Whatever It Takes: Book1 Time of Choices

Book1 Whatever 02



 


Whatever It Takes – Book I: Time of Choices
Part 2 – Imprisonment

Zechs couldn’t be sure how much time had passed since they had
thrown him; literally, into this hole they called a cell. The room was totally empty aside
from a dim light bulb dangling high above his head from the ceiling. He had no idea where
he was either. He had woken up in the back of a secure transport without windows. They
must have driven for several hours because when they arrived at this military base it had
been early dawn.
Sitting with his back against the wall and his knees drawn against his chest, he could
hear his stomach rumble. He was hungry, freezing and most of all angry.
He couldn’t believe that he hot gotten himself caught. In retrospective using h friend’s computer to hack into the Alliance database didn’t seem such a good
idea anymore. But then it wasn’t like he had any other access to a computer. He
didn’t want to believe that his friend had sold him out, but how else would they been
able to trace him? He had done a good job shielding his location, or so he thought.
The youth sighed. It didn’t really matter how they found him.
More importantly, they did catch him and he knew he was in trouble. Even if they
didn’t find out his true identity a few years in prison was the least he had to
expect. And he was sure that if they learned that the heir to the Sanc Kingdom was still
alive, they would just make him quietly disappear without a trace. Yet death didn’t
scare him too much. Sometimes he felt like his heart and soul had already died a long time
ago, along with the rest of his family, that night when they were viciously killed.
For almost 13 years Zechs had believed that he was the only one who
escaped the slaughter. Only recently, 2 month before the unexpected death of his foster
parents he had learned that Relena, his baby sister was alive as well. But that was all he
had been told. His parents had told him that it was better if he knew as little as
possible. He had understood that. But now things had changed. He wanted; no he needed to
find her, if for no other reason than to see if she was all right and to let her know that
he was well too. He wondered if she even remembered Sanc and her family. She was almost 15
now but somehow Zechs had trouble imagining his sister as anything else but the toddler he
had known her as. His foster parents used to tell him that he had a strong resemblance to
his father, maybe Relena had inherited their mother’s looks.
The thought of a free Sanc Kingdom to which they would be able to
return seemed far-fetched, but he had sworn that he would do whatever it took to make it a
reality, if not for his own sake then for Relena. He had also sworn that he those
responsible for the death of his family would pay for what they had done. The Alliance was
trying hard to make it appear as if they were in complete power, but anybody who
wasn’t a complete fool knew resistance was growing, especially in the colonies were
supposedly several rebel groups had been formed. If only he could find a way to get into
Outer Space…
Zechs didn’t raise his head when the door to his cell slid open
with a hiss. Glaring up from beneath his long bangs he recognized two soldiers in Alliance
uniforms.
"Get up!" one of them ordered. To accentuate his words he waved something in his
hand that looked like a baton. But it wasn’t just an ordinary baton. It was a
shock-rod. Zechs had gotten a taste of it when they brought him down here and he had no
desire for more. He got up on his feet. The soldiers slapped metal cuffs around his wrists
and prodded him into a long corridor. The blond stopped when his senses rebelled against
the sudden brightness and received a hard push in the back. "Move."
He glared daggers at the soldier that had shoved him but started walking. They took him
into a sparely furnished interrogation room. A heavy, wooden chair was bolted to the floor
in the middle of the room, and a desk with a comfortable looking leather chair across from
it. Zechs was forced to sit down. The guards removed his handcuffs only to tie his arms
and legs to the chair with wide leather straps. Then they retreated taking position right
and left of the door. After a while a tall, dark-haired officer stepped into the room.
Ignoring the prisoner he walked to his desk, turned on his laptop, and started working on
something. For the longest time nobody spoke a word.
Zechs was smart enough to realize that this was all part of some kind of mind game meant
to make him nervous. And the worst part was it was working. Licking his dry lips, forcing
himself to take deep breaths he tried to get rid of the sickening feeling of panic and
anxiety that started to spread in the pit of his stomach.
Get a hold of yourself Zechs. He told himself. Don’t
let them see that you are afraid.
After what seemed forever the dark-haired officer pushed his
computer aside and looked at the prisoner.
"I’m Lieutenant Bulloch and I’m in charge of your
interrogation. Depending on your cooperation I can be either your best friend or your
worst enemy." He waited a moment to let his words sink in then asked; "I want
you to tell why you hacked into the Alliance database, the name of the person that gave
you the access codes and who you are working for?"
"I want to speak to my layer," the blond demanded. "I
won’t say another word without him present."
Bulloch gave the boy an almost amused look. "We will decide
when and if you need a layer. I suggest you cooperate and answer my questions now."
Zechs didn’t respond. He hadn’t really had time to make up a story that was
