Clive Dove

This Is Excitement

Chapter Two

I think it goes without saying that I don't own any recognisable characters in here.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

The rest of the day seemed to pass extremely quickly for Clive, and mainly involved a lot of thinking, and not much doing. Now that he understood the words, it was only a matter of hours before his plan would be put into action.

And he was excited.

Unfortunately…. There was a teeny tiny miniscule quite possible chance that his plan would not work.

That was worrying.

Clive sighed and stood up, this time ignoring the window and fingering the lock on the outside of the bars on the door. He then put his hand on the lock holding the bars on the window. Which would be easier? That would be the final adjustment, and then finally he could act.

"Still here, Dove? I have to say I'm disappointed,"

Clive rolled his eyes and bit his lip to keep the words Not for much longer from flowing out of his mouth. He couldn't let Fisheye see he had a plan, especially not when Fisheye would play a big part in it. Not that Fisheye knew this, of course. Clive was good at making people do what he wanted.

Instead of letting on, he simply answered with.

"It's hard to form a plan when the water you get here is filled with germs…. If only I could get fresh water… then I'd be out of here in a flash…"

He grinned as he saw Fisheye getting suspicious. The guard put his hand on his belt, and then in one of his pockets, presumably checking his keys were still where they ought to be.

Thanks for showing me which pocket they're in, you nitwit.

Unknowingly, Fisheye had just helped him. It saved him from searching for the keys later on in the plan. He knew for certain already that Fisheye carried around the keys to his cell door and window, as he would often taunt him with them.

"Don't you have something better to do, Fisheye?"

Fisheye narrowed his eyes and stood there for a moment, just staring at Clive. "Whatever you're planning, it won't work,"

Clive slumped down on the bed, pretending to look defeated. "Oh. That's just too bad, then,"

"Yes. Your plans always fail, Dove," sneered Fisheye, before retreating down the corridor.

When he was finally alone, Clive knocked a few times on the wall, remembering the Morse code like code he had set up with Spring and Cogg. A certain number of knocks in a certain order made a letter. Nobody else knew this code, except him and the other two. It was their secret way of communicating. Clive glanced across the cell to the calendar that hanged opposite. According to it, he was supposed to have a visit from Spring and Cogg today.

Good.

Now all he had to do was wait.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

The day seemed to pass quickly, and all too soon, Clive found himself being escorted by four policemen to the meeting room. The usual plastic screen separated him and his soon-to-be saviours. The police nodded to the two visitors and then went to wait outside the room.

Clive lay back in the chair and observed the other two carefully. This was the first time they'd visited him in jail, and little did they know it would also be the last.

"Clive…" Spring started awkwardly, "We visited you, just like we said we would…."

"Yeah," Clive murmured lightly.

The awkward atmosphere was well…. Very awkward.

Then Clive noticed that Spring was actually crying. Cogg placed an arm around her shoulders. Clive didn't find this moment touching or moving at all.

In fact, he found it rather pathetic.

Carefully, he began to tap the desk, catching the attention of the two opposite him.

Cogg took out a small notebook and began to jot down what it was that the teen was spelling.

Clive stopped knocking and waited for it to register into the two, hoping they had caught all the knocks. This was a vital stage.

Cogg glanced down at the words, after a while he nodded slowly, and caught Clive's eye, which glimmered with mischief….

Soon after, their time was spent. Clive waited for a policeman to question him about the knocks, but no one did. Spring and Cogg weren't asked either. By the time the CCTV was checked, Clive would be gone.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Spring and Cogg hurried back to the clock shop. They dropped their belongings there quickly before heading out.

"Where on earth are we supposed to get this?" Spring inquired, confusion flooding her features.

Cogg shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know," he answered truthfully, "But the young sir wanted it, so he will get it. That's the least we can do for him. I'm sure he has a reason for instructing us to get this,"

The two walked along in silence for a while, with only the roaring of cars and the singing of birds disturbing them. They reached a dingy looking shop and walked in.

The shop was horrible, dank, and covered in dirt from every corner. Spring scrunched up her nose in distaste.

The shop owner walked up to them. A short, stout man with a beard nearly as long as he was, and twinkling black eyes.

"Welcome. May I help you?"

"Yes," Cogg muttered, pulling the notepad out of his pocket and handing it to the owner, who looked at it with interest.

"Hmmm…." The man thought hard, racking his brains. "I do believe we have some. Is there a specific colour you wanted?"

The couple from the clock shop glanced at each other. Clive hadn't really been specific.

"We'd like it to be clear as water, if possible,"

The shop owner nodded and disappeared behind the counter. A faint rustling could be heard as he searched through many boxes of things to find the specific item.

Soon, he came out. A small vial of clear liquid was in his grubby hand. "This is it. It's £2.50 a vial, is that okay with you?"

"Yes, thank you," Cogg replied. The two quickly paid the money and left the shop, making their way back to the prison.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Clive had been waiting patiently. A few hours later, the clanging of Fisheye's keys could be heard. The teen sat up straight, wondering if the clock shop couple had managed to get what he had wanted.

He remembered back to the words he had tapped out.

Sleep Syrum

Fisheye appeared a few moments later, with a small vial of clear liquid in his hand. The prison guard laughed, and Clive held his breath. The next part of his plan depended on Fisheye being stupid.

"Look, Dove. The kind couple at the clock shop sent you some clean water!" Fisheye held the vial up close to Clive, who came up to the bars. Fisheye snatched it away. "But we ain't gonna give it to ya!"

Clive tried not to smirk as Fisheye opened the small vial and drank the contents. He moved forward as Fisheye began to fall, and caught the heavy guard before he fell and made a loud clatter.

Clive laid Fisheye on the floor, before going through his pocket and pulling out the set of keys. Glancing around, Clive smirked.

Perfect.

He walked over to the window and unlocked the bars, taking them off. He then stole a small knife out of Fisheye's pocket, and cut the glass out. The teen slid the knife into his boot, before dropping the keys. He didn't need them anymore.

Clive climbed onto the window ledge and jumped out, squinting in the light. The snow had stopped, and had been replaced with the sun.

Suddenly shouts erupted behind him. Clive forgot about the snow and the sun and bolted.

Faster, Clive, Faster!

He thought to himself, running. The one thing he had chosen to keep in prison was his outfit, so he should be able to blend in. Clive kept running, the wind blowing harshly on him, footsteps echoing behind. The prison guards were gaining on him. He couldn't stop now, that would be giving in.

Clive swerved down and alleyway, taking a way no person would ever think of taking.

When you have nowhere to run, where do you go?

Clive could only think of one place.