The Hitman and His Consort

XLI - Locked

First Person P.O.V: ARTHUR DE LAVINGE

‘sh*t—this is the fifth induced headache I’ve had today,’

The side of my head hurt like someone was pounding on it with their fists. I tried moving my body again but still no luck. My arms are still bound and now my whole body was stiff and rigid. I’m starting to feel the rough cloth around my torso and the cold air against my bare feet.

‘What the f*ck is going on?’

“You awake?” Julian asked, and I groaned,

“Holy sh*t—Julian what the actual hell, just kill me, please, I’d rather blow my head off than spend another minute with you,” I said with a sigh, trying to feel my surroundings and just noticed the stiff cushion that I seem to be currently lying on, the air was stuffy and its smells like…

“Am I in a car?” I asked and heard Julian chuckle before he replied,

“Wow, so cool~ you even got that, huh? But yeah, we’re parked somewhere, but I just want to talk to you for a bit,” he said.

This son of a b***h, I just really want to shoot him in the head once, just once, no maybe two… three... empty an entire mag into his dammed face. There’s got to be some hidden agenda to this. Why are we in a car to begin with? He’s not taking me out of the country, is he? It’ll be tricky if that happens.

“Arthur? Are you serious… when you said you’d rather die than be with me?” he said,

“F*ck yes,” I replied, in a heartbeat, zero hesitation. This is the worst experience I've ever had in my life,

“Then… I won’t let you, if I can’t have what I want, then you can’t have what you want,” he began, and I heard a few rustling things in the background,

“Julian, what are you—“

“I could forgive what you did to my ear if you said sorry, but now… you’re just being hurtful,” he interrupted and I felt the bounds on my body tighten, like a thick belt that pinched my skin as it hugged my body closer. The car’s engine revved, and we started moving, the blindfold over my eyes remained intact but the car seems to be dark either way and with the way this headache is progressing I doubt I’m in my optimal state to make accurate depictions of my surroundings.

“I gave you plenty of chances, Arthur, plenty! More than you deserve!” he started yelling as the car felt like it was speeding up. It also made sharp turns. Where the hell is he going?

‘Don’t tell me this f*cker will drive us off a cliff!?’

“And since you didn’t put any of them to use, then there’s no reason for us to be with each other,” he added,

“That’s what I’ve been saying!” I yelled back, I might be dead in mere minutes, but there’s no way I’m going to make him feel like he won this stupid confrontation. I’ll die spitting on his face If I have to. He thinks he needed to book appointments for a blackhead removal facial, but in reality, all he needed to book was a therapy appointment. But we’re way past all that now because the situation might just be literally going downhill.

But to my surprise, and evident relief, the car made a stop. I heard some faint, inaudible chatter, and the car moved again, slower this time, and it didn’t take long until we made another stop. The sound of the door opening and closing rang in my ears, making this f*cking headache worse. This thing couldn’t pick a time and place.

“Is that her?” I heard a familiar voice ask, like an excited kid,

“Yes, you could use her to lure the other’s out but there’s no need for that, I’ll be taking care of them, or since she’s similar To Madeline, just do what you will,” Julian responded and I broke out in cold sweat when I finally put two and two together. This b***h is working for Pierre! That other guy is Pierre, isn’t he? F*ck this is tough.

The next thing I knew, I was being pulled around and got carried like a sack of potatoes and like a strong and traumatic astringent of the scent of the Mariella labs hit my nostrils, bringing me to a new level of nauseatic experience. Looks like Julian found his people. How did he even know where to find me or us—wait, didn’t he say he’ll take care of the others?

'OH SHIT.'

“Stop scuffling, lady,” a voice scolded right next to me, so it wasn’t Julian who carried me inside.

The walking lasted a couple of minutes and I could hear the metal doors closing along with the echoes of the footsteps as we entered a, most probably, empty room. The place doesn’t seem to be small as I could tell from the echoes and the floors are metal here, as opposed to the ones in the hallways earlier, which are tiles. I was then laid on a vertical table-like thing—oh shi*t…

‘You’d got to be kidding me… we’re really doing this 90's kids cartoon mad-scientist-style?’

“Yeah, could we remove the straitjacket after strapping her in?” I heard Pierre ask. I was wearing a straitjacket the whole f*****g time? Julian, that bastard.

“No, I’ll handle this,” the other voice answered, followed by a hand going at my back to loosen the straps one hand at a time, I tried to punch blindly but this bastard choked me in return, “I told you not to scuffle,” he reminded and I smirked as I started to lose oxygen,

“Oh—keugh—wittle man angwy? Did my punch hurt your feewings?” I asked and managed to chuckle as he pulled his hand off my neck, but landed a punch to my abdomen.

“Word of advice… don’t act so tough, you won’t be getting out of here,” he announced, and I smiled.

“Ten bucks says I can, and just to remind you, I already did it once, let’s make it two for two aye, bud?” I pressed more. If I learned anything from Valentin, it’s pissing off your adversary whenever you’re within each other’s vicinity, which makes sense.

There can’t only be me having a hard time, I’ll try to attack with the devices I have now, which is, unfortunately, just my words. In this case, it was effective because the blindfold was now ripped off my face and I can see this ogre-like man in front of me and Pierre in the background, the perfect place for an insignificant coward who can’t even do sh*t by himself.

