Van de Mort was still shaking on the floor, but he slowly raised a hand and showed the Warden his middle finger.
“I can see that he hasn’t lost his sense of humor,” Henry quietly confirmed.
The Warden looked at him coldly. “Van de Mort is a wild animal who you won’t like, Mr. Broncon. He’s got a perfect sense of humor, even while he’s blowing you up with his amateur bombs.”
Henry carefully read his file before he came to Had, and he knew very well what he did before he got a one-way ticket to jail. “I know about his fascinating hobby; that’s why he’s perfect for this group.”
“His blown-up opponents wouldn’t agree,” the Warden declared irritably.
“I know that. I want to interrogate him now.”
Warden shrugged, with resignation and disdain said, “As you wish. I don’t care with who you talk to first!”
Henry responded, “That’s great. Oh and one more thing, I’d like to talk to him with his hands and legs unchained.”
The Warden looked as if Henry asked for a pound of his heart. It was usually impossible to talk to the lunatic prisoners without them being chained, more so this one. So, the Warden tried to dissuade him from his senseless idea, “Mr. Broncon, you’ll be dead before you sitting down at the desk and I don’t want any problems with the authorities when they find out about your death. Just imagine what would happen to me if one of the President’s men were killed here.”
Henry expected the reaction and spoke with a calm candor, “I understand you completely. Where should I sign to show that I take full responsibility?”
He thought about it for a second then gave an order to a guard at the desk, “You’ll record the statement and hand it over to me!”
Five minutes later Henry had signed at the bottom of a thin panel and handed it over with the comment, “I don’t think you’ll need this.”
He was relieved when he received a signed copy and then while is putting it in his pocket, the Warden said, “I don’t want to risk anything. That’s the way I am. Anyways, do you still want to do this?”
Henry nodded.
“Well then, but I must tell you that I don’t want my men to risk their lives either.”
“I didn’t ask for that. Simply open his cell when I sit down!”
Henry went down the narrow stairs, moved into the interrogation room and made himself comfortable at a small desk in the middle of the room. There were two iron chairs securely nailed to the floor. He sat down without paying any attention to the prisoners, who were threatening and whistling the whole time. He slowly opened his briefcase and turned on the laptop.
Warden spoke to him through a microphone, “Should I isolate them? They won’t stop yelling, Mr. Broncon.”
“It won’t be necessary,” he responded. “Now you can open the cell!”
When the bars of Van de Mort’s cell started retracting into the ceiling and floor, all of the prisoners went silent, but only for a while. Soon they realized that the guard had not chained him. They started cheering, “Van de Mort! Van de Mort! Van de Mort!”
He was still lying on the floor, acting like he was hurt, and then with a sudden jump got to his feet, stretched out his arms and gave Henry an angry look. The prisoners started yelling his name, louder and louder. For a moment he thought Henry and was crazy, and then he moved to Vandor Bultʼs cell. He grabbed the bars and said, “Once I get rid of this piece of the crap, you’re next.”
Bult was still lying peacefully on his bed because he knew that the best reaction was no reaction to piss off Endy. Although he would love to get a chance to break Endy’s ugly face, he just looked up and replied, “I don’t think you are going to survive that guy over there. I am way over your league. Hopes and dreams. I’ve destroyed a pretty number of white shits like you, so you’ll simply be a new shithead on the heap.” He looked at Van de Mort turning red with rage and was enjoying every moment. “You’re really not bored of electric shocks, are you?”
Van de Mort instantaneously let go of the bars and growled, “You’re done when we get out!”
Vandor showed him his middle finger, and Henry used the brief moment of silence to call Endy, “Mr. Van de Mort!”
Henry had surprised him. Endy looked at him over his shoulder and grinned, knowing that he could snap Henry in no time. To Endy, the jerk was starting to annoy him. Finally, he would be able to beat somebody up. He rubbed his hands and moved towards Henry. “Yes, that’s me. And who are you, stiff?”
