Chapter 73: We Want Out
That evening, the Alset family was forced to gather in their lounge. Once everyone was settled, Ebirb entered.
‘I want everyone to know that the residents of the Capital City find all of you guilty of covering for Hadrian Alset’s crimes and of misconduct in general,’ announced Ebirb as he walked to the centre of the lounge.
‘So we were given no opportunity to defend ourselves in any way,’ replied Demadrian angrily.
‘Trust me,’ said Ebirb. ‘If you were all dragged to the Capital City, you would have received much worse. Your father saved you a lot of suffering.’
‘So what now?’ asked Demadrian.
‘Your family will be permanently detained in Carrington City,’ said Ebirb. ‘You will be stripped of all your assets. Carrington residents who are not designated as technicians will be required to leave Carrington. Technicians from all other districts will be relocated to replace them. You will continue to produce outputs, using now publicly owned assets. In exchange for these outputs, you will be granted the inputs you need for production as well as food for survival. If you fail to produce sufficient output, your food will be reduced.’
‘Is that it?’ asked Demadrian sarcastically.
‘Hmmm, not quite,’ replied Ebirb. ‘My position has changed to warden of Carrington. Your guards will be transported to the Capital District to be trained and indoctrinated as enforcers. Any more questions?’
Demadrian scowled at Ebirb.
‘Superb! I wish everyone a wonderful day,’ said Ebirb as he left the lounge.
Meanwhile, in the prison in the Capital City, the Hat Lady had not spoken to James since he revealed to her what had happened at the stadium.
‘You may have given up, but I haven’t,’ said James as he faced the Hat Lady’s cell wall. ‘I have a case. I need to win.’
‘Your preparation involves talking to a wall,’ replied the Hat Lady through the wall.
‘At last she speaks,’ called out James. ‘I was worried you might have died in there.’
‘That looks like our eventual fate,’ replied the Hat Lady. ‘I don’t envision either of us getting out by just waiting here.’
‘Speak for yourself,’ replied James abruptly. ‘I have a trial. I will….’
‘Nobody has visited you, not even your brother,’ said the Hat Lady angrily. ‘That’s because they are not letting him or anyone else come down here. We need to find our own way out.’
‘I preferred you when you were silent,’ shouted James as he slammed his fist against the bed.
‘How are you feeling?’ asked the Hat Lady.
‘Absolutely awful. My head is killing me,’ replied James. ‘Not like you care.’
‘Blue juice withdrawal symptoms,’ said the Hat Lady. ‘It’s going to get much worse.’
‘I didn’t need it until you came along,’ said James in desperation as he fell to his knees. ‘Now I’m going to die slowly and painfully in this rotten cell.’
‘Do you know what cell number you are in?’ asked the Hat Lady.
‘Seventy “stinking” six,’ replied James.
‘So I’m seventy-five?’ asked the Hat Lady.
‘No, that’s the other side,’ replied James. ‘You’re seventy-seven.’
The Hat Lady rushed over to the front wall of her cell. She made a portion invisible to see if she could see any cell numbers outside. She could see the cell numbers on the cells opposite hers, but not the ones on her side of the corridor.
‘Are you sure about our cell numbers?’ asked the Hat Lady as she made a portion of the wall between her cell and James’ invisible.
‘Absolutely,’ replied James. ‘If you don’t believe me, ask the guards or the enforcers.’
Jeff had been told he was not allowed to apply to see his brother until the sentences of the other prisoners had been carried out. The technicians were on their way to Carrington City, and Hadrian had been returned to the prison after his death sentence had been reduced to a life sentence.
Jeff had returned to the enforcer’s building to request to visit his brother. The enforcer at the front desk directed him to an enforcer who would escort him to the Deputy Head Enforcer’s office.
The enforcer opened the Deputy Head Enforcer’s door. Jeff walked in.
‘Take a seat. We should chat,’ said Percival as he gestured towards the chair in front of his desk.
Jeff nervously nodded and sat down.
‘I know circumstances are difficult for you,’ said Percival. ‘The physical and emotional trauma from the stadium and now with your elder brother facing very serious charges.’
‘I need to speak to him,’ said Jeff. ‘I don’t believe he had any ill intentions. His side of the story needs to be made known.’
‘He absolutely has a right to that,’ replied Percival. ‘However, the process is considerably more complicated since he wants to challenge the charges against him. More time is needed to make the necessary arrangements.’
