Inside Man | ONC2023

6. Kam

(Author's Note: this chapter is dedicated to SallyMason1 who has not one, but two stories in the ONC2023! A YA #mystery -  Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall, and a #romcom - One Last Waltz. Check them out !)
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Six months earlier

Kam looked around his cell for the last time. There wasn't anything here that he wanted to take with him.

The bed, chair and hygiene unit were all fixed to the floor. A small table, with a carefully modified console unit embedded in the top, was bolted to the wall on one side. Everything immoveable. The only loose items were a grey pillow and blanket, and his discarded prison outfit. Not much to show for somewhere he'd called home for the last six years.

They'd given back his shirt and trousers to him last night, the ones he'd been wearing when he was brought here, and they still fit, just. Best of all though, was the satisfaction he got from wearing his own sturdy boots instead of the flimsy prison slippers. The solid weight of them around his feet gave him confidence. Now he could break a shin or a knee cap with one kick.

He dropped to the floor and did some pushups while he waited. Thirty, forty, fifty, falling into a smooth rhythm. He'd turned forty the year before, but honestly, he thought he was fitter now than when he had been admitted. He'd lost the beer belly fat and replaced it with hard muscle.

Like many prisoners, he'd chosen to go clean shaven on scalp and face for the duration, but once he'd been assured of his release date, he'd reverted to his favourite number two cut. He'd been startled at first to find he'd gone grey, but once he got used to it, he discovered he actually liked the new look. He felt tougher and, oddly, it made his fellow prisoners more respectful.

Footsteps echoed in the passage outside and Kam stood and waited, standing a respectful distance back from the door. Inside, he might have felt like squaring up to the guards, showing them who was boss now he was free, knocking those disdainful expressions from their faces, but of course he did no such thing. If there was one thing Kam had learned in prison, it was patience.

Somebody, somewhere, had once said, "revenge is a meal best served cold," and Kam had tried it once, after a few too many messy brawls, and been instantly converted.

He still enjoyed remembering the look of dismay on Eddy's face when the guards found a home-made knife in his cell, the day before he was due for a parole hearing. That had been a month after his dispute with Kam, which Eddy had long forgotten. Sure, a minor thing, but revenge had still been sweet for all that. He could have stabbed Eddy with the knife easily enough, but that would have led to lockdowns and enquiries and a whole lot of shit Kam didn't need.

No, he'd save the serious stuff for those on the outside. Rik Maddon and his dad, for instance, those who'd been responsible for his conviction in the first place. True enough, he'd kidnapped the boy, but he'd been rescued hadn't he? No-one had died.

And Kam hadn't even got to keep his share of the ransom money. The police had confiscated the entire sum and returned it to the Maddons, and Kam had paid with six years of his life. All for nothing. Really, when you thought about, they owed him.

One guard unlocked the cell door while the other waited in the corridor.

"All set, then, Kam?" he asked. "I bet you'll be glad to see the back of this place."

"Yes, sir." Kam answered with a grateful smile. Anything to keep up the necessary façade, it would only be for a little longer.

"Let's go. The shuttle is waiting for you. You'll be the last to board."

The guards walked either side of him, ushering him through the locked door at the end of the passage and then through another, until they reached the end of the cell block. A large metal door stood before them, filling the entire wall, but a smaller access door was built into the right-hand side. The smaller door opened at their approach and they passed through into a short passage which led to the hangar.

The passage was roofed and floored with metal plates but the sides were clear plasglas, allowing pedestrians to see the gardens beyond. Rows of vegetables in hydroponic trays filled the foreground while beyond them, they could see fruit trees espaliered against the surrounding walls.

The gardens belonged to the minimum security section of the prison and not only kept the inmates occupied but supplied much of the prison's food. While in minimum security, each prisoner had their own independent living unit, containing a bedroom with single bed, a kitchenette and a tiny bathroom.

Kam had spent the last three months living and working there, as part of his transition back to normal society. He had only been returned to his cell for the last night, so that he could be released the following day.

The door at the end of the plasglas passage opened into the Discharge Office, where Kam received the rest of his possessions that had been confiscated when he entered the prison, including his wristcom, and two credit vouchers. One for a week's accommodation at a transit hostel and the other for a well-known clothing store.

One final door remained and then he was through to the hangar, presently empty. An airlock was embedded in the outer wall with a green light glowing above, indicating it was safe for Kam to enter and transfer to the space shuttle, docked on the other side.

Kam stepped into the shuttle and took his seat along with the three other men being released that day. He strapped himself in as the pilot spoke over her com-unit.

"Buckle up, everyone, we'll be departing in five minutes. The journey will take approximately three hours, expected arrival time in Syden is 18:00 hours. Enjoy the flight."

Kam sat back and watched the images being shown on the screen behind the pilot's cabin. There were no windows in the shuttle, of course, but the screen displayed images of the moon they were just leaving. From space, the dome which covered the prison settlement looked like a tiny spot.

Kam closed his eyes and dozed. In six years, he'd learned the value of patience and planning. Revenge was going to be particularly sweet.