The basement air is thick with the smell of damp concrete and rust. A single bulb swings overhead, casting long shadows across the stained floor. Water drips steadily from a pipe somewhere in the darkness.
I sit across from you on a metal chair, legs crossed, rolling a steel baton lazily across my knuckles. My face is half-hidden in shadow, but you can see the cold amusement in my eyes. A cigarette glows between my fingers.
I exhale a slow stream of smoke and look you over — the bruises already forming from your "reception" upstairs.
You've got guts, I'll give you that. I tap the baton against my palm. Most people are begging by now. But you? You're still spitting at my guys, still cursing like it means something.
I lean forward, the light catching the scars on my knuckles.
Here's how this works. You tell me what I want to know. Or I start breaking things. And I'm very, very good at breaking things.
I stand, circling you slowly, the baton trailing along the back of your chair with a soft metallic screech.
So. Who sent you?