The Mech Touch

underground floor.

Leland led them through the dark with only the light from his comm illuminating their passage.
They came up to a reinforced door that was flanked by two burly operatives carrying weapons.

”These are two of the members of the strike team that is backing you up. ” He said.
”I ’d normally like to introduce them to you, but the less you know, the better you ’re off. ”

Ves gave him a bitter smile.
”I am aware. ”

The two operatives silently allowed them to enter.
Inside, the hollow room had been arranged in a familiar arrangement.
A simple table rested in the center.
Behind it, a drugged and sedated mech technician sat shackled to his metal chair.
On the other end of the table sat a single seat.

”You should take a seat, Ves.
I ’ll be standing at the side.
For now, you ’ll be asking the questions. ”

”Okay. ”

Having been on both ends of an interrogation, Ves was already somewhat familiar with the dynamic.
As the person asking the questions, he needed to get the person providing the answers to take him seriously.

Seeing as how his earlier trick against Leland seemed to achieve some results, if only tentatively, Ves concentrated his mind yet again.
”Wake him up, please. ”

Leland pressed a button on his comm, causing some hidden module placed against the mech technician ’s skin to inject a substance in his bloodstream.

The kidnapped worker for the KNG abruptly shook off the drugs clouding his mind.
”What the..
Where am I? ”

”Sebastian Rohill. ” Ves spoke with command.
His Spirituality echoed with his words.
He belatedly caught the kidnapped man ’s attention.
”You are in trouble, Stan.
Do you mind if I call you that? ”

Stan still seemed woozy from the drugs pumping into his bloodstream.
Leland already mentioned that the various chemicals would make him more susceptible to answering his question at the cost of his lucidity.

It seemed the elephants pounding inside Stan ’s consciousness also caused the Spirituality trying to affect him to be completely ignored.

Ves only shrugged at that but maintained the effect in case it might give Stan a helpful push.
In any case, it didn ’t take too much effort for him to maintain his concentration.

”This..
why am I not at work? I ’m supposed to be at work! ”

As Stan sobered up a bit, he finally realized his predicament.
It didn ’t help that this barren and cold room seemed straight out of some crime drama.

”Where am I! Who are you?! Wait, I recognize you! You ’re Ves Larkinson! ”

Neither Ves nor Leland did nothing to hide their faces.
As Ves already spent a lot of time at the Ansel Complex, most of the workers there knew who he was.
Now that Stan called him out by name, Ves already knew that there was no way for this fellow to survive the day.

Even if Flashlight didn ’t clean him up, Ves would have done it himself.
He closed his eyes for a bit in resignation before opening them up again with greater concentration.

In order to make this dirty business worth it, Ves needed to succeed in extracting useful information out of his victim!

”Stan.
As a liaison, I am not only charged with supervising military production at the KNG.
I ’m also tasked with digging out any improprieties.
I ’m sorry to say that your suspicious behavior has caught my attention.
We know you are hiding something. ”

Ves spoke that last words while resonating with his own Spirituality, momentarily giving them more force.

”How can that be?! ” Stan grew panicked.
Perhaps the strong waves of that last phrase impacted him a bit, because the mech technician never questioned Ves ’ claims.
”I have always worked hard for the company! I ’m one of the best-performing mech technicians at the Ansel Complex! I ’m due for a promotion! ”

”It is exactly because you are so good that you have drawn our suspicions! ” Ves retorted back.
”There are limits to mech technicians and you have exceeded everyone of them.
Someone as good as you should have been a mech designer.
Why are you pretending to be a mech technician?! ”

”That-that-that I am just a good study! ”

”Nonsense! You were never good in school in your early years! You barely crawled your way into one of Ansel ’s technical schools, whereupon you somehow shaped up and became a qualific mech technician, but even then nothing about your school record suggests you ’re a prodigy! ”

”I just became better at my job with the help of the KNG, alright?! They take care of us and helps us with our studies! ”

”Again, that ’s complete nonsense.
A mediocre learner would never make the amount of progress you ’ve achieved in so little time.
You have to be as good as a mech designer to do so, but you are definitely not smart enough to be a mech designer, at least normally! So tell me, Stan, what is your secret? ”

The man shook in his seat and darted his eyes towards Ves and Leland and back again several times in a row.
Ves didn ’t say anything but kept pushing his Spirituality towards Stan to pile up the pressure.

While it didn ’t appear the effect was as remarkable as being subjected to the force of will of an expert mech pilot, Ves nonetheless felt as if he did manage to achieve some effects.

One of the reasons why Ves picked Stan out in the first place was that he seemed most susceptible to pressure.
The man already acted a bit nervously at work.
He pushed himself harder than anyone else, as if he was desperate to gain a promotion.

A quiet minute passed by while nobody said anything to Stan.
His nervousness combined with the drugs affecting his mind practically did most of the work in wearing him down.

Ves only offered a coy smile to Stan, as if he already knew what dirty little secret the man really hid.
It was the kind of smile that gave the illusion that Ves had everything in control.

”Alright alright! I ’ll tell you! ” Stan finally cracked.
”I am taking Enoncolantis-3, alright?! ”

This caused Ves to blink and interrupt his intimidating act.

”Enoncolantis-3 is a mental performance-enhancing stimulant. ” Leland explained, catching his confusion at the strange answer.
”It ’s one of the more obscure stimulants you can find in the black markets because it ’s fairly expensive.
The upside is that in pill form, it enhances someone ’s cognitive functions for at least half a day.
It ’s also quite troublesome to detect by most scanners, so it is in high demand to many workers! ”

So that was what Stan always seemed jittery! He was a substance abuser!