It was then he heard what sounded like a struggle, the loud clinking of chains then the cell door right next to his slamming shut. He went to the bars and saw three guards standing against the wall, wiping sweat from their faces and gasping for breath. "Good work gentlemen," he heard Dr Loomis say. "Are you all ok?" He didn't have to guess too hard who'd just been escorted in by three guards. They hadn't even removed his chains!

Chancer found himself yet again thinking. His mother had taught him a way to think about something before he did it. She'd brought him up alone since his father had left them when he was three, of course chasing another woman. Chancer wondered if that was partly why he hated them so much. Women. They were cunts who'd taken his father away from him. He'd never kept in contact with him or his mother. He didn't blame his father; he blamed the bitch who'd stolen him from them. The only woman safe from him was his mother.

It was known by her and so now him as C.S.W. Could, should, would. Could he do this, should he, would he? Right then, the loudest one was the one in the middle. Should. This was a damn suicide mission! This truly was insane! They'd just locked the damn killer Michael Myers next door to him and he was still in chains! Something had clearly happened just now, an attempt or success on the life of a guard or patient by the silent killer. Chancer felt himself shiver a little. Should he do this?

Even if he thought of the other two, could and would, should was still the one shouting loudest. Michael Myers was only protecting the damn woman he'd been asked to eves drop on. The guy who'd almost killed someone just then it seemed. As for would, well yes he would do it for the money if nothing else, plus possibly a chance to get out of here to kill and rape more women, sadly not Danielle Hayward, but… Could he do it? That was the final question. Was he up for it? That went well with should in this scenario. He knew the risks, his death. Standing, he walked slowly back to his desk. If he was honest with himself, he knew he had to get the damn thing to work first so he'd know what he was being asked to do and how to do it before he considered fully whether he could or should.

Sitting down again, he once more picked up the iPod. Play the game to get rich, he thought. It seemed to him that Rich was a clue. Was it the first line of this password he needed? He picked up a piece of paper from the pile and the ridiculously blunt pencil he was given. He understood why they didn't give him a shar pen, so he couldn't plunge it in to a woman's eye, or neck…

He wrote down R.I.C.H and looked at it intently. Looking at the four letters in front of him, he again considered. If this was an anagram, how could you turn them around? He only had one vowel, so it couldn't be that difficult. I. Slowly, he wrote C.H.R.I and felt a jolt of excitement. Of course! He was pretty sure he almost had it. Play the game to get rich. RICH. He'd turned R.I.C.H around and got the beginnings of what?

Chris, of course! Who was in charge of this? C.L! Chris Leach! So was the anagram a turnaround of Chris Leach's name? Judging by what he'd just found, it was possible. He hadn't used the S of Chris yet, so he now turned his attention to the name Leach. L.E.A.C.H, he wrote, then looked carefully at it. Bearing in mind he still had an S, that had to be part of the second word, assuming of course RICH was the first. H.C.E.A.L. He wrote then, again thinking hard. He didn't think it was CHEALS, he'd never heard of anyone with that Surname, but what the hell? This was Chris Leach after all. His hand shaking a little, he typed RICH CHEALS in to the password box.

PASSWORD INCORRECT! Flashed up on the iPod screen. Chancer cursed under his breath. Ok, but he was close, he was sure he was. He couldn't be that far wrong surely. So what next to do? Simple. Swap the places of the A and the E. This time, he typed in RICH CHALES. He could hardly believe it when the iPod unlocked and a welcome screen appeared. By God he'd fucking done it! He now wondered if even Chancer had been a clue after all, considering C.H.A. Were the first three letters of the second half of the word.

Ripping his piece of paper in to unreadable pieces, he tossed it in the small bin beside his chair. Ok, so he was in. Now what? He glanced down at the welcome screen and started to read the text moving across it.

Well hello Derek. So you're in. Congratulations. Told you playing the game would get you rich. Or should I say, might. You have to do your job first. Don't worry about the little timer in the corner by the way, it's just counting down the time until this document is automatically deleted. Rely on your memory my dear man, you'll need it.

Chancer looked down and saw the little red clock. It read four minutes thirty five seconds and as he watched, changed to thirty four. Damn. He knew Chris Leach was a technical genius, but this? He made so-called I.T experts look like kids with their very first computer. Chancer was surprised Chris didn't have a computer which said "welcome home Chris," in a seductive female voice of course when he walked through the door, before a slot opened in the front and his piping hot dinner came out, followed by a beautiful prostitute hours later. He looked back at the screen. He needed to read this and fast.

So, I'm not entirely a slave driver Derek. This iPod is a five hundred GB model, packed with all your favourite music, movies and of course porn. Plenty of women being abused for you to watch. But that's in your free time. How much of that you have is up to you, but if you want money you'll have to work for it. So, the app. This iPod only has one app on it, it's called "I'm listening." All you have to do is open it and hold the device up with the microphone pointed towards where you need it, while wearing the headphones included with the iPod. It can hear up to twenty metres away, as clearly as if they are next to you. But if you want payment, you have to be listening. Did you think you could just put it on and leave it? No chance. Every hour, you'll have to press the "I'm listening" button labelled with a little earphone Icon, or your payment will stop being calculated. There is also a "talk" button marked with a telephone Icon, but that is only to be used if it's urgent. I should also tell you, the password. If it's entered incorrectly three times straight within ten minutes, well let's just say you won't be able to re-enter it a fourth time. You won't be alive to try.

