Caught

14.

It was an hour later.

I loaded weapons and equipment into the car, grabbed my pistol from the office and pulled my leather jacket over my uniform.

Time to free my guide.

Darkness had fallen, and the deserted corridors of the prison complex were lit only by spotlights on the ceiling. Nothing moved, there was dead silence everywhere, except for the echo of my footsteps.

I went over the plan in my head for the hundred and fiftieth time and entered the cell. Only the dim night light illuminated the uninviting grey room. Shira sat on the bed, his back pressed against the wall. He was still bound, his head bowed, strands of hair covering his face.

I wondered if he was asleep. He didn't move when I approached. It was only when my fingers brushed over his wrists, covered in red bruises, that he slowly raised his head.

His lower lip was split, and I couldn't suppress a growing sense of guilt at the sight. Before, I had been driven by hatred. One hundred per cent sured that it was Shira who had sent Maya to her death, I had taken my anger and despair out on him. Now I regretted it.

The black-haired man was silent, his expression unreadable. I reached out and gently touched his injured lip with my thumb.

"Sorry."

I didn't want to say anything; the word slipped out of my mouth almost by its own accord.

"Do you trust me?" He asked, hope in his voice, the blue-grey eyes locked with mine.

Do I trust him? I couldn't find an answer to that question. I wanted so much to believe Shira, but something inside me fought so hard against it. He was the Emperor's soldier, his right hand and my enemy, I had to be wary of him.

But the truth was that I couldn't get him out of my mind, and I was afraid that if I were to trust Shira completely, I would fall under his spell.

"I want to save Maya," I said instead of answering, and without further explanation I pulled the keys to the handcuffs from my jacket pocket and freed the prisoner.

He sprang to life in an instant, jumping off the bed and smiling happily at me. Suddenly, he looked like a little boy who had been given his favourite ice cream.

"So you changed your mind?"

He smiled beautifully and gave me a quick kiss. My heart skipped a beat. I didn't understand how he could throw me off balance so easily every time. And he didn't even have to try very hard.

"I'll get you out on one condition, you help me find Maya," I tempered Shira's enthusiasm, making him realise the price of his freedom.

"You have my word," he said, so convincing that the sincerity of the promise was beyond any doubt.

"What's the plan?" he asked.

"Everything is arranged."

"Guards?"

"There are only a few here at night, we'll avoid them."

And the director promised they'd get out of our way, but I kept quiet about that.

"A car?"

"At the back entrance."

"Good, now my sword."

"Sword?" he surprised me. I must have misunderstood him.

"I'm not leaving without my katana," he clarified.

"We don't have time for that, we have to..."

"All the stuff is in the storage room," he interrupted my objections. "It's close by, it won't slow us down."