Saboteur: Prison Breaker Book 2 by Georgia Wagner

Author:Georgia Wagner [Wagner, Georgia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-04-12T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 26

Outside the Loophole, the giant cedars stretched to the sky, the canopy so high that branches the size of sewer pipes resembled toothpicks; the leaves themselves were indiscernible save their collective green tapestry invading vast swathes of the horizon. I craned my neck while following steadily after the Hillbilly Godfather. His bodyguard remained behind with the RV and my friends, keeping an eye on things.

The clearing outside the Loophole contained all manner of odd transportation. There were the expected flying car pets of the djinn, a Bugatti with a giant skull painted in splashes on the hood, and an honest-to-goodness frigate with mechanical, metallic wings attached to a complex pulley system. I eyed the ship nervously, my gaze slipping along the many cannon ports.

“Relax,” Baron murmured behind me, “no one will recognize you like this.”

At his words, I wiggled my nose but refused to reach up and scratch the sudden itch. Baron had lifted his moratorium on my access to the Loophole under the condition that I disguise myself. Even the Hillbilly Godfather took a couple of glances through the trees, casting about for any watchful eyes.

Clearly, the massacre at the bank was still fresh on his mind, and he wanted to avoid a similar calamity in his own business.

Leaves crunched beneath my feet and I readjusted my prosthetic nose with careful fingers. The dyes and plastic features I used had become somewhat of an art form. A savant like myself didn't often have access to creative expression save the twelve-string acoustic guitar in my bedroom and my small, plastic kit of inks and prosthetics.

I'd trimmed my beard back and wore colored contact lenses. My normally blue eyes were now mauve. Instead of a newsboy cap, I wore a baseball hat, the brim low over my features. My cheeks were pronounced, but the flesh tone blended neatly into the rest of my face. I now had a hooked nose, and I pressed my lips to make them seem smaller.

My nose itched, suggesting I'd used too much silicone adhesive, but it would have to do for now.

“Is there a back entrance to Kay's?” I murmured as I moved along next to the proprietor of the Loophole.

Baron snorted. “Secret entrances are for people I trust. I don't trust you.”

I held my leather satchel a bit closer while Baron picked up the pace, marching towards the tallest and widest tree in the clearing. He clicked his tongue as he approached and barked out, “Contrua, quickly if you don't mind.”

I watched a circular gap in the tree where bark had been stripped away to reveal the naked wood beneath. Letters gouged into the pale circle, seeping with sap.

On closer inspection, the sap looked crimson.

I shivered, but kept my eyes on the guardian tree of the Loophole. The sharp letters suddenly twisted and swam, reforming the question, “What do you offer?”

I glanced at Baron, but he murmured, “Savants first.”

I felt a flicker of disappointment; I'd often wondered what sorts of nefarious secrets Baron O'Shea might whisper to the guardian tree, but he clearly wasn't in the sharing mood.

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