Day 20

Cassidy observed Brian being escorted to The Precinct and being greeted. It's going well so far, he thought to himself. He was supposed to return the next night, now that they had overcome the first challenge, but first he had a stop to make. He was going to make arrangements for something he had planned on his own without the group's knowledge.

The robed man extended his hand as Cassidy approached. "Greetings, Reagan. Have you come to steal more vegetables?"

Cassidy laughed. "I wondered if you knew. It seemed too easy somehow."

"We didn't begrudge you a few tubers from our garden. You never bothered us, or tried to prevent others from joining us. There is room for all of us." He moved toward the sitting area in the courtyard. "Some refreshing water? A snack?"

"I think not, Dabny, but nice try." He followed the man and joined him on the silver cushions. "I have a proposal for you. It is just between you and me, and if you don't agree, then no harm no foul. It will be forgotten – it never happened."

"How interesting. And if I do agree?"

"Same rule, just between you and me."

"And what would I be agreeing to, precisely."

For the next hour they shared an intense discussion, with Dabny's interest and eagerness increasing with each exchange, and in the end shook hands and bade one another farewell.

******

The room was large, well furnished and decorated. Brian stood by one wall, mouth open in disbelief. On the wall were three paintings representing three different styles. A Still life by Paul Cézanne. An impressionistic piece by Alfred Sisley, and an Art Nouveau by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, each with an antique brass picture light.

Hypocritical bastards! He turned and looked at the rest of the room noticing, for the first time, the soft notes of a guitar playing background music. His anger was interrupted by the entry of three men. The Inquisitor he recognized, the other two looked like muscle.

"Prisoner Kilroy." The Inquisitor greeted, with smarmy superiority. "I look forward to hearing about your exploits over the past 20 days. You appear to have somehow magically managed to survive your sentence."

"And I'd like to hear about these." Brian waved a hand about the room.

"Nothing mysterious." He chose a soft leather chair, gazing with amusement at him. "Fine things need to be protected, and appreciated by discerning people."

Brian's move toward him was blocked quickly by one of the men, and he was easily wrestled into another seat across from The Inquisitor.

"A caution, Mr. Hayes, you are here to tell us how you managed your survival, nothing else."

"And I suppose these two thugs are here to provide encouragement."

"Only if necessary. I don't think we need to go that route."

"No? How about this route." He shot two fingers up violently. The punch to the side of his head left him tilted over, stunned and trying to focus.

"Shall we try again, without the dramatics this time?"

"A clear conscience," he mumbled.

"What was that?"

He pulled himself upright, one hand pressing on the throb in his head. "I said, a clear conscience."

"Is that one of your alter ego's utterances."

"It's how anyone with a clear conscience can out last self-indulgent, despots like you and your Circle." His arm came up this time, blocking most of the intended blow. Brian jumped from his seat and delivered a punch of his own, only to find it was suddenly two against one, and there was no defence against the punishment delivered.

******

The gentle shake on his shoulder prompted his eyes to open, and he peered up at the hazy image of a face, a face that became clearer and surprisingly interesting.

"Can you sit up?" The voice was soft but strong.

"What- who are you?" He struggled into a sitting position, his back against the wall of another room, a much smaller less inviting one.

"My name is Leslie. I work here."

"Where is here?" He winced, grabbing at his stomach. "Oh, man."

"Are you alright? Is anything broken?"

"Hell, I hope not. I don't think so." He inhaled and shifted his position. "What do you mean you work here? Is this The Precinct offices?"

He noticed for the first time she had set a tray on the floor beside him. On it was some juice and a sandwich. He also noticed, on closer examination, that Leslie was a very attractive young lady. Chestnut hair, gathered in a loose ponytail. Clear amber eyes, a Greek nose and extremely kissable lips. Funny, he thought, for a moment there I didn't feel any pain.

"These are The Circle's private rooms. This is a very large place."

"What do you do here?" He watched her face, fixated.

"I'm part of the staff. We do clerical work. Run errands . . . other things." Her cheeks pinked. "You should eat your sandwich. I have to report when you're awake again."

"Can you delay that a bit, I'm not sure if I can stand yet."

"Let's try." She stood and took one arm, helping Brian ease himself upright.

"Thanks." He faced her and fell into her eyes. My God, Hayes, get a grip! "I'm not actually hungry," he looked down at the tray then back at her.

She made sure he was supported against the wall, then bent down and picked up the tray. Brian took in the figure accented by the pale blue, sleeveless pullover and black skirt.

"What's ahead for me, Leslie? After you report, I mean."

"I don't know. I've never been involved in anything like this before."

"Are you? Involved?"

"Well, I work here and they've got me bringing you food." Her eyes locked on his, and there was a moment of connection Brian knew he had to exploit.

"You know who I am and why I'm here, right?" She scraped her upper lip with her teeth and nodded. "I was supposed to be freed, having completed the sentence, but they want to know how I did it." He moved away from the wall and teetered slightly. "I'm not going to tell them anything, Leslie, but I would tell someone who could let those outside know."

She brushed an errant strand of hair away from her face, and crossed her arms. "Is that a hint, Mr. Hayes? What makes you think you can trust me?"

"Just the way you've spoken to me and helped me. It's not typical behaviour from anyone in this place."

"I need to get back. Do you want the food or not?"

He slumped a bit and shook his head. "No thanks. Sorry, Leslie, I wasn't trying to get you in trouble."

"I have to go." She turned and walked to the door, His eyes following sadly.

1092 words

Total to this point - 9484