“You ready for this, love?” Frank repeated his so favoured question.

I shook my head. “No, but that's not likely to change.” I unbuckled my seatbelt, picked up my handbag and climbed out of the car. “Let's just get this done before I come to my senses.”

“Now, let's just get one thing very clear,” Frank said as he slammed the car door and hurried after me. “There will be no backing of this now. We had a deal, remember. And if memory serves me right, you already had your half of the bargain.”

He'd grabbed my arm and wheeled me around to face him, halting my progress towards the towering brick prison. His grey human eyes had flooded with black tar as the demon below its surface showed itself to me. I didn't need the threat to remind me of anything, and it only served to make me question my decision in going through with this whole thing, rather than intimidating me into obedience. Could I really let that thing free in there?

Frank I knew would give me little choice in the matter, second thoughts or not. We'd come this far and no, I wasn't about to bail out on Jesse now.

“I'm not going to change my mind, so you can let go of my arm.” I wrenched my arm from off his grip as I spoke, flinching slightly as his fingers pinched my skin. “Just because I'm not jumping for joy about the whole situation doesn't mean I'm going to bail. So let's go get this over with.”

We'd made good time in getting to the prison. Frank wasn't a terrible driver as it turned out, much to my surprise, and it being a Wednesday and early afternoon the quiet country roads into the nearest town had been pretty empty. We were bang on time for the visitation appointment I'd been allotted, and that meant there wasn't really any time to hang around and talk, or think too much, which was probably a good thing.

The huge building was a forbidding sight, and I started to have some reservations about how easy this plan was going to be to carry out. Frank might be able to cause some havoc, but would it be enough to allow Jesse and myself to slip away? And, a question that had been pressing on my mind most urgently, would he even come with me willingly? After all, he'd turned himself in. Was my elaborate escape plan going to be worth it, or was Jesse just going to shoot me down in flames?

“There's only one way to find out, love.” Frank growled right beside my ear, and I jumped.

“What?” How the hell did he know what I was thinking?

“All those questions I can see buzzing around in your head. You're wearing every single one of them, plain as day, all over your face, and the only way you'll find out the answers is to get your arse in through that door.”

“Yes, I know.” I replied, petulantly as I threw him a scowl.

Okay, so it was a relief he couldn't actually read my mind, I had been wondering about that for a while, but if he could see me questioning myself would it be obvious to everyone else around me too? I took a few more determined steps towards the entrance, trying to mask my anxiousness with a display of confidence. Wasn't everyone this nervous the first time they visited someone in prison?

As was to be expected, the whole place was heavily guarded and secure; full of locked doors, security cameras and guards at every turn. It wasn't a surprising set up in the slightest, it was a high security facility after all – given the nature of Jesse's self-confessed crime and their fears for his mental stability – but I needed to take all of it in, remember all the important details; anything that would be key in making our escape.

The camera's everywhere were troubling but, when it really came down to it, they had to be the least of my worries. While I wasn't keen on them having my mug on camera, an accomplice to yet another crime on Jesse's record, they would already be able to recognise him beyond a doubt, seeing me as well wouldn't a whole lot of difference – even if it did leave me with visions of dodgy witness sketches and wanted posters.

One thing was very clear though, I was going to need a set of keys from one of the guards. Even from the visitation entrance all of the doors were securely locked behind us. Without a set of the guards keys we weren't going to get very far at all.

Frank and I progressed with the rest of the group of visitors through the building. We were all thoroughly searched, one by one, which made me glad I'd decided to stash my little potion vial away with the rest of my luggage that was still in the car; I had no idea how I might have explained that had they found it in my handbag. Then we were finally filed through into a reception like area where a guard sat behind the large, plastic covered desk in front of a computer screen.

A line formed in front of him as visitors appointments were ticked off of his list and they were admitted through a set of double doors into the visitation room itself. Through the security glass behind the man at the desk I could see it was a wide, canteen like room, set with beaten up plastic tables and matching grey plastic chairs – not at all unlike those you might find in your local school.

It wasn't exactly a welcoming environment, but it wasn't just the setting that made me uncomfortable. The closer we got to that room, the closer we stepped to the reality of why Frank and I were there, and it scared me. The whole idea scared me, but the man who stood beside me scared me most of all – at least, what lived beneath his skin did. I needed him far too much for my liking and, even though his information had been frustrating and helped me very little, I still owed his for telling me what he knew. I couldn't break my word to him entirely, not when I was already sure he suspected I was planning a double cross to sneak Jesse away before he could be dragged to Hell.

