34. Ohara

The deal was done.

Druin had negotiated surprisingly well, insisting on many things that, if I really had been the Lead Guard, I never would have agreed to. But I needed him to accept my proposal.

He would have exclusive access to all areas of the prison to conduct his illicit business in exchange for allowing the guards to use his import ring to export whatever we wanted with no questions.

I made it sound like we would begin using the inmates to manufacture goods but I left it open-ended. I didn't care what he thought the new Supervisor was up to — he wasn't going to do it anyway — but I needed him to believe it was a possibility.

Druin stood up, leaned over the table, and extended his scarred hand toward me. I hated that I would have to shake the hand of the creature that had harmed Lily, but it was unavoidable.

Still, a part of me couldn't help but almost feel sorry for the beast.

By the time he realized I had gotten the better of him, that the negotiations we'd gone through would amount to precisely zero benefit for him, it would already be too late.

I grinned wickedly at him through my visor.

We shook on the deal in the traditional Trader way — by embracing each other's elbows and digging our nails into the soft flesh of our arms. As I was wearing armor, he could do me no harm, and as I was also wearing gloves, I could not harm him either.

It was what the gesture represented that mattered. A pity, I thought, and wished I could have broken his jaw as a final farewell instead.

During our negotiations, I came to understand how he might have overcome Thillak.

Thillak was nothing if not loyal to his word and by sending too many of his guards to defend Lily — to defend the agreement he had made to me — he would have been less well defended.

And who among the inmates in this prison, despite the riots taking place, would have thought to attack him here, in his own office?

No one. At least, almost no one.

"It was a pleasure doing business with you," Druin said. "I hope our business relationship will continue to prosper from this moment on."

I nodded my head, unable to speak in return, for fear he would hear the laugh in my voice.

I was only glad to turn my back on him, to leave him in my past, and never have to look at his grizzled, scarred face ever again.

I doubted I would ever forgive him for the way he treated Lily, but at least now, although done accidentally on his part, he might have paid Lily back for the pain he'd caused her all those years ago. He was crucial in setting her free, even if it was done by accident.

I left his office and nodded to my armed guards waiting on either side of the door. As we approached the exit, I couldn't help but look back at Cayggod.

His shoulders were slumped, his confidence broken, his face beaten and swollen, his snapped spectacles hastily fixed with materials found on his desk. I'd never seen him look so defeated.

He had been good to me, and it was only thanks to him that I had not taken the wrong road and condemned myself to a lifetime in the bowels of Ikmal prison, forced to imagine the horrors happening to Lily when I could no longer watch over or protect her as her champion.

Cayggod deserved better than this, but attempting to rescue him would only put Lily and my chances of escape at even greater risk.

In my mind, I wished him well and exited Thillak — now Druin's — office, warm with the knowledge that the next time I thought of it, I would be on a beach somewhere with Lily at my side.

And that made me grin even broader.

Now I just had to tell Lily the good news — that by tomorrow morning she would be free from this place and we could both finally live together in peace as fated mates.

I ordered my entourage to return to their posts. They saluted, smartly turned on their heels, and left.

I stood before the Prize Pool, taking in its plain design in a way I never had before.

The funny thing about living in a place for so many years is that you tended not to pay attention to the details, not until you became aware that you were looking at it for the very last time. And things you never noticed before sprung out at you.

The Prize Pool section of the prison was not large and that was due to the fact it'd never been in Ikmal's original design. I'd discovered that fact when poring over the prison's blueprints.

This section of the prison had been regular cells and at some point been knocked through and turned into the Prize Pool.

The same was true with the fighting pit. It too had been part of a lower set of cells and they had been cleared to make way for the fighting pits and the viewing areas.

They had been built as a way to help control the prison population, who grew aggressive and uncontrollable during their long prison stretches.

As they were fighting anyway, why not turn it into an event? And so, the fighting pits and the chain of gambling rings sprung up throughout the empire.

Much of the money passed through the prison, undoubtedly diluted by the corruption of various officials, and then fed back into the prison where it was used to run the administration.