going to hold up, so saying nothing at all was probably better than stumbling over his own
lies. Or so he thought.
"Okay, let’s try a simpler question. What’s your name?"
Silence. The Lieutenant sighed.
"Don’t make this harder on yourself than it has to
be," Bulloch told his prisoner. He waited a few moments. When he was certain he
wasn’t going to get an answer he just nodded. Zechs gasped in pain and tried to jerk
away when one of the guards pressed his shock-rod into his side. He hadn’t even heard
the man approaching.
"Now let’s try again, shall we?" Bulloch suggested almost softly.
"Name."
Again Zechs didn’t answer and again the guard used his rod on him. Over the next
fifteen minutes that sequence repeated itself. The youth groaned and whimpered as his body
jerked and writhed at each touch, but he stubbornly refused to say a single word.
The Lieutenant got up from behind his desk and walked over to Zechs. He waited until the
prisoner stopped convulsing. Gripping a handful of pale blond hair he forced the
boy’s head up. Zechs stared at the man, ice-blue eyes half-lidded and unfocused,
still panting in pain. Blood, salty, thick, and warm, from his bitten tongue filled his
mouth.
"I don’t know what kind of game you think we are playing, but I really
don’t have time for this, and your stubbornness is starting to get annoying."
Without warning Bulloch rammed his fist into the prisoner’s stomach. The blond
doubled over coughing, splattering blood all over the man’s white uniform pants,
earning himself another blow.
Over the next few hours, at least it seemed like hours to Zechs; the
officer kept changing tactics. At one minute he seemed almost sympathetic, at the next
moment he would be yelling at his prisoner and beating him. More than once the blond felt
himself slowly sinking into the depth of unconsciousness, but the two guards where too
skilled to allow him to escape into pain-free oblivion. Every time when he about to pass
out they would stop the beating, to let him recover.
Squatting down next to the interrogation chair the Lieutenant lifted
the boy’s chin, letting his fingers run gently over a large bruise above the right
cheekbone. Zechs hissed, as even the slight touch hurt.
"You are tired and you are hurting, aren’t you?" the man asked softly.
"I can make all of this stop. You tell me whom you are working for, give me just one
single name, and I promise I’ll get you some painkillers, a warm meal and a cot to
curl up on. How does this sound?"
It sounded enticing. Yet, even if Zechs was to believe the man and his promise, there was
one major problem. Bulloch was asking the wrong question, a question the boy couldn’t
answer even if he wanted to. So Zechs kept quiet, stubbornly clinging on to the last bit
of pride and self-respect he had left, and in the end he proofed to have more endurance
than the Lieutenant did. At one point Bulloch glanced at his watch and sighed.
"This is not getting us anywhere. I’m going to take a lunch break.
You…" He glared at his prisoner. "…Better do some thinking. When I get
back you better have something to tell me, or I’ll make you regret that you were ever
born." And directed at the guards he ordered: "Have him back here in minutes."
Zechs allowed himself to relax somewhat and dropped his head onto his chest.
"30 minutes are hardly worth the effort of taking him to his cell and back," one
of the guards complained. "I think I got a better idea, Lieutenant."
"Is that so?"
"Maybe the boy needs just a little encouragement. Giving him some tender loving care
might get his brain working." The guard smirked evilly.
Bulloch looked at the soldier, then at the prisoner and back.
Finally he shrugged.
"Like I said I’ll be back in half an hour. Whatever you do, Henley, I don’t
want to know anything about it."
"Yes, Sir."
The Lieutenant left and Henley grinned as he approached the
interrogation chair.
"Hey, Sleeping Beauty," The voice was dripping with sarcasm. "Time to wake
up."
The youth, who had not paid any attention to the conversation between the Lieutenant and
the guard, tried to ignore the man. It worked for only a moment. His eyes flew open wide
and his head jerked up with a startled gasp, as he felt a hand between his legs.
"Stop it!" he growled, twisting his body trying to get away from that touch. The
man moved his hand a little higher, laughing as Zechs shuddered and flushed bright red.
The hand started to grope him.
"Stop," he repeated sharply. "Take your hands off me."
The guard let out another scoffing laugh.
"What’s wrong, you don’t like that? How about this?" Both of his hands
came up, cupping the prisoner’s face holding him in place as the guard leaned over to
kiss him.
No! Zechs’ minds screamed. This can’t be happening. He bit down
hard on the man’s lower lip. Henley jerked back with a cry of surprise and pain. He
raised his hand and the youth could do little do avoid the blow in his face.
"That little bastard bit me."
The other guard laughed. "Suits you right, Henley."
"Shut up and help me," his partner growled.
Zechs trashed, as the two men forced a gag between his teeth,
securing it behind his head. He was almost hyperventilating.
"Relax," Henley told him with a viscous grin. "If you
are a good boy I might even consider removing that gag later on and let you put that
pretty little mouth of yours to better use."
The blond felt sick to the stomach. He closed his eyes, trembling as
rough hands unbuttoned his pants.
Oh god, no! Please don’t let this happen!

TBC
What's to come: Part 3
Treize shows up at the military base for a surprise inspection
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