Chapter 5 - The Underground Interrogation.
The cold concrete floor of the underground garage felt like ice beneath Julian's shaking shoes.
He stared down the barrel of the tactical sidearm held firmly in the commander's hand.
The surrounding operatives kept their weapons raised, forming an inescapable wall of steel and authority.
"You really thought you could slip away through the service corridor?" the commander asked, his voice dripping with icy sarcasm.
Julian swallowed hard, his throat dry and aching with panic.
"I didn't... I just wanted to leave," Julian stammered, his hands raised defensively in the air.
"Nobody leaves until the game is finished, Julian," the commander replied smoothly.
The commander gestured sharply with his head to two nearby guards.
"Search him," the commander ordered.
The operatives stepped forward instantly, grabbing Julian by his arms and patting him down with ruthless efficiency.
They stripped away his phone, his wallet, and a small encrypted flash drive hidden inside his jacket pocket.
The commander caught the flash drive as it was tossed across the space, examining it with a satisfied smirk.
"Ah, what do we have here?" the commander murmured, turning the small device over in his gloved fingers.
"That's nothing, I swear!" Julian shouted, his voice cracking with rising hysteria.
"Everything is something, Julian," the commander retorted coldly.
The commander slipped the flash drive into his tactical pouch before stepping closer to the trembling man.
"You tried to double-cross the syndicate just like Will did," the commander accused softly.
Julian's eyes widened in sheer horror at the revelation.
"How do you know about that?" Julian whispered, the color draining entirely from his face.
"We know everything," the commander replied, his gaze piercing through Julian's soul.
"We knew about your offshore accounts in Zurich before you even opened them," the commander added.
The weight of absolute defeat crushed down on Julian's chest.
He dropped to his knees, utterly broken and defeated by the magnitude of the conspiracy.
"Please... just let me go," Julian begged, tears streaming down his face as he clutched at the commander's combat boots.
The commander looked down at him with absolute disgust, showing no empathy whatsoever.
"Mercy is not a commodity we trade in," the commander stated flatly.
He stepped back, breaking Julian's grip with a swift motion.
"Take him to the secondary holding cell," the commander commanded the guards.
"Make sure he stays comfortable until we need his cooperation," he added with a grim smile.
The operatives hauled Julian upward, dragging his dead weight across the concrete floor toward a waiting transport van.
Julian's muffled cries echoed off the concrete walls before being cut short as the van doors slammed shut.
The commander stood alone in the center of the garage for a quiet moment.
He tapped his comms unit to check on the status of the primary captive across town.
"Status report on the warehouse?" the commander asked into his encrypted channel.
"Target is secure and fully cooperative, sir," a synthetic voice responded through the static.
"Good," the commander replied, turning toward his own vehicle.
"Prepare the final phase of the operation," he ordered as he climbed into the passenger seat.
Miles away, inside the dark and damp warehouse, the woman in the silver gown lifted her head.
The heavy metal doors groaned as they began to slowly slide open once more.
A fresh wave of cold night air swept into the derelict room, carrying the scent of approaching danger.
Heavy footsteps echoed from the entrance, signaling the arrival of a new tormentor.
Her heart hammered violently against her ribs, yet her eyes remained hard and unyielding.
The trap was closing in from every possible direction, leaving nowhere left to hide.
The shadows parted to reveal the commander walking slowly toward her chair.
He held Julian's flash drive loosely in his hand, spinning it playfully between his fingers.
"It seems your friends are falling like dominoes," the commander announced, stopping just feet away from her.
She stared at the drive in his hand, recognizing it instantly as Julian's personal data vault.
A cold shiver ran down her spine, yet she refused to let him see her break.
"You won't get away with this," she whispered, her voice steady despite the overwhelming terror.
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"We already have," the commander smiled, leaning down to meet her defiant gaze.
The stage was set for the ultimate confrontation, and the clock was ticking down fast.
