The boss was dressed in a blood red suit, with the organization's logo weaved into the fabric in a fine pattern, with their hair slicked back. A cigarette between his fingers creating a trail of smoke as he walked around the room.
"Archaeologist, my sources tell me you have come in contact with the artifact. Do you mind telling me where it is?"
The archaeologist remained silent, their gaze fixed on the floor.
With one swift move the boss' hand was on the archaeologist's neck, the sharp corners of their rings scraping against the flesh.
"Dangerous game you're playing." Said the boss as they let go of their neck.
"Very well... Here is our newest recruit, whom I trust will extract the location of the artifact." They said, eyeing the new recruit. The henchmen shared a devious smirk.
"Alright you know the drill." The boss waved to the recruit as they walked out of the room, the henchmen soon followed, one of them slightly bumping into the recruit's shoulder, leaving the recruit alone with the archaeologist.
The recruit, clad in black just like the henchmen, also had the organization's logo ingrained into the fabric of their suit in a fine pattern. They came over to the table, leaning towards the archaeologist, their hands spread on the table. Their messy black hair draped over their almost black eyes.
"Listen to me carefully. If we play this out, we might just get out of this island alive." The recruit said, their head still bowed down to avoid the cameras. Archaeologist eyed them inquisitively, then they nodded.
"How long have you been here?" Archaeologist asked the recruit.
"Going on four years now," the recruit replied as the made their way across the room to the baseball bat conveniently placed in a corner, "did Mauler send you?"
Archaeologist nodded.
The recruit let out a sigh, "guess they still haven't given up huh?"
"They thought you were dead." Archaeologist said with a hint of concern in their voice.
"Hah- dead? No, no, Mauler knows that I'm alive. They just don't want me alive." The recruit let out a faint chuckle.
"You know." The archaeologist said, referring to the secret of the artifact.
The recruit nodded in agreement.
"So, you are in here to make sure that they don't get the artifact either."
"I'm sure you understand-" they toyed with the bat in hand, "-so, hand or foot?"
"You know- I would really prefer not to."
"C'mon now, we've got appearances to keep up." The recruit smirked.
The footsteps coming from down the hall interrupted them.
Archaeologist having noticed this whispered, "Ohh you are so dead."
The recruit smiled as they sat down on the chair in front of Archaeologist.
"Alright, get into character." The two gave each other one last glace before their charade began.
"Goddamn it just tell me where it is and I'll make sure you see your family again. Don't you want to see them?" They asked, desperation evident in their voice.
The doors swung open as the boss and their henchmen made their way into the room. The recruit stood up instantly, their head bowed down.
The boss scanned the room. Their menacing steps growing closer, not to the archaeologist, but the recruit.
"Recruit-" they said with a smile on their face "-I trust that you have managed to retrieve the location of the artifact."
The recruit, keeping their head down, responded. "No sir, they-"
"Ah- ah- ah- ah- sshhh" the boss interrupted, raising a finger to the recruits face. "What was that? Do you have the location of the artifact?"
"No si-"
"DID YOU JUST FAIL ME!?" the boss looked around the room as if they were searching for the answer within the walls of the room. The henchmen hid their grins with concerned muttering.
"Did you tell them where the artifact is?" The boss asked the archaeologist.
"I-... I can't it's too-" the archaeologist sputtered, lost for words.
"Well then, let's see what happens to those who dare to defy my direct orders." The boss gestured to the henchmen, still keeping a dead stare on the recruit's eyes. The henchmen happily obliged, taking the recruit by their arms and holding them in place.
"I hope you don't take this personally, but I've had a rather bad day... and what better way to relive some stress than beating the shit out of somebody?" The boss said as they rolled up their sleeves. Their fingers were accessorized with thick and bulking rings, the recruit knew this was bad news.
The recruits heart skipped a beat upon hearing that last part of the boss' imminent threat. They clenched their jaws and tightened their core in preparation for what's about to come. They had undergone this type of training before. They knew how to take a punch, they knew exactly how to keep their composure in tough situations.
And yet, when the boss plunged their hand into the recruit's abdomen, all the air in their lungs seemed to escape in an instant. Pain surged through their nerves as they struggled to draw in even a breath of air. Their legs gave way allowing their body to collapse, yet solely held up by the henchmen's arms.
The next blow hit directly to their solar plexus and oddly enough this time, they were able to breathe again. They dragged in a full breath, the air scraping their lungs like microscopic blades. Their felt the pressure in their eyes pulse in tandem with their heartbeat.
The archaeologist turned their head away, unwilling to watch the violence unfold in front of them.
Their head swung violently as the rings on the boss' hand met their head. Warm blood tricked down their forehead. The sounds started to blur along with the images, the world spun around them for what seemed like an eternity until the comforting darkness finally engulfed them.
