Mafia Queen

Making Plans

Teela's POV

I stare at the man hanging from the chains. From the look of his color, he has lost too much blood. “Alright, we've gotten enough out of him to get more information from another source. Have the guards drop him at the nearest hospital,” I say, then look at him. “If you say anything about who did this to you, they won't find the body.”

He nods frantically, his face going white as a sheet. From how hooded his eyes I know he is barely conscious, sweat drips down his face, “Y-yes, I understand. I w-won't say anything. P-please just let me go.”

“Alex, Bruce, take this puke out of here and dispose of him at Saint Johns,” I instructed.

Alex and Bruce move to unchain him. They are not careful, even though he is barely alive. They drag him out. Donna's eyes looked like she was longing to do more. It's not like us to leave someone alive. But we do have more leads to follow. If he talks, his death will be swift. Donna and I turn to look at Aria, Pearl and Sophia. “Are you alright?” Donna asks.

Aria looked confused and Pearl and Sophia just rolled their eyes. They know the question is not for them. I explained, “Sophia, Pearl, Rose, Anne and Ruby don't always participate, but they are always welcome and they know it. Donna and I are typically the ones on site and Jade and Jewel alternate who watches the computer, as well as the vitals for whoever we are torturing, and who is on site with us. Aria, sweetie are you doing okay?”

Aria nods slowly, her expression thoughtful. “Yes, I am fine. That wasn't exactly pleasant to watch, but I understand that it got us more information, and now we have more people to find. From that we will get even more information. I understand how this all works.”

I nodded and walked over to her, “If this isn't your thing, you don't have to be a part of it. Trust me, the four of us who like doing this are happy to keep doing it.”

“No, I don't mind. I'm not squeamish or anything. It's just a lot to see your first time. I need to process it. Don't worry, I can handle it,” she assured me.

“Alright, at the next interrogation we may even give you the lead,” I say jokingly. “But then again I am always the one who takes the lead. Jade put Aria on the rotation. I may even be willing to put myself behind the computer so that there are always only three on site. Donna, I know you hate technology, you only use what you have to, so you will always be on site.” Donna nods and I hear Jade through the speaker, “Noted,” she said. “I will rework the calendar so the two of you are in the rotation for computer work as well.”

Donna smiles and wraps her arm around Aria's shoulder, “You'll get used to it, sweetie, the more you do it. We're all still learning to harden our hearts. Well, all of us but Teela. Sometimes I wonder if she even has a heart.”

I smile wickedly, “Not all of us,” looking at Sophia and Pearl. “Those who are more timid are the light the court needs to keep us balanced. We all can't be sadistic and psychotic. Jade were there any other members on the live feed?”

“Yes, it looks like everyone was on,” Jade replied. “And we are all waiting for your debriefing.”

I look at the camera and a smile spreads across my face, “Rose, you typically don't watch. Glad to see you are branching out.”

“I thought it was important to witness. I need to understand more of the realities of our world,” her voice came through the speakers.

“Alright, since we are all here, debriefing will be tomorrow at our secondary location for meetings. For those who are coming on site, make sure you are not followed. Rose, I want you on site so you can debrief the court on what we discussed in the car. The rest follow the rotation for who will be on site and who will be live feed in. Aria, I would like you on site. It is important that you know where all of our meeting places are,” I say.

I hear the confirmations from all members and those that are with me nod their heads. As we leave, one of our guards hoses down the floor to get rid of the blood. We wash up and change back into our clothes. I look at Ara, “Tell me truthfully. How was it?”

“It was intense,” she said. “I didn't know it could affect someone that much. But I promise I will not be as scared next time.”

I nod and pat her shoulder, “Take time. We don't torture as many people as we used to do. Though with this new information, we may start back up. Jewel and Jade should be able to find chatter if there is any online. We also have other informants.”

Aria smiles and looks at me, “They are good at what they do?”

“They are both hackers. They had better be,” I say teasingly.

Aria laughs and then looks at me. I see a question in her eye. “Ask,” I say, before she can ask me if she can.

“You said that there are four of you that always handle this, doesn't it affect you? You seemed so composed. Even when dealing with your harsh methods. How do you manage?” she asks.

“I killed my own brother, then I had a hand in killing the rest of the brothers. I lost my ability to feel anything after my brother dismissed me when I tried to help him clean up the mess he made of the family. The second you don't let it affect you, it doesn't,” I explain.

“So, it's just numbness? You don't feel anything? Not even anger or satisfaction?” she asked.

“No, I feel everything. I just chose to not let it affect me,” I reply.

“And how do you do that?” she asked, softly.

“By letting myself completely go when I do this. I let all of my emotions fade away, and I cut my brain off from feeling anything. I have also been known to find a man to take pleasure in,” I recall, with a hint of a smile.

I see confusion in her eyes. And a question of my own comes to mind. “Have you ever been with a man?” I ask her.

She blushes deeply. “No! Never,” her eyes lowered from embarrassment. “It's not that I haven't thought about it. I've just never taken the opportunity.”

I lift her chin and make her look at me. “Hold onto that. After you have been doing this, as long as I have, you will need a way to release. Your first time should be after a day like this. It will be far more intense.”

She nodded and stepped back, "I'll keep that in mind. I just imagined it would be under different circumstances. But I guess nothing about what we do is normal."

"I didn't say don't have s*x on your own terms. Just know that doing it after days like this makes it incredible. Now I'm a little upset. My favorite play toy is dead," I mused.

Aria looks at me confused again, "Rose's cousin. He was the man my parents picked out for me to marry. I had no problem sleeping with him. I just didn't want to marry him. He thought he could change my mind. He found out he was wrong. He was good in bed, so we both thought it was a win, win."

"A win, win indeed," she smiled and then looked down again. "Can I ask you another question?"

"Speak freely," I tell her.

"Do you think you will ever want to get married?" she asks.

"Maybe, if I found the right man." I answer.