The Devil’s Methods
Desolator watched Inigo leave. He sighed. That kid had an unfortunate talent.
“Geez, what’s with that kid?” Mercury whispered from the couch. “He was like--”
“A different person.” Nox finished.
“He dissociated,” Desolator answered. He looked around the room. Tether had returned his attention to the TV, probably practicing lip reading. Mercury and Nox looked at him with interest, like he was a teacher who had just mentioned something interesting. Maddox had taken the opportunity to drink some water, while Marrow’s attention was absorbed by Desolator and their unresponsive ‘guest.’ He stared at Desolator with wide eyes.
Desolator watched their guest for a moment longer. The man was breathing slow and even, his leg shook. Then nothing, just the slow even breathing of a man not entirely in the land of the lucid anymore. Desolator nodded, as expected. Marrow probably assumed he was about to waste precious time and energy torturing the man, as Inigo no doubt assumed. The rest of the Five, minus Maddox, probably assumed the same. Kids. They hadn’t interrogated enough people to have a nose for what would work.
“Maddox, may I borrow Marrow?” Maddox gave a thumbs up. Marrow looked like he was about to vomit, but approached. “You three come here too, this is good to know.”
Nox, Mercury, and Tether left the couch without complaint and joined Marrow forming a semi-circle around Desolator.
‘They really are like kids.’ Desolator thought wryly. He nodded towards the middle-aged man in the corner. “Have you noticed a change in his behavior since Inigo gave the order to extract information?”
The middle-aged man, moments ago squirming against his bonds had fallen still.
“… He’s not moving?” Mercury answered as if he was expecting a trick.
“Correct.” Desolator left his chair and approached the man with a tiger tattoo. “The reason he’s stopped squirming is the same reason Inigo seemed like a ‘different person,’ as you put it Nox.”
Desolator grabbed the back of their guest’s head and yanked it up. The man’s tiger tattoo glittered as it moved against the morning light. His eyes were half closed, they moved rapidly as if he were in REM sleep. He didn’t react to Desolator’s rough treatment.
“… the fuck?” Marrow breathed.
“It’s called ‘Catatonia.’ Our guest is capable of getting so lost in his own delusions that he is rendered, more or less, numb to outside stimuli. You can get here through a process called ‘dissociation,’ which is what your friend Inigo demonstrated before he left. It’s a peculiar talent you gain by getting the tar beaten out of you as a child.”
Marrow didn’t say a word.
“Though, as in this man’s case, you can also learn how to do it. It’s to be expected that he knows how I suppose, he is a ‘named’ assassin.”
“This bastard has a name?” Tether raised an eyebrow, “he’s not a member of the Yakuza?”
Desolator pointed at the tiger tattoo on their guest’s neck. “Yakuza code states you can’t have tattoos visible when you’re wearing normal clothes. There’s no covering this up without a scarf. This particular assassin goes by the name ‘Tiger.’ Probably because his quirk allows him to transform into a Tiger.”
“Horribly inventive,” Nox commented.
“Names rarely are Ms. ‘Night.’”
“Fair.”
Marrow raised his hand. Desolator smirked at the gesture. “Marrow?”
“What’s this shit about names?”
“Foreign tradition,” Maddox answered. She’d come to join the gaggle of onlookers. She glanced at Sam, asking if he wanted to explain it. The subject pissed him off, so he just nodded for her to continue.
“It’s bad luck for a mercenary to give herself a code name. Other people have to do it and no one cares to name you unless you’re a badass.”
Marrow’s brow furrowed. “I’ve never heard of this.”
“It never caught on in Japan,” Nox answered.
“The convention’s my fault.” Desolator sighed. “When I was just starting out people who took a shot at me gave themselves all sorts of ridiculous titles. (I think I killed two dozen ‘Conquests,’ and at least 10 ‘Kill Shots.’) I would mock their sobriquets as ‘overly optimistic’ and that somehow transformed into an ‘initiation’ ritual among dumbass mercenaries.”
“…”
“…”
“…”
“…”
The other four members of the Five looked away.
Desolator ignored their embarrassment. “The real irony, of course, is that I named myself.”
Marrow smirked. “You CHOSE to be called Desolator.”
Desolator returned the smile. “Stick around long enough and you’ll find out why.”
