With Soap and Gaz doing much better physically, the team felt comfortable enough to start working on their next project.
Making Makarov pay.
They left Rudy, Soap, Gaz, and Roach at the estate. They figured the four of them should sit this one out. Meanwhile Ghost, Alejandro, König, and Price all ventured off the property and into the cold toward the military base. This would be a multiple day affair, but they all were eager to blow off some pent up aggression, and what better way than to make Makarov suffer a bit.
They took the time on the drive to converse a bit. Across them all, they knew the least about König. Out of the three of them, Alejandro was closest to him at this point by proxy through Rudy.
"So, Pulpo, how did a kraken end up in a lake in Austria?" He asked from beside him.
"Oh. Well, I was born in a stream in Austria." He explained.
"A stream? That's no place for such a mighty creature to come into this world." Alejandro frowned.
König blushed under his hood, "It was fine. I hatched okay. I was the only one of my clutch that survived, which is quite common. My mother must have been there visiting for some reason when her time came. She held onto her life long enough to travel with me to the ocean. After the journey she was quite weak and didn't last long after that."
"Sorry to hear that, Son." Price said from the front seat.
"Oh, no! It's fine! It is another thing that is quite common." He waved off his concern with a stray tentacle, "All that to say, I returned inland when I was older. The hustle and bustle of the ocean was quite stressful for me. I prefer the quiet, so I registered with the military and found a lake for myself."
Ghost hummed. He definitely understood that. Outside of his current circle he wasn't into socializing.
"Do you ever miss it?" Alejandro asked.
"Hm?"
"The ocean. I know Rudy does. We go on occasion for visits, but we can't always get away. But Austria is landlocked so I was just curious, hermano."
"Um, yes. I suppose there are things I miss. And the lake could get a bit claustrophobic, but I didn't mind too much. I was more concerned with the noise. It's so much quieter than the sea."
Ghost leaned forward a bit to look around Alejandro at him, "Is the sea...loud?"
König nodded his head emphatically, "Very. I think it is something to do with my species. I can hear vibrations from all directions and it's just so noisy. Not so bad in the lake though."
Price had his eyebrows raised in interest from the front seat. Where he had once been disinterested in the world of monsters, since finding Gaz and dedicating his life to the work like his family, he had grown to love the study. When it came to oceanic species there was always far less information. Much like the rest of the ocean outside of the realm of monsters, there wasn't much information. Getting to know Rudy and König had taught him a lot already. He was eager to get back and write down some of the information on krakens that König had just revealed.
But that would have to wait until they had their fill of Makarov for the day.
When they arrived on base, König led them to a sublevel for holding. He stopped at a particular door and stepped aside.
"This is the one."
"Good." Price commented, rolling up his sleeves, "What was his condition when you brought him in?"
"I followed your orders, Captain." König assured him, "I was not gentle."
"Good man." He gave him a smile, "Alright, let's give him his first of many lessons."
König used one of his appendages to open the door and allow Price to enter first, followed by Alejandro and Ghost on either side. König stepped in last and closed the door behind them.
Makarov was seated on a chair in the center of the room, looking as smug and sadistic as ever. However, König had been truthful, the man was covered in bruises from where the kraken had him wrapped up. His clothes were dotted with blood from what had probably been a bloody nose based on the unnatural angle of the bridge.
"Ah, Captain Price." He sneered, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"You really thought you'd get off with a few bruises?" Alejandro asked.
Makarov slowly turned his head toward the man, raking his eyes up and down, "What are you exactly? Never could figure that out."
Alejandro didn't dignify him with a response.
Makarov let out a breathy laugh, "We were too busy with your little boyfriend to properly investigate you. Speaking of the siren, how are all of my pets holding up? The dog's condition wasn't great. And that dryad wasn't coming back out of its stasis, something is clearly wrong with it."
Alejandro and Ghost let out low growls and terse hisses respectively. The shadows licked anxiously at Makarov's ankles, waiting for permission to hurt. König's eyes flashed and a few tentacles slipped out and writhed about eagerly. Price took a deep breath before stepping closer, towering above the man in the chair and looking down at him.
