What can you do when someone is slowly taking over your life? There they are, pushing you off the edge of a cliff and chains are keeping you from fighting back. Is there anything which can be done or are you destined to wait for the inevitable crash? Ryker would not wait. During the night, he secretly spoke with some of the operatives. He needed a message to get out of the prison. In the morning, he realized that it had gotten out. An officer arrived to get the Grimborn. The cell was already empty since Dagur was speaking with Farid. Ryker timed it this way because he did not want any questions. He went with the officer until reaching the area and sitting down. On the other side of the glass, he was met with a stern expression.
"Hello, little brother," he greeted.
Viggo's grim look did not change. "Was there a reason you wanted to meet?"
"It's been a while. I wanted to see how you were. You look well."
"I am. You look tired."
The man gave a half-hearted smile. "I am. I don't like my cellmate. You know him, I heard."
"I 'met' him would be a more accurate statement."
"What do you think of him?"
Viggo quietly regarded the older man for a moment. "Let's not pretend that this is anything other than what it is. You aren't concerned with how I am. You're concerned with how we are."
Ryker began frowning. "Fine, I am. How are we? I deserve to know."
"You deserve to know?" his brother asked, an eyebrow raised.
"You know what I mean."
"I do, which is the issue. You believe you deserve a lot."
"What are you saying?"
Viggo paused, a thoughtful look on his face. "That my answer is pending. I need to see more."
Anger flashed in the elder brother's eyes. "Dagur is a madman. Seeing more will only prove that to you. Why delay that when I can tell you now?"
"It might prove that to me and if it does, nothing will change for you."
"But it'll change for me if you don't feel that way?"
"My answer is pending," he repeated coldly.
"I won't be disposed of, Viggo," Ryker growled. "I've been rotting in this cell for two years because of you."
"You have been rotting in that cell because of your own carelessness. Not taking accountability is far from a promising trait of a leader. You would not like my answer if I gave it today, so I would recommend waiting for me to consider more variables."
Scowling, Ryker watched Viggo put the phone up and leave. He returned to his cell where he stayed until the afternoon. For that entire week, the man could not get his brother's words out of his head. Every time he saw Dagur, he wanted to kill him just so that there would be no chance of him taking his job. One evening when Ryker was in a particularly foul mood, Gobber came to get Dagur. The redhead was brought to the therapy room, growing happier with each step. Instead of waiting for the visitor to come, he saw that she was already there.
"Hello, you both," Mala greeted, smiling.
Gobber returned the pleasant greeting and Dagur beamed at her, waving excitedly as soon as his handcuffs were removed.
"Mixing things up this time, I see," the inmate said, still grinning. "Keeping it fresh. That's fun. I like surprises."
"As do I."
"Good because I just might have one for you."
Dagur went over to the seat, leaning forward in anticipation. Mala was fully engaged in what he was going to say and neither noticed as Gobber smirked, then left.
"What do you know about the Grimborns?" the redhead asked.
"Unfortunately, not much. We know about the elder Grimborn being in this prison, but we only have suspicions about his brother."
"I don't have proof yet, but I can confirm that the little Grim is in on it. Big Grim is his underling or something like that. Little Grim almost admitted it too."
"What do you mean?"
"I spoke with him about a week ago. He said he did business with my dad…my judge dad. My dad didn't invest in businesses, so he wouldn't have been involved that way. What I know he did do was drugs and if Rykie sells, then Viggo admits he met with him a few times…"
"It is highly peculiar if that was not the reason." The captain sighed. "But that would not be enough. Viggo has gone undetected for so long because he is a strategic man. He knows where to appear and when. He goes nowhere that is a risk for him and if he does, he still manages to come out unscathed."
"Ryker doesn't have that type of luck." A mischievous look appeared on Dagur's face as he crossed his arms. "You know, if I were Ryker, I'd be pretty pissed if I started helping my sibling with something and then got locked up for it. The only thing that would make me more upset is if I saw I was about to be replaced by some newcomer. Jail time and no money. Not really fair, don't you think?"
He sucked his teeth, but the smile stayed in his eyes. Mala got his meaning and became fascinated by the idea.
"Do you really think that Ryker would betray Viggo?"
"I'm not sure, but I wouldn't put it past him yet. He's been really snippy all week. In fact, he has been ever since Al got arrested. Things are changing and they're not changing in ways that help him out. If Viggo's not looking out for him, he might not look out for Viggo either. Plus, if he gets the operation in a bit of hot water, he might try to use that to prove that things were better when he was doing things alone."
"I'll keep that in mind. He might not be able to help us stop Viggo entirely, but even getting a few of his people off the streets will be useful."
A smirk tugged at the corners of Dagur's mouth and a misbehaving look appeared on his face. "I hope you realize that if Ryker does help you stop Viggo more than that, I will still consider that me winning."
Mala squinted at him, trying to not smile. "Would it not be my skills as a wordsmith which would convince him to disclose sensitive information?"
"Sure, but it would've been my idea," he teased. "Where would you be without that?"
The captain shook her head in amusement. "Have you always been this…"
"Wonderful?" he joked.
"That is not quite what I was going to use."
"Hurry up then, wordsmith. You're taking forever."
"Terrible. I believe that 'terrible' is a far more suitable word for you."
Dagur feigned a sad expression. "Aw, now you're just trying to hurt my feelings."
"You are tough. I'm confident that you can handle it."
This made the redhead brighten. "Ooh, now I'm tough. I like that one."
Mala chuckled. "You are many things."
Dagur laughed with her and his eyes lit up more when she did not give him a strange look at the sound. In fact, it made her chuckle more.
"You have a contagious laugh," she complimented.
