen this scene a hundred times before.
"Then shoot me," I say defiantly. 
Amber lowers the gun.
"Not yet."
I smirk at her. 
"You were never going to shoot, were you?" 
She smirks right back.
"No, I would and I will if it comes to it." 
She moves closer to me, and I can feel her warm breath on my face.
"I'm just confident that I can get you to cooperate before it has to come to that." 
Laia is still sitting at her desk, now reading a book. She doesn't seem bothered by Amber's persuasion methods. 
"Laia?" Amber calls her name.
Laia looks up from her book, which is titled Modern Physiological Warfare.
"Yes, you can leave now. I think that April here is aware of the consequences. I hope you can make her talk."
Amber smirks at her, haughty and proud.
"When have I failed?" 
As she leads me out of the room using the barrel of her gun, I can hear Laia's soft ugh followed by the muttering of the words -
"One of these days you're gonna fall, and we're gonna fall with you..."
Amber strides down the hall, my hand still cuffed to hers. 
"Can you take this off?" I plead.
She looks back at me.
"No."
We walk a bit further, back to where the flight of stairs was. We go down, and then continue down past the floor with the rooms, and even past the casino. The air suddenly turns damp and cold, the walls and floors cement. We're in the basement.
Amber turns suddenly, and I can feel the cuff on my skin. She stands in front of a large metal door and pulls out a chain of keys.
"It's unlocked," a new voice says, but I can barely hear it.
Amber rolls her eyes and pushes the door open. I glare at her. She treats me like I'm invisible.
Inside is a small table and two chairs facing opposite of each other. On one of the chairs sits a woman, dressed in a black pantsuit. Her posture is rigid, and her emerald green eyes are suspiciously watching their surroundings. 
"Is this her?" The woman asks.
'"Yeah. Go easy on her, Ruby. I told her she wouldn't die today."
I don't smile, and neither does Ruby. Rather, Ruby looks like she's heard this line many times before.
"A-are you gonna torture me?" I stammer.
Ruby stares at me, her eyes unblinking. 
"Not if you are a good girl." 
Her voice is cold, as if an android were speaking. She doesn't seem to possess any emotion at all. I hear a click, and I feel my hand is released from the handcuff. 
"Are you gonna leave me here?" I ask Amber. Facing Ruby without her seems ten times more terrifying. 
Amber smirks at me.
"Don't worry, Ruby is a great conversationalist."
Even Ruby snorts at this.
"I'm not here to make conversation. I'm here for an interrogation." 
"But doesn't that need..."
Ruby glares at Amber, and I don't think I've ever seen anything so terrifying. 
"Go. I'll deal with the girl."
Amber raises her hands in mock defeat and leaves the room. I hear the heavy metal door close behind her. Ruby cracks her knuckles.
"Now, tell me what you know..."