"Teach that prisoner a lesson?" James said hesitantly, "Isn't this...not good?"
"What's the point? Even if we do break a few of his ribs, where can he go to redress his grievances? We're at a fucking war, isn't it normal to get injured?" Wilson didn't care, "Is it possible that someone would really ask a doctor to give him a grievance?"
He checked to see if the ribs were broken during the war or if they were broken here."
"But we have starved him for several days. If we attack him again, I'm afraid..."
"Then don't come." Wilson stood up. At this time, his figure had not yet been fattened by officialdom. "Where are you two?"
"Of course, I finally got the opportunity to teach the noble young master a lesson, how could I miss it?"
Bell's family owns a bank, so he naturally knows that the Groves family has long been in decline. Compared to him, Wilson, whose father is an official in King's Landing, is more worthy of being curried.
As the vice-captain, Alfred did not speak, but getting up undoubtedly showed his intention to get involved.
James stopped talking and just followed him timidly. Rather than "participating in violence," it seemed more like a compromise he had to make in order to join the group.
Bell opened the bathroom door. Their prisoner, Ron, the young master of the Groves family, had his hands and feet tied, unable to move in the bathtub.
"Damn it, did this guy shit his pants?" Wilson waved his hand to fan him.
That's for sure, they don't have time to accompany Master Ron to the toilet these days.
Ron struggled to raise his head and looked at them, his lips that were dry and cracked due to lack of water moved slightly: "What...are you going to do..."
"It's nothing, it's just that I feel a little unhappy when I think that you don't have to do anything and there is a title waiting for you to inherit."
Wilson grabbed Ron's hair: "Look at you, you really look like a noble, haha."
"They call it 'aristocratic demeanor,'" Bell joked.
"Oh, did your etiquette teacher teach you to poop and wet your pants?"
Ron's face turned red, and his voice was indignant but weak: "You can't do this to me... This violates the Laws of War!"
"Look, he also knows the "Laws of War". He is worthy of being a noble young master." Wilson clapped his hands, "Then when you kill people, are you also memorizing the "Laws of War" silently?"
"We are a reconnaissance battalion, there is no..."
"No killing? Do you dare to guarantee it? To take a step back, isn't your reconnaissance camp just collecting intelligence so that more people can be killed by you?"
Ron was speechless. After a few seconds, he whispered: "But I have been captured by you. According to the regulations, I should be protected..."
"Protection? Those who were killed were burned on the spot, while those who were captured alive were protected. What's the point?" Wilson slapped Ron, "If it weren't for the fact that you are the commander, I would have rewarded you with one."
Bullet, reunite you with your teammates."
Pushing Ron away, Wilson said in disgust: "This smells terrible."
Bell took the opportunity to offer something: "How about we give him a bath?"
"What's the meaning?"
"Just fill the bathtub with water, and then push him down in a few seconds..."
"Waterboarding? I like it."
Bell turned on the faucet, and the cold water rushed on Ron's face. This relieved a bit of the summer heat, but made him feel even more chilled.
When the water filled two-thirds of the bathtub, Wilson grabbed Ron's collar and sneered: "Enjoy it, young master."
The next second, with a dull sound of "dong", Ron was pressed into the water, and a series of bubbles suddenly appeared on the water.
"How about seeing how long he can hold it for?" Alfred suggested. It can be said that among the people present, he was the most familiar with waterboarding.
"Good idea, start with 10 seconds - OK, get up!"
Ron was pulled up by his hair, coughed several times, and water spurted out of his mouth and nose.
"Next time it will be 15 seconds." Wilson stretched his arms, "Hey, this job is quite tiring."
"Then find a coolie." Bell turned around and said, "James, what are you doing just standing around? Come here!"
James shrank in fright, but still walked over honestly: "I think this is not good, so I'd better stop..."
"What, you're going to use the Laws of War to pressure me too?" Wilson squinted his eyes at James.
"You don't want to?" Bell rubbed his hands, "Let me think about it, ah, by the way, didn't you say before that your father took out a loan from my bank to start a business, but the business failed and he owed a lot of money?
"
"Yes, it's like this..."
"Help us do something, and then the debt will be written off in one go." Bell raised his fingers, "How about that, haha."
Bell's words exuded threats. He knew that the repayment deadline was coming soon. When James' father could not repay the money, he would be forcibly confiscated all the family property. James himself had a wife and daughter. He had worked before and now served in the military. He was very meager.
