This chapter follows the events of the episode Let Me Go from season one. Let me know what you think!

With a swift reminder that he could take a lot more than her finger this time, Joe had convinced miss Olivia Warren, his old defense attorney, to make a public statement for him and advance on the challenge that his 8th Amendment rights had been violated.

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

It had been thanks to Ryan that Joe had ben able to make this claim. It was thanks to Ryan that his entire plan was being pushed forward, another tactical step forward made by himself and his army of followers. Joe had planned for Ryan to play an important part in all of this, in hopes to harm his already tortured soul, but he had underestimated how pivotal the agent would be. Joe knew that his own driving force behind this tale was his impending romance with Liette but there was no denying that in Joe's mind, Ryan was his partner in all of this. Ryan was the key, the great hero that would make this work.

Joe sat in his regular spot, handcuffed to a metal desk but instead of being faced with the glaring eyes of Ryan or Agent Parker, Joe sat up straight and watched as the prison officials and the prison warden glance up at the television screen to their left. Olivia stood in the corner, dressed in a perfectly pressed black suit and holding the television remote in her hand. She played the segment of Ryan's first meeting with Joe that she had set up for the officials to watch. The scene played over for them, Ryan jumping forward at Joe's words, snapping his wrist back and breaking three fingers with force. The sound of Joe's past groans and screams echoed in the concrete room.

"Ryan Hardy broke three of Mr. Carroll's finger that day."

Olivia's words brought grimaces to the faces of the men in front of her. Joe studied their looks, his eyes falling upon the angered warden as he lifted his bandaged hand as if he was chronicling the evidence for his jury.

"This is a violation of my client's eight amendment rights."

Joe saw it all over their faces, the tightly pursed lips and the narrowed eyes that spoke to how little these men wanted to give Joe anything. However, Olivia held this video over their heads, a well placed threat that was enough to spark worry in the council members. However, Olivia did not realize that Joe was dangling his own personal threat over the wardens head. Olivia knew nothing of the warden's beloved daughter and her recent disappearance, an event that had been triggered by her spoken words in the press conference the week prior to this meeting.

When it came time for Joe to speak he addressed the board with thought out words. "Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to share the injustices that have been inflicted on me."

Fear. Joe could practically smell it on the warden but he didn't need to for the true terror was reflected in the man's eyes. He kept his vision forward, attempting to put on a poker face for the others in the room but as his gaze met Joe's, Joe knew he had him. This man would bend to his every request. It was time to get out of that concrete cell and smell the air again.

The meeting came to a swift end, Joe's terms and agreements laid clearly before the board. He would not press charges or complain if they gave him everything he needed. The warden, the perfect puppet in Joe's show, played his part so quickly that Joe would be in a new prison before the sun set.

Or at least that was what they thought.

Joe stood in his cell, contemplating the freedom that he was about to taste. His first escape had been a means to finishing an end that he had waited so long to cut off, but now he had the chance to escape for real. He was going to see his son again. He was going to see Liette.

Joe did not resist against the pushing hands of the U.S. Marshals who slapped on the multiple cuffs and containment vest that were meant to keep him from escaping. He stood tall with his hands against the wall as they did a thorough search and then turned him around in order to ready him to leave. He had been released into the custody of the state of Georgia. As much as Joe wouldn't have minded the taste of a Georgia peach, he had no intention of making it across any state line.

Joe was not at all surprised to watch Ryan weasel his way into seeing him before he was off. Joe turned and looked at him, pure satisfaction drawing across his face, a light in him that Ryan didn't like. For once, Ryan was darkness and Joe was light. It was a such a stark comparison, the two men standing together in a moment of silence, one feeling on top of the world while the other felt like he was about to fall off of it.

Ryan knew his time was short, so he jumped right into it. "What's in Georgia Joe? Is that where the cult is? Your good buddy Roderick? Does he have Arnaut?" Ryan's questions flew like rockets, targeting Joe and threatening to blow him away but the Brit remained calm and collected, his smile only widening as he took in Ryan's frustration.

"Roderick? No, sorry, name doesn't ring a bell." Joe lied, not even bothering to make it a good lie. Very quickly Joe decided to poke at Ryan some more. It might very well be his last chance to annoy the former agent, at least for a while. "How's Claire doing? Has she rejected you yet? We haven't had much time to talk about her."

Joe's deflection was quickly mirrored by Ryan's own. Joe knew he had struck an already strained cord by bringing up Claire but Ryan did his best to hide the effect. "You know it's funny, I mention the name Roderick and you change the subject. I there something I need to know?" Ryan questioned. Joe gave him no answer and simply watched as the other man deepened his tone and stopped fooling around. Ryan's last words would be more serious than the regular back and forth that had become the usual banter between him and the killer that had taken over his life. His tone lost all sass and pomp as his eyes narrowed and he spoke his last threat. "If he has Agent Arnaut we will find him, we will hunt him down and we will kill him."

"I'm so going to miss these little chats." Joe chuckled, not worrying about Ryan getting anywhere near Roderick or Liette.

"We need to take him down now." one of the U.S. Marshals stepped in to cut the conversation short. The two men pushed past Ryan and moved to flank Joe, moving him out so they could get him to the transport.

"Goodbye Ryan." Joe called back over his shoulder as he allowed his escort to take him outside.

