While Fang tended to the injured Thunderbird and Alex cleaned up the evidence, the two worked like a well-oiled machine. It wasn't long before the surrounding ruins of Abu Shawi were restored to their original state, as if no one had ever been there.
"Master, it's done. I've drawn 200cc of clean blood, confirmed uncontaminated. His vital signs are stable," Fang reported quickly, tail wagging.
"Good," Alex nodded, taking two of the test tubes from Fang. "This is valuable blood. We'll refine it here on the spot."
"Here?" Fang blinked, surprised. "Aren't we heading back to the hotel? Won't camping out risk exposure?"
"That hotel isn't safe," Alex replied, his tone sharp. "Thunderbird mentioned Martin earlier. I don't trust the owner, it's too risky."
He pointed to a nearby clearing. "We'll set up camp there. I've already got enough jammers in place. No one will find us."
"Understood," Fang nodded. He'd been by Alex's side long enough to know that when his master wanted to work, efficiency came first. Without another word, he dashed off to retrieve the camping gear and began pitching the tent without delay.
Not long after, Thunderbird groaned, slowly regaining consciousness. Still dazed from the pain, he looked up at Alex, confused and wary. "What… What are you doing? Why haven't you killed me yet?"
"You'll find out soon enough," Alex said coldly, his eyes scanning the items he had taken from Thunderbird.
Despite being a senior member of the Silver Wand Club, Thunderbird didn't carry much. Aside from his aspen wand, the standard Silver Wand mask, and a Portkey, the only other item of interest was a small leather pouch, enchanted with an Untraceable Extension Charm and tucked away at his side.
Inside the leather pouch, Alex found over a thousand Galleons in cash, along with several bottles of potions.
Most of them were fairly standard, common tonics and basic healing draughts. But one stood out: a small, exquisite crystal vial filled halfway with a pungent scarlet liquid. The smell alone was sharp enough to sting the nose. Despite all his knowledge and experience, Alex couldn't identify its ingredients or effects.
Besides the potions, there were only a few scraps of parchment left in the pouch. One of them was nearly identical to the black market invitation Azalea had given him, clearly, the Sphinx had passed one to Thunderbird as well. Interestingly, the address of the market had been conveniently written on the back.
More revealing was another piece of parchment: a smuggling record for Fantastic Beasts. It matched one Alex had previously taken off a werewolf wizard.
But the real surprise came in the last few sheets, detailed intelligence on the American black market. It included the market's precise location, the owner's identity, and a list of business partners and collaborators.
This was more than Alex had expected. After carefully sorting and storing the documents, he held up the scarlet potion to the light, then turned to Thunderbird. "What is this?"
The second Thunderbird laid eyes on the potion, his expression twisted into something ugly. Clearly, it meant a great deal to him.
"Don't bother asking," he muttered, voice full of spite. "You won't get anything from me."
He closed his eyes and went limp, pretending to be unconscious, as though that might protect him.
Alex snorted. "So the same coward who begged for mercy a moment ago is suddenly playing tough now? What a joke. You'll talk eventually."
He said no more and moved on. Outside, Fang had already finished setting up the tent. Though modest on the outside, the tent was enchanted with an Untraceable Extension Charm, making the inside far more spacious than it appeared.
Without another word, Alex hoisted Thunderbird off the ground and carried him into the tent. The calm, quiet surroundings only made Thunderbird more anxious. He had no idea what Alex was planning, and the uncertainty gnawed at him.
But the moment he saw the inside of the tent, dread sank into his gut.
The space had been transformed into a proper biological lab. In the center stood a clean medical bed, and surrounding it were neatly arranged workbenches stacked with unfamiliar alchemical tools and instruments. The air reeked of disinfectant, sharp, clinical, unsettling.
Alex didn't say a word as he dropped Thunderbird onto the bed with a thud. Without any explanation, he strapped him down and began attaching suction-cup wires from a machine nearby, affixing them one by one to Thunderbird's chest and temples.
The eerie silence pressed down on him like a weight, and Thunderbird, still drained of magic by the alchemical snakes, finally cracked.
"What are you doing?!" he shouted in panic. "If you want to kill me, just do it! You think I'll let myself be humiliated? I'm Thunderbird, I'd rather die than be toyed with!"
Alex glanced at him briefly. "Yeah. I know."
His voice was calm. Cold.
"You're a high-ranking Silver Wand member. If I tried to interrogate you, you'd lie or stay silent. Your lot probably train to resist Truth Serums and Legilimency, don't you? So I won't bother asking you anything directly."
He turned back to the machines, checking a dial. "That's why I'm going to dissect the answers out of you instead."
Alex spoke in a tone so flat and clinical it made the hair on Thunderbird's neck stand up. There was no anger, no excitement, just calm detachment.
That, more than anything, sent a chill down his spine. For a moment, Thunderbird couldn't even form a response. The terrifying part wasn't what Alex said, it was how casually he said it.
"Let me walk you through what's about to happen," Alex continued, his voice devoid of emotion. "First, I'm going to secure your limbs, no, just your left arm and what's left of your legs. I'll brace them, so you don't move too much."
Before Thunderbird could react, Alex shoved something into his mouth, a thick piece of enchanted rubber. "This is so you don't bite your tongue off," he added with eerie calm. "You'll want to. Trust me."
He gestured to the wires stuck to Thunderbird's body. "These are linked to a monitoring system. They'll keep track of your vitals, heart rate, breathing, magical fluctuations. If your body starts shutting down, I'll know immediately. Don't worry, I'll keep you alive."
He walked over to a nearby medicine box and pulled out two syringes filled with clear liquid. Without hesitation, he injected both into Thunderbird's neck. The man flinched, but there was no strength left to resist.
"These are Muggle potions," Alex said casually, already putting the syringes away. "No point telling you the names, you wouldn't understand. One enhances sensory perception. Every little thing is going to feel ten times worse. The other keeps your mind alert and awake." He tilted his head and smiled, sharp and cruel. "Let's begin, shall we?"