None of this plan was very well designed, nor even particularly clever. It was full of flaw and pot holes to trip me up along the way. We would have one chance to get away, Jesse and I, and there wouldn't be a very big window in which to do it. I had to risk it all to try and save everything, all or nothing. I should have been feeling confident, even heroic, but I wasn't; I quivered physically, my heart raced and I even felt a little bit sick. I was no hero, I was just a terrified girl playing in a world I was so not prepared for. When did life get so complicated?

The line at the desk had cleared as visitors names were checked off and they were admitted in to wait and see their incarcerated friends and family. Our turn next. I was hesitant so Frank gripped my shoulder hard and shoved me towards the the guard at the computer.

“Get your act together, love. This isn't going to work if you're not on the ball. There is no way I'm letting you run out of here now.” He growled softly into my ear.

“Stop shoving me!” I hissed back as I shrugged off his grip.

I understood that he was keen to get in there, keen to shed that human skin he'd been trapped in for some time, but his constant pushing and reminding me that I couldn't escape him and this deal was frustrating – not to mention it made my already frayed nerves unravel some more. Would I actually be able to escape Frank once he was in full demon form?

I smiled as brightly as I could at the man in uniform behind the desk, though I could feel it quivering in the corners and it probably looked much more like a grimace; especially if the man's expression was anything to go by.

“Name, and inmates name.” He glowered at me, his voice bored and monotone.

“R...ah, Heather...” Shit, what surname did I give my alias this time? Why the hell wasn't I keeping better track of these things? “...Smith. Heather Smith.” That's right, I'd gone with the most unimaginative and common surname possible.

“Heather Smith,” he repeated, rolling the name over his tongue as if he didn't quite believe that was really my name – or maybe I was just being paranoid. “And you're here to see who?” He repeated the second request, I hadn't even realised I'd not answered that part.

“Oh, Jesse Hudson.” At least I remembered his last name.

The man's eyes flicked upwards to Frank after a quick glance back at his computer screen. “And who's this? We've only got Hudson down for one visitor today and that, apparently, is you, Miss Smith.”

I opened my mouth to respond, not liking the tone the man had used to say my name, but before I could get a word out Frank swiftly stepped in and shoved me out of the way. Stumbling, I caught myself on the edge of the large, rough plastic coated desk, and pulled myself back up just in time to see Frank fix the man behind it with a very intense gaze. I had to admit, I was intrigued to see Frank work his mojo on this guy, I'd had no idea his power could even work that way – not while he possessed a human form anyway – so I wanted to see just how well it was going to work.

The guard's eyes suddenly glazed over and his frown melted from his face as he just sat and stared, transfixed on Frank's face. I had a feeling that Frank was showing the man his true eyes, willing the guard to tumble down into their black depths as he pulled on the man's mind. I understood the theory behind the hypnosis power - Lucas and I had always shared stories and experiences and the way our individual powers worked had been no exception, it couldn't differ all that much from the way he performed the ability. Once inside the person's mind the power apparently worked in much the same way as my own power did, the method of getting inside the person's head was what differed the most. An idea would be planted in the victims mind and you hoped it would take root, though with the hypnosis, the demon had much more physical control over the person whose mind they influenced.

“I think perhaps you should take another look on that list of yours,” Frank said in a slow, careful voice.

On command the guard's eyes slipped from Franks, immediately breaking the connection. He glanced over the list on his computer screen as the frown crept back to his brow; Frank's power only seemed to have any real influence while they kept eye contact, that must have been what he meant about it not lasting very long. The guard shook his head and looked back up, his mouth open to say something, but the moment that his eyes met Frank's again his face went blank; mouth hanging open like a goldfish at feeding time.

“I think you saw my name on that list there now, didn't you? Frank Best to visit Jesse Hudson? That would be me.”

The guard nodded his head, though a slight sign of confusion crinkled the corners of his eyes. “Um...yes?” The word was most definitely a question, as if he was fighting through the attack on his mind.

I felt a pulse of energy ripple through the air beside me, as if Frank was digging deep and throwing everything he had at the guard. Don't drain yourself dry Frank, please, I thought to myself. He couldn't waste all of his energy and power on being allowed admittance to the room, as much as the idea terrified me I needed him at full power once we actually got in there if this was ever going to work. A flagged out Whisperer demon was just not going to cut it.

The pulse of energy though seemed to have done the trick. The guard nodded, more confidently this time and I felt Frank relax slightly. The frown had gone to be replaced with a placid and appeased expression.

“Yes, all in order. Go on through now please.”

Frank grinned and grabbed my arm. He walked us backwards from the desk a few paces before whirling us around fast enough to give me whiplash and frog marched me through the door.

