Less Than 24 Hours (Part 1)

"What's up?" Matthew sat on the single chair. He leaned his back and then he rested one of his ankles on the top of his knees. When he reached the bunker in the underground facility where they usually meet since they were children until now, he was not surprised to find Nic, Mason, and Daxon already waiting for him in the living room.

The bunker has complete amenities and necessities that are enough for a hundred people to survive a year without getting out. It has bedrooms, living rooms, a kitchen, a dining area, game rooms, and an entertainment room.

They were sitting in one of the three living rooms in the bunker waiting for something or for someone.

Apparently, Nic had already texted him last night that Timothy called to meet them that morning. But Matthew had forgotten about his phone because he was busy taking care of Olivia. That ended with him being late for their rendezvous.

At first, Matthew wondered why Timothy suddenly called them, and then he realized, maybe it has something to do with one of the men occupying one of the cells.

Franklin Amudsen…the man they sent there some couple of months ago for raping his neighbor's daughter in front of her parents and then later on killing them.

"We are sending Franklin Amudsen out," Nic said as he leisurely sat on another single chair.

Matthew frowned as he looked at Nic. "Now?" He thought that it was too early.

Once a week, one of them would visit Franklin Amudsen to give him a taste of hell as a form of returning the favor for what he did to the girl he raped and killed. It will not stop until they deem it enough.

Matthew thought that it was not enough.

"Yeah," Daxon replied.

But it looks like the others thought that it was already enough. Matthew wondered what made them think that way. So he asked, "Why? I mean, we haven't got to the most exciting part yet,"

When he said 'most exciting part' that means the most brutal form of torture ever invented. Yes, they have all forms of torture in the underground facility and even invented some of the most brutal ones a sinister person could think of.

"Tim is," Mason casually said.

Matthew's frown became even deeper. "Damn! What is wrong with him?" He asked because it is not in Timothy's nature to be impatient when it comes to torturing their 'guest'. Timothy always wanted it to be slow so that their 'guest' would feel every inch of their punishment. He wanted to torture them in a slow and painful way either physically or psychologically. Timothy believes that the most vile men in the world deserved the most vile punishment and torture ever invented. And he will give them that.

Nic looked at Matthew and said, "Jove Latimer,"

At the mention of the man that could bring trouble to his woman, Matthew's back stiffened. "What? Did he find something?" he asked instantly. Although it was just a few days ago when they found out that Bardwell, Olivia's boss, assigned Olivia to Jove Latimer's case which was actually a classified one, Matthew will not be surprised if Timothy had already found something.

"Something like that," Daxon said.

Matthew could tell that they don't know about it yet. They knew that Timothy had found something but the latter hadn't told them. Maybe Timothy will after they have dealt with Franklin Amudsen.

If Timothy wanted Franklin Amudsen gone so that they could focus on Jove Latimer, then that could mean something bad was about to happen.

Matthew could only hope that his woman would not put herself into trouble. But knowing Olivia, Matthew won't be surprised if she did. Or maybe she already did.

"He'll tell us later. Come on," Nic said as he stood up and then he buttoned the lower part of his suit. Among them, Nic was always the one wearing a suit. Daxon is always wearing faded jeans and a white shirt. Mason is the most fashionable one among them who always wears something stylish. Matthew prefers casual clothes but there were times that he had to wear suits as well but he didn't mind.

Matthew stood up from his chair and then he followed Nic along with Mason and Daxon. They didn't have to ask because they already know where they are going.

They are going to the torture cell where they can certainly find Timothy giving Franklin Amudsen the best treatment he gives to their guest.

When they reached the hallway where the torture cells are, Matthew was instantly greeted by a hair-raising sound of a man screaming. But that didn't scare him or bother him. In fact, Matthew and his friends looked like they were already used to it…that they were already expecting it.

The scream was coming from a man. The sound of his scream was a combination of fear, pleading, and a hint of sob. It was as if he was begging someone to kill him already.

It sounded disturbing…but Matthew and his friends were not disturbed at all as they continued walking in the direction where the sound was coming from.

Soon, they stopped in front of a cell with only steel bars as a door.

They were not even surprised at the sight that greeted them.

At the center of the room, a man is bound on a reclined board with his legs and arms shackled to the corners of the board. His face wasn't covered so they could see the terrified look on his face as he looked in the direction of another man standing in one corner of the room holding a torch.

Nic pushed open the door made of steel bar making a screeching sound as if it needed some lubricant. The sound caught the man on the board's attention.

Franklin Amudsen looked at the newcomers with a plea in his eyes. Even though Matthew, Nic, Mason, and Daxon had come to him in the past to beat him up or give him different kinds of torture, he looked at them as if they were the ones who will save him from the other man in the room.

Because compared to Matthew, Mason, Nic, and Daxon, Timothy was a lot scarier. When it comes to inflicting pain on deserving people, Timothy doesn't have any logic that his other friends still have. One look at Timothy is enough to tell that he is the kind of man that doesn't give a second chance. Diplomatic negotiation is not in his vocabulary. Once you mess up with Timothy, you are dead.

At least to Matthew, Nic, Daxon, and Mason, there is a tiny little bit of chance.

So, Franklin Amudsen tried to beg the newcomers. Unfortunately, they were not the decision-makers in the room.

It was the man who was holding a torch.

"Damn, I thought he was scrapping your gut. You were screaming like a girl. It could be heard all over the place. It was so annoying," Matthew said as he looked at Franklin Amudsen from head to toe.

Franklin Amudsen is still fully-clothed but his clothes were drenched with sweat and it also looks like he also pissed himself in fear. He wondered what Timothy did to scare the man. Of course, Timothy probably did something…or did nothing. Timothy is not the kind of man that will talk to him and give him empty threats anyway. He was a man of action.

Matthew turned to look at Timothy who was standing in the corner with a blank expression on his face. Beside him is a table that is filled with various torture device that looks clean and unused. All of the cuts and wounds that Franklin Amudsen sustained in the past weeks had already healed. They even gave him a balm that could lighten the scar as if it was not there in the first place. It looks like Timothy just scared the man by showing him the tools without using them on him.

Matthew cannot blame Franklin Amudsen. Because just the sight of the tools on the table as if they were waiting to be used is simply terrifying. Not to him though. But to the person bound in the center of the room.

Timothy turned off the torch and put it down on the table. Then he grabbed a dirty-looking white piece of fabric and tossed it in their direction. It was Mason who caught it. Without asking what to do, Mason walked toward the board where Franklin Amudsen was bound.

Franklin Amudsen looked at Mason with a terrified look on his face. "Please…" he begged in a weak tone. But it is not going to work. Not when it is already decided that his execution day has arrived.

Mason ignored his plea and covered Franklin Amudsen's face with the piece of fabric.

Without any words or waiting for anyone to speak, Matthew walked to the other side of the room where there is a faucet with a garden hose attached to it. He twisted the faucet open and in that instant, water started to come out of the other end of the garden hose.