Rico tilted his head side to side. “Not me, officially. My parents lived there before they moved to the UK. I was born here.”
Felix nodded, tucking those bits of information away. “I’ve never visited, but I’m told it’s beautiful.”
Rico smiled. “It is. My wife loves visiting.” He winced and cursed quietly. “If you don’t need anything, I need to get back.” He turned away.
“I won’t hurt your family, Rico. That’s not what I do.”
The man paused with one foot on the bottom step and then continued up the stairs, closing the door with finality.
“One step in the right direction,” Felix murmured to himself.
He glanced at the bucket in the corner and sighed. “Oh well, it’s just the rats and me, and when you need to go, you need to go.” He stood and unfastened his trousers as he headed for the corner.
****
Chapter 17
Felix
“Hey, Rico. How are you?” Felix asked when his favourite guard brought him some bread, butter and fruit later that day. He wasn’t entirely sure why they were feeding him, but he certainly wasn’t going to complain about it. Several guards took turns to check on him, but he wasn’t trying to get to know them as much as this particular one. He had a feeling Rico wasn’t as on board with what his colleagues were doing, which was a point in his favour.
“Good, thanks. Were you able to sleep?” Rico asked.
“Like a baby,” Felix lied with a grin.
He could tell Rico didn’t believe him, but he didn’t say otherwise. Each time the man came to his cell, he tried to get him into a conversation, but so far, he’d only managed a few brief pieces of information, and only the mention of his wife was anything Felix could potentially use, and he wasn’t fond of that idea. He wasn’t the same as these people, but if he had no choice, he would use her against Rico.
“What’s the score?” he asked. He had no interest in football at all, but he’d heard one of them mention the game as they left earlier.
Rico raised his eyebrows. “Um, no idea. I don’t watch football.”
“Is that why they keep sending you down here, so they can watch it while you do all the work?”
Rico smirked and shook his head. “They wouldn’t do a day’s work if they could get away with it,” he muttered. “It’s a replay anyway.”
“Well, that’s not fair. Why should you do everything?”
“I’m the newbie,” he murmured, wincing like he had when he’d mentioned his wife.
“Ah, that explains the shit jobs. It won’t take long for you to climb the ranks, I’m sure.” Felix smiled at him.
Rico worked his jaw and glanced towards the stairs. “I’m not sure if I want to.”
Felix almost didn’t hear it with how quietly he had spoken, but rather than jump up and try to coerce the guy, he stayed where he was. “How come?”
The guard curled his hands around the bars of his cell and stared at the floor. He shook his head and stepped back. “Never mind.”
Felix stood up then. “You’re entitled to feel however you want to feel, Rico.” He kept his voice low and soft. “Anyone has the option of choosing a different job if they don’t like the one they currently have.”
Rico snorted. “If you say so. No one leaves this job. Not alive anyway.”
He took a chance. “I can help, Rico.”
Rico met his gaze, taking his time to study him before asking, “How?”
“Well, when I get out of here, I can help you get away. Or you can get yourself away and then call me when you need me. I can get you into witness protection. You can have guards to keep you and your family safe. Remember, I have the royal family behind me.”
“That won’t stop them.” He shook his head and moved away. “I have to go.”