The Rule of Silence

Chapter 2: Warm Embrace of Treachery

It's 9:34 in the morning and I awake to the scent of a well cooked breakfast and the sound of a familiar humming tune. I quietly walk down the stairs with my gun in hand and roll on the silencer before I move into the kitchen to see a woman about 5”6, long black curly hair in a ponytail, brown skin, thick in the waist. Her name is Rachel, my wife and a woman of many talents and mysteries.

         Before she even gets the chance to turn around I hide the gun in the draw of the table next to the entrance of the kitchen. She sees me in her sight and smiles. Tells me good morning in a soft tone, I reply back before kissing her passionately and tells me “Breakfast is served.” I sit at the table to a plate of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage biscuit and a glass of orange juice. We stare at one another and smile as we eat. Sadly none of this is real, and I awake to the annoying sound of my alarm clock. When I turned it off, I heard a familiar voice. “ Good Morning dear Marcus, hope you got enough rest, it's almost noon.” I turn to look at a woman in her mid 20s in a black neck, dark Jean's, and black military boots. Her name is Jordan, she's my younger sister and if she is here then plans have changed. “You still having the same dreams?” She asked in amusement. I asked for her reason for coming while I get out of bed to get dressed. She says “I was ordered to join you on the interrogation before sending her off to him to….., well you know.” She chuckles under breath thinking to herself of how many ways he could torture and kill Francesca. After I got dressed, we head downstairs to the basement to interrogate her. When we arrive at the door to the basement, I asked how Jordan wanted to go about this and she looks to me with a devilish grin on her face. “Follow my lead and by the time we're done, we'll have all we need to know.” she says confidently.

We walked into the cellar to hear screaming and crying for help, “Please let me go! Please! I have nothing of importance! I-”, I quickly silence her useless whining by throwing a knife into the wall close enough to cut a hair off her. The room goes quiet and Jordan slowly walks up to her with the sound of her boot knocking against the floor. She looks into Francesca eyes like a snake hovering over helpless prey, and tries to calm her. “Shhhh, everything is ok as long as you answer my question about what happened to a certain friend of yours a few years ago, I'll be sure to let you go right away.” she says with a gentle voice. She grabs Francesca by the chin to keep their gaze on eachother and says with a soft but strict voice, “But if you're lying to us, we might resort to other ways to loosen your lips and I'm really eager to get on with the rest of my day.” Jordan let's go and begins to interrogate her.

       She starts with a set of questions about Francesca's husband. “How did you meet Antonio?” She asked as Francesca is afraid to answer right away. “Who's that?” she asked as if unsure and Jordan begins to chuckle in agitation and tells her in a playful voice, “Well that would be your late husband sweetie, you know the that had your daddy locked up for the little drug cartel he was running and was then mysteriously murdered 3 years ago? Remember now?” Francesca stares at Jordan with a surprise  on her  face as if she said something that she shouldn't have known, and Jordan puts her hands on the wall as she leans in on her. “That  must have triggered something huh?” she whispers to Francesca. Stuck in silence, Francesca tries to ask another question but was interrupted by a backhand from Jordan. She snatched Francesca by the face and brings her in close to speak. “I let you get away with the first question because I knew you were afraid, but I took the time to let you straighten up so you could give me the right answers, not ask me more questions. Got it?” Francesca looks at her with confusion by the change in attitude, and nods quickly to avoid from being hit again. Jordan looks back at me and smiles as if she had an inspiring thought, she leans on the wall next to Francesca to whisper in her ear more. “You see Marcus over there? He's my big brother.” she says as she looks Francesca up and down shaking her head with a disappointed look on her face. “Trust me….. he's more into women with…… thicker hips.” Jordan continues to taunt Francesca, trying to provoke her into giving us some truth. “Ain’t it messed up how every time you’ve ran into a man and he rips your heart out, different story, same trick……. Pretty fucked right?” Jordan chuckles begins to stir up emotions in Francesca and enraged her to the point she snaps at Jordan. “What do you want from?!” she screams Jordan with tears rolling down her face. Jordan slowly grabs her by the hair and pulls it back , lifting her head. “First, I want to remember what I told you before I slapped the shit outta you the first time and realize we’re not here to talk nice.” She whispers before punching her in the jaw a couple of times, taking the strength from her legs. With a heavy breath from slugging her in the face she says “ now… answer my question? How the did you and Antonio meet?” Francesca spits blood on the floor as she tries to pull herself together. “We met while he was working my father already, before he became his right hand man.” she says, spitting more blood onto the floor. Jordan starts thinking to herself as she stares at her with a curious look. “From what I read up in the case files, it seemed that the two of you were inseparable,..... so where you when he died?” she say looking feeling confident in the answer she was going to get. “The store, to get dinner.” she say when a long silence falls in the room as she looks at me as if that's not what she wanted to hear, but she doesn't snap at Francesca. She walks slowly over to and stares in her eyes, as if there was something wrong. “That's what you told the cops but I thought you cared more about your life than to lie to me, because I went through your bank transactions unlike the cops and there was no transactions made at any grocery store in your area that day he died?” She grabbed Francesca by throat and leaned in to whisper in her ear. “I'm gonna get what I want from you whether if you cooperate or not. If I got up the stakes to get my answers, then it sounds like me and to are gonna have a great time.” She says as she smiles in Francesca's worried face and then turns to me while tightening her grip against Francesca's neck, choking her for entertainment. “Marcus, be a great big brother and bring in those tools I mentioned.” she says turning her head staring to Francesca's eyes, as she struggles for air. I bring some thick rope and a container big enough to put half her body in. I tie her up by the ankles and put her into the container, and Jordan begins to cold water inside it. I walk out to come back with large bags of ice and rip them open one by one as I empty each bag into the container. Francesca takes deep breaths to try and withstand it, and Jordan stare at her shivering body smiling at her like a work of art. “I'm gonna leave you here for a lil while as you think about what your gonna tell me next.” she says waving to her as we leave and shut the cellar door.

End.