In one fell swoop, the powers that be (politicians) had solved the aggression problem, turned it into an event that made millions in gambling revenue that paid for most of the prison's running costs, and served as a warning to the residents of the Empire about what would happen to them if they ever broke the law.

It was a clever plan and worked to perfection.

Until the riots that broke out three days ago.

I never did manage to get to the bottom of how they had happened in the first place.

Not that it mattered now.

Still, if I could have figured out how they kicked off in the first place, I might have been able to use that as a Plan B in case Plan A fell through. It always made me nervous to think I didn't have a backup.

I entered the Prize Pool and looked around for Lily. The other Prizes glanced up at me and quickly looked away, muttering amongst themselves.

I knew the guards made them nervous — even more than the prisoners did as there was often little the guards wanted from them other than strict obedience. The Prizes could easily break the rules without meaning to.

Not seeing Lily, I moved into the back room. She wasn't there either and I grew confident she had to be in her office. I opened the door and found she wasn't sitting behind her desk.

Hm.

When I checked the bedroom and bathroom that the Prizes shared and found she wasn't there either, I began to panic.

"Are you looking for Lily?" a sweet voice said behind me.

I recognized her as Lily's assistant. Her skin was lime green, her hair curled in intricate ringlets that hung to her waist. Trim, she wore a top that exposed her belly and narrow hips.

If I had to guess, I would have said she was barely out of her teenage years. But I knew little of her species and she could have been fifty for all I knew.

"Yes," I said in my electronically distorted voice. "Where is she?"

Faint wrinkles formed on the Prize's forehead. "What's wrong? Is she in trouble? Because if she is, she never did anything to deserve it—"

"She's not in any trouble," I said. "I just need to inform her of some… new developments."

Visibly relieved at my explanation, the Prize told me, "The supervisor wanted to see her."

All the excitement of being able to tell Lily that we would soon be on our way out of there instantly fell from my consciousness.

"The supervisor?" I said. "What would he want with her?"

I shouldn't have asked the question — asking questions always got you in trouble at Ikmal.

But I needn't have worried. The assistant just shrugged her narrow shoulders. "Don't ask me. I just work here." She turned and continued folding the freshly-washed negligees.

I glanced up at the Supervisor's office but couldn't make him out through the glass. Which meant he was away…

Busy…

I rushed back through the Prize Pool rooms, almost knocking over a couple of Prizes who'd been practicing their seductive poses on each other.

"Hey!" they snapped, before looking up and realizing who I was — who I was pretending to be.

They immediately dropped their heads in supplication. I ignored them and raced up the stairs, taking three, four at a time.

Fear pumped through my system faster than my adrenaline could keep up with. Anything the Supervisor wanted with Lily could not be good.

I knew nothing about the new supervisor, except that he had a creepy aura, and creepiness was not something I wanted anywhere near Lily.

Not my Lily.

As I turned and bolted up the second flight of stairs, my terror turned deeper.

What if he knew about our escape plans?

What if he knew about us?

We had tried to be discreet during our session the previous day in Lily's office but we must have made some sounds, something that might have gotten the Prizes' attention.

And not all of them would be on our side.

Some would be spies for the Supervisor — perhaps not this one, not yet — but there was no doubt in my mind that some would turn in their fellow Prizes in exchange for preferential treatment.

Everyone wanted out of Ikmal.

What wouldn't a Prize do to get out of there?

What if the Supervisor knew about me?

If he knew who I was, he could have gone back through Lily's records and seen that I had been the last — and only — prisoner she had been with. That would be a good cause to call her into his office, question her…

Torture her?

My stomach churned harder than the muscles in my legs that took me up to the guard on duty.

"I need to see the supervisor right away," I said, stepping to move around him.

The sentry shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't do that, sir. The Supervisor told me not to disturb him under any circumstances."

Under any circumstances…

I was not armed — as the Lead Guard, there was no need for me to carry weapons as I could assign a security detail to myself at any time.

But by the Creator, did I wish I was carrying a weapon now.

