“Knock yourself out scrawny,” Nym replied, focusing on her pacing. She wasn’t trying to purposely be loud, but she wasn’t going to try to quiet her chains as she paced from wall to wall. The clinking would either tick this interrogator and they would be removed, or it would be a way for her to be that much more of a nuisance.
The fire in her eyes had only filled slightly in the minute she had been pacing, though it came back full force at mention of her country. “Your country obviously inherited your lack of brains when you enlisted,” She growled back. Normally she ignored any off hand comments about her home when she was out, but here in a cell, there was nothing stopping her besides her common sense.
Rael returned the response with a partial flimsy salute. "Call me Sergeant Han or Rael if you'd like, Agent Pialla or is there something you prefer for me to call you?", he asked. In the corner of his eye, he looked out to see if the others had come back. If there were any footsteps, their sound are drowned out by the spy's chains. He closed the door then started to make clicking sounds using the one end of the pen. Hopefully the three knocks will be heard soon.
"Bajhe only has one of me, yet I pity my country for being infested with more of you.", Rael shrugged,"They wouldn't send just one over here, am I wrong?" An eye for an eye. Being cursed at or hearing the country being cursed at wasn't something out of the blue for him. A lot of prisoners of war do it all the time whether he's the on they're talking to or not. But to compare it to this feels like an understatement. Defiantly is different to be called scrawny versus other things; it just doesn't feel right to him.
(Fun fact: Waterboarding as most people think of it actually isn't waterboarding? Most people assume you dunk someone's head underwater to waterboard them, but it's actually when the person is strapped upside down to a board with a cloth over their nose and mouth and water is dumped over their head…I may know way too much about this subject)
"Agent Pialla works, scrawny," She replied, using her new preferred nickname for the tall, lean interrigator, "No need to pretend like we're more than enemies." Her words somehow were quite clear over the chains, but whatever she muttered to herself next was lost in the clinking of the metal.
Nym stayed silent after that, not giving him any hint of if she knew about any other spies or if she was the only one. Outhila spies rarely knew of many more spies, at most they knew of two or three more working in their area. It was a risk to know any more than that, and giving away two people was much less damaging than giving away ten or more. It was one of the many tactics they used. And it worked.
(That's interesting, you'd think others would know this most likely. I don't think interrogators use the head ducking thing much depending on who it is. I believe there's also this recreational activity called waterboarding too. Not really surprised that many people don't really know about it. Knowing is only half the battle though.)
Nothing really came up as a reply for him, although he couldn't hold back the chuckle that managed to escape from his mouth. He never had taking into account how amusing this new nickname is. Is this really all she's got though? You'd think that these spies who are renowned for their strength and capabilities would have better nicknames and insults to call him.
"Strange how I agree with you, fascinating Nym.", he pointed out then adding,"But it's the enemy you have to keep closest to yourself." Rael squinted trying to lip read whatever the spy had said afterwards. Would've been better off if those fools hadn't put all of the chains in Bajhe on her.
Stepping away from the wall, he dropped the notes on the seat before making his way over to Agent Pialla. Rael held his hands in front of himself while pacing around alongside. "What was that?", he questioned.
(Very true, and yes there is an activity called waterboarding lol. Wouldn't want to get those two mixed up)
Nym scowled at the use of her name, muttering yet another string of incomprehensible words and rolling her eyes. Rael, as he called himself, was going to be just as big of a pain in the ass as she was going to be. That much was becoming crystal clear to her.
She turned around again, starting her next loop when the interrogator made his way alongside her, causing her to instantly take a shuffle step away from him. "What was what?" She asked, looking up at him. Nym blinked innocently, even as her eyes held their constant fire, "I didn't hear anything." Pissing him off was going to be so much fun.
Not only that, but it was going to make waiting that much less boring. If only she had someone to make a bet with to see how angry he could get. Just against herself her bet was already to the point of him throwing something across the room. That was goal number one. Along with getting these chains off that was.
Forcing an explanation out of her now doesn't seem likely. All of this will be trail and tribulation for him. He couldn't help but notice the way the agent responded to him calling her by her name; and the way she inched away from him too. Oddly that grimace sort of comforted him in a sense; it amused still as well. Rael took a tiny step closer and elbowed her. Taking another glimpse, he moved back to the same distance.
"Oh Nym, I was just talking about how your brain must be damaged after that exciting fall.", Rael answered,"Must've affected your hearing too."
