City of Kinetics

THIRTY-ONE ✴ The Scars He Caused

       Bowen had taken Mila back down to the first floor and around back where she assumed the holding cells were. After going through multiple doors with guards and key-card locks, they finally reached a long stretch of hallway with empty cells on one side and small windows on the other.

       Her eyes darted nervously around the bars, seeing that although most were empty, some were occupied with people. She could see one man, obviously drunk, walking around talking to himself in one of them at the very end while another man slept as they passed his cell.

       Bowen stopped in front of one and immediately, Mila made eye contact with Evelyn, who immediately brightened up when she saw her. Jason was in there, too, looking relieved. Mila let out a small smile as Bowen unlocked the cell door.

       "Are you okay?" Jason asked immediately.

       Bowen quickly undid her cuffs and before she knew it, Evelyn was throwing her arms around her, squeezing her tight.

       "Ellie..." Mila managed to say, sucking in a breath.

       "Sorry!" Evelyn immediately pulled away, giving her an apologetic look. "I was so worried."

       Before Mila had the chance to respond, the sound of the main door opening cut her off. Everyone looked over to see another officer escorting Hunter down the hall towards their cell. Mila's eyes quickly went over him, glad to see that he was alright.

       "Bowen," Hunter said immediately, seeing him standing in front of the cell.

       "It's okay, I got them all," Bowen told him.

       Hunter's eyes went over everyone as the officer brought him to a stop, his shoulders slumping in relief when he saw that they were all alright. However, there was a bit of franticness in his eyes still, and Mila knew why.

       "Where's Leila?" he asked as the officer unlocked his cuffs.

       Bowen frowned. "I'm still working on it."

       Hunter rubbed his wrists and stepped into the cell before Bowen closed the door, locking it.

       "How long are you going to keep us in here?" Jason asked him.

       "Sergeant Wolfe's going over my paperwork, it shouldn't be long," Bowen answered. "Don't worry, guys. He's on your side, he doesn't think you did anything wrong."

       Mila felt relief go through upon hearing that.

       "I'll be back," Bowen promised, his eyes going over them all. "And I'll see where they took your sister, Hunter."

       Hunter nodded, but it didn't stop the worry in his eyes. His lips were pressed in a thin line as he continuously rubbed at his wrists. Mila figured it was more because he was anxious rather than in pain from the cuffs.

       Jason noticed it too and frowned, putting a hand on his arm to stop him.

       "It's okay, they probably just have her in a waiting room somewhere," Jason told him. "Bowen will find her."

       Hunter looked at him and reluctantly dropped his hands to his sides.

       "Who's Sergeant Wolfe?" Evelyn suddenly asked.

       "He's our boss, one of the higher-ranking officers," Jason explained. "If he's the one handling the paperwork from Bowen, then we should be out of here in no time."

       Evelyn smiled. "That's good news, right?"

       Jason nodded. "It's great news. But until he gets everything in order, we're stuck here."