Foxed

Chapter 5: Prison

Harper rolled her eyes. "I want you to really hear this when I say it, Kender... I'm not poor anymore," she paused and her eyes widened. She backed up and sat down, fanning her face. "Did you hear me? Poor. Me. No more! I can go into Uptown shops without worrying about surcharges. I can get you guys whatever you want from the stores! Vegetables, fruits, even chocolate! I can even get your ungodly hair dye. Look!"

Harper reached for a leather bag and whipped it into her lap to shuffle through the contents. She pulled out a rectangular piece of colored paper and handed it to me.

"What is that? That is not what I think it is, is it?" I asked, lifting the piece to my face. I sniffed it warily. "Smells like paper and ink and..."

Harper nodded furiously. "That is exactly what you think it is. One-hundred Yuan! It's real."

I frowned and gave her a skeptical look. "Are you messing with me?"

Harper shook her head and pulled out more of the colored paper. "I'm very serious."

"Bìzuǐ!" I'd never seen any Yuan above twenty. No other poor person had either to my knowledge. "That's unbelievable. You should buy me something," I whispered, clutching the bill in my hand and then bringing it to my nose for another whiff.

Damn. Money smelled good!

"I already have, but you can't have it until you're finished with whatever it is Hayden is making you do. I'm sorry I couldn't talk him out of just letting it go. I did try."

"You know he's blackmailing me with it?" I cried out.

Harper sighed. "I told you, I tried to talk him out of it. He wouldn't budge."

"Ladies, I'm sorry to rush this. Kender, we must get going."

I closed my gaping mouth and turned at the interruption. There he was, the man who'd caused all this, standing at the entrance of the library like he'd never left. He was leaning against the door, his intense gaze focused on Harper, like a hawk watching prey. I shifted my feet and looked at the floor. The obsession he had with Harper twinkled in his eyes as his gaze seemed to devour her. It was very unsettling to watch.

Harper's face flushed and her head bowed. My fingers curled, forming tight fists. The twinge of pain from my nails sinking into the pads of my palms helped keep my mouth shut. She may have thought differently of him for the tattoo removal and her lack of Owned tags, but she was still scared of him. Scared of what he wanted from her, and it sickened me.

I curled my lip, sneering at him. "We've barely spoken," I said. "Can't you give us a little more time?"

The thought of just 'taking him out' had crossed my mind many times. It was fleeting but there. The two good deeds he did for Harper wouldn't keep me from thinking about it. I'd never murdered anyone. I didn't know if I could do it. If I did it, I could destroy the evidence of my previous crimes, but the sobering thoughts were there too. He was too high profile. Murdering him would probably count as three different murders and then I'd be right back where I started.

A knowing look crossed Hayden's face and the smug smirk that played over his lips made me want to smack him. He knew what I'd been thinking. He also knew I couldn't do it. I'm no murderer and isn't that what makes us different from them?

"Wáng ba dàn," I said under my breath.

"If I was really a bastard I'd turn you over to the authorities. Now, would you like to shower and get some of that dirt off your face?"

I raised my eyebrow. "You're gonna let me shower?"

"If you'd like. You may not be able to shower for a long time where you're going."

"I thought rich schools had tons of shower tokens."

He raised an eyebrow. "Well, I guess this is where I tell you that it's not a school you're going to. I really don't know where you got that idea."

"But you said—I mean the school uniform..." I trailed off.

Hayden didn't bother to elaborate as he glanced down at his watch. "It takes five hours to get there, and we have things to discuss. After you shower, you'll need to put your uniform on because we won't be stopping. I suggest you go to the bathroom now."

"We aren't going to stop for the entire five hours?" I asked. "I have a bladder the size of a pea, you know!"

"Should I get out my violin?" he asked dryly.

I frowned. "You have a violin? Really?" I'd never seen a real violin. "Yeah! Go ahead and get it out. I've never seen a real violin! Only in pictures—" I paused and bit my lip trying to stop the pout as I finally caught on.

Wáng ba dàn!

"So where am I really going?" I finally asked.

It wasn't Hayden that answered my question. It was another man standing behind him. "To prison."

My heart thumped, and it felt like there were thousands of bugs crawling under my skin. "I'm sorry, what was that?"

"Baton Prison, specifically," the blond behind Hayden said again.

Prison.

Prison.

The word echoed as I gasped and bent over to catch my breath. My worst fear was coming true, but it just had to be a sick joke. A really mean, sick joke.

"Hayden, is this true?" Harper asked.

He must have nodded because I heard Harper inhale. The clatter of her book dropping to the floor was muffled by the carpet but it may as well have been the loud whistle of a train.

"Starling," Hayden said. "I didn't realize you'd be here already."

"W-why did you lie to me?" I asked. "I mean, I'm doing what you want so I don't have to go to prison!"

Hayden lifted an eyebrow. "I didn't outright lie. I just let you believe what you assumed. Nothing more."

I shook my head. "You could've just turned me in. Why put me through this if you were just going to send me to prison anyway?"

He held a finger up. "Well, I don't want you to be there forever, which is what would happen if I did turn you in. Plus, I wouldn't have the control over you I do now."

The sinking feeling in my stomach made excess saliva pool in the cave of my mouth. "And you need that control?" I asked, scrubbing my damp hands against my pants.

Don't cry, Kender!

