Chapter 5
Five
MADDOX
The metal bars clanged, the only warning before they opened into our cell block echoed in my ears. It was a familiar sound, one I’d grown used to over the past two years. With each day being the same, time felt slow, with hardly anything new to mark them by.
So, when the guard alerted me that I had a visitor, I stumbled, not expecting it.
“King, did you hear me?” he asked, looking at me strangely.
“Yeah. Sorry.” I blinked, setting down the mop I’d been using, and placed it back on my cart. I nodded to the other guard, letting him know I was done. He walked over to inspect it as I walked out, following the guard who’d come to retrieve me.
“Do you know who it is?” I asked once we were clear of the other prisoners.
It had been hard at first coming in here. There hadn’t been a lot of friendly faces, considering who I was; my father was not very popular in this neck of the woods. It took time for me to gain the trust of a few inmates and guards, showing them I wasn’t like my father.
There were a lot of tests and punishments until I’d proven I wasn’t joining sides. Once it was known I was a free man, things calmed down, and I didn’t have to sleep with a shiv in my hand.
Those first few months had been rough; some of them had left me wondering if I’d make it. Only the thoughts of my sister and Darcie kept me going. They both needed me, and if I was honest, I needed them. They reminded me I was more than the thug my father wanted me to be. Instead, I was the man Tank had helped me become.
The guard looked at me, shaking his head. McDaniels was fair and strove to do his job well, not taking bribes and helping the men to be better than they’d entered. He was one of the good ones.
“Someone in a suit. I didn’t get a name before I was sent to retrieve you. Do you think it’s them?”
I stopped, needing a second to think. McDaniels stopped a few feet ahead, waiting for me to run the facts through my head. When I felt prepared, I began walking and caught up with him.
“Maybe. Once I could use the internet, I sent a secure message to the Mavericks, hoping Tank’s allies could help me. It’s been so long that I’d given up hope they could.”
A smile spread as hope bloomed in my chest. This could finally be the moment I’d been waiting for.
The charges against me had been bogus, but with planted witnesses, it had been an open-and-shut case. I’d been told to take the plea deal to lessen my sentence, as no jury around here would ever find me not guilty.
I hated it, but I could understand the court-appointed attorney's position. Besides, it was what my father wanted. And what he desired, he got. If I didn’t go to jail to serve some bogus charge, he’d make it so I was buried six feet under.
Whatever he’d traded for my freedom had been bad enough for him to want to undermine me the way he did. That, or he’d finally figured out my plan all along. I wasn’t sure the Destroyer was that intuitive, but I’d learned from an early age to never underestimate him. Just when you thought you were safe, he would strike, reminding you why he was named the Destroyer.
McDaniels patted me on the back as we neared the visiting room, nodding to the guard at the door to let me through. I blanked my face, the mask I’d worn for so long feeling comfortable as I stepped into the room, eyeing the man at the table.
He was dressed in a nice gray suit, one that had to be expensive. Immediately, I knew he wasn’t from the court. Could he be the ally finally coming to meet? Or was this something else?
The man watched me as I entered, waving away the guard as I took a seat. Whoever he was, he was comfortable enough in himself to not fear me. I didn’t know if that was a good thing or not. It spoke of the power this man could wield, but what would that mean for me?
“Who are you?” I asked when he didn’t say anything, his eyes assessing me behind wire-rimmed glasses.
“The better question,” he said, “is what can I do for you?”
“Fine.” I rolled my eyes, leaning back in my chair and crossing my thick arms across my chest. My tattoos peeked out as I tried to regain some of the power dynamic between us. “What can you do for me?” I asked through gritted teeth.
He smiled, practically giddy, as he watched me. “Oh, you’re perfect.”
Smacking my hands down on the metal table, I smiled in glee when he jumped a little. “Tell me why you’re here, or I’ll show you what my fists can do,” I threatened. I had no intention of punching the man, but his demeanor was getting on my nerves.
He sighed like I was boring him, taking out a handkerchief to wipe his glasses. My jaw ticked as I waited, the anxiety coursing through me the longer he took. I had no more moves left, and he knew it.
Once he was finished, he placed his glasses back on his face and delicately folded the cloth. When it was folded back into the perfect square, he put it in his suit pocket, a little tuft sticking up. My face was red by this point, and I could imagine steam was about to roll out of my ears.
Pushing off the table, the chair screeched out behind me; the sound hurting my ears in the quiet space. I ignored it as I stood and began walking toward the door.
“I can get you out of here, Mr. King. Now, sit down and drop the macho act so we can get down to business. We only have a short amount of time to cover everything.”