“Come on, let's get in there quick before he's realises his mistake.”

For once I agreed with him, as a quick glance over my shoulder showed the guard frowning once again as he carefully studied his computer screen. He looked up and caught my eye just as the door to the visitation room swung shut. The worry that he might interrupt the plan sat heavy in the pit of my stomach; we were going to have to get on with this thing, and quickly.

We took a seat at one of the few remaining vacant tables and sat anxiously waiting for Jesse's appearance.

I spotted him file through the door with the other inmates, and I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face at the sight of him. Maybe Frank was right, perhaps I did feel more for him that what my guilty conscience obligated me to feel.

He looked tired and even more troubled than he'd been when I'd seen him yesterday. I supposed being locked up, even for only twenty-four hours gave you a lot of time to think, and Jesse certainly had a lot to think about.

Jesse glimpsed me and managed to force a small, sad smile to his lips, but that quickly dropped away to be replaced by a scowl when he saw who had accompanied me.

“What the fuck is he doing here?” Jesse all but growled when he reached our table.

“And hello to you too,” Frank replied, a wide shit-eating grin stretching his face showing far too many teeth.

Upon a command from one of the guards in the room, Jesse reluctantly sank into the chair on the opposite side of the table. “And I repeat,” he said, looking directly at me, his gaze hot with anger – which to be quite honest annoyed me, he should appreciated I was even there at all. “What is he doing here. I would never put his name down on my visitation list.”

“He's here because I need his help,” I said shortly. We needed to get on with this quickly, I had to broach the subject of the plan with Jesse somehow and really didn't have time to quibble about why Frank was there. I just wasn't sure how I got the point across to him without blurting it right out and letting the whole room know of our intentions, we were hardly able to have a private conversation with the number of guards all lining the walls.

“How could he possibly help you with anything? He's a disgusting drunk who's good for nothing.” Besides Eric, I'd never heard Jesse speak so harshly about someone. If he knew the truth, that Frank had picked him out to be my victim personally it might even get worse, that was not something I intended on sharing with him, though it did make me wonder if something more had passed between the two of them than Frank had let on.

“Ooh, now that one hurt.” Frank clutched a hand to his chest in mock pain and I shoved an elbow into his ribs – the pain may as well be real.

“Okay, enough out of the pair of you. He might be a drunk on the surface, Jesse, but he knows a hell of a lot about MY kind of people as well.” I couldn't hint any more directly without actually saying the words and setting Frank free with no warning.

“Wait, you mean he's...”

“Yes!” I cut across him before he spoke the words and did the job for me. “And we're here to get you out of this place. This is my mess, Jesse, you don't deserve to be stuck in here.” I'd leaned in across the table and spoke in a hushed whisper, hoping we wouldn't attract too much attention with our conversation.

“But...no. I chose to come here. I was going to happen anyway, we'll just end up in even more shit if we try some kind of jail break crap.”

“He's got a point, love.” Frank purred in my ear, his grin never fading as he enjoyed teasing me.

I rolled my eyes, “Oh shut up, you're more keen for all of this than I am.”

“I won't deny that, but it doesn't mean you've got to succeed in your end of the plan now does it. He could just stay here and rot for all I care.”

“No, enough with the games, Frank. There will be no more arguments and no backing out. We planned this, and this is how things are going to go,” I said, feeling more determined in that moment than I had all day.

“Don't I get a say in this?” Jesse asked.

I shot him a hard look. “Y'know what, no, you don't. If you'd have just stayed put until I got back yesterday we could have worked this out without any of this chaos. But now, no, I don't have any other choice. This is so much bigger than you can imagine, and I can't have you stuck in this place.”

“So this is all about you then? It's not really got anything to do with me at all?”

“Yes, it is all about me. For once in my damn life I am being completely selfish and thinking about saving my own sorry skin. So if that means I have to physically drag you out of here, then so be it.”

I knew my words were harsh, even more so for their hushed tone as I continued to hope we wouldn't be overheard. Jesse looked surprised, hell I'd even surprised myself as they came tumbling out of my mouth, but he must have seen the determination in my eyes – eyes that were still my natural amethyst colour as I'd forgotten to put in my coloured contacts – and I was thankful when he no longer continued to argue.

“How?” Was all he said.

I stood up and stepped back away from the table. “You might want to stand back.”

“Hudson, you and your visitor sit your arses back down!” One of the guards yelled as Jesse got up from the table without question.

Only Frank remained in his seat, his eyes glittering eagerly as he waited for what was coming. I stared at him and, amid yells from the guards as they advanced on our table, I uttered four simple words.

“Demon! I release you.”