Ice Tea

I put down my cigarette on the bed frame and dropped the butt on the floor, taking another one from the pack. Having something to do with my hands helped me think better.

"So, that Commander Wright. How strong would you say he is, compared to me?" I continued questioning the boy. There were still a few things I needed to confirm.

"Hmm…" The boy tilted his head, thinking. "I don't really know. I haven't seen him use his powers. But weaker, probably? I've heard one of the seniors say that you're the strongest person they've met, so you must be stronger than our trainers, I think."

I took a puff of my cigarette and slowly exhaled the smoke, observing the boy scrutinizingly. I didn't know whether he was telling the truth, or just trying to flatter me. He seemed honest though. Moreover, from what I observed, I was definitely able to break the reality laws to a much higher extent than Wright when we faced each other in that burnt-down building.

But Wright was only a temporary commander. And the boy and his seniors were only trainees. I shouldn't judge the strength of the organization based on them. There were bound to be stronger people among higher-ups.

What's more, I didn't even know whether Wright was using his abilities with no limitations at that time.

"Alright then. One last question for today." I still had way more to ask about, but I could tell that the boy was getting sleepy. His head kept falling down, and his eyes were half closed. Trying to interrogate a person who struggled to stay awake wasn't likely to bring many results.

And I needed to have another healing session anyway.

"Do you know anything about Commander's restrictions and how he can remove them?"

The boy looked at me as if he hasn't been able to comprehend the question.

"You know how you said the organization limits your powers? How does it work for your higher-ups?" I reiterated the question with a sigh.

The boy furrowed his brows, thinking hard. "I don't know," he answered after a moment of silence, shaking his head lightly.

Well, I expected this much. It didn't seem like information a trainee would need to know, but it was still better to ask, just in case.

Of course, I already had my own theory regarding how it worked. Considering how Wright seemed weak at first, and then returned much, much stronger after disappearing for a while, I could deduce that his abilities were highly restricted when we met at the bar. Then, he went to their base to remove his restrictions, or at least some of them, and teleported back to fight me.

Such an explanation seemed highly probable, but I didn't want to assume anything for sure without concrete evidence.

"We're done for the day," I waved dismissively at the boy. "You can go to sleep now. I won't be tying you up any longer, so I trust you'll behave."

The boy smiled happily and went to the bathroom to get ready for bed.

He was so naive, believing what I said. While I indeed decided not to tie him anymore, that was by no means because I trusted him. I simply wanted to create an illusion of trust. And I didn't need to worry about him attacking me or running away. I was such a light sleeper that if he were to get up from his bed, I would wake up for sure.

***

The next day, I send him to go steal some money once again. This time, however, I asked him to return earlier, at 2 PM. I wanted to get some stuff done in the afternoon, and I wasn't about to let him wander around the city on his own, without me following him.

Seems my idea to reward him for his efforts worked well, since he was stealing the wallets even more diligently. Too bad I couldn't make this an everyday thing. He wasn't able to break the reality laws like me, so he might get caught eventually. And saving him would be such a bother.

He returned to the hotel room on time and handed me the backpack with a shy smile. He seemed to be a bit proud of himself. It was a bit funny, considering he committed theft. I guess he really might be suitable to be my underling.

"Good job," I praised him and handed him a bottle of ice tea. Then, I sat down on the bed to count the money, secretly observing the boy from the corner of my eye.

He must have been thirsty, since he didn't have anything to drink since breakfast. I didn't give him anything when sending him out, and he, being the obedient kid he was, didn't want to spend any money without my permission, even though he collected it himself. And so, he quickly finished the whole bottle.

Not long after, he started looking groggy. He laid down on the bed, yawning, and soon, he was completely asleep.

I stopped counting the money, got up, and shook his shoulders. No response.

I smiled, satisfied with the result.

To make him get attached to me, I needed him to believe that I "trust him" and "treat him well." And so, tying and gagging him up was not the best thing to do.

But I couldn't just leave him alone in the hotel room. And dragging him with me was too much of a bother. He would only slow me down.

So I put sleeping pills in the bottle of ice tea I gave him to drink. I stole several boxes from the drugstore last night. This way, I could knock him out without him realizing what happened. He's not too bright, and way too trusting, after all. As long as I don't overuse this method, he won't suspect a thing.

Having dealt with that, I was free to go. I stretched out, put on my jacket, and left the hotel room.