Chapter 10: The Interrogation
The safe house was a disused storage unit on the outskirts of Vienna's 22nd district—industrial gray, chain-link fence sagging, no cameras in sight. Luca had scouted it days earlier: concrete floor, single bulb hanging from a frayed cord, metal shelves empty except for dust. They dragged Voss inside, zip-tied his wrists to a steel chair bolted to the floor. The door rattled shut behind them. Rain drummed on the tin roof like distant gunfire.
Voss sat straight-backed, suit still immaculate despite the rain and the thin cut on his throat. Blood had dried to a dark line against his collar. He looked around once—assessing, not afraid—then fixed his gaze on Adrian.
Luca leaned against the wall near the door, arms crossed, pistol loose in his hand. Adrian stood in front of Voss, knife still in his fist, blade pointed down.
Silence stretched.
Voss broke it first.
"You're wasting time," he said calmly. "The moment my detail reports me missing, the protocol activates. Hunter teams will sweep the city. Facial recognition grids will light up. You have hours, not days."
Adrian stepped closer. The single bulb cast harsh shadows across Voss's face.
"I have you," Adrian said. "That's enough for now."
Voss's lips curved—just a fraction. "You think capturing me gives you leverage? I'm a regional director. Replaceable. Apex Oversight will cut the cord the second they confirm I'm compromised. You'll get nothing useful."
Luca pushed off the wall. "We'll see."
He circled behind Voss, checked the zip ties—tight—then returned to his spot. "Start talking. Apex location. How to reach them. The real command structure."
Voss's eyes stayed on Adrian. "You're the interesting one. The prototype worked better than we predicted. The kill condition was a safeguard—to ensure loyalty through necessity. But you're resisting it. Fascinating. "
Adrian's grip on the knife tightened. "Talk about Apex."
Voss exhaled slowly. "Apex Oversight isn't a place. It's a rotation. Quarterly summits in neutral territories—private estates, yachts in international waters, underground bunkers in the Alps. No fixed headquarters. No single leader. A council of five. I report to one of them. Even I don't know the others' identities."
Luca snorted. "Convenient."
"Not convenient," Voss corrected. "Necessary. Compartmentalization is our strength. You cut off one arm, the body survives."
Adrian leaned in. Knife tip hovered an inch from Voss's eye. "Then tell me the arm I can cut. The next summit. Location. Date."
Voss met his gaze without blinking. "You think torture will work? I've been trained for this. Pain is temporary. Betrayal is permanent."
Adrian lowered the knife. Slowly.
The system pulsed in his vision:
[INTERROGATION MODE ACTIVE]
[Target Psychological Resistance: High]
[Passive Skill Suggestion: Target Analysis (Unlocked at Level 2) – Scan for physiological stress indicators]
[Recommendation: Apply pressure gradually. Mental fracture more effective than physical]
Adrian exhaled. Let the knife drop to his side.
"I don't need to hurt you," he said quietly. "I just need you to understand."
He reached into his jacket, pulled out the small photo from his parents' file—the one of him at sixteen, smiling at a forgotten birthday. He held it up.
"This is what you erased."
Voss's eyes flicked to the photo. No change in expression.
"They were liabilities," he said. "They stole classified data. Endangered the program. The termination was authorized."
Adrian's voice stayed even. "They were my parents."
Voss tilted his head slightly. "And you are the result of their theft. The code they carried—the fragment they hid—integrated with you. You should be thanking us. Without the hit, you'd still be an ordinary boy worrying about university applications."
Rage flared hot in Adrian's chest. The system amplified it—Revenant's Edge ticking down, ready.
Luca stepped forward. "Enough games. Give us the next summit coordinates. Or we start removing pieces."
Voss smiled—thin, cold. "You won't. Not yet. You need me alive for information. And deep down, you're still human enough to hesitate."
Adrian's hand trembled once. Then steadied.
He turned the knife over, pressed the flat of the blade against Voss's cheek.
"I died once," Adrian said. "I came back with this thing inside me. It wants blood. Every day it pushes harder. I'm holding it back—for now. But if you don't give me something useful, I'll let it loose."
Voss studied him. For the first time, a flicker of uncertainty crossed his face.
"The next summit is in three weeks," he said slowly. "Lake Geneva region. Private estate near Montreux. Coordinates encrypted in a dead-drop file. My personal server—cloud access. Username: E_Voss_Regional. Password changes every 48 hours. Current one is 'DefectorFall2012'."
Luca pulled out a burner phone, opened a note app. "Repeat it."
Voss did. Luca typed it in, then looked at Adrian.
"Check it?"
Adrian nodded. He opened the laptop they'd brought, connected to a secure VPN Luca had set up earlier. Entered the credentials.
The cloud drive unlocked.
Files. Schedules. Maps.
One document: "Q1 Summit – Montreux Protocol."
Location: Château de la Garoupe, private estate overlooking Lake Geneva.
Date: March 2–3.
Attendees: Five masked. No names. Biometric entry only.
Adrian closed the laptop. Looked at Voss.
"You just bought yourself a few more hours."
Voss's smile returned—smaller this time.
"You think you can walk into a summit guarded by the best private security in Europe? You'll be dead before you reach the gate."
Adrian leaned close. Voice low.
"I was dead before. It didn't stick."
He straightened. Turned to Luca.
"We move tonight. Train to Geneva. Scout the estate. Find a way in."
Luca nodded. "What about him?"
Adrian looked down at Voss.
"Zip his mouth. Tie his ankles. We leave him here. If he's lying, we come back. If he's not… we finish him after the summit."
Luca pulled duct tape from his pack, wrapped it around Voss's head—tight, but not enough to suffocate.
Voss's eyes followed Adrian as they prepared to leave.
One last muffled sound escaped the tape—almost a laugh.
Adrian paused at the door.
"What?"
Voss couldn't speak, but his eyes said enough: You're already one of us.
Adrian turned away.
The door slammed shut.
Outside, rain fell harder. They walked to the waiting car—Luca driving, Adrian in the passenger seat.
The system pinged softly.
[INTEL ACQUIRED: Summit Coordinates]
[New Objective Added: Infiltrate Q1 Summit – Montreux]
[Progress Toward Level 3: 92%]
[Warning: Psychological Strain Critical – Prolonged restraint may cause system override]
Adrian stared out at the wet streets.
Luca glanced over. "You okay?"
Adrian didn't answer right away.
"I let him live," he said finally.
"For information," Luca replied.
"For revenge."
Luca drove in silence for a block.
Then: "That's the difference between us and them. We still choose."
Adrian looked at his hands. No blood visible.
But he could feel it.
The road to Montreux waited.
And whatever was left of Adrian Varga was slipping further away with every kilometer.
"Thanks for reading! If you're enjoying the revenge/system progression, please drop a collection/power stone—it helps a ton with visibility on Fresh Stories! Next chapter drops tomorrow."