He sits and strums his fingers on the arm rest waiting, for what feels like hours but he has no way of knowing for sure. Daniel, when he first entered the room had the excitement of a child running down the stairs on Christmas morning. Now he feels like a kid sitting in school waiting for the day to end so he can just leave and go be with his friends. "This was a mistake." he mutters out loud, growing more bored by the minute he realizes trusting Cipher with anything was dumb, but his rage and wanting for retribution blinded him to what he should have done.
Just as he decides to close his eyes and take a nap the monitor in the room comes on. "Are we all calmed down now?" Cipher is on screen. "I mean I had stuff to do first, but there was no way I was coming in there when you were in no state to just talk, and that's all I want to do, is talk."
"So come in here and we'll talk."
"Oh I will, but first you'll do something to ensure both your safety and mine. Under the monitor here there is a small drawer, inside it is a bottle of glue, careful, its been used a bit so there may be some on the edges, get the glue then go back and sit in your chair." Cipher waits, Daniel gets up and walks over and grabs the bottle of glue and heads back to his seat.
"Okay, now what?" he shakes the bottle at the screen.
"Now, place a good portion on each arm rest, don't be chincy, cover it good."
Daniel can see where this is going, but he complies, he pours the glue all over the arm rests, making wavy lines up and down the length of them. "There, done."
"Okay, now put your arms on the arm rests with your wrist just hanging off the edge, so your hands are not in the glue, just your forearms." he watches as Daniel does as he says. "Good, very good, now rock your arm back and forth a bit, press it down good, we want you stuck and safe." again Daniel does as he says. "Good, now push down real hard with your arms and count to ten." Daniel just stares at him, Cipher can see he's pushing down, his body stature has changed, but he's not counting out loud. "Don't you know how to count to ten? I know you do, come on, with me...1..2..3...no? Okay fine, that should be ten anyway, give a little tug up." Daniel attempts to lift his arms but the glue pulls at his skin and it hurts as he stretches his flesh slightly upward. "Okay, looks good, gimme one minute." and the monitor shuts off.
Is this really going to happen? Is he coming in here? He said he wanted my arms down for my safety and his, and all he wants to do is talk, he has to be messing with me again. Daniel's mind races and his nerves build up. Then behind him he hears a door open. "Who's there?"
"It's me." Cipher comes walking around from behind, he's wearing dark pants and a dark sports jacket with a long sleeved dark shirt under it. His mask covers his whole head like a Mexican Luchador and it extends to under his shirt. Goggles with very thin lenses cover his eyes and reflect Daniel's scared image back at him.Standard gloves cover his hands and his shoes are very plain, nothing in his attire gives any hint to whom he is, his ethnicity, age or anything. He strolls out in front of Daniel and stands there for a moment looking him up and down, inspecting his glued forearms. "Who did you think it would be?"
"What's up with your voice?" Daniel looks around the room as Cipher's voice seems to be echoing all around.
"Ah, that, well the mask makes it difficult to speak clearly and this obviously isn't my real voice so I have a mic inside the mask to skew it and broadcast it through the speakers of the monitor so you can hear me better. Now, lets talk." Cipher crosses his arms and stands in front of him.
"Why are you doing this, this is insane, let us go, you're going to get caught!" Daniel looses his cool and shouts at Cipher.
"That's it, that's what you've been wanting me one on one in a room for? To plead for your release. I'm disappointed, I thought more of you." Cipher paces back and forth in front of Daniel. "All that bravado every day and when it comes down to it, you're just like every other man in America, you beg. I plan on fixing that, I plan on making us a country of prideful fighters again. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to fight you, you and I need to work together." He motions with his hands as if to calm Daniel down. "We're going to make it like the good ol' days when men enlisted freely and couldn't wait to defend their countries honor, I'm going to bring that back, and you're going to help me." he begins to walk circles around Daniel.
"You keep saying that stuff, is that what this really is? Is this is political? Well I don't give a crap about politics, so you picked the wrong guy to help you." Daniel spins his head around the room to see where Cipher is standing.
"No, see that's it, that is why I picked you. That's why you're Mr. 100 Days. I'm going to turn you into the poster child for fighting for whats right, for loving your country and being dedicated to my cause, I know you have it in you. I've been watching you for years. Five years ago... those were some rough times, huh? You fought through that so hard." Cipher steps back in front of Daniel, his face white as a ghost. "Why did you tell the group you have to get back to your wife and kid? Were you looking for sympathy or did you mean you needed to get out to honor them? Or is it to take care of their graves maybe?" Cipher stops, he acts confused and looks about the room.
"I just...I just never really think of them as gone." his head hangs low, ashamed to even look at Cipher.
"It's okay Daniel, I understand. But remember that fire you had in you after they died, the fights you would get in,looking for their killer, demanding justice, that rage? Where is that? What happened to you? I guess time heals wounds; I just would think a man who lost those he loved so much would forever be scarred."