Chancer stared at the iPod in a mixture of horror and awe. Leach had rigged this so-called iPod to kill if the wrong password was entered wrongly three times? Holy fuck! He'd known Leach was a genius, but this? Chancer didn't know whether to admire this amazing technical feat, or scream and throw the iPod down his toilet. How would it kill? Release lethal gas? Explode? He sincerely hoped he wouldn't find out. He knew the password and had binned the paper, so it shouldn't be an issue. Still, one thing was certain. Leach didn't want anyone else getting in to this iPod. So much so he'd kill to stop them. Chancer wanted to say Leach was bluffing re the killing device, but if he knew Leach like he thought he did, he wasn't. Chancer sure as fuck wasn't going to try it to find out for certain.

I will also be sending in my contact to get face to face reports from you as well. Just in case. The files are recorded on to a secure external server, but… You know. Can't take chances. We may miss something. So expect visits from him from time to time. You know him and they'll let him in.

Chancer looked up from the screen, anger rising in him. What the fuck? Leach was making him work every angle for his money. Fucking better be worth it. The problem was Leach had so much power and influence, not to mention he was damn terrifying, no one dared refuse him. Chancer looked through the bars again towards Michael's door. He could just see the killer standing stock still at his cell bars, looking steadily his gaze unwavering up towards Hayward's cell. The sight made Chancer hesitate yet again. This was suicide, this really was insane! Could, would, should he do this?

He knew it wasn't too late to back out, money be damned. If Michael Myers cottoned on to this, Chancer would be dead before he even realised it. If he could kill a guard and countless others with no care, remorse etc then he'd kill Chancer for actually working against Hayward without a second thought. If Michael had second thoughts that was. For a few seconds, Chancer was seriously tempted to say no. To hand this God damn killing device disguised as an innocent looking iPod in and tell Leach to fuck himself and his Client, just as he'd said to Sarcozi. Having seen how nervous Sarcozi had been when he'd handed him the iPod, he sensed Mark too was unsure about this. They would both be working against Hayward and by association Michael Myers. Sarcozi knew this too, Chancer was sure of it. He wasn't even sure Sarcozi would come back. He was easily scared, always had been. Yet, if Leach dangled a big enough money carrot in front of him, he wasn't sure Sarcozi was strong or brave enough to refuse it. Chancer could understand this to some degree if enough money was offered. Given how, to use the clue rich Leach was, it would be a huge sum. He wasn't sure he could refuse it either.

Slowly his hands shaking a little, he opened the "I'm listening" app. It looked very easy to use. A headphone Icon and a "stop" button. Next to it was a telephone Icon with the word "talk" on it. He assumed that would get him through to those he was working for if needed. He didn't know how long he was expected to listen for each day, he assumed the more he heard the more money he'd get. He sighed softly as he plugged in the earphones which had come with the iPod, (or was it killing machine) and pressed the "I'm listening" button.

He pointed it towards Danielle's cell, holding it casually as if he was listening to music. Immediately he heard a soft hissing noise which he knew was from the iPod's microphones, which he was now sure were way more powerful than standard iPod ones, then heard Hayward cough. Jesus Christ! She was all the way down the other end of the corridor, yet he could hear her as if she was in the cell with him. Too bad she wasn't. He'd rape and kill her and love every second of it.

Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to concentrate. This could be a very long job. Not to mention he had to press the button every hour just to tell Leach he was working. All it probably did was ping Leach's inbox with an Email without which he wouldn't pay him. Probably didn't calculate anything at all. Technical son of a bitch had thought of everything. When the hell was he supposed to sleep? What if he missed something important? No loopholes to exploit and entering the wrong password three times would be the last thing he did in his life.

Danielle sat on her surprisingly soft bed, her hands over her mouth. So Stark had been right. She'd heard Michael being put in to the cell next door to Derek and Loomis's words. "Good work gentlemen, are you all ok?" He'd then told her Michael had tried to grab Ryan by the throat. So Michael was dangerous on and around Halloween.

Danielle had felt tears spring to her eyes. "Is there anything I can do?" She asked.

He's going home for the day but thank you," Loomis replied. "He'll be fine, he was unhurt."

Now, Danielle sat there, four words running constantly through her head like a stuck record, but which she couldn't deny however hard she tried. I love a killer. I love a killer. I…

"Back in to the breach," Rick said as he pulled on his heavy jacket. It was freezing outside and he was finally able to return to work. He'd taken the full two weeks off, now he was finally back. Joanne had told him of what'd almost happened to Ryan. Loomis had phoned her and told her, warning her to be careful on her nightshift that night and about the interaction between Michael and Danielle for now. Two guards and no physical contact. Joanne had covered her mouth just as Danielle had although she didn't know it, blinking back tears.

