The Brocade Baby (Rewrite) Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Interrogating

6 For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against the Lord, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.

Isaiah 32:6

 

Once the stranger finally became awake, he found himself being tied up in a bungee cord and sitting against the wall in the living room with everyone giving him wither cold glares or fearful looks. The baby was placed in the nearby car seat that was used earlier and was placed right next to Miranda, who was sitting on one of the couches, and was seemingly fast asleep. But that was nothing compared to the intense glare that Barnim and Elio were giving him, especially since Barnim was the one who knocked him out in the first place. The fact that the old man's dogs were also present in the living room growling and snarling at him didn't make things any easier, especially since someone took off both his shoes and his gloves.

"YOU!" the stranger snarled as he struggled to get himself out while also attempting to stand back up to no avail. "LET ME GO THIS INSTANT!"

"Oh don't worry," Barnim coldly stated before approaching him in a menacing manner and bending down on his knee to get a better look at the man. "We'll let you go, that is if you are willing to cooperate and answer some questions."

"Oh please, you don't scare me," the stranger replied in a defiant manner though his shivering along with his sweat gave away his fear.

"Is that so?" Barnim asked before pulling out his Solingen knife and positioning it right above the man's foot. As it edged closer to the man's foot, he began to hyperventilate while the others watched in excitement and fear over what he was planning to do. Timotheos and Audrey were the most fearful as they never saw this side of Barnim before, especially since Barnim was considered a harmless jokester of a man. But seeing this darker side of him both impressed and scared Timotheos. Brielle and Julien shared Timotheos' sentiments as they never saw this side either, though they did notice how both Miranda and Elio didn't bat an eyelash at the sight of her father about to cut the man's foot with his knife. Seeing that the old man was not kidding around, the stranger decided to talk.

"OKAY! OKAY! I'LL TALK JUST PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!" he cried as tears began to swell out of fear. Barnim put the knife back in its sheath before he decided to start asking questions.

"Okay then, first question: Who are you and why did you attack my grandson?" he asked.

"M-My name i-is Henri. I was paid to get rid of the baby and anyone who was associated with him," the stranger revealed nervously.

"Really? And who exactly paid you to do such a thing?" Barnim asked with growing anger.

"I don't know," Henri claimed. "I don't know who he is-AAAHHHHH!!!!"

Henri didn't expect for his right foot to get stabbed so quickly by Barnim's knife, which was pulled out before anyone could stop him. The others were taken aback by this sudden turn of events, though Ambroise was somehow still asleep. Barnim continued to glare at the man coldly while the man gritted his teeth in agony over the way the knife sliced through his skin and deep into the side of his foot. A small pool of blood was starting to grow on the floor, with Barnim reminding himself to clean up after this was over.

"Wrong answer," he answered coolly while digging the knife deeper into the man's foot to the point where the end was starting to stick out on the other side. "You're going to tell me everything or else you're other foot is next."

"Grandpa, don't you think you're taking things a bit too far?" Timotheos asked nervously, causing Barnim to soften his expression before turning his head towards his grandson.

"Don't worry, Timmy," Barnim replied in a warm tone. "I just need some answers out of him and everything will be alright." The moment he said that he immediately turned his head back to Henri while resuming his cold glare.

"THAT HURT! THAT FUCKING HURT!" Henri cried out in anger and agony while Barnim merely rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Oh grow up, you'll live. And besides, in case you forgot, there are children here."

"Right, pardon. The guy who hired me promised to pay me lots of money if I did the job. All I know is that his name is Raoul and he was the one who hired me to take out the baby. I don't know why he wants the brat dead, I didn't question it as I needed the money!"

"Really? So Raoul's behind this?" Elio asked.

"Oui, it was," Henri confirmed.

"Who's Raoul?" Miranda asked Elio.

"That I will get to later," Elio replied. "But for now, we want answers as to how you found us."

"And you better answer it quickly or else!" Barnim snarled while motioning his knife to Henri's other foot.

"Of course you would know how to torture people," Henri spat as he tried to regain whatever dignity and defiance he had left. "You Germans have always been nothing more than brutes and monsters who enjoy making people suffer."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Barnim asked in a suspicious manner.

"I mean," Henri replied with a sinister and arrogant chuckle. "You're German right? I could tell just by your accent. How else would you be able to stab someone in the foot with a knife without batting an eye? Your people willingly served that madman all those years ago and ruled most of Europe through fear and terror. Like I'd ever tell you anything you fucking NAZI!"

The room instantly became quiet. Quiet enough for a pin to drop. The others were both shocked and horrified to hear what Henri just said, with Miranda, Timotheos, Audrey and her parents being the most shocked. Even Elio was shocked by how bold (if incredibly reckless) Henri's words were, especially since it was directed towards the man who literally just cut his foot. Barnim was eerily quiet but even Elio could tell that a storm was brewing deep within the man judging by how stiff he became. The tension in the air was thick and the others became scared of how Barnim would react to such an insult, especially since he talked about how much he hated the Nazis and was vehemently against them for what they did to Germany and Europe as a whole. While the others didn't see what Barnim's facial expression was, Miranda noticed how Henri once again lost his bravado and looked as if he was about to wet himself in fear over what he saw in Barnim's eyes. After a few seconds of tense silence, Barnim finally spoke up in a tone that was eerily calm yet on edge.

"Brielle, Julien?"

"Y-Yes Barnim?" Brielle squeaked in nervousness.

"Could you please take the children with you to your home? I need to have a talk with this little wannabe here."

"R-Right," Julien responded as he turned to the 2 teenagers and the baby. "Kids, we're leaving right now!"

Timotheos and Audrey nodded at the same time before quickly following her parents to the car, with Timotheos carrying Ambroise in his car seat. Miranda was about to follow them until she was stopped by her father's tone.

"Miranda, you stay here. You too, Elio. I need your help in getting answers out of Henri along with having someone help patch up the wounds."

"O-Okay then," Miranda replied as she sat back down. Even Elio was somewhat nervous to see what Barnim meant by that and sat on the other couch that was close to hers. Once the door was closed shut and the others inside the house heard the Larue Family's car leave, Barnim snapped his fingers and all the dogs began to once gain snarl and growl at Henri. Henri widened his eyes in fear as he realized what the dogs were about to do.

"No... no no no no no! Okay, okay, I'm sorry! I'm sorry I called you a Nazi! I take it back! Please keep those dogs away from me! No! No! NOOOOO!!!"

The sound of the dogs attacking Henri along with his screams of terror and agony were heard that night while the others were out of the house unaware of what had entailed.