When Ren got back to his cell, his belly was full and his thirst was quenched. The celebrations at the black bull's HQ had lasted right until curfew. Although everyone had been enjoying themselves, Ren was in a foul mood the whole time. He knew he wanted the boss dead, but he had no idea to go about it.
The boss was well respected among the gang and the glue that held it together, if he didn't think things through then the whole gang may dissolve. Other than that, how was he meant to kill the man. Ren saw what happened to the top brass of the moles, they didn't even appear to put up a fight
"Something on your mind fool."
The rough voice of the headmaster came from the bottom bunk, making Ren sigh.
"Any ideas on how to kill a well-respected and ridiculously strong person that you wouldn't last five seconds against."
Ren asked jokingly.
"I'm a lazy person, when I have a problem, I get someone else to solve it for me"
The headmaster replied casually. Ren shook his head, of course he had already thought of that but who in their right mind would go against the boss of the black bull's. Since this wasn't an issue that had to be addressed immediately Ren decided to sleep on it.
"Why do you call yourself the Headmaster, you own a school or something."
Ren asked the headmaster while climbing into bed, this burning question had been on his mind since he met him.
"You could say that… good night."
The headmaster obviously didn't want to make small talk and soon loud snoring filled the cell. Ren yawned drearily and decided to follow in his footsteps.
"I guess I'll deal with the issue of the boss tomorrow, right now I'll just pray that an executioner gets him."
Ren thought to himself while drifting off but then almost immediately sat right up and face palmed. Maybe the headmaster was on to something, getting someone else to solve your problems really was the way. No-one may want to fight the boss but the same couldn't be said for the executioners.
***
The next day Ren was seated at the mess hall, sitting opposite of him was Isabella, the woman he had arrived here with. She was wearing a thick perfume and her hair was tied back into a ponytail. Ren noticed that almost no one wore perfume in the prison, even the woman in Block-B so Ren was confused as to why she did so.
"So why did you call me."
Ren asked her impatiently, he had a lot of things on his plate right now, specifically the murder of a certain boss. So, when Isabella demanded he sit down with her, he was in an irritable mood.
"Watch your tone sourpuss. Whatever you're going through, don't take it out on me."
She growled. Ren wasn't in the mood for her antics and immediately stood up, he didn't want to waste anymore of his time here.
"I seem to recall you owe me a favour."
Isabella said making Ren freeze. He did indeed promise her that in return for information about the I.M.S, although her info turned out to be useless, Ren took it upon himself to sit back down… albeit reluctantly.
"Good to see that you're a child of your word."
Isabella giggled. Ren shook his head and gestured for her to explain herself, he would decide to honour their agreement after hearing her out.
"Don't worry I'm not going to ask for a lot, all I want you to do is help out an elderly man… simple right."
She said while flashing him a bright smile. Ren didn't see any problem with her request but decided to be on the safe side.
"Who is he and why do you want me to help him."
Ren asked curiously, it was hard to find someone that would go out of their way to help others in the I.M.S, especially someone like Isabella.
"If you must know, he was a close friend of my Gramps… The years haven't been kind to him so I just want to do right by him."
She replied, Isabella looked a little sad when she spoke causing Ren to relent.
"Fine, lead the way."
Ren said casually, causing Isabella's eyes to light up.
***
A few minutes later, Ren was now regretting accepting Isabella's offer. She had led him inside of Block-C where two huge and heavily tanned men were standing guard in front of a flight of stairs that led to the second floor. They towered over the duo and gave off a frightening pressure.
"Take me to the geezer, I'm here to see him."
She said confidently, a stark contrast to Ren who was anxiously waiting behind her while trying his best to not meet the gaze of the two guards.
"Right this way Miss, the boss has been waiting for you."
The guard said while opening the door for them to pass but his words gave Ren misgivings, he was sure that he had heard the guard say boss. Ren was painfully aware that there were only four people who were referred to as such in the I.M.S.
The leader of the black bull's and the leader of the moles were obviously not who the guard was referring to. The leader of the daisies was a woman, leaving only one person. Ren's face paled and he immediately dragged Isabella to one side.
"You failed to mention that the old man you were referring to was the leader of the Fire fighters."
Ren whispered harshly. In response, Isabella put on a cutesy act and put her hand over her mouth while gasping.
"My bad, I completely forgot."
