Page 101 of Irreversible

He’s smiling—broad and knowing.

Fuck.

Rage coils in my gut, but I keep it on a leash. For now. “You’re playing with me.”

“Yes, well, that is what I do.”

“You kidnap people to play games with them?”

“Oh, no. I choose people based on their value to my business. Everything else is more of a hobby; a personal quirk, if you will.”

He unclips the hourglass from his belt loop and holds it to the light.

My stomach drops.

But he merely admires it. “That’s why I fancy these, you see. Sure, I could have an employee simply shoot someone in the head when I’m done with them, but it’s so much more interesting to set one of these down in front of a person and watch them go.” His finger spins in the air.

I open my mouth to reply, but it’s Sara who interrupts, planted in front of the camera again, her sweet face livid. “Hey, assholes. You want me to explain how stupid you are? You took the sister of the best detective in the city. And now you’re completely fucked.”

“Ah, yes.” He waves a hand at the screen. “I almost forgot how vulgar that pretty mouth was.” He eyes me disdainfully. “I guess we see where she got that from. Lots of swearing and threatening the retribution of her brother, thedetective.”

“You knew I wasn’t Nick Ford from the beginning. How?”

“It’s called the internet. Maybe you’ve heard of it?” Condescension oozes from his lips. “When one of my assets came in here blabbering about her brother,the detective,I researched all possible threats. I’ve known who you were for two years, but you were of no interest to me as long as you remained clueless about my operation. Imagine my surprise when Rudolph brought you in the hard way.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t just kill me.”

“Oh, no, I was delighted, actually. I’d been looking for the perfect fit for my client. Someone well-trained—police, military, it didn’t really matter. You happened to pop in at just the right time.”

“How fortunate for me.”

“Indeed.” He glances at the hourglass. “Oh, look at the time. I’ve dawdled too long, I’m afraid, so I’ll leave you with the lovely Sara for now. How about we just fast-forward to the good part?” He picks up a remote from next to the television and presses a button.

“I’m going to kill you,” I tell him calmly.

“Yes, you mentioned that a time or two.”

“Consider that a promise.”

“Mmm.” His eyes are on the screen. “Any minute now…” He forwards the recording to an image of him walking into Sara’s room. My heart kicks up pointlessly. “Ah. Here we go.” Pressing play, he watches himself casually set an hourglass on the floor, just out of Sara’s reach.

“What is this? What does it mean?” she yells as he exits. She tries to lunge for the hourglass—to snatch it away—but no matter how she stretches, her fingers fall just short. “What kind of sick game are you playing?”

No. Fuck no. Don’t make me watch this.

“Fear not,” he calls over his shoulder. “Things are about to get interesting soon enough.”

I’m left alone in the cage with the ghost of my sister talking on screen, and a surly Scandinavian. And when I smile, I make sure he sees all my teeth. “Hello, Rudolph.”

This time, when the instrument is held to my skin, I barely flinch.

My sister sits cross-legged, as close to the hourglass as the cuff on her ankle will allow, her eyes glued to the thing like it’s a black mamba ready to strike if she does so much as blink.

I watch her like she could disappear any minute. Because I already know she will.

There’s a temptation to close my eyes—to rebel against this insidious method of torture. But Sara deserves more than that, more than being locked up in a room to face the end alone. It’s the past, and with no way to change the outcome, she should at least have a witness to her last moments, no matter how painful they might be.

That witness was always meant to be me.

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