“So.” Mercury interrupted. “...how do we interrogate him?”
“We need him to get out.”
“But, if he’s catatonic…” Nox waved her hand. “what can we do?”
“Wait.” Desolator let go of the man’s hair. His head stayed where it was; it was unsettling. “If he obtained this talent naturally he might stay catatonic indefinitely, but if he had to learn it, he’ll come out one of these days, especially if we don’t give him a reason not to.”
“… a reason not to?” Marrow asked.
“If we don’t torture him, boy.” Desolator grabbed a chair and pulled it up next to the man.
Satori cast his line into the lake. He sat on a handsome beige sports chair. He was at his grandfather’s cabin in Hokkaido. The chill of a northern spring morning washed over him as his line drifted lazily in the water. He nestled into his coat. He reached next to him and retrieved a bright red thermos. He unscrewed the lid and poured steaming hot coffee into his cup. He took a moment to enjoy the smell of fresh coffee.
Today had been a singularly unsuccessful day of fishing, but that was okay. Grandpa had always said the fish weren’t the point of fishing. The point was to let the world slow down, to let it move around while you just stayed still. It gave Satori a sense of calm, not having a goal like today.
The smell of bacon wafted through the air. Satori shook his head. Bacon? There was no one else with him. Grandpa had been dead for decades. Mom and Dad for even longer. He’d been the only one to visit this cabin in—eggs?
The unmistakable sizzle of eggs infiltrated Satori’s ears. His stomach growled. Why was he so hungry? Hadn’t he just-- eaten. No. No, he hadn’t eaten in two days. He’d been captured. This was a delusion. The lake began to give way to a hard concrete floor. His fishing line dissolved into rope which wrapped itself around his hands and ankles. His sports chair dissolved into a carpeted recliner. A man-- a boy really, was making breakfast at a stove. He was no older than 16, no older than Satori’s nephew.
Satori scanned the room furtively. That’s right, he’d been captured by the Five after he’d completed that… fucking mission. Mercury had gotten the drop on him. He hadn’t stood much of a chance, even before Tether showed up. He’d already given up on escaping before that brat showed up, but if it was just the kid here then--
“Oh! You’re awake.” A velvety voice from Satori’s left froze him. He turned to see a man a little younger than him with dark hair and piercing eyes folding up a newspaper. Satori’s mouth went dry. The man was the very picture of the Desolator he’d seen growing up, around the time he killed The Matron.
The man smiled, it was a smile that screamed control. “Now, before you go back into your own little world, let me tell you, I’m not going to torture you.”
The man stood. Satori tried to summon the cabin back, but he didn’t succeed before the man knelt in front of him. “Torture leads to such ill feelings between the torturer and the tortured and I’d hate for you to go to Hell with yet another enemy.”
The man smiled. Satori’s blood froze.
Desolator waited a moment, trying to determine if his quarry was about to slip back into his dissociative state. He didn’t. Desolator couldn’t tell if it was curiosity that drove Tiger to stay in the land of the lucid, hope that he wouldn’t be tortured, or fear, whatever the case, they could start now.
“Marrow make some tea would you?”
Marrow jumped at the sudden order. He looked over his shoulder and seemed startled to find Tiger lucid.
“When did he--”
“Now, please.”
Marrow moved to get the kettle.
“Apologies, teenagers, I’m sure you know.”
Tiger studied Desolator wearily. Desolator smiled amicably. “How long have you been an assassin?”
“…”
No reaction? Good. His guard was too rigid, the moment it was lowered, it’d be difficult to raise again. “First I heard of you was that job in Osaka, four years back.”
Tiger had an excellent poker face. His face hadn’t even trembled, but the slight dilation of his pupils, the fact that his breath caught for a fraction of a second. None of these tells were lost on Desolator.
“I was impressed.”
The corner of Tiger’s mouth curled. He almost smiled. Just one more push.
“Though one thing bothered me…” Desolator affected confusion. He made as if being lost deep in thought, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw Tiger’s unguarded expression. He had him. “How did you get into Rio’s Club?” Desolator looked up, Tiger’s face was neutral but his eyes sparkled. The poor boy thought of Desolator as his hero, many mercs of his generation did. Sam wasn’t above using that. “Was it through the vents?”
Tiger opened his mouth to answer.
