Eventually, Andrei let go, only to look into my eyes. His were already dry, the mask back in place completely hiding any hint of feelings, other than his familiar creepy smirk. "Now, Sasha, the party isn't over yet, is it?" He pointed at the waiter with his head.
I looked at our guy. He was curled up in a ball, his eyes tightly closed and his bloody hands trying in vain to cover his ears. Trying hard to convince himself this was only a bad dream, a nightmare.
I glanced at Andrei, who just nodded. Words weren't needed. They had already been said, after all. I grabbed the bloody toothy pliers, put them in my pocket, and faced the guy, my hand casually resting over his arm. "Hey." I shifted my hand to gently move his so he could hear. "Hey, man. Have you heard Andrei?" I got closer. "He said party isn't over."
The guy tried hard to cover his ear again while letting out a pathetic whimper.
I held his hand away from it. "No, man. Don't do this. It doesn't help anyone, you know."
Andrei had come to our side. He didn't say a word, just grabbed our guy by the wrist and pulled, sending him flying across the room. The poor thing crashed loudly against the glass door to the balcony, smashing the thing and making a bloody mess in the process. He started wailing in pain – smashed glass tends to be pretty sharp.
Andrei again walked up to him, grabbed him by the ankle, and dragged him across all the shattered glass, back into bed. Our guy cried louder in response, but Andrei completely ignored him 'till they both were on the bed. "Sasha, hold him, will you?"
I shifted around to grab his arms, immobilizing them. Andrei sat on his belly, making sure he couldn't really use his legs. Then he drew a knife, took it to our guy's cheek, and started fidgeting with it, without saying a word. Our guy naturally started whimpering yet again.
Andrei grinned at that while letting out a supposedly disappointed sigh. "I'm getting tired of all your screaming, my friend. Sure, the walls here are fully soundproof, but they can only do so much. So, shut the hell up already, or I'll have to make you." He paused for a moment. "You know, since you aren't actually screaming, but more like, wailing, chances are cutting off your tongue won't make it." He smiled again. "I'll have to tear your throat open and cut those pesky vocal chords. THAT will shut you up, that's for sure."
Our waiter bit his tongue, trying hard not to make more noises. Still, it's quite hard to cry in complete silence.
"Now, here's the deal," Andrei continued. "You scream again – you know what I'll be doing. Understand? … Good. Now, Sasha. I believe you had a job to do? Huh?"
Yeah. The guy's teeth. Oh, well. Andrei shifted his hand to hold the guy's mouth open, as I reached for the pliers. The guy started wiggling like mad when he saw them. I closed my thighs around his head, immobilizing it. "Now, now. I can't exactly say no, and he won't exactly change his mind, you know. So, you better cooperate, we make this quick, and before you know, it will be over. Okay?"
Andrei laughed. "Sasha, don't lie to him. This is going to be hell, and you're gonna make sure of it."
I looked into his gleaming eyes for a full second. That gave me the strength to make the decision yet again. I couldn't help smiling. "Of course, Andrei," I said before looking down and latching the pliers into one of his front teeth.
Small twist. High-pitched scream. Pull. … My poor eardrums. Andrei took the knife and stabbed it into the guy's throat, right through the vocal chords, letting it there to staunch the blood – we didn't want his lungs filling with it, after all. He looked back at me. "Keep going, Sasha."
Again. Latch. Twist. Pull. Vain attempts at screaming, that now were just a soft gurgling roar. Much easier on the eardrums, if you ask me. … And again. And yet again. 'Till there was not a single tooth left in his bloody mouth. Quite the sight, if you ask me.
Andrei checked the guy's pulse. "We don't have all that much time," he said, before springing up to open another drawer. He came back with a pulley and some rope.
That's when I looked up and saw it. There were already two hooks in the ceiling. … I didn't want to know what the hell was it with this one hotel room, honestly.
Andrei had climbed onto the headboard and was trying to attach the pulley to the hook right on top of the bed. He quickly glanced at me. "Sasha, can you find the hooks in the case?"
Oh, shit. Okay. Oh-kay. I opened his briefcase, trying hard not to think too much about its contents. But it wasn't easy considering that I had to search through them to find the damned hooks. I finally found them – two shark-sized fishing hooks. Shit.
I handed them to Andrei, who quickly tied them to the rope. "Okay. This is ready. Now, Sasha. If I remember correctly, this was your test? Huh?" He looked at me. And for a split second, I got lost in the sea again, right 'till he insisted. "Sasha?"
I got back into reality and nodded. "Where?" Where do I hook them. "We don't have that much height in here." For hooking an adult guy to the ceiling.
"His knees. I have something for you in mind."
… That's never a good thing. Right? … For once, I was wrong. Anyway, I pierced the guy's legs, just above the knee, with the hooks. Thankfully, they were deadly sharp. The guy of course tried to wiggle and scream, but Andrei was holding him tight, and the knife – and the blood – in his throat turned his scream into a low gurgle.
"Get him up, Sasha."
I pulled at the rope and lifted the guy up – held only by two giant fishing hooks pierced through his knees' skin. Andrei was trying his best to keep him steady, but it wasn't an easy task. "Hey, listen to me, you idiot. If you keep moving, the skin is gonna rip, do you hear me? THAT hurts. Now, stay still already, dammit!"
After a short while, he seemed to understand that the more wiggle, the more pain, so he finally stopped. I couldn't keep my eyes away from him. He looked like a dead pig at the slaughterhouse – a bloody mess.
Andrei hugged me from behind. "Do you trust me?"
"You know I do."
"… What are you willing to do?"
"Just ask." There was no hesitation in my voice. I had already made up my mind.
Andrei sighed. "Okay. Close your eyes and let go."
As I closed my eyes, he gently guided me to lie down on the bed, belly up. Soon I felt something warm dripping over my chest – and I realized what he'd done. I couldn't help opening my eyes to see it – to see the blood dripping all over, tainting my soul like a drop of ink can taint a full glass of water. And I couldn't help smiling as I saw his eyes and understood. No way out, indeed.
