Jack coughs, dragging our attention back to him, and I see Fae stiffen out of the corner of my eye.
Does she know?
“Why do you have Mr Archer down here?” Fae asks, directing it at Felix. He rubs the back of his neck, looking between her and me, then Jack.
“I brought him here,” I say, cutting in to save her brother, then immediately regret not throwing him under the bus.
“Why?” she asks, more cautious now.
“Do you know who this is?” I fire back, ignoring her question.
“Yeah, he helps with body language and psychology.”
“And that’s all you know him from?” Atlas asks from the sink.
“Yeah… why?” It goes quiet as she looks at Victor. “Does this have to do with Robyn?”
The hope in her eyes makes my chest tighten.
“Maybe…” he says. I turn to him with a frown. Since when did Jack have anything to do with Robyn’s disappearance, unless?—
“Oh shit,” I exhale. “You think the missing scholarship students are connected?”
“I think it’s stupid if we don’t consider it,” Victor replies.
Fuck.
Storming over to the cabinet, I grab the vial I need and a needle. I pull the cap off with my teeth and fill the syringe to five millilitres.
Vigilum is one of my own creations. A controlled blend of synthetic adrenergics and neuro-stimulatory stabilisers, designed to keep the body awake when it wants to shut down. Pain still registers, that part mattered to me, but unconsciousness becomes almost impossible. Too many times we have lost men before they gave us what we needed, but this fixes that. The only limitation is time. After roughly an hour, the compound stabilises and the system starts to crash. After that, even Vigilum cannot save them.
I make my way back to Jack. As I step closer, the chains creak softly before settling as I stop in front of him.
“This is new.” Victor says behind me in a calm but curious tone. It is a dangerous combination. Riggs shifts his weight as Atlas watches my hands instead of my face. I don’t look at Fae. I can’t. Not yet.
“I got tired of reports that men died before you could extract information,” I say, my voice flat. “Passing out is a mercy they shouldn’t be given.”
Jack barely reacts when I step in close. My fingers settle at his neck and I press hard into the trapezius, knowing it will hurt like a bitch. I push the needle into his skin and watch it disappear into his neck. Then I press the plunger down.
And then I wait.
One second.
Two.
Nothing.
Double fuck.
I backhand him across the face. His head snaps to the side with a wet sound and he drags in a sharp, startled breath like he has just surfaced from deep water. His eyes fly open, as his pupils swallow the colour of his iris.
Jack gasps, his chest heaving, and I can see his pulse slamming in his neck. Despite the state of his body, his alertness is the same as when I first brought him in. Adrenaline hits me hard as it clicks into place. I got it right. The rush is stronger than anything I have ever made.
God, nothing fucking beats this.
“What the fuck…” Riggs mutters.
“He should be out,” Felix says quietly.