Lukas sat in the cold damp cell for well over an hour before anyone came. It had been almost ten years since he had left his criminal life behind him, and yet the instinct was immediate. Lukas scanned the room, starting to appraise his situation like he used to do when on a job with his dad. The cell had two stone walls and two walls of metal bars; one shared with the adjacent cell and the second with a heavy metal door that opened to the hallway. The floor was made of the same thick stones as the surrounding walls. Not a good start.

A rotten pile of straw had been swept into a corner with some equally rotten blankets as a bed and there was a wooden bucket in the corner that Lukas could guess the purpose of by the smell. There were no windows and the only source of light came from a single candle burning in a small alcove set in the wall of the hallway.

Made sense really, jails were designed to keep criminals from escaping, people who made a living of breaking in and out of places. There would be no escaping from here; Lukas would have to talk his way out of this one, which as he hadn’t done anything should be possible.

The cold of the stones seeped into his bones as he sat and waited but at length the trapdoor opened again and Sheriff Eelroy and Marko descended the ladder. Lukas had been running through his head what he would say. He had to be careful, cooperate and not lose his temper. If he could explain it all rationally, hopefully it would be okay.

“I want his name and where he is,” Eelroy demanded as he stepped into the small cell. This wasn’t how Lukas expected that it would go and was now completely thrown off. He forgot all of his carefully thought out points to prove his innocence and instead panicked.

“I-I don’t know his name.”

“You don’t know the name of your accomplice? Or is it that he never told you his real name?” Eelroy countered immediately. “Then what is the name he gave you, and where is the rendezvous point?”

“He didn’t give me a name,” Lukas knew he had said the wrong thing as soon as it came out of his mouth. He meant to say ‘I don’t know the man and so I couldn’t possibly know his name.’ Now it sounded like Lukas admitted to knowing him but was either too stupid to get his name or he was covering for him. “What I meant is I don’t know-” he tried to correct but it was too late. Eelroy grabbed him by the front of his shirt and slammed him against the wall. The throb in his shoulder turned into a sharp pain. “But I don’t-” he gasped out before Eelroy’s fist landed square in his gut. A strangled wheeze escaped his lips before Lukas crumpled forward and Eelroy dropped him to the floor. In the background Lukas could hear Marko chuckling and if Lukas had the strength to stand he would have been tempted to tackle him to the ground.

“You can’t lie to us; we have a witness who has seen you two together.”

“That’s a lie,” Lukas wheezed.

“He was seen leaving Allwood’s shop this afternoon only an hour before you orchestrated your crime.”

“What?” Lukas should have known. They were creating false witnesses again lie last time, but then it dawned on him. Beau, they had mistaken Beau for Wilt. Lukas had done the same himself at first, but this also meant he had a witness too. “No, that was a customer; an adventurer heading north into the Wilds.”

“Ha! Yeah right. No one adventures at this time of year.” Marko scoffed from his position by the door. Eelroy held up a hand to silence his son.

“Do yourself a favour lad. Tell us what you know; tell us everything and I’ll do what I can to help you.”

For a moment, out of sheer desperation, Lukas almost believed him, wanted to believe him; or maybe that the slim hope was enough to take the risk. After all he didn’t owe Wilt anything. The man was a thief after all, the thing that Lukas despised and spent his life distancing himself from. But he couldn’t; he should but he just couldn’t.

“I don’t know the man who robbed Arckvile, I’ve never met him before and I don’t know where he is.”

“Then you are of no use to me.” Eelroy spat and walked out of the cell. Marko stomped forward and Lukas braced for impact. “Marko, leave it. It’s not worth getting your boots dirty.”

Marko paused for a moment as he weighed as father’s words and the worth of disobeying him. Then deciding better of it he turned and stalked away. But he couldn’t help getting in one last spiteful act and blew out the solitary candle. When the trapdoor slammed shut the room was enveloped in total darkness.

Lukas felt his way over to the bed and huddled down amongst the straw and blankets. Feeling cold, alone and completely devoid of hope, he let the tears come.