Uncontrollable

➳ chapter eleven

Neither of them wanted to move right away. For that brief hour, all they had to listen to were the bustle of nature and the heightened conversations from lives that weren't theirs. The sun kept them warm as they stared out upon the lake, watching the light reflect off the water. This was what she loved: observing. It was why she enjoyed the trains so much, and she'd missed this: the calm within the chaos. The eye of the storm.

It was with great reluctance that they rose from their seats to toss their trash out and head towards the station. The train was relatively empty, considering most people had already gone to work, and they made it to The Queen of Hearts with little delay. The bar downstairs was practically empty as well, and for a second, fear pierced her heart. Had something happened?

But when they climbed the stairs to Theo's office, nothing appeared out of the ordinary. In fact, it was better than expected. Theo, Teresa, and Vincent were all there waiting for them, watching each other warily as tension bubbled in the room, and she swore Vincent sighed in relief the second they entered.

"There you are," Theo said by way of greeting. "What took you so long?"

"We stopped for breakfast," Aaron replied. He then turned on Vincent. "And where have you been? I was fucking worried when you still weren't home by nine last night!"

"I had errands to run," Vincent said defensively, pouting. "You stressed me out when you never came home last night."

"Because I was out looking for your ass!"

"Enough," Theo cut in, silencing them both with a hard look. "The point is that we're all here now. Vince, why don't you tell us how your meeting with Jack Roberts went?"

At that, Vincent stiffened. The movement was so imperceptible that she was certain no one had noticed it, but her gaze had been fixed on Vincent the moment she'd entered. Part of her wondered if either Theo or Teresa had pointed out the shadows beneath his eyes or the fact that he kept yawning every few seconds. His entire figure was the perfect picture of weary exhaustion as he sat up straight.

"He managed to get as much information as he could manage," Vincent began, his hands wrapping around the armrests to the chair. "Nik is staying in cell number 21, and yes, he's in solitary confinement."

"Not unusual for those convicted of gang activity or violence," Teresa mumbled.

"The way it works is that Nik is isolated from the other prisoners at all times, which works in our favor since it keeps him safe. But there is an hour a day around one in the afternoon in which all of the prisoners are let out in the courtyard to exercise—or do whatever work is asked of them. For that hour, Nik mingles with the others, but so far, it seems like he's okay."

Aaron was audibly chewing on the inside of his mouth beside her. Perhaps to settle his nerves that had surfaced at the mention of Nik.

"Roberts said that he'll try to keep an eye on Nik as much as he can without getting suspicious."

"What about cameras? The layout of the prison?" Teresa demanded, crossing her arms.

"Give me the blueprints Daisy found online, and I'll make him fill them out," Vincent said, resting the side of his head in his palm. "He'll update the information. As for cameras, it'll be far more difficult than we anticipated to get into them. From what he told me, it sounds like they'll only be accessible from the inside. Honestly, it's probably more effort than it's worth to break into the security room and do so manually."

Teresa had another question poised on the tip of her tongue. "What about physical security? Are guests allowed?"

"On weekends and certain holidays, yes. There is security at the gate and people inside. Most of them probably carry tasers or shock batons." He looked over at Theo. "Another thing—Roberts said that it's likely they'll leave Nik in solitary confinement a bit just to spook him, but then he'll be mixed with the others, which is exactly what we don't want to happen. If we could get him out as soon as possible, it would be for the better."