The icy water poured over my head, spreading all over my body, making me shiver with cold. I tensed up and then opened my eyes. The room was small and dark, lit only by two wall torches burning in their metal holders. There were no windows. The furniture consisted of two chairs and a wooden table, large and solid enough for someone to lie on if necessary.
That's all I needed to understand the situation: I was in an interrogation room. My hands were pinned to the back of the chair behind me, and my legs were pinned together. The man put the bucket against the wall, pulled out the chair and sat down across from me. I recognized the scumbag.
Captain Hantz. The officer in charge of the guards in the harbor area, an ambitious hyena who was always snooping around and making life difficult for the rest of us. Rumor had it that he wouldn't even take a bribe. Everyone in the business knew him well, some more than they liked, and his mother was one of Karcep's most notorious personalities. He'd even been on my trail once or twice, though I'd always managed to elude him.
"Listen, boy. I assume you know who I am, so there's no need to explain the situation. This isn't the first time I've seen you, and I'm well aware of what you've done in the past."
I looked at him contemptuously, but his face remained unmoved. His fingers tapped impatiently on the table.
"What all the guards saw in that incident was a petty thief led by a scoundrel slightly taller than himself. Captured thanks to the efficient intervention of the guards. End of incident."
He never took his eyes off me as he spoke, as if he wanted to read the truth in them. His tone was deep, the words coming out of his mouth slowly and painfully, not as if they were meant for me, but rather for himself, to sort out his thoughts aloud.
"Now, what puzzles me is why we were ordered from the highest levels to send four of our elite guards for such a trivial burglary. An operation reported with full information. Exact time, place, everything. You were set up, buddy. Someone's played a very nasty trick on you. You know about it? Someone who knew things in detail betrayed you. Who were you working with on this robbery?"
I didn't answer him. It was probably a bluff, although I don't know to what extent. Obviously, so many guards in the same place, prepared and equipped from head to toe in the middle of the heat... No, it wasn't a coincidence. But who could have known so many details about what we were up to? I did. Chrissam. The Shrimp. Maybe even the person The Shrimp had gotten the information from. On the other hand, such details about burglaries weren't shared with that kind of informant. I didn't want to believe it was The Shrimp. He'd never fooled me before. But neither had Chrissam. He was a good man and a true friend.
"You'd better start talking. Otherwise it's going to end badly for you."
He stood up and began pacing the room around me.
"Don't think about playing innocent, little guy. I have many methods. I simply try to be nice first. If necessary, I'll even send a psychomancer to read your mind. I'll ask you again. And don't lie to me! Who did you work with on this robbery?"
He grabbed my chin and ruthlessly pulled my head toward him. A terrible headache shot through me, no doubt from the blow I'd received earlier, and my lips were swollen.