Matthew Dunn - Sentinel

Guy stared in the direction of Will; his face still showed no fear. “Then we are in a bit of a bind, wouldn’t you say?”

“I’d say we’re in a terrible bind. But I think I have a solution to our predicament. Do you know what that is?”

Guy nodded. “Of course. You need to torture me. Though I must forewarn you that pain doesn’t scare me and in any case I’ll just tell you what you want to hear, but it won’t be the truth.”

“We’ll see.” Will looked toward Laith and said, “Get the box.”

A few seconds later, Laith appeared next to Guy, carrying a five-sided metal box and some rope. He placed the items on the floor, pulled open Guy’s jacket, and ripped apart his shirt so that his naked torso was visible. Lifting up the box, he carefully positioned its open side flush against the MI6 officer’s belly and began wrapping the rope over the box and around the man’s body so that it was tightly fixed into position. Laith looked toward Will, nodded, and disappeared back to his seat on the pew.

Will smiled. “Do you know what that is?”

Guy remained calm. “I’ve no idea.”

Will placed his hands together as if he was in prayer. “It’s my means to accelerate matters.” He narrowed his eyes. “I need to know the precise location of Razin. You’re going to tell me. The box will make you do so.”

The Head of Moscow Station shook his head before angling it to one side, frowning and then smiling. “I see. You’ve an explosive device inside the container. It’ll detonate after a period of time unless I give you what you want. The bomb will be small enough to destroy my organs but not large enough to hurt you.” He grinned. “I regret to tell you that I don’t have the secret you want. And even if I did, my life has been devoted to protecting secrets. I’d rather lose my life in an instant than give you what you want and live out the rest of my life feeling that I had betrayed not only my employers and my work but also myself.” His face turned to one of anger; his voice deepened. “Let your bomb go off. I don’t care.”

Will stretched his fingers. “I thought you’d say that, and for that reason I’ll tell you that there’s no bomb inside the metal box. An explosive would give you far too quick a death. Instead, there’s something inside the container that ordinarily you wouldn’t fear. But today you’re going to be terrified of it.” Will stilled his hands. “Inside the box is a rat. It’s sedated. But I estimate that in fifteen minutes it will awaken. Upon doing so it will feel disoriented and scared and will draw upon its survival instincts to do everything it can to get out of its prison. It will scratch and use its powerful teeth to try to force a route through the metal sides of the box but will quickly realize that it stands no chance of doing so. Then it will feel that one side of its prison is softer than the others. It will decide to bite and claw its way through that surface.”

A bead of sweat ran down one side of Guy’s face. “A rat?”

“We didn’t have time to come up with a more refined solution to our bind. For that I’m sorry, because when the rat awakens you’re going to suffer the most agonizing death. It will burrow through your abdominal muscles, tear through your stomach lining, and gnaw through your intestines and liver and kidneys. You won’t die straightaway, because the rat will have a hard task. I think it will take at least thirty minutes for the rat to tunnel its way through your torso until it has emerged out of your back. And at every stage of the rat’s journey, you’ll feel it inside you, scrabbling and ripping through your body.”

Another bead of sweat fell over Guy’s face before dropping to the floor. “I’ll immediately lose consciousness and will be of no use to you.”

Will shook his head, smiling. “We’ll pump your body with adrenaline and saline solutions to keep you awake.”

Guy was silent for a few moments. When he spoke, his words were slow and angry. “Then I’m in the company of demons.”

Will shrugged. “I’ve not told you anything to suggest otherwise.”

Guy looked quickly at the box on his belly before glancing away, clearly deep in thought.

Will kept his attention firmly on his prisoner, studying the officer, wondering whether the man would fall for his ruse. Because there was no rat in the box.

Guy looked toward Will. “I’ll embrace the pain… let it shut down”-his voice was hesitant-“shut down my mind and body.”

“I wish you luck because I’ve no idea if you’ll be able to do that. I’ve been tortured before, but I’ve never experienced what’s going to happen to you. This is a new experience for both of us.” He moved his arm in front of his flashlight’s beam. “I’d say the rat could awaken in ten minutes, maybe less.”

Guy shook his head; he was now clearly agitated. “Who are you? Who sent you?”

Will leaned back. “I’m a man who must capture and kill Razin. I sent myself.”

“You’d let this happen to me? You’d just sit there and watch me die in agony?”

Will chuckled. “No, not just watch it happen. As the rat goes through you, I’ll keep asking you about the whereabouts of Razin. And if you refuse to answer, I’ll personally strap a metal plate onto your back so that the rat has no chance of escape there and will have to turn around and find another route out of your body.”

“Questions and answers won’t matter at that stage.” Guy’s face was now covered in sweat. “I’ll be dead or dying by then.”

“You’ll most certainly want to be dead by then. You’ll beg me to end your life with a bullet in your brain. I’ll be willing to do that if you tell me the truth.” Will leaned forward again, and spoke in a near whisper. “But does it need to come to that? There’s still time for me to remove the box.”

Guy lowered his head; his breathing was fast. When he looked up, his face seemed terrified, confused, but it still displayed some strength and defiance. “I’m an MI6 officer. Men like me don’t betray secrets.”

“And yet you’ve betrayed secrets in the past.” Will raised his voice. “In any case, we shall have to see if others agree with you. Perhaps some of your colleagues may also have an idea about Razin’s location. And I wonder if they will be as resolute when confronted by unimaginable horror. If we don’t get what we want from you, we’ll follow every other member of Moscow Station to their homes, torture them in the same way, and slaughter their families until we get our answer.” He moved his face into the light, knowing that Guy could now see him. “You can end this here, or you can allow me to escalate matters by murdering your entire station. Either way, I won’t stop until I get the secret.”

Anger was once again on Guy’s face. “How could God let you into a place like this?”

“God?” Will laughed, but his tone held utter menace. “God has no jurisdiction over me.”

Guy’s head slumped down.

“Head up, I said!”

Guy lifted his head; his eyes were wet.

“The rat will be awake in minutes, maybe seconds.”

Guy looked toward the ceiling and muttered, “Save me.”

“Look at me. The only thing that matters is me!”

Guy did so. His breathing was very fast now.

“You need to make a decision.” Will kept his face in the light. “Give me the location of Razin or die a horrendous death just before we leave to butcher your colleagues, their wives, and their children. The decision is yours and yours alone.”

The Head of Moscow Station had tears rolling down his face. He shook his body, but the ropes and the heavy chair remained firm. “Get this thing off of me!”

“Not until you answer my question.”