Alex Rider - You Left Me

13. The class about torture

AN: just thought I might share something that popped up on my Pinterest. Pinterest gives me the most random things like yogurt helps decompose a dead body but I think this actually is something useful.

'If you're falling into writer's block, the problem is normally always 10 lines behind."

Word count for this chapter: 1096

The class about torture

"How is he from MI6?!" John questioned very loudly and almost in a shouting voice.

"Err MI6 employed him and then put him here for training... that's how he is from MI6." The sergeant explained and John gave him an annoyed expression. "Look, it's gonna be classified knowing this monster." And he pointed at Alex referring to the 'monster'. "Just go and do your duties."

John left and the sergeant turned to Alex, "That went really well, son, maybe the whole camp knows that you are from MI6!"

"He didn't say it that loud." Alex rolled his eyes. "I better be going off to start training." And with that, he headed for the door.

"Okway bwaby, dwon't gwet hwurty out thwere." The sergeant put on a voice that one would use to a cute little baby and Alex face palmed hiding his blush that was caused by the huge amount of embarrassment. Alex then left the hut quickly making the Sergeant laugh.

The teen headed for his next lesson (an optional lesson which he chose to take so not many people arrived and that included almost no K-Unit) which was a medical session tutored by Snake and some other medic from a veteran unit. He listened carefully and tried to remember as much as he could knowing full well that he may need it in the near future.

Then came the next lesson of the day which was sadly compulsory and the teacher was Ted / Eddie / instructor maleu (and that was only some of the names the soldiers called him).

Alex took a seat near the back of the hut as he was early and Eagle slid into the seat next to him before the back row of seats were taken. As people entered, they gave him strange looks, he didn't blame them as he did look rather young to be there. 

The teen felt no remorse for the front row consisting of 3 new recruits eager to warm up to the instructor and Wolf and Snake who arrived late yet still, no instructor had entered.

An extra three minutes passed before John burst into the room and ignored the ruckus that the room had turned into in his missing minutes "Sorry I'm late, I had a little meeting with another instructor!" He made his way to the front of the class, dodging around a fallen over desk that was soon to be stood up right by a respectful soldier.

"I'm Instructor Maleu as some of you know. Please feel free to call me Ted or Eddie, I don't mind. Today we will be covering the topic of torture."

Alex was reminded of Brookline comprehensive, his school. Everyone sitting down and looking at the teacher with boredom. It's funny to refer the soldiers in the room to school children as they looked like now.

"Sir!" A recruit called out "Isn't that what RTI is for?!"

"RTI practice is terrible practice for it's supposed purpose. It's nothing like torture really is." John simply responded. "Now, someone tell me the point of torture."

A few people put their hands up and Eagle was picked on despite the lack of hand in the air. He glared at the instructor (John) but answered anyways "To physically harm someone to get information from them."

"Wrong. Torture can also be in a mental form." John  replied and after a moment, spoke again. "We'll be sharing some experiences with torture. Starting with D-Unit, Lion you go first."

"I was once captured by a minor terrorist organisation in Italy. They whipped and water boarded me." Lion said. The experience of torture didn't really seem to bother him so, Alex deduced, he can't have been tortured for long or well.

John went around the class asking people of their experiences, many people answered with not having any experience but one new soldier did say that he was abused by his foster father.

Then it was Alex's turn and he was asked the question. He blanked out for a while as small visions of his experiences came to mind. He gave a little flinch as a memory of a punch to the stomach came in but in the end he shakily replied with "none. I don't have any experiences."

John knew that was a lie, he has spent far too long learning how to tell if someone was lying and although Alex made it very hard to tell if it was a lie, he could see right through the fake sentence. Despite this, he moved on like he noticed nothing. If someone didn't want to share something, that was fine by him so long as it doesn't endanger lives or something important.

He moved on to talking about some old fashioned torture devices, how they were adapted and if they are still used. 

One thing John did mention is dry boarding. "Like waterboarding, the main focus is the lungs and airway. But unlike waterboarding, no water is used. Objects that can be used for this torture can be as simple as a cloth but must be something that can fit in the mouth. To do that torture, they stuff the cloth down the person's throat making them not be able to breath. After a while, the torturer can either take it out or leave it in for the person to die." He paused making sure the soldiers had taken in what he had said. A soldier raised their hand and John nodded.

"So this would also make the captured person have an extremely soar throat?"

 "Yes, it would." And then he continued with what he was saying. "This method is also used as an assassination technique. However, the assassin would have to get very very close to their target and stuff preferably bread or some other dry food down their throat to slowly kill them. This makes the death look natural if any struggling evidence is covered up well."

The lessons ended and luckily, it was a rare occasion where no other classes took place for K-Unit and the Unit found themselves lounging about and falling asleep in the strangest of positions, take Eagle for example, bottom half on the table in the unit's hut and top half dangling off, face planted on a chair seat.