Militia

by Russell, Justin D.

  “Are you ready to talk yet?” Mike asked as Tim continued his choke hold.

  “Fuck yourself!” the general groaned.

  “Well that’s a start now at least you are speaking the right language for the country you’re in. How about saying something more productive?”

  Just as Mike was about to deal yet another body blow to his captive the office door swung open and Steve walked in holding a full five gallon jug of water. The group stayed silent while the man outside closed the door.

  “Fuck it,” Mike started, “cut this piece of shit out of the chair and put him belly up on the desk. It’s time we offer our guest a drink.”

  Tim kept hold of the general’s neck while Tom and Mark untied his hands and feet. The general wriggled around and made every attempt to hit and kick his captors. Mike stepped up and landed another hard body shot which made the general go limp just long enough for the group to get a better hold on his limbs. Mark grabbed his feet and with Tim still holding the neck, the two of them hoisted him up and slammed him hard onto the desk. Steve took his own filthy brown shirt off and placed it around the generals head and then made a beeline for the giant water jug.

  “Alright sir, you know what is about to happen so you have one more chance to talk to us like civilized people before we give you a drink.” Mike said.

  Mark kept the prisoners feet pinned down while Mike and Tom each pinned down an arm, and Time stretched the t-shirt over the general’s face. Mike nodded to Steve who happily picked his jug up and started slowly pouring water into the fabric covered face of their guest. The general tried hard to get away but he was no match for the three men pinning him to the desk. They listened to the odd noises, screams muffled through gurgling, as Steve slowly poured water over his mouth and nose.

  “Ok Steve let’s see if he’s ready to talk yet.” Mike said. Steve tipped the jug right side up and mark lifted the soaking wet shirt off exposing the first signs of fear Mike had seen from this hard soldier. “Can we talk now sir?” The general turned his now freed head to show Mike that the look of anger was once again back in his eyes. Mike looked away for a second and then turned, holding the generals left arm with one hand and landed as solid punch to the man’s jaw.

  “Put the fucking shirt back on that ugly mug of his I’m already sick of looking at it.” Mike said.

  Tim pulled the shirt tight over the generals face and without needing an approving nod from Mike, Steve went back to water boarding his victim. Again they felt their prisoner pull and push with them, attempting an impossible escape and heard the sounds coming from his mouth and throat. Mike let Steve continue a bit longer this time and called for him to stop only when the general was moments from losing conciseness.

  “Take the rag off Tim.” Mike ordered. “Steve go fill that jug back up and this time piss in it. This time when Mike looked into the generals eyes all he saw looking back was pure exhaustion. “Let’s put him back in the chair guys. We can give him a minute to decide how he wants the rest of the night to play out.”

  They set him back in the large leather office chair and tied his arms and legs back to it. When the general was once again secured in his seat Mike waived the three others with him out the door and then dealt one more blow directly to the general’s nose, sending blood rushing into his mouth before following his friends.

  When Steve was back with more water Mike called the group to an empty office to discuss their current mission. “Ok guys this is what’s going to happen. We are going to work in two man teams rotating shifts with the general every eight hours. Mark and Steve you two go find some comfortable beds and rest up, Tim and I will take the first shift. Tom I know you don’t have the stomach for this kind of brutality so I want you to head back and oversee the care and training of our new recruits. From here on out the general doesn’t eat, drink, or sleep unless I say so. If he falls asleep wake him up…painfully.”

  The entire group nodded in acknowledgement. Mark, Steve, and Tom headed back to the Jeep while Tim followed Mike back into the generals office. When the door closed Mike walked back to the front of the desk and stared at the tired man for a moment before speaking.

  “Ok this is how it’s going to play out. There will be no downtime for you until we get some good answers. I don’t have time to drag this out over months. You will be deprived of food and sleep, you will be beaten, and you will be tortured until you talk. I know you are smart so there is no point in trying to convince you that you will be let go but I promise you as soon as you talk you will get a quick death. I will not continue to keep you as a prisoner nor will I try to use you as leverage against your government as I know that it would just be a waste of my time.”

  The general said nothing but tried his best to recreate the angry glare that he had managed before he was water boarded. Mike smiled in his face as Tim walked up beside the general, pinned his hand to the arm of the chair and grabbed his pinky finger firmly with his entire hand. Tim turned his head to look directly at Mike who nodded as he had nodded to Steve to begin with the water torture. Tim turned his wrist sharply towards the ceiling and produced a loud snap breaking the general’s small finger. The general let out a howl and Tim proceeded to make his way around to the other arm grabbing the unbroken pinky and quickly breaking it in half like the other.

  “This is not going to stop general.” Mike said walking over and plowing his fist into the general’s already broken nose. More blood ran down his face as he pulled with all of his strength to free himself from the chair. Mike through punch after punch alternating between the generals head and body stopping only before he thought his prisoner might pass out. There was nothing fun about this for Mike but the general had to believe that he was enjoying this so Mike played the part almost as well as Steve played the part of normalcy after his first experiment with torture.

