Page 107 of Mastermind

After what I guess is ten hours of my isolation, the light comes on, and two guards enter the room. One of them inspects my bandages and unlocks me from the gurney.

“Prisoner will stand up,” says the other guard. I comply.

“Prisoner will face the wall.”

I face the wall and let them put the restraint belt around my waist and hands and the bindings around my ankles, making me incredibly vulnerable.

“Prisoner will exit the cell and stay on the yellow line,” says the guard with his hand around my left arm.

I’m moved out of the cell and down the corridor. When we pass the infirmary and the wing where my cell is located, a knot forms in my stomach. Somebody isn’t wasting any time.

“I have to—”

Before I can finish my sentence, my body convulses and I fall to the ground from the pain of the stun gun.

As I lie twitching, the shorter guard stands over me. “Prisoner will remember that he must follow no-contact protocols. If the prisoner understands, he will respond in the affirmative.”

“Yes,” I manage through numb lips.

The men lift me to my feet and push me down the line. The short chain between my ankles forces me to make quick, tiny steps, like a rodent trying to keep up.

We enter a wing of the prison that I’ve never seen before. There’s a long gray corridor with doors spaced twenty feet apart. I’m walked in front of one and told to turn and face the wall. The door is unlocked behind me.

“Prisoner will turn around,” says a guard.

The room is dark and small. There’s a metal door at the other side. “Prisoner will enter the room,” the guard tells me.

I don’t know what’s on the other side of that door. I’m afraid to step any closer. I stand firm.

“Prisoner will step forward,” says the guard.

I feel the metal prongs of the stun gun press against the back of my neck. I’m being given a choice: walk into the room or be dragged inside.

I take a step forward and enter the empty room.

“Prisoner will stand in the center of the room,” a guard tells me.

I move to the middle and get into a crouched position, bracing myself for whatever is on the other side of the door in front of me.

The door behind me is shut and locked, sealing me inside.

I crouch lower, putting myself into a sprinting position, ready to headbutt whoever walks through next. My adrenaline is pumping, and my quadriceps are starting to shake in my thighs.

There’s a sound of clanking metal on the other side of the door, then the lights change to red.

Sirens start to blare throughout the prison, and a recorded voice orders all inmates to lie on the ground. I don’t know if this is a riot or a fire, but I do know it’s a distraction for what’s going to happen next.

The door handle starts to turn, then the door suddenly bursts open. Four masked men come flooding into the room.

CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR

TACTICAL

I let out a war cry and throw myself at the closest man. My head hits the armored plating on his chest, and I see stars. But I knock him on his ass.

Two others grab me by the arms and yank me back, suspending me in midair like a child. I swing my feet wildly, trying to make contact. The man I knocked to the ground gets to his feet and yells at me.

“Theo! Stop!”