Although, how I was supposed to escape Ikmal with a hostage, and against guards who had locked the prison down tighter than a Vaccarian drum, was anyone's guess. The rational thought got swept away in a river of panic.

I would do whatever I had to to keep Lily safe. "Stand aside," I growled, towering over the guard. "I have pressing business to discuss with the Supervisor."

The sentry wore a visor identical to mine and he glanced one way and then the other, shuffling his feet, and backing up to the door.

"I… I…"

"Soldier," I snapped. "Page fifteen of the Prison Guard's Handbook. Section C, Part Two. Do you remember what it says?"

During my five-year research period, I'd become intimate with everything the guards needed to learn and memorize as part of their training.

First among them were the protocols. Protocols in case riots broke out. Protocols on how to conduct themselves during morning drills. And protocols on what to do in circumstances such as this.

In his panic, the guard recalled none of his training and he shook his head.

"Well?" I said. "I'm waiting."

"I… I…"

The Supervisor might be in charge of the prison but ultimately, the guards took orders from their superior, and that was me.

"Let me remind you: ‘All guards on sentry duty will maintain their positions and not leave under any circumstances unless they are informed by superior officers of a Level One concern. So," I said, leaning into the sentry so close that our visors almost touched. "I will tell you once more: stand aside."

And still, he resisted.

I wanted to snap the rifle from his hands and toss him over the railings to teach everyone that they should never get in my way.

But the very last thing we needed right then was another reason for the guards to become even more skittish than they already were.

And the very last thing Lily and I needed was to draw attention to ourselves, or else our upcoming escape would be virtually impossible.

Unable to take it any longer, and fearing what might be happening to Lily on the other side of the door right at that moment, I snatched the rifle from the guard's hands and pushed him aside.

"You will be reprimanded for this," I snapped. "Mark my words. Reprimanded."

I left the guard a shivering mess as I knocked on the door, first quietly, and then more loudly.

When there wasn't a response, I formed a fist and prepared to knock the door clean off its hinges.

My excuse? I hadn't thought that far ahead.

The Supervisor threw the door open and glared up at me with angry eyes. "Well?" he barked. "What is it?"

My heart was in my throat as I began to move my head up, to look over at Lily and see what sort of situation the Supervisor had put her in, but I dared not take my attention away from the one I was supposed to serve — the Supervisor.

I was thankful for the visor as it concealed the direction my eyes were pointing in as I peered over at Lily without moving my head. I could just about make her out in the corner of my vision.

She lay on the sofa, her clothes still on — and I breathed an inward sigh of relief at that — but they were a little disheveled, and her eyes were wide with shock and couldn't hope to conceal the desperation in her expression.

I could see that she was, superficially at least, okay.

"Well?" the Supervisor snapped. "I'm waiting."

Losing my temper now in front of the Supervisor was not advised. It took every fiber of my being to control my anger, knowing it was the only chance we had at escaping this place once and for all.

After we were gone, we could be as angry as we wanted, could scream and shout and holler, and pound pillows or any other nearby objects into submission… but right now, the situation required restraint.

And still, the Supervisor was waiting, expecting me to say something of importance — enough to have disrupted his playtime.

But what did I have to share with him?

What lie could I tell?

Something that would get his attention, just long enough for us to escape this hellhole, to finally get Lily away from all of the vying male attention she garnered. To finally have her to myself, by myself, forever and always.

"It's… Druin," I said, his name coming to my lips and surprising even myself.

"Who?"

"Druin. The new leader of the Ssixarian crime syndicate."

"And?"

"And…" I said, finally allowing myself to fully turn in Lily's direction — now that I had an excuse. "It's of a… personal nature."

"I'm right in the middle of something of a personal nature," the Supervisor snapped. "Is it urgent? Can't it wait until later?"

"No, sir," I said. "I'm afraid it must be discussed right away."

The Supervisor sighed and waved a hand for me to continue. "Very well, very well. Let's hear it."

I glanced over at Lily on the sofa. I wasn't sure I could come up with something that truly warranted his attention. But first, I needed to get her out of there. "It's… best prying ears don't overhear."

