Chapter 4

Lumi-Lime

CHAPTER 4 “A broadcast!? HAH-HAH-HAH! OH MY! This guy’s gonna crack me up beyond recovery one day! Are we in high school? I mean… HI-HI-HI-HI! ” Spank couldn’t help but laugh hysterically at the audio message. It was sports break on the Saturday morning and the prisoners were out in the sports complex. A few prisoners were playing basketball while others were on the Astroturf playing soccer. The rest of the prisoners were either working out at the gym or grouped up conversing about Shegg’s murder. Spank the Monkey was with the meerkats at a rack of dumbbells. Spank somehow found it amusing to bully the other prisoners from time to time. It was his plain intention to lodge near the dumbbell rack just to scare any hunks who wanted to use the dumbbells and it worked, ironically. Spank even scared people who were more muscular than he was. “Hey! You wanna workout with these dumbbells? Come on. Come get it…don’t be shy” he teased at one prisoner who kept staring at the dumbbell rack. The prisoner rolled his eyes at him and walked away. “You better walk away, big guy!” Spank now turned to the meerkats and began speaking to them, “So I told you boys I wanted to let you in on some information…very delicate information. I really need you guys to attentive about this one.” “Yes boss! Anything for you!” uttered Clyde, the dumbest among the meerkats. “Oh shut up, Clyde. It’s not like I asked you to talk.” Spank rebutted. Pen, Joel and Finn giggled as Clyde hung his head in embarrassment. “I’ve been dealing in goofballs and you’re aware of that right? I’m also dealing in something other than goofballs and it’s called lumi-lime…” “Lumi-lime??? What’s that?” Pen asked as curious as ever. “You would have known what Lumi-lime was by now if you let me finish talking!” Spank smiled with sarcasm and shook his head. “Lumi-lime is one of the rare but underestimated elixirs on the dark market. According to alchemists no one really cares about it because folks don’t seem to have any use for its ability, maybe because they are not in the TPC. Lumi-lime has the ability to convert metals to gold!” Spank said this with excitement but his boys did not seem to understand how that was going to be useful to them apart from the thought of it making them richer, in prison. “Don’t you get it?” he asked. The meerkats looked completely clueless. “Metals to gold?? Platinum inclusive? Still no idea??” There was still silence until a few seconds later Joel grasped the idea. “Ohhhh yeah. If this elixir is truly capable of changing all metals to gold, it should be able to change the internal components of our platinum rings to gold thereby ridding them of their ability to get us fried on the inside. That’ll mean the officers would not be able to touch us…or at least they’ll not know they aren’t getting us even if we make it look like they are.” Joel explained. “Exactly Joel, brilliant. This also gives us the chance to be able to escape with lesser concerns when the time is due.” Spank the Monkey added. “Mind you, I’m giving you this information because I really need you boys in on this. I have an officer who’s still loyal to me. He’s currently the keeper of my stuff. I’ll be sending you boys to him more often to continue with all that I used to do…I have to sit back a while. Drawing the attention of Skye and his officers to me right now will be very expensive, something I’m not willing to do…at least not yet. Having each of you go to him will be less risky than having me go to him all the time. There’s more to do, got it?” “Got it!” replied the meerkats. Pen signaled that he wanted to say something and Spank give him the go ahead. He was the most polite and formal one among them. “But why not just pay your way out of this penitentiary, boss? I mean I know you are capable of doing that so why go through all this bothersome work just to get out of here when the time is due? Some lawyers could cook up a perfect story that will prove that you do not deserve to be here.” Pen asked. “Good question. Skye. In as much as I’m not scared of him I know for a fact that when it comes to matters as such it’s gonna be quite difficult given that he is the new warden. He’s definitely not going to let me get off the hook that easy. He hates me as much as I hate him, you know? Ken would have been very easy to go by but Skye…not so easy.” Spank surprisingly answered Pen’s question with no sense of fear nor worry. It was as if Skye was not really his problem and this was true. Spank’s carefree face shortly turned into a smug face as he stared at a figure walking across the other side of the gym area. Clyde, Finn and Joel noticed the change in his expression and looked in the direction in which he was gazing. It was Choke D Chicken and his beavers. Choke spotted Spank in the distance and stared back so heavily. Both their followers realized the tension that followed their gazes. “That was Spank and his gang right there” Keith said to the beavers.” “Choke’s up to something but I don’t know just yet but I can feel it. Joel, I want you to follow them. We are gonna be out here for a while and this means they are not gonna waste any time should they be really up to something. This is going to be the longest recreation time we’re gonna get this week and this means if they are planning something, they’d have to start now. Make sure they don’t notice you.” Spank the Monkey ordered. “Alright, boss. I’ll get you the facts you need to know.” Joel replied. Spank nodded at Joel who subtly made his way through the rest of the prisoners to follow Choke and his gang. END OF CHAPTER 4