Night in the prison was silent this time. Ryker kept to his business and mostly ignored Dagur, Dagur did his meditating and workouts, and the cell block was full of people who had seen the earlier interaction with Tuffnut. When the blond went to his cell, despite how much the other prisoner was already annoyed by his behavior, he did not act on his irritation. One weird inmate was worth it to deal with if it meant he did not get mangled like Ansson. In the morning, Dagur and Gobber passed Tuffnut's cell on the way to the therapy room. The redhead peeked in, checking to be sure nothing had happened. When the blond gave him an excited thumbs up, he assumed that meant he was fine.

"You know something about what Tuff is doing," Gobber whispered when they got closer to the room.

"I know he's going to get eaten alive in here without me. I can tell you more when there aren't any ears around."

Understanding his meaning, Gobber dropped the subject for the time being. They entered the room and greeted the doctor. Farid greeted the two of them, then the mustached man left to continue the rest of his work.

"I can tell you more now about that whole thing with Ryker," the inmate said.

The psychologist nodded and gestured to the seat. "Please do. How did you know more about his operation?"

"Because I sort of joined it." Before Farid could ask another question, Dagur added. "I'm not hurting the buyers. I'm not even using the money. I just didn't want Rykie to have it. I've been saving it to turn in. I know you probably think this is crazy and that I'm crazier for doing this, but I realized that you're right. I have some power in this prison because of my reputation. I don't want to hurt…many people anymore, but if they don't know that, it can help me. Now, I know which inmates are in the drug ring as workers and which are users. I even have been able to stop a few people from getting hurt by scaring them into giving up money instead of them actually being attacked." Dagur laughed. "It's sort of funny that they're terrified of me, but Ryker's the one who'd kill them."

His laughter stopped and a worried look crossed his face. "I didn't want to tell you at first without having more information so that I could prove this wasn't a pointless plan. I really didn't want you to think that these sessions haven't been helping and that I just became a menace here too."

Farid had a warm smile on his face. "I wouldn't think that at all. I can understand your reasoning, but please be careful. Being a double agent of any sort is dangerous and you already have a lot of enemies here. You'll make more by getting into this operation."

"I know, but I don't care. Worst thing that happens is they kill me. Best thing is, I mess up Alvin's plans. I can stomach those options." Dagur paused, frowning in thought and tapping his head. "Magnar. He and Sven are two that are addicted."

"I've spoken with Sven," the therapist revealed. "I wondered if he was experiencing withdrawal symptoms."

"Probably. He looks really bad. I saw him split something with one of the other inmates. I can't tell if he wants to get sober or not. I think Magnar does, but he doesn't know what else to do."

"I'll put Magnar on my list to see. Thanks for the information."

"No problem!" Dagur said, happy.

"But, Dagur, what do you plan on doing if you're supposed to force someone to take drugs?"

The inmate paused, eyes widening. "I don't know. I didn't think about that part. I just figured we'd sell to people who have already bought from us. If we're supposed to get money out of someone new…I don't want to do that. I just wouldn't. I'm weird enough that I don't think they'd question my reasoning. They probably would assume I didn't have any logic behind my decision."

"What if Ryker or one of the others tries to forcibly drug someone?"

"I'd stop them," the young man answered immediately. "I wouldn't stand by and let that happen."

"You could make more enemies of the other dealers."

"Then, I might just have to make enemies out of them, but I'm not forcing anyone to take substances. That's like Ansson. I'm never going to be like him."

"Just try to remember to not let anger get the best of you if you're pushed to the edge."

"I won't. I've been meditating like you said," the prisoner said with a proud smile.

A thought occurred to Farid as he smiled as well. "Tuffnut said that you called him entertaining."

Dagur laughed. "It's actually true. He's weird like I am. That wasn't necessarily the reason I said it, though."

"Were you trying to protect him?"

"I was–or am–I guess. The other inmates need to know that he's off limits. I've heard of some of the older prisoners claiming new ones, but I haven't seen them do it. He seemed fine this morning, so I think it worked. The problem's going to be when he's around more people. He might not quite know when to stop."

