[ IP ] The interrogation chair

I stood there, like I had countless other times, waiting for this shit show to get going. The smell of tobacco permeated the room as a few of my companions let up their respective cigarettes while looking around the room; their nervousness was more readily visible. I would n't say this is standard fare for me, but I was n't as green as those I found myself waiting with; I had actually met John Doe before. 
 
 That was what we called him: John Doe. Like everything else about him, his name was a secrete that was closely guarded. Describing him as a person would be a futile attempt, nothing could explain what it's like to be in a room with him, to talk with him, to have him just look at you; but I once heard something that did explain what he did. Not who he is, but why he is. Why he's on his way here now. John Doe is n't the Boogieman, He's the person that can break the Boogieman. 
 
 A new recruit jogs up to me, `` John's here'' 
 
 `` Good, prep the prisoner, get him out here and put him in the chair.'' 
 
 I wo n't bore you with the details of who we are, but the simple answer is we work for the US government, which is to say, though it is covered through fake accounts and companies and a million other methods of covering this fact, we are paid by you. Our job is simple enough, we get information; something that is priceless in today's world. 
 
 The job of information reconnaissance takes many forms, and over the last few years, my department has been being downsized. Hell, John used to be a permanent fixture in our department, but in today's world electronic data has become much more prevalent. Though sometimes the old fashioned way works best, which brings us to here and now. 
 
 Eric Hanster is the name of the man who is now sitting in the chair; and somewhere in that head of his is the name and location of another man. Finding this second man is of the utmost importance, but as any smart man who wishes to remain hidden today, he has remained off the grid. Which includes anything our computer wiz's could find. So they set us to work. Finding Eric was n't too hard, learning he knew what we wanted was more so. But months of careful study told us he was our man, so we... acquired him. 
 
 What we did n't expect was his fortitude. We've had him for weeks, and it shows. His body is bruised and battered, he's been starved and sleep deprived and water-boarded and everything we could think of. But some men's will perseverance is n't meant to be broken. At least by normal people: enter John. 
 
 He strolled into the room with a gait so practiced it would seem normal if one could n't compare it to the last time they saw it. He wore exactly not what you would assume: a battered baseball cap, a tattered tour shirt from Nirvana and jeans. He looked at the man in the chair, at Eric and back to me. No words needed to be spoken, which suited me fine, as I nodded to another chair near a wall. With that same walk, he moved to the chair and began dragging it loudly across the floor until he was sitting squarely in front of Eric. 
 
 `` It looks like they've already put you through the ringer, huh?'' 
 
 Eric just starred at him blankly. I would like to say there was hate in his eyes, or anger or even desperation, but they were all gone, leaving not even the husk of an emotion left. 
 
 `` Would you like a smoke before we start? No? Oh well, I always offer one before I start. This is just a job after all and I like to show I'm not just an animal.'' He looked back at the rest of us and said, `` No offense guys.'' before returning to Eric. `` I think it's important to remember that we are still just people, in fact, it's what makes me -- and even you -- different from them; remembering that we are all still people, all still the same. `` 
 
 `` Dehumanizing people has long been a powerful tool in interrogation, and let's not pretend this is something like `` Information gathering,'' we both know I'm here to hurt you until you tell me what I want to know.'' Now he began to pull his tools, his only two, from his pockets: first a pair of needle nose pliers and second a cigar cutter, `` You sure you do n't want a smoke?'' They were both well kept, so well most would think he bought them just today, if not for the fact that this particular brand had been gone for years. 
 
 `` It's powerful because most people break when they understand that they will not been seen or treated like a human being. But people like us? We make it through. I know you did, because you are here still and they needed to being me here, but for me? I know I am because I was the lucky resident of a North Korean prison camp for a glorious three years. That first year they did their best to break me down. Looking for the normal answers; Who was I? Why was I in North Korea? Who sent me? But even a year in, I held fast, like you are now. After that year they considered it a lost cause, left my case open and the officers began using me to let out frustration. Bad day? trouble with underlings or superiors? Just sign out good ol' John for a few hours in the interrogation room and let it out.'' 
 
 `` But I never broke. I knew what hope to hold onto, to keep going and more importantly I knew what hope to let go of. But most of all, they never knew how to torture me just right. See, none of them had ever been in my place, they did n't know what it would take to crush me, they knew what pain was, but when you've never had it happen to you, how do you know what hurts the most? The longest? The deepest? That's what kept me going; knowing they've done their worst. That if I could zone out through everything so far, I would be okay forever.'' 
 
 He looked at Eric different now, no longer like someone telling a story. Now that you know my philosophy on this whole thing,'' he said this gesturing to the room in general, `` I will tell you how the next bit goes. I will ask you a question, and if you do n't give me the answer, I will remove a tooth from my mouth. Then, I will remove one from your own. This last step is important. See, I want you to know that we are all equals here. Every bit of pain you feel, you will know I felt too. This is important because you must understand, this is no longer you versus pain, or you versus your own weakness; this is you versus me. And I am stronger.'' 
 
 `` But you're probably thinking now, `` But I only have 32 teeth, there is still a limit.'' There is n't.'' He put the cigar cutter on the little desk next to the pliers, `` After our teeth, we begin with fingers, and toes and from there, well, that'll be a surprise. But know one has ever made it past three fingers.'' As he said this his hands were laid out on the small desk and the realization dawned on Eric that John had been waiting for. Eric looked up at John and spoke for the first time in weeks, `` That's not a tan from a wedding band, is it?'' John just smiled, `` If it was, why would there be three of them? Now, where is Samuel Benet?'' 
 
 Eric just looked at him, still as stone. 
 
 `` Alright'' John reached the pliers into his mouth and in one quick motion produced a molar, putting it carefully in his pocket. `` I always start in the back, apparently they are easier to put back in. Now hold still.'' All the calm was gone as he forced his way to the upper right molar, identical to the one from his own mouth. I do n't know what it is, but the sound of teeth dropping into concrete is sickening, and Eric's tooth was just dropped. 
 
 `` where is Samuel Benet?'' 
 
 Blood was trickling from both of their mouths now, but still no words. 
 
 A second tooth falls to the floor to watch the new addition to Johns pocket. I wo n't force the details upon you, but it took five teeth to learn where Samuel was. And only another two for everything else we wanted to know. I know I told you earlier that I've only ever heard one thing that could describe John to normal people, but that was a lie. That quote about the Boogieman paints a picture of a demon, an inhuman monster, but that's not who John is. John is just a man, a human being with the skill to see the quickest way from point A to point B. He is not evil, and once his job is done, he's right back to being someone you might bump into in a coffee shop. This unified dichotomy is who John is, something that has only been explained to me on the day he broke Eric, by John himself as he left. 
 
 He walked past me, his walk now more natural then before and accompanied by a clatter of calcium in his pocket. He walked past me and simply said, `` You should be happy his and your position was n't reversed, almost as happy as I am that our dental plan is so great. See ya next time.''
