“Keep walking.” Sebastian hissed.

Pauly carried on, and Rory noticed more men wearing bandanas following him. He counted ten, and they all glared venom at Sebastian.

“There’s more of them,” he whispered.

“Don’t worry about it.”

“I am worried.”

Sebastian smiled. “I can handle it. I’ve still got the majority of this prison behind me.”

“But it only takes one to hurt you bad.”

Sebastian’s smile fell, and he dropped his gaze down to their hands. “Rory, you’re squeezing me pretty damn hard.”

Rory stopped clutching and pulled his hands away. “Sorry, I didn’t realize.”

“It’s okay… Chess?”

Chess was Rory’s salvation, and Rory nodded eagerly.

Sebastian waved Einstein over. He placed the board down, and Sebastian set about getting it ready.

“Ready?”

“Yes.” Rory breathed.

Sebastian rubbed his fingers up and down the pieces before he moved them, and Rory was transfixed. When he took Rory’s pieces, he clutched them in his hand before setting them in front of himself. He lined them up, all the pieces of Rory he had claimed, and now owned. Rory took more pieces of Sebastian, but he didn’t line them up with confidence, he pushed them aside.

“Captain’s back.” Sebastian murmured.

Rory turned around expecting to see Captain looking a bit less guilt-ridden, instead he looked raging angry, and Rory’s heart started to thump.

“Captain?”

“He wouldn’t even hear me out. Got the guards to tell me he felt too threatened by me, doesn’t think he can work with me. You hear that Rory, he spent thirty minutes with me and saw me for what I was, a monster. Unsavable, evil.”

“You’re not evil.”

Captain stepped forward and towered over Rory. “Don’t. You don’t know me.”

He turned his attention to Sebastian. “You run this wing, right?”

“Right.”

“You smuggle stuff in, or you know who does?”

Sebastian flashed looks at the closest guards, but they were all busy talking to inmates. “Yeah.”

“I need alcohol.”

Rory widened his eyes and looked up at him. “No, you’ve gotten off that shit.”

“What the hell do you know about it?” Captain growled.

The words hit him like a lash, he wasn’t supposed to know about his alcoholism, Captain hadn’t shared that demon with him.

“So, I need drink.”

“Please don’t do this.” Rory whispered.

Captain lifted his chin. “How about it? What do you need in return?”

“I’m not getting you any.” Sebastian said.

“What?”

“I said no.”

Captain curled his hands into fists. “Why not?”

“Because I don’t want to.”

“Who the fuck do you think you are?”

He launched the chessboard, and sent the pieces flying. The prison ground to a halt, and Captain leaned over Sebastian breathing heavily.

“You better back away fast.” Sebastian growled.

“Or what?”

Rory turned to Captain. “Please, calm down.”

“Oi, Captain!”

His head snapped up. “What?”