The redhead grinned at the captain. "That's by far the nicest thing anyone's ever said about my laugh. Thanks." His eyes widened as he thought of something else. "What do you do when you're not fighting crime?"
"That is a bit of a random question."
"I think those can be fun."
"I do too." The captain paused, thinking. "Work consumes much of my time and when I am not in the department, I am normally training or following up on matters pertaining to a case. So, I am a little boring in that regard."
"I'd never think you were boring. I bet you're not giving yourself enough credit. You seem like a lot of fun."
Mala smiled. "Well, thank you. You would be the first to say that."
"And I say it proudly," the young man said, lifting his chin with a grin. "Trust me, if we were hanging out, we'd have a blast."
"What would you want to do?"
He tapped his chin. "It would depend on what you were in the mood for. There are so many options! We could scuba dive to pet some fish or go to the theater for a movie or a play." Dagur smiled widely in excitement. "It would be really cool to go to a ballet or opera with you. You'd look great in one of those fancy gowns."
Mala's eyes widened, but before she could think of what he had said for long, he continued.
"Do you drink? We could do a wine tasting event if you did. I've never tried wine. I've never tried any alcohol actually." He shrugged. "Another downside of being here for so long. I've seen some of the other inmates make pee booze, but I'm cool with that being their thing. I'll stick with water."
He made a face which brought another smile to Mala's. At this rate, her cheeks were going to be sore soon.
"I enjoy drinking wine for special occasions. My parents used to be experts on the types of grapes and ways to pair the beverages."
"Ooh, so fanciness runs in the family."
"I suppose that it does."
"But then you're hardcore too. We could also spar in a boxing ring."
The blonde almost laughed. "You would like to fight me?" Dagur happily nodded his head, successfully making her laugh for a second time. "I suppose that you do not mean that in a malicious way."
At her words, Dagur realized how it could have been interpreted and quickly shook his head. "Not at all! I just think it would be fun for us to see what the other can do."
"I think it would be fun as well. I only hope that I won't inflict serious wounds," Mala teased.
"No need to worry about that. I'm battle hardened, Malapoo."
The captain regarded him curiously. "Malapoo?"
"It's a nickname," he happily informed her, but his grin faded. "You don't like it?"
"I actually do. I find it sweet. I will have to think of a nickname for you as well."
Dagur scratched his head sheepishly. "I'd kind of prefer it if you didn't. I don't like being given nicknames. Guess I'm a bit of a hypocrite."
"Then, I shall refrain from giving you one." Her expression became thoughtful and a warm smile crossed her face. "I cannot stay longer today, but I have enjoyed getting to know more about you."
"I liked learning more about you too!"
The captain gave one more smile before leaving. Her thoughts did not leave the man still in the room even when she was not.
"A night at the opera," she thought, smiling dreamily. "I am sure he would look very nice in a tuxedo."
Mala saw Gobber headed towards the room and he gave a knowing wink, causing the captain to blush deeply. The officer just smiled and kept going until he reached the redhead.
"You two are definitely something," he commented, attaching the handcuffs.
"What do you mean?" Dagur asked, tilting his head.
Gobber chuckled and shrugged. "Oh, nothing."
The inmate was brought back to the yard where he returned to collecting money. He had been doing something else this week as well. He had been keeping track of certain inmates. There were no new buyers and he was proud of that fact. Looking at some prisoners who had considered buying before, he was glad that they were not with the operatives. A question was in the young man's mind and when he was back in the therapy room with Farid, it was asked.
"Did you ever get to talk with some of the inmates who were going to start using drugs?"
"I did," the doctor happily reported.
"I know you can't tell me all about them, but they're still clean, right?"
Farid smiled and gave a nod of his head. "They are."
"Okay good!" Dagur beamed at him. "This has actually been pretty fun. I get to take down Alvin's cronies, stop people from falling down the same hole that Dad did, and meet and reconnect with some cool people. You're included in that naturally."
The psychologist chuckled. "Thank you. I would say you're a cool person too."
Laughing, the inmate had a happy expression on his face. "I'm actually starting to kind of enjoy life. I've always thought it sucked. Obviously, it could get better since I'm still stuck with Grouchy Grimborn, but I know for a fact it could be way worse too. Things have gotten a lot better since you showed up. It's like you're a good luck charm. Think you'll do this for other prisons?"
"I would like to. I think that there are a lot of incarcerated people who could use the push to get their lives on track. Some did not even commit the crimes they were convicted for."
Dagur cringed. "That would be rough. I know that they'd get better with you around. You might be the only psychologist I know, but I bet you're also the best out there."
Farid thanked his client and they kept speaking until Gobber had to return. The day went by quickly for most, but every day had seemed slow for Ryker. In the yard, he got Savage's attention by clearing his throat loudly enough for just him to hear. The officer looked irritated by this, although he still approached the gates.
"I've seen you talking with that lunatic," Ryker growled.
"What about it?"
"You should be dealing with me. Alvin did."
"I'm not Alvin just like you're not your brother. I'm not making the same mistakes he did."
"I am no mistake."
"Then, why is Alvin behind bars?"
"Ask him. I've only ever brought in money and new buyers. What has Dagur done?"
Savage's expression became more harsh. "I don't like you, Ryker. I never have. You and Alvin always thought you were better than me. Well, how's that working out for you?"
"You need me, Savage," the Grimborn said with so much venom that the officer was not even sure if he meant to call him by name or if this was an insult. "Viggo didn't authorize you to give my job to someone else."
"Viggo's not here and he's not going to be upset as long as money is lining his pocket." Savage turned to leave, smirking behind him. "You and Alvin weren't as great as you thought you were. It's time for some new management, Ryker. This is what it looks like."