"We know what you did with Sergeant MacTavish and Parra. We'd like to know what you were doing with Sergeant Sanderson and Garrick." He told him.
"Who?" Makarov grinned.
"You know who, du schlange!" König hissed out sharply, the sound seemed to echo and bounce off the cement walls.
"I don't." Makarov replied, sounding entirely and disgustingly honest, "I don't make it a point to learn or remember the names of lab animals. If you mean the assets you stole from me, you will need to be more specific about which ones."
"The moth and the dryad." Price spat through gritted teeth.
"Ah, right." He nodded, "Yes, the moth was very interesting. I find insects fascinating. I am disappointed that I never got to finish with my testing. I had planned to pin it on a board when I was through with it, hang it somewhere. The wings are quite lovely."
One of Ghost's shadows sharpened and pierced through the back of his calf before curling. Makarov let out a gasping shout and the lights flickered from Ghost's pleasure in the sound.
"Simon." Price spoke, cutting him off.
Ghost reluctantly pulled back.
"Answer the question. What were you doing with him?" Price reiterated.
Makarov shakily composed himself, "Keep your beasts in line!" He spat.
"Answer the question or I will leave them to have their way with you." Price threatened, still sounding composed. Almost like they were discussing the weather.
"Fine." Makarov said after a moment, "We tested the moth against extreme temperatures. Many insects cannot regulate their internal temperature against the elements. This proved true in the moth's case. It would lose consciousness after lengthy exposure to extreme heat or cold. It would be weak and lethargic for multiple days following these procedures." He paused, "Practically speaking, however, the silk that the moth produces can be woven into extremely durable fabrics. The fibers sell for quite a lot in the underworld, and well, I had a business to keep up and running."
Ghost felt his teeth fighting to extend, eager to tear open the man's jugular for how he was speaking of Roach like a mere farm animal. Livestock.
Price nodded and clicked his tongue, pursing his lips before speaking, "And the dryad?"
Makarov rolled his eyes, "A much more boring subject. You know Price. You have seemingly kept it all these years. They are abundant, their mere presence in a space encourages life and growth and vitality. Good for keeping the other assets around longer. With this one we performed multiple burn tests. Their flesh is more flammable than our own. We also placed it in a chamber that we drained of CO2 so that we could see how long it could last before succumbing to unconsciousness. About as long as a human without oxygen was the answer if you were curious."
Price narrowed his eyes, "The dandelion."
"Hm?" Makarov looked taken aback.
"Kyle had a dandelion he kept with him. Said you took it."
Makarov scoffed, "You are worried about that? A weed?"
"What did you do with it?" Price practically punched each word out.
Makarov rolled his eyes, "I did the dryad a kindness. I let him keep the thing for a time. I think he thought that I didn't know. But I am no fool. I know what a plant tattoo on a dryad means. But he was not being cooperative. Was not behaving during testing. And so a punishment needed to be inflected. I used a cigar to burn parts of his skin to get the stem to the surface, then I pulled it out of him. Set it alight when I had it out." He shook his head, "Then the thing turned back into his tree. A real pain. We were unable to pull him from dormancy the first time. Normal dryads have no issue. But this one isn't normal. It is broken. It didn't want to change, like it was scared to. That dryad is wrong. I can't understand why you are so insistent on keeping it around-!"
Price snapped his fingers and one of König's tentacles was around his neck again, squeezing to cut him off. He was done speaking with him.
He turned to face the three monsters. Teeth flashed longer and sharper, claws extended, eyes glowed.
"Here's how this is going to go. You boys are going to have your fun with him. Keep him alive, it'll be good for you to have a toy you can chew on. I'm going to watch, try and keep me entertained."
A deep 'Yessir' rumbled from the three of them. Shaking the walls. He stepped back toward the door and leaned back against it. Watching casually, with his legs crossed as he unleashed a distinct hell upon the man. König wrapped him up with more of his arms, keeping him secure in the chair. Ghost's shadows pierced into different muscles to make him writhe and scream, curling inside causing them all to tense. Alejandro descended upon him with his claws, slowly digging them into his arms and legs and dragging down to draw out the sensations.
Price sort of wished he had a cigar, it would be nice to enjoy one with this show. But this was plenty satisfying on its own.