Isabella's sarcasm wasn't lost on Ren and he stared at her icily.
"Is there a problem miss, should I take care of it for you."
The guard said while pounding his fist into his palm and giving Ren a menacing look.
"I don't know… is there a problem cutie."
Isabella asked Ren with an innocent smile on her face. Ren's face dropped, he didn't exactly want to be taken care of.
"No…"
Ren replied bitterly, this damn woman tricked him. If he ran away now, he wouldn't put it past her to make those two huge guards chase him down. While he had his own backing with the Black Bulls, Ren wasn't sure if he would make it over there in one piece.
Ren reluctantly followed Isabella and the guard up the stairs. Ren was extremely nervous, the stories that he had heard about the man they were about to meet weren't exactly pleasant, in fact they made him question his sanity.
He glanced at Isabella, who didn't look the slight bit nervous. Was he being afraid over nothing? They were brought over to a cell on the second floor and before Ren had any time to prepare himself, the door creaked opened.
Standing on the other side of the door was a short but burly man with a nasty pink scar across his left eye.
"Miss Isabella good to see you, the boss has been waiting for you."
He said when he saw Isabella, he gave Ren a curious stare but still let the two of them in. Isabella gave the man a wide grin.
"Good to see you too Juan… This is Ren, I brought him over to help with the geezer's problem."
Isabella said while walking into the cell. Ren followed her in despite the astonished stare he was receiving from Juan.
The cell was identical to Ren's own with the exception of a large desk in the centre of the room. Seated behind the desk was an elderly man whose face was covered in wrinkles and sported a tan far darker than anyone else Ren had seen in the prison. Despite his huge stature, he had a frail appearance and his movements where sluggish, making Ren wonder if this was really the most feared inmate in the I.M.S.
"How you been keeping."
Isabella asked the old man, instead of responding he gave her a thumbs up and his gaze shifted onto Ren. Before Ren could ask why he was brought here Juan walked over to them.
"Miss Isabella, I know you have good intentions… but there's no way a little kid could solve our problems."
Juan said while staring at Ren. In response to his doubts, Isabella giggled like it was the funniest thing she had ever heard.
"Are you sure about that. This little kid the main reason your alliance with the Moles fell apart."
She replied with a smirk. Ren's eyes went wide, how the hell did she know about that. More importantly wasn't her exposing this a very bad thing for him.
Seemingly knowing what Ren was thinking, Isabella put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a smug look.
"The daisies have a good information network."
She told him casually. Ren had forgotten that all women joined the Daisey's, from what Isabella just said she must be pretty high up there, it seemed like Ren wasn't the only fresh face who had earned his stripes.
"So he was the one responsible."
Juan said coldly, Ren felt his glare stab into the back of his head, like he thought this fact being brought to light put him in grave danger. Before Juan could act on his desires and send Ren off to the afterlife. The elderly boss raised his hand to stop him.
Ren breathed a sigh of relief but the heavy atmosphere in the room told him to keep his guard up. Ren glared at Isabella who averted her gaze and whistled.
"This damn bitch."
Ren cursed in his head. Did Ren kill her parents or something. How much was this casual favour worth?
The elderly boss wrote something on a piece of paper that was on his desk and held it up for Juan to see.
"Tell him."
This was the content written on the piece of paper. Juan sighed.
"If that's what you want boss."
He said reluctantly. Ren was confused, was the boss mute. Why hadn't he said a single word this whole time. This man was meant to inspire fear in all the prisoners but when Ren looked at him, he didn't get that impression at all. Juan seemed to know what Ren was thinking and cleared up his doubts.
"We made those stories up… The boss right now wouldn't hurt a fly but we need him to be feared or our gang will fall apart. If you tell anyone this, I'll personally come for your neck."
He said threateningly, it was clear as day that Juan didn't trust Ren but the boss had personally told him to explain their problem so he didn't have a choice.
***
Thirty years ago, In Block-C
"Congratulations Boss, now that you brought that pesky leader of the Moles to his knees, the whole prison will fear us."
A young Juan, who looked to be around thirty, yelled excitedly to the others in the cell. The rest of the cell shared in his excitement, with this victory they had joined the ranks of the most powerful gangs in the prison but one man didn't look content with these results.
"You all seem to have forgotten why I started this gang."
The man sighed, he exuded a powerful aura that brought comfort to his allies and terror to his enemies, this man was the leader of the so-called Fire Fighters and when he spoke the room fell silent.
