Page 4 of Ride the Whirlwind
“Feisty and feral, but with his humanity intact,” Brodie murmured, putting a hand on Ardan's forehead. “Good. Fever's down, and you don't sweat like a fountain anymore. Let's change you.” He started to pull his roommate's pants down.
“Take your goddamn hands off me, or I'll kill you, even if it would be the last thing I'll do in this life.” Ardan growled the warning, grabbing Brodie's wrists and squeezing them hard.
“The bones you are trying so hard to break are mine. I'll still need them intact after I stop feeding, bathing, and changing you. Now be a good boy and let me go. I have something for you afterward.” Brodie's voice was soft like he would have spoken to a child. “Are you well enough to stand? I could help you get to the bathroom and take care of your business. It would be better than wearing a diaper.”
“A...you put me into a diaper?” Ardan closed his eyes, trying to assimilate the other man's words. “How bad was I when you brought me here? Or it wasn't you? I don't understand anything.” He shook his head.
“Before I forget.” Brodie averted his gaze, changing the subject, “These are yours. I thought you would like to have them.” He dug into the pocket of the prison uniform pants, putting two small round objects in Ardan's hand.
“But...but this is my wedding ring, and that is the one my husband's grandfather gave me on our fifth wedding anniversary. How did they get to you? Did you steal them from where they keep the inmates' personal belongings?”
“It's almost lunch time, so Cook should be here any minute with your broth. How about you take a leak until then? Come on, let's see if you can get to the bathroom on your own two feet,” Brodie softly replied. “We'll talk after that, and I'll tell you everything you want to know.”
Ardan nodded and followed the other man into the cramped but freshly painted and sparkling clean bathroom. The toilet bowl, a small sink, and a shower—nothing out of the ordinary, but, for the hellhole he ended up in, that must have been the epitome of luxury. He couldn't stop wondering what Brodie did to deserve that special treatment.
Once the morning ritual was completed, the two men went back into the room, and Ardan plopped on the edge of the bottom bunk, looking around with greater attention than the first time. The rugs, a little worn around the edges but with the colors still vibrant, the little bookshelf on one of the walls, and the little vase with fresh flowers in the middle of the table conferred warmth to the room and made it welcome and cozy.
The metallic door opened, and a guy in his mid-to-late thirties came inside, pushing a little cart. Ardan noticed he was limping pretty badly and had an eye covered with a black patch, and he wondered what happened to him. The man was busy arranging different dishes on the cart and didn't pay attention to Ardan. When he finished, his healthy eye met Brodie's gaze, and the guy offered him a radiant smile, then left the room.
The delicious smell coming from the big bowl filled with a thick, steamy broth made Ardan's nostrils flair and his mouth water, and he picked the spoon up, determined to empty the dish of its tasty content. After a few attempts of taking the spoon to his mouth, he stopped, frustrated that his hand shook so bad. Half of the spoon's content spilled back into the bowl before it reached his lips.
Without a word, Brodie took the spoon from Ardan's hand and started to feed him, a good opportunity for the man to study his caretaker. Judging by the hair at his temples that was almost completely silver, he was in his late forties, or perhaps even early fifties. The expression in his stormy-grey eyes reminded Ardan of Fabian Bloom: gentle and a little sad.
Brodie was surrounded by an aura of kindness, but at times, there was something harsh in the way he moved and spoke; most likely, the man had had a rough life with too many people taking advantage of his innate goodness. Maybe that hardened Brodie and made him distrustful, Ardan thought, his heart aching for the man.
“Good, you ate everything, as expected. Cook makes a broth to die for: thick, rich, and tasteful. For a couple of days, this buttered toast and salted biscuits is all you are allowed to eat. Sorry, but, if I switch you to solid food right away, your stomach could get upset, and we don't need complications,” Brodie softly spoke, casting the other man a concerned look. “I need you back on your feet fast, but we can't take any risks.”
“Thank you very much,” Ardan nodded. “Look,” he started after a short pause, “I don't want to sound ungrateful, but why are you so interested in me having a fast recovery? Are you a nurse or something? Did they put pressure on you to heal me, so my husband and stepfather won't go up the chain of command and report them?”
“Spitfire and Pater. You can use their endearments. I would have known who you were talking about after listening to you for almost two days. There is no chain of command here; this place was created especially for me. A few years after my incarceration, they brought other high-risk inmates here, then they populated the place with really dangerous specimens.”
“What were you accused of, and what is the difference between the high-risk and dangerous inmates? There’s really nothing you can do to get out of here? By the way you talk, you’ve spent quite a long time in this place...” Ardan examined the other man's face, but the expression on it was neutral and didn't give away his internal turmoil.
“Thirty-one years ago, at seventeen, I fell in love with this boy named Lester, who was two years older than me. I was deep in the closet, and he was out and proud; I had one older brother and five younger siblings, and he was an only child; I was fascinated by security systems but had no chance of going to college because of my parents' precarious financial situation, but he studied finances at a prestigious college. A classic case of opposites attract.” Brodie smiled.
“Let me guess he did the crime, and you took the blame. I would call it a classic case of naïve teenager falling for a manipulative, cold-hearted bastard.” Ardan sensed the anger bubbling inside him.
“A hotshot got in touch with Lester and hired him to rob a bank. Two hundred million bucks, and we were supposed to get two hundred thousand each. In fact, we did get our money, but that's another story. Get in, deactivate the alarms, take the cash, get out, that was all. However, something went terribly wrong, and Lester shot the cashiers and two security guys. Four people died that day.”
“And you took the fall, thinking that the judge would show you leniency,” Ardan shook his head. “I'm sorry that you had the misfortune of loving that bastard and believing his lies.” He pressed his lips into a tight, almost white line.
“No, it wasn't like that. I knew from the start what I got myself into: four counts of first-degree murder, four consecutive life terms, no parole. Outside, I had no future; here, I graduated magna cum laude in electronic engineering and also became a certified nurse. Outside, I had to hide my true self; here, no one gives a damn if you’re straight or gay.”
“Is it only me, or do you sound like you got tired of this perfect life of yours? By the way, you still didn't tell me how you came to have all this”—Ardan gestured around—” or is this the standard for high-risk inmates?”
“A while ago, I saw someone getting out of the warden's office. I didn't speak with the guy, but I could sense he was in dire need of help. Yes, you guessed right: I'm getting out, and you are going to accompany me.”
CHAPTER 4
Ardan's reply didn't come right away. For a long moment, he stared incredulously at the man in front of him, trying to guess if he was joking or telling the truth. “Why would you do that?” he finally spoke. “You barely know me. And wouldn't my presence represent an obstacle in the way of your escape?”
“You...they intended to finish you off in the punishment room. You must have messed up seriously with a very mean, powerful bastard's plans. Usually, I'm not interested in what happens around here, I just mind my own business, but when I saw you laying there, a bloody mass but with enough energy left in you to claw at the concrete floor and try to get up...” Brodie shook his head, smiling.
“Giving up is never an option for me, just as it wasn't from the day I turned thirteen. I have a lot of people in my life worth fighting for, and I don't intend to quit any time soon.” Ardan's eyes became incandescent, his voice vibrant and passionate.
“You just answered your question from earlier. An obstacle, you say? I'm afraid it would be the other way around. My ancient, rusty self would get in your way when the time comes. Anyway, enough with this talk about who is going to be a burden for whom. There are still some things we need to settle. Plus, I owe you the continuation of my story.”
“As my Pater likes to say, you have my undivided attention.” Ardan offered the other man one of his shy smiles.