‘I understand,’ said Jeff. ‘When will I be permitted to see him?’
‘Now that the other sentences have been carried out, you will be able to visit him once a week,’ said Percival. ‘I’ll permit you to make your first visit today.’
‘Thank you very much, sir,’ said Jeff as he quickly rose to his feet and stretched his hand out to Percival.
Percival nodded and shook his hand.
At the prison, James and the Hat Lady were casually chatting and reminiscing over the events of the past couple of years. A guard interrupted their discussion. He peered into James’ cell through the small window in the door.
‘Looks like it’s your lucky day,’ said the guard.
‘Am I being released?’ asked James excitedly as he sprung to his feet.
‘No, even better,’ chuckled the guard. ‘It’s your little brother. He’s come to gloat, I suppose.’
‘He’s here to help me win the trial of the century,’ said James confidently. ‘The whole game is about to change.’
‘Face the wall with your hands in the air,’ said the guard. ‘Try anything funny and you’ll get it.’
James did as instructed. Two guards entered the cell, and another stood at the door. They grabbed James and handcuffed his hands behind his back. They led him out of the cell. They took him to a room in another part of the prison. In that room, Jeff was waiting to speak with him.
‘Jeff, what the hell took you so long, you bastard?’ blurted out James as he sat down opposite Jeff. Two guards stood either side of James.
‘They wouldn’t let me see you until after the sentences had been carried out,’ replied Jeff timidly.
‘Tell me the gory details of Hadrian’s fate,’ said James as a big grin came across his face.
‘He’s in a prison cell somewhere,’ said Jeff. ‘We don’t have time to chitchat. We need to figure out how to prove your innocence.’
‘You’re alive,’ said James, gesturing towards Jeff. ‘That is proof of my innocence.’
‘I’m thinking along the lines that you were misled about the safety of the Alset upgrades,’ said Jeff. ‘We should push more blame on the Alset family and take advantage of the hate towards them.’
‘Wait, that’s absolutely true,’ said James. ‘They promised the plexiglass was safe. According to them, the plexiglass was practically unbreakable.’
‘Great, we just need proof they made that guarantee,’ said Jeff.
‘Right, time’s up,’ said one of the guards as he grabbed James’ arm.
‘The paperwork is in the second cabinet in my office,’ said James rapidly as he was pulled from his seat. ‘My assistant also witnessed the conversation.’
‘Great, I’ll be back next week with an update,’ called out Jeff as the guards forcibly removed James from the room.
The guards escorted James back to the cell. A guard went to unlock the cell, but it would not open.
‘Forgotten, which key?’ joked another guard.
‘It’s this one, I’m sure,’ said the guard.
‘Just humour me and try the next key,’ said the other guard, shaking his head.
The guard tried the next key, and it opened.
‘Ha, okay,’ said the guard, sounding a little embarrassed. ‘Maybe we should label the keys.’
‘No, idiot,’ said the other guard as he pushed James into the cell. ‘Just count the keys from the red key. It’s not like they can change places.’
The guard began counting the keys as the other guard went into the cell to uncuff James.
‘The key has moved,’ said the guard in a shrill voice.
‘Come here, let me count,’ replied the other guard.
All the guards went into the cell and began counting the keys.
After counting the keys several times, the other guards asked, ‘Are you sure this was the key you just used?’
The guard shrugged his shoulders.
‘Let’s face it, you’re just hopeless,’ said the other guard, shaking his head as they both left the cell.
The other guard was about to lock the door when he noticed the number on it. It was cell seventy-seven.
‘Oh shit, you just let her out!’ shouted the other guard.
‘Sound the alarm!’ shouted both guards together as they ran to the nearest security desk. ‘Lock down the prison!’
James sat down on his bed as he chuckled to himself.
The two guards informed the guard at the desk. He called through to the main security office as well as several other desks. After about fifteen minutes, the entire prison was locked down.
The search for the Hat Lady began. After several hours of searching, they could not find her. The senior enforcers met to discuss what they should do next. They decided that they should keep the Hat Lady’s escape from prison a secret.
Sapien Loop: End of an Era
Sapien Loop: Frozen in Time is the sequel to the book Sapien Loop: End of an Era. Sapien Loop: End of an Era is available on Amazon, in collection series on my @spectrumecons account, and in individual chapters in my @captainhive account.
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