Confrontations: A Wolf Pretending To Be A Sheep, Part 13 - Knife To Knife, Part 2

"You will spill your guts to me one way or another even if I have to spill them for you. Now let's begin again... Shall we?," Aaron asked pushing down on the knife embedded in the leg of his less than talkative conversational partner, causing him to scream and thrash futilely from side to side.

Aaron let go of the knife and sat back, stroking the Man's hand softly., "Shhh. There, There I know it hurts and all you have to do is answer my questions and it will end. I will even make sure you are treated and released to your people so I strongly suggest that you cooperate while I am still asking nicely."

The Man's expression hardened with determination.

"I see you have some questions of your own... Namely, How do I know who you are?," Aaron paused for confirmation, not that he needed any which was just as well because the hard-bitten Man laying in front of him didn't utter so much as a word.

Aaron just smiled at his obstinance., " The truth is I don't know who you are or any of your Men but rest assured before tomorrow's sun rises I will have every piece of information that exists on every person involved in tonight's affair. If it exists I will have it by tomorrow and if it doesn't exist I have ways of finding it."

The Man gulped loudly and Aaron watched as his vitals spiked.

"Y-Yo-You Can't Do This!.," The Man stuttered in a half-scream, gritting his teeth.

"Ah Progress at last.," Aaron smiled wickedly and gave the Man's hand a twist before pulling it down. Aaron was impressed that aside from a sharp inhale of breath and the grinding of his teeth that the Man barely made a sound.

"Obviously The Product of A Military Background.," Aaron thought., "If you think the local law or fire department will show up and save you from The Big Bad Wolf then you can forget it.," Aaron sneered., "No one is coming to save you from me and if any of your Men did by some miracle manage to escape then I can tell you with every confidence that before this night ends they will be dealt with one way... or another and as to the people in the apartments watching us right now...," Aaron gestured without looking to the building across the street where several of the tenants watched curiously at the scene unfolding on the street., "... They are unable to access or use any recording or electronic device in the area thanks to certain precautions I have taken and I can tell you with every certainty that since each and every one of them is now a billion credits richer that they didn't nor have they seen anything that's happened tonight. I could butcher you like a cow on this very street and even with everyone watching there would be no witnesses whatsoever."

There was fear in the Man's eyes and something else Aaron didn't quite recognize but it almost seemed like Reverence.

Aaron grabbed the knife currently embedded in the Man's leg, pressing downward before yanking it out, causing him to convulse violently in pain and scream at the top of his lungs. Despite the brutality of this action, Aaron was careful to minimize additional damage while maximizing pain, there was only a modicum of blood in spite of the Man's trashing around wildly.

"Please just answer my questions and all of this will end.," Aaron asked expectantly but the Man merely shook his head weakly.

"I see. Then it can't be helped.," Aaron sighed, looking up to see a Large Wolf standing not far from where he was. It's fur was long and bristling, the color of night with stars twinkling among the deep and dark sea of black. It growled, bearing its teeth which glinted like knives under the beautiful night sky, Its eyes shined bright red like two blood moons sharing the same sky and its face was covered in blood, some dried and matted while some was obviously very fresh, pooling ominously at its large clawed feet. Thick clouds of steam billowed from its open maw and its lower jaw dangled loosely while its hideous teal-colored tongue hung limply from its mouth.

This kind of sight might have shaken most people but for Aaron it was a common sight, It wasn't his first time seeing this creature. The focus and single-mindedness it took to turn off his emotions was not without its share of side effects, Vivid visual and auditory hallucinations being among them. Aaron took a deep breath and re-focused his mind, the snarling beast slowly faded from sight, its bloody foot prints being the last to disappear, fading step by step back the way they came in apparent retreat.

Sighing Aaron carefully removed a leather bundle strapped to his leg and undid the bindings holding it together and unrolled it on the ground beside him. Aaron didn't take his eyes off of his prey even for a second as his pale fingers glided over the strange assortment of tools and implements that looked like something out of a medieval torturer's wet dream. Aaron's fingers loving stroked and fondled several of the instruments while the Man laying on the ground in front of him became more and more anxious. Aaron eventually came to a medium-sized knife which he removed from its place and held it up for the Man to see.