"Boss, I know we dreamed of escaping this prison… but I think we should focus on more realistic goals, as long as we stay patient there will always be an opportunity."
The man next to him spoke, this was Pepe, his current right-hand man. The boss looked at him with a mild disappointment.
"And just when will this opportunity come, if we sit here twiddling are thumbs all day, we will all be dead and gone before we see the open skies."
The boss said firmly, bringing down the mood of the others who were previously celebrating their recent successes. Juan stepped forward, although he had only recently joined the top brass of the Fire Fighters, he couldn't help himself from speaking his mind.
"Boss, I hate to say this but this prison will never-"
"Wait… let's hear him out."
Pepe interrupted him, As the boss's right-hand man, he knew that there was no way his leader would have brought up this topic for no reason.
"I was offered a position as an Executioner by the Wardens."
The boss said with a serious expression, the room was shocked. They knew that Executioners were extremely strong individuals who were handpicked by the Wardens and brainwashed till the point they lost their sense of self, enforcing the Warden's will like puppets. The only people who agreed to this were veterans of the prison who had decided that they had endured enough suffering and given up on their life.
"And how does this help us break out of the I.M.S."
Pepe asked doubtfully, the rest of the gang seemed to agree with this sentiment. They had just become a powerful force within the I.M.S. thanks to the boss. Why would he give all of that up just to become an Executioner?
"As an Executioner, I will be given free roam in the prison, learning all of its secrets, I will also get a key to the door in the Mess-Hall. With these tools, our dreams of escape won't seem so impossible anymore."
He said casually and the room was left speechless. This idea was insane. Before he even got his hands on a key, he would be brainwashed to the point of no return. The boss sensed the doubts of his underlings and calmly addressed them before they could voice them.
"Do you really think something like brainwashing would work on me, don't forget I'm the man who commands the respect of every inmate in the I.M.S. This matter has already been decided. Don't try to stop me… You can't."
The Boss spoke firmly, the firm resolve in his eyes wouldn't take no for an answer, silencing the others who wanted to convince him otherwise.
He turned around and started to leave the cell. Juan snapped out of his stupor and wanted to run towards the boss and try to make him see reason but a heavy hand on his shoulder stopped Juan in his tracks, it was Pepe's.
"He's made up his mind… all we can do is have faith in him."
***
One year later, in the very same cell.
"It has been too long, you told us to have faith in the boss but can't you see that a whole year has passed without him coming back to us."
Juan yelled at Pepe, in the absence of the boss Pepe had temporarily taken command of the Fire Fighters, the gang had seen the Boss on his executioner duties and his cold eyes and emotionless face confirmed their fears, the great man who had once led them to soaring heights was no more.
"Your right, the boss needs our help"
Pepe said solemnly, this past year had been painful for him, seeing his dear friend being reduced to an emotionless puppet had forced his hand. As much as he had faith in his boss, he also knew that he couldn't leave him like this.
"How?"
Juan asked in shock, how where they meant to help him when he was already in that state. In response to that question Pepe gave him a faint smile and asked him to hand over his badge. Juan handed it over without much thought.
"You know me and the boss were sent to this prison together, back on the streets of the capital we used to hand out food to the homeless… but there were too many mouths to feed. The boss couldn't leave them to starve and we robbed a granary of a rich noble but we we're caught."
Pepe's words were news to Juan, he had never heard this story before. His admiration for them only grew, but before he could compliment them, Pepe resumed speaking.
"We share a special bond, me and him. I've known him for a long time and have faith in him, that man will definitely recognise me… Everything."
He said while holding his own badge over Juan's, they began to glow brightly.
"What are you doing."
Juan shouted, when he realised what Pepe was planning to do.
"The Boss would never be able to send one of his own to death, no amount of brainwashing would ever change that."
He said calmly, Juan was left speechless, how could Pepe have so much faith in him.
CLICK.
The door of the cell unlocked and swung wide open, the boss dressed in a black uniform walked in and stared at them with cold eyes.
"Prisoner #104 your balance is zero sparks, this is your thirty second warning, failure to provide adequate funds results in solitary confinement."
The boss spoke in a monotone voice, the firm resolve in his eyes that he previously held was gone without a trace.
