Ace Nichols sat in his cold cement cell. The mattress beneath him was hard and worn down. He gazed at the iron bars in the front of his little nook and sighed. He hated being locked up in that cage, but he knew he deserved it.

He had spent years stealing and dealing. Both were fairly frowned upon in the eyes of Mother Justice, and she’d finally caught up to him. He just wished he’d had a chance to see more of his son’s life before he got locked up. He was looking at ten years inside hell and Simon would be thirteen before he’d get to see him again.

Jasmine refused to bring him to the jail to visit him, and while Ace understood, he also loathed her for it.

“Alright boys, play time, you know the rules!” a guard spoke loudly to the cells around Ace. Same speech every day, but the men he was bunked near rarely followed the rules.

“Open Cell Block C,” the guard called out. On his command, all the iron doors clicked and slid open.

The inmates all lined up outside their cells and waited to be told they could move towards the courtyard. The guards present all watched them intently, almost waiting for one of them to make a wrong move, so they’d get to use their treasured batons.

The inmates stood quietly.

“Move out,” that same booming voice ricocheted around the hallway. The men turned and made their way to the courtyard.

It wasn’t much but it was enough. It was a space to get some sunlight and fresh air, that’s all Ace really wanted. The high cement walls with barbed wire fused to the top reminded Ace he was still in a cage, but it was enough to be outside.

The prison was small, there wasn’t an exorbitant budget for the upkeep of it. There were no guards with guns on pillars like you see in the movies. There had never been a prison break in Caledorn, so why would they need to worry?

Ace saw the small group of men he had learned to tolerate. He made his way towards them, all circled around a picnic table.

“Oi, boys,” he greeted them as he sat down.

“Shhh!” One of them rudely shushed him. Ace was about to slap him for the utter lack of respect but someone turned the volume up on a handheld radio.

“Remdian soldiers have invaded. The soldiers on foot were stopped in their tracks by our Caledorn army setting up an ambush. Many thought that was the end of it. However, there are tanks flooding the borders and nearing Caledorn every minute.”

“What the fuck?” Ace sneered listening to the radio. He had yet to hear anything about this invasion, to say he was shocked would be an understatement.

“That’s not to mention the planes that have started dropping bombs all across the western side of the country. We have no way of tallying the death toll as of yet, but things are looking grim.” The newscaster sounded forlorn as they spoke.

Ace however, just felt enraged. The prison was located in the middle of the small country, but he knew people in the west. His son lived on the western side of Caledorn. He knew Jasmine was smart, so he assumed she wouldn’t have stuck around. She’d protect Simon with her life, Ace knew that. Nonetheless, the idea that someone was attacking his family while he was stuck in a prison didn’t bode well for him.

He looked around the table at the men with him.

“Man, if they get any closer with those bombs, we’re sitting ducks!” one man grimaced at the thought.

“What the fuck are we supposed to do? Prison break?” another man sneered.

Ace was sick of the faffing and it’d only just begun. He stood up and walked over to the guard’s station. His feet slammed against the dirt with determination, an untamed rage billowing within him.

He stood before the pathetic chain link fence. His size was massively oppressive in such a small space.

“So, when were you gonna tell us about the fucking war?” he growled at the guards. He spoke just loud enough to be overheard by everyone in the courtyard.

For a single moment the guard hesitated. He knew as well as Ace did that if he didn’t handle the situation properly, there would be a full-on riot.

“When it concerned you,” the guard clipped back, finding his power once more by grasping the baton in his hands.

“You don’t think war concerns me? Us?” Ace gestured around the courtyard. “They are bombing the western side of the country!”

He stepped closer to the fence, his chest heaving against it and heat radiating from his body as he huffed.

“You wanna know where my five-year-old son lives?” The growl that emanated from Ace was enough to scare any grown man, the lethal look in his eyes only increased his intimidating aura.

“I’ll tell ya. Fucking western Caledorn. You wanna tell me again that this doesn’t concern me?” Ace cracked his neck, as if preparing himself for a battle.

The guard raised his baton, partially from fear and partially to serve as a warning.

“There’s nothing I can do for you. You’re the dumbass who got yourself put on that side of the fence,” the guard responded.

Judging by the smirk on Ace’s face, it would be a statement the guard soon regretted.

All at once the courtyard was enveloped in mayhem.

Most inmates charged the guard station with nothing but their fists to aid them. The stragglers took the distraction as an opportunity to fight their rival inmates. The guards, protected by a thin wire gate, started to show their fear as fifty feral men pushed against the fence.

Apparently, that metal fence couldn’t contain the weight of fifty grown men. As they pushed, the bolts started to pop out of the cement. One by one, they flew out of the nearby wall, allowing the fence to slowly push forward.

With one final push, the entire fence gave way. The guards stood before a mob of angry men, with no barriers to protect them. They raised their batons, though they knew the battle would be lost before it began.

“Wait!” Ace roared above the mayhem.

Everyone stopped.

He stepped forward. “Give us the fucking key and we’ll let you go. I just wanna get to my family. I don’t give a fuck about becoming a murderer today.”

The head guard looked him in the eye. They both knew just because Ace didn’t want to kill him, the other criminals might not be as accommodating.

“You’re on your own, Ace,” the guard seethed.

“Fine then,” Ace took one step back. “Boys.”

The inmates seemed to purr with delight as they descended on the outnumbered guards.

Ace watched on as the scene became a gory scene, blood splattering across his orange jumper.

Someone threw him a key chain. He caught it in the air with one hand.

Without needing to see more of the carnage behind him, he spun around and opened the door. A team of guards with riot gear waited on the other side of the door.

Ace chuckled, “Round two, so soon?” A manic sense of determination to get to Simon had long since possessed Ace. He was willing to kill or be killed to get to his son.

“Stand down!” The guards yelled.

“Such a shame, I always liked you, Leon.” Ace feigned sadness as he looked into the eyes of one guard.

No more words were spoken as the two groups collided in a bloody battle.