Caught

5.

From that day on, the prisoner's behaviour was exemplary. None of my soldiers came to any harm, and there were no further bloody incidents. As a reward, Shira earned his promised visit to the washroom, which cost me another unpleasant conversation with the prison director.

He didn't like the idea of us taking the prisoner out of his cell at all. He described in detail what had happened the last time they took Shira to the showers and counted on his fingers how many people had been injured. Finally he gave up and took his hands off the whole thing.

I entered the cell in the company of three soldiers. A black-haired man stood next to the bed leaning against the wall.

"It's time for a walk," I said.

We led him out of the cell and escorted him without the slightest difficulty to the closed washrooms. There, Maya was waiting with two other soldiers. She wanted to examine the prisoner and remove the old bandages.

She worked quickly and carefully. Shira didn't move or speak the whole time. He let her unbutton his worn grey shirt and examine his broken ribs and bruises.

There wasn't a spot on his skin that wasn't purple. There were bruises and welts all over his chest, neck and shoulders.

I turned my attention away from his wounds and looked at his face. Our eyes locked. It was only now that I realised he had been watching me intently the whole time.

"All right," Maya finished her examination.

"You have five minutes," I told the prisoner.

At my urging, Shira smiled briefly and began to undress. He pulled the shirt off his shoulders and let it fall to the floor. As his hands went down to unbutton his trousers, he paused for a moment, his gaze sweeping over Maya and the five soldiers stationed in the room.

"Can I have a little privacy?" Shira grinned, his gaze lingering on my face.

"You don't expect us to leave you alone."

"Where could I run from here?"

There was really no way to sneak out of the washrooms undetected. There was no window in the room, nor any other exit except the one guarded by another group of my soldiers.

But I couldn't allow to leave Shira completely unguarded.

"Do they really need to be here as well?" He pointed at the group of five soldiers under my command.

Showering in front of seven people would not be comfortable for anyone. However, I knew that this was definitely not Shira's case. He was after something else entirely.

I suspected I was making a mistake, but I wondered what he was up to. I gestured for my men to wait outside the door. Out of the corner of my eye I caught Maya's uneasy look.

"Don't do this, Taira," she warned in a whisper as she leaned towards me. "It's a trap."

"I want to find out what he's up to," I replied quietly. "Go out with the others. If anything happens, shoot at the instant."

Maya reluctantly complied.

"Happy now?" I turned to Shira once we were alone.

"Thank you, Commander," the prisoner said with an innocent smile that must have been an act.

I leaned my shoulder against the faded tiled wall, my hand resting on the gun holster at my side. The shabby washrooms reeked of damp, mould and the faint chemical smell of cleaning products. There were four shower stalls, one of which was damaged, the metal head torn from the wall. Without hesitation, Shira stripped off the rest of his clothes and headed for the nearest one.