Mena
I stood at the back of the cold warehouse, my arms wrapped around myself as I watched Isaac, still unconscious and bound tightly to a chair.
Everyone moved to do something, even Pilar tightened the chains behind Isaac’s back, while I just stood there with an uncomfortable feeling. I felt out of place-like I was the only one who hadn’t done this before because this was not normal behavior. To them perhaps, but not to me.
Completely focused, Alessio pulled Isaac’s phone from his pocket. Then he used his finger to unlock it. On any other day, I would’ve called it clever, but for some reason, the sight was very disturbing.
“Drive this to a different location,” he instructed, handing Gian the phone. “Take over everything you think might be important, then smash it. I don’t know how far these people are willing to go for him, but I don’t want to take any chances.”
Gian bobbed his head, “Got it.”
“I’ll go with him,” Pilar said before turning to me like I was some lost puppy. “Will you be okay, Mena?”
“Me?” I waved it off, feeling several eyes on me. I masked my worry with a smile because no matter what, I would not allow myself to show anyone how much I did not agree with this. “I’ll be fine, go.”
Gian and Pilar left together. Just then, Donni walked in. He was carrying something that looked like a taser, and handed it to Alessio.
My heart skipped a beat as I looked around, unsure of where to leave my gaze.
“Are you sure you’re okay, Mena?” Alessio called out with a soft smile.
“I’m fine!” I replied, the irritation clear in my voice. It wasn’t towards him though, it was more at the situation and how I went against all my morals for only one reason, and that reason was because I was scared to lose the man I loved more than anything.
“If you say so,” Alessio chuckled as he turned his back to return to his preparations. I wanted to jump on his back, tell him to go easy on Isaac-but I couldn’t.
I knew that if I did, we could really be over.
Then why did I want to be here? I don’t know. Mainly because I really didn’t want him to do anything stupid.
Quite some time passed before Isaac slowly started waking up, groans escaping his lips in the process. All heads turned to him.
He blinked, then opened his eyes full of regret. He met Alessio’s gaze, but his was filled with nothing but anger-same as Donni’s and Dante’s.
Seeing that crazy look in their eyes, I had to tell myself that whatever was going to happen, Isaac had it coming.
But did he?
“Is all of this really necessary?” Isaac chuckled weakly, more to himself than to anyone else in the room.
No one responded. The silence was suffocating.
My stomach churned with unease as I waited for what would happen next.
“An undercover agent, huh?” Alessio broke the silence, his voice dripping with disgust. “That’s a nice job. Good for you.”
“Just get it over with and kill me already,” Isaac muttered, squinting his eyes.
“So, you’re not even going to try to defend yourself?” Donni called out, taking a step forward. He was hurt. Perhaps he wished for all of this to be a really bad nightmare, and for Isaac to tell them it wasn’t like that-but it was.
“What is there to defend?” Isaac shot back.
“What is there to defend?” Alessio frowned, pulling out a chair. He sat down right in front of Isaac while Dante handed him the folder containing our research.
I glanced at Isaac and held his gaze for a brief moment. His eyes were heavy with sadness, and I wondered whether he had accepted his fate or was begging me to find a way out for him. I felt a lump in my throat, expecting him to look away, but he didn’t.
Alessio kicked his chair with his feet, grabbing his attention. “This is how it’s going to go-I’ll ask you questions, and you will answer,” Alessio stated, laying out the rules of this interrogation.
Isaac closed his eyes, taking a breath as if bracing himself for what was to come.
“Is it true you work for the MISA?” Alessio began.
“I’m not going to answer your questions,” Isaac whispered, his eyes still shut.
Alessio let out a soft chuckle, then his voice turned cold. “Is it true that you were responsible for Stefano’s death?”
“No comment,” Isaac spoke this time.
“How much of our activities have you reported?” Alessio raised his voice, clearly affected by Isaac’s lack of answers.
“No comment.”
“We already have your phone. No one is going to save you, just answer the questions,” Alessio snapped.
Isaac swallowed, then his gaze turned sharp. “I don’t have anything else to say to you.”
Suddenly, Alessio was on his feet with the taser in his hand. He grabbed Isaac by the throat with the other before pushing the taser against his neck.
Donni turned away, unable to watch. No matter how much he claimed to hate him, I was certain there was still something there.
“No, you will talk,” Alessio hissed. “And if you don’t want to talk, there’s no reason for me to keep you alive.”
He activated the taser, pressing it deeper into Isaac’s neck. A shiver went through my spine as Isaac’s body jerked with the shock, followed by a painful groan.
He gasped for a single breath, and seeing him fight against his pain, although he was clearly struggling-made me believe he had been trained for this.
Alessio wasn’t finished and punched Isaac’s jaw, over and over, but this time I cracked. I stepped back with my hand over my mouth.
What was going on here?
What was I becoming by standing here?
Once more, Isaac just breathed through it as if he was meditating, trying to distance himself from the pain. At one point he even managed a laugh, despite the visible blood appearing on his face.
“I already expected you’d do this,” Alessio stopped once he accepted Isaac wasn’t going to speak.
Dante walked towards his brother with large scissors in his hands. He handed it to Alessio, then stepped back to give him some space.
“The next step would be to burn you, but I don’t think that’ll work on you either,” Alessio continued, examining the tool in his hand. “Maybe this will.”