The Altruism Effect: Book One (Mastermind Murderers Series 1)

by Kristin Helling

  He’s checking the locks, she observed, her nerves wound up so tight she might vomit. “What the hell is going on?” she whispered over to Arie

  The guard looked up. “Who’s talking?”

  Raine shrunk back up into her cage as quietly as she could.

  He finished checking the lock on the tattooed man’s cage, the cage whose shadow hadn’t moved since this morning. “There’s going to be some changes around here.” His boots made a clicking noise every time he stepped down on the concrete. “Added security. Less… leeway.”

  She’d never heard Brandon’s roommate speak this much before. But he was one to follow the rules, that was certain. She’d seen that much, hence the nickname “no nonsense guard.”

  “One of my duties is checking to see that none of your cages have been breached.”

  “How do you expect our cages to be breached?” a rough voice asked, a voice Raine hadn’t heard before.

  The guard took his baton out of his utility belt and smacked the cage, rattling it and all those around it. “Shut it.” He wasn’t as loud and obnoxious as the day guard, but it was still enough to scare everyone. He continued to go from cage to cage and rattled each lock. Nobody else spoke. When he reached Raine’s cage, he bent down and tugged at her padlock.

  She couldn’t help but look into his face, the whites of her eyes glowing in her cage.

  “He’s not coming.” His lips formed the words, and he didn’t need to vocalize them for her to lip read.

  Her stomach flipped. Her throat tightened. She wanted to ask questions, but he’d already moved onto the next cage.

  TWENTY-NINE

  She hadn’t heard from Arie. She hadn’t heard from Perez. The warehouse was pitch black. She lay in her cage, anxiety controlling every inch of her. Her eyes were wide, and her breathing was short and quick, causing dizziness. Raine moved to the front of her cage and wrapped her fingers around the bars, peering up and down the row. What was she supposed to do if their plan was foiled?

  And then she heard the soft patter of feet on the concrete. Her heart beat with every step. Megan knelt down in front of Arie’s cage and unlocked the padlock.

  Raine saw Arie appear. He held his hand up to his mouth, leaned in, and whispered into Megan’s ear. She shook her head, and they turned to Raine.

  Raine was so startled she couldn’t formulate words in her mind, let alone speak. She noticed Megan was wearing regular clothing, jeans and a dark t-shirt.

  For a moment, Raine was suspicious. Why was Megan wearing normal clothes and not the inmate outfit? Was she an inside job? Whose side was she on? Why did she get these privileges that nobody else did? Did Raine want to know the answer to that question?

  Megan fiddled with her lock, careful not to make a noise, to wake any of the other prisoners.

  “What’s goin-”

  Megan put her delicate finger up to her mouth. She shook her head no, her eyes wide, and motioned Raine to come out of the cage. Arie stood behind Megan. When she cleared the bars, Arie took her hand and they headed down the aisle.

  A shrill scream erupted from their right.

  Raine jumped.

  One of the prisoners screamed bloody murder, banged on the cage, and rattled the door.

  Megan ran up to the cage and hit it with her hand. “Shhh… please… shut up!”

  “If I can’t get out, you can’t get out. if I can’t get out, you can’t get-”

  “He’s crazy. Go! Just go.” Megan led them towards the door.

  Before they reached it, the alarm went off. The sound was similar to the one that sounded when victims were taken from their cages and disappeared through the door. The noise repeated over and over, pounding in her head, and she felt the prickling of anxiety. She clutched Arie’s hand tighter, and they leaped over the threshold. She looked back to see Megan in their wake.

  Megan slammed the door closed. The alarm was still audible in the hallway, but fainter. They took off down the hall past the guards quarters door. It was shut. Raine let go of Arie’s hand and reached out. She rattled the locked handle. She looked up at Arie in front of her, his brow furrowed.

  “Guards quarters. Something must have happened to Perez.”

  “Go!” Megan whispered, pushing them both down towards the end of the hallway.

  They picked up the pace.

  Raine looked ahead of them, and it felt as though the door at the end of the hallway grew further and further away.

  When they reached the door, Arie tugged onto the knob. Locked.

  Her heart pounded, and she gasped for air, almost out of energy. She bent down with her hands on her knees to catch her breath. She felt Arie’s strong hand on her back.

  Generally she was fit. She did yoga and ran with Viona often. Her time in the prison sucked all of her energy. Her adrenaline surge was ebbing away.

  Megan pushed in front of them, looking over her shoulder constantly. She tried a key from the ring, shaking as she tried to insert it. It didn’t work. She tried the next.

  Raine kept looking back down the hall.

  Arie put his hand on Megan’s arm, “It’s okay. You can do this, Meg. You’re a hero right now.”

  She tried the next key. It slid into the lock. She turned and pulled the door open.

  A burst of cool air greeted them, and she pulled open the door to reveal a stone staircase that led to the sky.

  It was the first time in a while that Raine had felt the outside air on her face. The gust of wind smelled fresh, and open. Arie walked through the door, with Raine following close behind, but Megan stood back.

  Raine looked at her.

  She stood there, the prison behind her. Her red hair was stark in the light, and it shadowed her soft, pale face.

