CHAPTER 40 - ALL WE NEED TO DO IS CONVINCE AND FIND

SCI ALBION - TWO DAYS LATER

ARCHIE’S CELL

ARCHIE

I look down the list of people who want to speak to Lute. He’s been trying to hide his ‘kind light’ under a bushel, but I am not having that! If all goes well, and I know I said I wasn’t getting my hopes up, I will be out of here so I need to be reassured that he has people around him.

“Hey.” Guard Swift smiles from the doorway. “He’s with her now.” 

“Okay.” I gather my things and head to the TV room, where everyone on the list is waiting.

TEN MINUTES LATER

“You must be quiet.” I order. “Hopefully, once he sees who has faith in him apart from me, then he will warm up to the idea.” The door opens and a thumb comes in. “Seriously, quiet!” I order stepping outside. “Hey, Lute, what did the Warden want?”

“Just an update on your hearing.” He replies, checking his notes and keeping walking.

“Uh, Lute, we’re in here today.” 

“We are? Oh, okay. Sorry, Arch.” I open the door, making sure he enters first. As I knew he would, he freezes. “What’s going on?”

“You will recognise at least seven of your clients. Well, these are the rest for now.”

“Clients? Rest?” He scowls. Yeah, the old Luther is trying to push through.

“And your bailiff…”

“Mr Stark, good morning.” Jenny steps out from behind Goldsmith, who could hide a Sherman tank! “Your first case of the day…”

“My what?”

“First case. You’ve done a great, no excellent job with Archie. You are the reason that he is having his sentence reviewed. You know your stuff. A certain somemarrow is willing to stand your fees, so you will have something to work towards and be when you get out of here.”

“Somemarrow? Really?” His scowl is softening, we are so close!

“Yes, somemarrow.” Jenny replies, then pulls out her iPad. “Shall we begin?”

He looks around the room. “You can’t be my bailiff. Knowing your stuff is one thing, you need to be an attorney to file things. This amount of people is going to be too much, and…”

“Which is where these people come in.” I interrupt, then open the door. “You may recognise them, as you said you followed the trials closely.”

LUTHER

Standing there, all smiling, are the people that got my Pitbull safe! “What the…”

“I explained to them that they will review, then submit. This is a one off visit, so you know we are serious and believe in you.” Jenny looks earnest. “And this is yours to make notes, instead of scraps of paper.” She turns to those assembled. “Which I will be taking back out with me every time!” There are knowing chuckles. Some would’ve chanced their arm, gotten it broken, but chanced it nevertheless.

“So, are we going to make a start?” Ephraim asks, putting his case down.

I look around the room. “Yeah, we are.”

BRUTUS’S HOME - AFTERNOON

BEDROOM

SHORTY

I turn over and am faced with a beautifully muscled back. I trail my fingers down his spine, eliciting a soft giggle, which turns into a moan as I slide them down the front of his cargos. “Hate to be a mood killer, but…” Brutus lies flat, then pulls me into his side. “...can we talk about it before you have your way with me?”

I nod then stretch. “Coffee?” 

“Mmm, sounds good.” He throws the blankets off, and we head to the kitchen. We prepare the tray in silence, but he keeps checking me over. 

“What’s the matter?” I look down at myself. The only thing that I am missing are my trainers. When I got here, he immediately took them off, then tucked us both, fully dressed into bed. He held me for the longest time, before we drifted off to sleep. “Brutus. What?”

“I was worried. When I lost you, I was worried. I couldn’t remember the address, as I was panicking so much! You were left with a possible murderer, and…” I press myself against him. He looks perplexed.

“You can feel me, right? I am here, right?” I wrap my arms around him as tightly as I can. “I can’t just up and go, if that’s what you are about to suggest next. He's going to be suss!”

“Suss?!” He snorts, then nuzzles my hair. “You’ve been reading urban dictionaries again. Where is that from?”

“British slang. Means to…in Vance’s case, to be shrewd and wary.”