"Boss, it's me Juan… don't do this… please"
Juan begged him in desperation but the boss's expressionless face remained unchanged. Pepe walked closer to his dear friend and pulled him into a tight embrace.
"I believe in you."
He said softly, the boss's face began to contort in pain.
"Pris… Prisoner… #104… your allotted… time…"
He stuttered, it was like he couldn't bring himself to say the words that would seal Pepe's face, a single tear rolled down the boss's cheek and his tense expression began to ease up.
"Glad to have you back Xavier"
Pepe said with a wide smile on his face, Xavier wiped his eyes with his sleeve.
"Thank you."
He said using every emotion he could muster and mirroring Pepe's teethy smile. Xavier took out a silver key and handed it to Juan.
"Guard this with your life, this key contains all the hopes of the Fire Fighters."
He said with a serious expression on his face, a mildly confused Juan received the key and questioned him.
"Why give this to me, surely something this important should stay with you or Pepe."
Juan asked, Xavier didn't answer him and put a firm hand on his shoulder.
"Take care of my gang for me, I have faith that you will be able to lead them to freedom."
He said with a bittersweet smile on his face. This made Juan even more confused but before he could get the boss to clear up his doubts, the heavy thuds of approaching footsteps made him look up.
"Executioner #103, you have neglected your duties and are hereby stripped of your title as an Executioner, as punishment you will now be taken to Solitary confinement along with prisoner #104"
Two black robed executioners walked into the cell and announced their presence, dragging Xavier and Pepe off before Juan could realise what was going on.
A week later Xavier was dropped back in the cell heavily burned and on the verge of death… he never spoke a word again.
***
Back to the present.
The whole room turned silent at Juan's story, even Ren was left stuck for words. Juan took a moment to compose himself and resumed speaking.
"This brings us to our problem, yesterday we decided to use the key, knowing the risk, we sent one of our members out after curfew so he could explore freely. We never heard from him again. I'm sure you've heard the rumour of the beast that's released after curfew. Whatever that thing is, it has our key. This is our problem, any suggestions."
He asked Ren who was doing his best to process the large amount of information he was given. Every part of the story was more shocking then the last, rendering him speechless. Despite his shock Ren realised that he desperately needed that key, it might be his only chance at getting out of here.
"If I get that key back for you will you lend it to me when I ask."
Ren asked the elderly boss, he stared at Ren for a while before nodding his head.
"Then we have a deal."
Ren said while standing up, he would rather not stick around longer than necessary. Ren glanced at Isabella and grabbed her arm.
"You dragged me into this mess so you better make yourself useful."
Ren glared at her. There was no way in hell that he would let her get away scot free after all the stress she put him through. Isabella didn't resist, she had expected something like this.
***
"Any idea's"
Isabella asked Ren. They had gone back to the mess hall and where seated opposite each other, ren thought about it for a while before coming up with a suggestion.
"How about we kidnap someone, stuff em with poison and feed them to the beast."
Ren asked, but the idea wasn't well received by Isabella who immediately rebutted him.
"And who would we kidnap."
She asked sceptically, Ren simply shrugged his shoulders in response.
"Does it matter."
He replied casually, making Isabella frown.
"Of course, it does… I don't want some stranger's death on my conscience, plus where would we get poison in the I.M.S."
She retorted. Poison wasn't something they could easily get a hold of. Ren sighed in frustration, there were a lot of problems that he had no idea to go about solving.
"The key is probably sitting in the beast's stomach, I don't know what it's bathroom schedule is but once it relieves itself, that key is as good as gone."
Ren reminded her of the urgency of their situation making Isabella frown.
"So, you're saying that after this curfew over, we're screwed."
She exclaimed in shock. Ren nodded his head and glanced at a nearby clock, curfew was five hours away, they had until then to think of a plan.
"You got any suggestions."
Ren asked Isabella who fell silent. All of a sudden, her eyes lit up.
"How about we stuff a large amount of meat with the strongest alcohol we can find and get the beast to puke out the key."
She exclaimed. Ren was stunned by her shameless plagiarism.
"Isn't that basically my idea."
Ren quipped back, causing her to show him a teethy grin.
"Yeah, but better."
She thumped her chest proudly causing Ren to shake his head, after a short moment of silence Ren couldn't think of any complaints.
"You get the booze, I'll do something about the meat."
Although she had repackaged Ren's idea, it didn't change the fact that it was worth a shot.