Lake felt an involuntary shiver run up his spine. Sands was only slightly taller than him but he seemed to loom over him in his black ensemble, his pitch black hair falling across his face, while a black-gloved hand held onto his neck, the other on the trigger of Mike’s gun. The black glasses reflected the dim light emanating from above them and Sands’ face was abnormally calm for such a drastic situation.

Yes, Sands looks fully capable of murder at the moment.

The cold barrel of the gun chilled Lake’s skin and he realized that he was truly at this madman’s mercy. If he moved for the gun, or did anything rash, Sands would probably shoot him, and it only took half a second to pull the trigger of a gun.

"What do you want me to do, Sands?" Lake finally asked. Sands tilted his head to one side, then the other, considering his answer.

"Well now, I don’t know that I want you to do anything, Lake." Sands held on tighter to Lake’s neck as he moved the gun away from his chin and aimed it towards a much lower region of Lake’s body. "It might take a couple of shots for me to hit the target, but as for your dangerously stupid assumption that I won’t be able to hit you, well, I think I can prove you wrong Mr. Lake."

"No…" Lake whispered. Threatening to kill a man was one thing. Threatening to take his manhood altogether, well that was another thing, and frankly, it frightened him more.

"No?" Sands asked innocently, before kneeing the man in the crotch full force. Lake gasped and started to double over, but Sands still had a firm grip on the man and continued to hold him against the wall.

Sands shoved the barrel of the gun into the man’s crotch. Lake’s groan satisfied him that he’d hit his mark. "No… what?"

"No, please don’t shoot me," Lake pleaded pathetically. "Please."

Sands snorted, thoroughly enjoying his position of power; it was, after all, what he lived for.

Sands jolted the kid against the wall again, shaking him up. "You do realize how pathetic you are, don’t you?"

Mike watched as Lake’s eyes widened in worry. Unlike Lake, Mike wasn’t really worried for the kid’s life. Sands would have shot him by now, if he was going to do it; at least he sincerely hoped that was the case.

"Yes," Lake whispered hoarsely, his pride thoroughly broken.

Sands smiled widely. His grip on Lake’s neck tightened, making it hard for the other man to breathe.

Mike shifted his weight, and the thought of intervening while Sands was occupied crossed his mind. However, the idea was quickly dispelled by Sands’ voice. "Don’t even think about it, Mikey."

Sands was holding the kid in what could only be called a death grip, and the kid looked about ready to pass out. It seemed that the only real question was whether it would be from fear or lack of oxygen.

"Do you realize how vulnerable you really are right now, Officer Lake? I can do… whatever I want to do to you… and there is nothing you can do to stop me. What, pray tell, are you going to do Lake? What’s your brilliant plan of action? I do believe I’ve gained the proper clearance to be privy to such information," Sands said dangerously.

Lake struggled feebly to try and free himself from Sands’ grasp, but he was no match for the older and more experienced officer, especially while he was barely able to breathe. He coughed weakly, once, and a strangled "I don’t know," managed to pass his lips.

"Of course you don’t know, and do you know why? Because every matter requires prior knowledge and you know nothing about me, therefore, how could you possibly come up with a plan?" Sands tilted his head up a bit, as if pondering a thought. "I do believe you owe me your deepest apologies, Officer Lake, and you better make them sound sincere," Sands continued, his voice sounding completely calm. It was, in effect, much more frightening than if he’d actually sounded angry.

"Sorry." Lake croaked.

"Te audire no possum." Sands shook Lake a little, to get his point across as Lake looked at him in confusion.

"I’m… sorry…"

"You miscalculated my abilities, didn’t you Officer?"

"Yes… was wrong," Lake managed.

There was a long silence as Sands thought. He was standing as still as a stone statue while Lake continued to gasp for air.

"Do you think I should let you go and let bygones be bygones?" Sands said suddenly. Caught momentarily off guard by the quick change in attitude, Lake just stared at him wide-eyed for a long moment before starting to nod his head furiously in agreement.

Sands faced Mike with a smirk. "What about you? Think I should let the kid live to screw up another debrief?"

"Well, I think you’ve pretty well scared this kid shitless. I don’t see the harm in it," Mike said, choosing his words carefully. He saw Sands’ smirk widen into a grin when he’d confirmed that the kid was indeed ‘scared shitless’ and looking the part.

It was a look that Sands wished desperately he could see at this moment, but he supposed that feeling the kid squirm and hearing him gasp for breath would have to do.

Sands turned back towards Lake, smile still in place. "Hear that? Your partner thinks you should live," he said cheerfully, but it didn’t last. Sands dropped the smile and all hint of playfulness was gone, his tone returning to that dangerously calm drawl as he stated flatly to Lake, "Too bad I don’t."

"Sands! Don’t!" Mike shouted, but Sands never was one to listen.

Sands’ hand was tightly enclosed around Lake’s throat. He pulled the gun away from Lake’s precious jewels but it was of little comfort to Lake as he watched Sands’ actions.

Sands still had the gun, and he still intended to use it. He pointed it at Lake’s head briefly before making a quick decision. He focused intently on the sounds around him, aimed again and pulled the trigger.

The echo of the bullet leaving the gun bounced back off the soundproof walls of the debrief room, making it seem incredibly loud. It was immediately followed by Lake’s gasp and the sound of glass shattering.

The room was flooded with darkness.

Sands had focused on the sound of the light above them, and had shot out the bulb with little problem, his head never turning towards the target, facing Lake the entire time.

The gun took its place back under Lake’s chin and Lake could feel the heat of Sands’ breath against his face. "How does it feel Lake? How does it feel to be completely surrounded by darkness? Unable to see the room around you? Unable to see your partner? Unable to see your attacker? Unable to see the gun pressed up against your jaw, a gun that could bring you permanent darkness at any moment…" Sands paused for a moment, savoring the control like it was a good piece of slow roasted pork, savoring the ultimate power he had over this man. The power over life and death, the ultimate control.

"Tell me Lake. How does it feel?" Sands hissed.

Lake felt as if he was about to pass out, his breath coming short and quick. "Frightening," Lake finally admitted, his voice mirroring the feeling.

"Good, because your slip of the tongue just cost you your life, and I want pure fear to be the last thing you ever feel in this world."

Lake pleaded one last time.

Then he felt the cold metal move from under his jaw and press hard against the side of his head.

Mike looked on helplessly, barely able to see the two other officers in the dark, sure that if he moved, he’d be shot too.

‘Oh shit.’

Lake looked at Sands with terror filled eyes.

Mike shouted one last time for Sands to let the kid go, but it was in vain.

They all heard the click of the gun in Sands’ hand.

And the room was quiet.

Sands finally let go of his stranglehold on Lake and the kid fell to the floor in a heap, the gun now at Sands’ side as he stepped back, smirking, before deadpanning into the silent darkness, "You’re dead."

~*~

Te audire no possum. - I can’t hear you.