Dougan was in with the assistant warden after his talk with Givens. Both were very agitated at the thought that all this time there had been a cop inside the prison gathering information on the ongoings. They called the rest of the guards in that were in Dougan's pocket and had a hurried meeting on how to handle this problem.
In San Francisco there was another meeting going on with Mike and Captain Olsen and the CDCR men. They were told warrants were being issued as they were talking and they should be able to move in by tomorrow at the earliest, barring any unforseen problems.
"There is something we heard from an associate. Does Keller have a violent temper?" Mr. Goldwyn inquired in a casual manner.
"He never has. I mean sure he can get angry if someone is being done wrong or someone he loves has been hurt but violent no. Why do you ask?" Mike asked curiously, but a feeling of concern began building up in him..
"Well it was said he-well- he beat up an inmate. Now granted there was cause for it, but he seemed to lose it once he started hitting the man," was Bateman's honest answer.
"Is Keller okay? I mean was he hurt?" Captain Olsen asked the question that was burning in Mike, who seemed to have lost his voice. "What was the cause of this attack?"
"No, he is fine. He wasn't hurt, he spent three days in "the hole" but is fine. Just through the grapevine the other man had...well, intentions towards Keller and there was a very strong objection voiced by Keller in the form we told you." Mr. Goldwyn stated calmly.
"Mike knows Keller better than anyone does besides Mike's daughter, but I will say this now. To me it sounds like Keller had every right to react the way he did and I back his actions one hundred percent. It was basically self-defense and self-preservation." Olsen said emphatically.
"Steve would not hurt anyone without reason, he is one of the most gentle people I know. As Rudy said it sounds like self-defense against a predator." Mike spoke sharply. "I want him out of there as soon as possible if not sooner."
"Don't get us wrong. We are not condemning him or what he did. We were just asking if he normally has a violent streak or if that is very rare for him." Mr. Goldwyn assured.
"It is non-existent. If he was violent, believe me my daughter would not get within ten miles of him! I would see to that." Mike was annoyed.
At Chino, Red was feeling very agitated and worried as he could not find Steve and had not seen him since they talked at the weights after Steve's release from "the hole". He had sent one of his point men to try to find out what was going on, while he continued to look in places he knew they had been before to talk in private. As he saw Rico hurrying back, he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up and he got an incredibly bad feeling.
"They got him. Givens and Cranston. I heard Givens saying how now he would help teach Keller a lesson he wanted to teach him back at the academy." Rico said breathlessly.
"Do you know where they took him?!" Red almost yelled and saw Rico shake his head. "Get the others and try to find out and hurry. Meet me at no man's land in half an hour."
Red sprinted off to do some investigating of his own hoping to find out exactly where Steve might be held, before he called Mike Stone. While he passed by the assistant warden's office, he happened to hear voices and stopped to listen in. What he overheard not only set his blood boiling with anger, but also made him ice cold with the deepest fear for Steve.
"Parker and Wallace are working him over now. He isn't talking, at least not yet. You know how Wallace loves to inflict pain. He will tell what he knows, or we find a way to dispose of what is left of him." Dougan sounded pure evil.
"We need to get rid of him and fast. We can't have anything that ties him to this place. I'll go through the records and see that his jacket is destroyed. Do you have any qualms if it comes to having to kill a cop?" assistant warden Francis asked bluntly.
"No more than you do. What has to be done will be done. I know the annex had not been used in quite some time and since there are still solitary confinement cells there I felt that was the best place for now." Dougan explained
"Good, good. At least there is no chance of him being heard out there. You handle that matter and get me some results. Make sure though they don't overdo it at least not just yet. If he has not cracked by tonight do away with him." assistant warden Francis ordered dismissively.
Red heard footsteps headed towards the door and hurried out of sight. Once Dougan was out of hearing he made his way to the phone he used so as not to be monitored and made the call.
