“Extremely.”
I sniffed the air. “It seems the last body that’s been in here was about a month ago.”
Ali inhaled too. “At least.”
“Interesting. I’ll throw Footman in there after we’re done getting answers.”
Ali shut the trap door. “Will he be alive or not?”
“It depends on how cooperative he is.”
Ali stood. “Do you approve of the room, sir?”
“Impressive work as usual.” I placed my hands in my pockets. “Bring Archer in.”
“My pleasure.” Grinning, Ali left.
Candles glowed around me as I waited. While my head should have been on the mission, it was somewhere else.
She was so lovely. So enticing.
The dancer twirled around in my mind. Those red feathers tickled my psyche.
I wished she’d given me her name. Then, I would know what to moan when I stroked myself this evening.
My cock stiffened at the thought. A hum of hunger overtook me. I didn’t have sex as much as most. My occupation didn’t allow for a lot of playing around. My head always needed to be alert as I solved the Dragon’s most difficult puzzles.
But when I did stumble upon a breathtaking creature like the dancer, I took some time out of my mission to give her proper attention.
She’ll be in my bed soon.
Unfortunately, I had less than three days to do it.
Kenji can be the biggest cockblocker.
Scuffling sounded along with the clanking of chains.
I turned around.
Ali guided everyone into the room. Four men dragged and shoved Footman forward. He had handcuffs on his wrists and shackles on his ankles. Chains were attached to them and held by each man. When they came close, they shoved him to the ground. He fell to his knees in front of me. Each man locked his chain to a hook on the floor. Then, they left.
I spoke in Japanese. “Good morning?”
Footman raised his view. A menacing glare greeted me. He responded in English, “Why do the Yakuza carry such a nasty odor?”
“I have several questions for you.”
“I won’t give you answers.” Archer spat at the floor.
I switched to English. “You’ll give me the answers I need and more. First, we’ll start with your special friends.”
His eyes glittered with madness.
“I would love to learn about your buddies, especially the ones that share the interests you do.” I stepped closer to him. “Do you know what I’m talking about?”
He spat at my leg. It landed on my pants. Scowling, I kicked him in the face, landing the sharp point of my shoe into his jaw. He crashed to the ground and groaned in pain. His chains rattled.
Ali came over and wiped the spit off my pant leg.
“I see you’ll try to make this as difficult as possible.” I gazed at Archer. “Are you knowledgeable about Buddhism, Archer?”
He dragged himself up and spit out blood in front of me. “Eat shit!”
“I’ll take that as a yes.” I held my hands behind me. “I’m sure you’ve learned about the narrations of Ashokavadana?”
The Footman scanned the place, probably searching for a way to escape.
I continued, “Prior to King Ashoka’s conversion to Buddhism, he was a fierce and sadistic ruler.”
Ali stood next to me. “They called him Ashoka the Fierce.”
I nodded. “And he built a palatial torture chamber known as Ashoka's Hell.”
The Footman stared down at the handcuffs and shook them. Perhaps, he hoped they would crumble from the movement.
“Ashoka asked his official executioner to design an elaborate torture chamber disguised as a beautiful and enticing palace.”
The Footman sneered at me. “I would rather you show me your feet.”
“Later, I may stomp your head with them.” I smiled. “Regardless, this torture chamber was adorned with all kinds of decorations. It had exclusive baths decorated with flowers and fruit trees.”
The Footman quirked his wicked brows. “I’ll never tell you anything.”
My smile deepened. “Beneath the palace’s beauty there were all of these torture chambers with the most sadistic and cruel instruments.”
Ali grinned. “There were even furnaces that made molten metal to slowly drip onto King Ashoka’s victims.”
I chuckled at Ali’s enjoyment. “All of this was inspired by the five tortures of Buddhist hell. It was so terrifying, many thought King Ashoka had actually visited hell himself to perfect the design.”
The Footman looked at his shackled ankles. “Why would I care about any of this?”
“Because I too have been inspired by hell.”
The Footman snapped his view to me.
“Are you hungry?”
He remained quiet.
“Do let me know when you are.” I grinned. “Wait until you see what’s on the menu. It will knock you off your feet.”
Ali chuckled.
“Fuck you!”
I turned around and headed out. Ali kept his pace next to me. One of my men opened the torture room. We left and headed up the stairs.
Ali led the way. “I often wondered why Ashoka truly converted to Buddhism.”
“It was because the Buddhist monk, Samudra, entered the torture palace. The King’s men tortured the monk in all ways, but none of it worked. Instead, the monk began to perform miracles.” I checked my wrist, making sure the red string was still on and undisturbed. “Ashoka witnessed those miracles within the torture chamber and converted.”