Interlude 8: Cold Darkness
Sun Jun 25 2000

>> It's dark. Dark and quiet. For a while something was dripping somewhere in the distance.
Drip...drip...drip. It was maddening, but it served to measure the passage of time, and the
silence is much more maddening. The tray of instruments is gone, and the pain in his left hand
has long since subsisted to a dull, throbbing sting. It's dark and quiet.
* Hikaru tries to think of ways to pass the time. When that doesn't work, he tries to think of
ways to get the hell out of this accursed room.
>> The restraints seem very solid. His wrists and ankles are still sore from his last attempt to
break them.
* Hikaru sways back and forth, proving to himself that the chair is, as it has been for the past
however the fuck long he's been here, bolted to the floor.
Hikaru: You know... I think I much prefer the lack of fingernails to the sheer boredom.
>> The door clicks and the bald man enters, his form briefly silhouetted against the light of the
hallway.
Hikaru: ...How long have I been here, now?
Bald Man: Oh, a while. They wouldn't let me bring a hamburger this time, but I brought grits.
>> He wheels a tray over.
Hikaru: ... "a while". Can I at least have ballpark?
Bald Man: Less than a month.
Hikaru: That helps, slightly.
>> He undoes Hikaru's hand restraints, then pushes the tray close enough that he can reach
the food and eat.
* Hikaru eats, stopping between bites to get a few questions answered.
Hikaru: ...How much longer? Or do you know?
Bald Man: It depends on you now. They'd like you to help them out.
Hikaru: I can't. They want information that I don't have.
Bald Man: *shakes his head* They've given up on that now. They just want you to join them.
Hikaru: Join?
>> He nods.
Hikaru: ...I never heard anything about this. Join them, how?
Bald Man: They don't tell me much. But apparently they'd like you to drop your ties to Amelia
and become a mercenary. It seems very strange to me, but I just follow orders.
Hikaru: Ties? I never had ties to the princess. I was told to protect her, is all. I do what I'm
told.
Bald Man: That must be what they mean, then.
Hikaru: They're planning on killing her, then, I'd assume.
Bald Man: Could be.
>> He shrugs.
Hikaru: And I suppose this whole thing has to do with these "Melissa Papers" everyone's been
talking about.
Bald Man: Messiah. I guess it might. I'm as much in the dark as you.
>> He pushes his glasses up on his round nose.
Hikaru: ...Listen. I don't want to be here. I don't want to be a part of any group - I work as I
see fit. I just want out.
Hikaru: Will agreeing to "join them" get me out of here?
Bald Man: I can't guarantee anything, but I imagine it might. Don't think about trying to trick
them, though. They have ways of getting around that.
Hikaru: I may not look to be the sharpest knife in the bunch, sometimes, but I do know how to
play chess...if you understand what I'm saying.
Bald Man: Are you interested, then?
Hikaru: Perhaps.
Hikaru: You can't follow me wherever I go, so I suppose this is just like asking me if I want to
leave now.
Bald Man: *shakes his head* Don't think you can get away from them. No one can. Believe
me, I would if I could. But I know better.
Hikaru: If they watch me too much, they might find I have some rather... interesting habits.
Bald Man: Oh?
* Hikaru chuckles. "Let's not go there."
Hikaru: Realize that if I agree to this, I agree only to what you've told me. I WILL travel
where I want, and associate with who I will. I merely won't interfere if you try to do
something to the princess.
Bald Man: Oh, it's not me who you'd make the deal with. You would be contracting yourself
to the upper management. Maybe you'd be happier in the chair.
>> The man shakes his head sadly.
Hikaru: I'd be happier, maybe.
Hikaru: But I'd rather spend my life how I want to, instead of 'happy'. Let me go and I will
discuss it with whoever is in charge.
Hikaru: I don't even have to leave this room if you don't want me to.
>> The man shrugs and leaves. "I'll see what I can do."


>> ...time passes.
Hikaru: And back we go to staring at the walls, going insane fairly quickly.
>> The door swings open again, then shuts, as a man in a black suit and sunglasses steps
quietly forward, carrying a briefcase in one hand.
Hikaru: Getting impatient. Just say it and I'll respond...
Man in Black: Just for the record, I thought this would go nowhere.
Hikaru: Thought what would?
Man in Black: You're not the sort we want working for us. But I'm just following orders. I
don't believe you understand exactly what we're offering. My superiors with to contract you
as a member of our family.
Hikaru: Fine. I just don't want to be stuck on a leash, proverbial or real. That's all I ask.
Man in Black: It isn't a 'leash'. It is a 'mututally beneficial agreement'.
Hikaru: I wish to not be restrained. Better?
Man in Black: Any contract is restraining.
Hikaru: ...
* Hikaru spells it out slowly for the man. "I...want...out...of....here."
Man in Black: I am aware of that. But how badly?
Hikaru: I won't kill anyone in cold blood, if that's what you're asking.
Man in Black: What's the difference between killing someone in cold blood and just killing
someone?
Hikaru: Rephrasing.
Hikaru: I'm won't intentionally kill anyone.
Man in Black: If someone had tried to kill the princess...wouldn't you have killed him? Didn't
you try to kill Sevena?
Hikaru: I don't kill purposely.
* Hikaru grins somewhat morbidly. "However, if they wish they were dead AFTERWARDS,
so be it."
Man in Black: So you'll hurt people terribly, but not kill them? You're a real bastion of
morality.
Hikaru: I never claimed to be moral.
Hikaru: I do what suits me best.
Man in Black: Then why not kill?
Hikaru: Murder is a crime. Torture isn't.
Man in Black: Perhaps you should reread the law.
Hikaru: Murder is also harder to cover up.
Man in Black: We take care of our family.
Hikaru: Until I prove to be no longer useful.
Man in Black: Would you rather remain here?
Hikaru: Let me go and I'll join you.
Hikaru: Is that what you want to hear?
Man in Black: Me? No. That's what they do. And I do what they say.
Hikaru: Regardless of WHO wants to hear it, I'm saying it.
Man in Black: But you will not be able to dictate the conditions of your contract if you choose
to join us.
Hikaru: ...Fine.
Hikaru: .oO(I need not dictate with words. I can dictate fine with my blade.)
Man in Black: I'll have the documents prepared. Your first job will be to kill the Princess.
* Hikaru closes his eyes. "I understand."
Hikaru: .oO(That means I'm gonna die fairly soon, I guess...Oh, well... that just gets rid of the
stress in my life.)
>> He leaves the room, and the door shuts with a loud clack. Darkness rules again.