Silas swallowed hard, his eyes glued to my medical bag as if a demon were about to crawl out of it. "Chloe... Doctor... please. I told the police everything I know. I don't know who they are! It was all through encrypted channels. I never saw a face!"
I didn't answer him. Silence, I've learned, is a surgeon's best tool before the first incision. I slowly unzipped the bag. The metallic shhh of the zipper sounded like a blade being sharpened in the tiny, sterile room. I pulled out a pair of latex gloves and snapped them onto my hands. Snap. The sound echoed like a gunshot against the cinderblock walls.
"Your heart rate is roughly 110 beats per minute, Silas," I said, my voice as calm as if I were back in the OR, narrating a routine procedure. "Your pupils are dilated. Your sweat has a specific acrid scent—the smell of cortisol flooding your system. Do you know what happens to the human body when it stays in a state of absolute terror for too long?"
"I—I don't—"
"The heart begins to skip," I continued, reaching into my bag and pulling out a small, amber vial and a fresh, gleaming syringe. I didn't look at him; I kept my focus on the needle as I drew the clear liquid into the chamber. "The blood vessels in your extremities constrict. You might feel a tingling in your fingers. That's your body preparing to die, Silas. It's diverting blood to your vital organs, trying to save a life that I haven't even decided to spare yet."
I leaned forward, the needle glinting under the harsh fluorescent lights. The smell of the precinct—burnt coffee and old paper—was replaced by the sharp, clinical scent of my world.
"The detectives wanted a name. I don't care about names," I lied, my voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "I want to know why you did it. How were you able to do that to me? You didn't only betray me, you had the guts to point a gun at me and my son. A boy who practically saw and treated you as an uncle. How were you able to shoot your friend because he refused to join in your evil? Tell me, Silas, what was Leo's offense that made you want him dead? You didn't just sell out a boss, Silas. You sold out a child."
"I had to! They have my sister, Chloe! They'll kill her!" Silas broke, a sob racking his chest, his nose running as he looked at me with pathetic, pleading eyes.
I paused, a cold, mocking smile touching my lips. "Your sister? That's a variable I can't control. But wait a minute... what sister are you talking about? The one who died three years ago? Don't play smart with me, Silas. I ran a background investigation on you before I even hired you."
His face went from pale to grey. The lie had been his last shield, and I had just shattered it.
"Now, back to your nervous system," I said, tapping the syringe to get the air bubbles out. The tiny droplets of liquid flew into the air. "That is my domain. This vial contains a high concentration of potassium chloride. In the right dose, it stops a heart instantly. But in a small dose? It makes every nerve ending in your arm feel like it's being dipped in molten lead. It's a slow, agonizing fire that no amount of screaming can put out."
I grabbed his wrist. His skin was ice-cold and clammy. He tried to pull away, but my grip was a vice.
"You have ten seconds to tell me exactly what I want to know before I find a vein," I said, my eyes locking onto his. "And Silas? Don't bother screaming. I know exactly where the vocal cords are located if I need to reach in and keep you quiet permanently."
Silas stared at the needle, then at me. He didn't see the kind, healing doctor who had saved his life a year ago. He saw a mother who had reached the edge of her humanity and jumped off.
"The old dock!" he shrieked, the words tumbling out in a rush of panic. "Warehouse 14! They're meeting the handler at midnight! That was what I overheard the man who contacted me say to someone. I don't know his name or where he stays. Please, don't! Don't do it, Doctor! I'll tell you anything else!"
I held his wrist for a long beat, letting him feel the cold metal of the needle resting against his skin. I let him live in that terror for five more seconds. Then, I slowly pulled back. I stood up, packed the syringe away with steady hands, and walked toward the door without looking back.
"Warehouse 14. Vesper Holdings," I said, loud enough for the microphone to catch it. I looked directly at the one-way glass, my expression a mask of cold indifference. "I believe your 'meal' is served, Asher. Try not to get blood on the carpet."
I stepped out into the hallway, and the moment the door clicked shut, my legs turned to water. I leaned against the cold wall, my breath coming in ragged gasps. I couldn't believe I had used my profession to scare the life out of someone. I took a doctor's oath to protect and save lives, not to take them. Yes, I didn't pull the trigger, but I killed him mentally faster than any bullet could.
I hadn't even reached the end of the corridor before Asher was there. He didn't walk; he stalked, his shadow looming over me like a dark god.
"Potassium chloride?" he asked, his voice low, vibrating with a mix of shock and something that sounded dangerously like respect. "I didn't think you had that kind of darkness in you, Chloe. To stop a man's heart just for an answer..."
"There are lots of things you don't know about me, Asher." I reached into my bag and pulled out the amber vial, tossing it at his chest. He caught it with a reflex that was terrifyingly fast.
He looked at the label. Saline Solution.
"It's salt water, Asher," I said, pushing past him toward the exit. "But fear is the most effective drug in the world. He gave you the location. He gave you the company name. Now go finish your business so I can go back to being the person my son thinks I am."
Asher didn't follow me. He stayed there, looking at the vial of salt water in his hand, a slow, dark smirk spreading across his face. "A lioness indeed," he murmured to the empty hall.
*********