"Do you think you could learn to see him as a friend?"

The question surprised the redhead. "Maybe…he didn't have to come here, so I appreciate that. I don't want to seem too nice with everyone looking. Maybe if we're ever out, that would be cool. I'm just not used to having friends." He chuckled nervously. "I didn't really do it right with Hiccup, so not only am I out of practice, but I don't think I ever knew how to do it right. What's the normal way to make friends?"

"There isn't a normal way to make friends," the therapist said. "It depends on the people. Some can bond over similar interests, others can bond over traumas. It just varies. For you, you don't have to worry about being friends the way everyone else is. It would ultimately be better to communicate. Before, you relied on what you thought Hiccup enjoyed. If you ask clarifying questions and listen, you'll have a better understanding of what people are thinking and how to respond appropriately."

Dagur nodded, still a little nervous over trying this out but hopeful nonetheless. The two spoke for a little while longer. As they did, Dagur told Farid the names of the other inmates who were part of the operation. The psychologist took his notes, then Dagur had to return to the cell. Ryker was as quiet as usual. He did not do much until after they were let out into the yard. The younger inmate kept watching everything and noticed a dark-haired man who kept glancing at Ryker's group. It was a curious, almost yearning look that made Dagur frown.

"I've never seen anyone sell to him before. He's thinking about buying," he realized.

An idea came to him as he began heading where the inmate was going. The other man looked shocked by this, but then his expression took on a look of understanding since he recalled that Dagur was a new addition to the operation. Before he could say anything, Dagur did.

"What's your name?"

"Fjorre," he said, eyes shifting around to try to not be noticed by any guards. "Could-could I buy som–"

"No."

"No?"

"No. You can't afford it."

"I probably could."

"You're not even sure. Have you ever used before?"

"Well, no."

"Why do you want to start?"

The man's expression became miserable. "Because I've been here for seven years and won't be up for parole until another ten. I need something to make the days go by less painfully."

Dagur paused. "You're too clean. You'd act weird and ruin the whole operation. If you do something like that, you die…and I don't mean quickly. So, if you want help, talk to the doc. You'll keep him busy and stay out of our hair."

Briskly, he walked away, returning to where he had been standing. "Fjorre," he thought. "I'll tell Doc about him. Hopefully, that'll convince him to not try to talk to anybody else. Ryker would take his money without a second thought."

Dagur began collecting money from other the inmates. He worked quickly and efficiently. He liked doing that since it let him get to more people. The more he got to, the less Ryker could. Nobody got hurt and the young man wanted to keep it that way. When he was finished, he met up with the Grimborn to hand over the money. The process was almost done when he glanced up in surprise. Tuffnut was coming over to them. He could not shoo him away without Ryker noticing, so he just had to hold in his reaction. Putting an arm around the redhead's shoulder, Tuffnut grinned widely.

"What's going on?" he asked.

Ryker glared at him for a moment, then Dagur. "Get him out of here before I do."

"Yeah!" Tuff agreed, nodding. "We should get him out of here." He lowered his voice. "Who are we talking about?"

Dagur fought against the urge to strangle the blond. "Tuff, go away."

"I want to help. You're splitting drug money, right?"

Ryker's eyes flashed with anger and the redhead felt his stomach drop. The dark-haired man stepped towards Tuffnut menacingly.

"How do you know that?"

"Well, if I didn't, I would now."

Before he could get punched, Dagur stepped between them. "We're not that discrete, Rykie. Any inmate who pays enough attention could tell that some of the others are high or going through withdrawal."

This calmed the man down slightly. While he was distracted, Dagur's expression became more serious.

"What are you doing, Pal?" he asked, saying the last word with aggression.

"I'm helping out. I want to join you, fine fellows."

The scarred inmate did his best to tell him to stop trying to get involved with his eyes, but Tuffnut was not getting the hint.

"You aren't joining," Ryker told him, scowling. "Entry is exclusive. You don't qualify."

