A/N: I apologise for any spelling errors. It was morning when I wrote this chapter, as it normally always is when I update. This chapter is so cool. I doubt it's one of the best written, but the content is superb and I love to read such things as well as write them. Shadow Vampiress: Don't kill Kai. He's the star of the fic. TT oh and thanks for the review. I think Rei has some 'xplainin' to do in this chpatre though. cambria75: Heh. I don't think I'm all that good. I know I can write better then this. XD and the character's are ranging from 18 to 24. party freak: -cheeky laugh- You'll just have to wait and see what happens on the Tala/Bryan front won't you? CarmenTakoshi: I haven't a clue what Kudos means and I hope this chapter is longer than the last one. I can't remember how many pages I wrote. It was morning, remember XP Ashley: I'm not big on the couples' front really. I'm a fan of odd-pairings, so XP Anything can go providing it's well written. Kit-Kat Caitlin: Thanks Man! shadowcat/grEMLin eVil: Sorry for the longish interval. I'm lazy. I admit it, but I forced myself and here I am. College starts friday though -cries-
Chapter Twenty-Five
After the following few days, the news had spread around like wild fire. Douglas D. Peters had bitten the bucket. This news spread all over the entire prison within a day. F Wing had tried to keep it under wraps and now Robert was swamped in work with papers to fill out and excuses to make, though there was really no excuse for it. The man had taken a drug overdose. Whether it was suicide or not, was still to be investigated, but all that Robert could determine was that the nervy character had gotten a hold of Kevin's drugs somehow and stupidly killed himself. He always managed to avoid medical reviews and the medical department had adopted a lethargic attitude ever since they'd had problems years before. F Wing was in turmoil, or at least the officers were. The Wing Governor feared for his job. They'd had problems in the past, but none this severe.
None of the prisons were bringing forth any new evidence. It was all part of their unwritten code. Nobody grassed on anybody else. Criminal business was criminal business. No exceptions, and this was why Robert's temperature had skyrocketed. Without any leads, they were as good as finished. This would go a case unsolved and that would be the third strike in Robert's line of failure.
The officers were doing overtime too. Because nobody was willing to talk, they had left prisoners behind cells for an extra hour, releasing them floor-by-floor. Not many people spoke to Douglas and nobody was telling who did. Even Hilary, who had spoken to Tyson, who knew everybody wasn't telling. He'd stopped flirting with her these days, which was very much a relief, but in some ways daunting. She hadn't received attention like that outside her job, so she would go as far as to say that she missed it. Tyson was much more bitter towards her too, just like most of the others had been. Things seemed to be sinking faster and faster for her.
The threes were let out last, much to most of the inmates' disappointment. Some of the more privileged characters saw themselves as better than the ones who were stationed below, even though they possessed little or refused to cough up information. Lee was among this crowd. He and Rei, who always woke up early were in the heat of a conversation. In the past, Lee wouldn't have minded the situation. He and Rei were friends. Best friends. But ever since his friend had decided to deliberately go against everything they had been taught, he had been slightly weary around him. The eldest Chinese man was a homophobe to a strong degree and he didn't feel comfortable with Rei's choice. He had told him this on several occasions, but it didn't seem to be sinking in. Rei's mind had been warped and he felt sorry for the other really.
"When are you gonna put this aside?" Rei had said from his relaxed position atop his bed.
He held a remote in his hand and was flicking channels, but it being morning, there was nothing on.
Lee shook his head. He had been pacing the room for some time now, slightly annoyed and on edge that they hadn't come to let then out yet. His face was rigid and grave and his hands were folded rather tightly across his chest.
"Lee?" Rei questioned, as he sat upwards with a raised eyebrow. "You can't keep ignoring me."
"Just change the subject, okay?" Came Lee's bitter remark.
Rei shrugged.
"Alright!" He flopped back down into the mattress.
There was a small silence, save for the harsh breathing that was Lees and his footsteps on the floor.
"You're going to dig yourself into a rut at this rate," Rei said jokingly as he watched his friend pace to and fro in an almost dizzy fashion.
"I just want to be out of here," Came another bitter remark.
"And why's that?" Rei sat up slightly this time.
He wondered if his friend was having a dig at him. There seemed to be lots of plot holes in the words he spoke and loads of hidden meaning. Lee never said what he meant anymore and he knew it had something to do with his choice. Usually, Lee supported most of Rei's choices and Rei vice versa, but it wasn't like that anymore. They seemed to argue a lot too and Rei didn't want to loose another friend. They hadn't seen or heard of Kevin in a while now. He reckoned that the youngest of their trio had been transferred.
Lee failed to answer Rei's question, finally coming to stop. He sighed and sat himself down on the bed opposite Rei's gripping the edges and staring up at the ceiling.
"Listen Rei," His voice was much softer now. "I'm sorry."
"You are?"
"Yeah! I've just had a lot of things on my mind,"
"Well, why don't you tell me?" Rei asked. "You used to tell me everything." He paused. "What? Do you think I've changed just because I'm…"
"Stop…bringing that up!" Lee interrupted.