"I need Lieutenant Mike Stone and fast! It is urgent concerning Steven Keller!" Red's voice left no doubt that his request was urgent. "Stay on the line. I need to transfer this call to Captain Olsen's office. He is up there in a meeting." Bill Tanner reacted immediately.
Red waited and then heard a sound as though a receiver was being picked up and heard a gruff voice on the other end.
"Olsen speaking." The Captain answered brusquely.
"I need Mike Stone it's urgent!" Red insisted..
"Stone here, who is this?" Mike asked concerned.
"Lieutenant Stone, this is Jonathan Corwin. I am calling for Steve aka Josh Livingston. You need to get down here and get him out of here fast before they kill him. There is a new "hack" here who knows him from the academy and told the ones you people want exactly who he is and they have him held now at an old annex section. Hurry, I have to go." Red whispered breathlessly.
"I will get there as soon as I can. Thanks for letting me know." Mike voice was filled with deep worry.
"He's a good kid." Red said quietly then hung up and hurried to meet the others at no man's land.
"We have to get to Chino immediately! They found out who he is from some new guard that started there and he knew Steve from the academy!" Mike feared that Steve might not be alive by the time he got to Chino.
"This is just great!" Mr. Bateman snapped as he snatched up phone. "I need an outside line please."
He arranged with the governor for immediate warrants for the arrest of six prison guards and the assistant warden as well as an order from the governor for the release of Josh Livingston. A special task force would meet them at Chino to place the seven offenders in custody, as well as bringing all the proper documents.
As soon as he got off the phone a helicopter was arranged to fly them down there right away. Before they left Mike called down to homicide squad to alert the men there of the situation and that he would be out of reach for a while.
"Bill, whatever you do if Jeannie calls, do not tell her about this. Not yet. Just say I am out of the office and you will deliver her message. I will call her later and fill her in when I have time." Mike couldn't spend much time on explanations.
"Understood Mike we'll be praying for him. Let us know as soon as you find out something." Bill said deeply concerned before hanging up.
They hurried to the helicopter pad and took off. Mike alternated between peering at the photo Jeannie had sent and praying. His face was etched with deep worry. When Olsen glanced at him he realized just how truly important Steve Keller was to Mike.
All of them tried hard to think positive thoughts, but Mike kept hearing the concern in the voice of the man who called him and knew even in prison his partner had made a huge difference to someone just as he had, when he entered his and Jeannie's lives years ago.
It seemed forever until they arrived at their destination. A car was there to meet them arranged by the governor. On their way they all felt a very deep fear of what they might find once they got there. The task force was waiting for them at the front gates of the prison when they arrived. Credentials were shown and they were admitted and hurried right to the warden's office where they also found the assistant warden.
"Gentlemen is there something we can do for you?" warden DeLong inquired courteously.
"We are here to procure the release of Josh Livingston. And to make a few arrests of some of your staff, ." Mr. Bateman spoke frankly.
The assistant warden tried to sneak away when he heard this, but his exit was blocked by some men of the task force. Then the assistant warden met someone he probably wished he had never met in his life when he saw the steely glare of Mike Stone inches away from his own face.
"Where is Josh Livingston?! I just have the strangest feeling you are the man who knows that answer." Mike said in a no nonsense tone
.
"I guess he is out in the rec yard lifting weights with the others." assistant warden Francis stammered with an edge in his voice.
"If you know where he is, really you better tell him. He is not a man to mess with, where that young man is concerned, trust me." Mr. Goldwyn said bluntly.
Some of the task force returned leading several of the "hacks" in cuffs. The assistant warden was also read his rights and arrested. After they had captured the other "hacks", one of them finally broke down and agreed to lead them to where Steve was held.
Mike, Captain Olsen and the CDCR men and the guard known as Cranston as well as the warden hurried to the other part of the prison where Steve had been placed.
Cranston's hands were shaking under the murderous look on Mike's face, as he tried to work the key in the lock. When he got the door unlocked and opened they all saw cuffed to a pipe, clad only in undershorts, the very still form of Steve Keller.