by M. A. Owens
I nodded, taking the last bite of my steak. It wouldn’t be long now. We needed to get this all figured out and quick.
“So, the plan is to detonate a charge in the ventilation shaft to make it look like there’s an escape there. The floor supervisor will raise the main door in the service tunnel, and we may have to fight our way through. We get to the balcony… then what?”
Lady took a sip of tea, then moved another piece. “That will be taken care of. I’ve made a tool and crafted a rope. It isn’t with me now, but I will retrieve it on our way to the elevator. I will use it to transport us up the wall, one at a time. This part will be slow, and much more difficult with six trips up the wall. I will need to carry Mildred up, and it sounds like your friend Rick will need to be carried as well. We will need to move as quickly as possible. You should get your message delivered to let them know what we expect of them, and we can meet again and discuss how we plan to execute the plan.”
“Won’t work,” I said. “I doubt we’ll get to meet again. I only got this meeting because I requested it with the floor supervisor. I’m operating under the guise that I’m helping the warden find those responsible for the escape attempts and exposing them. I’m already going to need to make up a doozy of a story just to explain why it isn’t either of you. Thankfully, I have a scapegoat, but it won’t buy me much time. They’ll soon figure out that it isn’t him, and they’ll suspect me of playing both sides. My cover’s on borrowed time, and I prefer to borrow as little of it as possible.”
Mildred took one of Lady’s pieces with her move, placing it beside the board. “The problem is getting a message below is difficult. I can’t give you any advice. If we hurry, and you haven’t figured out a way to get the message to them, we will have to go without them. If we leave you behind, I promise it’s going to take you a very long time to find another way out, and you’ll likely die in here. That’s a lot of pressure, and a lot of risk.”
“Yeah, and what’s new?” I asked, eating my last potato. Any time. Talk fast. “Anyway, two weeks from today, ten at night, just before guard shift change. They’ll be the most relaxed and tired then. Just before they put prisoners in their cells for the night. Lots of brief movement. Lots of tired guards.”
Mildred moved one of her chess pieces, pointing to Lady’s king. “Checkmate. Alright Trigger. You’ll meet us at the elevator, two weeks from today, with a way down and your message already delivered. I’m going to give you a quick list of items I need from the floor below.”
Mildred rattled off a list long enough to make me nervous I’d forget something. Obviously couldn’t write it down yet, and I couldn’t risk forgetting anything. I started repeating the items over and over in my head, even as I spoke, humming a tune along with the list. I couldn’t afford to forget anything. Lucky for me, I had an excellent memory.
Lady put both paws on her head, smiling at Mildred’s checkmate as she listed the items. “Remember, a message to your friends below, and a way down. That’s what we need from you. The rest, we’ll take care of. Just leave it to us.”
We could hear the door opening, and we quickly flowed into discussing the chess game.
“One of these days, Mildred, I’m going to beat you,” Lady said, laughing.
“Oh, I think you let me win most of the time,” Mildred replied.
“The only thing I’ve learned is that I’m way out of my league here. I think I’ll stick to checkers. Maybe you can try that next time, and I can play the winner,” I added. Maybe there was some chance Daffodil would ask for me to come back again, but I had a strong gut feeling that this was a one-shot deal. As good as our performance may have been, it couldn’t have been perfect. Maybe enough to get us through the meeting, but they wouldn’t be confident enough to risk it again unless the floor supervisor requested another. He wouldn’t. If I risked asking for another meeting myself, he would become suspicious. I really hoped that he hadn’t already.
Daffodil came into the kitchen, and I grabbed another cookie off the plate, putting it into my mouth and grabbing another to hold in my paw. “That’s my cue, ladies. Thank you for the company.”
