JPOV:

I sat in the air-conditioned cabin, wondering what punishment the warden would have ready for me. The handcuffs were making me uncomfortable. I rested my bound hands on the table, which had files neatly stacked, and a lot of stationary neatly put in a jar. I thought about the fight I had gotten myself into, this morning. I never usually did so, as I wanted to spend the next eighteen years of my imprisonment peacefully. I always obeyed the cops, doing the work (which was just digging the ground with a shovel all day) without any complaints. We would be assigned to other work as well, like repairing the cars belonging to the warden, or fixing pipes in his house and all of that quite often. Those days were lucky for me. There would be fights among the prisoners often, which I ignored. But today, a guy called Ben had pissed me off so much, that I had ended up breaking his nose, while he returned that punch by slapping me hard and causing my mouth to bleed.

"Ah Mr Carlson!" Nathan greeted me slyly. I raised an eyebrow. "So, that was quite an assault," he continued, looking at me.

"It was for self-defence. I didn't start the fight, and you know that," I returned, shooting him a dark glare. He retreated, but the sly look on his face didn't fade away.

"Bad! Do you know you could end up getting two or three more years of imprisonment after involvements in fights?"

"I know that. You don't need to remind me anything," I replied.

"It seems that you are very impatient to get out of this room, Mr Carlson. So, let's…" He was interrupted by a knock. "Enter!" he ordered as his secretary Paula came in. she wore nothing that would make people relate to her as a secretary, but she still was.

"Nath-" she started, but corrected herself when she saw me, and Nathan giving her a call-me-sir look. "Sir," she said in the flirtiest voice I had ever heard. I looked at her intently. By this point, I was sure that they both were sleeping together. "Your wife Melanie is here to meet you," she continued, sounding as if Melanie was a pest that needed to be exterminated.

Nathan looked annoyed, so did Paula. "Send her in," Nathan ordered, and Paula obeyed.

I stared at the door as Melanie walked in. I knew her a bit from my two years' stay here. Well, it wasn't much of a stay. Melanie Anderson, Nathan's wife was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. As she came in, her brown curls bounced on her shoulders. Her chocolate brown eyes took in the scene in the room intently, and she walked over to Nathan as he kissed her on her forehead.

I didn't know why, but I felt a pang of jealousy at the sight. Melanie flinched slightly at his touch; I knew how awkward she was about their relationship in front of the prisoners, or anyone for that matter.

"I'm sorry I interrupted Nathan, but-"

"Its okay love," he interrupted. I knew at that instance that he didn't actually love her; he managed to hide his hatred well, saying the word 'love' with as much love he had for her, which was very little. "What brought you here?"

"Mr Berlent, of Berlent Oils called this morning. He said he couldn't reach you on your office phone, so he left a message," she said. Her voice was as beautiful as she was.

"Oh no. I forgot about the meeting I had with him this morning!" Nathan said as he put his hand on his forehead, and reached for his cell phone with the free one.

"Relax honey. He called to say that he had to fly to London urgently, and he apologised for not telling that to you. He also wished you luck for the elections." Nathan relaxed.

"You're a lifesaver Mel!" She smiled slightly at the compliment, but the smile never reached her eyes. The room was silent for a few seconds, but finally Melanie broke it.

"Anyway, continue with your work Nathan. I'll see you in the evening," she said as she headed for the door.

"Mel?" he said, grabbing her wrist tightly. Her face looked pained and awkward. I clenched my fists as I tried to control the sudden urge to hit the man hard who had hurt such a beautiful woman, even if it was by mistake. She turned and gave him a questioning look. "Umm…You know Mr Jack Carlson right? …" he pointed to me. Melanie turned to look at me and our gazes locked for just a second. Nathan, eyeing us, cleared his throat. Immediately, Melanie looked away and pretended to be fiddling with her wedding ring.

"Yes…"she turned to me and greeted me shyly and softly. As if she was afraid of me. This wasn't a surprise, considering my status right now. "Hi."

I just nodded my head. "So, he just got involved in a fight. And I want your advice," Nathan said, capturing Melanie's attention again.

"What about it?" she asked.

"I ain't sure what to do with him. Could you help please?" he asked sweetly.

"You're the warden, you decide. But just listen to both the sides and then decide what you want to do," she suggested and went away. Nathan laughed silently. I liked Melanie. She was really caring. She lived in the prison grounds in a big bungalow, and taught the prisoners too. She loved life, but it seemed to me that marrying Nathan was a decision she had taken, which was equivalent to death! But of course, she didn't know his true side. She didn't interrupt in Nathan's work ever, but when asked for something, she gave the correct answer. Like now.

"Beautiful, isn't she?" Nathan forced me to look at him. That was when I realized I was staring at the door after her.

"Excuse me?" Did he really hate her so much that he was planning to patch her up with a prisoner?

"I know the way you look at her, Carlson. You love her-it is obvious. And I can also visualize the erotic fantasies that would be revolving in your head right now," he said casually.

That was it. I couldn't believe how low this man could get. Melanie didn't deserve this ill fate. I banged my wrists on the table, the cuffs making a weird noise. Immediately, a cop came in. Nathan waved him away, and slowly went to the door to close it. I took those few seconds to calm myself down.

