Prologue
“Pathridge?”
The Warden won’t look away from the window. His shoulders stay raised, tense, his fists clenched so tight the knuckles are close to cracking.
“Yes,” he says, his voice tight. “Pathridge. I don’t know how. All I know is she’s a freaking snake. A venomous one. Clever and slippery, with a bite that can kill.”
The Commissioner tilts his head. “That can kill?”
Warden Tyr finally turns to face the other in the room. “Yes. Two guards were killed in her escape. Shot in the chest.”
The Commissioner shakes his head, “more to add to her list.”
Tyr scoffs. “Callahan, I’ve practically stopped keeping track of her criminal record at this point. All I know is she’s meant to be in prison, not out in the blasted city without a leash.” He pinches the bridge of his nose. “That woman…she’s something, that’s for sure.”
“She’s a pain in the rear,” Commissioner Callahan mutters.
That draws a chuckle from Tyr, however short and sharp it was. He composes himself swiftly, turning his dark eyes onto Callahan. “I want her captured. I want her arrested. I want her brought back here…for good.”
Callahan nods. “I understand. I’ll send the best guards and officers to capture her. And I’ll get a team to set up extra security around the prison so she cannot escape again.”
This time, Tyr laughs darkly. His smirk is far from warm. “Oh, she’ll never escape again.”
Callahan straightens from his hunched position over the desk, his brow furrowed in suspicion. “What do you mean?” He asks.
The Warden raises a hand, a pistol in it. He turns it, seeming to study it for the first time. “Tell me, how many times has she escaped prison, Commissioner?”
The man hesitates. “Six…well, now, seven.”
Tyr nods, pride in his eyes at the Commissioner’s words. “Exactly. We’ve given her too much grace. I’ve already contacted President Varyn. He gave me the thumbs up on my decision, long as he can be present and give his own form of…torture to her.”
The disgust Callahan tries to hide still flashes in his eyes. “Varyn said yes to what, exactly?”
That smirk returns as Tyr says, “she’s going to be executed. And where?” He chuckles. “You can guess.”
Callahan inhales…then exhales. He knew this was going to happen, Pathridge was bound to end up in the chair.
He does feel a little bit of pity, however, because she is so young and has been in this life at an age no child should live.
But she made her choices…she has to face them.
“How soon will Varyn be here?” Callahan asks.
Tyr sits in his chair. “Within two weeks at most. He doesn’t expect her to be in the building by then, just that the chase will be close to finishing.”
Callahan nods. “Yes, sir.”
“I trust you will capture her, Dane Callahan,” Warden Tyr says, lacing his fingers together on his desk.
Again, Callahan nods. Tyr releases him, and Callahan dismisses the guards that try to escort him.
Callahan needs to get to his office. This isn’t something to take lightly, to just send officers to the streets and pray they find her.
No, this requires strategy. Thinking. Careful executing.
Callahan smiles. He has someone he can call, someone who can help him.
To catch a criminal, you need to think like a criminal.
