The Interrogation

Pilate sat on the floor, his back to the room behind him. The concrete was cold and hard, but it served as an adequate chair in times of need.

Spread out before Pilate was a wide array of art supplies. In his lap, he cradled his sketchbook, its crisp tan pages a blank canvas for his own expression. A small box of coloring pencils sat at his side, the cheap kind that broke every time you sharpened them. Asher wouldn't buy him anything better.

Pilate had a small grin on his face, guiding his pencil down the paper in extravagant paths. Drawing was a relaxing habit, as it allowed him to escape real life and dwell in the realm of fantasy that only he could control.

"Please, no!" a man's voice cried, "I have a family!"

Pilate flinched, quickly moving his hand to his pocket. Shoulders hunched, he shoved his headphones into his ears, allowing the pounding music to drown out the gruesome sounds behind him.

Pilate cried out in surprise as a gunshot rung out, and the deafening sound of concrete bursting followed. It was no doubt Hawkins, probably firing a warning shot. Pilate stifled another whimper as he slowly rocked back and forth, shading the figure he was drawing with vacant eyes.

A loud, anguished wail startled Pilate, and he snapped the lead of his pencil as a warm splat of liquid hit his back. He didn't dare look behind him. The strong smell told him that his cream sweater was soaked in blood.

Pilate shakily returned to his picture, not realizing he had been biting into his lip. Red drops dotted his drawing, and he sighed. I guess my character will have to have scarlet polka-dots, he thought, I can deal with that. It's okay.

"Well, that was completely useless," Asher muttered, stomping out of the room. Pilate quickly threw off his headphones, staring up at Asher and awaiting his orders.

Hawkins and Arisha followed suit, wiping blood off their clothes. Hawkins was a tall, large, and imposing man, covered in tattoos and wearing a trenchcoat. Arisha was slimmer, but her face carried far more malice. Black, silky hair cascaded down her shoulders and stood out against her ivory skin.  

"I would have expected Norton to have more information," Hawkins murmured, shoving a pistol back into his coat. On the barrel of the gun, the letter "F" was carved into it.

"All I could get out of him was something about Alcorith Horizons..." Arisha said, inspecting her fingernails.

Asher scoffed. "Infinity's too soft to pull an attack on us."

"But we'll never know," Hawkins growled, "Norton's too roughed up to tell us anything else." He glared daggers at Arisha.

"It was necessary," Arisha snapped, "Besides, we can find another information source later."

"He's still hanging on, anyway," Asher replied with a grin, "Boss would probably like it if we let him salvage him as a sacrifice. He's always up for that, right?"

A shadow passed over Hawkins' face, an almost pained expression. "I'll contact him."

The three took another step foward, coming dangerously close to Pilate. Pilate started to shake, dipping his head as he watched the adults with nervous eyes. Hawkins positioned himself in front of Pilate.

"This is so stupid," Asher grumbled, kicking his foot, "We've been getting next to nothing with every interrogation we do. I'm sick and tired of being stuck in here, in this freaking basement, yelling at retards who can't even tell us what we need! I'm ready to go on a real mission!"

"Boss hasn't given you any orders yet, Asher," Arisha snarled, raising her plump lips in a sneer, "Unlike myself. I'm traveling to Seattle on special business."

"What? You've gotta screw someone extra special?"

"You're just angry Boss is actually giving me something to do," Arisha retorted, crossing her arms.

"Shut up!" Asher barked, Pilate hugging his chest in fear at his sudden change of tone.

"Is that all you can rebuttal with, Asher?"

"I'm not in the mood to have some whore tell me about my job!" Asher screamed.

Arisha snorted. "Says the man who, upon first meeting me, tried to grab my breasts."

Asher flared his nostrils, slipping past Hawkins and hovering over Pilate. Pilate went stiff, paling under Asher's rage contorted face. Asher grabbed him roughly by the collar, his sharp nails digging into the flesh at the base of his neck. Pilate bit his tongue to keep himself from crying out.

"Come on, brat, we're going to go talk to the boss. After that, we'll have our own little discussion." Pilate knew what that meant. When Asher was angry, Pilate was the closest and easiest target to spend his furry on.

Pilate stood up, trying to relieve the pressure on his neck and shoulders. Asher dragged him out of the room, leaving Hawkins disgusted and Arisha returning to the blood-soaked room.

Author's Note- ahh, pilate. gotta love that little bundle of sunshine