The next forty minutes were crucial to Joe's escape. Act one was over, the prologue had been revealed and now it was time to draw the curtain up on act two. The curtains drew open on Warden Montero, who had a very important role to play. Joe knew it wouldn't take Ryan very long to put the pieces together; a compliant warden, a missing daughter, and the perfect opportunity just waiting for Joe to escape. Joe hadn't underestimated Ryan's ability to figure it all out, in fact he had planned for it. Agent Parker would be with the transport and Ryan would go after the warden, assuming that Joe had been foolish enough to use the blackmailed middle aged man as his getaway vehicle. They would find that the transport van and the warden's car were both empty.

In all of the players, it was Olivia Warren's role that mattered most to Joe.

All Olivia had ever wanted was to be a good lawyer, to prove herself in a world that looked down on her for the parts between her legs and the colour of her skin. She had dreamed of a life in the courtroom filled with exciting cases and the chance of saving the innocent from a fate that they did not deserve. She had been on her way to that when the Carroll case had landed on her desk. Olivia knew from what she had read about the case that there was no chance of saving the innocent in this one but it would build her profile and help her reputation; Olivia hadn't expected Joe to practically ruin her life.

When she had tried to get off the case the first time he had sent a man to take two of her fingers. This time, Olivia knew that Joe would have her killed if she did not help him. With the threat on her life Olivia drove until they were far away enough from the prison to let Joe out of the trunk. He quickly changed into the suit that had been hanging in the back for him and then jumped into the passenger's side of Olivia's sedan.

"How much further?" she asked, not five minutes after she had begun to drive down the road with Joe sitting beside her. She could feel herself beginning to shake, anxious to get the monster out of her front seat and out of her life forever.

"Just keep driving."

There was a silence between them that both Joe and Olivia were thankful for. Olivia did not want to speak to the murderous creature beside her and Joe wanted to enjoy his success and freedom in silence. He watched the street signs carefully, making sure that Olivia followed the directions that he had set out for them before they had made the journey.

"Here. Stop here." Joe commanded before he turned his body fully to Olivia. "I want you to call Ryan."

"What? No." she didn't want to play his game anymore.

"Call Ryan Hardy."

His eyes were dead, black pits of a soulless nothingness that Olivia had never noticed before. The look he gave her was glazed over with a terrorizing look of carnal lust that was not sexual but was certainly physical. This was what a living nightmare was like.

Trembling, Olivia pulled the phone from her purse and dialed the FBI. "I need to speak to Ryan Hardy, it's an emergency." she stammered. "Mr Hardy."

"Olivia?" Ryan was back in the car with Mike having felt the frustration of losing Joe once again. "Where are you? Do you have Joe?"

Olivia didn't have time to answer, instead Joe spoke to her, cutting her off before she could tell "Now, one more thing, tell Ryan these words exactly." Joe instructed. "Tell Ryan that Joe Carroll is killing you because of him. You're dying because of him."

`Olivia's already paling face flushed with fear as she realized what Joe had just said. She did not have a breath to speak the words of Joe's instructions but Joe had spoken loud and clear enough for both Olivia and Ryan to hear. Any chance of Olivia's protest was ruined by the hands that came to her throat and began to choke the life out of her. The phone fumbled from her fingers, falling onto the console between her and her attacker.

"What? No, Olivia, tell him he can kill me." Ryan shouted on the other end of the phone. "I'll be there soon and he can kill me." Joe knew that it was killing Ryan, that each death that occurred before Ryan could stop it was just another crack at the fragile shell that held Ryan together. His shouting was worth nothing, if anything Ryan's pleas made Joe's hands close around Olivia's neck with more force and pressure.

"Goodbye Ryan." Joe cackled, his hands around Olivia's neck as she thrashed violently in the seat next to him.

By the time Ryan arrived Olivia was dead and Joe had taken off. He and the two agents that had followed Olivia's GPS signal scoured the closest building to search for Joe. The now well dressed Mr. Carroll slipped through the crowds of people enjoying an art gala to meet an associate upstairs. Ryan caught a glimpse of him but Joe hadn't even noticed that the man had arrived. It wasn't until Ryan was calling out to him in the stairwell that Joe stopped to acknowledge his presence.

"Joe stop!"

"Ryan Hardy!" Joe bellowed, irritated and yet amused that Ryan had found him so quickly. His associate had already disarmed Ryan and with Ryan's firearm in his own hands now, Joe had all the power. "We really need to stop meeting like this. It's too soon Ryan, too soon." Ryan's eyes tried to find the right move that would take Joe down but they were too close and the two guns on him would only cause his death. "I could kill you right now but what kind of story would that be?" Joe grimaced, amusement fading away as he realized that Ryan was really ruining his plans by being her. Somewhat neurotic and definitely obsessive, Joe became frustrated by the sudden rewrites that Ryan was forcing into their story. "No, no, we can't do this now. I've outlined all of this for years and this isn't where it ends."

"So where does it end Joe?"

"I don't like spoilers." Joe growled "No, it's time to go Ryan."

A blonde woman appeared at the top of the stairs, her presence preset by the sounds of a rather large helicopter that had clearly landed on the rooftop above them. It was Joe's real getaway ride. With a little help from his friends he would be away from Ryan and this county within the hour.

"There is so much more to come Ryan." Joe shook the gun in Ryan's face before he took off up the stairs towards the blonde, leaving the other man there to guard Ryan. "I'll be in touch." Joe called back before he disappeared behind the door that led to the roof.

Nestled safely into the back of the helicopter, Joe buckled himself in and then gave the order. "Take me home." he grinned "Take me to my Liette."