Time Sensitive Target

Part 28 - Camera Sport

Jase drummed his fingers on the side of his metal chair, wordlessly watching the display of unimaginable pain before him. Paige was doing well, much better than he'd thought. Ant had promised him a broken woman, but from somewhere she'd managed to access an inner strength to see her through. It was a blow for him, the whole process would have been a lot easier if she'd been dragged in kicking and screaming, begging and pleading with him not to hurt her. Paige's determined defiance was only useful because it was really starting to piss Jase off, and he was already laden with so much anger that had nowhere to go.

"Give me a date Paige," Jase warned. "You're coming down now, I didn't want to have to give you a second dose but we're still here, I'm still asking the same question and you're still giving me nothing."

Paige breathed raspily, finally feeling some exhausted relief from the constant pain. She couldn't even access her mind when the drug was at it's apex, the sensation was so overwhelming there was no room for thought.

"I can't tell you... w-what I don't know," she croaked finally.

Jase leaned in gently, resting his arms on top of hers. She noticed his green eyes were speckled with flecks of amber, and wondered how someone so technically beautiful came to find himself doing things like this for a living. Paige chastised herself for the ridiculous thought, someone's attractiveness had no bearing on what their soul was like. And yet, physical beauty always served to further the tragedy. It had always been that way; if a young beautiful person died it seemed a greater loss. Jase's darkness was all the more tormenting because of his looks. Paige felt she should have been able to look into his eyes and see kindness there, she was sure she once had. Now all that met her expression was merciless tenebrosity.

"Do you want more?" Jase whispered, meeting her fearful eyes. He extended his hand to her face and swept an errant lock of hair aside, curling it behind her ear soothingly. He stroked it behind again rhythmically, smoothing his fingers across the strands. He was making himself feel ill, but small moments like this were what they expected to see on camera. He had to torment her in ways other than administering the drug, giving her glimpses of a gentle, nurturing captor before he continued his abuse. It would only help increase her desperation, and he needed to break her soon.

Paige said nothing, keeping herself rigidly still as his tender touch sent shivers of terror across her skin. He wouldn't... would he? Was this his true nature, did he enjoy watching her restrained and at his mercy? What would happen after the cameras were off?

"Hold still," Jase murmured as he drew another syringe to her neck. This time she did jolt against him, taking advantage of his momentary docile manner. She launched her head forward as hard as she could with a grit of determination, smashing it against his nose. Jase slunk back against his chair in surprise, to all intents and purposes entirely unaffected. He felt his nostril gingerly, sliding a silky drop of blood between his fingertips. Jase gave a slight smile, half admiring Paige's fight and half incensed that she was making his job harder. I'm trying to save you.

With a deft motion Jase seized the back of Paige's head, grasping the roots of her hair at the base of her neck and forcing her aside to expose her flesh. He inserted the needle precisely and skilfully, holding fast to prevent her struggle.

"Mm," Paige groaned as Jase retreated to the back of his chair. This next dose would hit her harder and faster, latching on to the aftershocks of the nerve shattering pain. He tossed the syringe to the floor, watching it join it's predecessor with a soft clatter. She was really going to suffer now. 4cc, one more than he'd been tested with during his training. He could still remember the feeling all these years later.

Paige held still as she felt the drug spread, clamping on to her muscles, a deep burn rolling under her skin. She realised she was biting through her bottom lip as the metallic taste of blood hit her tongue, but couldn't unclench her jaw under the intense agony radiating through her. Jase watched crimson begin to seep down her lip, dripping on to the bottom of her chin. It irritated him, why was she making it so hard? He reached his hand forward and thrust his fingers into her mouth, freeing her lip and covering his thumb in her blood in the process. They won't like that, he reminded himself. Don't spare her anything. He wiped Paige's blood across her cheek, she instantly recoiled and yelped at the contact. This was his opportunity to regain some authenticity for the camera.

"Your nerves are so overstimulated that even the lightest of touch will cause you incredible pain now," Jase stated blankly. "For example if I do this," he licked the same thumb her blood still stained and pressed it against the crimson mark on her cheek. Paige moaned in distress- he may as well have been driving a knife through her. Jase smeared his saliva across the red smudge, rubbing it with swift flicking motions to clean the mark.

"It's pretty excruciating, right? The nerves on the cheeks aren't so sensitive on the whole, but if I did this-" he withdrew his multitool knife and sliced a hole through Paige's trousers, exposing the tender skin of her thigh.

Despite her agonised state, Paige's brain suddenly registered his action. No, she pleaded inwardly in horror. Jase edged the tip of the knife lightly down the soft flesh, not even hard enough to provoke the skin into puckering in response. Explosions of agony caused her to scream out; a long, prolonged scream that made her gasp for air at the end, feeling the intense burn along her trachea. In acute sensory awareness Paige could feel the tips of Jase's fingers brushing against the inside of her bare thigh. He is, he's going to-

"P- p- plea-s-e," she howled. "N-no!" She screamed the word as loudly as she could, desperate, frantic for anything to prevent what she was sure he was going to do.

"You know how to make it stop," Jase relaxed back into his chair, folding the knife back up and pocketing the small weapon. "When are they releasing it?"

Paige gasped as a particularly violent surge burst through her body, electrocuting from her toes to the top of her head. She shook uncontrollably, her only comfort in knowing that after the crescendo came the gradual waning, leaving behind the trails of shock and juddering adrenaline. The climax kept her crying out in pain, the force of the noises piercing the pit of her stomach. Jase observed as her moans dwindled to exhausted whimpers, wondering when it would be enough. As the drug began to wear off Paige felt the acrid ascension of bile from her belly and jolted forward with a force that surprised Jase, heaving whatever remnants were still in her stomach. The watery liquid splattered onto the hand he'd rested on his knee, tiny specks of blood trickling down her gentle chin. You're doing damage now. Jase took a moment to close his eyes briefly, just to centre himself. Play your role. The small puddle of bile still slipped across his hand, so he raised it to Paige's face and rubbed the watery puke across her features. You need to wrap this up.

"When are they releasing the document?" Jase repeated the question flatly. Paige was still wearily catching her breath after vomiting, trembling from head to foot. "Paige," he whispered tenderly. "It's ok," he shook his head and drove his eyes into her own pools of exhaustion. "You can tell me, and I'll make this stop. No more pain." He stroked her cheek gently, her petrified shudder nearly provoking his own need to heave. What was it al-Raheem had said all that time ago on video link, back when Jase had assessed Paige's file and fought for the right to rescue her? Camera sport. That's what this was, camera sport. He'd asked himself not long ago if he was as bad as al-Raheem and the rest of his ilk, and had convinced himself otherwise. But wasn't he just the same, doing it for a different cause? He was making himself sick.

Paige shook her head in misery, tears falling uncontrollably but no sound emitting from her lips aside from occasional gasps of trembling breath.

"I don't know."

Jase pinched the bridge of his nose. One last time. One last round. He knew the only way the higher up's would be satisfied is if he took her to the brink of death, then they couldn't question his devotion to her interrogation. They'd be forced to accept his findings, and Paige could be granted her freedom. His hands reluctantly grasped the small metal case again, withdrawing the last syringe he vowed he would ever have to touch.