The Orphans' Hero and His Redemption

Chapter Nine

As Jared had said, Cadao was going to be fine. He woke up a short time later to find Face sitting nearby, but he was not able stay awake for very long. He was very tired and dizzy from the amount of blood he had lost from the wound in his hand.

Once they all had finished their long shift, Face took his dinner from the guards and remained by Cadao's side. Jared changed the bandage that covered the gash as soon as he finished working and then walked over to where Murdock stood. Although, Murdock didn't notice the doctor as he walked over to him.

Murdock was concentrating on the guy who seemed to be in charge of this whole operation as he came out and started yelling at three of his men. He was far enough away that Murdock couldn't quite make out what was being said.

"What do you suppose that was all about?" Jared asked as Rick walked away and the guards got back to keeping their eyes on the children working.

"I'm not really sure," Murdock answered.

"I've been observing these guys too," Face added as he walked over to join them. "Rick seems to be extremely anxious about something. I think that he's bored and getting tired of living this life, or at the very least, tired of doing the same thing day after day. I think he's looking for something that will give him more excitement."

Murdock asked, "You don't think that being filthy rich and in charge of everyone in this entire town by keeping them in fear of him and his men is good enough for him anymore?"

Face replied, "No, I don't."

Jared added, "Everyone in this town seemed to keep quiet and to themselves and now I know why, but I can't imagine that there was never once anyone who cared about what happened to all these children."

Murdock replied, "Maybe there were once. Maybe Rick and his men took care of them in one way or another. Faceman, you said that the warden was even crooked, right?"

"Yeah," Face answered. "He's being paid off by Rick and just stood by and watched as Rick's men were beating me the other day. I don't think we'll have any help from anyone once we get out of here. Hopefully Hannibal and BA are close by to help us out. We're going to need it. As I said, Rick's losing patience and soon he's going to become violent toward us, most importantly, the children."

"Rick and a few of his men leave everyday around noon to go somewhere and they come back about two hours later," one of the girls said as she walked over to them. "While the guards are busy watching the rest of us, the room is unguarded and I can sneak into the room where they stay and sleep to see if there is something to help us to escape."

Face responded, "That's a good idea, Sweetheart, but you won't be the one to go in there."

Jared agreed as he replied, "That's right. I'll do it. I can slip by the guards easier than you or even she can."

"I can try to distract the guards so that there will be no chance of them interrupting you," Murdock added.

"How are you going to do that?" Jared asked.

Face answered, "Murdock's the master of distraction. His insanity has its advantages."

About two hours later…

Just as the girl said, around noon, Rick and his men left for whatever reason, leaving the room where they hang out in unguarded. Face, Murdock, and Jared all turned to look at each other and nodded, giving the ok to begin their plan. Murdock walked away from them and then began to run around screaming at the top of his lungs about ghosts and spirits. Each of the guards turned to watch him as he ran past them, allowing Jared to slip past them all unnoticed.

Two of the guards grabbed a hold of Murdock to try to get him to calm down and find out what it was that was causing him to scream so hysterically. Murdock kept screaming for a few minutes and then one of the guards slapped him across the face to try to calm him down.

As soon as the guard did so and Murdock stopped, the man asked, "What on earth are you screaming about? There is nothing there."

Still in his rant, Murdock answered, "The ghosts of the children and the others you all killed in this place, I can see them. They haunt me! They will kill us all if we stay! I don't want to die!"

Face walked over to them and cut in saying, "I'm sorry, Gentlemen! I am this man's psychiatrist. He's been seeing ghosts for years, ever since the war in Vietnam. This man needs to be in a hospital. He and I were driving to one in Los Angeles when we were brought here by your pals."

Face noticed that several of the men were looking around at each other nervously and then back at him and Murdock as one of them asked, "You don't really believe he sees these ghosts, do you?"

"Are you superstitious?" Face asked in response to the guard's question. "Don't worry, Gentlemen. I am sure that everything he says is just ranting caused by post-traumatic stress, but if any of you has any doubts then, I suggest that you leave right away. If there is a chance that what he says is true, you could all be dead very soon. I'll just escort him back to his cell if one of you would be so kind as to relieve us of our duties and unlock the cell door."

Face suggested that the guards escort him and Murdock back to their cell as soon as he noticed Jared slip back out of the room and walk away to continue doing his work. Murdock continued screaming about the ghosts all the way back to the cell and once they were back in and the guards disappeared out of sight, he quit his rant and smiled at Face.

"Nice job on our latest scam, Faceman!" Murdock said. "I knew that you haven't lost your touch, no matter how hard things get."

"I couldn't have done it without, Howling Mad Murdock," Face replied. "You never cease to amaze me. Now, hopefully Jared found something inside their room that could be of some kind of help to us. A key to these chains around our wrists would be nice."

"Have faith, Little Brother," Murdock answered. "We'll get out of here very soon and then you'll be able to change into something more comfortable."