Shattered Glass -part 1

Caviar. A food that few people could afford, and yet I ate every Friday night. I didn't really like it, I would have preferred to eat a sandwich or a slice of pizza, but in order to please my father, I forced myself to behave as he wanted. Usually, I took a teaspoon, nothing more, and swallowed it pretending nothing happened. After that, I would throw myself on the rest of the food on the table, getting my shirt dirty every time dessert came on the table. When my mom was still alive we used to have fun arguing about which ice cream flavor was better, but I was only five back then. One evening, after I finished eating, I went to the soup kitchen to bring them all the leftover food, but after leaving the building a group of vandals attacked me, believing that I was some manager of the company. I had nothing with me, but the next morning I woke up in the hospital with a broken rib.

How much I would have given to eating caviar one last time.

***

I stared in horror ad the man's expression twisted into a cold smile. I couldn't move, I wasn't expecting that reaction from him.

The instinct to run away was the first thing that made me snap out of that paralysis, but due to the restraints I couldn't move at all.

Mikami lowered his head until I couldn't see his eyes anymore.

"You must really miss your dear Hayato right now."

The mocking tone he used made my blood boil, but I knew that a wrong word could have sent me straight to the other world. I just stared at him in shock, unable to talk. That man was dangerous, I could see it, but I had to answer the question.

"W-Why would I?" I politely asked back.

The man shook his head and let out a dark chuckle "Well, mostly because he's perfect, isn't he? Childish, bright, cute, and a little bit of a klutz."

My eyes immediately widened. It was like listening to myself, Mikami had just summarized my inner thoughts in a few seconds. I was scared, but not like when I was with Ishida. That time, I wasn't afraid of his unpredictability, but of how the conversation was going to end.

"The devil hath power To assume a pleasing shape'. William Shakespeare, Hamlet [1]. Never heard it?"

I had a bad feeling about this, but I managed to shake my head.

The man lifted his head to look at me in the eyes "Your dear doctor looks like an innocent guy, but in my opinion, he's the Devil in disguise. Do you really think he cares about you?"

I knew. I knew that Ishida saw me only as his lab rat, but that meant that I needed to stay alive. From that point of view, Hayato cared about me, and that's probably why I was still alive.

"I must admit that I fell for his little play the first time too. Haven't you already realized that he already planned everything?"

"W-What d-do you mean?" I asked, nearly choking on my words. Mikami smailed at my trembling figure and moved towards the metallic table, where Ishida's notebook was lying untouched.

"You were going to offer me a large sum of money in exchange for your freedom as soon as we were left alone, right?"

I gasped, slowly beginning to panic again. I couldn't deny it, I've never been a good liar.

"H-How do you know?"

Mikami crunched down to look me in the eyes and smiled coldly "You are so predictable. Even a fool like Ishida could read you like an open book. Pathetic."

My body suddenly became numb. All my hopes and projects, all the enthusiasm I felt until a few seconds before vanished. I was indeed a fool. Only then I realized that I fed myself with desperate lies. My mind was racing, looking for new excuses, but deep down I knew that it was all useless. A little sigh escaped my lips as I stared at the ceiling, drowning in sorrow. How pitiful must have I looked?

I would have started crying if only Mikami left me alone, but now that he was there I wanted to know more. There was a lot of time to drown in self-pity, but right now I needed answers.

"W-What do you mean?" I asked, not caring about my trembling voice.

The young man narrowed his eyes, making his twisted grin looking even worse "You really thought that Ishida was all love and peace? Wait, you actually believed that the man who trapped you here was a complete idiot? What a fool. Sorry to ruin your little fantasy, but Hayato Ishida is the sliest person you'll ever meet."

He knew that. Ishida planned his departure before moving from the Skyard Inc. laboratories and was aware of Mikami's role. That was the only conclusion I could think about. He had foreseen my offer, he even predicted when I wanted to corrupt the new scientist.

All my certainties crumbled in an instant. All those days I had deluded myself that I could deceive even my captor, a man I thought I understood. But the truth was another: I underestimated him. I underestimated his intelligence, believing him to be a simple person. I had never even wondered what he was thinking when he smiled at me so casually, what projects he was concocting.

But the worst thing was Mikami's smile. It was obvious that he was enjoying my misery. I wasn't even angry, the only thing I could do was pitying myself.

"I just wanted to let you know about your dear doctor, nothing more. I really like the way your face twists in pure pain as I talk. But I wonder why Ishida took a liking to you. Uh, probably beginner's luck." he said while walking around the room.

Saying that I was terrified would be a euphemism. His chilling words made me shiver. He was way different from Ishida. While one of them was unpredictable and sneaky, the other was nearly too transparent, as if he liked playing with his victims.

"... W-Why? Why are you telling me this?!" I screamed in horror. I felt my hands shaking more than ever.

Cold sweat dripped from my forehead while hot tears clouded my vision.

Mikami chuckled again, but louder than before "No reason, I just wanted to see your expression. Being pitiful hurts, huh?"

I kept my gaze fixed on him as he walked around the room to check every single object. He stopped only when his hands found Ishida's notebook. I studied him as he read a few pages with a blank expression, totally different from the one he had when talking to me.

My breath was shallow, my lungs were screaming for air, but I couldn't find any. The world around me was spinning, and the worst part was that I couldn't move.

Mikami was murmuring under his breath while flipping through the pages.

"Well, at least he's been specific about what to do. See, Subject 1, Ishida may be smart, but he's a fool. But I'm not. I can't disobey him, but I want to have some fun too. Oh, come on, don't make that face. I must say that you are the most enjoyable subject of all. The other one started screaming immediately."

My eyes widened "Are you talking about Wilson?! Answer me!"

I sounded more desperate than ever, but I felt responsible for Kane Wilson's fate.

"I don't know his name, but I guess it must be him. Tell me, Subject 1, do you regret ruining that man's life?"

"I-I didn't do anything..." I cried back, already sobbing.

Mikami came closer to me. Before I could even notice, his hand reached my head and gripped my hair thigh, making me gasp in pain.

I felt his hot breath on my skin, his face just a few centimeters from my neck.

"Oh, yeah, you did. You almost certainly sentenced him to death."

I shook my head multiple times, even if his hand was still pulling my hair.

"No! No, no, no! Shut up! Shut up!" I screamed, mostly to myself.

I hated him. I hated him. Silence, that's what I wanted from that man.

I loathed everything about him, just because he was telling the truth.

Mikami, the cold scientist who was in charge of the experiments, and Ishida, the strange doctor who had planned everything from the beginning. A strange pair, but I learned to fear them both in different ways.

Now I only had to find out which one was the lesser of the evils.

***

[1] The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, often shortened to Hamlet, is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play with 30,557 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts Prince Hamlet and his revenge against his uncle, Claudius, who has murdered Hamlet's father in order to seize his throne and marry Hamlet's mother.