Hotel Six: A Call of Duty Fanfiction

Prologue II

PART II

I breathed out a misty breath. God damn, it was cold in this place. My eyes cast around the lifeless grey stones around me, forming the tall walls of what used to be a castle, long ago turned into a prison for political criminals. 

My pace halted at the iron bars of a spacious cell. I peered in at a man who barely seemed to have his wits about him; then again, he had been sleeping in a pool of his own blood for the last several hours, I wasn't surprised by the dazed, distant look on his face. When his weary eyes met mine, they almost appeared to be grey-scale; devoid of colour and vitality. 

"Sir," said a man coming up beside me. "Looks like we made a great catch; look at this!" He tossed a patch to me and I snatched it out of the air.

I was silent a moment. "... So, you managed to capture the Captain..." I mused, a grin threatening to pull at my mouth. 

"This will be such a fun message to deliver," he purred insidiously. The soldier pulled a knife from his belt. 

"I sense a lack of respect for this prisoner..." 

He chuckled, opening the door. "An enemy of the Ultranationalists, and a prisoner: what respect is there to give?"

Though he pushed the door to close behind him, I stopped it with my foot and quietly, slowly walked in, keeping my distance. Just as he got within striking distance, the Captain wrestled him to the floor with surprising ease, in spite of the bullet wound in his shoulder, and pinned the man down. He grabbed the knife and, despite the pleading and desperate cries of the soldier, sank the blade into his neck and pressed until he could hear the metal tip bore into the stone floor. Even handcuffed, he was dangerous.

"Impressive," I said in English. 

He was breathing hard and locked an icy gaze with mine. The Captain looked like an untamed animal, with fire and aggression coursing through his veins. 

I slowly paced towards him and grabbed a rickety, old chair to sit on. I couldn't have been more than a meter from him, and I leaned forward to rest my elbows on my knees with my hands clasped in front of me. My head angled slightly away from him, my eyes still on his. "I see you're not afraid," I said.

"Why would I be afraid of a little cock sucker like you?" he challenged. 

I guffawed at his gall. "Feisty, aren't you?" I returned. "What a refreshing change from the usual, whiny pussies I usually get."

"You want something, Kingfish; spit it out." 

Hm. He wasn't a bullshitter, either. If I was honest with myself, this guy was already growing on me. "I already know who I'm looking for, but you could make it easier on all of you by telling me where these people are." I flipped a small photo through my fingers as I drew it from my coat pocket. 

He looked over the photo, and then looked up at me again. "You're wasting your breath. You might as well shoot me now and call it done."

I laughed again. "Now, now! You think I would be foolish enough to cut such entertainment short? No, sir," I pushed the photo back into my pocket and stood from my chair, turning back toward the door. "I like you! In fact, given time," I turned back to him, my face inches from his. "I think we could be good friends!"

The Captain bared his teeth at me. "And I think, given time, you'll be quite disappointed to find that your speculation was very wrong. I'd rather cut my own veins with my teeth than be considered your 'friend'."

"Ah, that's just how you feel right now. Things can always change."

"They never will. You're targeting my team, and I'm not going to speak. You're out of luck with me." he growled.

I smiled more genuinely this time. "Not to worry," I said simply, walking toward the door. "I have all the time in the world. And, Captain Price," I looked at him over my shoulder. "I'm a very patient man." I slammed the cell door shut behind me and walked away. 

When I was farther down the hall, I could feel the grin on my lips stretch into a smile as I heard Prisoner 627 begin to wail from his empty confinement in solitude. Given time, I knew he would break.