“Take the gun,” I say to her and walk up to her. She takes the gun as I pick up each man and put him on my shoulder. They must weigh at least 200 pounds each, but that’s what all the pull ups and push ups in jail were for, I guess. “We’ll take them to the Alcove.”
The Alcove is going to be on our way to the Deputy Warden’s office, anyways.
That’s right. We’re headed right into the heart of the jail.
* * *
Five minutes later, I dump the bodies in a corner of the Alcove. My shoulders and arms are killing me from the load, but I feel the unfamiliar thrill and anticipation of adrenaline rush through me from the walk over here.
We passed no one; everyone was too busy either raiding the infirmary, fighting, or heading to the prison yar
d to escape that they basically left us alone. Kerri travelled in my shadow, caused by my frame carrying two guards.
“Which way now?” Kerri asks me, her eyes on me with fear mixed with admiration. She knows that we could have been at our destination by now if we weren’t slowed down by protecting the guards. But I know that I would have never been good enough for her if we had done that.
At this point in time, if she wasn’t placed in danger, I’d rather fucking die trying to be the man worthy of her than live and not measure up to what she sees me as.
“We’re heading to the Deputy Warden’s office,” I say wondering if I should take the gun from her as we walk into the hallways outside the Alcove.
But I never get a chance to make that decision because something hits me on the side of the head.
Blinding, searing pain shoots up my skull and I fall to the ground.
“You’re not heading anywhere, motherfucker,” I hear a voice and I look over.
It’s Grinder. He’s wearing a pair of brass knuckles. I bring my hand to the side of my head and feel. It comes back sticky and damp. It's my blood.
“I asked you to do one thing,” Grinder says, taking a step close to me. “One simple thing. And you couldn’t do that. You couldn't use that damned medic to get us transfers.”
I see Kerri’s eyes go wide as she hears herself being talked about. She’s hidden in the shadows of the Alcove. Neither Grinder, the three men behind him, nor Spider see her. But I see her, because I know where to look. I try not to give it away though, focusing all their attention on me.
“Great, you wanted her safe, and sent her away, I get that,” Grinder continues and takes another step toward me. “But then when I ask you to do something to protect her, what do you go and do? You intentionally throw my whole plan to shit and do the opposite of what I fucking asked.”
Now Grinder is standing over me as I kneel on the ground. I’m waiting for my chance. I’m only going to get one opportunity and I’m going to need to make it count.
“Where is she, Lucien?” Grinder asks, leaning low. “Where’d you hide her?”
“Why should I tell you?” I ask with a low voice. “Why should I cooperate now when I haven't this entire time?”
There’s a pause as Grinder looks at me.
“Well, we’re going to find her before we leave, my friend,” Grinder says. “And you can either watch me and my friends here—Spider included—fuck her till she dies, or you can make sure we just kill her. But I’m not leaving until I tie this loose end. So what’s it going to be, Lucien? The easy way, or the hard—”
That’s my opportunity.
I’m kneeling on the ground and I lunge toward Grinder, grabbing both his legs. He doesn’t see me coming and he throws both his hands in the air as I grab his legs and pull up all the while using my feet to push myself to a standing position.
Grinder hits the ground with a thud and I take the nightstick that I had from the guard in the Visitor’s Room and I club him twice in the head with it. He’s nearly passed out and I turn my attention to the three men coming toward me.
The first one is too cocky. I take a step back and use the nightstick like a one-handed baseball bat, connecting with his head. He falls to the ground not even knowing what happened. The second slows and pulls out a knife.
I shrug and rush him. He drops the knife but I use my feet to sweep a wide arc and trip him and then do a pirouette with the nightstick and hit him in the back of the head. The man goes down as I bring my body down low enough to grab the knife.
The third man never has a chance to do much because I take the knife, take aim and throw. It lands in his belly. Not enough to kill him, but enough to make him bleed.
That leaves Spider.
He never moved this whole time.