'Now,' he said, turning his attention to Ricardo, 'there is a price to be paid for conspiring against my family. Do you know what that price is?'

Ricardo shook his head stupidly, his features grey with apprehension.

'First, you will be flogged until no skin remains upon your back,' Roman said, moving casually to the fireplace and selecting a poker. Not taking his eyes from Ricardo's, he thrust the tip of the poker into the hottest part of the fire and left it there. 'Next, you will be tied into a chair with a high back and a rest made to fit the head. Attached to this rest is a leather strap and buckle, and this will be used to secure your head firmly, preventing any sort of movement. Then, right in full view, a poker much like this one will be heated before your eyes, and like this one, which is becoming red hot, will be applied to your body.' Roman removed the poker from the fire and brought it close enough to Ricardo's face that he could feel it's heat. Ricardo began panting shallowly in terror, his eyes fixed on the glowing object in Roman's hand. 'At some point,' Roman continued, 'a poker, newly heated like this one, will be thrust into one of your eyes. Now, understand, the human eye is mostly a fatty sort of fluid. When it comes in contact with a hot poker, it heats up very quickly and runs like an open sore- the front of your face and body will be covered in your own eye fluid and blood.' Roman brought the poker closer to Ricardo's face, even as he spoke. 'All the while, you will be screaming mindlessly, writhing like a worm on a hook, all to no avail, as that poker is placed back in the fire-'

'I'll talk!' Ricardo choked on the verge of tears. 'Please, Señor Roman! I will tell you everything! Just don't burn my eyes!'

'I haven't yet told you about the part where you will be drawn and quartered-'

'Please!' Ricardo wailed. 'I will talk! I will tell you about the two men-'

'First, tell me about your associate,' Roman said, placing the poker back in the fire as Ricardo stared. 'And if you lie even once, you will get a taste of that poker.'

Licking his lips, fearfully, Ricardo said, 'I did some business with him a few years ago. Then I didn't see him for a long time, until last month, when he said that he had a job for me.




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