Gritting my teeth, my jaw flexed as I debated giving this guy any more of my time. Deciding I had nothing to lose by hearing him out other than missing a few hours of mopping, I sat down.
He opened a file folder, turning it toward me.
“I believe you know this man fairly well?” he asked, showing me a picture of none other than the Destroyer.
“Is that a trick question?” I asked, trying to gauge what his game was. “It’s my father, but you already knew that.”
He smiled, the movement feeling a bit too perfect. “Yes, you are correct. And if I was to believe what I’ve heard, you’re not a fan of him. In fact, he’s the reason you’re in here? He set you up to take the fall for him when the Feds were getting too close.”
I grunted, not wanting to say too much. It was a battle of wills to determine who had the true upper hand here.
“A colleague of mine sent me your name and file, telling me that you just might be the person I’ve been looking for.”
“Sorry to break it to you, but you’re not my type. Besides, I’m taken.” I raised my eyebrows at him, daring him to continue.
He chuckled, not flummoxed at all by my comment. “Ah, there’s that wit Hank spoke of.”
The mentioning of Darcie’s father had me sitting up straighter. “You know Hank?” I asked, trying to keep the relief out of my voice.
“We have a mutual friend.”
“So what is it you’re wanting from me?” I asked, knowing this game all too well. He wouldn’t help me unless I could give him something—or someone.
“Smart too. I bet your fellow inmates resent you for that.” He joked, pointing toward the cell block. “Well, you see, Mr. King, I have a personal reason for wanting a man behind bars. The reason doesn’t matter per se, just whether or not you’re willing to help. In the process, we might be able to get you out of here and put two men away.”
“Who?” I asked, excitement building low in my stomach. It felt too good to be true, so I wanted to hedge it carefully so I didn’t come out on the losing end.
“Stanley Driscoll and your father.”
The air left the room at the mention of those two men. Putting my father away alone was enough to make me break out in a sweat. If he was ever released or found a loophole to avoid jail time, I’d be a dead man. The same could be said for the Agonizer. Both men were killers, willing to do literally anything to stay out from behind bars.
I swallowed, my hands beginning to shake under the table. Sweat dripped down my back as I thought over his words.
“What are you offering, and what would I have to do?”
He smiled smugly like he believed he already had me. But I knew the danger and the risks. I could be out in a year on parole for good behavior if I kept things going as they were. It would be hard to leverage that for something full of risk.
“You give me Stanley Driscoll, then all the charges against you will be dropped, and your record will be expunged. If you take out your father in the same wave, we’ll set you up with a new identity.”
“That’s a lot for me to risk. Neither of those men will be easy to charge. I know how this game works. They’ll get someone lower on the ladder,” I pointed at myself, “to take the fall. Nothing ever sticks to them. You’re asking me to walk into my own murder.”
He watched me again, that calculating look on his face. “You are clever. Fine, we’ll ensure no fallback comes on you. If you fail, you’ll return and finish your sentence in a cushy white-collar prison. Without any time added. It will be like you never left. How does that sound?”
It was the best offer I could hope for, but something about it still felt off. He was willing to give me a clean slate for turning over two of the deadliest men in the country. It wouldn’t be easy, but it could mean I’d be back in Darcie’s life quicker with all my baggage forgotten.
There might be a trap somewhere, but if the worst-case scenario meant I could return to a better prison to finish my sentence, there wasn’t anything else they could do to me. It was the safety net I needed.
“What do I have to do?”
His clinical smile returned as he went over the things they knew and what they’d want from me. I was able to fill in some of the gaps from my time with both men. But there was still a lot I needed.
“I’ll have the papers ready for you to sign tomorrow,” he said, putting his file back in his briefcase.
“We start with my father first. Otherwise, there’s no way I’ll make it out of the state.”
“Agreed. We only need a few more items to take him down. Your assistance will increase our odds of making it happen. It’s been nice working with you, Mr. King.”
He shook my hand, and I realized I still didn’t know his name.
“You never did tell me who you were?” I hedged, hoping to finally know the man I was dealing with.
“It’s better that you don’t know. For our purposes, you can call me Agent Bones.” He smiled like he’d just told the punchline of a joke no one else knew.
McDaniels was waiting for me when I stepped out, walking with me back to my cell. He asked me if he was the ally I’d thought, but I shook my head, not sure what to call Agent Bones.
I didn’t feel like he was against me at the moment, but with a man like him, it felt like that could change quickly if I stepped out of line. So, no, he wasn’t an ally. But he wasn’t exactly an enemy, either. At least not yet.
For now, I’d call him Agent Bones and pray that I hadn’t just signed my own death certificate.