Page 4 of Hidden Depths

“You’re not taking this seriously, and it’s going to cost you.”

“I’ve been told that before.” He grimaced, holding back a groan of pain. “My mom says I can be a bit too much of a rascal, not taking life seriously enough. Maybe she’s right. From now on, I swear to you I will be very sober.”

Harrison’s face was devoid of expression.

“You don’t believe me?” Tom said.

“I really want to kill you.”

“I know.” He sniffed. “But life’s full of disappointments.”

Harrison sucked on his teeth and turned to Jimmy. “Go ahead. Show him what you’ve got.”

Jimmy made a strange squeaking noise when he grabbed the hose from Harrison, tossing it aside. Then, he turned up the juice on his electrified paddle and limped toward Tom with exuberance, eager to inflict more pain.

He dragged strips of agony down Tom’s body before poking jolts into him. As he would begin to take a breath, Jimmy would hit him hard. It became impossible to assemble a clear thought as he both strained against the force and tried to relax into it.

He’d known the risks going in. Death hadn’t been an unexpected possibility, and even though he didn’t hope for death, he didn’t try to avoid it either. But now he wanted the suffering to end.

As the edges of Tom’s consciousness closed in around him, he gave into the pain. Then it stopped. He pulled in ragged breaths that struggled to reach his lungs, and his body shivered.

Slowly, the darkness receded.

“He is an expert,” Harrison was saying, but his voice sounded like an echo from somewhere far away, “at stopping at the right moment. We wouldn’t want you to pass out and miss out on any of the pain, now, would we?”

Tom blinked back against the darkness but couldn’t lift his head. Harrison’s feet appeared in his line of vision. The man bent so Tom could see his face when he smiled.

When he straightened, he pulled a folded knife from his pocket and held it where Tom could see.

“And while Jimmy is the expert when it comes to electricity, I’ve always had a fondness for making men bleed. Do you think you’re ready to talk now?”

Tom strained to lift his head so he could look Harrison in the eyes. “My name is Tom Bennett. I’m an agent with the FBI,” he slurred. “I don’t know why you don’t believe me.”

“Perhaps it was because of the kilo of heroin that you were stuffing down your pants.”

“Oh, yeah.” He smiled weakly. “When my buddies turn up, maybe leave that part out.”

“What buddies? Hmm? Are they the ones coming in the helicopters?”

“That’s the ones.”

“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it appears as though they’ve abandoned you.”

“They’d never do that.”

“I’ve been in this game a long time. I know how the FBI operates, and this is not it.”

“Yeah, but I’ve got a little secret for you.”

“What’s that?”

“I’m a bit of a rogue. A lone wolf, if you will. But nonetheless, I have been nothing but truthful.”

“The only thing I will concede to you is that you’ve got incredible endurance. I have never seen anyone not fold under Jimmy. It’s impressive, but it’s not the only avenue open to me. So let’s try another route, shall we?” He flicked out the blade, then ran it across Tom’s chest, pressing hard enough that he drew blood.

“You can’t—” Tom’s voice was ragged.

“You want me to stop?”

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