He'd brought his attention back down from the ceiling to Rei now.
"It's not about that," He continued. "I'm way passed that now. I can't convince you. Maybe Mariah will, but I know I can't…"
Rei opened his mouth to speak, but Lee intervened again.
"…It's just this thing with Douglas," He began and then hesitated for a moment. "There's something you should know," Another pause. "It was me who managed to get Kevin taken down to the segregation unit."
Rei's eyes widened slightly.
"I found out he was doing the drugs and I wanted to teach him a lesson, but I didn't know they'd keep him for this long,"
Rei gulped. So Lee had found out. Did he know that Rei had known all along? He hoped not.
"But what does that have to do with Douglas?" The taller Chinese man asked.
"I recruited him to help me in exchange for some of Kevin's drugs," Lee admitted and then stood up, unable to keep himself still. "And it was probably those drugs that killed him. But I gave them to him I was so stupid, but all I was just thinking about was getting revenge. I didn't think…and when they find out, I'm…
The bolt shifted on the front door. There was a familiar clanking sound and than the door swung open to reveal a mass of long red hair and big brown eyes.
"Finally," Lee barked in that familiar cold tone that he often demonstrated around her.
He shot Rei one final look and then squeezed his way passed their personal officer.
Rei shook his head and smiled.
"Don't mind him," He said to the redhead when his friend had disappeared. "He's just got a few things on his mind."
"Well, I need to speak to him too," Salima replied. "It's important. Do you think you can get him back here later?"
Rei shrugged.
"I'll try," He sat upright.
"Well, I need to speak to you anyway," She stepped into the room and closed to door behind her only just, leaving it slightly ajar. "I'm sure you've heard about Douglas Peters."
Rei nodded as his personal officer sat herself on the bed next to him. There was an air of nervousness about her, though she appeared to be trying to be professional. He'd heard many things about Salima from the others. Some said that she was a bitch. Some wanted to "screw her over" in more ways than one, but that was not what Rei saw. Maybe it was because he'd seen her at her most vulnerable and they spoke every now and again like friends, even though there was a huge glass ceiling separating them both.
"You need to be truthful," She began. "Did you know anything about Douglas?"
Rei's mind was racing. He knew an awful lot about Douglas. The man had been taking drugs ever since he'd entered the place. Kevin had known him like a brother even though they'd been far from friends and now Lee. He could tell her. It was as easy as that, but Lee was his friend and Kevin, though he'd caused so much trouble was his friend also and he couldn't let them go down because of him. It wasn't about the unwritten code anymore. It was about honour and though he'd dishonoured their traditions by crumbling under the pressures of homosexuality, he wouldn't turn his back on his friends no matter what.
"I'm sorry," He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I never really knew Douglas."
"Are you sure?" Salima looked desperate.
Rei nodded nonetheless.
The redhead sighed and leant backwards onto the bed, resting her head up against the wall. It was a less than professional move, but he guessed that she felt very comfortable around him and that was quite satisfying to know.
"Mr. Jurgen's been doing his nut!" She confided. "He's working us hard because he's so stressed and we haven't found a thing."
The Chinese man smiled weakly.
"I'm sure you'll find something,"
"Yeah…right,"
"You see, there you go again," Rei said. "What happened to that fighting spirit of yours? You didn't get this far for nothing."
Salima's eyes met Rei's for the moment. She looked particularly neutral and then she sat up and gripped the edges of the bed.
"You're right," She nodded and then turned to him. "What would I do without you?"
Rei shrugged with a smile.
"Just trying to help,"
"You know…you're not like the others," Her voice was softer now. "I mean, I can actually talk to you without getting my head bitten off."
"That's because not many people are trusting," Rei leant his hand on the bed so that he rested at sideway position.
He hadn't realised that Salima had mirrored him.
"An example would be this friend of mine," He felt himself smile as he began, memories of lover floating across his mind. "They weren't really that trusting either when they got here. Kinda kept themselves to themselves. But after I got to know them, I found that they weren't such a bad person after all. They just needed a little push in the right direction"
He stopped, his grin broadening somewhat. Kai made him feel incredible. Every day he thought about him, even though he was just downstairs and it set his heart of fire and then extinguished and set it on fire again. He looked to Salima for the moment and something in her face had changed. She had suddenly turned a bright red.
"Are you…?"
"Oh Rei!"
The next thing he knew, he had been flung backwards onto his pillow with a pair of arms around his neck, drawing him into an unwanted kiss. Salima's body pressed up against his, dramatically, her eyes closed and her cheeks tinged a brighter red as she held herself against his lips.
"Well, now that's something you don't see everyday," Came a voice.
The prison officer shot up from her position, turning her gaze to the front door, which had now been pushed open. Her face was a brilliant white and Rei looked positively astounded.
In the doorway, stood none other than Ian, a mischievous grin spread across his face.
TBC…