Chapter 15

"We've all got the power in our hands to kill, but most people are afraid to use it. The ones who aren't afraid control life itself."

-Richard Ramirez, an American serial killer who raped and torturing more than 25 victims and killing at least 13 over a two-year rampage. He died on death row.

Chapter 15

Christian was stationed outside of Even Parker's cell on the night of his disappearance. At least, that's what the personal guard files told me. When my father heard the tape, he immediately gave me permission to search through the Internet files. He told me the location of an encrypted USB, the password, and to be careful with the information that I found. He told me to show his replacements the recordings and to see if they really care about the wellbeing of the individuals in the prison. Rejecting the information would simply make them loom suspicious, and put them on my list of potential culprits. He also made sure I copied the voice recordings onto a disk in case things soured in the prison.

My heart had hardened from the pain it had endured. I no longer felt any remorse towards the guards impending fate; my father knew that when this was over he would be locked up as an accessory to murder. He wouldn't be placed into a correctional prison, hell, he might not have even gone to prison at all, but he would be punished.

I had yet to identify the other guard I had overheard in the hallway. Although, I did narrow it down to three possible Russian guards. One, named Alexi Mikhailov, was number one on my list, as he was also stationed outside Even Parker's cell on the night of his disappearance.

When I gathered enough evidence, they would be going down.

But, in that moment, it was time to go back to work and talk to Vans.

Wanting to look professional, I slipped into a tight skirt and black heels, ensuring my white blouse was tucked in nicely. The office ladies did a double take of me as I walked past, turning up their noses at my clothing, wishing they were young again. I ignored them as I signed my name on the clipboard, flicking away the strands of hair that had fallen out of my bun.

It was lunch time when I arrived at the cafeteria doors, pushing them open with a swift shove, annoyed at the lack of guards stationed outside its walls. When I entered the overflowing room of criminals, the noise was outstanding. Bellows and cries of sheer joy bounced off of the grey interior, mixing together until they became one unified hum. I couldn't contain the smile that grew onto my cheeks upon hearing and seeing the looks of happiness upon the inmates' faces. Some, whom I had grown up with, cheered and held up their plastic cups of water as I walked, passed. I greeted them with a nod of my head and continued weaving through the crowd in an attempt to find Vans.

"It's amazing, isn't it?" The familiar voice spoke up from behind me.

I turned with a smile to greet the beautiful face of the blue-eyed monster.

"What's got everyone so happy?" I had to yell over the noise of the crowd.

His lips pulled wide to reveal a perfect smile, sheer joy dripping off of him like sweat on a summer's day. He shook his head and gestured for me to follow him. I did so gladly, trailing behind him as he led me closer to his usual table at the back of the cafeteria. A plate sat untouched on the table, filled with all the colours of the rainbow.

"Is that...?"

"Fairy bread." He finished, his smile, which was already impossibly wide, grew in diameter, stretching from ear to ear. "No knows why, but today the kitchen lady added them to the menu. Looks like sprinkles can make even the toughest guys feel like kids again." He winked, reddening my cheeks.

A laugh spilled off of my tongue as I observed the other inmates, enjoying their childish behavior, which was evoked from bread and coloured sugar. I took a seat opposite Vans, uncomfortable in the hard plastic. When my gaze focused back onto Vans, he too was observing his housemates with genuine pleasure. My lips quirked upwards at the sides as I rested my head against my fist, staring at his perfect form. The muscles in his arms tensed as he picked up his first piece of fairy bread and I watched as it traveled into the hollow of his mouth.

"So, what brings you here again?" He asked, sensing my penetrating gaze.

"You were right." I said, continuing to look upon the features of his face. He raised an eyebrow and took another bite of his bread. "About the guards." I continued.

Recognition flew across his features before he took a long gulp of his water. I watched as his Adams apple bobbled up and down, the thick ball of water travelling down his throat. A sigh was released from the pit of his belly before he straightened in his seat and winked at me.