Finally, there was knock at the door. Most likely it only had taken at least ten minutes or so to go over there and back. Time must've stopped by the moment he had come inside. "Come in!", he shouted. And with the sound of the door creaking open, Rael shoved the agent against the cell once again before walking over to the guards.
Going over, he helped the two men by holding the door. Watching them come in with three watering cans, a cloth, a board with two cuffs on the top and bottom, and some zip-ties. Perfect.
(Sorry it’s a little shorter)
“And I still have more brains than you ever had,” She replied overly sweetly, shoving him away from her as he nudged her, “Don’t worry scrawny, not all of us can be smart.”
She hissed as he shoved her against the wall, not prepared for the movement, “Bastard.” Then she was back upright, face set in stone as she watched the equipment come in. Exactly what she was expecting.
And exactly what she knew how to handle.
(Don't worry, it's all good.)
Back at it again with the brains thing. Honestly he feels like he needs to start counting how many times she'll bring up intelligence or not admitting anything. How many times has it been so far? Six? Really the only thing he should be counting is how long it'd take to get just a single sentence of information out of her. Patience is a burden when you realize none of it will go by quickly or smoothly.
A small gap between his lips was made ready to spill whatever sort of retort he could think of. Closing it, Rael realized that coming up with one would serve no purpose. Instead he just stood there next to the door watching the guys set things up. His eyes watched their every move as they went around getting ready. Eventually they looked up over at the spy. She seems very determined about this like she's been through this before. The fact was just outright agitating to him. What will it take for an Outhila spy to break? He must find out for himself, one way or another. "Get her off the chains and onto the board. Now.", he commanded.
(heyyy that rhymedddd :D 'what will it take for an Outhila spy to break')
"Better listen to scrawny boy, don't want him to throw a tantrum." Nym watched carefully, returning to her pacing, making sure her chains made as much noise as possible this time. "Please do take these things off, it will be much easier to kill you with free hands," She replied, holding out her chained wrists and nodding to the board, "Though I would much prefer not to be stuck to there, thank you very much."
It took determination to make her nerves twist into something that resembled fear cross her face for an instant. She had to look weaker than she was when it came to torture. That realization took place moments after the guards neared her. She had to look weak, afraid of the lumps of muscle coming towards her, afraid of torture. Up to the point she was grabbed by the guards she was pacing, forcing her nerves to get her moving instead of thinking about the sensation of drowning that came with this cheery form of torture.
(Lol I didn't even think about when writing it. I just realized that! :) )
Rael's nails dug into the sides of his arms listening to her. Probably what made this even more worse was that one guard stopped while the other looked at him. Without wasting any time, he just flicked his wrist beckoning them to continue. It's not like he's going to take one of their batons and start whacking them with it. Trying to point his focus somewhere else for the time being, he stared at Agent Pialla. Her expression piqued his interest right away.
You don't just give in on the first try, especially for someone of her specialty. Agent Pialla had already started this with a fight, clearly, so what's the point? Those pests always find ways to keep going on, battling in secrecy till they get what they needed or till they meet their own demise. Now Rael would be even more screwed if the spy reconciled to hers. The general would most defiantly make him abandon post. He'll have to figure it out what it is that Pialla wants now, in order to get what he wants. Only after this pleasant activity.
After the guards had attached her to the board, he strolled on over. "Ready Pialla?"
She had fought against the guards just to make life harder as they strapped her to the board, but didn't look scared, especially as she looked at Rael. "Ready as ever, scrawny, just make sure your men know what they're doing. Don't want to kill me on the first day," Nym replied, snorting and adding, "You should know you look even more disgusting upside down by the way."
The fact that she was going to be tortured in mere minutes didn't seem to phase the spy and she almost looked bored as the cloth was placed over her mouth and nose. She spared one more glance at the interrigator, a look of challenge in her eyes. No fear even touched her face, nothing besides unaffected boredom and challenge. This was nothing, she reminded herself. All she had to do was hold her breath and count through it, let the water do it's thing and stick to her counting.
Whatever little skit fighting with two men was, it surely was a nice brief intervention. To Rael, it just looked like another opportunity to waste your energy. He couldn't find that fearful expression from before anymore. At the same time, it didn't exactly reflect the decisive one from awhile ago. Amazing how the spy is so self-assured about this. Her compliment made him snicker for a brief moment. His weight shifted to his right foot as "Asphyxia will be the least of your worries.", he exhaled while breezily glancing over at the watering cans,"Shouldn't it?"
He lightly pulled on the corners of the cloth to make sure there wasn't any folds. As he flipped the notepad to a new page, Rael signaled for the one guard to start. The pen felt bleak in his hand as his gaze followed the watering can.