  Mike grabbed the general hard by the hair and spit onto his blood covered face. “As soon as you talk this ends!” Mike growled at him. “Tim and I are nice guys compared to the psycho who will be coming to play with you next. You know, the guy who was laughing while pouring water in your face. That guy will be back in a few hours and he doesn’t even want you to talk. That guy we call Steve, he just wants you to keep silent so that he can keep playing games with you.”

  Tim tapped Mike on the shoulder and Mike stepped back letting Tim have some time with the prisoner. While Tim went on breaking fingers and slapping around the prisoner Mike sat back on a chair opposite from the general and took a nap. About a half an hour before their relief was to arrive, Tim woke Mike up from his long nap.

  “Damn Tim,” Mike said when he saw the clock on the wall, “you didn’t have to let me sleep the whole time.”

  “Well buddy you needed it after that long march back from the camp. I’m wide awake and used to even less sleep. Plus I didn’t mind entertaining our friend here.”

  Mike looked over at the general and saw a bloody mess of a man bobbing his head back and forth. Tim had removed his uniform top and put it neatly over the back of the black leather desk chair that the general was still tied to.

  “I told him we would bury him in proper uniform once he talked and I figured I could at least take his jacket off so that it would be somewhat neat and proper for burial.” Tim said.

  “Did you get anything out of him last night?”

  “Nah Mike, only blood and a couple of teeth, but we should probably give him some water to actually drink so that he is strong enough to survive whatever sick shit Steve has planned for the next eight hours.”

  “I’m hoping that Mark can keep Steve from going too far but yeah just in case I’ll go and get him something to drink.”

  Mike walked through the door just in time to see Steve and Mark walk into the building. He had hoped to be back with the water before they arrived but they had shown up a whole fifteen minutes early, on the account of Steve’s desire to play Mike was sure.

  “So how was your night Mike?” Mark asked.

&nbs
p; “For me it was pretty uneventful. I sat down to get a few minutes of sleep and Tim let me sleep through the shift. From the looks of the general this morning Tim had an exciting night though. Hey Steve go on in and get with Tim while your dad and I go and get our guest enough water to stay alive.”

  Steve gave no sign that he cared why Mike hadn’t sent Mark in with him and happily went to the general’s office. Mike put his arm around Mark while they walked over to another water cooler that hadn’t been turned into a torture device. Mike bent down and filled a small plastic cup with water, took a drink for himself, and then filled it back up again.

  “Mark I need you to keep your boy from killing the general before we can get answers out of him. Trust me he will talk but it’s gonna take time more so than effort. Are you sure you can keep him on a bit of a leash today or do you want me to stay with you since I’m rested?”

  “Go ahead back and find yourself a nice home Mike, I can handle Steve. From the looks of things I’m guessing we will be in this city for a couple of months so you might as well find something nice and comfortable to set up in.”

  “Ok well I’ll keep my radio on if you need anything. I think I’m going to go and grab a nice hot shower. It’s been so long since I’ve had a real shower and I think I miss that more than a bed to sleep in.”

  Mike handed the cup to Mark and waited for Tim to come out and head back with him. When Tim opened the door to come out he could hear the general scream as Steve was no doubt getting inventive with his interrogation. Tim walked up to him and they both just shook their heads before heading to the Jeep.

  Back in the battle torn part of town that the Army was now calling home Tim drove up to a large house that looked as though whoever had originally owned it had spent a fortune on it. Mike looked at the small mansion in awe. It had been years since he had stopped and looked at a home this nice.

  “Welcome home general!” Tim said. “I figured I’d find ya something nice while you were gone, almost as nice as my own place. There were a group of officers living here and now its all yours. She has running water that has no problem getting hot, and all the appliances work just fine.”

  “Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever slept in a house this nice. I wonder if it has a hot tub?”

  “Shit Mike this house has a hot tub, indoor swimming pool, and personal gym. I figured it would suit you just fine.”

  Mike walked into his new home, not needing a key since the door had been kicked in already, and instantly felt the comfort that he was sure the original owners had felt every time they had walked in. Beautiful hardwood floors and high ceilings met his eyes and went as far as he could see into the house. He found a staircase and casually walked upstairs to find a shower.

  While Mike was enjoying a hot shower and comfortable bed Steve and Mark worked on the general. Mark had to reel Steve in many times but stood back and let his son play through most of their shift. Mark wanted little to do with torture although he agreed that it was necessary and only intervened when he thought his son’s actions would hurt their chance of getting information.

  Steve went right on playing for the whole eight hours and by the time Tim and Mike showed back up the general was in bad shape to say the least. Mike entered the office first, holding another cup of water for the prisoner.

  “Ok guys it’s our turn to spend time with the guest of honor.” Mike said. “You two go back and enjoy some down time while Tim and I try to finish this up.”

