After a long journey on the dinghy, Henry finally reach the shore. Now all he had to do was reach the airship without drawing attention to himself.
It's a good thing he has a way to summon a transportation pod that would immediately take him to the airship, no sweat. Henry brought out a small device with a button on it and pressed it. It wasn't long before the pod appeared in front of him and he got onboard.
As the pod started flying again, Henry wondered how things were in the Toppat clan in his absence. He certainty hoped Reginald did his job as his right hand man and maintained order...and that he didn't pull anything behind his back. It was pretty obvious to Henry that Reginald wasn't happy with the way things are right now. After all, he only made Henry the leader as a means of self-preservation. But as long as he doesn't get in a predicament, Reginald can't really do anything.
Right Hand Man was probably pissed even more at Henry because he took him out while trying to capture Reginald that fateful day and he had to be brought back as a cyborg, which actually gives him more power that he could easily use to get rid of him, but Henry figured that RHM wouldn't do that to another Toppat out of loyalty to the clan, even if he hated them with every fiber in his being (Well, fibers aren't in his entire body now, but you get the idea).
Either way, it was gonna be quite a while before he gets to the airship. Better sit back and relax.
The next day...
Once his eyes spotted the airship, Henry allowed himself to smirk smugly as the pod landed on the airship. God, he sure missed being here, where he is king.
"Henry!" Reginald exclaimed as Henry walked in like he owns the place (which he does). "Where have you been?"
Reginald, RHM and some other Toppats listened in as Henry explained where he was and why he was only able to come now. Most of the clan was surprised and impressed, and RHM didn't seem fazed. Reginald meanwhile, sounded apprehensive.
"Ah, well...it's good to have you back, Henry. I took good care of things while you were gone, I assure you." Reginald started sweating nervously when Henry gave him a skeptical look, so he tried to move on to something important.
"Listen, we have some matters to discuss. We actually decided to start planning on the orbital station idea we talked about. You remember that, right?" Henry gave a quick nod and gestured to start the meeting for discussion. But unbeknownst to Henry, not everyone followed his order and a rather interesting conversation was taking place at this moment in time.
"Shame that complex couldn't hold him forever, eh?"
"Don't forget who we're talking about, Reg."
"I'm not, but he is not invincible. We just need to get the right opportunity and seize it. He won't see it coming. Hehehe!"
"You haven't changed one bit. I'm with you. Let's go to the meeting for now."
In the meeting
Henry sat down in his designated chair in the meeting room, gazing at the other members to make sure everyone is here...which they weren't. Then, the door to the room opened and in walked Reginald and RHM.
"Sorry we're late, boss." Reginald told him. Henry waved a hand in dismissal and urged them to join.
"Alright, so we're here to talk about the orbital station idea we had a while ago-"
CRASH!
A loud boom came from nearby, startling everyone onboard. Some members, including Henry, Reginald and RHM rushed to where the crash from while the rest stayed behind.
"Go get the weapons! Quickly!" RHM yelled at the others as he left. Once they reached the other room, they were confused, but Henry knew exactly what was going on.
The crash was caused by none other than that girl with the red hair he met in The Wall, infiltrating the airship with a rocket that...seemed awfully familiar.
Oh no.
"YOU! I finally found you!" The girl yelled, pointing her finger at Henry.
She escaped and she was now after him. But how?
The day before...
So it was true. The guy who betrayed her, the plain-looking fellow, was the same Henry Stickman who committed multiple crimes, escaped from jail and is the leader of the Toppat Clan. Ellie didn't know how to feel about that. On one hand, she had some information that could help her track him down but on the other hand, it was probably too dangerous to go after a leader of a criminal organization like the Toppats.
"And I still don't know if I can bust myself out like he did..." She told herself.
If she really wanted that revenge, there is one way to do it.
...
"Uh, sir? I have news for you."
Dmitri's attention shifted from his computer work to the phone he has in his office. Pressing the button, he listened. "Yes, go ahead."
"There is a...an inmate. Wanting to meet with you."
