Prison Blues

11 - Sacrifice

Blake was worried. He smiled every time he saw Adam look at him, but by now, Adam knew him well enough to know the signs. He hadn't missed the way Blake roamed through the barber shop, picking up this or that before settling on a hair dryer. Now he carried the hair dryer with him. It seemed obvious that Blake was looking at it as a club. Blake had made other preparations as well. He'd further barricaded the door, done what he could to impede the progress of anyone trying to get in as much as he could. And he'd already instructed Adam to keep the scissors hidden away in the top of his sock. Blake was keyed up, paying close attention to the violence outside. It was much closer now, and coming ever closer. Eventually, Blake and Adam would be found. They both knew what would happen then. The inmates would want Adam. They'd come seeking the warden's son. They'd expect that Blake would rather kill Adam than give him up. And they'd be ready to act to take Adam anyway. But Blake, Adam knew, had no intention of giving him up. Blake had already risked so much, and now he was risking even more.

Blake was gearing up for war.

Adam had found another hair dryer and was testing its weight. A bit of tape on the side of it labeled it as "Broken." That needed no written label. The cord of the hair dryer had been badly strained and frayed. Adam didn't want to think about what, exactly, might have caused that to happen. At any rate, the fact that it was non-functioning really didn't make much of a difference right now. It wasn't as though Adam planned to use it to dry his hair. Now, it was a weapon. Even in its new repurposed state, the hair dryer was of poor value. When it came to a weapon, Adam would have preferred something heavy and metal. This thing was mostly plastic. Still, it was solid. With enough force behind it, it should serve its purpose.

"When they come, I want you to stay back down behind the chair, under the counter," Blake was instructing. His blue eyes were on the covered windows, hearing the shouting from just down the hall. "I can't imagine what I'd do in your position, but it might be better if you don't fight."

"You think I should just let them take me?"

"Maybe." Blake flinched in time with Adam as the sound of shattering glass echoed through the halls. "Those are some extremely violent men out there, Rockstar. They're already having a hell of a day if they're in the middle of a gang war. If you piss them off too much, they won't hesitate to hurt you."

"Yeah." Adam swallowed. "Think they'll kill me?"

"No," Blake said a little too quickly. "You're way too big of a bargaining chip for that! They need you alive, and capable of talking to your daddy. They won't kill you."

"But they will hurt me."

Blake didn't respond right away. When he did, his voice was soft. "I'll do whatever I can. But Adam, I don't know how I'm gonna stop 'em from taking you this time."

"I know." Adam was surprised at how steady his voice was. "It's alright. I knew this was going to happen, and that's why... It's part of why I did what I did. You and me."

The blue eyes glanced back at him. "Part of it?"

"The bigger part was just you." Adam slipped his hand into Blake's, lacing his fingers through the larger man's. "I think, if we'd met on the outside? We might have had something!"

Blake snorted. "You never would have looked twice at me!"

"Blake, you're an idiot, and you're blind. You're a beautiful man!"

That earned him a surprised blink, and a shy smile. "Now I know you're an idiot!"

"You're stupid, and everything about you is stupid!" Adam grumbled. "You don't even know how beautiful you are! It's ridiculous, Blake." He moved around to the front of Blake, pulling the inmate's head down for a kiss. "Just know that whatever happens now? I'm glad it happened, that I got to have you for a little while. It was good, what we had between us. And it's going to keep me going through the rest of this."