The Rites: Ethos Society Part One

by Chloe Gunter

  "Can you rewind them to the moment you brought them in and play it at 10x please?" I asked the agent at the switchboard. He immediately complied as Katya looked at me curiously.

  I hunched forward, getting as close as I could to the screens and started absorbing the fast playing images. I could see Katya entering and exiting the rooms at various times, hardly stopping. Judging by the footage, they seemed to start roughing them up after twenty-four hours of questioning with no result. Now that I had known what was going to happen, and the tactics that were being used, I turned back to the agent at the switchboard.

  "One more time, same speed. Zoom in on Nicholas."

  I resumed my position, hands braced on the table in front of me as I absorbed even more details from the replay until it was back to playing the live feed and I had caught exactly what I was looking for. I glanced at Katya, and she could tell from my expression that I'd noticed something.

  "What did you find?"

  "The older brother, how did he get the nerve damage in his left hand?"

  "Fuck!" she swore, "I thought the tremor came after Alvarez got his hands on him," she said referring to one of the men who came and, well, let's not sugar coat it, beat the ever-living shit out of them, while she was interrogating them.

  "It wasn't as prominent as before, maybe every couple of hours, but it was there. It probably didn't get noticed because it’s slight and with the changing of rooms it would have been a hard catch. I want him first, give me ten minutes with him. Will you go warm up the younger brother for me, I'll be in there soon."

  Katya paused, no doubt from me obviously taking the reigns and giving her directions. She let out a long sigh before she shook her head slightly. "Let's hope you're right DeWitt."

  We headed out of the room, and she motioned me further down the hallway where I could see a guard outside of the room. He looked questioningly at me, before I heard loud steps jogging down the hall.

  "She's authorized, both rooms," Wyatt said to the agent at the door before turning to me. He scanned my face and I could tell that he recognized that I had settled into a state of quiet indifference, the cold calculating place I let my mind delve into when I was in situations like this.

  "No matter what happens in there, don't open that door until I knock to come out." He gave me a slow nod before moving out of the way.

  I opened the door softly, completely wiping my face of all emotion before calmly pulling out the chair across from Nicolas, the elder Priestly brother. His hands rested in his lap, secured at the wrist and were tethered to the floor, same as his legs. His head was drooped listlessly forward and he didn't even lift his head at the sound of my arrival.

  I made the decision to wait him out. Something I didn't have the luxury of doing for too long, but I had a feeling that I could play this to my advantage. I just needed to get some kind of confirmation about my suspicions from Nicolas before I went in for the kill.

  Silence dragged out, each minute feeling like hours before he lifted his head to meet my gaze. Reclined in the chair, arms open by my sides, I was a picture of patience with my nonchalant gaze as though I had all the time in the world. His eyes widened at my unfamiliar face.

  We stared at each other, neither one of us willing to concede ground in the silent battle of wills. He broke first.

  "Who are you? Did they send another one of you in to try and break me?" he asked with a mocking bloody smile. He looked like he was about to pass out, drops of sweat and blood dripping to the floor with each beat of his heart. To give him his due, the man was determined.

  Then again, so was I.

  "I'm not here to interrogate you, Mr. Priestly. It’s obvious by now that you and your brother are both lost causes, unwilling to tell us what we need to know. We're moving onto other measures to determine the location. I'm just here to express my condolences and let you know that you'll be going away for the rest of your life."

  "Condolences?" I waited until his brain jumped to the intended conclusion, watching the emotions flitter across his face, first sorrow, and then, pure, unadulterated rage.

  "Yes, unfortunately your brother wasn't strong enough to withstand our questioning and didn't want to cooperate any further," I said with utter indifference, like I was talking about the weather rather than the supposed death of his brother.

  "You fucking bitch," he roared, moving as far out of his chair as he could, trying to lean over to get to me. "He can't be gone. I've done everything for my brother, everything!" His eyes flickered down to his left hand quickly, before launching into a verbal assault, pulling at the restraints like a rabid dog.

  Restraining a smile, knowing he just gave me the confirmation I needed, I headed to the door and rasped two quick knocks against the steel. The door opened and I nodded to the agent before turning my head to see Wyatt step into the hall from the security room, no doubt having had watched my encounter.

  "Are you going to tell me what the hell that was all about?"

  "We don't have time, I need to see Jonah now," I said, walking quickly towards him. I had no idea if this place was soundproofed, and the last thing I needed was for a howling Nicolas to spook Jonah before I could get to him.

  Making a fist, I slammed it against the concrete wall, busting my knuckles. Fuck me. I smeared the blood on my knuckles slightly, then took the extra on my finger and swiped it close to my hairline.

  Wyatt looked at me like I was insane as I quickly rapped on the door, ready to play the games I had to, the games that would destroy. I’ve long learned that guilt has no grounding in my job. Millions of peoples lives were at stake if I didn't get in there and find that location.

  Katya answered the door, and I moved past her, intent on the target in front of me. I sat down on the chair and looked at Jonah. He didn't look as bad as Nicolas, but you could tell that he'd been worked over harder. The clear difference was that his blatant curiosity shone on his face the second I stepped through the door.

