Dangerous Territory

Two

Mala cranked up the dial on the air-conditioning, sighing in relief as the cool air cut through the heat.

"Thanks."

She turned around to nod at Cameron then leaned back against the car seat, closing her eyes with a sigh.

The novelty of travelling over to the other side of the city was waning away, the landscape of tall buildings, trees and more buildings becoming somewhat of a bore to look at. It was nothing that she hadn't seen before.

Her father had been driving for about fifty minutes and she was reaching the stage where the small automobile was starting to feel claustrophobic. It was one of those ingrained instincts, the wolf in her that felt more comfortable when she wasn't trapped in a moving hunk of metal.

It wanted out.

She knew that her father was feeling the same way, his hands gripping the steering wheel with so much force that his knuckles were a stark white, however the both of them recognised that driving around for long periods came with the territory.

It wasn't unbearable, just uncomfortable enough to set her on edge until the vehicle came to a stop and she was able to swing open the door and climb out.

She stretched her hands over her head and groaned loudly, pushing away the stress of the journey and looming bad mood that threatened to overtake her.

The door behind her opened and shut and Cameron came to stand beside her, looking down the pebbled pathway with a whistle of appreciation. She could second that motion.

Irongate was massive.

She almost wished that her eyes had been open as they drove up, knowing the scene would have looked like something out of a movie.

Never mind the actual building, they had parked at the bottom of a subtle incline surrounded by lush, perfectly manicured grass. The grass was so green that it looked fake, the sound of the sprinklers triggering a childhood memory of Mala playing in the garden as a wolf, rolling underneath the sprinklers as her parents watched in amusement.

The hedges and trees were trimmed neatly into shapes, giving the impression that whoever was in charge of the landscaping had plenty of money to spend.

The contrast between the landscape and the actual penitentiary was almost comical. Looking at the former, it wouldn't be strange to assume that they were visiting some wealthy man's Victorian manor, yet there was no getting past the overwhelming grey structure beyond that.

Mala was hardwired to pay attention to nature before anything else. It may have been a wolf thing, or it may have just been a Malandra thing, but unlike Cameron, the first thing she noticed hadn't been the giant industrial strength fence surrounding the perimeter of the prison, or the lack of windows and blacked out door, it had been the pebbles and the shrubbery and the quiet stillness that told her the city was miles off.

"Where the hell is Bateman?" She mumbled to nobody in particular.

"I swear he left before us," Cameron folded his arms, shifting his weight to one side.

"He'll be here soon." She felt her dad walk to the other side of her and look at his watch, "we're ten minutes early."

The sun was reaching its highest point in the sky so Mala slipped on her sunglasses, adjusting her fitted dress against her skin. She would have liked to be wearing something a bit less formal and a bit more summery, however she was still technically on the job; she was just glad she hadn't been forced to wear her regular uniform. She felt bad for Cameron who was in a long sleeved shirt and trousers, she knew the poor guy was sweating up a storm.