Chapt 66
Bringing the Pain
SMACK!
Special Agent Lopez's open hand connected with Leo's face, hard. He saw stars.
Leo laughed reflexively. “You hit like a little bitch.”
She smiled. “That's not surprising. I am a little bitch.”
“No, when I said little bitch, I meant someone who obviously flunked the beating prisoners part of their thug Special-Agent course work. I feel bad for putting you in this position.”
Special Agent Jones looked at her, surprised. “I thought you aced that class, Dez.”
“I did,” she responded.
SMACK! More stars.
“Was that better?” she asked.
“No,” Leo shook his head. “You got to put some weight into it. And maybe put on some gloves so you don't damage your soft little hands.”
SMACK!
Leo tasted blood in his mouth.
“My hands are fine.”
Teach: Not sure antagonizing these people is your best option, Leo.
Future Man 10/16: Use the time I gain for you to the best of your ability, Mr. Osmond. All I can do for you at this point.
“Is your implant telling you to do this, Leo?” she asked. “If so, you should consider whether obeying your implant is in your best interest right now. In fact, I think obeying your implant would be extremely stupid.”
“Suppose we could cut off his fingers?” Special Agent Jones asked.
***
41 years in the previous future
“It doesn't have to be this way, Goblin. Tell us where the shelter is.” The large man towered over him. The wrappings on the man's fists were covered with Goblin/Leo's blood. There was at least one other man out of Goblin/Leo's sight waiting in the background.
Leo/Goblin spat out some more teeth. "You hit like a little bitch." Losing teeth was no big deal. Same with the broken hands and feet. He just hoped they didn't damage his vision. Eyes took forever to grow back.
They'd found him at the worst possible time. He'd just escaped from an ambush from four Low-Level Bosses. Both Wind-Sword and Time-Dilation were on cool-down.
Also, at least one of the men who captured him was an implant-wearer with the ability to suppress Goblin/Leo's skills. He discovered this when he tried to cut his way free and escape the broken-down building where they were keeping him.
It wasn't that he had anything against begging and groveling for his life. He just knew it wouldn't do him any good.
“You've spent your life moving from shelter to shelter,” the large man said. “These people are nothing to you, Goblin. Work for us. We'll pay you in meal cards for every shelter you find us. Good meals too.” The man held out some blue sheets of paper the size of playing cards, with the words, "food ration".
“Those people are going to die anyway,” said a second man from behind him. “You might as well get something out of it.”
“Do you have steak? I like steak,” Leo/Goblin asked.
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“We got cattle, we got chickens, vegetables, potatoes. Tell us what you want. I'll make sure you get it.”
Leo/Goblin spat some more blood on the floor. “Okay, I'll tell you...” He paused, catching his breath, waiting until his captors grew impatient. “The shelter is up your mother's ass. Can't imagine how you missed it when you were banging her last night.”
The man's fist slammed into his face like a wrecking ball.
Later, Goblin/Leo woke up still manacled to the iron chair, only now he was on his back, choking on water being poured on him from the large man's canteen.
“Goblin, Goblin, I don't think you're taking this seriously,” the big man looked down at him sadly. “And my mother's long dead, you perverted creep.”
“Sorry,” Goblin/Leo said with a groan. “My mistake, must have been your sister.”
“I'll say. Goblin, you are always getting into trouble,” came a disembodied voice.
“Shit! Tyson!” the large man backed up against a wall, waving his gun.
Leo/Goblin looked up behind him. From the corner of his eye, he saw the second man—Tyson? slump and fall to the floor, not moving.
“About time you showed up,” Leo/Goblin said through broken teeth.
“I was waiting to see if you'd sell us out,” the invisible man, Scorpio, responded. “I thought I might have to kill all three of you.”
“You bastard,” Goblin/Leo said. “How about setting me free?” He had access to his gifts again and could have freed himself with his wind-sword, but his fine control wasn't the best and he didn't want to cut himself in the process. His body was damaged enough already.
“Wait! Please!” the large man said, gun out, pointing it blindly in the air. Searching frantically for an invisible opponent. “You don't understand. If I don't come back, they eat my kids! Please!”
“If you do come back, they eat my kids. Not seeing how this can be resolved with polite discourse,” Scorpio responded.
The large man let out a gurgling noise, his throat slit. He slumped to the floor. Dead.
The radio came to life. “This is Central City, calling F patrol. Any news on that prisoner?”
“Prisoner's dead,” Scorpio said in a perfect imitation of the large man's voice. “I hit him too hard.”
“Sucks for you guys. The Bosses are getting impatient. They want results.”
“Our dead prisoner, Goblin, came from the North,” Scorpio responded using the same voice. “From what we could tell, he was too lazy and stupid to forage any farther away from the shelter than he had to. I'm thinking we're close. Gonna check.”
“Be careful. Central City out.”
There was a minute of silence as Scorpio pushed Goblin/Leo's chair upright and cut his manacles, freeing him.
Goblin/Leo groaned, collapsing on the floor in a puddle of his own blood. “Lazy and stupid. Really?” He grabbed the open canteen, dropped earlier by the large man lying dead in front of him, and gulped down the remaining water.
“These bastards are getting persistent,” Scorpio said, ignoring him. “We're nowhere near their damn city, but they keep searching farther out. Go ahead of me, and make sure you take the scenic route back to the shelter. I'll leave a false trail to throw off pursuers. If you deviate from the scenic route, I'll know, and I'll kill you.”
“Scorpio, you're such a dick,” Goblin/Leo said. “I bet you'd kill your kids for not eating their vegetables.”
“I work hard to get them those vegetables. They'd better eat them,” Scorpio responded, not seeming to be offended.
“Give me a minute for my smashed feet to heal so I can walk,” Goblin/Leo said. “Did they leave any food?”
There were sounds of the room being searched. A meal bar got tossed in his direction. He spotted at least two more meal bars and a bag of jerky coming out of various pockets as Scorpio searched, but Scorpio made those vanish again.
Goblin/Leo grabbed his meal bar, tore off the wrapper with his still-healing fingers, and shoved it into his mouth, chewing painfully with broken teeth.
When visible, Scorpio was an older man who resembled a small, mild-mannered accountant. But outside the shelter, the assassin remained invisible and wasn't someone you wanted to mess with.
It was closer to an hour before his feet healed enough for him to limp his way outside. “You know if I'd told them the truth, they'd have killed me, right?”
“You think so?” Scorpio responded.
“Some little sneak they couldn't trust? No way they'd have kept me around.”
The bodies of the two men seemed to float in the air, then vanish. “Good thing you didn't tell them.”
Goblin/Leo limped away. The scenic route was a very long walk, most of it was underground with no actual scenery. Despite the meal bar, he was still starving and it would be a long time before he'd get a decent meal.
***
“It's like you read my mind,” Special Agent Lopez said to her partner. “Let's cut off a few of his fingers. See if that fixes his smart mouth.” She reached into a pocket and pulled out a scary looking cigar-cutter.
Leo laughed. “Why don't you start with this one.” He extended his left hand in a fist, his middle finger raised in the air.