“It is. The most worrying thing is trying to find the best way to torture you when you’re in this position and I’m out of here.” Nym’s words were muffled because of the fabric and yet she still talked as he straightened the fabric.
She watched the watering can carefully as it neared her face, only closing her eyes when it was tipped to pour water. The water coming over her face wasn’t bad at first, and the breath she had sucked in gave her something to focus on. That and her counting made her sure she was going to be fine with this. She wasn’t sure how long she lasted though before her breath got stale and the water started dripping through the cloth instead of just over her face, proving things to be just as difficult as she sadly remembered them. This was going to be great.
"Let's wait and see, Nym, it's only the beginning for the both of us." Rael glimpsed down at his watch then jotted down the time. He wasn't sure what to anticipate, Pialla seems to be perfectly fine though. If she's been through this before, then she must have a way to save herself from choking for air after this.
Shoving the notepad into his pocket, he snapped his fingers to catch the one guard's attention. Rael held up three fingers then one and three again. It wasn't long till after the other gave the nod when the water started to pour out. Usually the interrogators don't partake in actually pouring the water yet they have to be there since they've commanded for it to happen. The rules could change for him given the situations, but deep down, he wishes they won't have to do waterboarding more than twice at least. He sighed glancing over at the other two watering cans. Rael could feel his skin turning cold as sweat ran down the side of his face. The first one shouldn't have to take long.
Nym did her best to work on counting as her breath got harder to hold, the water rushing over her face. Even holding her breath did nothing as the water flowed into her nose, causing her to want to do nothing else but cough it all up. Still she forced herself not to though. She could handle this. She would handle this. It was only the first day of being in this damn cell after all, and she couldn't give Rael the satisfaction of even getting the smallest detail out of her.
She twisted her head to the side as the water didn't stop though, making the mistake of trying to cough out the water and sealing her fate of water rushing into her mouth. Now she was forced to try to spit out the water through the cloth, earning her nothing more than more mouthfuls of water and the feeling of not being able to breath. It didn't feel as much like drowning yet at it would, but it wasn't fun. And even as the watering can was finally empty, she was still trying to cough out water through the fabric.
For the remainder of the time, he just stood there and observed. His weight shifted to his right leg as he kept his arms crossed. Rael would start to narrow his eyes in curiosity. Could Pialla really hold her breath for this long? Right as she moved her head, he titled his to the side. Guess that was an unfortunate misread for her. Well, eventually something of the sort would have to happen, no? Outhila spies might be as surprising as everyone says they are to be. It didn't matter, immediately after it was over as he'd suspect.
Now the rule is to have the water pour till emptied then give the prisoner a one minute "break". Kind of a stupid requirement since anybody would need more than a minute to be able to breathe again. Also seemed to go against the whole torture thing in the first place, but no one doesn't want to lose all the potential information that can get them somewhere. It's only Rael's first time though, the general did tell him to be experimental and have fun with it. He didn't feel like saying anything just yet, the silence the cell had before was pierced with the sound of someone trying to get air and the guard getting the second watering can.
Just as the next one was about to begin, he held his hand out causing the other to go back an inch. Stepping closer to the board, he took the upper left corner of the cloth and lifted it for just a second. "Good job Agent Pialla.", Rael said in an unenthusiastic tone,"Should we go to round two or is there anything you have to say for yourself?"
Nym tried her best to spit up as much water as possible, succeeding only to swallow and equal amount of water. She shook her head for a minute as well, getting as much water out of her vision as possible while Rael moved the fabric. Taking the opportunity, she spat out as much water as possible, scowling at him and coughing out, "Go. To. Hell. Scrawny." Her ribs hurt from coughing, her nose hurt from getting water inside of it, and her head hurt from being stuck upside down. The faster she could get this done, the better she decided.
Besides knowing that she could cause permentant damage to her lungs with the amount of water she had sucked in, this wasn't as bad as what she had gone through in Outhila. Yes it had ben several years, but she hadn't gotten more than a thirty second break there, and the cloth never was lifted. This was painful, but it was easier than other forms of torture.
Before the cloth could be put back down and she was sealed back into drowning, she sucked in another breath, glaring at Rael.
A little trail of laughs fell out of him as he brought his face away when she stared to spat out water. He wondered when she would tell him to go to hell. It sounded like cacophonous and mellifluous in a certain sense. Putting his hands on the dampened board, Rael brought his face closer again. "Nym, I'll just meet you there when I'm not busy.", Rael smirked as he looked down at her.