"You know that I am running for mayor this year, isn't it?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Yes."

"I am standing against Mr Conner Stone, who is great man," he said in a matter-of-fact manner.

"So?"

"So, my chances of winning against him are less, if I don't do something," he nodded his head. "Don't jump to conclusions, but my chances of winning are less if you don't do something. For me," he corrected.

"What do y-"

"What I need to win, is public sympathy. And I will get that only if…" he interrupted. I raised an eyebrow. I knew he was getting to the main point now, but I had no idea what it was.

"Whom do I have to kill?" I joked. The sarcasm in my voice was very much. But he seemed happy. Like I had finally gotten his point.

"My wife," he said seriously.

My mouth popped open; I was at a loss of words. Was he serious? I had asked that to him sarcastically. What did he mean? I had understood how low he could get, but this was unexpected. He was not only very low, but very selfish as well. He was so selfish that he could even commit a murder for the mayor's position! No, he was so selfish that he didn't want himself to get caught for her murder, so he was telling someone else to do it. But why me? There were so many prisoners here, many who had been arrested for murder, including me. So why me? Instead of sitting there like a dumb man, thinking about it, I asked him, "Why me? Why not anyone else?"

"Good question. You see, my wife thinks that you are innocent. That you didn't kill anyone. She thinks you are a good person. She thinks that you don't belong here. Melanie trusts you in a weird way," he said. I was stunned. I suddenly remembered the day that my ex-wife and best friend had ditched me and accused me for the murder of a man who was still alive. She was right. I was innocent. I hadn't murdered anyone. In fact, there had been no murder! After he had told me the reason of choosing me for all of this, I started liking Melanie even more. Because she was the only one who thought that I was an innocent person. That I didn't deserve the jail. I felt bad for her now. I felt bad that she had to marry such a stupid and low person…monster. I felt bad that this week may be her last one.

But I could deny, right? "If I don't accept it?" I challenged.

"You will," he said confidently. "Because if you do, then you are a free man. Not in prison anymore. Trust me, if you do this for me, I will not even inform the cops about it."

Freedom? For abducting someone innocent? No. I wasn't selfish like he was-endangering someone else's life for my freedom. It meant that I could get freedom only if Melanie's was taken away. I hated to think about it. "If I still deny?"

"Then you will die, as you know about this. And there are many prisoners here who are craving for freedom."

I understood the meaning behind his last sentence. First he would kill me-I was the only barrier between him and the mayor's seat and then employ someone else for Melanie's murder. I would listen to a plan we had to have, and then decide.

"What's the plan?"

Nathan was amused and intrigued too. "That didn't take much thought!" then he said as if it finally clicked him, "Of course you'd say yes. Why would you want your own death when a cleverly laid out plan could grant you freedom?" I laughed slightly.

"I'll listen to the plan and then decide," I said.

Now his tone was serious. He was writing something on a yellow post-it, and then he handed it to me. "Day after tomorrow, all the guards except the ones at the gate would be with Paula, planning the security system for a gala party that would be next week. That is when I will come to your cell and let you lose," he said that as if I was a Spanish bull. "These, written on the note are codes for my garage and for entering into the house. Melanie will come home at 2:30. I will keep a set of clothes for you on my bed. There will also be a gun and some cash. Kidnap her and do whatever you want to with her. Rape her, torture her…anything. I don't care!" how could he say that? RAPE HER? TORTURE HER? HE DIDN'T CARE? "And then…I want her dead before the weekend," he said. No, he ordered. "I will give you five minutes to think about it Carlson. But if you deny, you'll be ensuring your own death," he said, walking out and closing the door behind me.

I stared at the yellow note. I knew that even if I denied, Melanie would get kidnapped by someone else. Nathan would tell them the same thing. I couldn't imagine what anyone else would do to her. Anyone else would surely torture her, rape her maybe. Anyone else would make her die slowly and uncomfortably. Not that I wanted to kill her quickly. I didn't want to kill her. I wanted to protect her. And there seemed no way out of it. While a part of me wanted to be free, the other part didn't want Melanie to be captive. I didn't want to kidnap and control her. I didn't want myself to decide her every move…what her future would be. I didn't want her soft and fragile body struggling against my grip. But I had to do it. Not for my freedom, but for hers. I would tell her what Nathan had told me. She wouldn't believe it, but I would tell her enough to stay alert, just in case.

That is when I saw a red light from the corner of my eye. What I saw sent waves of pleasure through me. Before I had sat on the chair, I had heard him practicing a speech. Maybe he had recorded it, and had left the recorder on. I quickly took out the tape and tucked it under my sock. I replaced it with an empty one that I found on Nathan's desk. Our conversation had been recorded accidentally! Not only would Melanie know the truth now, but Nathan would get caught too!

"Yes, I am in," I said as Nathan came in.

He looked very happy, and he shook hands with my bound ones.

He pressed a button on his walkie-talkie and ordered a cop to come and take me away. "Tell anyone about this and you are dead," he said in a harsh voice. He then left the room. Perfect chance! I quickly took out the tape from the recorder and replaced it with another which I found lying on his desk. I was done, and seated when the guard came. He came in and I got up. He led me to the jail again.