  Mark put his hand on Steve’s large shoulder and led him out the door. When Steve turned around Mike could see that he was covered in blood and the look that had been in his eyes back outside of the last camp was back. Mark said goodbye to his relief but Steve simply turned and walked out the door obviously upset that his playtime had ended.

  “Fuck man you weren’t exaggerating about Steve.” Tim said. “That look he had scared me a little bit. How about we try and end this now before we have to let him come back and get even crazier?”

  “That’s just what I was thinking. I have a feeling that the general doesn’t want to have to deal with the psycho again. I’m gonna give him some water and let him have a minute to rest before we get started.”

  Mike put the clear plastic cup to the general’s lips and let him drink the whole thing. The look of rage that had once filled the eyes of their captive was now gone and replaced by utter exhaustion. His face was almost unrecognizable and when Mike stepped back to examine his state further, noticed that the rest of his fingers had been broken and stuck out in various directions. Mike found himself feeling sorry for this man and hoped that he would talk soon so they could shoot him and put him out of his misery.

  “Ok sir, you know this isn’t going to end without you talking. What does your patriotism matter at this point? At the same time you know that this is our country. The men and women that just took this city from you were not the same people who have been borrowing money from your nation for decades. None of us agreed to any deal with your government and now all we want is to live out our lives away from any type of government or military oppression. Just talk and I will personally give you a bullet before my friend Steve gets back and does whatever it is I’m sure he is thinking up at this moment.”

  As the general sat tied to the last chair he would ever sit in, silent and pondering, Mike began to think of what he could do to his prisoner without killing a man who wasn’t all that far from death after Steve had spend eight full hours with him. As Mike turned to Tim and was just about to ask him to step outside and discuss their options the general spoke.

  “This half of the land is only being used to settle in civilians which is why your little gang hasn’t encountered a larger force yet. The eastern states are where most of our military forces are focused. Your former capital and New York City are being used for our government endeavors. “

  “How many troops are on the west coast?” Mike asked.

  The general sighed. “Right now most cities have about as much military presence as this one did, with the exception of Los Angeles which has probably ten times more troops as it is going to be used to conduct the majority of our government operations on this side of the land. It won’t be long before my government realizes that you have taken this area if they haven’t already. You have no chance against an army as large as ours. Right now you have taken a city with only a small military force that was completely unaware of your existence. That will not happen again. If I were you I would ask all of my men to kill themselves rather than carry on with this fantasy that you will have any success from here on out.”

  Mike wanted badly to strike his prisoner at this point but he knew that the general had made a good point. What his army would be fighting against from this point forward would be a much more prepared force. So far they haven’t encountered tanks, helicopters, or artillery which Mike was sure would be used against them, perhaps not in the next few battles but at some point it was going to happen. The scouts would have a much tougher time getting close to their objectives with an enemy force that would now be actively searching for them both day and night.

  “Ok general I’m going to ignore the obvious arrogance. How many more of these concentration camps are there? How many of my people are still alive?”

  “Most of the camps on this side of the country are being used just as a means to move my people in and will then be illuminated. They are only going to be near areas we wish to use for initial settlements. In the east camps will be much larger as they are being used for more task. There are probably only a few million of your people alive and when we have transitioned further into the planned occupation that number will be reduced greatly, leaving less than one hundred thousand left to work for my people.”

  This time Tim stepped in and punched the general in the stomach. Mike grabbed Tim by his shoulders and pulled him back. He was not upset with Tim for striking the general but as long as they were getting information from their prisoner he felt that further violence would only
be counterproductive. Not only was the general willingly giving them the intelligence that they would need but he was also still underestimating how well trained and organized their army really was. While the general hid under a desk, away from the main attack, Mike and his army had orchestrated a quick and thorough urban assault on a much larger enemy force. They were highly trained and now had much larger numbers than the general could possibly know.

  “Sorry about my friend general. You can’t blame him for getting a little upset hearing about what you told us. Let me continue. Has your military brought any tanks, helicopters, or large artillery into the United States?”

  The general glared at Tim for a moment before returning his tired gaze back to Mike. “I believe there are tanks in Los Angeles and there are helicopters stationed on the eastern side of the country.”

  “Is this the only country that your government is doing this too? Are there plans to take over other nations?”

  “No. Once your nation fell to us we were easily able to take over Japan without your aircraft carriers protecting them. We do plan on taking over ownership of Canada as well once we have a firm hold and a larger military presence here. Our people have been living on top of each other since before you were born and being the most powerful nation in the world see no reason that we cannot give our people better lives.”

  “I understand china’s overpopulation problems but they are no problems of ours. We did not drop billions of people on your lands.”

  “I’ve given you all you are going to get from me. Now keep to your promise and end this.”

  Mike knew that the general was right. He had done his part and given them plenty of useful information as well as letting Mike know that even after Seattle his army would still be looked at as a small setback rather than a well trained army. He grabbed his sidearm out of its leg holster, placed the barrel flush against the general’s forehead, and pulled the trigger.

  “Well Tim let’s get out of here and fill Steve, Mark, and Tom in on everything we learned here.”