  "What? That icy bitch didn't want to talk to me anymore?" Jonah's tone indicated that he was a cocky little shit, and suddenly I had no doubt that I was going to enjoy breaking him.

  "No, because right now I want to talk to you. You don't know who the hell I am, but by the end of this conversation you sure as hell will," I said full of promise with a hard glint in my eye.

  "Oh, are you finally going to take me out of these cuffs and give me a little love?" he asked while his tongue darted out across his bottom lip. "They've been so mean to me here."

  I let out an empty laugh and raised my eyebrow mockingly at him.

  "You think you deserve love? After what you and your brother are trying to pull with that little group of yours? No. No, you definitely do not deserve to be blessed with my love. Far from it."

  "You don't want to play with me?" he taunted. The fucking prick wouldn't give up.

  "Here's how this is going to go Jonah. You're going to make a decision for me. You're going to decide who you love more right now. Your cause, or, your brother."

  "I don't have to decide on that, I can continue to have both together, just like its been."

  "Not for much longer you don't. You see, that brother of yours, the one who has sacrificed over and over for you, time and time again, doesn't have much longer. In fact if you don't tell me the precise location of where you planted the bombs within the next two minutes, he's going to die. Actually, we might not have that long, because when I left he wasn't exactly in the best condition." I looked to my knuckles that were now busted and bleeding, and adjusted my features to read as slightly manic. I wanted him to believe that I was one hell of a crazy motherfucker who would go to any length necessary.

  "He knew what he was getting into, we both did. We knew we might not make it out of here alive as soon as your people busted down that door."

  "That's fair, honorable even, if I didn't find your means to support your cause to be so despicable. Although, I don't think I could ever do that to my younger sister though. I mean, I gue
ss it must be different for you since you’re the younger one, but if I knew I had a chance to save my sister's life, then I would sell my soul in a heartbeat." I paused dramatically and ran a hand through my hair, looking up to the ceiling and letting him have time to absorb my words. "I would do anything."

  "It's different-" he started to say, but I cut him off quickly, not wanting to give him a chance to talk through it.

  "I mean, fuck Jonah, do you not remember what happened to his hand? Don't sit there and act like he wouldn't do the same thing for you if the positions were reversed."

  With a turn of a phrase, gone was the cocky Jonah I walked in to talk to. At the mention of his brother's hand, and whatever memory that was connected to, he went deathly pale.

  "Oh god-"

  "Anything, Jonah. That's what you do to protect the ones you love."

  I pushed out of my chair and went to the door, walking in even strides. I was placing my bets on a sibling bond and a former accident and I hoped to god it paid off. Just as I wrapped my fingers around the door handle and pulled it open, I heard Jonah let out a small sob.

  "Wait! Please, I'll tell you everything you want, just save him. Please!"

  "Tell it to your favorite icy bitch and I will. You have my word." He didn’t need to know that his brother wasn’t dying, well, at least not then.

  Katya walked past me and shut the door, I hustled down the hall to the security room and squeezed in next to Ridley who was watching intently.

  "That was risky, DeWitt," he said in a low voice, not looking up from the screen.

  "I know, but nothing else was working and they both needed a push. Playing on their bonds with deep-seated guilt was the best way to do that."

  The agent at the switchboard adjusted the volume as Katya can be seen leaning over to talk to Jonah. I breathed a sigh of relief when he started spouting off information. Location, the number of devices, the mechanisms, where they were. I watched his face intently, looking for any hint of deceit, and when he finally stopped rambling, I breathed a loud sound of relief.

  "He's telling the truth," I said to Ridley, a sudden exhaustion overriding the adrenaline that was running through my veins.

  "We have the team on standby, I'll send them to the location now. Good work, DeWitt."

  He stepped aside and pulled out his phone, issuing swift orders that would no doubt prevent that monumental attack from happening. There was nothing left for me to do at that point, so I grabbed a chair and sat, wrapping my hand with the med kit an agent offered me while thinking about what the fuck just happened. My life sure had gotten interesting within the past twenty-four hours.

  By the time I made it back to the facility, after assurances from the mysterious Wyatt Ridley that everything had been taken care of, it was close to 2200. I dragged my feet up the stairs, starving and in need of a stiff drink.

  Opening the door, I was greeted by the sounds of a football game, no doubt coming from the television and the sounds of cheers and a groan sounding off. Ramsey, Reed and Gavin sat on the sofa, the coffee table housing a couple opened beers.

  Ramsey was the first one to notice me and quickly grabbed the remote and muted the television, while Gavin jumped off the couch and walked towards me, looking me over from head to toe, grabbing my bandaged hand in his. I could see Reed waiting behind his shoulder, waiting for me to speak.

  "Relax guys, I'm fine. It's taken care of. I'm just exhausted and hangry."

  "I'll make you something," Reed said, moving towards the kitchen.

  "I know you can handle yourself, but I just needed to know you were alright. I hope you don't mind I'm here," Gavin said taking my bag off my shoulder and setting it to the side. I grabbed his hand, giving it a tight squeeze.

  "I'm glad you're here Gav. You staying?"

