"You here to finish me off, sweetheart?"The teen smiled at the idea. "I just want answers, Mr. Zima. But if you're so eager to die, I guess I can arrange that."
Answers. Heh. Good luck, girl. Granted, she thought I was properly tied to the chair and actually wounded. Idiots. They can never see it's all staged.
"You'll have to try harder than that, darling."
She awkwardly drew a knife in response. "Don't you worry, Mister. I will."
I could clearly see she was new at this. Good. This could turn up a funny evening. "I would love to see that, my dear."
She tried to grin at my words. "Mr. Zima, all we want is to know what happened to Egorov. We know you had something to do with his disappearance."
I could tell she was trying too hard. Her grin turned out to be an impossibly cute smile. I decided to play with her. "So, what's your name, sweetheart?"
Her voice was cold as ice. "I don't want questions, Mr. Zima, I want answers. What happened to our man?"
I couldn't help to laugh at her nerve. "You really don't know? ... Do you even know who I am?"
"I've heard about you, Mister. But," she took a step towards me and gently placed her knife against my throat, "I want answers, not more questions."
"I just told you, didn't I? But, I guess you want the nasty details, don't you?"
"Yes. I want to know what happened."
I softly smiled at her. "Same as always. We got him. The idiot thought he could stand against me. He was a lot of fun, it took a handful of blood and a bunch of broken bones to make him talk. He ended up pretty beaten up from the ride, you know, so I just told my guys to dump him in the landfill and leave him to die."
Her face changed, her boldness now gone. I guess she was not expecting a confession. "I swear you'll pay for what you did to my father, Mr. Zima."
I freed myself from the loose binds, grabbed her knife and knocked her onto the floor before she could react. "Please, call me Andrei."
She froze at my words, staring at me with horrified eyes. "No. No, you can't be..." She started mumbling.
"Stupid girl. Can't you see? My guys brought me here, staged all of this. YOU are the real target."
She kept mumbling, curling into herself. "No, no, no...."
"Now, I'll make you a one-time offer. You don't accept it - you're dead. Okay?"
She stared into my eyes, finally silent.
"You see, I can always use some more people. You'll stay with your people - but you'll be working for me. You hear anything mildly interesting? I want a call. What do you say?"
She started sobbing. "They'll... they'll kill me, Mr..."
I interrupted her. "Call me Andrei, darling. You're afraid of them? Let me tell you a little... secret." I grinned at her. "You don't do it, you'll wish you were dead. Understand?"
"P-Please, I... I swear, I-I can't possibly...."
I sat by her side, gently brushing her cheek with the knife. "I can make your life Hell, sweetheart. You have no clue on what I do. Don't make me show you."
She broke down, her eyes closed, silent tears rolling down her cheeks. "Please, don't hurt me. I... I'll try."
I let the blade scratch her skin. "Trying is not enough."
"Okay, okay, I-I'll do it, but please...."
I started petting her hair, letting my words belie the kind gesture. "Now, I don't want you forgetting what you just said, you know?"
"Please... Please, don't hurt me.... I..."
"Take off your shirt."
She looked at me in confusion, no clue on where this was going. I smiled at her. She closed her eyes again as she sat and proceeded to undress.
"Now, this may hurt a bit." I beamed as I pulled out the knife again, forcing her to lay on the floor.
She started whimpering as the blade carved an x in her chest - deep enough to leave a scar. A good reminder of who she worked for now.
