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The van’s motion makes me sleepy, and Grayson doesn’t bother speaking to me again. The lack of stimulating conversation and rocking manage to make my eyes so heavy, that I drift off to sleep.

Two

GRAYSON

Fuck, this poor girl. Glancing at her now that she’s asleep in the back seat, I allow myself to fume. I agreed to pick her up, because they were short on drivers and it was the middle of the night.

Now? I’m livid at a system that would allow a woman to make a snap decision like this without all of the facts. Forbach Reform Camp’s instructors are all unhinged, at the behest of the queen. She has dirt on every one of them, so they’ll do whatever it takes to get the results she wants. They don’t have any boundaries, and they’ll chew this girl up and throw her away.

Grateful I don’t have anyone else to pick up, I drive straight through, back to the camp. “Camp”, is a silly name for this place, because it's not outdoors, and instead is a very comfortable building. Everything about this place is meant to lull the men and women remanded into our care into a false sense of safety.

Pulling up to the security gate of the reform camp, I sigh.

“Hello, Warden. Glad you made it back. Everyone is so appreciative that you agreed to help out with things like transportation. You’re the best thing this correctional facility has ever done,” the guard murmurs, as he opens the gate.

Thanking him, I think about how little that says about this place. When I took this job, it’s because I didn’t have any other prospects. I thought helping to rehabilitate our minors would be an important accomplishment. I despise when people misuse their power, which is why I was so pissed that Silla was left to wait for me in handcuffs.

It’s going to mess with her testing when she arrives, depending on how much it affects her mobility. Every ‘inmate’ receives comprehensive testing to see what area they should be trained in. Silla is so pretty, I can see her being immediately placed in the accountant section, but I push the evaluators to be fair.

Sometimes it works, but some of the testing is subjective. Driving the van through the gates and to the parking spot as close to the intake door as possible, I hope that Isaac is pulling a shift as an intake officer.

He’s a hacker that teaches in the computer programming department, because he was caught in the government’s security system. Isaac agreed to teach here for as long as I needed him, and while his morals are loose when it comes to coding, he is fair in all other aspects.

Blowing out a breath, I channel the persona I wear for everyone else here. It’s the domineering, stern cloak that allows me to keep this camp running.

Banging on the roof of the van, I bark, “Wake up, it’s time to go!”

Silla startles, sitting straight up with wide eyes. Getting out of the vehicle, I walk around to the sliding door. She’s blinking the last vestiges of sleep away as I pull her out of the vehicle.

I wonder if she was a dancer in another life, because she barely stumbles as she gets out.

“I’m going to be dropping you off at intake,” I intone as I slam the door closed. Silla is doing a good imitation of paying attention to every word I say, even though her eyes are on the ground ahead of her. There’s so many things I want to know about her, questions that will probably always be unanswered. “You will be completing several assessments to see what section of the facility you’ll be best matched with. Please be sure to answer these questions fully and honestly. Failure to do so will carry consequences.”

Silla looks at me from the corner of her eye, but doesn’t say anything. I lied when I told her that control was a bad trait to have. Her carefully crafted bubble will be very helpful, because most of the people here are harpies and predators.

Banging on the steel door, I pull out my badge from my back pocket, even though everyone inside those walls knows who I am. Preparing to see Silla’s disappointment, or worse, fear, I steel my spine. I’m wearing comfortable clothes at the moment because I knew I was going to be driving for hours, but I’m typically in a suit and tie.

The door swings open, but I know the security camera was checked first, because that’s what has been ingrained into every person who opens this door.

“Warden, welcome back. You’ve been missed,” Tara says with a small smile.

This isn’t a very cheery place, but I strive to encourage excellence and I’m fair to a fault. Unfortunately, my need to be honest failed to extend to the young woman beside me.

I hear a small expelling of air from Silla’s lips, but when I glance over at her, she’s allowed her dark hair to slide in front of her face. I irrationally want to cut her hair so she won’t be able to hide from me before I curl my lip in disgust.

My hand tightens around her bicep, and I pull her inside.

“Thank you, Tara,” I tell the girl in front of me, with a small nod. “I’ve collected a new inmate. She’ll need to be processed as usual to see where she’ll fit best, please.”

Tara’s eyes drift over Silla’s body as she nods. “She’s very pretty,” she murmurs under her breath.

“I mean it, Tara,” I bark.

She jumps, whereas Silla ignores my yelling. “Of course, Sir. I’ll be sure that’s all handled to your specifications. Full physical as well?”

As much as I want to shield her from that, I nod. “Yes, please. Her charges lead me to believe that she’ll need one,” I tell her.

At this, Silla turns back to me. There’s a look of wariness now in her eyes, and while I have a twinge of sadness that it’s directed at me, she’ll need it while she’s here.