“Hi Pierre, still a little c*nt, I see,” I greeted, and he gritted his teeth as he stomped towards me and slapped me across the face, “A slap? Couldn’t go for a punch, you li’l b***h?" I groaned out with a smirk, "Ah, no, forget it, we don’t want you ruining your fresh manicure,” I added, making him growl as he gestured for Shrek’s cousin to leave the room.

“You’re too cocky for your own good, you b*tch,” he spat after the door closed.

“Careful, I don’t like getting t**t juice on me,” I spat back, and he scoffed as he took a few steps back before starting to pace the room with slow swift steps, I’m taking this time to survey around but as I thought this is a metal encased room, no doors nor windows, just a small vent far up on the high white-painted ceiling. Don’t tell me this is where they locked Madeline before?

“It’s okay… your words mean nothing to me,” he announced, glancing at his nails.

“That might mean you’re stupid, comprehension is kind of important,” I rebutted. He clenched his jaw and fists, but a deep exhale got him to calm down. Strange, I thought he’d b***h around more and throw a tantrum. The place was also well lit but the silver-gray walls gave the room a dull look despite the sheen.

“You really are Madeline’s sister, you see, your brother was a lot of fun, he’s also got a sharp tongue,” he began, I just gritted my teeth and hid my annoyance behind a smile,

“What is this Pierre, a confession? He already has a girlfriend, you know,” I replied and this time, Pierre froze in his tracks and walked over to me with his thumb grazing over his lips, staring at me through squinted eyes,

“What…did you say?” He asked in a menacing tone,

“Oh, sh*t do you actually have feelings for him?”

“Don’t f*ck with me, but this girlfriend it wouldn’t happen to be someone you know, right?” He asked,

“Hah? Of course, I know her,” I replied, not sure where this conversation is going. Am I putting more at risk if I said it’s August? They’re already going after her though. I guess if I mention her now the worst thing that could happen is they could rough her up, but the labs also need her right?

“Really? Interesting, you see… Madeline stole my belle, and I would like to return the favor,” he explained and I had to blink at him a couple of times before a grin cracked on my face, the scene got so funny for me that I started laughing,

“You mean August?” I managed to ask even over all the wheezes,

“Oh, so you know my August,” Pierre replied with a cautious eyebrow raised, probably clueless why I’m laughing, but his response made everything funnier,

“Yeah… HAHAHA… August, as in Madeline’s girlfriend, August,” I affirmed all I wanted at that moment was a camera the capture the exact moment the cockiness and proudness got drained out of his faster than a toilet flush. Serves the b***h right. I had no idea that him liking August would be a possibility. He did everything he could to antagonize the poor lady!

‘Then he has the AUDACITY to call her ‘his’? This b***h—‘

“So that was his doing huh?... He brainwashed my August,” he said to himself like he finally found a proper explanation as to why August left, apart from the fact that she did that to escape from his crazy ass.

“No, he didn’t,” I said, but he only raised an index finger at me,

“SHUT UP! You’ve said enough… I was going to go easy on you because you’re a girl, but I’ve changed my mind, tests start now,” he announced and stomped out of the room, the metal doors slammed close with a loud clang as he left and a few more light beamed from above making the whole area bright. Perhaps this was the counterpart of my situation earlier when I was in a pitch-black room. After this whole endeavor, I’m not sure which one I prefer.

Maybe somewhere in between, like a normally lit room?

A group of people came in and this had just marked the reckoning of the start of a whole new experience, there were five of them, one was in the sloppiest way I’ve seen someone wear a lab coat, which for some reason made me more nervous. If they were going to ruin my physique and life, I wish they’d do it while dressed professionally otherwise. Why bring me to a high-spec lab?

The other four were in wrinkly surgical gowns. Again, how unprofessional can they be? Either way, I need to figure out a way to get out of here, I shouldn’t stay long, Julian is also already making his move against the others, it’s already dangerous that he found me, him finding out about the clinic wouldn’t be way too far off.

“Specimen A,” the man in the sloppy lab coat said, acknowledging me,

“Hideous newt,” I greeted back, with a nod, having the same tone making him look at me under his thin rectangular glasses.

“You really are his sister, I wish your health would degrade slower the, so we can have better results,” he noted and the other in the gowns turned to me with a smile, like that sort of inside joke is acceptable to be even said out loud these people are seriously disturbed.

And that’s rich coming from someone with murder as a profession. Then again, that doesn’t mean that every person in my line of work is a heartless monster, on the contrary, the best in the field are those who finish jobs without making a big mess of it. In fact, the more undetected the murder is, the better. However, there are also plenty of disturbed people in my area of specialization.

I was just in the insufferable company of one.

Another pair of fully scrubbed personnel entered the room, pushing in a few trolleys filled with apparatus, equipment, tools, and a ton of pills and syringes. I’m not looking forward to any of those and considering my position of being bound from neck, torso, arms, wrist, legs, and ankles, I doubt I’ll be able to pull something out of my sleeve to get me out of here.

‘Yeah… I’m momentarily f*cked, in this situation.’