MyNeosha

The interrogation was underway. Skinner sat at the table, his hands cuffed. He leaned back in his chair, looking at the table in front of him. Two Epsilon agents stood in front of him, wearing hazmat suits. One of the agents spoke up:
"Skinner, either you talk now, or we use the lapis lazuli!" the agent said angrily, almost shouting, and ordered the second to bring the lapis lazuli.
"I'll only talk to Alice, and only if you give me a piece of paper and a pen," the guy repeated over and over, staring at the table.
"Okay, Skinner, if you don't want to do it the easy way, I'll do it the hard way. Drake, connect the lapis lazuli," Hector said, after which Skinner was connected to the lapis lazuli and its power was increased to fifty percent.
The boy was in agony. He could synchronize with the lapis lazuli, but now it wasn't working, and it was pure hellish torment and pain. Drake ordered the power increased by another twenty percent. Hector increased it, and Skinner hissed angrily:

• You are using lapis lazuli incorrectly.
  But it didn't help. His head was splitting, the pain was tearing him apart from the inside, and a thin trickle of warm, scarlet blood dripped from his nose onto his T-shirt and the table. Alice watched all this, stern and serious, but still, seeing Skinner's suffering, she decided not to push him further, and so, contacting Hector on the radio, she ordered:
• Hector, disconnect Skinner from the lapis lazuli, I'll go to him.
  The agent obeyed the order without question and reduced the lapis lazuli's activity to zero. Drake immediately glared at him, his gaze filled with anger and confusion. Alice, dressed in the same suit as the agents, entered the cell with a pen and paper, walked forward, and sat down opposite the boy. She handed him the paper and pen, motioning for the agents to retreat to the corners, and began:
  "You promised to talk if I was with you, so go ahead," the girl said seriously and calmly, looking at the guy.
  "Was it this hard to do before, Agent Alice?" Skinner asked, picking up a pen and starting to draw something on a piece of paper.
• I can connect you back to the lapis lazuli, Skinner, you're not in that position.