Imperatrix

chapter 12

A rope hung from the ceiling with Andrea’s hands tied to it, his feet barely touching the floor. Cold water from the ceiling dripped steadily onto his head, and he shivered. He was dressed in only his briefs. The door opened and Jack walked in with Lucas and Dimitri. They met Jose cleaning a long whip. Jose was quite skilled with the whip. She looked at Andrea's hanging figure, he had been there for a couple of days.

“Hello Andrea, how are you this morning?” Jack asked dragging a chair and going to sit in his front, “Feeling alright?”

He grunted and mumbled something in reply. She sighed, “I don’t know what you said Andrea, you gotta speak up.”

He slowly raised his head and glared at her, “Screw you bitch!” he spat.

“Now, now, that’s no way to speak to a friend. We are friends, right?”

When he didn’t answer, she got up and walked around him. His back was a mess. It was filled with welts and bruises from the bullock whip Jose had used to flog him. She slowly ran her finger along the cuts, and he hissed in pain. Blood and water dripped from the cuts.

She walked back around and stood close to him. She held his face when he tried to turn away. Her nails digging into his flesh.

“Pull the rope,” she instructed, and Jose walked over to the pulley and pulled the rope.

Andrea screamed in pain as his arms were stretched even more and his feet dangled in the air. His hands were carrying all his weight, so he tried to stand on his toes. He groaned and sobbed.

“Aww, uncomfortable? Good! Now let’s get down to business, why did you kill my father?”

Andrea shuddered as more water dripped on him. “Answer me! Why did you?”

He began to laugh lowly at first, then the tempo increased as he laughed despite the pain she knew he was feeling. It was the kind of laugh that sent chills down Jacks spine, “You done?” she asked in a bored voice, “What’s so funny?”

Andrea cackled like the lunatic he was before finally speaking, “You do not know what you are dealing with little girl.”

“Oh I think I do.”

“They will come for me,” he said full of assurance.

Jacks reply was instantaneous, “And I am counting on it. Though I’m beginning to doubt since they haven’t tried contacting me,” she said with a blank expression.

He looked at her and sneered, “Go to hell.”

“No, you are the one going there now. Save a spot for me.”

She nodded at Dimitri and left the cell. Andrea’s screams echoed around her as she washed her hands of the blood in the sink in the hallway. Dimitri had an aptitude for having the most fantastic ideas when it came to killing and torturing people. She closed the door leading down to the basement cutting of the screams.

Jack walked through the house and came to a stop before his study. She had not been there since he died. Taking a deep breath, Jack opened the door and stepped in, Dominic’s scent hit her. His spicy scent, the scent of the tobaccos he used to smoke still lingered in the air, and she inhaled deeply.

His ash tray still had ash on it, and there were some open files on his desk as if he had left in a hurry and would come back soon. Oh how she wished that was the case. She looked at his seat, half expecting to see him scribbling on paper.

The study was wide and had dark blue wallpapers covering the walls. There were huge bookshelves covering a part of the room. On the other side of the room were two brown couches sitting opposite each other, a small round glass table between them. The walls had paintings of landscapes and nature, and other artifacts. A potted plant sat near the window.