"Do you see this?," Aaron asked coldly while holding up the knife whose blade was split into two tines, one half as long that curled back in toward the handle with a sharp hook and a longer tine with large serrations on the inside. The Man gulped loudly., "I take it from your expression that you have some idea of what this is.," Aaron waved the blade through the air.

"This is as you may know... A combat knife of Charrid Design called a Ractor. The Charrid are a predatory race that are known to eat their own dead on the battlefield or their own young when food is in short supply and to do anything for money which is why they hire themselves out to the highest bidder. They are a lying, conniving, and treacherous lot but their is something they are even more well known for and that is..."

Aaron flicked a small switch on the handle, causing the wicked looking blade to emit a low buzz., "Their incredible tolerance to pain and injury. As a species they are not terribly intelligent but as fighters few can match their rabid determination and sheer viciousness on the battlefield. However, This Ractor contains neural circuits that inflict 10 times the amount of pain a normal knife would. It is Designed to be effective even against their own kind despite their high pain threshold. A Human facing this blade is likely to die of shock from the first cut..."

And as if to illustrate his point, Aaron made a shallow cut across the Man's upper arm to which the Man reacted by tensing his entire body, gritting his teeth hard enough to break several of them.

Aaron drew in a deep breath before leaning close and whispering., "... A Very Unpleasant **** Indeed."

"Now before I use this beauty on you in earnest... I'm going to ask you one last time... Was I The Target or Was It Someone Else?"

Not receiving an answer, Aaron poked the Man's crushed knee where the bone was sticking out. The Man's eyes widened and as much as he fought to keep from screaming that's exactly what he did... Scream.

"You're quite strong... Alot of people's hearts would have stopped by this point unfortunately that strength at this point only means that you will have to suffer that much longer.," Aaron stated solemnly.

"Do you have any plans to attack My Family or My Colleagues at Omen?," Aaron still received no answer but the readings from the Man's vitals did fluctuate wildly.

"So that's how it is...," Aaron spoke aloud thoughtfully., "Do you or your organization have any plans to attack My Family?"

There was only a small ripple in the readings.

"What about Omen is that your target?... Was Vivian Sinclair your Target?... Is that who you were after?"

The readings were spiking violently.

"You're not being very cooperative my friend.," Aaron stated with a sadistic chuckle., "Did you know that its possible to skin a person alive without hitting any major blood vessels? If your hands are steady enough and you have the right skills then you can peel off the skin in one piece."

The Man's horrified expression caused Aaron to laugh loudly before suddenly stopping. Aaron began slowly and methodically using The Ractor to extract what information he could.

In the following minutes Aaron continued to ask one question after another but his partner in the conversation did little more than scream which I suspect is a natural consequence of being peeled like a grape. Aaron's precision was such that there was actually very little blood even as he peeled back and separated the skin from the Man's arms from his ruined shoulder down to the tips of his fingers, even going so far as to slowly remove each fingernail.

Aaron sighed brushing his forehead with the back of his hand., "If it weren't for the muscle paralysis field I set up...," Aaron said gesturing toward two small cubical devices placed about a foot from either side of the Man's head., "I might have seriously injured you.," Aaron stated coldly, a cruel smirk tugging at his lips.

The Man tried to scream but the devices paralyzing his muscles kept him from it though he could still talk. The devices were designed to paralyze the vocal cords when a certain level of tension was sensed so normal speech wasn't impeded as long as one's voice didn't rise above a loud yell of course with Aaron skinning and filleting him like some sort of fish all he could do was scream. It really is too bad the cube-like devices didn't numb nerves but then again that would kind of defeat the purpose in their use at the moment.

Aaron took one of several prepared hypos that he had laid out and injected its contents into the side of the Man's neck and instantly his body relaxed., "That will take away the pain temporarily but just so you know I'm not doing this out of the goodness of my heart... I still have questions that need answers."

