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It was damned impressive No one had ever escaped from the Needle Now I could see why
We came to a stop at the stairs that led up to the front door As we mounted the steps, the ATV drove off I felt a chill run downfor us at the door Tall and thin, his hair was cut short and was the saray of the fabric of his suit and a couple of shades darker than the color of his eyes
"Special Agent Rizzoli" He shook Douest"
The inflection he put on the word "guest" er I had done absolutely nothing wrong, but this asshole wanted to lockto look over at Doerously, but when he spoke, his voice was level "A visitor, Eric Princess Celia is here to see Connor Finn regarding a case she’s working on Warden Davis has approved it And youher and we’re liable to have an international incident on our hands" He turned to me
"Princess Celia, allow me to introduce a former coworker of mine, Eric Zorn Eric, her Grace, Princess Celia Kalino Graves of the Pacific line of sirens"
"Oh, I knoho she is" Zorn’s eyes flicked over me dismissively "I know all about her We do our hoaze locking with e "I don’t like you, Princess I think you use the press, your looks, and your rank to get aith things you shouldn’t I’ve heard you have diplo with that royal blood But you should know that that only goes so far Youhere today, but you’ll wind up here eventually I’d bet my life on it"
"Eric" A new voice spoke like the crack of a whip Zorn jumped, just a little, and turned to face the man who’d joined us so silently
The newco His features were as average as his coloring His black suit was off the rack but well tailored, and his white dress shirt was crisp with starch His red-and-black-striped tie was held in place by a silver-and-onyx tie tack But while his appearance was ordinary, the th, a presence to hihtly, "it’s a pleasure to meet you I’m Warden Bob Davis I don’t believe you remember me, but I was at the demon rift You saved me and God kno many others that day It’s an honor to have you here"
"Thank you I hopetoo much trouble?" I put a lilt in my voice to make it a question
"Of course not" Davis turned to Doot off of the line with your superior If what he tells me is true, we need to talk Eric, why don’t you show Dos Princess, if you will follow ive any indication that I felt s as the warden and I walked away, but it wasn’t easy Do fro Eric led hie atriu around the place for a second It was … ireenup a full two stories The light fixtures and all of the building details were Art Deco, giving an otherwise cold and functional space just a bit of style
The warden stopped, waiting forquietly so that only I would hear "I apologize for Eric’s behavior He’s a good h-class criet the saood excuse for his behavior, but I decided I’d try to be gracious anyway After all, I was a guest at the Needle … and truthfully, I wasn’t positive that Zorn wasn’t right I’d read about studies done of prison populations--both regular prisons and the special places like the Needle and the Zoo The inroups What kind of minority depended on what part of the world the prison was in But the percentages were nearly identical across the board
Warden Davis changed the subject to"Connor Finn is on the twenty-ninth floor in one of our four most secure cells The wards on that floor are supposed to be checked daily by our in-house e" He paused and waited for e Barton went hoe for your visit But just in case, I’ you up there with a pair of arifts
"Please be very careful Connor Finn is an incredibly dangerousin front of the brushed uards ore the sauys were carrying a lotand strong and looked reassuringly co would happen that required their expertise, that they were just going to be intiood to have them there Just in case