ARCANUM

CHAPTER 41

PETER POV

I hate having to put her in that position. I know how difficult it is to be in her position right now. I know exactly how it feels.

= FLASHBACK =

"One of them must be a police spy!" roared a man with a face full of anger. He was one of the high-ranking men in the syndicate assigned to lead operations in Thailand. After what we've built and what we've been doing all this time, something has happened and made him angry. Something that could have happened while on a mission, but we didn't foresee it. Our plan is gone south.

In a situation like this, whatever we say or explain will not be accepted easily. I understand, and we prepare ourselves for the torture to come. They will surely torture us to open our mouths. Several missions before this, I've experienced it. They locked me up, beat me up, put my head in the water to make me talk, to extract information from me. But of course, Bambam, our tactician, with his brilliant plan together with Rattle managed to save me. I endured that time, knowing they would save me. It happened in our early years of completing missions. We are young, and we still make mistakes.

Now, after so many years of experience, we are more mature and doing well. Therefore, with years of experience, we understand this situation very well. Who are we dealing with, and what's the worst scenario that could happen. I understand and will prepare.

"You!" the man pointed at me and signaled his men, the ones I had worked with for a year, to beat me up. My hands are tied, so I can't fight back. But from my experience, the best option is not to fight back while they focus their attention on me like this. My best shot is when they let their guard down.

Punches and kicks continued uninterruptedly throughout my body. They didn't stop even when I fell on the floor and curled up. They didn't even stop, even though my face was battered. Blood and sweat poured into my right eye because the temple above it had been torn off. They didn't stop. Even the leader angrily kicked me, and the slightly pointed toe of the boot hit right through my right eye, which was instantly painful. The pressure was so intense that I couldn't open it.

No matter how much they beat me, I didn't open my mouth. And that's what makes me regret it. I should have opened my mouth and confessed. Confessed a lie, a made-up story.

"Stop it! I am the spy," Bambam's confession made them stop beating me. The leader slowly turned to Bambam, who was kneeling beside me, but he's not touched because I'm the one he hates. I'm the one who sometimes disagrees with him, not Bambam, who always follows his orders.

He looked at Bambam with doubts. I wanted to open my mouth to deny it, but my body was in pain, my face was in pain, especially my right eye was in so much pain.

"What did you say!?" the leader started walking towards Bambam and stopped in front of him. Bambam then repeated his statement and started to tell what he did. How he gave information to the police that caused their transaction to fail. Something that was done. We did.