Dirty Break (18+)

In Which the Twain Shall Meet

Lydia had been in the same room as Leon Valentine before, but it had not had the same effect that it did at the moment as he was escorted in and chained to the table in front of her. His attention was steadfast, moves fluid as though he was manhandled into a chair every day of his life - as well he might be. He didn't look or gesture or speak threateningly to the guards, but it was obvious that they were ill at ease; more than just prepared, almost expecting something to happen.

When he was settled, Lydia moved so she was more comfortable in her seat and rested her hand on the camcorder that she had had to fight to bring in. The prison had offered her theirs to use but she imagined it was not quite as high resolution as the ones that NuMedi@ used.

"This is just a little bit of a disclaimer; I am going to record the following interview but you have the right to ask me to turn the recorder off and terminate the conversation at any time you see fit. You will also be given a viewing of the last stages of production to ensure that you don't think we've misrepresented you in any way."

Leon gave a grudging nod and she clicked the machine on.

"I'm Lydia Granger - it's very nice to see you again, Mr Valentine. I'd just like to ask you a few questions if that's ok?"

"You may ask anything you like, Miss Granger. Whether I deign to answer is a different matter entirely."

"Can you tell me what a normal day entails for you?"

"A normal day would entail me waking up next to whatever lovely lady I'd taken out the night before and waking her up for the fifth round. Assuming you mean what does a normal day in Strangeways entail, there's no such thing. In terms of schedule however, we have a strict one involving set time for exercise, meals and work everyday."

Lydia glanced nervously at the camera and then back to Leon.

"Is routine something you are used to from the outside world, Mr Valentine?"

"I can't say that all the parties and weekends away that I attend leave a lot of time for routine. It's quite refreshing to have a set time to do things in, truth be told."

"So the lack of routine on the outside is something you don't miss very much; can you tell me the thing you miss the most?"

Lydia felt she had been lulled into a false sense of security; Leon's ready answer to her last question had given her a little more confidence but the smirk that tugged at the corner of his wicked mouth made her cautious.

"Can't you guess, Ms Granger? I miss the feel of a beautiful woman against me, miss the act of making her orgasm and having the favour returned."

Oh. That's where she'd gone wrong. It had been one of the first questions she'd written, thinking it would give people a bit of insight into Leon Valentine, make them think of him as a bit more human.

"Valentine, I'm under strict instructions to make Miss Granger as comfortable as possible - she didn't come here for you to sexually harass her. Calm down now." The guard stepped forward, said his piece and stepped back into position again.

"My apologies, Ms Granger. As you can understand, it's a little bit of a culture shock going from a different woman every night to no women at all."

He settled himself back in his chair and awaited her next question with a face that looked like butter wouldn't melt. That made Lydia's blood boil just a little.

"Is every single one of your answers going to involve sex in some way, Mr Valentine?"

"Most likely. You see, you came to me, Lydia. You wanted to ask me questions for your silly little TV show, and you wanted me to make it newsworthy. I'm sat across from the most tempting woman I've seen in a long time, wearing what I suspect are stockings under her pencil skirt - my thoughts are unlikely to be on anything other than getting under that skirt for the rest of the day."

The same guard as before stepped forward and slammed his hand on flat on the desk.

"One more chance, Valentine."

He stepped back again, but stayed closer to them this time.
Lydia took a gamble now, She had a list of questions that she'd categorised as 'maybes' - questions that might produce an interesting answer - or might get her nowhere. She worried that if she carried on in the same vein then so would he - and she didn't think she could withstand anymore of his lazy flirting. She was wearing her best reproduction vintage underwear set to help with her confidence and the seam of expensive silk that ran between her legs was growing wetter by the moment.

"What's the most important thing to you, Mr Valentine?"

"What do you think it is, Lydia?" His smirk was back, but the edge was off it now.

"I don't think it's sex. You get that too easily to place too much importance on it. You've already said you can move from one girl to the next. But above and beyond that, I don't know what it could be."

She was aware she was staring at him with rapt attention, like a groupie meeting her favourite band member, but she couldn't wait to see what his answer was.

"The truth." Leon stated at last, eyes holding hers as he spoke.  Lydia waited for some explanation but she waited a while before she realised that he didn't intend to give her one.

"Forgive me, Mr Valentine, but I believe I voice the opinions of many when I say that that's a little difficult to believe coming from someone locked up in Strangeways."

"I don't give a fuck what people think, Lydia. Not even you with your pretty eyes and your goddess body. The truth is the most important thing out there, and I'm going to make sure I find it out. I'm done for today, no more questions."

Lydia watched as he was unchained, re-chained and led away again, a reverse of the process that had happened less than an hour ago. Just before the guards turned him to make the journey to wherever they were going to put them, Leon looked right at Lydia and winked at her, gaze travelling down as much of the length of her as he could before he was gone.

                                          *********************
Lydia couldn't get out of the prison fast enough, although she still had to go through the same old rigmarole as usual. It was a blessing in disguise, however, because by the time she was outside and scrolling through her phone to Andrea's number, she had formulated some of what she was going to say.

"Heeeeeeey, Lyds. How did your meeting with Mr Valentine go? Has he fallen madly in love with you yet?"

Lydia attempted a laugh at her friends joke, but it obviously sounded as weird as she felt.

"What's up, Lyds?"

"I think I want his babies, Andrea!"

"You dick, I thought you were being serious! Did it go ok?"

"I'm really not certain how it went to be honest. Do you want to meet me for a drink?"

"I think this TV show might be a good thing, Lyds. That's two weeks in a row we've gone out on a school night. And If it isn't good for you, it's definitely good for me. Give me fifteen minutes to get ready and then I'll catch the bus. The local?"

They agreed a time and place, and Lydia hung up. She wasn't sure if 'this TV show' was going to turn her into a raging alcoholic or someone obsessed with sex, but one of the two seemed likely,