  “C’mon, Meg!” Arie reached out to her.

  Raine felt a tinge of mistrust again, and she wasn’t sure why.

  Megan had just set them free. But how did she get the keys? And why was she wearing jeans and a shirt instead of the gowns they were forced to wear, or her scrubs?

  “I have to go back to the Warden,” she squeaked.

  “What the hell are you talking about?” Arie hissed at her.

  “For you two to go free—I have to go back to him. I have to make it look like you broke out on your own. I don’t know what happened to Perez. I think the other guards caught wind of what was going on and they chickened out. But there’s not much time!” The alarm was still audible behind her.

  Raine looked at her, though Megan only looked at Arie.

  “This is the only way,” she said. Her soft features looked defeated. She was gentle. Delicate. “There is no life for me out there. If I stay, and I do what he wants, he’s not… “ It was as if she couldn’t form the words. “… he’s not that bad.”

  Raine opened her mouth to protest, but shut it again. Her mind ran wild with explanations as to why Megan acted this way. It was obvious she was under the Warden’s manipulation, but there was no other coping mechanism. She needed to be that way in order to survive. But the fact that the chance to escape was presented to her, and she refused to take it in efforts to save the others, was heroic.

  This entire time she hadn’t been sure what side Megan was on, what game she was playing, whether or not she was even one of the prisoners or if she had a bigger ulterior motive. Though now it seemed clear. It appeared that Megan was kidnapped so long ago, she felt like Arie and Raine still had a chance but she didn’t. It wasn’t so bad for her inside the jail, and perhaps her only chance of escape was if Arie and Raine could get out and possibly bust the whole charade.

  Arie stepped down a few stairs, past Raine and towards Megan.

  Raine watched them as Arie drew close to Megan.

  “I will come back for you. Okay? You got that?” he asked her.

  “I know you will,”she whispe
red.

  Raine’s eyes prickled with tears. She was grateful to Megan, for the risk she took to help them. She turned away from the prison hallway and looked up to the top of the stairs, which was marked by white puffy clouds crossing the sky.

  As she turned to climb, the door to the guards’ quarters burst open.

  It all happened so fast. Buck appeared from behind the door and grabbed Megan’s hair, yanking her back into a chokehold. Arie leaped at him.

  The guard had his gun pointed at Megan’s head.

  Arie stepped back with his arms up. “Go Raine!” he screamed over his shoulder.

  She hesitated and looked up at the roof. Now was her chance-quite possibly her only chance.

  She whipped her head back to see Buck with his gun pressed to Megan’s temple. She saw Megan’s jaw clench. Her eyes were narrowed, watching everything that happened in front of her.

  Raine stood, frozen. She wasn’t sure what she should do, what could she control, which had always been very little within these walls.

  “What do you want?” Arie remained with his hands in the air.

  Raine faced Arie’s back. She thought she saw his knees shaking, as if he’d collapse at any moment.

  “I wantchu back in yer damn cages.”

  She remained on the stairs. They were wasting too much time. Megan had been gone for too long, and surely the Warden would be looking at his cameras by now.

  Both Arie and Raine stood still.

  It was silent, nothing but their breathing.

  The door to the guards’ quarters creaked open.

  The mean guard pulled the trigger.

  Raine fell forward off the stairs, her arms outstretched to Megan.

  Arie dropped to his knees with his hands over his ears.

  They both heard the pop of the gun.

  Megan was as white as a ghost. But she didn’t fall. And there was no blood.

  Buck dropped Megan and pulled the gun back, a look of confusion furrowing his brow.

  In those few seconds, Megan slipped away and Arie leaped forward, smashing his fist into the man’s jaw. They both went down. Through the creaking door of the guards’ quarters, the no nonsense guard emerged into the hall.

  “Granger!” Buck yelled, as he and Arie rolled on the ground.

  Granger leapt for Megan. He stomped on the back of her legs as she tried to crawl towards Arie. She yelped.

  Raine was at the bottom of the stairs on her knees, and she hurriedly stood. She could run right now. She could run up the stairs and not look back—make it to the roof and down the fire escape. Out of here.

  She looked back down the hallway.

  Granger was wrangling Megan. Her stomach was to the floor, her cheek smashed into the cement. Her red hair fanned across the ground. He had his foot on her lower back, pinning her down. He struggled with zip ties in his hands, and tightened them around her wrists. The cuffs must have been too far out of reach.

  She caught a glimpse of Megan’s face. She looked defeated. She wasn’t even fighting. She looked away from Raine, to the door that led to the roof. It looked as though she was trying to tell Raine to go. Leave her.

  She couldn’t. She’d stood at the bottom of the stairs too long.

  Granger struggled off of Megan and stood, ready for her. “If you move, I will kill him,” he threatened.

  Her stomach sank. She heard struggling from behind him. Arie and Buck continued to fight, though she couldn’t see what was going on.

  “Tell him to stop! Stop!” she yelled at Arie and Buck. Arie lifted his head to look at her, and he took a blow to the cheek. Blood spewed from his lip as he hit the ground. He moaned, and mean guard rolled him over.

