"Ryker, this is Duke."
Ryker's gaze snapped towards Duke, his eyes widening in recognition. "We've met before," he replied.
The air seemed to grow colder as Ryker's gaze bore into Duke, his eyes filled with a sinister intent.
The dim room was only illuminated by the single light hanging from the ceiling. But it was enough to see everyone's appearance.
Duke's eyes locked onto Ryker, and a jolt of recognition hit him. This was the man he had knocked out and stolen an ID from him to get into the warehouse.
"Is there something you'd like to say to me?" he questioned as he inched closer, his height casting over Duke's form.
"There is actually," Duke started, stopping Ryker from taking slow steps towards him by enclosing the space that separated them.
"You aren't wearing glasses. And you look taller," Duke commented with a smug look. His gaze wandered through Ryker's body to figure out what could be the reason. His eyes stopped searching when they landed on Ryker's boot.
Ryker's face twisted in a snarl, his eyes narrowing in anger, clearly not amused by Duke's remarks. "You think you're clever, don't you?"
"Clever? Not really," Duke replied with a grin. "But I know I'm taller and I'm not shaking in my boots right now from fear." He stood tall, his confidence and nonchalance seeming to infuriate Ryker further.
Ryker laughed, a cold, imperiling sound, his dimple coming into view as his face contorted with rage.
"Ryker," Nadia called in a warning tone hoping he wouldn't try anything funny.
But Ryker didn't listen to Nadia. He turned back to Duke, his eyes blazing with fury. "I'll show you what real fear is,"
Ryker turned and headed back to the man tied to the chair, his movements fluid and deliberate. As he walked, he lit a joint and took a long drag, the smoke curling up towards the ceiling.
"Those things will kill you, you know," Nadia scolded, nodding disapprovingly at the cigarette in Ryker's mouth.
"Trust me, Dia, when the devil comes for me, it won't be because I smoke too many cigarettes," Ryker laughed, exhaling a plume of smoke as he reached the chair.
Ryker suddenly pulled the cigarette from his mouth and jammed it into the man's forehead, yelling, "Wake the fuck up!"
He turned to glance at Duke, his eyes gleaming with a sadistic light, to make sure Duke was watching. Satisfied that he had Duke's attention, Ryker raised his hand, clenched his knuckles, and displayed them like a prized possession to Duke. He then turned back to the man and connected his fist to the man's nose with a sickening crunch.
"Who do you work for?" Ryker growled, grabbing the prisoner's face roughly and forcing him to meet his gaze.
"Go fuck yourself. You don't scare me," the prisoner hissed through his teeth, before throwing his head back and spitting in Ryker's face.
Duke burst out laughing but quickly stopped when Nadia shot him a stern glance.
Ryker's face turned red with rage as he slowly wiped the spit from his cheek. He unleashed a flurry of punches, his knuckles cracking against the prisoner's face, before delivering a vicious kick to the man's chest. The chair crashed to the floor, and Ryker turned to Nadia and Duke, his attention fixed on his bloody knuckles as he leaned against the wall.
He looked up, his eyes locking onto Duke's sly smirk. "What the fuck are you looking at?" he snarled.
"Oh, you're done showing me what real fear is?" Duke responded with sarcasm. "Because I kinda missed the point."
Ryker pushed himself off the wall and strode over to Duke, his eyes blazing with intensity. He pointed a finger on Duke's chest, and with a gravelly tone, he said. "You think you're tough? Try making him talk."
Before Duke could respond, a notification suddenly appeared in his vision:
*You have received a Special Order*
*Make the prisoner confess*
[Reward: 1000 Coins] [Accept Challenge?]
Duke's eyes narrowed, as the System suddenly popped up, its timing suspiciously convenient. He had been in a dire situation earlier, desperately needing the System's aid, but it had failed to appear.
Now, it was reappearing over a seemingly easy challenge.
Duke wondered if the System was fixated on Nadia or those close to her, as the challenges so far had revolved around her, except for the altercation at his home, which was with Dominique's men.
Duke also noted that the system had given him an offer, unlike before. He could choose to accept or reject this order.
Without further delay, he responded to both the system and Ryker. "Oh, with pleasure."
Ryker's eyes gleamed with a sadistic light, clearly eager to see Duke try and break the prisoner. Nadia, on the other hand, looked on with concern, her eyes darting between Duke and the prisoner, who was still lying on the floor, his face thrashed and bloody.
Duke sighed before he let his eyes wander the dark gray room. They landed on a table not far from where he stood, its surface cluttered with an array of devices and tools that seemed to gleam in the dim light. His gaze lingered for a moment, before quickly shifting away, settling on the metal chair beside it.
He headed over to the table, his footsteps echoing off the walls, and pulled out the chair with a scraping creak. Then, he dragged it across the concrete floor, the scraping sound echoing through the room like a warning. Duke positioned the chair backward in front of the prisoner, who was still lying on the floor, his face a mess of bruises and bloody gashes. With a cautious gaze at the prisoner, Duke sat down with a controlled and deliberate movement.
The prisoner's eyes locked onto Duke with contempt and amusement. He let out a curt, mocking laugh, spitting out blood and saliva in the process. The sound echoed off the cold concrete walls. "Too scared to finish me off yourself, huh? You had to send your baby brother to do your dirty work?"
Duke grinned, knowing the prisoner's words would rile Ryker. He maintained a calm and calculated posture. "I want answers," he tells the prisoner.
The prisoner snorted in mockery at Duke's words, "He's an amateur too."
Duke's expression remained steady. "You're one of those in charge of running your operation, aren't you?"
The prisoner suddenly stopped chuckling, his eyes flicking to the left, his hands trembling slightly. Duke caught him trying to use his sleeve to cover something, the prisoner thinking Duke wasn't looking that way.
With a swift motion, Duke raised the chair he carried and used one of its legs to pin down the prisoner's palm to the floor. The prisoner yelled out in agony at the contact. Duke squatted down and shifted the prisoner's sleeve to uncover what he was trying to hide.
A small tattoo on the prisoner's wrist came into view - a snake coiled around a dagger.
[Fifty points awarded to you for your proficiency]
*Would you like to use it to heighten your viewpoint?*
The 3D Girl pops up in his vision to ask Duke.
"Now we are getting somewhere."