Dirty Break (18+)

In Which the Heroine Dooms Herself

Lydia was enjoying a rare, relaxed Saturday morning when her phone rang. She was catching up on some Youtube videos, and Andrea was making them both pancakes.

"Hello?"

"Miss Granger? This is Warden Roberts - you asked if you could be alerted when Leon Valentine's trial day came up so that you could interview him?"

"Yes?" She didn't know what she was expecting - maybe that it was a call to say that her request was going to be denied after all? It certainly wasn't what happened.

"The trial's today. You have a couple of hours to get here and I'm afraid we'll only be able to get you a short window with him, but I said I would let you know."

"Thank you, Warden Roberts! I'm on my way."

"Miss Granger ... I think it goes without saying that you're not to tell anyone?"

Lydia knew he couldn't know that that was exactly what she was going to have to do, but she still had to clear her throat before answering.

"Of course not, Warden. I'll see you soon."

She put the phone down, took two deep breaths and then rolled with it. If she thought about it she'd doubt herself and she didn't really have room for that considering that she wanted to keep her best friend healthy and alive.
The phone rang three times and she was hoping that it might just go to answer phone - amazing how many people didn't want to answer their phones nowadays - when Conor answered.

"Speak."
"It's Lydia Granger - the appeal's today."

There was no outpouring of emotion over the phone, but everything immediately felt a bit more tense.

"What time?"

"I don't know - they won't give me too much information in case I expressly go against the orders they gave me not to tell anyone."

"What did they tell you, then?"

"I have a couple of hours to get there and they said they won't be able to allow me very long with him - that's all they said."

"That's not a lot to go on, Lydia. Let's all hope that it pans out, shall we?"

"I did what you asked me to do, Conor. Andrea stays out of this now, you got it?"

"So protective of your little friend. Who's going to protect you, Lydia?"

Conor put the phone down to the sound of him laughing.

                                                                     ***************
Luckily Lydia found getting ready relaxing so had been dressed and made up when she received the call - she didn't have time to waste but she would not have relished the thought of facing Leon Valentine without her armour again. She hadn't wanted to miss the opportunity so had forked out for an Uber, dropping Andrea at the library on the way. They pulled up in the visitors car park close to an hour after she had received the call, and she all but flung money at him in her haste to get into the prison.

"Good Morning, Lydia." Rachel, stood at the front desk, welcomed her as she came through the doors - a sure sign that you spent too much time in prison.

"Hi Rachel, I'm here to interview Leon Valentine - I might have to meet the Warden first, I'm not sure?"

Rachel signed her in and took her valuables, calling up to the Warden at the same time as fending some overzealous wannabe visitor off - and she did it all without batting an eyelid. For her part, Lydia was feeling more and more vexed by the minute, so she breathed a sigh of relief when Rachel told her that the warden was on the way down, and directed her to go get her search out of the way. The perfunctory search was over before she knew it, and then she had long moments to think whilst waiting for the Warden to reach her.