“That’s true, but you’re also replaceable. You’re a meathead enforcer. There’s a dime a dozen of you. Plus, you’re nothing but a traitless. I’m sure your boss could hire an ex-climber to do a much better job than you.”

“Screw you, kid. I’ll beat you to death here and now.”

“Except you can’t,” said the boy. “Because unlike you, I’m not a traitless. I have a trait and a rare one at that. Aren’t you curious why you can’t move? That’s cause of me.”

The boy opened his jacket and pulled out a long silver scalpel.

A surgeon’s knife.

“Okay...” said the man.

He was becoming less angry now and much more fearful.

“Just let me go kid...I’ll give you whatever you want...”

“But you are what I want, Bruno,” said the boy. “I want someone that nobody cares about. Not even law enforcement.”

“Please...” squirmed the man. “Let me go...”

“I wish I could do that,” said the boy, admiring his reflection in the shine of his silver knife. “But I’ve had an aggravating day and I really need to unwind.”

He stabbed the man right in the gut.

“Aghhhh!”

The man screamed out in pain.

“Don’t worry, Bruno. I’ve stabbed you right between your major arteries. You see, that will cause you the most amount of pain and least amount of blood loss.”

The man squirmed in pain.

“The average adult human body contains around one and a half gallons blood. Most humans die of exsanguination if they lose just over half of that. I’ll keep stabbing you between all the major arteries so you don't die straightaway because that wouldn’t be fun now, would it?”

Bruno screamed again and the boy put his hand over the man’s mouth.

“No more screaming, Bruno,” said the boy. “Let’s not rush this.”

He stabbed the man again in the stomach, twisting the knife through his flesh, but making sure not to burst any of the important arteries that would turbo-charge Bruno’s remaining lifespan from minutes to seconds.

“You see, I come from a very important family, Bruno,” said the boy. “One where it would be frowned upon for me to get arrested. That’s why I must be careful about who I target. But you, I can do anything to you. I’m from a prestigious family and you are nothing.”

The man squirmed as the boy tortured him some more.

“My family isn’t so prestigious because we all have rare invaluable traits. No, it’s because we have a hereditary trait, passed down between the fathers and sons of the family. You see—I don’t just know where your important arteries are, I can see them beneath your skin.”

The man continued to squirm in pain. Tears leaked out of the man’s eyes.