Chapter 33: Prisoner's dilemma

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POV MIKEY

TW: Violent scene, graphic description of violence

Tokyo, Saturday, July 14, 2012 – 7:00 PM

The room is large, yet the air feels suffocating. The pale lighting makes the steel tools hanging on the wall glisten: handcuffs, hammers, blades, and a whole arsenal of instruments only Sanzu knows how to use.

On the side, several concrete cells are lined up like tombs. Austere. Cold. Completely soundproof. Not even the distant creak of a pipe. Just absolute silence. A total lack of reference points that eventually eats away at the mind.

I've opened one of those doors before. I know that the guys who end up inside have nothing but a metal chair and a bright light shining on them 24/7, erasing any sense of time.

In front of us, a split-screen feed gives us a live view of the interior. Two motionless silhouettes, heads lowered. Two enemies who still haven't opened their fucking mouths.

Ayana watches them, her hand in mine.

One by one, the executives arrive. I hear them behind me, accompanied by the mixed scents of cologne and cigarette smoke.

"Why the hell didn't you tell us you took two prisoners?" Rindou blurts out the second he steps inside.

"And since when do I answer to you?" Sanzu shoots back, raising an eyebrow.

"What's the plan here, exactly?" Ran asks, leaning casually against the wall with his usual elegance, hands in his pockets, looking almost bored.

"Hold up, guys. Mochi's missing," Kakucho points out, his face paler than usual. He still doesn't seem fully recovered from his injuries.

"We can start without him. He'll be here soon," Kokonoi says, slipping his phone back into his pocket.

Sanzu looks at me, silently asking for my approval. I give him a nod. We've already wasted enough time.

"To keep it short," he begins, gesturing toward the screen. "I'm trying to make these two little shits talk, spill what they know about their pathetic gang."

I can see in his eyes what he's not saying. What he really wants is for them to give up the traitor.

"They're each in a separate cell, with the same bullshit promise: talk now, and I won't make you suffer too much. But if your buddy speaks first, you'll regret ever being born."

"The classic method," Hanma comments with a smirk.

"It's a well-known concept in game theory: the prisoner's dilemma. By making them believe they have an incentive to cooperate, we push them to betray each other," Kokonoi explains.

The words click in my brain. That book Ayana spent days reading.

"So, what have you learned?" Takeomi asks, his voice low and impatient.

His little brother settles nonchalantly on the table in the center of the room, a smirk on his lips. I can tell he's about to say something stupid.

"Did you guys know that when fear reaches its peak, our autonomic nervous system takes over? It releases a surge of adrenaline, speeds up our heart rate, tightens all our muscles... and to maximize our chances of survival, it gets rid of anything unnecessary. Bladder control included."

He glances at the screen as he pulls off his bloodstained gloves.

"That's why people piss themselves when they're scared."

"I didn't fucking ask for a biology lesson. You're just wasting our time," Takeomi snaps, exasperated.

Sanzu bursts out laughing, staring at his brother with that crazed look in his eyes. Takeomi clenches his fists, his jaw tightening, ready to fire back.

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⏰ Last updated: 3 days ago ⏰

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