“Ah. So did he say anything, call anybody? Want cookies?” I just look at him. “What was I thinking?”

Once we are back in bed, having removed all but our boxers, we sip and eat in silence, before I splutter on my coffee. “Oh crap!” I croak after he helps me with some water. “I have just remembered something, more importantly someone! We need to go see Zee and Faal! Get dressed and call them on the way!”

“About who?!” Brutus yells as I rush around, but he pulls me to a stop. “Who are you talking about?!”

“Cody Bell.”

TREEHOUSE - TWO HOURS LATER

GUN ROOM

JUSTIN

“He’s been where?!” I gasp.

“Prison.” Shorty repeats.

“What made you think about him?” Faal asks from in front of the computer whilst Zee is on a conference call in the corner with Zeus..

“And now he’s not?” Brian is scowling from the other side of the room. Ever since we got the call, he’s been pouting. I, on the other hand, am relieved because I have already been punished for that! “So we need to find him.”

“This world gets smaller.” Zeus sighs as Zee nudges Faal out of the way. “He and Sapperstein were in the same block before he was paroled...” 

“This is Zaden.” She clips out, putting the phone in the crook of her neck, Faal hooks her up to her headphones. “Hit me with it.” The room goes quieter as her eyes widen. “Really? Thanks.” She looks a little happier. 

“Well?!” I fret.

“Bell was in for aggravated assault. After the posse disbanded, he moved cities and set up elsewhere, where people followed his gung-ho mantra and palpated his ego. Seriously, still can’t believe you didn’t know that people were calling you two the pink pussy...so funny.” 

“Moving on.” I retort. “How does Bell get to Sapperstein?”

“You.” She replies crisply. “Once they found out that they knew you, they were ‘bonded’, but then Bell was released a couple of years back. He has kept a low profile since, but the interesting bit is that Bell was named as a contact for Sapperstein. He has rung him every week since Bell was paroled, every Monday. That went to twice a week once he hit gen pop.” Her phone beeps. After she checks the message, she sighs. “Well, that explains the who and how, but not the why. Seriously, can we not just do a template for prisons country wide so that people aren’t so frigging stupid?!” Again she sighs. “Basic, it is fucking basic!” Zee rails. “An administrative clerk at Albion, who knows Bell, admitted that he told him that Sapperstein was dead. Two days later, he comes to collect his personal effects.”

“Do we have a list?” Faal asks just as the computer chimes. “That would be a yes then.” We all crowd around the screen to read. “Nothing out of the ordinary that I can see.” 

“Um, Brian, when you first bought Babylon after he was arrested for tax evasion, what did you do with the stuff in the safes?”

“Nothing. There was nothing in the office one to do anything with.” He replies without looking up.

“Okay, but what about the ground safe?” The room goes quiet. “In the basement.” My ass tingles with the realisation that I have made a terrible mistake. “You did know about that, didn’t you?!”

“No, I didn’t! Justin! It’s been over ten fucking years!” He growls before snatching out his phone and storming off. He is glaring at me from the other side of the room whilst barking out instructions, cursing he hangs up. We remain silent. “They are sending the surveillance footage of the last two weeks now.” He squinches his eyes tight then rubs his temple. “I was a dickhead. Sorry, Sunshine. It’s not your fault, it’s mine.” Everyone breathes out. “At the time, I was just focused on saving my hunting ground. I should’ve done my due diligence.”

“Yes, you should’ve!” Zeus chastises him, as only-him-being-Cyn’s-boyfriend-allows. “So, by rights, your ass is his, correct?”

“It always is.” He replies. “So you want it?”

“Always.” I return, starting to plan, but all thoughts are obliterated when he kisses me. Ten torrid minutes later, we’re alone but there is a note on screen. “What does it say?” 

“Bell has not showed up at Babylon, so we’re going over. You are not to fuck in this room...go home!” I giggle, he nuzzles my nose. “So...”

“When we get home I am gonna light that fine ass on fire.” I smile before leading my Stud out.