“Goodbye, Trigger. I hope you can come by again sometime,” Mildred said, hoping for the same thing as me. Maybe Daffodil would pity her and invite me over again. Boy, wouldn’t that be a lucky break. One thing I’ve learned since getting into this line of work, is that there’s luck that goes into everything, but that magical moment that most call a big break? A big break was the big break you made with a combination of the lucky break, a lot of hard work, and some careful planning. And this big break? Well, this big break was going to break us right on out of this hole in the ground. I could practically taste the open air on my tongue. But the thing I wished I could see most of all was the look on Saint’s face once he hears Mr. B is out. I’d pay good money for that… if I had a penny to my name, that is.
“Farewell, Trigger,” Lady said, almost too quietly to hear.
Daffodil lead me out of the room, and I met back with the guard who had escorted me down here. We wasted no time in heading back to Dan’s office, where Dan appeared to be in good spirits. No shackles this time, and the dog wasn’t sweating through his shirt today. All good signs, I hoped.
“I trust your meeting was a fruitful one?” he asked, half-smiling.
“Unfortunately, I think we’re going to have to take a few steps back,” I said.
“These two seemed about as harmless as two old ladies knitting a blanket.”
He raised his brow. “Oh, really? A little hard to believe, if I’m being honest with you, Trigger. Am I wrong to feel that way?”
I shook my head. “No, not really. After all, I suspected they were almost certain to be the ones responsible when I requested the meeting. The whole time I was there, all they did was… play chess and have lunch. Oh, and these cookies. I ate one on my way here. Want the other one?” I held out my paw toward him, offering the cookie.
He held up his paw, declining. “Help yourself. So, understand that if the culprit isn’t anyone you have experience with, you’ll no longer be of use to the warden, or to me.”
I should’ve seen this coming. “Then I guess today’s my lucky day. I ignored one of the golden rules in detective work recently. Want to know what that rule is?”
He grabbed his shirt collar with his paw, fanning it closer and further to his chest, making his annoyance very clear. “Please, just get to the point.”
“When a dog or cat is telling you something, there’s always truth to it. Sometimes they get nervous and make a joke, but you shouldn’t ignore what they’re saying, because the truth is hiding somewhere between the laughs.”
He rubbed at his neck. “Am I missing something? What is the joke here?”
Why was he so nervous suddenly? I thought he was angry, but I’d seen this dog angry, and this wasn’t it. His eyes were darting around the room, and his breathing was getting faster and faster. Sure, I was probably annoying him, but this? Something was about to happen.
“Hans already confessed, and I’m thinking we were wrong not to believe him. Also, think about how Fernando showed up right after that encounter, and provoked me, like we both agreed he did. Isn’t that timing suspicious? It’s possible the two of them were working together right under our noses, this whole time. After all, they’ve worked together before, and I can tell you from experience they were quite good at it.
Dan’s eyes looked empty as they gazed in my direction. But again, something was off. I was sitting in the chair in front of him, but he was almost looking above me.
I puzzled out the situation in my mind for a moment, before the realization finally dawned on me.
“There’s someone behind me… isn’t there?” I said, quietly. I heard the door lock behind me, while two dogs grabbed each of my paws, yanking them back behind me and cuffing them behind the chair.
“Thought you could play us for a fool, huh?”
I knew that voice.
“Nice of you to check back in, Warden Beans.”
His greeting came as a right paw to my jaw.
17
The first shot caught me off guard, sending my chair teetering backward and nearly toppling over. Really, I should’ve seen this coming. Especially once I confirmed that the secret prisoner was indeed Mr. B’s mother.
I shook my head, trying to shake off the stars. “I’d have settled for a pat on the back, you know,” I said.
“You’re lucky I’m being so lenient on you, considering how you stabbed me in the back,” he said, pacing in front of my chair.
“Well, at least we’re still on good terms, then. I was afraid you were mad at me,” I said, smiling. Times like this were the perfect time to shut up, but shutting up when it was a good idea was never one of my strengths.
Beans swung another hook, catching me in the opposite jaw.
