The Road to Hell

Chapter 24

There was a massive commotion in the rec room. Half the base seemed to be there, gathered around something, but David couldn't see what. The crowd was screaming, chanting. He tried asking a few people what was going on, but when they noticed him they quieted down and opened up space for him.

He started walking, and the surrounding crowd stopped to stare at him as he drew closer to the source of the disturbance. Soon, a notable hush spread through the entire room and David heard the singular crack of a whip. He was close now and rushed to the centre of the rec to a sight that struck him so deeply that his gun was up and off his hip without him even realizing it.

If he were to glance just once to his surroundings he would have been aware that he was now the target of hundreds of Zeus's soldiers. However, David did not glance at his surroundings; he stared straight ahead to where José Ramius was strapped to a presumably seatless chair, behind which Liam Fitch stood swinging a flail in a lazy circle.

Fitch was too busy enjoying himself to notice what was happening. Brimming with glee, he took a step forward and swung the heavy rope under the chair and into José's testes.

José's whole body clenched up and he rocked back and forth, wildly shaking his head, anything he could do to express the excruciating pain coursing through his body. Despite it, José didn't scream. He had to bite his lip so hard that blood filled his mouth and streamed down his chin, but his screams rose and died in his throat.

David squeezed off one shot, not at Fitch, not at anyone, but at the ceiling. Now all attention was on him, and a deadly silence crept over the room. He felt his neck tingle and knew there was a gun there somewhere.

"Stand down, Spectre," Rosana said. She moved around to his side, so he could see her out of the corner of his eye. Now her gun was aimed directly at his temple. Now he did take a closer look at his surroundings. José wasn't the only one here. The other members of the crew were gathered too, though it seemed like none of them had been harmed. Yet.

"One of my men is being publicly tortured and the rest are on the chopping block. I want answers."

Rosana's expression instantly shifted to calm amusement. "Ah, of course. One of 'your' men: assuming that he is still your man."

David's blood ran cold. "Wh-what?"

"Three of 'your' men snuck into the restricted area and entered the maze, presumably to assassinate Zeus. Two of them died, but this one made it all the way to Zeus's room. They also set up a backdoor into our security and comm systems." Rosana levelled David with a withering stare. "Tell me, were you aware you had Human Defence League spies in your crew?" David dumbly shook his head. She continued. "In a crew of what? A dozen people, you mean to tell me three of them are spies and you didn't know?" She searched David's face, but the only thing David let her see was the very real surprise he felt from being outmaneuvered by Zeus once again. "I'm sorry we haven't come to you with this, but Fitch was making sure you weren't a spy too."

"Was he?" David said. "I didn't notice."

"Oh, you wouldn't have. But that one certainly did." She said with a bit of a chuckle.

David checked his anger and refrained from shooting Fitch and going for Rosana's throat. Do you really think this is funny, Rosana?

José must have kept his mouth shut. That would explain why David and the others were only under heavy suspicion right now and not summarily executed. Slowly, David holstered his pistol. "Tell Fitch to back off," David demanded.

"Fitch, take a break. The Spectre's going to have a chat with our would-be assassin."

David stepped forward to where José sat, quivering in pain. Fitch sneered at him and called out, "Spectre, glad you could join us! Hey I've brought a friend! Anton, sorry we started the party without you, but you're here now so let's put that behind us," Fitch apologised. "You haven't missed much anyway; the party's been kind of dead. I've been trying..." he lashed at José's back, "...to liven..." whip, "things up," whip. "But the guests just aren't being sociable," he exclaimed, whipping José another three times. José tensed in pain, but still he made no sound, not one peep. Good man, David thought.