"You're not even giving me a chance!"

"I don't need to. Get out of my face," the older man ordered.

His hand kept getting dangerously close to where he hid his weapon even though it would not have been needed to take out the other inmate. Tuffnut was about to argue, but Dagur stopped him.

"Go find something else to do, Tuff. I'll find you when I'm done here."

"Or I could just stay."

"Or I could lose my temper," the redhead said through gritted teeth. "Get lost."

Tuffnut did not believe the harsh glare and Dagur could see that, so he huffed and grabbed a handful of blond hair, yanking him away from Ryker and where they were.

"Ow, ow, ow!" the young man cried out.

When they got to a secluded area, Dagur let go and Tuffnut yoked back his locks, giving him a frown.

"What was that for?" he asked, upset.

"I'm not sure if you noticed, but Ryker was this close to killing you. So am I."

Tuffnut felt worried for a moment. "So, you really were angry at me just now."

"Yes!" he said in a harsh whisper. "You can't just jump headfirst into this. It's suspicious. This is suspicious. You're going to get yourself killed. Might get me killed too and you can bet that I'm haunting your careless butt if you do."

The blond glanced up at the sky. "Ghost Dagur. That could be a fun sight." He could feel furious eyes burning holes in his head and stepped back. "I told Doctor Farid that I'd try to look out for you too."

Dagur paused, thinking about what the psychologist had said. "Communicate," he told himself. "You'll help me more if you don't get involved with this. I don't know a lot about this operation yet. I'm still trying to figure out how everything works. The most dangerous inmates are part of this. I can't do what I need to if I'm worried about you saying something and pissing them off like you just did with Gloomy Gus over there."

"Okay, I got it. You do the drug stuff and I don't…for now."

"No, I do the drug stuff and you don't ever," Dagur said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "This is more challenging than I expected. It can't be me. It's him, isn't it? I'm explaining this perfectly," he mumbled. The redhead turned completely to Tuffnut. "You want to do something? Find this guy named Fjorre and talk him out of taking drugs."

"I can do that!"

Happily, the blond began hurrying off despite not knowing where Fjorre was or what he looked like. Dagur let out a deep sigh and returned to Ryker. The man was still glaring.

"Is he going to be a problem?" he questioned.

The younger inmate shook his head. "Nah, he's harmless."

"He better be–for your sake."

Ryker walked off from the other man, not noticing how Dagur silently mocked him. Since Tuffnut was hopefully out of trouble for the time being and the drug deals were done, the redhead went back to keeping track of who was doing what. The rest of the day went smoothly for everyone. For Farid, he got a call that evening. It was from Captain Mala.

"Captain," he said, surprised, "I don't believe we've been introduced."

"We have not, but Hiccup Haddock told me that there is a therapist working with the clients and upon further research, I discovered you to be that therapist. He also said that he believes some of the officers and inmates are dealing drugs."

"I believe so, yes."

"Have you spoken with the officers?"

"No, I only provide therapy to the inmates."

There was a brief pause. "So, an inmate gave you this information?"

"Yes, but I have also seen evidence of this from my other sessions. Does that trouble you?"

"Not necessarily. It just fascinates me. I do not suppose that you could tell me who that was?"

"I'm sorry. It's confidential and since the full scale of the operation remains unknown, it could also be dangerous. I would need to get consent before disclosing that."

"That is understandable," Mala conceded. "In that case, whoever this man is, please deliver my thanks for providing my team with the information we need to stop them."

"I can do that. I'm sure it'll be very appreciated."

"Perhaps after this is over…" the captain trailed off.

"Are you all right?"

"Yes, I apologize. I was simply lost in thought. Have a good evening, Doctor. I hope to speak with you again soon."

"You as well, Captain."

When they hung up, Farid had a smile on his face. Though Mala had not finished what she was saying, he had a feeling he knew what she had been thinking. He had been around enough people to be able to pick up on certain cues. The captain was more intrigued than she cared to admit. When this was over, Farid was certain Dagur was going to have another visitor.