Rick was lost in his thoughts.
A smoke spread through the room, thick and suffocating. It burned Rick's lungs and made his head feel heavy. His strength drained with every breath.
The door creaked open.
The attacker stepped inside, his face hidden behind the same mask.
Rick had never seen him unmasked. Not once.
"Do you remember this case, Officer?" the attacker asked calmly.
Rick said in rage, his voice broken and uneven. "Who the hell are you?"
he growled. "What do you want from me? What's the point of dragging me back to that accident?"
The attacker let out a dry laugh—sharp with sarcasm and anger.
"Oh really?" he said. "You still call it an accident?"
The blow came without warning.
Rick's head snapped to the side as pain exploded through him.
"Remember, Officer," the attacker said, striking him again. "What do you really think about that case?"
Another hit.
And another.
Rick groaned, barely able to stay conscious.
Then the attacker stopped.
"Don't you want to get out?" he asked softly.
"Don't you want to be free?"
Rick lifted his head with effort. His voice was cracked, but the answer was firm.
-"Yes." Behind the weakness burned something else—rage. A promise to kill this man if he ever got the chance.
The attacker tilted his head, amused.
"I don't want anything else from you,"
he said. "I just want you to tell me the truth. Every detail of that case. Say it out loud—right here, in front of me."
"And then I let you go."
Rick swallowed. "What assurance do I have that you'll keep your word?"
The attacker laughed loudly, the sound echoing off the walls.
"Assurance?" he mocked. "I never break my word."
He leaned closer.
"And even if I did," he added coldly, "what other choice do you have?"
Rick fell silent.
He knew the answer.
If he wanted to live, he had to speak.
But then one thought refused to leave his mind— Was all this torture, all this planning, only meant to hear those words from him?
The truth.
Rick closed his eyes.
The decision waited.