“How do I feel you ask? Well, that’s an interesting question. Are you sure you want to know? Well, then, how to answer.”

“You know, nobody here ever thinks about this, but the seasons, not that San Diego seems to have any, are reversed from back home. You know, summer is winter and vice versa, I mean kind of.”

A grunt of pain as flesh collides with flesh.

“What does that have to do with anything? Oh, I am getting there. You see, six years ago, well, the rainy season was about to begin. I’d just finished a mission, classified of course, that haunts me to this day. I mean, who wouldn’t be haunted by discovering the remains of tortured teenagers.”

“Where? Oh, well, you know, I still believe in my oaths, regardless of what you fuckers did to me and my family, so….I am not going to tell you. But I was ordered to take leave, but I am sure you know that. Well, anyway, Bryce had this massive race coming up, different than normal, some sort of professional Iron Man thing, a week of long races. I was pretty full of myself then, and I was pissed off at the secrets we had to keep. So I pushed it. Least I thought I did. I made some calls, seemed the timing was right. Bryan was about to take an assignment to Africa. You know – he wanted to be a doctor back then. Bridgette had been notified she was about to take over as the new executive officer in her helicopter squadron. So, you know, I made sure we were all going to be there to watch him. How often could we do that anymore? I mean, sure, I didn’t really want to be around Dad, but Mom wasn’t going to go with out him. How was I to know it’d be the last time I’d see him? I mean, I always thought he was a tough bastard, and he wasn’t that old. I mean, shit, then, I mean, they had me pretty young, so in 2012, fuck, he’d only have been 52 or something. I had plenty of time to hate him and he me. You know, I mean, lots of people have those kind of stories, nothing special about a man angry with his father. But you know what else? Well, I know you do, you little fucker, that was also the last time I saw Bridgette too. That, on the other hand, was like having my heart ripped out.”

A rapid series of slaps echo through the modified cell.

“I returned from leave, having buried the evil I’d seen under the pretense of enjoying a vacation with my family. You know, I’d ask those who are still alive what they remember of that time, but, well, I guess I am just a coward and don’t even know if those memories are real any more, so I don’t. Brij went to Afghanistan with her unit, Bryan deployed to Africa, and Bryce went back home, where apparently the stupid fucker volunteered for the army even though I remember telling him not to give up his dreams. Fucking idiocy on my part, I thought his dreams were of Motorcross. And I went back to a fucking training assignment.”

“Then we jumped. Final jump and exercise for that parachutist training company. Jesus, what a bunch of damn kids. Landed in that fucking cave in the middle of godforsaken nowhere, right next to the snakes. Get’s hazy after that of course. Was I really in a coma that long? I doubt it anymore but it sure was a convenient excuse for me not to remember anything.”

“I mean, I get the recovery period. Now, of course it was odd why I didn’t see family at first. I mean, is that why I got suspicious? What tipped me off to the information? I can’t remember anymore, I don’t know why. I mean, not to be paranoid or anything, but, its unlikely I would have dug that deeply. Either way, I guess, does it really matter? I guess it does to me, because this not knowing is like ants crawling across my brain continuously. And people wonder why I can’t sleep. Who the fuck can sleep with ants scurrying across their brains? Hmmm…….well, to be fair, is that the addiction or did I start all those to kill the ants? Well, whatever. I found out that you fuckers had tested whatever you had tested on us, killing, or so I thought based on those fucking files, Bryan and Bridgette. But I was going to save my little brother. Because that’s what big brothers do, right? I mean, those with any shred of compassion or love, right? Then again, maybe that was English’s plan all along, I mean, obviously Bryan and Bridgette didn’t die. So maybe Bryce and I were the failures. Could be I guess. I mean, I’m pretty fucked up at this point. Good for the world though right? I mean, otherwise, fucking Anubis takes over and all you little cockroaches bow down and suck his nut in obedieance by now.”

“Ah, but I digress. We escaped. I think. Killed a bunch of your little guard boys, well, I suppose girls too. Got papers, got money. Left the country. Went to Indonesia. Took a while for Bryce to figure out that he had enhancements. I still remember that day he killed for the first time. Damn, I was so angry with him. Needed to play fucking hero just weeks after we got out, and of course he didn’t have a fucking clue so it led right back to us. In some ways, he deserves the guilt that comes along with killing people, even bad people. But I mean, was that guy really that bad? He was just doing his job, trying to recover an asset. Then South Korea. God damn, how you idiots didn’t catch up with us, I’ll never know. He sucked at hiding, and its not exactly like we could blend in very well. But we made it to Mexico. We made it all of ten weeks there. I mean I get it why he went after that sheila. She was hot, he was 18, they were the same age. We rescued her, made the road trip, got her to the embassy. Along the way, well, along the way, I eliminated threats. It’s what you guys trained me to do, of course. Well, the army anyway. Its what you fuckers claimed you wanted me to stay in the army for. Sometimes, you know, in real battles, its hard to remember who all you killed. Chaotic. But that trip, well, it was spread out, string of events. Thirty-nine cartel members. Including four dirty cops and one disgustingly perverted and dirty federale.”

Oh, you don’t want the whole story? Well, I don’t FUCKING care! This is how I FEEL!”

A brutal kick to the kidney is quickly followed by a groan of pain.

“So, Dryce……how do you feel….today?”

“F……..y….Am…..di…..”

He stopped, and kneeled, staring at the man bound tighly to manacles, atached to chains, wrapped and attached to the bunk, and wall. A man who could barely see, if he could from the swelling around his face.

In a calm voice with sibilant overtones, he said, “I’m kind of impresssed. I didn’t think you had it in you. Based on when we captured you all that time ago, I took you for a typical bully, a coward mentally and physically. Who’d have thought you would have stood up after thirty-nine daysss of repetitive physical torture. I mean, ssssure, I keep feeding you, and maybe I ssshould ssstop, and yea, I’m a pretty good medic with accssesssss to the finesst medical suppliessss, you know, in case I go overboard again like the other day when I ruptured a testicle. I mean, by the way, how doessss that feel? Sssswelling’ss gone down a lot I see.”

“I guess we will see if you have a different story tomorrow when I come back. Its beoming a nice routine.”

“Oh, in case you care. Your body was found not far from 80 Mile Beach a few days ago. Drug overdose. Sure, Olivia was starting to get over the fact that you weren’t responding to her, had said you weren’t coming over fucking email for christ’s sake. On her birthday even. But still, she was pretty broken up about you dying and all.”

“Took awhile to modify this cell from before, when it was so cushy for you, you know, when you said it was a sweet vacation with three meals a day and a pretty red head to stare at you. But, had to negate that, since I modified the room to explode and incinerate the interior with an enhanced napalm blast if any code other than mine was used. Wouldn’t want any susssspiciousss physical remains to be identifiable on sight by my daughter after all.”

“What…no sssssmartassss reply about fucking your own wife? Maybe you are about ready.”

“How about some ska rock today?” he asked before hitting the remote, and speakers right next to the captive, with what appeared to be at least four different songs playing simultaneous at maximum volume. He then hit another button and an electronic barrier sprung into place, cutting off the sound while also throwing up a maddening spectrum of colored flashing, at least on the prisoner’s side.

The interrogator then took three steps to the right, kneeled down and vomited. He cleaned up in the cell’s sink, and then left the room, sealing it behind him.

He paused long enough to control his emotions, and then blended into the shadows. Hopefully, his brothers suggestions would expedited this process. Time would tell of course, it had only been three days since the party at Brewski’s celebrating Anubis’s defeat. Sure would be nice to have it done before Olivia’s birthday on Saturday. It really was too much of a risk to have him here, regardless of the security.