Los Angeles Legendary Sleuth

In the garage.

Inside a Mazda convertible, a black man with dirty braids was tied up in the car seat, his mouth sealed with tape.

Luke put on a pair of white gloves, "I know you're awake, stop pretending to be asleep."

The man with dirty braids did not react.

Luke pressed his left hand over the man's mouth and swung his right fist into his abdomen.

"Ugh…" the man with dirty braids moaned in pain, his eyes wide as saucers.

Luke sighed, "I really dislike doing this.

I'm going to take the tape off your mouth, don't scream or shout. Let's have a calm and peaceful chat, it's better for both of us.

OK?"

The man with dirty braids, sweating from pain, nodded slightly.

"Good boy." Luke removed his left hand and peeled the tape from the man's mouth. Gasping for air, the man asked, "What do you really want?"

"That's what I should be asking you," Luke pointed at the Mazda convertible, "Is this a Porsche 911?

What was your purpose in luring me into the garage and ambushing me from behind?

Were you trying to kill me?"

"No, I didn't want to kill you, I just didn't want you to call the police.

You kept pestering me, forcing me to do this."

"Bullshit, you make yourself sound like a victim.

If I hadn't been vigilant, I would be dead by now.

I'm very angry, and you need to explain yourself, or things will get much worse for you."

"What sort of explanation do you want?"

"Your attitude is making me uncomfortable. You should feel guilty for sneaking up on me, but instead, I see resentment and anger in your face.

That is not right, not good at all."

"Fuck, what do you really want? You despicable bastard, choking me from behind. If you have the guts, let me go and we'll fight it out fairly."

Luke laughed, "You were the one who attacked me from behind, and even if I let you go, you wouldn't stand a chance against me."

Upon hearing Luke's response, Quentin Hargis continued to provoke him, "If it weren't for that gun, you'd have been downed by me a long time ago, you coward."

Luke said, "You disagree?"

"That's right, if you dare, subdue me fair and square. Just convince me thoroughly, and I'll tell you everything you want to know, including the whereabouts of the Porsche 911."

"You admit you stole the car?"

Quentin Hargis smirked provocatively, "If you want to know, fight me fair and square, like a real tough guy."

"Are you a real tough guy?"

"Try me and see."

"As you wish." Luke looked around, seemingly searching for a tool.

"What are you going to do?"

Luke made a silencing gesture, "Tough guy, no matter what happens next, don't scream or resist, or it will end even worse for you."

After that, Luke found a towel and covered Quentin Hargis's face with it, fetched a watering can from the garage, and filled it with water from the sink.

Upon hearing the water being drawn, Quentin Hargis, shaken, started to tremble, "No, no, no, please, don't do this to me...ugh..."

When the water poured over Quentin Hargis's face, he instinctively closed his mouth, leaving only painful 'moaning' noises...

The water, filtered through the towel onto his face, was extremely uncomfortable for Quentin Hargis, as water rushed into his nostrils, making it hard for him to breathe. Breathing would allow water to enter his mouth and nose, increasing the agony.

Waterboarding is something entirely different from holding breath underwater; the continuous flow hits the nostrils along with immense pressure, quickly causing one to breathe heavily, but breathing in would choke on the water, making the suffering worse.

In less than forty seconds, Quentin Hargis could no longer endure. As water flowed into his mouth and nose, his body twisted and writhed violently...

Luke observed his reaction closely and stopped watering when he felt Quentin Hargis reached a breaking point, "Don't scream, or I will continue…"

Luke lifted the towel, revealing Quentin Hargis's tormented face, water and vomit continuously flowing from his nose and mouth.

"Control yourself, make no sound, or I'll cover your face with the towel again."

"Please, don't do this, I beg you," Quentin Hargis whispered a plea, indistinguishable whether it was water, tears, or mucus.

"Tough guy, how do you feel now?"

"I'm not a tough guy, I don't want to be one anymore.

I'll tell you everything you want to know."

"This is only the first round. I think you can endure more."

"No, no, no, please don't do this, I'll die, I'll tell you anything, everything.

You are the tough guy, the real tough guy."

"Well, my biggest flaw is that I'm too soft-hearted." Indeed, Luke did want to try more, but he was worried about making too much noise and causing unnecessary trouble.

Luke resorted to waterboarding because he was infuriated by the ambush, keeping a fire of anger inside him.

Secondly, because Quentin lied and refused to disclose the whereabouts of the Porsche 911.

The third reason was that Luke wanted to master more skills.

As a police officer, one inevitably encounters difficult suspects, and there are domestic methods that are not suitable for use in Los Angeles.

During his investigation time in Los Angeles, Luke felt the lack of means to intimidate suspects, like Quentin Hargis, who attacked him from behind. How could he possibly subdue the opponent without resorting to harsh measures?