Pinnacle Of Power

Chapter 15: Mob attack

BRADLEY'S POV

I looked up and saw an inmate standing before me. He was huge, with exaggerated broad shoulders covered in tattoos. His biceps bulged with veins and he had wild ruffled hair. Two other inmates stood behind him—his minions no doubt. One of which I'd seen staring earlier.

"What is the meaning of this?" I asked.

"Oh...it speaks." His deep voice boomed.

Did this low-budget Hulk just refer to me as...'it?'

I felt insulted but kept my cool.

"Give me back that book," I demanded.

"Or what?" he snapped.

"Just hand it over."

He stretched his big hand forward with the book. "Ok...take it then."

I looked at him, then at the book again. I reached for it but he retrieved it simultaneously.

"Tsk tsk tsk. Not so fast. Manny..." He turned to face one of his minions. "What do you think could be in here?"

"I...I don't know boss," he said nervously.

The hulk hit him hard on the head at his response and he winced in pain, while the other one laughed.

"You never know anything, do you? Such a daunce", He hissed.

He was about flipping the book open when I tried to yank it from him, but he dodged.

He raised an eyebrow. "What are you hiding in here, huh?" His eyes lit up as if he'd thought of something thrilling.

"You're mapping out how you want to escape prison, eh?"

"What? No. This is a serious accusation..."

"You deny it, huh?" he smirked. "Then let's see the proof that that's not what you're doing."

He flipped it open again, and I reached for it.

"You're annoying me. You two...", he pointed to his minions, "hold him down."

They pinned me down as he ordered while I put up a resistance. During the scuffle, I pushed one of them down and he landed hard with his butt on the floor. He groaned from the pain, stood up, and threw me a punch. I swayed weakly as I'd yet to recover fully. I tried punching back, but he dodged and pinned me in place with the help of Manny.

The commotion attracted other inmates who gathered to watch.

The hulk opened the book, making crisp sounds as he flipped through.

"What's in it, boss?" Manny asked.

He squinted his eyebrows in confusion.

"Is he mapping out a way of escape?" the other asked.

A bulky fellow stepped out of the crowd as they began murmuring among themselves.

"What's this I'm hearing about a plan to escape this godforsaken place? Let me see it?" he demanded.

The hulk fellow who had snatched the book from me passed it to him.

He looked at it with confusion. The more he flipped through the pages, the more confused he got. Suddenly he burst into laughter.

"What is this? Alien language? You speak alien?"

"Let me see, big Joe," another requested.

He looked at it—his face held the same confusion as the others.

"Yo man...what's this chicken s**t?" He chuckled.

They took turns looking at it.

Each page held what looked like a mess of boxes, arrows, and scribbled lines while some held distinct diagrams.

"Hey dawg, you're trying to build a robot in here?" Another asked.

"Let me see".

"I think bro's trying to summon Goggle?" Another drooled, sending them erupting with laughter.

While they jeered at me, I saw an inmate, unperturbed by the ruckus at a corner. His eyes were closed, legs crossed on each other, and each hand resting on his knees—assuming the position of someone meditating. He looked too calm for the commotion going on.

I took my eyes off him and looked at the small crowd still making fun of the contents of my book.

What they thought was garbage and gibberish was packed with plans—storage of fragments of the man I didn't want to forget. Each page was etched with a strategy, coded by every stroke of my pen.

"When you're done laughing, give me back that book."

"Are you threatening us?" The one who snatched the book from me asked.

They had kept me in a kneeling position for a long time now and my knees were numbed with pain. I had not yet even recovered from the two weeks I was scrubbing floors on my knees, and now I've been subjected to the same pain.

"You've seen what you want to see. You've had your fun. Now give me back my book!"

He gave an ugly grin that made him look like the 'Joker', only he was missing red paint on the mouth.

"What if I don't want to?" A sinister smile spread across his face.

My expressions hardened.

"Just give him the book Penny," one of them said.

"Yeah, just give it to him. It just looks like all sorts of trash in there".

"Exactly!" He exclaimed. "Since it's all trash...what do we do with trash?" He turned his gaze from the rest of the inmates and looked at Manny, one of his minions holding me down.

"Tell us, Manny, what do we do with trash?"

Manny's grip on me loosened slightly. He looked at me with eyes of pity, then looked back at Penny, like he understood his intention.

"Speak up, Manny! Have you suddenly gone mute?" He barked.

"Um yes..." he took his eyes off me and faced Penny. "Trash, we...we get rid of it. But-"

"Good. Correct". He interrupted him. "Since he said trash should be gotten rid of, I will do the honor of getting rid of this garbage dump."

"Don't you dare!"

He raised an eyebrow. "I'd like to see what you're going to do...if I dare."

"Those aren't just random writings! Those are codes. But I guess you're too dumb to understand!"

His eyes changed in an instant, and he looked more of a beast than a human.

"What did you just call me?"

The silence that followed was deafening.

"He just called Penny dumb."

"He's going to be in deep s**t", said another.

"Exactly what I said! Or you're still too dumb to recall?" I snapped.

He raised himself back up properly, lifted his hands, and struck me on my face while the small crowd hooted. I spat blood.

"There. That should shut you up now".

He held the book and tore the first page slowly, looking me in the eye, as if daring me to do anything.

The anger I held in flared. I tore myself from the grip of the inmates who held me down and lunged forward to punch him.

He saw it coming and pushed me back.

"You all hold him down for me, you spineless worms!"

They came at me and held me down again.

He laughed and kept tearing it—page by page.

My blood boiled. I struggled to release myself from them even though I was weak and still recovering.

I shifted my weight on one knee, balled my fists, and elbowed them both in the stomach causing them to fall and loosen their grip on me. I punched Penny on his nose and heard a c***k.

Good.

That was satisfying.

He pounced on me and some inmates joined in.

Kicks. Blows. Slaps.

Blood oozed out of my nose and mouth. I couldn't move further when a heavy kick landed on my ribs. The pain that came afterwards was unbearable.

Suddenly, I saw the inmate who had been in a corner minding his own business, throw them all off without doing too much. His movements were fluid—like the ones you see in movies.

Still on the floor, a heavy kick landed on the back of my head. My eyes watered and my mouth opened from the intense pain that shot through my skull.

My vision was blurred.

I was still struggling to maintain my focus when the prison alarms sounded and the guards rushed in. But before my eyes shut completely, I saw a face staring down at me with worry.