In his field of vision, he noticed one of the guards also had smug look on his face. Taking the other's baton, Rael held it up. His arm did a slight jerk as he was on the edge to start beating the lights out of the guard. Staring back down at Pialla, he shook his head before mouthing the word,"'Go" There's always enough time to deal with the imbeciles under his command. No one is for sure who long they'll have the spy in their hands without anyone else knowing about it. Oh well, might as well keep the baton for later, just in case.
During the second part, he kept looking down at his watch then would go to Pialla for just a few moments. Nothing about it was eventful to him this time. He'd have to write a few details about this one too, but he decided to do that later. Luckily it ended sooner than before. Both the first and second round were the same length of time, roughly around three minutes, and yet this one felt as if it went by faster. "Two's better than one, so let's stop it at there for now.", he removed the material folding it into a triangle, before ordering"Get her off and put the chains back on right away." Rael tied the material around the handle of the watering can then sat it next to the door.
Nym did about just as well the second time around, though the time she held her breath this time was several seconds shorter. Her eyes watered from coughing, or at least that's what she assumed it was from. Easily it could've been from the water washing over her face. She coughed once more as the cloth was finally lifted, turning her head to the side and trying to spit as much water out before the guards got a hold of her.
She didn't comment on anything Rael said either as he decided that was enough, just glared daggers at the guards while they took her off the board and fastened her chains back on her. They were smart enough not to let her go in-between the board and chains, but if they had, she was sure she would've tried to beat them to death, even with the amount of coughing and spitting up water she was doing.
All she hoped now was that he had forgotten about his earlier request of stress positions as she crouched and ignored her injured pride, putting a hand to the ground as she tried to regain control of her breathing.
Rael opened the door for the two guards who managed to collect everything quickly. One of them had the zip-ties in his left hand along with a watering can. Snapping his fingers, the man had stopped to look at what he was pointing to. As the guard lifted his hand, Rael took the zip-ties out. Immediately he sent him off along with the other mumbling a thank you. Surprising how he was so focus on the waterboarding that he'd forgotten about it. He also forgotten about his beret that still lied on the floor; there's no way of getting out of here if he's being this clumsy.
Once again he sat back in the chair staring across the cell at Pialla. The sight of her still trying to gain her ability to breathe again was close to being pitiful for him. And so it begins for them. He doesn't expect for the spy to tell him anything still. No one ever really does unless there's something up their sleeve. The zip-ties sat in his pocket along with the notepad; he still does want to use them, although the question for him is when. Rael doesn't want to rely on stress positions to gain any significance in this interrogation. "I'll wait for you to curse me after you're done struggling over there.", he stated.
"I'll curse you whether I'm struggling or not," She replied, her voice noticeably raspier than before as she regained control over her coughing fit and got to her feet. Nym rolled her shoulders as she stood, then shook her chains and raised an eyebrow, "Still scare that I'll kill you, twig? These chains and your cowering make that obvious." It could almost pass as funny for Nym to be the one throwing around insults and taunts as she was noticeably shorter than Rael and didn't look like the strongest spy, even with her visible muscle.
It didn't take her long to return to her now familiar pacing, ignoring the interrogator quite well. Anger and plotting shone in her eyes, but her face showed nothing of it besides when she let out the occasional cough. Even for a spy, she was human, and it would take her a while to recover from waterboarding.
At first it was scrawny, now it's twig. This is true development right here; after twig it's going to be runt. Rael had to cover his face with his hand in order to hide any sign of a smile. On the other hand, his shoulders did lightly bounce up and down. The warden of prison said that it takes more than a few minutes after being waterboarded in order for someone to recover. Looks like Nym is making some progress with it, apparently. Sounds like even if you waterboard her several times, she'll still insult you; amazing.
Rael stood straight up from the chair pushing it behind with the back of his foot. He took the notepad out, spending a minute writing down something then placed it back in his pocket. Trudging over to her, he buried whatever hint of expression could easily reveal itself. Slowly, he knelt down the removed the chains from Pialla. The whole time he kept his eyes low while wrapping them around his neck. "Come on before those two idiots return.", Rael sighed,"Kill me, unless you're scared yourself."
Nym watched him as soon as he stood, her attention snapping to her enemy with lightning speed. She didn't speak as he reached for her chains, but ever so reluctantly paused in her steps, a hint of an amused smile flickering over her face.
