Your vision was hazy as you struggled to process the muffled words of people standing around you, blinking blearily before letting your eyes slide shut in utter exhaustion and oblivion, letting the voices fade into meaningless droning humming in your ears. Somehow, the echoing sound of footsteps resounding around the empty room you found yourself in didn’t rouse you from your stupor, and you slipped further into the liminal space between consciousness and fatigue. A cold hand gently patted your cheek, and you jolted with a yell as you were dragged back to reality, tugging at the chains you had only just become aware of as they dug into your wrists, holding them tightly above your head. A shudder wracked your spine as you locked eyes with the eerie figure, his hand still on your face and slender digits caressing the skin in a way that so violently contrasted the sadistic glint in his eye as he regarded you with a cocky smirk.

“Ah, there you are, Detective. I thought I’d lost you there - which would be such a pity. I’ve got so many questions for you after all. I mean, how on earth did you manage to convince yourself that digging into the Mafia was a good idea, hm? I thought you were supposed to be smart.”