  Raine slumped against the wall, her hand covering her mouth.

  Granger grabbed her arm and yanked it behind her back. She cried out, pulling away for a moment, before he shoved her against the wall.

  She stretched her neck back over her shoulder to see Perez’s shift partner, who had his arm pressed into the back of her neck to restrain her.

  The light from the hallway went out, as did the alarm.

  Even though the alarm had been shut off, she could still hear the pattern in her head, her temples pounding in time from the blow.

  She was pushed by the guard and marched down the hall, but they didn’t turn left into the warehouse. They turned right, straight into the familiar room that still had blood on the floor from what was left of Troy. She kicked her feet. She did not want to go into that room.

  “Come. On!” The guard yelled at her through gritted teeth. Behind him, Buck pushed Megan into the room. He went back out and dragged the unconscious Arie by his leg into the room before he shut the door behind them.

  Raine had been thrown into the corner. Her knees skidded against the ground as she came to a halt. She turned around and pushed herself against the wall on the floor, her hands cuffed behind her.

  She looked over at Megan, who sat with her head down, her eyes wide.

  She’d just been shot. Clearly the gun was some kind of prop and not a real gun, but the guard didn’t know that. His intention had been to kill her.

  Raine could only imagine how frightened she must have been. She herself was terrified just watching it—she couldn’t even fathom being at the end of the barrel.

  “What the hell is going on, Buck? I leave for two seconds.” Granger brushed his hands off on his thighs, out of breath.

  “Why isn’t Perez working?” she asked, her voice cracked.

  “Shut it!” Buck spat in her direction. He wiped blood from his mouth with the back of his hand. He may have gotten the finishing blow on Arie, but Arie tore him up pretty bad first. He looked back at Granger, who was catching his breath, leaning against the door.

  “This little bitch was helping them escape.”

  They both looked at Megan, who looked oddly out of place wearing jeans and a tee shirt.

  “Who is this?” Buck asked.

  “You don’t know who this is?” Granger leaned back on his heels, as if he had no idea either.

  “Maybe we kin play with her a lil firs’ before we hand ‘er over.” Buck grinned.

  His drawl was enough to make Raine sick as she lifted her head to see him walking over to the delicate girl on the floor, grabbing the front of his pants.

  Megan turned her head away. “Not a good idea.” Her voice was low, her eyes stared straight up at him, unflinching.

  “Oh yeah? You think so?” He asked, grabbing a handful of her shining orange hair.

  “He won’t like that. Allen doesn’t like to share. He’ll chop off your penis and make you eat it.”

  “Who the fu-” He dropped her hair and backed up, his face frightened. He looked over at Granger.

  Raine didn’t know what to think about what Megan had just said. Allen must be the Warden, she thought, half proud of Megan for sticking up for herself around these nasty men, half terrified for her as well.

  “Why dun you escort her back where she belongs?”

  “That’s where I was headed earlier anyway,” she interjected.

  “Oh after you were helpin’ these fugitives escape? Where’d you get those keys?”

  “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

  “Take this smart arse back to her Warden,” Buck spat at Granger.

  “Why don’t you escort her?” he snarled back.

  “He’s not going to be happy with you two. You let them escape.” She nodded at Raine and Arie.

  Raine wished Arie were awake to hear what was going on.

  Granger walked over to Megan and reached behind her for her zip ties. “I’m going to cut them. Then we’re going to take a walk back to the Warden’s quarters. No funny business. Got it?” He spoke quietly to her, though loud enough for Raine to hear.

  Mega
n hesitated before she nodded her head. Her ties were cut, and he pulled her up to standing. “Nobody wants to be in your position anyway,” he finished, passing eyes over everyone in the room before he headed for the door.

  Megan glanced back at Raine and nodded with her eyes.

  I can trust her. She’ll come back for us. Raine tried to hold Megan’s gaze as long as she could, as if to beg her not to leave her with that mean guard, and the unconscious Arie.

  But there was nothing she could do. They left the room. The door shut behind them.

  THIRTY

  The guard approached her. She looked up at his sly smirk and pale green eyes that made her think of vomit.

  “So, what are we gon do with you-tryna escape.” It was as though he purposefully slammed his shoes on the ground; as if he knew the sound of his boots on concrete were like nails hammering into her skull.

  Arie’s presence was completely irrelevant.

  Raine followed him with her eyes. “You’re delusional.”

  “S’that right?” He circled around her. “Oh yeah. Yer the psychologist girl. Diagnosing me, are ya?”

  “Do you understand that you’re not really a guard?” She used her words to try and push him further away. It was her only weapon. It worked with the Warden.

  He chuckled and looked down at his chest. He patted his badge and moved his hand to his belt then looked back at her. “Looks like I am.”

  “Your gun is a theater prop.”

  “I musta grabbed the wrong one.” His eyes narrowed.

  She watched his Adam’s apple move up and down as he swallowed. She was entirely in tune to body language. And his motions spoke true. He was uncomfortable. He was lying.

  “I’d rather be me, than in yer position.” He nodded at her. “Sit against the wall.”