PR150N

Chapter 9

Discussions continued about their safety, their plans on working out who was at the heart of this operation to take down Sol and his gang, the plans on how they would stick in groups to protect each other. It had been going well, everyone deep in thought as they worked every part out to the smallest detail - something they'd had to do a lot on the outside but didn't want to do whilst they were in here. They listed off every person they knew the name of, every person they didn't know the name of by description, soon they would work out their names and add them to the list. They would whittle away until they had a lead, follow the lead and hopefully end up face to face with the person who was causing all these problems for Solomon and his gang. It was going to take a while and they all knew the dangers that were involved. Solomon had thought multiple times about the fight that had broken out with Toby. Had Lex not headed over there and stood up for Toby his injuries would have been so much worse. Two men were against him, he didn't stand a chance yet no one thought to alert Sol, no one thought to break it up, no one did anything but watch in excitement and awe. They could have beat him to an inch of his life and no one would have known or helped.

"Sol..." Raj's voice pulled Sol from his thoughts. Sol looked up at Raj and saw him nodding towards the security panel. It was ringing with someone at his cell door. Solomon's heart sped up as he thought of it being Toby or Lex, one of them finally well enough to be out of hospital and coming back to hang out with the group. He rushed over to the scanner and saw someone he didn't really want right now. Stephanie. It was more hassle than it was worth to try and tell her to go away, she would only want one thing and if she got that, she would leave quickly enough. He looked over at his friends and shook his head, reluctantly raising his hand to the scanner and allowing it to let her in. With her swaying hips, she strutted into the cell and the mumbled groans of all Sol's friends erupted. She glared at them with her piercing blue eyes, her lips screwed up in anger.

"You know you could hang out somewhere else every now and again, losers." Stephanie spat, not giving a care in the world about Solomon's friends. She was here solely for Solomon. She stepped further into the room and looked around, checking every nook and cranny of the cell.

"Lose something?" Sol asked bluntly, his frustrations only growing with her being in the room. He instantly regretted letting her in. His mind wasn't in the right place to try and handle Stephanie today. His mind was elsewhere, at the hospital, beside his friends...
Stephanie seemed not to hear his question, so once again he asked her, with his mind still yearning after his missing friends. Why had the gov not given him permission to see Toby or Lex? Dr Forrester said he would put in a recommendation. It doesn't normally take this long. "I said, did you lose something Lex?" Sol's stomach dropped as he realised what had left his lips. Everyone froze, eyes wide at Sol as he stuttered his way out of the awkward moment. The room was silent. The tension could have been cut with a knife. Sol only had one chance to make this right. "Stephanie, I-I meant to say Stephanie. I'm sorry." Stephanie's eyes burnt into Sol with a new found hatred. She stormed over to him, her finger pointing into his chest.

"What the fuck did you just call me?" The swear word was spat with such venom that saliva shot onto Sol's shirt. He daren't look down, to anger her more, so he stood his ground silently.

"Steph, give him a day off. Two of our mates are in the hospital, they just got beat up. Sol's mind is all over the place." Eddy desperately tried to save Sol from across the room. He stood up and started walking towards the couple. "We were talking about them just before you got here, we were asking our boss what to do. It was just a slip of the tongue." Stephanie's nostrils flared as her glare peeled away from Solomon for a few seconds and headed to Eddy. Solomon let out a relieved breath and thanked Eddy with a very small nod of his head.

"Yes I heard about those two." She said with a lack of sympathy. "I heard they deserved it, trying to be all cocky. Didn't stand a chance against Benny and Bert. Those two are crazy people." All four men quickly glanced at each other, their thoughts the same. They now had names, make a note and don't forget them. Stephanie's eyes went back to Solomon. "Sol, you and I are going into your room and you're going to make it up to me." She grabbed him by the sleeve and practically dragged him towards the bedroom door. "And if you ever call me that disgusting woman's name again, I will make your life a living hell." With that she yanked Sol into the room and slammed the door shut, leaving the three other guys in the cell feeling angry, uncomfortable and frustrated.

"She's a piece of fucking work." Raj whispered, shaking his head. He visibly relaxed in the chair now that she was out of sight. "Remind me why the hell they're together?" Ty rolled his eyes and slumped back in the chair.

"Sol had some poison put in his food." Ty whispered, letting out a breathy laugh.

"Nah, he was all googly-eyed as soon as he saw her. She used her charm on him and dug her claws in." Eddy sat back down on the sofa, but he leant forwards, his elbows on his knees as he made eye contact with the other two. "I think he's starting to realise she's a waste of time though, especially with Lex on the scene." Raj let out a laugh.

"Nah, Lex is only with us for the protection. Let's be honest, she's stuck to us since the truck ride." The other two looked at him like he'd suddenly grown two heads. "Sol likes the idea of someone like her, who accepts what we do and isn't afraid to get their hands dirty. Steph and Sol's relationship is purely sexual. She was easy and he was, well... I mean who would turn down a person who was throwing themselves at you? They won't last."

"You really believe Lex is only here for safety? She's laying in a hospital bed because she helped Toby..." Eddy was quick to voice his thoughts, shaking his head at Raj and his harsh words. Raj raised an eyebrow.

"Are you two really that blind? She did that to make an impact on Sol. The closer she gets to him, the safer she will be. We need to make sure she stays out of any plans we have because she will twist it to make her look better than us." Ty's jaw dropped at the accusation and he looked over at Raj with a newfound disbelief. He struggled to find the right words to say, so went for something basic.

"Do you really think that? Or are you just sour that he wants to expand the team for the first time since we lost-" he cut himself off at the perfect time, knowing everyone knew who he was talking about. Raj's jaw tensed as he pulled Ty closer to him by his shirt.

"Don't fucking mention his name..." Raj growled, pain visible in his eyes despite him trying to disguise it as anger. He opened his mouth to say more but suddenly a noise by the front of the cell caught their attention. Raj let go of Ty and the three of them spun to face the door just as an envelope slid under the doorframe and into the middle of the room. Eddy jumped up and ran towards the envelope, sealed shut and with Sol's name handwritten on the front. This was the envelope he had been waiting for.

"Don't..." Ty warned. The last thing they needed to do was let Sol know whilst he was with Stephanie. He would forget about her in an instant and head for the envelope, making her even angrier and opening them up to even more trouble. Eddy shouted before he had a moment to think.

"Sol, the envelope is here." Ty slapped his hand on his head and let out a sigh of frustration.

"Idiot. You know he's gonna leave Steph for that letter. She's going to be pissed." Ty explained to Eddy, whose eyes widened as he suddenly realised what he'd done. In barely a second, the door to his bedroom flung open and Sol ran out of the room in his boxers, the sound of Stephanie screaming angrily at him following. He snatched the envelope out of Eddy's hand without a word, sweat beading his forehead as he ripped it open and yanked the letter out. The envelope was disregarded and drifted to the floor as Sol studied the letter. His eyes moved left to right at lightning fast speed as he took in every word, a smile growing as he reached the end.

"I've been granted access. I can see them during socials." He summarised, his eyes brightening. He checked the clock, realising there were now only fifteen minutes remaining of social. "I've got to go now." He sped to his room and slammed the door of his room shut again. Raised voices were heard from behind the door but it was disregarded as soon as the door opened again. "See you all later." Sol shouted back as he ran through the cell and out of the door, heading to the hospital with a smile on his face for the first time in a while.