  "If you're asking," he said and I nodded my head affirmatively. "I'm going to go run and grab a change of clothes for tomorrow then, I'll be right back." He gave me a swift peck and headed out the door, leaving me face to face with Ramsey.

  "I thought you guys were supposed to be at your place tonight?" I questioned, remembering my conversation with Reed that morning, even though it feels like days ago.

  "We wanted to be here when you returned home, Charlotte. Some things are more important darling, like certain lovely roommates that get under our skin. After all, it would be dreadful if Reed had to get saddled with someone new. I don't know how free my schedule is to perform the requisite sexual act in front of a new roommate, and we've already covered that base with you."

  I laughed, feeling the rest of the tension drain out of me before wrapping my arms around Ramsey, not caring if he wanted a hug or not.

  "Group hug!" Reed called from the kitchen, rushing over to us and enveloping us both tightly in his arms. In true Reed style, he placed a kiss on both of our heads, "food's almost ready, Char, I'm just heating it up." Giving Ramsey one more kiss, and me a final squeeze, Reed headed back to the kitchen.

  "You know, all that wouldn't be a problem if you two lived together. You don't seem to have commitment issues, so what’s the deal Sarge?"

  "Haven't you had enough questioning today Charlotte?" he asked, still standing close from the group hug. I leaned into him, nudging him playfully.

  "I'm not playing games, not with you and him. It's an honest question, and you have every right to not answer my curiosity. I was just wondering because you guys, well, you can tell how much you love each other."

  Ramsey was silent, looking at me with an indecipherable look on his face.

  "I do love him, more than I probably should. He's my weakness, if someone ever wanted to get to me, all they would have to do is threaten him, and that is dangerous. I've accepted that, made peace with it, because while Reed may be my weakness, he's also my strength. Honestly, when he first got here I already had a roommate and they had assigned him Tom, who lived here before you. I considered asking to transfer when Tom got cut from the program, love. Truly, I did. But ultimately, some things came up, and it came down to an additional layer of protection. The less paper links between us, the less visibility our relationship has to the outside world…” he trailed off, and I watched as his jaw clenched. “That's what you do for the ones you love, you sacrifice, Charlotte."

  "He's lucky to have you," I said softly, not wanting to break this moment of unadulterated honesty.

  "It is I who is lucky to have him, darling. And one day soon, the cards should be in our favor. But until then, we have each other, and sleepovers, and wonderful new roommates to ask us the hard hitting questions." His accent was more prominent, full of emotion and not holding anything back from me and my questions.

  "Come eat, Char, before it gets cold. I put some leftover stew I made on the table for you," Reed said from behind us, ending the moment.

  "Thank you," I said to Reed while I looked at Ramsey. He could have chosen to not answer my question, or could have given me a half-assed answer. But instead, he gave me the absolute truth. He gave me something that was worth more to a man like him, his trust. That in sharing that information, in showing a vulnerability, that he put faith in me that I wouldn't betray him. That I would remain loyal to this friendship.

  I crawled into bed that night and spooned against Gavin with a full stomach and a full heart, in a house filled with people who felt like family. I was exactly where I wanted to be, and I had never felt more grateful.

  It was Friday, three days since I had handled the Priestly brothers, and I had a feeling I was about to be the one handled.

  I had worked my ass off to improve when it came to hand-to-hand combat. I already had the stamina and the ability to quickly assess situations, and it wasn't like I couldn't put down civilians easily. But, facing off against elite agents was another story. Jen and I had been sparring for the last week, both in class, and some extra sessions, and we were at the point where we both were giving it as good as we had got.

  But that was all about to change, because as Reed had previously
informed us, today was going to be the day we started the transition to taking on opponents who were of a drastically different size. Reed was flanked by José and a woman I didn't recognize. She was lithe and sleek and something about her posture read lethal.

  "Just because your opponent may be of a different size, doesn't mean you should underestimate them. Both José and Juliet are highly trained combat experts yet their builds couldn't be more different. Moral of the story, you need to play to your strengths. Do whatever you need to give yourself the advantage in a fight or it may be your last."

  José and Juliet stepped in front of Reed and took positions on one of the training mats in front of us. Mirroring each other’s stance and honing in on each other with a deadly focus, they began.

  It was a deadly and beautiful ballet. Where José did more obvious damage with his moves, he fought close to the chest, protecting his core and looking for opportunities. Juliet however, stayed out of José's range, opting for quick darts in and out of his field, and man was she fast. The fight lasted for a full ten minutes, both of them not giving each other an inch. That was until Juliet saw an opening and managed to wrap herself behind José and get him in a sleeper hold, keeping her grip locked until José sank to his knees and finally tapped out.

  She helped him up and she shot him a grin, "Oh, how I love going against someone who can hold their own." José let out a good natured laugh before they both joined Reed at the front of the gym.

  "Alright, listen up for the pairings and then I want you sparring until the end of class. José and Juliet will be coming around to each group to offer any guidance they might have. Impress them." Reed called out names two at a time, until he looked directly at me. "Since Huntington is out today, DeWitt you're with me."

  Oh fuck.