"Told you so—"

"Don't ruin it again, Vans. I don't want to leave like I did last time." I winced, recalling my irrational behavior. "I apologize for lashing out, but I do need you to be more straight forward with me and tell me everything you know. Otherwise, the deal is—"

"The deal is off. Yeah, yeah. I know." He cut in, irritation flicking behind his clear eyes. "So, what do you want to know?"

He licked his teeth and leant back into his chair, arrogance leaking out of his pours.

"I need you to be my alibi." I said simply.

Intrigued, he leaned forwards onto the table. A small smirk began to grow on my lips.

"What do you mean?" He asked, pushing his plate aside.

I glanced around the cafeteria to make sure the coast was clear. I noticed most of the guards were also feasting on the fairy bread, smiles upon their faces as the joked with each other and some of the inmates'. I reached into my blouse pocket and pulled out my recorder, placing it on the table under the palm of my hand, so the Cameras would not see.

"I'm about to play you a voice recording that occurred yesterday afternoon. It was close enough to your cell that you could have well heard some of the conversation. After you listen to it, I ask you to remember some of it, not all of it, because that would be suspicious, and then when I call it of you, you will repeat what you 'heard' to any higher authority. Understand?" My brows furrowed as I told him my plan, hoping that I did not give too much, or too little, information.

One thing my father told me was to always have an alibi. Recordings, while reliable, can be tampered with, and it is always better to have someone else to back you up, if need be. As long as Vans agreed to be my alibi, I may have had enough information to have some of the guards suspended until investigations were complete.

He nodded in understanding, and leant further forwards. Keeping it hidden under my hand, I hit the play button and waited until the recording had finished. It played quietly, so quite, in fact, that I doubt Vans heard the whole thing and was only able to pick up the shouting. That fact didn't bother me, as him hearing the shouting would be the most reasonable explanation to how he heard anything at all.

When it was done, he leant back in his seat once again, a brooding look on his face. I quietly slipped it back into my pocket and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. He scratched his chin in deep thought and opened his mouth to speak.

"You know, when I told you the guards were responsible, it was just a guess. I didn't really know if it was true or not." He paused, obviously expecting a reaction of anger from me. Instead, my body relaxed; pleased he was telling me the truth. A small smile crept onto my face.

"It's okay. I understand. You were just trying to save your ass." I said with a laugh.

"I guess. But if you were in my position, you would do the same. You know, you're not the only one with people you care about in the prison. Some of my friends in here are starting to cop the brunt of the rumors, ever since George was taken away."

I laughed darkly.

"Of course. You want more out of this deal. We shook on your protection, not anybody else's." I scoffed.

"I'm not asking you to protect them, Emily. But, if you let me create some doubt among the inmates towards the guards, maybe they will go away. Maybe they will stop getting bashed in the showers." I winced at the information, knowing all too well he was telling the truth.

"Fine. You can spread some rumors with the information. But you can't say anything specific! Just say you overheard them talking about it. It might put some more weight to my case anyways." I sighed, leaning back into my seat.

"Thank you, Emily." He said, reaching out to grab my hand in his. It warmed my own, sending trails of heat up my arm.

"No problem." I said, lips curling upwards at the side. I let go of his hand reluctantly and stood up, only taller than him when he was sitting down. "In exchange, I'm going to need you to come with me now."

"Where are we going?" He said, rising to his feet.

"We are going to see my fathers replacements. We're going to show him the tape, you're going to give your version of events, and then we are going to convince them to let me see George."

To be continued...

-

-

-

-

-

OMG GUYS I DID A DOUBLE UPDATE ARE YOU PROUD OF ME!?

I did it for yooooouuuuu.

Shoutout to @Writing_Utensils

I wrote another chapter in honour of you and your amazing comments, they seriously make me laugh so hard ;D

Comment your thoughts :)

Ps. This is the first half of a long chapter, so keep all this information in mind!

I haven't really edited this chapter yet so I apologise for any errors.

xx Charli