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Nihlus held his breath. Saren gave him a look, the one where his eyes were caustic orbs of light and he was thinking a silent mantra of 'You thick-headed bar of soap.' Nihlus' eyes darted to the room behind them, to the human strapped to the medical chair inside, and swallowed. He remembered to breathe.
"So why would you trust me to do this after my first fuck-up?" he asked, the image of a blank, wiped terminal still fresh in his memory.
"Consider it an opportunity to better yourself," Saren said, his voice like cracks appearing in a thick column of ice, like a glacier about to collapse on him.
Nihlus took another breath, slower than the first. His training had covered breathing deeply, but as for interrogating a Cerberus human on why they were nabbing tech from turian Cabal facilities or why they had a morgue for dead children of every race hadn't been touched on. Sickness bubbled hot in his stomach and closed his throat.
Saren stepped closer and lowered his voice. "We lost our opportunity to investigate this further without interrogating anyone. If we're going to resolve this, we need information, and if we want information, then you're going to have to see what he knows."
"Right," Nihlus agreed, but his heart didn't feel as certain as his voice sounded. "You took his kill-pill?"
"Yes."
"Okay." Nihlus slid back a step and checked over his pistol. Habit, mostly, one of his few good ones. He holstered it. "Er, how—"
"You know how," Saren interrupted. "Prove to me that you can do it."
Nihlus grimaced but nodded, turning on his foot and strutting into the room. The human lifted his head at the swish of doors and stared at Nihlus and Saren, the doors sealing behind them. He had a brown head of hair and pale skin, gleaming under the harsh light above him. Mechanically, as if practised, Saren and Nihlus took position on either side of him. Saren circled once before walking back to the corner of the room and leaning against the wall, his arms stitched tight across his sternum and his figure silhouetted in darkness.
Nihlus combed his brain for something useful. What would Saren do? He nearly winced at the unbidden imagery of a swollen, leaking eye and broken fingers but held fast. He didn't have to do that. Not yet, anyway. He'd already wasted too much time. Saren narrowed his eyes at him.
"So," Nihlus started casually, as if he was discussing where to go for drinks, "ever been questioned by a Spectre before?"
The human scoffed, but Nihlus read a flicker of unease in his eyes. He smiled. "Oh, good. It's my pleasure to be the first."
He wasn't technically a Spectre yet but the human didn't need to know that and never would.
"We know what Cerberus stands for," Nihlus said. "It's a shame there aren't any humans in the Spectres. You'd probably have an easier time getting access to the resources you've been stealing."
The human showed no sign that he'd heard Nihlus speak. If anything he looked kind of bored, but that also could have been Nihlus' insecurity speaking up and distorting his vision. Spirits, if only he'd had a chance to plan this out. He'd interviewed people in the past, but 'interview' was more like a generous word for 'pinning to the ground and knocking their teeth out in the heat of the moment.' He didn't want to use violence as a crutch and he didn't want it to be his go-to method for extracting information.
"We only want to know two things," Nihlus explained, holding up his fingers. "Either you can share what you know or we reach down your throat and force it out." He waggled his fingers for emphasis.
The human glared at Saren, then Nihlus. "Seriously? You gunna talk me to death? I've heard better threats from an elcor pickpocket."
Nihlus frowned and lowered his hand. "Do you have another base like this one?"
"Hell if I know," the human said.
"I doubt that." Nihlus resisted looking back to Saren for guidance, knowing he'd give away his self-doubt if he did. Humans were rarely as dense as Saren loved to believe, although neither of them underestimated an enemy simply on account of their race. He drew his pistol and hung it over the arm of the chair, bracing his weight against it.
"Really? None at all?" he asked.
"Even if we did, I wouldn't know. They keep divisions like us separate in case shit like you two storm in."
Nihlus pursed his mouth and straightened. "So there are."
The human scowled. Nihlus opened his mouth to speak but Saren cleared his throat, drawing his attention. He gestured him out with a jerk of his head and Nihlus obeyed, his stride exposing his frustration. As soon as they were safely out of ear-shot Saren turned on him.
"Whatever you're doing, it's not working," he said.
"I know," Nihlus said, "I know, I'm trying." This place was already a hell-hole, did he really have to add the torture of one last human to the list of things that were wrong? Did he really have to make the last sound to echo in this place his screaming and sobbing?
"Just...give me another minute alone with him," Nihlus insisted, "and if I don't come back out with the info, I'll never leave another dirty shirt on the floor and you can interrogate him yourself."
"You should be doing that anyway," Saren said. He sighed. "But fine. Go."
Nihlus didn't hesitate to re-enter the room. He strode right up to the chair, rested his foot on one side of the human's legs and swooped in close, swallowing the other in his shadow.
"Listen," he murmured, "I don't want to hurt you. Really, I don't. But I will. But you know what? That's not what you should be concerned about because the real threat here is my partner."
"Oh yeah?" the human challenged, but the proximity and inability to escape put him on edge again. Nihlus caught sight of a single bead of sweat on his temple. He tried not to smile before continuing, gripping both arm rests in his hands.
