"I have something for you," came the voice through the cell bars. Lawrence sat up in his bunk at the guard who was standing outside.
Lawrence climbed out of his bunk and walked to the cell door. He did not have to really worry about being overheard. His currently was the only occupant of his cell; Bentley, his former cellmate, had been transferred down the block - far enough to no longer be a nuisance but close enough to keep an eye on if he decided to talk about Lawrence.
"Go ahead," Lawrence said.
The guard passed Lawrence a newspaper, a copy of the Chronicle. He quickly scanned the headline: "Spy Trial Kidnapping: Real or Hoax?" Lawrence chuckled as he wondered how Shane Donovan had made such enemies in the press corps. Beneath the headline were photos of Kim, Kayla and a man identified as Cal Winters.
"So that's the infamous Cal Winters," Lawrence muttered as he studied the photo. It was ironic that this was the first time Lawrence had even seen what Winters looked like. After everything I've done for him.
"I have this, too," the guard said. He reached inside his jacket and pulled out an envelope. "It's from Mr. Marais."
Now that was interesting. Ivan rarely wrote anything out, preferring to keep communications simple and in a manner that could not easily be intercepted. This must be important.
"Leave me," Lawrence said. "Return in 20 minutes and I may have something more for you."
Turning from the cell doors, Lawrence opened the letter as he walked back to his bunk. Taking a seat, he pulled out a cigarette lighter, ignited it, and held it up so he could read the letter.
It was all very good news. Ivan had been "liberally sprinkling the flowers and they would be in bloom in time for Lawrence's parole hearing, which had been moved up to next week." Lawrence chuckled, wondering how much money Ivan had "sprinkled" to state parole officials.
Meanwhile, the company seemed to be progressing. The planned December launch was now on schedule and the "little three-letter problems seemed to have been weeded out." Lawrence thought it almost a shame that Shane Donovan was no longer investigating the toxin. How many bodies would he have to account for at this point? And how many ISA agents had to die before they gave up? They would never catch Lawrence.
There were a few other details in the letter. Katerina had taken on a new project at the hospital. It was very hush-hush and seemed to have some connection to a lab in Washington DC. That intrigued Lawrence. Perhaps he should see what Katerina was up to.
Also, Ivan had been watching the reporters who had invaded Salem and had identified a few who might provide sympathetic coverage of Lawrence, if necessary. For now, with the parole hearing moved up, Lawrence believed he had no reason to use the media. But it was good to know about this Rachel Knight, if they needed to sway public opinion.
Lawrence gave the letter a quick re-read, and then placed the flame from the lighter at the bottom edge of the paper. The fire caught, creating a quick flare that illuminate the grin on Lawrence's face. He let the fire spread and consume nearly half the paper before he tossed the burning paper into the steel sink.
That was all good.
Returning to his bunk, Lawrence pulled out the lighter again and flicked it on so he could read the article. He chuckled when he saw the author of the lead story was the same Rachel Knight that Ivan had mentioned.
Lawrence did have to laugh at the very notion that Donovan would fake the kidnapping. The man was far too much of a straight-arrow to be that creative. But then, Lawrence had the added benefit of knowing exactly how and why Cal Winters was in Salem.
He just needed Winters to avoid getting caught until after the parole hearing. While Lawrence doubted Winters knew enough to connect him to his prison escape, avoiding even that remote possibility would be far preferable.
It was a shame about Kimberly, though. If Winters got away completely with Kimberly, that would make it impossible for Lawrence to rekindle his relationship with her. But if that was a sacrifice Lawrence had to make, so be it. It was an unfortunate by-product of the former plan. And Lawrence could not complain too much; if not for Donovan's arrest, Winters would have been necessary - and it seemed as though he was performing his job admirably.
Still, perhaps all was not lost. When Lawrence was free, he could put out feelers for Winters, maybe even grant him sanctuary in Alamainia. If Winters managed to keep his and Kimberly's whereabouts a secret until that point, it would take little effort to make Winters disappear without a trace. Then Kimberly could make her permanent home with Lawrence at the villa, very much like Lawrence had planned for Jennifer Horton to do.
"We shall see," Lawrence said to himself. Overall, things were progressing well. He fully expected that, in just a week, he would be out of prison and on a plane for his villa. There, beyond the reach of western authorities and the ISA, Lawrence would oversee the final development of the toxin.
Oh, but he would return to Salem. In December, Lawrence would perform the final test to make sure the toxin was at maximum efficacy. Donovan might be the first of its residents to fall, but he would be just the first. No, Lawrence still had to give the world a sneak preview of its future.
He could see the people of Salem mourning their dead. They would suffer, but it hardly mattered. They had spurned Lawrence and he would make them forever regret their transgressions. He would make sure that the Alamain name haunted their dreams and turned their days into living nightmares.
Lawrence smiled. He would have his retribution and, at the same time, he would restore the Alamain name to glory.
A rapping at the bars made him look up. The guard had returned. "You got anything for me?" he asked.
"Just pass along a message," Lawrence replied. "Tell Ivan that 'everything is perfect.'"
Absolutely perfect.