It is already very difficult to run a family with his salary, and it will be even more difficult to support his parents when the time comes.
And forcing repayment is just one method. With the Thabit family's method, it won't be too easy to get James.
James swallowed his saliva and finally stood on the edge of the bathtub: "...What should we do?"
"You are responsible for making him drink water. We are counting down the time. If I mention it, you will let him breathe. If I continue, you will let him sink to the bottom of the water."
James took a deep breath: "Understood."
"Then let's get started."
Time passed by, with Wilson and Bell laughing, and Alfred's cold eyes, James held Ron up and down in the water.
15 seconds, 20 seconds, 30 seconds... Each waterboarding not only tortured Ron, but also cold sweat dripped down James' face. When Bell or Wilson "started", James almost rushed to take Ron.
Ron pulled Ron up, and every time he "went down", James had to grit his teeth and push Ron down with trembling hands.
"One minute and 35 seconds, just looking at it makes me feel that time has passed so long." Bell pinched his watch, "Wilson, what do you think?"
"It's a bit boring." Wilson said, "Let's change the game now."
"How about fucking him in the ass? It's been a while since we last seen a woman."
"No, I'm not interested in this matter."
During the chat between Bell and Wilson, James suddenly spoke with a trembling voice:
"He, he doesn't seem to be right, he seems to be dying..."
"What?"
With quick eyesight and quick hands, Alfred immediately pulled Ron out of the bathtub. This time, Ron did not choke on the water or take a deep breath of hard-earned air.
"He's almost out of breath!"
Alfred immediately performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on Ron, while the other three, especially James, stood aside at a loss.
After an unknown amount of time, Alfred stood up and shook his head:
"He's dead."
Alfred's tone was heavy, but it was obvious that he was not lamenting Ron's fate, but worried about the punishment that would follow.
Wilson and Bell looked gloomy. They didn't expect that things would really get serious. James looked at his hands blankly, not knowing what he was thinking.
…
1081, winter, Caspars Court.
Bell was sitting in the interview room, and his face lit up when he saw the people walking in accompanied by the military police.
"Father, are you done?"
Bell's father nodded and asked the military police to leave with his eyes, leaving space for the father and son. Then he spoke, with obvious fatigue in his voice: "Yes, I spent a lot of money and found a lot of people, and finally pried it off."
The judicial officer in charge of this trial.”
"What do you say?"
"Our lawyers convinced James to accept all charges. With the cooperation of the judicial officer, all three of you will receive a not guilty verdict."
Bell breathed a sigh of relief. He was also in prison when he learned that the emperor, in order to ease the relationship with Duke Hohenlohe, would impose severe penalties on those who violated the "Law of War". They might still be imprisoned.
Into that terrible hell.
But now, it is enough that James is the only one who goes to hell.
Bell had been worried and scared these days and couldn't even sleep well. As soon as he heard his father wipe his butt, he felt relieved and leaned forward: "Father, how did you convince James?
"
"We promised him that as long as he is willing to bear all charges, we will be responsible for his family. I will give his family 5,000 pounds so that they can live a good life."
"5,000 pounds..." Although Bell's family is very rich, he also knows that this is not a small amount.
"So we still have to pay?"
"Pay? There's no need." Bell's father smiled, "He is already in prison and has no way of understanding the outside world. How can he know whether we have fulfilled our agreement?"
"He didn't find a notary?"
The notary office is also one of the subordinate departments of the Church of Order. Notaries have extraordinary power, and the contracts established must be fulfilled, otherwise they will be "punished." People who talk about business and sign contracts like to find notaries, although they can do it themselves.
The loopholes are small, but it also ensures that the other party will not play tricks.
"Of course I did, but I arranged for a fake person to pretend to notarize it. He didn't know that he signed a piece of waste paper."
Bell smiled. This was indeed his father's style. He would not give anyone a chance to take advantage of him.
Bell's father took out his pocket watch and took a look at it: "There is still half an hour until the trial starts. Your lawyer has prepared your argument. There shouldn't be any trouble."
Even the judicial officer and the framed target helped them count the money, and Bell didn't know how he lost.
"Remember, after the trial is over, you will go back to the bank to pick up my shift, so as not to cause any trouble."
After his father left, Bell breathed a long sigh of relief again and prepared to welcome his new life with great expectation.