"Who is your employer and what does 'She' want?," Aaron deliberately emphasized the word "She" in order to observe the reaction which was off the charts., "Anger... Hmm, That Fits With What The Men From Earlier Said."

"Who is she and what does she want?," Aaron insisted while holding up another Hypo., "This Hypo will neutralize the anesthetizing effects of the previous hypo. Don't make me use this and start again.," Aaron held the hypo close to his neck., "If she intends me or My Family harm I must know!"

The Man was silent.

Without a word, Aaron used the hypo and just as quickly as the other hypo had blocked the pain this one brought it back full **** and the Man began to scream or at least he tried. Aaron put down the Ractor and began unbuckling the Man's pants, tugging them down then cutting open his boxers, leaving his manhood naked and exposed.

"I want you to properly appreciate what I'm about to do so...," Aaron stated in a somewhat clinical tone amidst the Man's endless screams as he picked up a Dermal Regenerator which he had laid out among the assorted hypos. The device itself was roughly similar in size and shape to The Otoscope used by Doctors to check a Patient's ears and nose, and pushed a small button on the back of the head., "Now you may recognize this device as a Dermal Regenerator but it is much improved... Instead of just being able to repair only minor skin wounds, such as cuts, and burns, and remove scars... The version that I have developed has retained its simplicity of use but is far more powerful...," Aaron said as he used the device on the Man's arms and torso but was careful not restore complete function., "... Being able to restore damage even this extensive."

The enemy soldier whose torso and arms had being expertly skinned and huge sections of muscle removed with near surgical precision were beginning to heal at an accelerated rate under the wide-angle beam of the device. After only two minutes, The damage was completely restored and even the abundance of scars that once adorned the Man's battle-hardened body were gone, His skin as clear and smooth as a newborns.

Within a minute of completely healing the Man, save for his wounded shoulders and knee, the Man looked at Aaron with a frightened expression but their was also something more that Aaron didn't recognize nor did he care to. He was doing this for a purpose and not to satisfy some sadistic **** fantasy or because he found harming another person pleasurable or exhilarating. On the contrary, He found this whole thing quite unfortunate but even so he could not allow himself to be deterred.

"Its funny...," Aaron suddenly spoke., "... I've never considered myself a violent or vindictive person. Unlike you and your ilk, I view **** as just another tool to be used when more reasonable means fail. This didn't have to happen nor does it have to continue. You now know that I can heal you quite easily. Answer my questions and I don't have to go any further but continue to test me and I will open you up then heal you and repeat it as many times as it takes. I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get the information I'm after."

The Man looked up at Aaron with shaking eyes and clenched his jaw tightly and Aaron shook his head.

"Now given what I've already done to you... At this point I imagine you can't help but think of me as a monster and while I don't necessarily disagree with that perception...," Aaron said swishing the bloody Ractor through the air., "... I do ask that you consider that if I were the monster you undoubtedly think I am... I would have simply reduced this entire city block to its constituent atoms regardless of the loss of innocent lives that would result from such a course of action. The reason I'm telling you this is so that you understand what I'm capable of...," Aaron chuckled as he waved the blade through the air., "... Not like you don't already have some idea right!," Aaron added jovially, stabbing the Man's broken leg three times in quick succession, eliciting a silent scream thanks to the cube devices.

Aaron took a deep breath and prepared to do what would be unthinkable for alot of Men but Aaron's resolve could not be turned aside by something as trivial as morality or personal discomfort.

"I Have To Know!," Aaron growled, griping The Ractor much like a surgeon using a scalpel and pressed it against the terrified Man's foreskin, causing a small drop of blood to form.

Body Count:

For Those of You Who Are Interested In The Number of Bodies Dropped By Aaron But Don't Want To Go Too All The Trouble of Pulling Out A Tally Sheet and Keeping Track Yourself:

• Confirmed Kills: 0 (What?! Again?! What Is That Shit Writer Thinking?... We Want Blood Damn It!)
• Unconfirmed Kills: 0 (Fuck Not Again! I'm So Tired of This Shit!)