‘Got you.’
“So, there I am thirtieth floor of the Empire State Building, holding a crying stock broker hostage. Jabberwocky is unconscious behind me and Sun Man is staring me down. I know for a fact Life Light is two minutes out, when she shows up I’m thoroughly screwed. Hell, I’m screwed right now, as soon as I blink Sun Man will be on me.”
“How’d you manage? That seems unwinnable.”
“Sun Man certainly thought so, which is why he let his guard down just a fraction of a hair.” Desolator held two fingers maybe a millimeter apart. He held his empty cup towards his partner’s intern. Marrow refilled his tea immediately.
Marrow was utterly confused. This was supposed to be an interrogation, but all Desolator had done was regale their captive with stories for the last three hours and help him drink tea. He hadn’t even asked a question yet!
“What did you do?” Tiger asked, enraptured.
Desolator held his cup to Tiger’s lips. Tiger sipped his tea.
Desolator smiled. “I shot Jabberwocky in the foot.”
Marrow raised an eyebrow. ‘What good would that--’ Tiger burst out laughing spitting tea on the ground in front of him in the midst of what he thought was a hilarious turn. Desolator couldn’t keep the grin off his face as he amicably wiped away the spilt tea from his trousers.
“S-sorry.”
“Not at all, I should’ve waited for you to swallow.”
Marrow looked between the two in abject horror. The humor of shooting your friend in the foot was completely lost on him.
Desolator, still smiling, continued. “Naturally Jabberwocky woke up screaming bloody murder. Sun Man and I both covered our ears in time, but the poor bastard I was holding hostage wasn’t so quick.”
“The poor bastard started ranting and raving, as Jabberwocky’s victims are wont to do, and I let him go. He ran STRAIGHT for the window Sun Man had flown through!” Tiger guffawed. Desolator started to chuckle. “Jabberwocky’s still screaming like a stuck pig so Sun Man, still covering his ears, watches as the poor bastard gets to the window and just jumps like it was the most natural thing in the world. We look at each other like, ‘Did he really just do that?’ then it dawns on Sun Man he was going to have to jump after the raving SOB! THE LOOK ON HIS FACE!”
Tiger descended into hysterics. Desolator smiled wistfully. “That was the only time I ever saw Sun Man regret being a hero.”
He offered Tiger another sip as the man regained himself.
“Did he save the man?” Marrow found himself asking.
Desolator snorted a laugh. “In fact he did!” He paused a moment, waiting for Tiger to swallow this time. Then, he pointed at his mouth. “Caught him in his teeth!”
Desolator and Tiger both laughed, even Marrow struggled to keep the grin off his face as the image of Sun Man, one of the greatest heroes the world had ever known, flying a civilian to safety, his hands over his ears and a suit jacket clenched between his famous pearly whites filled his mind.
Regaining his composure Desolator concluded his tale. “After he stopped screaming at me, I picked Jabberwocky up and we got the Hell out of there. He ended up losing his little toe, but it was a small price to pay to avoid Gehenna.”
Desolator frowned at that last sentence. Maddox had once told Marrow that two of the previous members of the Five, Jabberwocky and Bicorn, had gotten captured after a big fight and were rotting in Gehenna. She’d also said Jabberwocky was like a brother to Desolator and that he shouldn’t bring him up.
“I couldn’t keep him out forever,” Desolator admitted.
The room went silent. Marrow couldn’t read Desolator’s expression, it was sad sure, but there was something beneath it, something calculated.
Tiger missed the tell. He got really quiet. He looked down at the floor somberly.
There was a ghost of a smile in Desolator’s eyes as he landed the killing blow. “Though in our line of work, mistakes are inevitable.”
Tiger sighed. “You’re telling me.” He looked at his ropes. “If I was gonna get caught doing a job, I always hoped it would be one I was proud of.”
“The Seiwa?” Desolator asked.
Tiger nodded.
“What happened?” Desolator asked gently, too gently. His tone made Marrow’s skin crawl. “You’re usually so precise, but… the entire family?”
Tiger looked away.
“I had assumed it was just a mistake, is there more to it?”
Tiger hesitated. Desolator stayed silent. Marrow didn’t dare speak. He could feel something in the air, this was the point of the hours of swapping stories.
