Friendly Fire

(28) The Interrogation Room

Lieutenant Davis stripped me bare of my weapons and anything that I had on me that could possibly do some harm.

With my head held at gunpoint, I obeyed his silent instructions to walk back to The Elite Strike Force's gates. I am no ally. I am no longer undercover. I am here as an enemy. A prisoner.

Lieutenant Willow was the one who shoved me into an interrogation room and sat me down in a chair, shackling me to a metal bar splayed on a matching metal desk in front of me that kept me strictly restrained.

Here, I knew of the horrors that awaited. Seen it for myself once before as one of the interrogator's assistants.

Constant questioning. Constant torture. Constant pain.

Not once did I cry out knowing exactly what would happen to me here.

Private Riley without a doubt, ran off to go get Colonel Hitchen and Sergeant Collins.

The minute I saw their faces when they entered the room, I gritted my teeth and balled my bound hands into fists.

"'Cadet Bones'... very clever. But not clever enough." Colonel Hitchen started then drew a sigh. "I did try to tell you, Bane, you're really not capable of deciding what's best for yourself or those around you. You can't lead for shit. Look at what happened to your rebel friends. One is shot and most likely dead. One was beaten harshly. The rest..." A chuckle escaped from his lips. "The rest cowered and left you for dead."

"Just like how you left me for dead back at Nha Trang?" I spat back. But Colonel Hitchen still kept that stupid grin on his face.

"Just another piece of evidence that displays how no one cares enough to save your life over the lives of others. Just shows that you will always be a pawn in someone else's game. Naive. Expendable. And only good for one thing."

No one cares about the sacrifices I make.

No one has returned the favour.

I am always just a pawn no matter how hard I try to avoid it.

I am naive.

I am expendable.

I can feel myself giving in to his words, my mind making me think so harshly about how I am so worthless and gullible.

"Tell me what your rebel friends are planning. Or suffer fates that you've witnessed countless times before with other bitches and bastards that we've thrown in here over the years." Colonel Hitchen continued.

I shook my head profusely as tears began to prick in my eyes.

"No! I'd rather suffer knowing very well that The Resistance is fighting for the right cause, even if it means that my life ends here and now!" I cried out.

Colonel Hitchen only glared at me with that cold hard stare of his, only this time I could see the rage and frustration in those rich gray eyes that now almost looked black under this poor lighting. It was Sergeant Collins who broke the silence.

"Lucky for you, we need you alive. The information you hold is considered valuable for The Elite Strike Force. All this conflict. It can end if you just go ahead and run your mouth like you always do. This is your last chance before we take drastic measures."

Again I shook my head. I didn't get the chance to speak before Lieutenant Davis pulled me up from my seat by the hair and kicked that metal chair off to the side so I couldn't use it as a weapon or use it to rest after whatever torture awaited me.

"I'm sorry, Bane..." He whispered softly into my ear with a near-broken voice. I couldn't tell if he was afraid of the person I had become or of what would happen to me, his sister-in-arms, the one person who was always at his side.

"I don't want your fucking apology." Was all I could say before taking a punch to the stomach delivered by Lieutenant Willow.

"Davis, don't apologize to the traitor. Don't forget what she's done. She is not our friend. She is our enemy."

A groan escaped my lips and I felt my body wanting to double over and ease the pain but I couldn't. Not with the way Lieutenant Davis held me firmly in place and with my hands still bound together on that damn metal bar.

I could've sworn I felt Lieutenant Davis' grip ease slightly for a brief moment but shortly tightened again. "Right..."

"Lieutenants. Enough." Colonel Hitchen's voice echoed from across the room then walked right up to me, gripped my chin, and tilted my head down slightly to meet his eyes. "Start talking."

"No." I groaned out.

Colonel Hitchen gave Lieutenant Willow a nod. "Again."

I received another punch to the stomach. This time it was strong enough to knock the wind right out of me. I couldn't breathe.

"Talk."

Again I refused.

I refused to say a word over and over again with each request. Over and over again was I punched. It got to a point where Lieutenant Davis lost his grip and I fell to my knees as the shackles that held me to that table weren't long enough to let me fall to the floor.

From here, the beating continued until I was bloodied, and bruised. I came close to losing consciousness. I wasn't sure if my pain tolerance was running thin, the shock I was under becoming too much, my oxygen levels depleting, or the blunt trauma. But Lieutenant Willow's strikes suddenly stopped under Colonel Hitchen's order.

Through a blurry haze, I could see his eyes widen slightly from whatever it was that Private Riley had whispered to him. Whatever it was, it was enough for everyone to pause their actions against me.

"We will resume once we deal with some other shit." Was all Colonel Hitchen said to me before ordering the others to follow him out, leaving me alone in the interrogation room.