|| NOT EDITED ||

 WARNING: CONTAINS TORTURE, AND MENTION OF CHILD TRAFFICKING.

Adrian twirled the white chess piece as a small smile danced on his lips.

White-a colour so pure, often marking purity, beginnings and everything holy. But people could easily taint white despite it being associated with purity and holiness.

A drop of any colour could be dark or light, but white, wouldn't remain pure. It would taint white.

A satisfied sigh left Adrian's lips as he placed his pawn on the other side of the chessboard. His white pawn stood tall in the d8 position, the black colour underneath the white pawn glimmering. A pawn might be the most fun piece to play with. In the beginning, anyone could place them strategically guarding the other big moves, but once it came down to the endgame?

The move of the pawn was magical.

"Adrian, you need to stop this."

Adrian looked at Juan, who was scowling back at him. "My, my, are you asking me to stop playing chess?"

Juan threw his hands in exasperation while Adrian looked at the other side of the board, wondering which piece to move.

'Hmm', he could use his bishop.

Nodding a little, Adrian reached for his bishop, a sleek figure carved from ebony, and lifted it from its square. The bishop, a master of diagonal manoeuvres, could hold the key to unlocking his opponent's fate.

"You cannot just choose a torture method through chess!"

Adrian gave out a noise of displeasure and ignored Juan.

As he contemplated his options, Adrian visualised the potential consequences of each move. His mind raced through the possibilities, calculating the risks and rewards carefully. How easy would this game be if he used the Queen now?

No, he wanted to use the Bishop; he had not used that for a while.

If he placed the Queen at b5, there was good chance to take a different route.

Adrian's thumb rubbed on the smooth carving of the bishop, opting for two options;

Torture or easy kill.

Adrian, however, was never one to play fair. A bullet to the head was too easy.

Adrian set his bishop down on square d7, moving from c6, solidifying his pawn's win. A pawn could be deadly if the master holding onto it knew how to use it.

Smoothly, he took his pawn, and it leapt across the bishop, taking it out.

"This is getting ridiculous, Adrian!"

Groaning, Adrian looked at the chessboard and shrugged, "I would win, either way. Let's go."

Adrian stood up, fixed the cuffs of his shirt and rolled his shoulders. He moved around the table and motioned for Rosco to follow him.

"You never told me why you called that girl 'Lina'. You are never the one for nicknames."

Adrian looked at his second-in-charge. "Adeline is the daughter of Ronan Gracia, I am sure you know that."

Juan nodded, "Of course I do. Your father killed that man for exposing him."

Adrian nodded absentmindedly.

"Before that, Adeline and I used to go to the same high school. We dated for 2 months, 2 blissful fucking months, but then she opened her big mouth to Ronan and signed his cue to Satan's lair."

Juan's eyes widened as he stopped and looked at Adrian, his mouth wide open.

"What? Did anyone know?"

Adrian smiled sardonically, "Leah did, and she is six-feet under with Dad."

Adrian remembered that day when her sister died. When those men came and killed his father and her pregnant sister right in front of his eyes, however, they did not just kill her. They destroyed her, and they left Adrian awake in the pool of blood of his loved ones.

"Did Alex know about Adeline?" Juan asked quietly.

Adrian nodded as they headed down the stairs towards the lower part of the mansion, The Prison.

He kept his toys there, which often ranged from his victims to his weapons, but he enjoyed toying with his victims more.

"He did, but what can a girl do in this world, Juan? A helpless sixteen-year-old can cry for her father, can cut herself, can kill herself. But justice? Too fucking hard."

Juan nodded as they walked by rows of locked cells, whimpers dancing around the space. "Does she know?"

Adrian punched the code to his victim, John Bastilles' cell and nodded. "Reason for our break-up."

They walked into the dimly lit room without speaking any other words.

The room was; 10 by 10 feet small sized. The creators painted the walls white during the creation, but years of dirt, splatters of blood, and scratches from fights darkened and made the entire decor morbid, and scratches from fights made the whole decor dark and morbid.

Shadows danced and twisted, cloaking the room in an eerie obscurity. The shiver that went through John's body at Adrian only solidified the looming danger over the man.

The air hung heavy with a palpable sense of foreboding; the darkness seemed to press in from all sides, swallowing the bulb's illumination hanging from the ceiling.

Adrian kicked the door shut with his feet as Juan leaned against it. Adrian quietly walked towards the table on the left side. It held a plethora of tools, but Adrian felt simple today.

He picked up the knife, which had the bluntest tip, and strolled towards the man who was sitting on the chair, his body tied with thick layers of rope.

Adrian took a chunk of John's hair and yanked it back, exposing his face. Adrian frowned. "Why are you so ugly?"

"Stop calling everyone ugly, Adrian." Juan sighed and leaned back on the door, closing his eyes. Adrian looked at him and looked down at John again, who was looking at Adrian with disgust all over his face.

Adrian let go of his hair, walked in front, and leaned down. "Tell me about The Consortium."

John looked dead into Adrian's eyes but did not say a word.

Adrian nodded and looked at John's palm, which lay flat on the arms of the chair. He took the knife and stabbed the first finger, but because of the bluntness, the knife laid a more physical blow on the bone rather than cutting the finger.

A pained scream echoed throughout the room, making Adrian smile at the sound. His favourite fucking song to hear.

