1 | No Holds Barred [Among Thieves]

Seven

Chapter Seven | Payback Time

Three Months Later
Turkey

YOU HATED TO ADMIT it, but Flynn was right about Turkish prisons. When you walked into the facility, you immediately felt the lack of oxygen and stale air. There was an insufficient number of windows to let in clean air, and flies had swamped the sleeping areas where sixty men shared a cell designed to accommodate only twenty. The prison was obviously overcapacity.

        You wiped the sweat from your forehead with your sleeve. The hot, humid atmosphere was miserable. No wonder there are such big health issues when people are sleeping on top of each other with no air.

        As you followed Sully to Nathan's jail cell, you felt incredibly guilty he had to spend three months living in this hell hole. You wanted to get him out sooner, but as expected, bribing Turkish guards required a lot of money.

        You breathed a sigh of relief when you saw him in one of the cells. There he was, lying on a filthy and stained mattress, hallucinating with his hands to entertain himself. You grimaced as you noticed he wore the same outfit from the museum.

        "You overlooked one little detail, didn't you, partner? What?! Face it, genius. You've been played. Oh really . . ."

        Having enough of his antics, you and Sully walked up to the cell, blocking the sunlight from his puppet show. With a shade of annoyance in his tone, he yelled, "Hey—hey—hey—jackasses, you're ruining the show here."

        Sully shook his head and in a teasing tone, said, "Ah, what a shame."

        Upon hearing his voice, Nathan turned around, a look of surprise and delight breaking across his face once he saw you. He ran up to the bars, exclaiming, "[Name]! Sully! Words can't describe how glad I am to see you."

        "I told you I'll come back." You smiled sheepishly, fiddling with your fingers. "Granted, it took longer than expected . . ."

        "How you doin', kid?" asked Sully.