“Brigadier, Henry Broncon,” He said and continued working on his laptop. Henry knew that would make him angry.
Endy watched him and was visibly stunned at the reaction. He did not like Henry taking him lightly. “Ah well, Broncosaur, you’ve made a mistake. You didn’t shackle me and that’s very bad for you.”
Henry was waiting just for that reaction and casually asked, “Why?”
Van de Mort balked, not believing that he had asked him such a stupid question. He looked towards the other prisoners and stretched out his hands. “He doesn’t know. Will you explain it to him?”
All prisoners started yelling, “Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!”
He silenced them with his hands and shrugged his shoulders, “That’s why. Now, I must kill you.” He caressed his chin, pretending to consider, and said, “I had first thought of breaking you up a bit, but unfortunately, now I will have to go the distance; can’t disappoint the gang.”
Henry looked at him and said with a smirk, “I understand. Just that I have different plans, so maybe it is not going to be easy for you.”
Van de Mort hadn’t counted on such a reaction. With every passing minute,he was feeling humiliated. He expected Henry to run away but here he was reading from his laptop with scant consideration for Van de Mort’s aggression. “Well, we didn’t invite you to Hades and your plans are not going to save you. Die is what you will do now.”
He ran up to Henry and threw himself over the desk to grab him. While he was in the air, Henry moved aside with his briefcase and rapped the back of Endy’s head. Henry knew that nobody else would be able to spot his swift moves except Major Vallery, who until that moment had been lying on the bed in her cell; she had not shown much of interest till then. When she noticed his quick movement, she sat up and had a grin on her face. She knew that Van de Mort had no chance against a modulated cybernetic soldier or ‘Cyber’ as they were fondly named by other soldiers.
Van de Mort flew over the chair and fell on the hard floor. He rolled over to the wall on the opposite side of the room and crashed into it painfully. When he recovered, he shook his head and swore, “What the shit?!”
While he was getting up, Henry put away the briefcase so now could maneuver more easily if he attacked again. Soon he was on his feet, and the prisoners started to chant again, “Van de Mort! Van de Mort! Van de Mort!”
He was very angry that he couldn’t get his punch and confused as to how Henry had escaped his attack. He gestured with his forefinger, “The first time you surprised me, but you won’t anymore!”
“Maybe,” Henry replied.
Endy suddenly rushed forward and swung at Henryʼs head with his clenched fist. Henry once again moved out with lightning speed, caught his wrist and made the inertia of his body act like a lever. The bone cracked like a dry branch and Endy screamed as he fell down, “Son of a bitch, you broke my hand!”
“Unfortunately, that’s the only way for me to make you register the seriousness of this discussion.”
He spat at him, “Damn you! Fuck you and your seriousness!”
“I can see that you’ll need more training.”
He didn’t even see Henry’s boot move until it hit his chin. He momentarily lost consciousness and was lying on the floor. Henry looked up at the Warden who was watching him with unbidden admiration, “I think Mr. Van de Mort will have a big headache when he wakes up.”
Warden said with a smile and sadistic pleasure which
was the hallmark of hiss dealings. Today, though, the pleasure was not due to him but Henry. “I’m quite convinced about that, Mr. Broncon.”
The other prisoners, all of a sudden, had a lot more respect for Henry. Major Vallery Monsan was the only one applauding among the otherwise quite prisoners, “And what are you doing here, Broncon?” she said. “Maybe you’re gathering volunteers?”
Her lovely face was serious, but Henry knew she was mocking him.
“I must confess you notice a lot, Major Monsan. You always do.”
Vallery carried a good amount of distrust of Henry and all the while she was trying to gauge the need that the Brigadier has from them. Her feelings for him could not be masked, and she snapped at him, “I’m not a major anymore and as far as I remember the war ended a long time ago?”
Henry looked at her with good knowledge of the individual he was speaking to as he had read her case thoroughly. “It’s true, the war ended. Six months ago the peace contract was signed.”
