3 Bailed Out

Cael awoke to the metal cell door unceremoniously slamming him in the ribs as one of the guards pushed it open. Another guard drug him to his feet and shoved him out of the cell and into the darkened corridor.

"Move!" He said, jamming the end of his cudgel into Cael's spine.

The three of them walked the two dozen or so paces to the dimly-lit spiral staircase, then back through the upper corridor. Instead of taking the door to the right into the secretary's office, however, they continued straight onwards into another chamber, well-lit and divided in half by a wall of iron bars with a locked gate on one side. The guard behind him gave him another forceful shove, causing him to trip over one of the cobblestones in the floor and faceplant hard into the ground. He groaned as he pulled himself to his feet, just in time for the door behind him to slam and lock. The laughter of the two guards receded out of earshot until he again found himself alone in the new cell. It was obvious this was some kind of temporary holding cell, which told him someone had finally managed to get him out. At least, that is what he hoped. The only other time holding cells like this were used is if a prisoner was being moved to a more permanent cell in the Halls of Penance. Or being hauled to the chopping block for a summary execution. The thought of either option made him ill, and before long he found himself lightheaded and anxious. He took a seat on one of the rough-hewn wooden benches against the stone wall and sat himself down, working very hard to keep his mind off of the worst possible outcomes.

After what seemed like a nearly interminable wait, his ears pricked up to the sound of approaching footsteps. They were formal and precise, but lacked the force and weight of a guardsman's boots. Maybe it was the secretary, or some other official. The answer to his question came a few moments later, when a hard-faced woman in well-fitted and highly-polished half-plate walked into view, her left hand resting calmly on the pommel of the longsword at her side. She come to a stop a few steps in front of the gate and turned sharply with a click of the heels of her knee-high leather boots against the cobblestone of the floor. She removed a small roll of parchment out of a pouch on her belt. She glanced at it, then looked at him, her face stern.

"Cael Atticus Bernog?" She asked.

"That would depend on who's asking." Cael said, crossing his arms.

Her face hardened.

"I am Guard Captain Fiona Hargrave. I have a release order here from District Command for one Cael Atticus Bernog." She said. "That you, half-breed?"

Cael nodded and stood up. He walked within a pace of the gate and extended his finger with a smug smile.

The woman grabbed his arm and jabbed the end of his finger a harder than necessary with the point of a small knife she drew with her other hand. Pressing the bleeding fingertip to the Assessment Sheet, she held it here until all of his personal information appeared. Satisfied that he was who she was looking for, she let go of his wrist, sheathed the small knife back on her belt, and pulled a ring of keys off of her side. She flipped through a couple until she found the right one, unlocked the gate with a loud clack, and pushed it inwards.

"You will follow me to the end of the hall, where we will handle exit processing. You say anything, or touch anything, or do anything besides what you are told or asked, and I will hogtie you and throw you back into the oubliette. Do we understand each other?" She asked, staring at him with her iron grey eyes.

"Perfectly." Cael said, his expression bored.

"Good." She said curtly, before turning in place with another click and walking down the hallway. "This way please."

Cael followed her, being sure to keep enough distance to not crowd her, while not leaving enough room that she'd have an excuse to make good on her word. He'd been around enough guardsmen to know how very literally and sincerely they meant their threats, especially those in charge.

The room she led him into he recognized as the front foyer of the guard station. The part they occupied was separated from the rest by another set of floor-to-ceiling bars, with a second gate at the far end that emptied directly into the open foyer. There, in one of the chairs near the door, Shoggi sat staring into the middle distance. As the two of them approached the gate, another guard opened the door for her, only to close it again before Cael could step out. Fiona walked to the front desk in the center of the foyer and said something quietly to the guard sitting there. The man nodded, and reached underneath the desk. He pulled out a burlap sack and handed it to her. She looked inside and nodded to herself before she walked over to where Cael stood.

"Your personal effects. Change out of your uniform and pass it through the bars. As soon as you are dressed, you will be allowed to leave." She said, making a point of not looking directly at him as she spoke.

Cael grabbed the bag and dumped the contents on the floor. Everything was there, with the exception of his dagger. He wasn't even going to bother asking about it. It was as good as gone. He stripped out of the linen breeches and tunic he'd been given, and shoved them through the bars onto the floor outside. They hadn't given him anything to wear underneath them, so he now stood there momentarily naked. Shoggi glanced over in his direction, and, seeing Cael, whistled loudly and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at him. Cael flipped him off before bending down to pull up his trousers.

Once he was dressed back in his dirt-caked clothes, one of the guards from earlier opened the final gate for him and motioned him out into the main foyer, snarling as he did so. Cael blew the guard a kiss as he stepped out into the foyer, only to trip over another edge of stone in the floor. He stumbled and lost his balance, barely managing to react quick enough to break his fall into a forward roll. Coming out of the somersault, he sprang to his feet before making a point of dusting himself off afterwards and taking a bow. The guard behind him stopped laughing, and returned to snarling as he slammed the metal door closed.

Captain Hargrave walked up to Cael and stopped him from leaving as he and Shoggi turned to head out the door. She placed a vice-like hand on his shoulder and spun him around so that he was looking directly into her steel-grey gaze.

"This is the fifth time you've been copped in my ward, forktongue. I don't know who you know in District who keeps getting you out, but understand this- if my men ever catch you setting a single one of your horns out of line in the Market Ward again, you will disappear into a hole so deep that not even the Sheikh could pull you out. We clear?" She said.

"Crystal." Cael said, fighting the urge to flinch away from the woman's unerring gaze.

"Then get out of my sight." She said, releasing his shoulder and pointing to the door.