Justice at Delphi - The Fall of Sibyl

Chapter 39

And now the end is near, and so I face the final curtain.

-Frank Sinatra

Chief Kasei dismissed the Aeneid she'd sent to escort Akane and Ren to the private rendition room within the bowels of the ministry. The facility was rarely used. In Sibyl's short history, there had not been many threats to its reign. The room was soundproof, constructed of cinder block and concrete. A drain resided like a centerpiece in the middle of the floor. It wasn't as if it was often needed, but it definitely set the mood. The equipment  for the mind scoop, accompanied with a gurney not dissimilar from an operating table was set up in the corner. The machinery hummed menacingly. The chief noted the apprehension in the faces of her prisoners under the cold blue halogen lights. It gave her a rather human sense of satisfaction to see their fear. To witness their powerlessness in the face of Sibyl's might. 

The Aeneid bowed out of the room, leaving to join the others. While Chief Kasei conducted her interrogation, the Aeneid would round up the remaining inspectors and detain them. It wouldn't be difficult to come up with a reasonable cover story for their disappearance. A terrorist attack targeting Nona Tower or maybe a mass psycho-hazard? As long as it was something the citizens would accept. Emphasize to them how Sibyl had once again saved them. How Sibyl would make everything peaceful again. 

Turning her clinical eyes to Inspector Tsunemori, Chief Kasei spoke. "Last chance Tsunemori. Tell me what you've been planning."

The inspector lifted her chin stubbornly, a glint of rebellion in her eyes. "No."

Sibyl once had such high hopes for the inspector. Her clear hue even in the face of disaster was legendary. She made for an interesting case study. At least, she did before she started making trouble. Her cold gaze slid to Ren. "And you? Will you be as unreasonable?"

Ren chuckled and slipped his hands into his pockets. "Not at all. I prefer negotiation."

It was Chief Kasei's turn to chuckle mirthlessly. Ren Ishida was a clever boy who had grown into a clever man. Much too clever for his own good. However, unlike Tsunemori, his morals were flexible. Even so, he was dangerous. Just like his father. "To negotiate, you need leverage. You don't have any."

A grin stretching his lips, Ren replied. "Don't I?" In a move even Chief Kasei couldn't predict, Ren wrapped a thin wire of a garrote neatly around Akane's neck. The steel wire glinted under the cold light. He pulled the inspector's body flush against his. "You really should have searched me before you brought me in."

"W-what are you doing?" Akane stammered, her fingers desperately trying to slacken the tension in the wire. It wasn't so tight that she couldn't breathe, but it was tight enough that she knew he meant business. Fear clawed at her insides as she struggled to maintain her composure. Ren had been light on the details of his plan. Now, she knew why. He was right...she didn't like it.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" Chief Kasei admonished, much the way a school teacher scolds a child.

Ren arched his brow. "Leverage. You need Akane alive...at least alive long enough to divulge her plans. A tug on this wire and she's dead. You'll get nothing."

"Have you lost your mind?!" Akane hissed. It wasn't difficult to feign outrage. She was in a constant battle with her survival instincts. The slight tightening of the garrote was his silent warning to remain still. Akane grit her teeth and forced herself to breath slow and even as a wave of panic threatened to overwhelm her. Feeling Chief Kasei's eyes on her, Akane looked up. The Chief was carefully scrutinizing her face. No doubt searching for signs of duplicity. She couldn't tell what the chief saw in her eyes, but assumed it had satisfied her.