Dmitri raised an eyebrow at that. An inmate wanting to meet him? In all the 50 years he spent running the complex, he never received such an odd request. Normally he'd blow off something like as a harebrained ploy or con (something absolutely forbidden in the complex) but a part of him was curious what was this all about. He figured he can humor this person, just this one time.
"Alright. Tell Grigori to meet me in my office right now. Take this inmate to the welcoming room. And Do not. Let him. Escape."
Grigori arrived shortly after to Dmitri's office. "Sir. I was told you need me."
Dmitri started walking out. "Yes, we have some work to do."
Grigori nodded. "Let's go."
In the welcoming room, as Dmitri liked to call it, it was dark, except for a single light bulb illuminating some of the room. A chair was set up with someone on it. The messenger that was talking with Dmitri earlier was also present, having brought the prisoner as requested.
"So who might you be?" Dmitri started. "You must think of yourself highly to request personally meeting me."
"On the contrary, I'm only here because you're the only person I can turn to right now."
Dmitri immediately noticed that the voice belonged to a female. The situation became even more intriguing to him. A female prisoner at his complex is coming to him for help with something. What could that be?
"I hope that this is actually important, inmate. For your sake." Dmitri warned her with subtle anger.
"It is. Let me start by saying, I'm Ellie. Ellie Rose. I was brought in here yesterday, and on my very first day, I immediately noticed something strange." As the inmate said that, Dmitri got a clear look at her. She was a redhead with cream-colored shoes.
"Interesting. Do you mind elaborating?" Dmitri asked in a mind, uninterested voice. Just as he suspected, this was one big jok-
"Someone escaped from here yesterday."
"WHAT?!"
"I said, someone-"
"Oh no, I heard what you said clearly, inmate. How do you know this?! Who was it?!" Dmitri's entire mood changed in an instant. Was she playing a trick on him? Trying to get under his skin?
"I think his name is Henry Stickman."
"Correction, Henry Stickmin. We had him brought yesterday. Notorious criminal." Grigori piped up from the side of the room.
"That cannot be. No one has ever escaped The Wall in over fifty years, inmate. Are you trying to make me angry?" Dmitri seethed at Ellie.
"You can go check his cell and see." Ellie reasoned. Dmitri took a moment to register that and looked at Grigori, giving him the signal to do as the girl said.
"If you are wrong, girl, I will personally see that you don't see the light of day ever again."
A few tense minutes pass by, and Ellie is dying inside little by little. Grigori better come back soon.
"Sir! Girl is right, Henry not found in cell!" Those were Grigori's words when he came back. This only got Dmitri seething even more. "Now tell me, how do you know this? And why didn't you say so sooner?!"
Ellie glared back at the warden. "Do you think it's easy for me to do this? Talking to people like you? Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't have said anything about what I said, no matter what you could do to me."
"So, that means that something must have happened. You're after something else."
"He used me. To escape, he tricked me and left me behind. And I want payback. There, I said it. That's the only reason I'm here."
"Hmm..." Dmitri allowed himself to smile. "I see. You want me to send you out there so you can have your revenge so I can be two inmates short. What makes you think I will accept that?"
"I can bring him back to you, or better yet, finish him off so you don't have to worry about him."
"I don't need your help to take care of Henry, girl." Dmitri asserted smugly, but to his confusion, Ellie smirked. "Then let me ask you, do you know where he is exactly?"
The warden raised a questioning brow. "Do you?"
"I might." Ellie replied, still smirking. "But I can only consider telling if you consider pardoning me."
Dmitri looked down in thought. He remembers how Grigori told him about the conflicting reports on Henry just before they brought him into The Wall, and that might create a problem now in locating him. There's no way he'll be in the same spot The Wall picked him up from.
He looked back at Ellie. "So, what's it gonna be, warden?"
"One condition. Grigori will be with you at all times, and I will be right behind you as well." Grigori wordlessly nodded at the arrangement, and so did Ellie.
"We'll commence the operation tomorrow. You may take the prisoner back now." Dmitri told the messenger who went over to Ellie and started doing as he was ordered. Now it was just Dmitri and Grigori in the room.
"Sir. We really doing what she say?"
"Don't worry. I have a plan."