Miles away, in the pretrial detention wing of Sector 16, Harlan sat on the edge of the bottom bunk. His wrists still bore the marks of the handcuffs, his face empty. The cell smelled of cold metal and sweat. Three other inmates already occupied the space.
An hour earlier, two guards had stopped in front of the bars. One of them had spoken in a deliberately too-loud, casual voice, addressing his colleague but loud enough for the entire cell to hear.
"That one… Harlan Reiss. He kidnapped an Apex executive last night. Tied her up in a warehouse and raped her. The police walked in while he was still going at it, and the bastard even insulted her afterward."
He had tapped the bars twice with his keys.
"Yo, ugly. You know the house rule for dogs in heat? What a dog does outside, we give back to him inside. Well, you're about to understand."
Then the two guards had left. Their footsteps faded down the corridor.
Now the silence was total.