“I lost it,” Tiger admitted. “I was only supposed to kill the old man and his bodyguards. My quirk it’s-- transformation types sometimes have trouble with their instincts, but I had a handle on mine. At least I’ve never… killed children before.”
Desolator didn’t say a word. Tiger continued. The environment reminded Marrow of a confessional. “The guy that hired me, he… gave me something, I don’t know what it was. One of the Seiwa clan, Jugs, they called him, could absorb the damage dealt to everyone around him. It was supposed to supercharge me so that I could blow through his quirk as quickly as possible, but when I started tearing through the first bodyguard I just--”
Tiger threw his head back in a sharp motion. “I was gone.”
“You let yourself be drugged?” Desolator asked icily.
Tiger nodded, ashamed. “I know, stupid to trust a client, but I’ve worked with the guy before. I would’ve sworn he’d never--”
“People who hire killers are never good people son, and they are never your friends.” Desolator looked at Marrow. Was that bit meant for him?
Tiger nodded. “Ain’t that the fucking truth.”
The warehouse rang with silence.
“… How will you do it?” Tiger whispered. Marrow blinked, what was he talking about?
“A .22, behind your right ear. There’ll be no pain. You shouldn’t even realize you’re dead. You can even have a viewing if your family is so inclined.” Marrow’s stomach dropped. After everything, Desolator was still going to kill him? Just like that? He glared at Tiger, was he going to let him?!
Tiger nodded. He was. “Okay.”
“But you’re not the one who needs to answer for those children. You know the rules.”
“‘If a client fucks you, fuck him back.’” Tiger whispered like he was quoting something. “That’s the fuck of it though, you won’t believe me even if I tell you. It was--”
“A moment.” Desolator held up a hand. “Marrow, cover your ears, and leave the warehouse.”
“Huh? Why?”
“He’s right kid.” Tiger addressed Marrow for the first time. “It’s not safe information to know. The kid earlier was right, the Hagiwara were the ones that hired me, but they had...”
Marrow blanched. He hastily covered his ears, but he thought he caught the first syllable of the word, ‘permission.’
Desolator left the warehouse. Marrow stood outside. He was smoking a cigarette, thin wisps of smoke gathered around him like a cloud of uncertainty.
“He gone?” Marrow asked.
“Yes,” Desolator answered. He studied the young man. A part of him was glad Tiger had given him the excuse not to kill him in front of the boy. Another part, his darker half, said he was coddling the boy and it’d be better for him to know if he had the stomach for this kind of work.
“I’ll have to do that one day won’t I?” Marrow whispered.
“If you really intend to lead a revolution, there’s no avoiding it.” Desolator agreed. “Though… to say you ‘have to’ is folly.”
Marrow raised an eyebrow at him. Desolator merely shrugged. “You still have a choice. You can pursue your revolution, you can continue to work with me, or you can leave this life behind, maybe go to school.”
“… kind of thought you’d be trying to talk me into the life.”
“No, this life isn’t for everyone.”
“You think it isn’t for me?”
“That’s up to you. I’m here because I love this work. If you don’t, you shouldn’t keep doing it. It’s why I made it so easy to leave the Five.”
“Yeah? And what am I supposed to do? Live with the injustices I see every fucking day?”
“You’ll have to live with injustice no matter what you do son. No matter who runs things, they’ll be people and people are unjust as a rule.”
“Not if--”
“Yes, even then.”
“But what if--”
“It wouldn’t matter.”
“If you’d just let me--”
“Son, I’m 87 years old. You’re not going to convince me that the nobility of the human spirit is a real thing. Save your breath.”
Marrow clicked his tongue in annoyance. If Desolator wasn’t going to let him finish a fucking sentence what was the point of trying? “Did he tell you who hired him anyway?”
“It was the Hagiwara,” Desolator answered quietly.
“The fuck? Why’d you send me out then?”
“An overabundance of caution.” Desolator lied. What Tiger had told him… he wasn’t sure he’d tell anyone yet. Maybe Tiger was lying? Desolator didn’t think so, but it wouldn’t be the first time someone had managed to fool him. The accusation was severe enough he needed to confirm its truth before he brought it to Inigo’s attention.
Desolator sighed. For the boy’s sake, he hoped it was a lie. Having your own brother manipulate events against you like this… was beyond the pale.