You well-heeled big wheel [complete]

[ebony_mask]

Who: Black Mask and Dr. Tenma
When: 26 March, sometime after 6pm
Where: Basement of the Dungeon (sex club), sector 1
Summary: Black Mask (as J. Claude) discovers Tenma snooping around his establishment, takes him in for questioning
Warnings: Torture/interrogation (will be edited if need be)

Comments

[surgicalshot]

The sharp slap to the face was enough to wake him up; enough to wake up the dead in his opinion, and he was trying to figure out how he got here. Last thing he could remember was going into another club for a routine check up for AGI, and now he was...here?

He clenched his jaw, eyes opening wide as he looked at the man in front of him. He was pretty sure he wasn't at the dentist's office.

"Who are you?" He looked familiar, but everything was a little fuzzy right now.

[ebony_mask]

He gave a humorless laugh, one that J. Claude would never give.

"Who am I? You're in my club, Doc. Did someone forget to do his homework?"

He patted Tenma's arm as if to reassure him. Despite the action, J. Claude's stiff facade and manner of speaking were quickly falling away.

"But don't worry. I'll introduce myself for a second time. My name is J. Claude. I also own an Italian restaurant...Capri. You may have heard of it. Delicious food, if I say so myself. Anyway," he moved back, crossing his arms over his chest, "I'm gonna need you to answer a few questions for me. There are a few ways we can go about doin' things. Some are easier than others, some more painful than others, but in the end, I'll get my answers."

[surgicalshot]

He just stared at him for a moment; just because he'd been to his club didn't mean he really knew the man that well. Dealing with bouncers, with security, and with the other employees, but he'd never made it near the man at the top of it.

But then again, it wasn't a hard face to miss. J. Claude. He had his name written in his... oh shit. In his notebook.

"Ah...I think there was a misunderstanding, here," Tenma said quickly. "I work for AGI, not against it."

[ebony_mask]

Roman loved this part. The confusion, then the dawning of realization on the victim's face, the panic...hell, he loved every aspect of what he did. This one was gonna be fun. After strapping down the unconscious doctor, Roman had looked through Tenma's notebook. A brief perusal told him most of what he needed to know.

"Oh, no, Dr. Tenma. You were absolutely right in coming here. I'm a little surprised it took you this long."

Roman moved away from the doctor toward a metal cart laden with tools. He picked up a scalpel, holding it at eye level. It caught a glimmer of light. His eyes flicked from the implement to Tenma's.

"Body disposal is a lost art to hired goons in this city, apparently. It's kind of embarrassing, but fuck it. What's done is done, right? I got rid of those slackers weeks ago."

[surgicalshot]

Tenma was a surgeon. A scalpel was just a part of the tools he used, something that he had come to learn over the years as a friend. Something to be used with respect, and something that could help you if you knew how to wield it correctly.

But in that small glimmer of light, he finally noticed how deadly it could be. His stomach seized up, just a little, and he tried to stay calm. He was a doctor, he'd been in worse situations then this.

"Those were people. Not bodies. People."

[ebony_mask]

Roman let out a dramatic gasp.

"People?! I thought they were toys!"

His mouth hung open and he brought a hand to his forehead as if he were pained by the very thought. He repositioned the scalpel so the blade was pointed at his own face.

"I absolutely couldn't live with the knowledge that those were actually people! I can't go on!"

With a strangled noise, he jabbed the scalpel into the corner of his mouth, slicing half of a bloodless Glasgow smile. Grabbing a hunk of the fake skin, he began peeling off the face, revealing a black skull underneath. As the prosthetic material dropped to the floor, Roman let out a snicker.

"Honestly, Tenma...you say tomato...I say tomahto. Now really isn't the time to mince words."

[surgicalshot]

"Dont--" He cut himself off with a horrified yell. It didn't matter what this man had done, he still wouldn't have wanted him to go and hurt himself.

But it was a fake. A sham. A mask put in place by someone who didn't need one, because what he had on underneath was horrifying in a way that gave children nightmares. A monster.

"Oh my god," He whispered, flexing his arms slightly as if he had the strength to break out of the place.

[ebony_mask]

His eyes gleamed.

"Don't? That's an interesting thing for you to say, given I just admitted to being the Collar Killer. A bleeding heart, are you?"

He tore off the wig and the rest of the fake face, now baring his true face. The leer on his face seemed to widen at Tenma's shock.

"Allow me to properly introduce myself. My name is Black Mask, but everyone here who doesn't know any better calls me Roman Sionis...which is mostly everyone."

[surgicalshot]

Black Mask. J. Claude. Roman Sionis. Tenma was used to fake names; he should have known this. Once you could see it, it all made perfect sense, and it was no wonder the man didn't get caught. Except now he had caught him and what was he supposed to do?

Say nice to meet you?

"I don't know what the police will do with you once they catch you, but there's no sense in adding another person to your victim list," Tenma said, trying to calm his racing heart. Maybe he could talk sense into him? This wasn't the first crazy criminal he'd talked to before.

[ebony_mask]

"Well, now, that sounds perfectly reasonable."

He waved the scalpel back and worth, giving Tenma a wink.

"All ya gotta do is answer some questions for me. How 'bout it?"

[surgicalshot]

"...That depends on the questions," Tenma said cautiously, looking at the scalpel and then looking back at his face.

[ebony_mask]

His head tilted slightly to the side.

"Tell me about your relationship with Leonelli, and don't leave out any of the juicy details."

[surgicalshot]

Oh. Well. Maybe that look he gave him as he tried to remember that he didn't know that name didn't help much.

"Leonelli? I'm sorry, I don't remember that name."

[ebony_mask]

Roman frowned (or as much as he could, given the lack of lips).

"No? Really? You sure the name 'Claire Leonelli' doesn't ring any bells?" Roman tutted. "I dislike liars, Tenma."

He retrieved Tenma's notebook from the cart and flipped through it, randomly selecting an entry.

"'Met with Claire; told him suspicions about C. Killer and clubs. He told me to check out the backs, since there's usually hidden spots there. Went to three clubs and went back to Claire. Met at his club again'," he recited verbatim.

Then he gave Tenma a nasty smile.

[surgicalshot]

Yeah. Tenma was screwed, and he winced as he heard the words that he himself had written thrown back in his face. Maybe he shouldn't write things down as much as he did, but it was all he could do to remember everything he needed.

"...I met him through AGI," Tenma said softly, watching his notebook carefully. Like that was what he needed to be worried about.

[ebony_mask]

Roman thoughtfully tapped the scalpel against the notebook. He'd burn it as soon as he was finished with Tenma. Perhaps even before the man, just to see his expression...if the doctor still had eyes at that point. It was debatable whether he'd be senseless or not, by the time they got there.

"How much does he know?"