"I AM!" Daniel screams back. "Don't you dare diminish my pain!"
"I wouldn't think of it, in fact I want it back. I want to give it to you again. You'll need it to survive my 100 Days, I chose you, I got you that tag, you're going to be the one who helps me save this country." Cipher paces back and forth in the room.
"Wait...did you say give it back again? As in you gave it to me the first time? What did you do to my wife and son!" Daniel's eyes well with tears. "How long have you been after me? What did you do to my WIFE AND SON!"
Cipher takes a step back again motioning him to calm down. "That's it build up that rage again, let it fill up inside you and push you through these next 80 days and maybe you'll find out what happened to them."
"AARRRGHHHH!" His scream is primal, spit and phlegm shoot from his mouth, he pulls at the chair and the flesh peels from his arms leaving most of it behind he jumps on Cipher and grabs him by the throat driving his head to the ground. He pounds it up and down hammering the ground with his skull. Daniel's right arm arches back behind his head and he sends it drilling into Ciphers face instantly breaking his nose. The crack is loud and the blood under his mask wells up and begins to seep through, as do the muffled noises of Cipher trying to breathe.
25 MINUTES AGO
"Finally, with all your whining I couldn't think. Here's the deal Dalton, I know a lot about you, I know you will survive here, but it might very well drive you nuts in the process. I also know you are into something called Cos play, where you dress in costume and go to conventions and act out some of your favorite characters." Cipher speaks to Dalton who stands there with his mouth glued shut dreading that he's even entered this room. "So all you have to do, to get your early release is dress as me, I'm your new favorite character. You're going to go in a room and you're going to convince Daniel to behave. I'll do the talking you just act out what I'm saying. He'll be secured, there's no way he'd be able to hurt you. You try and show him its you at any point and not me I'll kill you both in that room, you have my word on that. Do we understand each other?" Dalton nods and acknowledges Cipher. "See I told you it was something you've done before, no big deal, you do this you save yourself and you save Daniel."
A P90 enters the room, he hands Dalton a dark suit, a long sleeved non button up shirt, boring plain shoes, and the mask. He puts on the outfit and the P90 assists him with the mask, attaching it to his shirt and zipping it sealed. He adjusts the goggles so he can see and he leaves the room following the P90. "Come on now Dalton, lets see your best performance."
NOW
Punching and whaling into his face, pummeling harder and harder, with flashes of his wife's grave, his son's small casket, he can't even tell if he's screaming any more, there is just a high pitched whistling in his ear. P90s bust in the room and grab the back of him tossing him to the side with ease. He pants and shakes, his arms and fists trembling the P90s stand with their guns pointed at him and one walks over to Cipher's body and checks for a pulse. He puts his hand to his ear, touching his ear piece and says "done".
The monitor turns on. "Daniel... what did you do?" Daniel begins to shake even harder and the P90s start to move back from him, hovering on the outer rims of the room, he stares at the monitor in shock. "I said I just wanted to talk, look at the blood you have on your hands now. It was just one meeting, just one, and this is what you do to your friend?" Daniel scurries across the room and grabs the body and rips the mask off tearing the seal from the shirt. Dalton's lifeless eyes stare at him, with the mask off the blood begins pooling around the back of his head and it drops back to the ground with a thud. "Don't worry Daniel, I won't tell anyone. We're in this together you and I, I meant what I said. I always do." his words dripping with sincerity.
"What did you do to my wife and son?!" it screeches out of his sore throat.
"Nothing, I had no idea who you were up until a year ago, I read about your wife and child, the court cases, the investigations, the evidence, your arrest afterwards for the fights, that's all. I said to you I wanted that fire back, that vengeance, I got it. I told you that you would get what you wanted and what you deserved, you did. You will survive these next 80 days. You will help usher in a new America that is like the old America. You are my Mr. 100 Days, the world is rooting for you."
"You said you gave me the tag." Daniel closes Dalton's eyes and moves his head so he can't see his face.
"I did, I had help, but I did. How? Well that's a secret. I wont tell anyone about Dalton or your wife and child, and that will be our secret. I'm good at keeping secrets. You'll stay here away from the group for a couple of days, in those days I even promise to go easy on them. But when you get back, it starts again. Do you understand."
Daniel nods, he puts his hand on Dalton's chest. "I'm so sorry."
"He was getting 50 days off of a sentence here, that's why he did this. I couldn't tell if he was going to use it for himself or if he was going to give it to you. I guess it doesn't matter." Cipher shuts off the monitor.
The P90s pick up Dalton's body and drag it out a door on the right side of the room, they grab Daniel under his arms and drag him to the left. The two limp bodies staring at each other as they go their separate ways, the doors shut and Day 20 ends.
End of volume 1
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