“See? He’s perfectly fine and ready to answer our questions. How did you know he was human, anyway?”
“Just a guess,” Martin said with a bit too much nonchalance. “That’s what your man here said, right?” He darted a wry smile at Skull, who ignored him.
“Mm-hmm.” Peter seemed not to care about his lies at the moment. “He’s right, though.”
Peter looked over the crowd, reaching out to grab the Commando’s mask. He ripped it off, revealing a young man about twenty-five years old. His face went from pale to green as the sea of cutthroats closed in on him, all steel and scowls.
He turned to Peter with desperate eyes, his dark, messy curls bouncing on his head.
“But he’s just a boy!” someone raised their voice in surprise, and as if on command, the room exploded with exclamations of disbelief.
Peter’s annoyed gaze locked on the Ghost who’d spoken. “And what did you expect, a Ninja Turtle?” He dropped the mask on the table and grasped the human’s chin. “He is just a boy, and he’s going to tell us all about his new, exciting job.”
“No.” The young man tried to shake his head, but Peter’s grip was firm. “Please, I don’t know anything. Let me go. I’ll leave the city tonight. Plea—”
Peter gripped his jaw, cutting him off. “Don’t test me, boy.” His voice made Jane’s skin crawl. He towered over the Commando, his eyes unblinking. “One of my own was killed by your gang tonight. She was just a girl, young, like you.”
“I wasn’t there! I c-can’t help you.”
“Sure you can,” Peter said in the same scary, tight voice. “You see, I don’t care whom I kill tonight. You, some other guy, maybe your boss Victoria…” He raised a brow as the young man gulped at the name. “Someone’s going to die, and if you don’t start talking, it might just be you. You should’ve thought of that when you joined a freak gang for money.” There was no reply, and Peter shook him, raising his voice, “Am I right? Did they hire you dumb boys to do their dirty work?”
“Yes,” the young man breathed.
“Why are they doing this? What do they want with our men?”
“I d-don’t know.”
“Who is Victoria?”
“I don’t know, I didn’t even see her face!”
“Where is the lab where you take our people?”
“I don’t know!” he cried, smearing blood and tears over his face, but Peter didn’t look convinced.
He blew out a sigh and stalked off to the big window, dragging the human with him.
“You are so…”
His free hand pulled the window open.
“Utterly…”
Peter ignored the young man’s cries as he yanked him to his feet.
“Useless.”
He shoved the ashen-faced human out the window, and the crowd listened with horrified faces as his outcry grew distant, then broke off.
Peter spread his arms, his face apologetic. “That was a waste of time. Shall we catch another one?”
Jane’s wide eyes darted to her sister, but Pain only jerked her chin at the window.
There, behind Peter’s back, a dark figure rose from below, the Commando’s limp form hanging from one hand.
“You dropped something, Peter,” the guard said.
Peter grimaced at the others’ relieved faces, disappointed they didn’t get his twisted sense of humor—and interrogation methods.
“Thanks, Carlos.”
He hauled the human inside and brought him back to the conference table. The Ghosts closed in on him, their backs blocking the girls’ view.
“He’s not gonna talk,” Jane murmured.
“Not with all these people here,” Pain said. She shouldered the crowd, making a path to the table, and Jane followed her.
They stopped behind two young men, who turned their heads and stepped aside, not hiding their stares. But Jane’s eyes were on the Commando, who’d come around—and stared right back at her.
He leapt off the table as if it had burned him, and cowered in a corner, his wild eyes on the girls. “Don’t come any closer! You’re a monster, stay away from me!”
The room hushed as all eyes fell on Jane. One of the young men behind her whistled and murmured something to his friend.
She blinked, seeing Peter’s curious gaze. His lips twitched in a hint of a smile.
Pain recovered before she did. “Sister, looks like you got a fan,” she purred, and prowled around the table.
“No! Stay where you are, or I… I will… Victoria warned us about you!”
Laughing in delight, Pain glanced at Jane before turning to Peter. “Can I have this one when you’re done with him?”
Peter scratched his chin, pretending to think about it.
“You promised I could kill the next one we catch,” Jane protested, catching up to the game.
“I don’t know…” Peter said. “You two work this out on your own.”
Pain drew her katana, looking at Jane. “We could split him, if you want,” she suggested with a sly smile.
Peter pointed a finger at her. “Just get rid of the body by Friday. I don’t want the whole basement to stink again.”
“No!” the Commando cried out, so pale, Jane thought he was going to pass out again. “I’ll tell you everything I know! Please, make them leave!”
Peter heaved a sigh and pushed himself off the table, coming closer. “Where can I find Victoria?”
“At the base,” the Commando said, wiping his nose. He shrank away from Pain with a wary look and got up. “She coordinates everything from the base. It’s somewhere in Brooklyn.”
“That’s not nearly good enough. Where in Brooklyn?” Peter pressed.
“I don’t know. It’s underground. Nobody knows the directions except… except for her officers.” He broke off to take a shuddering breath. “They drive us there for instructions.”
“How often does it happen?”
The young man blinked rapidly. “Whenever something’s changed.” He saw Peter frown, and his face lit up as if he remembered something. “They text us!”
