Chapter 1

Lucas had grown accustom to the screams and shrills that happened inside the prison, most days he was able to tone it out and focus on the meaningless task of screwing a pointed rock into the concrete wall. It became a distraction for him, seeing how big he could make the hole before they came back for his routine interrogation made him feel somewhat production. Last week he was able to make it all the way through the wall. He has been working on making another whole on the other side of his cell since then.

"PLEASE DON'T" Bellowed throughout the hall and pulled him away from his whole in the wall. "DON'T DO THIS." As the voices grew loader, he stood up and made his way to the door. He glance through the small barred window to see what was happening. "I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING WRONG." The only thing he could make out was the guards trying to steady someone who was threshing about attempting to get away. "I SWEAR, I'M INNOCENT." The Russians pulled the woman right past his cell and stopped at the one right next to him. "LET ME GO YOU BASTARDS…" She could barely get the last word out before she received a harsh blow across her cheek, which silenced her screams.

"Shut up already." The guard spat in his native tongue. Lucas could hear as they unlocked the vacant cell next door. The door opened with an ugly squeal followed by a load thud and painful grunt. The hospitality of the Russians was never their best trait. The horrible sound was heard once more then the click of the lock. The men walked pass by his cell and gave Lucas a 'what do you want?' glare.

Lucas back up an made his way to his sad looking cot and laid down. The un-oiled spring creaked just as the door next door did just a few minutes ago. His eyes focused on the ceiling as his mind attempted to wonder far away from his current locations. Most days he imagined that he was on a fishing boat with his father breathing in the brisk morning air. His father never really had much to say, but their unspoken appreciation was all they needed.

He was pulled back into his six by eight cell when he heard a faint whimper come from the whole in the wall. It was the woman in the cell next door. He pulled himself into a sitting position and let out a sigh. He couldn't remember the last time her heard a woman cry. All the women he came across lately were stern and hard-boiled, showing absolutely no emotion. He stood up and walked over to the wall with the whole and slid down.

"Are you alright?" Lucas ask, know very well that she wasn't. The cry stopped and there was silence. Lucas peeked through the whole and saw her huddle in the other corner, knees tuck into her chest as her arms hugged them. "You can call me North." He informed hoping to break through the barrier. Still she remain silent where she was, body shaking in muffled could see that she that she wanted to be left alone. "If you want to talk, just call out. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon." He waited for a response for a minute before he stood up and went back to his caught.

Time slowly creeped by as hours turned into days. Lucas did not hear anything from his neighbour. Part of him wish she would talk since he hasn't really seen anyone a while. Part of Oleg's twisted plan to make him feel the sting of isolation. He didn't realize how much he miss human contact until there was someone near by who decided not to communicate. Lucas hasn't seen many females since his time in prison, so he was curious to what she could have done to earn herself a room in a cell.

One day, Lucas heard several foot falls coming down the hallway. He sat up in his cot and stared at the door, in hopes that they were here for him. He know that it won't be a pleasant visit but he longed for human contact. He was disappointed when he saw them walk past. Followed by the creak of the door next door. Lucas quickly ran to his little hole to have a better listen.

"What do you want?" Her voice was barely audible.

"We think you have had enough time to think clearly. Now we have some questions to ask you." The man's thick accent was deep and menacing. Lucas recognized it instantly, he couldn't remember his name but he knew that he was very large man that even towered over himself. His voice certainly matched his stature.

"I told you I don't know anything." She raised her voice.

"We will see about that." They had pulled the woman out of the cell and the door shrieked just before it slammed shut. Echoing through out the halls. Lucas hurried to the wall, in hopes to get a better look at the woman. He was too late and only caught a glimpse of her feet as they dragged her away.

Lucas let out a sigh as he returned to his cot and laid down. Eyes once again gazed upon the dirty old ceiling. "Questions." he thought he knew exactly want they meant when they told her that have some questions. He didn't want to be in her shoes. He has already been there many of times. It's even worse when you don't know the answer. He was reminded of his first questioning. "Sugar Horse." To this day he still doesn't know what Sugar Horse means. All he knew was that it must be something very important or else they wouldn't have spent so much time fixated on the one subject.

Lucas was worried when the woman was still gone after what seemed like a day or two. He didn't even know if she was coming back. But he was still worried. He paced his cell from wall to wall and wondered what they were doing to her. Who really knows in this place. The Russians here are pretty insistent and will stop at nothing to get what they want.

Lucas stopped in his track when he heard the shuffling of feet once more. He quickly ran to the window of the door to see if it was her. A knot formed in his stomach when he realized that it was. The guard dragged her lifeless body down the hall and into the grey room. One of the men left but quickly returned with a pail. Lucas ran to the wall that divided them and listened. A splash of water and the woman gasping could be heard followed by the door.

"Are you alright?" Lucas called out through the hole. He knew very well that what eve happened in the last day or two, she was not alright. He could tell that she was shuffling in the cell, as she gasped in pain. He waited for a few minutes, but there was no response. Lucas pushed himself off the floor and made his way back to his sad excuse for a bed.

"North?" Lucas turned around when he heard a timid voice.

"Yeah. Hi." He slid down the wall. "Are you okay? Do you need to talk about it?"

"No. I'm not okay." Her voice was trembling. "They just keep asking me the same thing over and over and when I didn't know what to say…they….they…" She started crying.

"Hey, it's okay. Take a breath." Lucas said in his best reassuring voice he could muster. She blowout her air and took in a sharp breath of air. "I know all about what they can do. I'm sorry that it happened to you." He paused. "May I ask why you are here?"

"I…I was travelling with some friends to Moscow for spring break. As soon as we got off the plane they…they come toward us." She paused briefly "…towards me. It was a blur, but I was in a room alone with the guards. My suit case laid on the table. They opened it. There was…there was…" she started to hyperventilate once more.

"Listen to me. You need to calm down, okay?" Lucas instructed. "Take a breath for me." She did as he told even though the breathing was still quivering. "Good. Now what was in the bag?" Curiosity got the best of him. He felt bad for the girl of course but he hasn't heard a story in a long time.

"There was three bags of cocaine. They said it three kilos. How can their be three kilos of drugs in bad, I packed it myself. I don't understand. I don't know what to do. They brought me here right from the airport."

Lucas hand covered him mouth when he realized the dire situation the woman was in. Drug trafficking was not something to take lightly and three kilos is by no means an amateur amount. However, he knew instantly that the woman was innocent. She was set up by someone and used a drug mule. Unfortunately, there was no way to clear her name and he knew the Russians wouldn't believe her story. Her life she once knew was now over. "How old are you?" He asked knowing that she need a listening ear now more then ever.

"Twenty three."

"Why did you come to Russia?

"School trip." He could hear the stress back in her voice.

"What are you studying?"

"Bachelor of Education. Major in History. Studying USSR this term."

"I see."

"Whats going to happen to me, North?" She let out a deep sigh.

"I don't know." was the only words he could muster.

TBC