She got up from the bed and approached the bars. She asked him again, with obvious cynicism in her voice, “So you didn’t come to recruit us for the war to defend the human race?”
Henry coldly responded, “No.”
Vallery was expecting that answer, “Then why are you here?”
“I have come to take you away from Hades,” Henry replied curtly.
Vallery thought. This asshole is full of shit. Then she nervously asked him, “And what if we refuse to go with you?”
He looked her directly in the eye. “I think you know the answer.”
For a moment she lowered her gaze to the floor. A chance to leave this hell was so close, and she was fighting the only man who could help her. As she looked at him again, Henry saw sorrow in her eyes. Her voice trembled as she started to talk, “Brigadier Broncon, before we go to this place, which won’t be any more pleasant than this one, I’m sure, I have to talk to you if it is in any way possible?”
He couldn’t reply to her appeal because Vandor Bult stopped him.
Vandor who listened to their conversation, upset with their story, loudly shouted, “Listen, you white soldier shit! I don’t think I want to go anywhere!”
Henry looked irritably at him and warned him, “Mr. Bult, you haven’t managed your own life for a while, and you won’t for some more time.”
Vandor thought about what Henry said and thought. This stuff soldier, I can handle without much pain! And then he angrily cursed, “Fuck you! I piss on things like you. Just because you’ve put Whitey in order doesn’t mean anything to me, he’s shit like you. I am different, and I’ll break you like a tin can.”
Henry stepped back from the grid and with a smile on his face, and said, “You can do it right now if you want.”
Vallery turned to Bult and warned him, “Vandor, give up this madness! You aren’t much to make his little finger ache. Believe me; he’ll show you what real pain is!”
He angrily looked at her beautiful face and rudely answered, “You bitch! What is your problem? I’ll put your lover’ Beny in order on the first chance I get.”
In the next cell above him, Mark Bontovic was smiling and thought, “What a jerk!”
Vandor hissed furiously, “What are you grinning at you little hacker worm?”
Bontovic stopped laughing and asked him provocatively, “Do you even know what a Cyber is, you the dumb joker?”
Vandor couldn’t believe that that little shit provoked him, and snapped back, “I don’t know, and I don’t care, but I’ll show him a couple of tricks.” He raised his fist at Bontovic. “And you’d better stop laughing, or I’ll mess your teeth up even more than the way they already are.”
“My teeth will stay where they are and the way they are. As for yours, I’m not so sure. He’s probably from the last cyber-modulated soldier generation before the end of the Hasmadar War. Whitey had no chance, so you won’t either.”
“I don’t care! He might be a robot but, I’ll still break him!”
“I feel sorry for you.” Mark got up and approached the bars. “You’ll get served. You’ve been asking for it for a long time.”
“Don’t shit you, tiny dwarf,” Vandor growled while Bontovic withdrew to his bed.
Henry looked towards the control room and shouted, “We’ve got another candidate!”
Vandor flexed his muscular hands and self-confidently asked to be let out of his cell. “Shall we play, Cyber?”
“OK, if you insist.”
He grinned and took his position, moving towards Henry and following his motions carefully. He was tricky, and didn’t attack immediately like Whitey, but despite that he didn’t see Henryʼs first attack. His position didn’t help him, and Henry hit him in the solar plexus. As he bowed over from the ripping pain, Henry hit him with a second blow but this time directly to the chin. He fell like a sack. Henry caught him by his collar, pulled him over to Whitey and threw him over him. Then he asked the other prisoners, “Does anyone else have the desire to kill me?”
Nobody answered, and only Mark laughed, hitting his bed with his fist.
“May we talk now?” Vallery asked once again.
Henry looked at the Warden who was watching carefully from the safety of the control room, his hands crossed over his chest, “Can you provide a place for us to talk?”
“I might be able to find a room, but we have to shackle her. No prisoner should be without shackles in this building, especially outside the cell cubicles.”
Vallery nodded in acceptance. It was a regular procedure in Hades.
