“Dude, if we had our own show, that could be the tagline!” Dash cackles.
“If we had our own show, it’d be banned in thirty-four countries,” I sneer.
“Basically, I knew right away when I saw you that I wasn’t going to turn you in, or report you,” Alex continues, talking to Angel. “The supervisor from the East Wing control room was probably going to do it… but then the Warden killed him.”
The amusement slips away quickly as we all reacquaint ourselves with the reality of our situation.
If we did have a show, it’d have one scary ass antagonist.
“Was that Steve Islo?” Felix finally speaks up.
Alex nods. “He wasn’t a bad guy. Just trying to get by like the rest of us. But after that, I was really worried. I mean, we all knew about you getting the keys to the cells, killing O’Malley and setting Dash free…” he says to Felix, who gulps visibly, glancing uneasily at Byron.
“Water under the bridge, fam.” Byron rubs his shoulder.
Little Felix Darcey appears delighted.
“Still, I made the conscious decision not to tell anyone,” Alex professes. “I figured if I got caught, I’d just play dumb. But people did find out… The worst being that dickwad, Carla Zaza.”
He makes a face. I don’t know the guy, but if my friend hates him, now I do too.
“I can’t believe you went through all of that just to help me, when you didn’t even know who I was or what I was doing,” Angel gasps, marveling at my sweet friend Alex.
“To be fair, they would’ve held us hostage regardless,” he says. “The control room was the only thing keeping most of the prisoners from fighting with Velle. That and they used my relationship with Josh to keep Velle in line.”
“Were you alright in there…?” I ask, losing the humor at the thought of him being mistreated.
“It was… rough at times.” The trauma he suffered is still visible in his expression. “We had barely any food, and they waited until we were at our weakest to fuck with us. Well, me mostly…”
“Jesus,” I grumble, rage rising in me for those assholes.
Okay, maybe now I’m excited at the prospect of shooting them.
You fuck with my family, and you lose.
Alex pouts. “I knew Josh was probably freaking out.”
“He was,” Dash jumps in. “We saw him when we first got here. He and Jasper were losing their shit because you and Hancock were both being held hostage.”
Alex glances at Peters as he stomps back inside with Velle. Josh’s eyes immediately land on Alex, and he smiles; that relief at knowing his man is finally safe visible in the way his posture changes.
Unfortunately, the problem is that we’re not safe.Not yet.
And it’s obvious from the way Daddy has just strode in here that playtime is officially over.
“Alright, warriors!” Velle barks. The whole room goes silent before the last syllable is uttered. He’s addressing us, but also speaking into the walkie so the men outside and in the lookout points can hear. “We’re in position. I just got word from the scouts… They’re on their way. Give it five minutes and shit will be popping off. Our cover is excellent, and we’re in a much better spot now that we have the manpower and firepower from the prison. But make no mistake, they have the numbers, which is why we’re strictly playing defense for now, until we get an opportunity to drive ‘em back. Those of us in this room will post up in here as long as we can. I know he has targets on most of us…”
Me and Lex share a look.
On him, he means. The bounty on Velle’s head is goddamn priceless at this point.
His eyes shift to Angel. “You stay with me, no matter what. I’m keeping an eye on you myself.”
Angel appears visibly nervous, and I don’t blame him. We still don’t know the true nature of The Ivory’s intentions for him.
“Hug your loved ones,” Velle says, determined. “Get in one last drink, smoke, piss… Because it’s about to be pee-pee pants city real soon.”
“Negan reference,” Byron whispers to Felix, who nods.
