Protests are muffled by the gag in her mouth; this is by design. Gavin increases the pressure of his weight, forces the breath from her lungs.

He bends down to yank off the hood covering her face.

"I'm afraid I didn't catch that."

He pulls the gag free.

"Scream as loud as you like," he invites. "No one's coming to save you."

There is more to be said — Gavin has done his research. But first, he turns his gaze to THEO BECKETT. There is no question as to the validity of Beckett's claim.

Swear your loyalty to me. Gavin believes him.

"How did you find her?"

[attr="class","beck"]he expected worse, and though he walks away unharmed, it's not relief that washes over him, but disappointment.

they're soft.

they need to learn.

whatever escapes ozaki is immediately quashed, repelled by a strong kick to her face. it draws blood, likely breaks something, and it gets his point across. defiant eyes meet merlino's yet again, but this time, he lowers them and takes a step away.

"does it matter?"

[attr="class","noodles"]Cillian Quinn oscar clayton Alexandra Briarwood Rowan Wrynn @aoi

Gavin challenges Theo's gaze with his own, all but daring him to raise dissent before his team. But Beckett has been trained by crueler hands, and he backs down before Gavin's ire shifts to him.

The underboss slides his attention back to their mole.

"If you're certain? No," he decides.

He has been through Theo's process before — he trusts, then, that if THEO BECKETT had not been certain @aoi would be in no state to be interrogated.

"I don't care why you did it." He steps back from her, providing momentary relief from the pressure on her back, then brings his foot down hard against her calf. He's looking to break something. "You know the price of broken loyalty. You're lucky, you know — we'd have killed your daughter, if you hadn't gotten to her first."

He sneers openly, aims another spike to her ribs.

"Guess we'll have to settle for second-best."

A Klefki stirs at Gavin's belt as he clicks his tongue.

"What Pokémon did she have on her, Beckett? Send one out."

[attr="class","beck"]he fishes into his pocket, finds a pokeball that feels unfamiliar in his hand, and pops it open. a whimsicott appears before them, gaze confused.

"there are more when you're done."

[attr="class","noodles"]Cillian Quinn oscar clayton Alexandra Briarwood Rowan Wrynn @aoi

Anger, Gavin thinks, is good.

You're not subtle when you're angry.

"Clayton. Briarwood. Get her up."

Whimsicott is released, dazed, into a room that would become its coffin — but not yet. As Klefki disentangles itself from Gavin's belt, SHADOWS snake from the sentient keyring to ensnare the cotton Pokémon in their HOLD.

"Was your daughter a tool, Ozaki? Is that why you let her die?"

Gavin paces, and the office fills with the suffocating PRESSURE of a presence unseen. It's as if the air itself has thinned. Weaken the body, and the mind crumbles.

"Make sure she's watching."

Tendrils of void tighten, suffocate.

Oscar watched unflinchingly as Gavin tormented the traitor. Apparently her name was Aoi, Oscar had never had the privilege of meeting this individual but considering her current circumstances that was probably for the best. The scene that underboss Gavin created was--disturbing. Was that the right word for it? Oscar felt an unease drift through his body, a disgust that caused him immense discomfort. It was not the actions of his superiors that disgusted him though, nor was it even the traitor that lay pathetically on the ground waiting to be killed.

He felt disgusted with himself. He found the torment of the traitor amusing, even exciting if he were being honest. That was a part of his past he thought he had expunged long ago, and he hated that it still reared its hideous head. 

Gavin asked him and Lex to prop her up, and after a second of delay Oscar would get up to do just that. He grabbed Aoi from her left side, holding her up and facing her toward Gavin. As Gavin began to suffocate the whimsicott, Oscar whispered into Aoi's ear.

"Don't look away, it'll only make it harder." 

Did he want her to suffer less or more? He couldn't tell at this point.

Cillian Quinn says sit, so she sits. Slowly.

A month ago, Lex would have been squirming in her seat watching the underboss beat this poor girl silly. Now, she leaned back casually, crossing her arms over her chest in contempt. She never averts her gaze from the woman who was the source of her pain. It’s funny how quick someone can change.

The moment Gavin sharply snaps her name is the first time she breaks her gaze away from @aoi. Get her up. Fine. Lex rises from her seat to follow oscar clayton towards @aoi. There is a moment of hesitation when she reaches her. Amber eyes flash warily over to the pokemon that had been released. This is where Lex starts to draw a line. Aoi, sure, she could suffer – would suffer. But her Whimsicott? It did nothing wrong but obey its master’s orders, very similar to Lex’s situation right now.

Orders. Cillian Quinn’s warning from their “meeting” echoes through her mind. Disobedience puts what she loves at risk. What matters more? Killian Decker or this Whimsicott? That isn’t a hard question to answer.

Lex firm grips the girls arm on her right with one hand while the other tangles into her hair. Finger grab the roots firmly and tug to force her head towards the Whimsicott as Oscar whispers in her ear. Lex keeps her gaze firmly on Aoi, her expression stoic and neutral while she blocks out the terrified cries of the suffocating pokemon.

@consequences

"No."

He feels nothing at all. This is what's necessary.

He laughs at her question, an empty sound.

"Who do you think?" Almost involuntarily, his amber gaze shifts to THEO BECKETT before returning to their prisoner. "Rocket broke me, Ozaki, as we should have broken you. We took you in, we gave you purpose, and this is how you repay us?"

Whimsicott continues to squirm, its struggle weakening.

"You can stop this," Gavin invites. He does not bother with false friendliness or a reassuring mask. His tone rings hollow. "Tell us what you told the League."