"I do." He didn't wait for me to respond. "You'll be an inmate with special privileges. It's an extended stay, but you'll be part of a trial run in a rehabilitation program suggested by the warden. You'll live, act, and be treated like a prisoner for six months." He stopped at stroked the line of his jaw. "Of course, I'm hoping what you'll need to get won't take that long, hence the escape plan. Do you remember what we spoke about earlier?"

I nodded but wasn't really hearing him. Reality started sinking in. There were no rules in prison. Men and women were crammed together like animals. Criminals of all varieties were in the same area – murderers, drug addicts, jay-walkers – because the crime itself didn't matter, just that a crime was done thrice. Being in prison was worse than being Owned.

The shorter man behind Hayden stepped around him, and for the first time I managed to get a good look at him. He was dressed in a fancy black suit with blond hair slicked back and a pair of biceps bigger than my head. His sharp green eyes felt like lasers as they focused on me and then his gaze switched to Harper. As he took a step towards her, the air around him shifted and Hayden stood at attention. Or maybe that was my imagination.

Hayden gestured for me to come closer. "Let's go."

I bowed my head and put a fist to my mouth in the guise of clearing my throat. The hard back book with golden pages Harper had dropped earlier was inches from my foot. With casual grace, I bent down and picked the book up. The rough, scratchy cover made my stomach squeeze in protest as I slid my fingertips over the surface and upwards towards the sharp corner.

My skin was itching from the inside out. I wanted to claw at my arms or run screaming from this house. I was so scared but anything I did now could result in either of them using Harper against me. I wouldn't let them hurt Harper.

"Clearly, we have things to talk about, but I'm not going anywhere with you. Not while shorty is over there flexing and glaring at Harper."

Starling lifted an eyebrow. He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye but his gaze quickly locked back onto Harper. I scowled. He knew Harper was a trigger for me. Was he trying to push me?

"Starling, take Harper please. She's no longer needed in here," Hayden said.

I don't think so!

My arm pulled the book to my chest and snapped forward, releasing it in the direction of Starling's throat. It flew like a spiraling disc. The gold from the pages flashed in and out as it spun in the air.

I didn't wait. I couldn't. Hayden was my target. He didn't see me coming either. He'd been too distracted by the book flying through the air, hitting the target, and the strangled coughing noise Starling made.

His mistake. My advantage. I needed that advantage too. I might be trained, but taking on two grown men still posed challenges for me. I had to be quick. There was no room for mistakes.

Spinning, I kicked the back of Hayden's knees. He fell forward, his hands out before him as he tried to catch his fall. With another side kick to his upper back he collapsed faced down on the floor. I leapt on him, pulling his upper body up... and up. Just enough to wrap my arms around his neck in a dangerous chokehold meant to snap a person's neck. Harper's gasp didn't even register as adrenaline flooded my body.

"Starling, you better not even look cross-eyed at Harper." My first and only warning to the man crumpled on the floor, before my biting warnings turned towards Hayden.

"I could kill you right now and no one would even care that you're dead," I said with the venom of a thousand snakes. "Maybe the world would be better off without someone like you in it."

"Kender!" Harper cried out.

My chest was heaving as I applied more pressure before turning to see Harper. A hand was over her mouth. Horror flashed in her eyes. It wasn't enough. I couldn't let him go. Maybe I really could become a murderer. If Harper was with me on this, then I could do it. I know I could.

"Harper, everything would be over. We could both go home, and it would be okay again," I said, my voice cracking. "Just turn your head away. I'll do the dirty work. All you have to do is turn around and I'll know you're with me on this."

Harper shook her head, her eyes wide and glistening. She took a step forward but stopped as Starling's coughing ceased. "I can't do that."

"I can do this," I whispered, trying to ignore the trembling in my arms. "One small act of kindness doesn't turn a demon into an angel. Don't let him fool you!"

I glanced down, tilting my head so I could see Hayden's face only to be disappointed. He wasn't afraid. His face was as blank as ever. His hands hadn't even come up to clutch at my forearm across his neck.

"Do you even care?" I screamed at him.

My tears fell on Hayden's cheek, sliding down to his jaw. The stubble dotting his chin slowed it down, but it eventually pooled in the crevasse between his neck and my arm. He still didn't answer.

"Kender," Harper's voice was gentle as she spoke, like she was trying to soothe a rabid animal. She stretched a hand out. "You're not a murderer. You couldn't live with this."

"It would solve everything, Harper! You don't want to stay with him if you don't have to, right?"

Harper stood, her hand still stretched out towards me. "Kender, let him go. Don't make yourself the bad guy. Let him play that role. Hate him as much as you want but don't do this. This is what makes us different from them."

"I can't—" the sob escaped my lips before I could do anything and I loosened my arms around his neck. "I can't do this."

"Kender, what wouldn't you do for your sisters?" Hayden said, his voice rasping from the tight grip I had. "Can you hate me for doing what I've had to do for mine? She doesn't deserve to be there."

"I don't deserve to go there either!"

"You don't. I know you don't, but this is the work you have to do. Marion isn't the only one. This prison is kidnapping people, rich and poor."

I shook my head, still not sold. "People are bought and trafficked every day. It's the same as kidnapping to me, and I can't care about them all!"

"These people aren't given choices," Hayden said.

He wasn't hearing me. Or maybe he just didn't want to understand.

I dropped him to the floor and took a step back, standing over him. "Huānyíng láidào wǒde shìjiè, biǎozi!"

+_+_+_+_+_

Bìzuǐ – shut up

Wáng ba dàn - bastard

Huānyíng láidào wǒde shìjiè, biǎozi! = Welcome to my world, b***h! -Freddy Krueger