Rael seemed to have a death wish. As much as Nym gladly wanted to fulfill his wish and end his life, she knew that it would get her no closer to escape. So, burying the urge to strangle him fully, she did the next best thing. It didn't take more than a few seconds after her chains were removed before she acted either. As soon as the chains were around his neck, she grabbed the loose ends and tightened them around his throat to the point where it would be difficult for him to breath.
"As much as I would love to make you face a painful end, I can't just kill you. That'll land me back in here in a matter of minutes." She hissed, barely loosening the chains and using them to tip his head up like he had done earlier to her, "I have places I want to go still, and staying in here for the rest of my miserable life isn't going to help me get there, twig."
In an instant, he could feel the strain around his neck. It only takes from ten to twenty seconds to faint due to the pressure. Whatever damage that will occur depends on the mechanism too, but given that it's prison chains and not her hands, all of it is going to vary. Rael's hands shot up squeezing the chains till his knuckles turned white. His vision kept meandering from fuzzy to clear every second. In order to get to the door while she's still strangling him, he has to nudge ahead just a few centimetres. Or could Rael just wait a bit longer till the guards come back?
A loud gasp was forced out of him as his chin was brought up. It was hard to register whether or not he was going with denial or primal. He managed to still hear most of what she said even though he felt his heart pounding at a faster rate. Rael didn't have the ability to keep a bleak expression anymore. Between his little ragged wheezes, he chuckled."So what? It's all Hell, Nym.", he managed to whisper.
"Oh I know, Rael," She replied in the same hiss as before, once again loosening the chains so he could barely get in a breath in, "But Hell out of here is a lot more enjoyable than this." Nym met his eyes, her face calm and voice holding every ounce of anger, "So, if you'd like to live another day, you'll help me get out of here."
It felt good to strangle Rael, to get out the anger and frustration from being stuck in here, even if it was in a way that didn't help her. To not kill him though was torture in and of itself. She could get revenge on more people if she kept this one alive. All she had to do first was get out of here.
"Otherwise I know quite a few ways of my own to make you die painfully," She added, leaning in close enough to whisper the last sentence in his ear as the chains tightened again.
Rael's eyes went from staring directly up at Nym to over at the front of the cell. Quickly his hands began to loosen their grip against the chains. Feeling the restraint also becoming just a bit alleviated, he inhaled whatever much air possible. Her last sentence kept repeating inside his head over and over. You'll help me get out of here….
What would the use be for him? She practically spat at him when he mentioned getting out of this retched cell in one piece. And at this point, it's undeniably absurd for him. Becoming a traitor against all that he's ever known is a risk that he'd rather die for instead before ever thinking about committing it. Whatever part of him could ponder at that moment wondered if dying would be more beneficial for him now; or would it be more satisfying for the spy. The tears that fell down from his watery eyes felt warm against his skin.
"Over my mother's grave if you think I'm that fickle!", he roared while glaring up at Nym. The strain on his neck became tighter again. Rael held on tightly again as he tried to thrash to the left throwing his elbow back.
(Darnnnn it— this is already taken. If you ever do a reboot, lemme know, because this looks lit.)
(I'd be up for starting another thread up with you if you'd like? :D )
(If you want to, I'd be honored!!)
Nym glared right back at him, being caught off guard by his sudden movement and tightening her grip on the chains as he twisted. It was enough to get her to stumble, in the process his elbow catching her in the thigh and causing her to gasp with the impact. She did her best to step away from him, cutting off more of his airflow in the process.
"Over my dead body will you get any of my knowledge then," She growled back once she regained her focus, the chains slipping from her hands. On a good day, she would've been able to fare quite well against Rael, so soon after being waterboarded though made it quite difficult. Espeically as her coughing started to resume at the worst possible moment. Still she made a grab for the metal though, determined to get the situation under control again before the guards came back.
(I would love to! Let me get a thread going!)
Rael tried to continue fighting to free himself, time is starting to slip away though and the distance between him and the door is too much right now. Carefully, he changed his position so that he was only kneeling with one knee. He shouted while aggressively throwing his shoulder back. The blood flowing his veins started to boil. His breaths grew shorter and weaker. Who knows how longer he can take this before forcing to give in or going unconscious.
Waving the white flag was something he could never imagine doing. If you'd told him that ten years ago, he'd call you insane. But sometimes it's better off making outrageous decisions. Besides, the chances of him, her, or the two of them succeeding is somewhat low. Rael would probably be more ashamed dying in here than anywhere else. Fine, I'll get you out, just another thing… Making a fist, he started to slam it against the floor in Morse code,"Get me out of here too."
