Puppet {ManxMan}

CHAPTER 33

The thought of getting up and facing the world was not a pleasant one. All I wanted to do was stay curled under the covers of the bed I shared with Kailas and forget about my problems as I soaked in his presence, but unfortunately the world was in chaos and I couldn't exactly afford to do that. I'd been laid up long enough, and with the "okay" from Arthur I was supposed to be up and about to finally help interrogate the prisoner I hadn't killed during the attack.

For the past few days I'd been resting, Dakota and Jayden had tried to get the man to talk using every means possible besides torture. Jayden didn't exactly feel comfortable with lowering to that level, and I figured it was the whole Geneva Convention Military conscience he had from his time in the Air Force. I would have protested saying we would've gotten the information faster, but decided against it. These people already thought I was crazy, there was no need to make Roman hate me even more than he did already. I just figured since they tried to kill Kailas that they deserved it.

"He hasn't said a single thing since bringing him here," Jayden was explaining, his arms folded across his chest as he looked into the interrogation room through the two-way mirror, "Not his name, no demands for freedom or food or even water or the bathroom. He just sits there."

I was leaning with my hands against the bottom rim of the mirror, eyes narrowed as I watched the Asper sit silently, staring down. His face had bandages all over, and there was a fading bruise around his throat and neck from when I'd attempted to strangle him. His hair was an unattractive brown color, ratty and tangled, and his skin was pale, light brown eyes peering around the room in a desperate and crazed way, like he was looking for some kind of escape route that would get him away from us.

"Let me have a chat with him," I offered, and I could practically feel Jayden rolling his eyes at me.

"We need him alive and capable of speech, so I'm going to have to say no to that."

I pushed away from the mirror and turned just enough so I could send him a glare, "How do you expect to get him to talk then, huh? Peace and love? Are you going to have a tea party with him?"

"Not a bad idea," Jayden admitted, and I wanted to slap him for looking as if he was actually considering it.

"What if I went in and talked to him?" Kailas asked, "His group came after me, didn't they? Maybe I can persuade him into talking," he paused a moment before his head tipped just slightly, "Maybe I can convince him to betray the Fer-de-Lance to join us instead."

"What?" I turned sharply to gape at him, "There's no way I'm letting that happen! He tried to kill you!"

Kailas gave me a smile, "It's ironic, isn't it? You tried to kill me too, right? Who's to say he wouldn't be open to the idea of joining us?"

"Me! I say!" I bit out, and I was grateful when Jayden agreed with me.

"He's right, Kai. Demi was always a friend, but this man is a complete stranger. Not to mention he's one of the men who hurt him, in case you've forgotten."

Kailas' eyes flickered to regard Jayden, the smile long gone from his face as he stared into the room. He was quiet for a long moment, considering both of our words, but when he finally spoke it didn't seem like he'd changed his mind much.

"I'll talk to him," he said, and I growled in irritation at his recklessness.

"I'm coming with you then. I don't want you alone with that bastard."

Kailas didn't argue with me that time, and Jayden opened the door for us, staying on the other side of the mirror as Kailas and I entered the interrogation room. When the door opened the man's brown eyes snapped up, though he kept his head low in a way that shadowed the top half of his face, giving him a menacing and unfriendly look that made my nerves spike badly. He looked at me first, just staring at me, not appearing afraid or intimidated at all despite the fact I was the one who had slaughtered his people.