No. 19 - Enough is enough
Knees buckling | Repeatedly passing out | Head lolling
1k words | OC: Kintsugi
Taglist (feel free to ask to be added/removed!): @thatsgonnaleaveamark
another whumper pov! linde is very fun to write bc his narrations is Entirely unreliable and he's just completely full of shit. i wanted this to be longer and continue the scene into some Plot Developments but i decided to split it into two ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ might have to out together a masterpost soon too
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CN: Electrocution, torture, passing out, burns, captivity, gun mentions, deadly intent
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Grief was for widows, Linde thought, and for the children of soldiers who didn't come home. Men did not grieve; men faced their loss and they either did something about it or they accepted it as done.
Linde had accepted his loss and had admitted his mistakes. Peace with his past allowed him to separate it from the present; to be rid of its influence. The present was here and the past elsewhere. Only widows, children, and weak men lost sight of that distinction.
And so it was the present that now motivated him. His present anger, present disappointment, present hate. Hate towards the man who had taken his future from him.
He reveled in the sound of Ethan's broken sobs. Watched his cowering form tremble in the chair, wrists and ankles restrained, fingers desperately digging into the armrest. Linde stepped forward and pressed the stun baton into his back this time. Ethan howled, his body wrenched into an arc. The electric discharge didn't last long but it left the muscles contracting violently; Ethan's voice cracked into wheezing, pathetic gasps. Then he fell quiet again - for the third time.
It took less to burn consciousness out of him every time. Linde allowed him a moment of respite before he once again slapped him across the face. The hit sounded out sharp. Ethan convulsed back upright, heaving desperate breaths that tore new pained whimpers out of him. His eyes rolled - unseeing - as he fought to slip back into the numb darkness.
Linde did not let him. Not yet. Not until he got what he wanted from him. He thrust the stun baton against Ethan's shoulder and watched his face contort in silent agony - not enough breath left in him to give it voice. Then Linde trailed the sparking tip of the baton onto Ethan's neck. The bare skin twitched and reddened as a burning stench filled the air, followed by a strangled, drawn out scream. It rang satisfyingly in Linde's ears until it hitched on another breathless sob and Ethan's head dropped down limp again.
Linde spun the baton in his hand, tilted his head to regard his prisoner's face - unconscious once more. He flicked the baton's switch and more white sparks cracked to life between the contact probes, faster and brighter.
Enough voltage to give Linde what he wanted.
But suddenly, a voice behind him said:
"He's not gonna tell you shit if you kill him, you know."
Linde turned. Lucy Richardson stood with her hands resting on the rifle across her chest. Her face was blank but her voice spoke clearly enough of her distaste.
He almost laughed. Maybe she wasn't as slow as he had thought her to be.
She had managed to guess his intentions, after all.
It was infuriating, how she carried herself like she knew it all. A common criminal with no morals and no discipline; and yet she acted as if she were above him, above this whole complex that she was supposed to be serving. She was disrespectful. Her work ethic was nonexistent. She cared about nothing but herself - and pettily, Linde hated her accent, too. Weren't Brits supposed to sound refined?
But he wasn't too petty to give her what little credit she deserved.
No, she may not have realized that Linde's goals had shifted and that he no longer chased the dream of rebuilding his life by delivering a spy to the complex's overseers.
But she had guessed that he wanted Ethan Lythmer's life to end tonight.
He said: "If you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them." He smiled slightly, taunting her.
"I do, yeah," she replied indifferently. Then she surprised him: "Take him out back, put a gun to his head."
Linde raised his eyebrow. "And how is that less likely to kill him?" With all that he disliked about Richardson, Linde had to admit that she was a good interrogator. But maybe he had overestimated her logical reasoning skills.
"You don't actually shoot him," Richardson explained, a tiny hint of condescension colouring her voice. "You just give him an ultimatum. He will either tell you, or he won't."
"And if he doesn't? If he calls the bluff?"
She gave a small shrug. "Then you shoot out his kneecap. Or knock him out, let him think you shot him. Let him know you're serious, basically."
Linde stepped towards her, lifted his chin to stare down. "Do you think I'm not serious?"
Richardson looked him straight in the eye and retorted: "No, I think you're pissing about and wasting everyone's time."
He had to hold back a burst of cold anger. That was another thing he had been robbed of when his plans had collapsed: never having to deal with this lowlife woman ever again. The perspective of indefinite weeks and months of having her under his command, of fighting her disrespect after every single order - it made such a burning fury bloom in his lungs that he had to close his mind to any thoughts of the future at all.
Previously he had at least taken refuge in the knowledge that she had some not entirely useless skills - but just as quickly as she had impressed him before with her deductions, she had now once again let him down.
Her plan was idiotic. Threats were only a good interrogation method if one was man enough to follow through with them. In fact, a threat of that caliber would achieve the exact opposite of what Richardson had suggested - it would tell the prisoner that Linde was throwing his words to the wind. Something he had been very careful to avoid, back when he had still cared about extracting information.
But now, all he wanted was closure. He wanted to put his plans, his hopes, and his hatred in the past so that he could once again focus on bettering his present.
Still, he was only human. And he couldn't deny himself the pleasure of demonstrating to Lucy Richardson exactly why she was wrong.
His lips curved into a small, derisive smile.
"Very well," he said. "But you get to pull the trigger."
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What's your schedule look like? Youve mentioned a lot of classes!
Ohh yeah my school day is PACKED but i did that on purpose
Homeroom with Mr Jacq (basically like 20 minutes to take attendance and listen to morning announcements)
Art Appreciation with Mr Hassel
Math with Ms Tyme
History with Ms Raifort
Lunch (1.5 hr break)
Biology with Mr Jacq
Home Ec with Mr Saguaro
Language with Mr Salvatore
Battle Studies with Ms Dendra
Realistically i could have 2 schedules of alternsting days but i like the Long Work and im getting more class credits this way <3
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[ she/her / Cis-Female / heterosexual; but she is also bi-curious ] {Rebecca ‘Becky’ Baker}, who is a {canon character} from {Degrassi: The Next Generation / Degrassi: The Next Class} has just been spotted in Manila, Philippines. Her current age is {twenty-five}-years-old, and she is enrolled at {Manila College}. She is {enthusiastic}, and {kind}, but she is also {spoiled}, and {finicky}. Her memories are set to {completely forgotten}, and I keep mistaking her for {Lana Condor}. Unfortunately, she will not be able to leave this city, so I hope that she will adjust to living here. She is {fine with living here}. [Georgia/22/she/her/P.S.T.]
Accepted !! Thank you so very much for bringing us Rebecca 'Becky' Baker from Degrassi: The Next Generation / Degrassi: The Next Class, Georgia !! I can’t believe that Rebecca 'Becky' Baker is not Lana Condor !! Lana Condor is now taken x1 !! Welcome to Manila, Philippines, Rebecca 'Becky' Baker !! You have arrived to Manila, Philippines with all of your memories completely forgotten, and you are reportedly fine with living here !! Georgia, you will now have twenty-four hours to send in your blog for Rebecca 'Becky' Baker, or we will have to re-open this character. Please also take a look at our Checklist, and please review our new Rules here for this RPG !! Thank you so very much for applying to our RPG, Georgia !!
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