"Is he ok?" she'd asked Loomis.

"He'll be fine, went home after it happened. Just please be careful, you and Rick as the two guards who work closest to Michael."

"We will," Joanne had said, "Thanks."

Now, Joanne felt emotion crash over her, but this time of a different sort. Standing, she pulled Rick tightly to her and kissed him once, twice. "Hey," Rick soothed as she fought back tears and hugged him as tightly as she could. "What is it babe?"

"I just love you so much Rick," Joanne said through the lump in her throat. "Please, please be careful tonight. I almost lost you once, I can't do so again!"

"Shh," Rick murmured, kissing her back. "I'm not going anywhere Jo. Plus I could say the same for you sweetheart. You do the same job as I do and you're even better at it than me by a long shot."

"Oh shut up," Joanne smiled faintly, trying to wipe away her tears.

"Hey I'm serious," Rick murmured, as they held each other tightly. "You were asked to look after Danielle and she trusts you. You're a damn good and kind guard Joanne Turner and don't you ever forget it! So you be careful to, you hear me?"

"I hear you darling," they kissed again.

Loomis had phoned Rick two days before, asking him if he was sure he wanted to work a nightshift as his first one back. Rick had said it was fine, so now here they were. Loomis now knew about him and Joanne one day when he'd come round to visit Rick while he'd been off. He'd smiled and said simply, "congratulations. About time. We could all see it except you two!"

Rick and Joanne had stayed together every night since they'd become a couple, either at hers or his. Now they left Rick's in his car, both in their uniform. They'd pick up their equipment in the office before starting. They called the office the guard hub which had all their lockers in and their break area. But Joanne always tended to bring her own food rather than spend money in the staff canteen. Occasionally she did to treat herself, but not often. Today she decided she'd treat her and Rick to cooked breakfast in the canteen once their shift was over at seven tomorrow morning.

For the last few days, Rick had come to pick her up from work at the end of her shift. Damn. She was never letting this man go. If he didn't ask her a certain four word question before too long, she'd ask him herself. Joanne Turner had never felt so happy or in love in her life. Rick had twice met her mother now; her father being deceased and she'd treated him like her son from minute one. Although that might've been because Joanne had told her all about him for months.

"She hasn't stopped talking about you actually," Ruth Turner had said the first time she met Rick, pulling him in to a tight hug as if she'd known him all her life. "So I feel like I know you well already. Do come in both of you, lunch is on the table."

When Rick had called her Mrs. Turner the first time, Ruth had mock glared at him and said "hey, I'm ruth to you dear boy. My future son in law calls me "Ruth," Rick didn't say it again, he'd just smiled. Joanne could see the two already loved each other by the end of the meal. Good. They were the two people Joanne turner loved most in the whole world.

"What does Ruth think about you working at Smith's Grove?" Rick had asked her that night at home. "You being her only daughter and all that."

"Oh she's brilliant about it," Joanne had answered. "Said she's really proud of me, just tells me to be careful."

"As am and do I," Rick had said, kissing her softly. Joanne adored him.

Now, they reached Smith's Grove and showed their ID. "Good to have you back Rick," the guard on the gate Jason said. Rick smiled at him. "Thanks pal. It's good to be back."

"You be careful though eh?" The guard shook Rick's hand as he handed him back his pass. "You're a good man, don't want to really lose you next time."

"Here here," Joanne said. Rick smiled at both of them. "I'm going nowhere," he said.

They entered the guard hub and pulled on their stab vests and equipment belts. Jack and Dave who were also working the nightshift shook Rick's hand and welcomed him back.

"We've missed you man," Jack said. "Good to see you back."

Neither of them said anything about Rick and Joanne, but Rick saw them smile at each other. "Do they know?" He asked her quietly as the four guards headed in for their briefing from the late shift boss.

"Um yes?" Joanne looked at him as if he were stupid. "I told everyone I'm so happy."

Rick pretended to roll his eyes, then squeezed her hand and smiled at her. "Me to," he said softly. "I'd have done the same if you were the one not working." He didn't release her hand as they went in to their briefing.

"Listen up!" Andy the late boss said and the room went silent. "Michael Myers it seems has a reason to kill someone." Three guesses who, Joanne thought.

"He could've very easily killed Ryan Jenkins this afternoon. So if you need to interact with him tonight, take precautions, stay well back and be very, very careful. Everyone get me?" They nodded, Jack and Dave murmured "Jesus" in unison.

"Joanne, I believe Dr Loomis has already spoken to you re instructions about Michael and Danielle this evening?" Joanne nodded. "Yes Sir."

"Just call me Andy," Andy smiled. "It's only us in here. No need for Sir tonight." They smiled back at him. "Yes Andy," Joanne amended. "I know what to do."

"Good stuff. Ok well that's all, have a safe night guys."

They all said "Thanks," then headed in to the block to start their shifts.