“You know, once I saw a prisoner get hit in the face so hard it made one of his eyes pop right out. Always wondered if I could hit someone hard enough to do it myself. What do you think? I’m told I have a mean right hook.”
Who told him that? I wondered. Most likely, another prisoner who got the same treatment as me. This poor cat might not be smiling if Mr. B gets out of here and finds out he’s been hiding away his mother. Not sure I even felt sorry about what would come his way.
“Yep, that’s a mean right hook alright, but look at that left hook. Looks like you already got my left eye on that first swing. Thing doesn’t even work at all now.”
“Oh, ha ha. You’re such a comedian, Trigger, but I want you to be straight with me here, or this could get a lot worse. I’ve dumped prisoners like you into Arc River more than any of the gangsters you’ve heard urban legends about. In time, you won’t be missed. Trust me. We’re good at covering things like that up around here, aren’t we Dan?”
I turned to look at Dan, who did not seem happy to be included in the conversation, but wasn’t exactly tripping over himself to disagree or stop his boss. In fact, he didn’t answer at all.
“Not sure Dan’s on board, Beans. Guess that just makes the conversation less complicated. Just me and you,” I said.
Another punch to the nose. I could feel blood rushing out, dripping onto my lap.
“I didn’t ask you a question, did I? You don’t speak unless I ask something, got it?”
I nodded. Such a tough guy when his opponent was cuffed to a chair. Like most of the low lives in this city, fairness wasn’t exactly a consideration made often.
“Good,” he said, rubbing the knuckles of his paw. “Glad we’ve got the basics settled. Now, let’s start with why you visited Mildred’s room.”
“Um, because you asked me to investigate the escape attempts, gave me a list of primary suspects, and one of them was there?”
Another right hook. Great, my eye was swelling together. At least the two dogs he brought in with him weren’t participating too… yet.
“What did I say about who asks the questions?”
“Punch me out until you get tired, then maybe we can actually talk. I answered the question. This isn’t my first time getting punched out, you know. Not going to impact what I tell you, even if you beat me to death. If I’m going to lie, I’m going to lie. If I’m going to tell the truth, I’m going to tell the truth. Let’s keep this moving. We’ve both got places to be. What’s the next question?”
He rubbed his paw again, staring me down. “Fine. What have you learned?”
“About Mildred, or about the case?”
“Mildred,” he said, narrowing his eyes. As though I should have known which he meant.
“That she’s not half bad at chess, bakes great cookies, and gets attached to her teacups. She’s been in here a long time, and you seem to treat her like a guest on a luxury vacation. Maybe she’s related to someone prominent, like a politician, and you’re running damage control,” I lied… sort of.
He hesitated a moment, seeming to relax. “Did you find out who?”
“Are you kidding me? You think I don’t know that place was probably teeming with cameras and microphones? Why don’t you just go review the footage if you don’t believe me? Why waste time potentially damaging such a handsome face?”
He cracked a grin. “Real funny. Listen carefully. You too, Dan. You’re not to visit that prisoner again. I don’t care if there’s an escape attempt in her room, or if the whole place goes up in flames and the only escape is there. Is that understood?”
Dan nodded obediently. Did they really fall for it? Even if they did, I’m sure it wasn’t completely. I needed to stay on my toes here.
“I was already in the room and heard the conversation you had with Dan. So, you’re telling us you think Hans may be the one responsible after all, because he confessed to you, right?”
“That’s right,” I said. “He is the only one who confessed, so I’d say that makes him a strong possibility, even if it doesn’t seem possible.”
He paced in front of my chair again. “Well, it’s interesting you think that. We put together a pretty thorough investigation of both he and his cats after that little incident with you and Marty. Turns out it was impossible he was involved in the execution of those escapes. There are reliable alibis that prove none of them could have been.”
“Execution, sure, but what about planning? Hans was never the paws on type. I doubt he’s changed much from my last run-in with him. So maybe he planned it, got other prisoners to take the risks, and covered his own hide by keeping his paws out of it directly.”