"Yep. Either you can tell me and stay pain-free, or I can hand you over to Saren and he'll make you wish you'd died along with the rest of your co-workers."
The human huffed. Nihlus felt the breath land on his nose and he cocked a brow.
"You don't believe me?" he asked. "You're not familiar with the ruthless Spectre Saren Arterius?"
"No way. You turian Spectres aren't worth remembering."
"You should reconsider." Nihlus peeked back at the door, then made himself comfortable, leaning into his leg. "He's had krogan squealing in seconds. Usually guys like you take one look at him and break out in a rash."
Nihlus didn't think the human could scoff any further but he didn't give him the chance and barreled on before he could get a word in, determination in his eye and a grim memory on the banks of his irises.
"He's brutal and straightforward. I got a headache because I had to sit around listening to screams for two hours while he broke every bone in this drell's upper body from the fingers up. He did not look pretty."
The human curled his fingers against the metal armrest. Nihlus lowered his eyes. "His voice got hoarse after a while and sometimes they pass out, so Saren will splash cold water on them to wake them up. That's not the worst of it, too. Another time he propped open this turian's mouth and yanked out a tooth or nail for everything he didn't want to hear. They grow back eventually, but I'm talking about a few teeth, not a whole mouth-full. Spirits, I thought he'd choke on his own blood and spit. He couldn't even talk anymore, he just moaned and shit. He had to write down the info we wanted."
The human's mouth quivered a bit. Nihlus grinned, revealing a row of pointed teeth. He realized belatedly that he'd grown warm under his armour, like there wasn't enough room for his chest to expand and his undersuit clung to his neck. It dawned on him that he was fortunate to be on Saren's good side, if he could call it that, and it was no question that a part of him deeply admired his proficiency.
His grin waned and he settled back. He rested his gun next to the other's head. It wasn't directly pointed at him, but a few degrees more and it would be.
"Do you really think this place is justified?" he asked. "Do you really want to continue to support an organization that puts children in coffins? Are your own people not good enough for you anymore?" He glared. "Do you really think the pain Saren will inflict on you is worth it for what happened here?"
The human's shoulders hunched and he avoided Nihlus' gaze. When he met his eyes again Nihlus saw his defeat through a thin curtain of tears.
Nihlus walked out of the room. Saren greeted him at once, standing expectantly from a bench against the wall. Nihlus transferred the relevant data to his omnitool: a planet, their division, everything. Saren accepted the transfer and lowered his arm, studying Nihlus.
"What?" Nihlus asked. The 'you thick-headed bar of soap' look was gone, but he didn't have a name for the new one. As the silence thickened he grew acutely aware of the heat under his armour again, as if his neck was flushed with colour. It probably was. He resisted the urge to tug it higher.
"I heard," Saren said quietly.
Nihlus' brain grinded to a stop. It sputtered back to life and he blinked rapidly to diffuse the sudden tension between his eyebrows. "You...I'm sorry, you heard?"
"Yes." Saren looked to his arm. "I hooked up a mic to him while he was unconscious."
Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuckity fuck. Nihlus groaned and planted a hand against the nearest wall to keep himself upright. He heard. Saren heard. He heard word for word as Nihlus, what, gushed about his belligerent techniques? And now Saren got to witness the collapse of Nihlus' composure by revealing the truth.
Saren stared at him a beat longer, unreadable, then re-entered the room. Nihlus followed noncommittally.
The human's eyed widened as Saren strode over, arms folded behind his back. Nihlus fell into position slightly behind him.
"What're you gunna do now?" the human asked. "Torture me anyway? For funsies?"
Saren glanced at Nihlus. "You should know better than to give me ideas."
The human wrinkled his nose. Nihlus had always thought their faces were flexible and emotive, but perhaps too much so; after Nihlus' little story it was apparent that the human now felt anxious in Saren's presence.
"I suppose we should just leave him here, then," Nihlus said. "Let the humans rescue their own, if they ever come."
Saren turned his back to the human. "Sounds fair."
"How are Spectres so different from Cerberus, huh?" the human spat, suddenly and without provocation, maybe out of nerves. "The Alliance; they're like C-Sec. They abide by the law. We? We're like the Spectres of humanity. We do what the Alliance won't do to protect ourselves."
Saren whirled on him.
"You are nothing like the Spectres," he seethed, grabbing a fistful of hair and yanking the human's face closer to his. "We are not a terrorist organization that slaughters children just to gain some sort of foothold in biotic research. We're protecting something greater than ourselves, and if humans can never understand that then they'll never be one of us." He drew his pistol and crammed it into the human's mouth before he could speak, firing once. Nihlus cringed and Saren stepped back, letting the meaty mess fall back against the slab. "Idiot."
"You okay?" Nihlus asked tentatively after a moment of silence. Saren wiped his gun barrel with a cloth from his armour.
"Never better," he muttered, and skulked past him and out the door. Nihlus stole one last glance at the human, the gore befitting of the environment after all and leaving a strong final note. He bowed his head, then turned and followed Saren's lead.