“What shall we do with the others?” asked the Warden.
“Do everything according to the instructions you received. These two won’t cause any problems for a while and get the doctors to do something about Van de Mort’s hand. I want them to arrive at our destination in one piece.”
“You don’t have to worry about that, Mr. Broncon.”
While he was speaking, glass casings swept down from the ceiling and hermetically sealed the cells. Only Vallery’s was still open. The Warden gestured to the main guard, and the cells started to fill with a dense white smoke. Henry watched the prisoners; some fiercely beating against the glass walls, but most lay on their beds and waited to be narcotized by the gas. When all of them had fallen asleep, a harsh voice came over the speakers, “Prisoner 700343 take your position!”
Vallery silently approached her cell door, turned around and put her hands through the bars. An older guard appeared holding shackles – they were slender and made from very strong elastic wire cables – he put them in her hands and legs and tied them with an unusual mechanism, and then he gave a sign with his hand. The bars started to draw back into the floor and ceiling. The guard took a step back, took out a shock club and commanded, “You may go out!”
Vallery moved slowly out of the cell, shuffling her feet along the smooth floor because the shackles didn’t permit her to walk normally. In the meantime, Henry went upstairs to the Warden and the two of them followed him.
“I like your attitude, Mr. Broncon,” the Warden said with a smile, “and if you’re ever looking for a job, you may want to talk to me.”
Henry didn’t like his suggestion and replied curtly, “Sorry, Mr. Haerten, but it isn’t my life’s wish to be a guard in Hades. But thank you for the offer.”
“I like honest answers,” he said, looking over his shoulder as Vallery came up the stairs. “My men will take her over.”
Henry watched his face as they approached Vallery and, noticed that he was a bit cautious about her. His whole body was shaking, and his face was visibly pale. It was obvious that he was terrified even though he was surrounded by guards. Henry coughed to distract him and asked, “I hope the room isn’t that far?”
He was waiting for this question and with replied with relief, “It is just a couple of floors up.”
Henry moved closer to him and said, “You understand that I don’t want this conversati
on recorded.”
“I’ll personally take care of that, Mr. Broncon!”
They walked fast towards the elevator. The warden pressed the button and the door closed. While they were going up, he looked at the control console and said, “Two wardens were killed while they rode in this very lift with prisoners. Even the guards couldn’t help them!”That, kind of, explained the warden’s cautious note earlier; for Henry thought, it was a bit over-rated fear.
*
The interrogation room was small. There was a tiny desk right beside the window and in front of it was a chair for interrogating prisoners; it had shackles on the armrests and on its massive legs. Henry opened the curtains and sunlight filled the room.
“This room will suit us fine.”
Warden sighed and moved to the side because they just brought Vallery. His shaky voice agreed on Henry’s choice, “I’m glad about that.”
Vallery was literally carried in by two guards. She looked like a doll on strings between them. One of the guards with a deep baritone voice asked the Warden, “Shall we shackle her to the chair?”
“I don’t think that will be necessary! Mr. Broncon has proven that he knows how to take care of himself.” The Warden carefully looked at the prisoner and then withdrew himself maintaining a decent distance. He stopped for a moment and asked Henry with a nervous voice, “I hope you agree?” He was watching Vallery’s green eyes, and she was looking at him with contempt. He wanted to get out of the room as soon as possible.
Henry was genuinely amused by his behavior but was managing to mask it. Although he could have easily broken into laughter, he answered calmly, “Yes completely. Free her from the shackles.”
The guards threw Vallery into the chair, unshackled her and stood in front of the Warden as protection. “While you’re talking,” the warden said, “I’ll go and see what is happening with the loading of the other prisoners. There will be two guards outside the door. If you need anything, they’ll be at your service.”
His paranoia was getting on Henryʼs nerves. He looked at Vallery; she was sitting peacefully in the chair and smiling while Warden peeped out from behind his guards, “I don’t think I’ll need them, but thank you anyway.”
Godeena: SF Novel Page 3