Beans sighed. “You know what? You’re right. Problem is there’s just no way to know. All we can do is keep Lady isolated, keep Marty with you, and monitor Fernando closely. Either we’ll have problems again, or we won’t. If we do, we’ll know who’s responsible.”
“Where does that leave us and our deal?” I asked.
“Do you really feel you’re in any position to make demands, Trigger? First, I lied. Did you really think I’d let you out of here? If you didn’t belong in here, you wouldn’t be here. Second, who did you expose, exactly? Even if I wasn’t just using you, what have you done to deserve such a reward? You’ve caused even more trouble for Dan and me, and we’re no better off than we were.” He paused, scratching his chin before smiling. Here it comes. “Actually, give me an opportunity to take that back. I suppose I can give you what you wanted after all. A chance to retire and never have to worry about a case again. Except, you’ll be retiring in my prison, on the level below. I’ll tell the guards to give you special treatment. After all, you were a bit of a celebrity on the surface. It’s a shame your last case was a flop, but hey, I won’t tell anyone if you won’t. I’ll even send your new buddy, Marty, down with you. I’m sure he’ll be happy to reunite with his old boss.”
The advice to choose my words carefully? He should’ve done the same. Now I see what all of this was about. The whole thing with Marty approaching me so soon after I got here. How he was so quick to let go of old grudges. The way he stayed with me all the time… and why it alarmed Beans so much that I went and saw Mildred without him. He was a plant for Beans. The biggest question I had in my mind was whether he was loyal to the warden, or if he was playing both sides, same as I was. Surely, he wouldn’t pass up a chance to escape, even if Beans thought he was in his back pocket.
No matter what, I couldn’t seem to get a clear win down here. Getting sent back down a floor was an unforeseen victory I’ll be happy to take. However, Marty throws everything out of whack. The last thing I needed was my old pal Marty ruining our one and only shot out of this place. If we failed this time, it would mean we got caught, and they’d make sure we never had the chance to attempt it again. After this enlightening encounter with Beans, I could wager a guess how he’d make sure we weren’t a threat anymore. If I had to guess, it would involve a long drop into the Arc River, concrete boots, and two lungs full of water. Who would have thought I’d meet one of the most convincing gangsters in a place that was sup
posed to punish them?
So much for ACPD reform being a done deal, not even counting the recent damage Saint’s caused on the surface. Patches should be ashamed of letting something like this pass right under his nose. I know he visited this place, but Warden Beans had fooled him into thinking he ran an ethical prison down here. When I saw Patches again, I was going to give him an earful, and this time there was no doubt whether he deserved it. But there was also no doubt that he’d make quick work of Warden Beans and we’d start seeing some genuine change down here. Well, assuming I could get Saint off his tail long enough for him to even think about doing something about Arc City Prison. Blasted Saint. I hated Mr. B, but now I wanted to pop a bowl of popcorn and watch my old enemy deal with Saint.
The question remained: Who would be worse, in the end?
“So, you’re going to just sweep all this under the rug, and hope for the best, huh? Now that’s exactly the bureaucratic solution I should’ve expected from a big brass at the ACPD. No wonder you and Patches are such great pals,” I said.
With luck, that comment would make it all the way back to Saint. As much distance as I could put between Patches and myself in Saint’s mind, the easier it would be for Patches to make a move if he was planning one.
“Think of it however you want. I’ve already sent guards to pick up Marty. I suggest you find it in your heart to forgive me, Trigger. You are going to be a resident in my house for a very long time. There are cats and dogs on the surface who are going to make sure of that.” With that, he nodded to the two dogs who had been quietly standing on either side of him this entire time. “Please escort our friend back to his proper floor. Oh, and Trigger… don’t think this means I’ve stopped watching you. We’ll be watching you closer than ever, so try to behave.”