The Supervisor growled and waved his hands at Lily. "All right, all right, be gone with you. We'll speak again later."

Lily was up in an instant and raced for the door. She cast a look over her shoulder at me before leaving.

I breathed a sigh of relief at her leaving. I could finally, for the moment, relax.

"Until recently, Druin was a relative nobody," I said, figuring out the story as I was going. "During the riots, he overthrew one of the most powerful criminal gang leaders in the entire prison."

The Supervisor scratched his chin, interest stoked. "And?"

Yes, and what?

I was dying to hear what I was going to come up with too. "And… I believe there was a conspiracy, that the riot was staged so he could take over from Thillak."

"Do you have any evidence for this?"

"He admitted as much to me during our negotiations," I lied, but the lie felt so good, like honey dripping over my tongue.

Perhaps there would be a third act for Druin after all — some much-owed payback for him trying to have me killed.

"An admission of guilt?" the Supervisor said, eyebrows rising. "Why would he admit such a thing?"

Yes, why?

"Because criminals always return to the scene of the crime they're most proud of," I said. "His exact words were: ‘Never let a good crisis go to waste.'"

The Supervisor's curiosity drew his brow down into a scowl. "I could believe he was responsible for kicking off the riots, to use them for his own purposes, but why would he want some of the prisoners and their Prizes to escape?"

"Maybe they paid him," I countered. "Maybe he needed the credits to bankroll his takeover of power."

"Mm," the Supervisor said, unconvinced.

I needed to try harder. "Or maybe he owed those particular inmates favors. Or he wanted the guards to have their attention diverted elsewhere other than inside the prison. Or maybe they were just side effects of the riots and had nothing to do with Druin. Either way, the riots were his idea."

The Supervisor fell back onto the sofa Lily had just vacated.

I could still make out the indentation where her ass had been and I couldn't help but picture it naked underneath me. I snapped to attention and focused on the here and now.

"Good work," the Supervisor said, nodding his head at the details I had given him. "But we need more information. Do you have time to investigate what you've discovered before you leave?"

I nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Excellent. Then be sure to include them in your report before you leave."

"I may not have time to complete the entire report before I leave. But I will ensure to get it to you the moment I return to the barracks."

It was all a lie. I wasn't going to waste my time writing a report. I doubted I had the skills to do it even if I wanted to.

But the Supervisor didn't know that. He nodded. "Excellent. I will give you an excellent recommendation for this. Discovering how and why the riots happened is of utmost importance to the Warden. He does not take failures lightly."

And for the first time since I met him, I witnessed a flicker of fear in his eyes.

"There will be no failure," I said. "May I go? I have many loose ends to tie up."

The Supervisor nodded, still lost in thought. "Yes. Yes, of course."

I saluted, turned on my heel, and marched toward the door.

"Oh, and have the Prize who was just here earmarked for me — and exclusively for me," the Supervisor said. "I can't put my finger on it, but I sense she's a part of this somehow."

There was no use trying to discourage him. It would only make him more suspicious.

I nodded and marched out of the room. As if I needed more motivation to ensure I got Lily out of there!

I handed the rifle back to the guard and told him, "Return to your duty." Then I hesitated before adding: "And if you have no further issues, I may forget this whole thing ever happened."

The guard performed the sharpest salute I had ever seen and stood at least two inches taller. Nothing like a bollicking to improve your attitude.

I took the stairs slowly, although in truth, I wanted to race down them faster than I had on the way up.

Lily was waiting. She'd suffered quite a shock and needed me.

I entered the Viewing Room and immediately passed into the back room, then into the office.

Lily leaped up from her seat, having been gnawing on her bottom lip, and threw her arms around me, embraced me tightly, and let the tears spill down her cheeks.

"You don't have to put up with this much longer," I promised her, brushing the tears from her cheeks. "I found a way out. We'll be gone from this place and you'll never have to see or think about it ever again."

She burst into tears once more, only this time they were not tears of sadness and desperation but hope and happiness.

Tomorrow would be a new day and it was one worth fighting for.