Nyctophilia || •KTH•

The Black Sea

☽ The Black Sea || Chapter 2 ☾

☾☼☽

"Twenty years?"

The sound of Taehyung's voice floated in the interrogation room and bit at his ears. He had been the one to utter the two words, yet his mouth was dry as if he hadn't spoken in ages. The files placed on the metal desk before him confirmed what he had said, but that didn't change how his mind refused to accept it. Reality was often disappointing. Throughout Taehyung's years of service, he had learned that. However, after finding Adeline, it seemed more true than usual.

"Correct," Adeline said. Her voice wavered as it passed her lips. They had given her chapstick and access to toiletries, but that didn't change how dead skin hung off her mouth.

"I hate to ask you to recount the past twenty years, but we need information. Anything you feel comfortable sharing, we promise you it's confidential. Nothing we do ever reaches public eye."

Taehyung prided himself on telling the truth. Being in his line of work required him to stretch the truth if not completely lie to victims in the name of comfort, but Taehyung had always gone against it. That included with Adeline. Whenever he saw the opportunity, he would be honest. It had been twenty years since she last saw the outside world. The least he could do was be honest.

Adeline fiddled with her fingers. Thanks to the bright, obnoxious lighting of the interrogation room, Taehyung was able to notice her skin was littered with patches of dirt. Her hands suffered the most from that.

Taehyung leaned back in the creaky chair. "Were you trying to escape?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Your hands, they're in poor condition. Not just the dirt, but the dried blood, too. Is that why we found you tied up? Were you trying to dig your way out?" Taehyung asked, but she didn't answer. "Let's start small. Do you know the man's name?"

"Victor. He never told me his last name."

"Physical appearance?"

"As tall as you," she said. She paused to hiccup, and he spotted her leg bouncing under the table and her eyes darting around. "He has a, um... a skull? Yeah, a skull tattoo. A red one, on the back of his neck."

The interrogation room was bright and cramped for a reason. It was meant to isolate whoever was inside. The table was the only piece of furniture in the room, and they didn't bother decorating the walls. The one-way glass sat behind Taehyung. His associates were taking notes of the conversation. Just in case, Taehyung had a recorder placed in clear view on the table, recording every word she said.

Taehyung leaned forward and folded his hands together. "Take it slow. Deep breaths. You're safe now, remember that."

Adeline averted her gaze. Throughout the entire conversation, she had had trouble maintaining eye contact. It didn't help that her hair kept falling in her face to conceal her expression from him.

"Where am I?"

The question caused Taehyung to stall. It was rare he had ever frozen in such a manner; it wasn't like freezing was a good trait for a Night Stalker. Still, he recovered after swallowing a dry clump of saliva that rested on the back of his tongue.

"We told you on the way here who we were and where we were taking you, don't you remember?" Taehyung asked, and the woman didn't open her mouth to reply. "We're in the New York special ops headquarters, based in New York City. N-SOP for short."