Adrian's heart rhythmically thudded against his chest, adrenaline coursing through his veins as he took the knife and kept on pushing the knife into John's finger.

The screams grew louder as Adrian could feel the crunch of the bones under the knife's pressure, but his skin was fully intact.

"I-stop- wait, please!"

The man's rushed voice cut through Adrian's euphoria, and he looked at John with raised eyebrows.

He broke easily.

"My boss was instructed to take the girl and the kid. We were supposed to break in, have a little fun, and take the prize. I swear, I do not know anything else!" John panted as he finished speaking.

"You are lying," Adrian spoke bored and pulled his hand back and drove the knife through John's first finger, pushing it halfway inside.

John thrashed underneath Adrian, his wails bathing Adrian in a pleasurable thrum. "I-I am not, I swear!"

Adrian took the knife out, and blood smeared all over John's fingertips, making John whimper.

When Adrian looked into John's fear-stricken face, Adrian saw that John's eyes had dilated to the point of looking black. His mouth was open as he panted heavily, spit flying everywhere. But his posture gave him away. The shoulder blades of John tucked forward, revealing the taught muscles under his black T-shirt. His toes kept clenching and unclenching, a way to defuse the concentration on the onslaught of pain.

Without a second thought, Adrian lifted his right leg and stomped it hard on John's left leg. The heel of the shoe crushed the toes on John's feet.

But before John could scream, Adrian shoved the knife into John's wrist, but again, the impact went directly to the bones. John screamed while Adrian matched his screams by pushing the knife and his shoe harder.

"Fuck-" John coughed as spit flew everywhere, making Adrian wrinkle his nose.

"We were going to rape them, okay! We were going to-",

"Yes, I know that," Adrian cut John off.

John looked at Adrian, his face filled with confusion.

"Then what do you want to know?" John spoke hoarsely, tears streaming down his face.

"How is The Consortium involved?"

Adrian saw John hesitate in answering and pushed the heel into his toes harder, the small crunches levitating Adrian's mind.

"The kid-fuck, they wanted the kid!"

Adrian looked at John curiously.

"I got that, but why?"

John gulped, "Because that man had intercepted their recent dealings, the people of Consortium did not take that lightly. It led to a tremendous loss-"

"How does some fucking month old baby help?"

"I don't know! I swear I don't, but word is going around that the demand for babies is higher in the market. Something about less cost of training."

Adrian looked at John, his face scrunched in disgust. "How the fuck do people get babies? What do the parents do? The fuck?"

As he spoke the last word, he crushed John's toes more. "S-Stop! I am answering."

Adrian shrugged, but he did not move his feet away. He liked hearing the man's pained screams.

"They have men stationed at tourist spots...some follow the parents, some attack them, some steal the babies-"

"How can anyone steal a baby?"

"It's easier than you think," John spat out, his eyes brimming with restlessness. "I guess so. Why did Consortium want the girl, if they sent you all for the baby?"

John looked away, gulping. The movement sent a shot of giddiness through Adrian, and he pushed the knife that was on John's thigh harder, making blood splatter everywhere.

A series of choked coughs left John's mouth as he started panting. "Coterie...Coterie is involved too," John whispered hoarsely, and Adrian's eyebrows shot up at the new information.

"Go ahead."

"I can't, fuck! They'll kill me!" John cried out desperately, and Adrian looked at him in mild surprise.

"And do you think I will do? Play chess with you?"

A cough came from behind Adrian, which he promptly ignored. He held onto the knife and looked dead into John's eyes. "You. Will. Die."

He took out the knife and then plunged it right back in, ignoring John, who thrashed like a wild animal.

"Only difference? How?"

Adrian enjoyed watching the fear cloud John's eyes. "How is Coterie involved, John?"

John's eyes darted throughout the room, and Adrian watched him go through all five stages of grief. Denial.

Anger.

Bargaining with his own mind.

Depression.

Acceptance.

His shoulder slumped forward, the muscles relaxing underneath his t-shirt.

"I do not know the details, but I know that Coterie and Consortium are going to hold an exhibition in a few days. A joint business venture from two of them. They are going to showcase their newest kidnapped men and women. The consortium will exhibit a few babies and the children they have been training. The kid and the mom were supposed to be sold to the organisations individually. A perfect deal to destroy those who crossed Lyre and a good profit too. That's all, that's all I know!"

John finished hurriedly, and Adrian nodded. He looked back at Juan and motioned him forward. Adrian looked at John and smiled.

Then he took the knife and shoved it into John's right eye.

Stepping back, he walked towards Juan, "Obtén la ubicación de él y pregunta más sobre Lyre."

Juan nodded and walked towards John, who was still whimpering. Adrian, not paying any attention to him, walked out of the room and straight into his office.

He slumped down in his chair and let out a deep sigh.

He knew very well who Coterie was- the largest prostitution circle. But last he had heard, people who work there work on their consent, not in this manner. Adrian ran his fingers through his hair. The crime world has many organisations. Some dealt with drugs, some with weapons. Those were the more lighthearted ones, but little Miss Sunshine's husband angered two organizations no one dared to mess with.

Half of the government licked the feet of those organizations, and the other half had no idea what was happening.

Adrian leaned back and smiled to himself.

The good thing? He was on good terms with at least one of them.

It was time to play.