As it was almost time for my assigned exercise period, I headed down the hall, intent on taking in some fresh air to soothe my troubled emotions. As I stepped out into the prison proper, Digger spotted me and loped over, excitement broadly painted on her face. "Angel, I'm glad you're here. I need to talk to you."

"Not now, Digger. I need to get some fresh air for a bit. Maybe later, ok?"

"Please, Angel, it's really important. I'll even go outside with you. The guards won't know if we stick close to the building. Please."

The sense of urgency in her eyes made me acquiesce, though I really wasn't in the mood for company of any sort, let alone that of my shadow. "Alright, Digger," I said finally. "But just for a few minutes, ok? I've got a killer headache."

"Just a few minutes, I promise."

I followed her through the prison and out the door into the yard, feeling the sun on my face start to dissolve the incredible tension tying my body in knots. After taking several deep, cleansing breaths of the autumn air, I turned to Digger, eyebrows raised. "What was it you needed to talk to me about?"

"Alright. I was in the warden's office today, cleaning up like I usually do, right? I was only there for maybe an hour when the door opens and a guard comes in leading Ice."

I turned to her, my interest fully captured. "What?"

She nodded. "It's true! Ice looked like she was ready to tear the whole place apart, and twice as bad when she came back out! I almost peed my pants, I swear!"

"Did you hear what was said between them?"

"Some. I couldn't get it all. People were comin' in and out of the office and I had to be real careful 'bout listening in, you know?"

Resisting the urge to throttle the woman for not getting to the point, I simply nodded encouragingly for her to continue.

"Anyway, she goes in and the guard leaves. Which is really surprising, cause the guards usually go in with the prisoners when they're brought up to see the warden, ya know?"

Her plaintive look seemed to demand some response, so I forced a smile to my face. "I understand, Digger. Please continue."

"Alright. So anyway, being as I was alone for the moment, I picked up my polishing rag and went right up to the door, making like I was polishing the knob and nameplate, you know? And I heard the warden tellin' Ice that he was on to her about somethin'. And Ice told him that she didn't know what he was talking about. Then another guard came in, so I pretended to be working and didn't hear anything until the guard left. When I got back to listenin', Ice was telling the warden that she was gonna stop everything. I didn't know what she meant, but the warden sure did, cause he started yellin at her."

"What was he saying?"

"He was yellin' something about how she wasn't gonna stop anything if she knew what was good for her. Said if she didn't shape up and fly right, things were gonna start getting real bad for her. He even said that he'd make it so that her little girlfriend would get transferred to Hell's Kitchen. I didn't even know she had a girlfriend. Did you?"

My throat became dry again as my heart skittered in my chest. The reason behind Ice's warning became frighteningly clear to me. Hell's Kitchen was the nickname of another Woman's State Prison in Pennsylvania, and rumored to be one of the most dangerous of its kind in the country. Almost every woman released from the prison either made it out in a pine box, or immeasurably changed from the experience. And not for the better.

My emotions must have shown on my face because Digger grabbed my shoulder and shook me. "Angel? Angel, are you ok? You look like you seen a ghost."

"No. No, I'm fine. Did you hear anything else?"

"No. The warden musta called for his guards, cause one came in right after that and took Ice away. Man, she sure looked like she was ready to rip someone a new asshole. And since I'm kinda partial to mine, I played like a houseplant and kinda shrunk into a corner till she left."

"Did the warden say anything after she left? Make a phone call or anything?"

Digger shrugged. "I don't know. By that time, all I wanted to do was finish cleaning and come down and tell you what I heard. I figured with you and Ice being friends and all, maybe you'd know what was goin' on." She looked toward the fence, where the guards were looking down from the towers. "I'd better get goin'. Don't wanna get in trouble for being out here. Talk to ya later?"

"Yeah . . .sure, Digger. See you later."

She grinned and waved. "Bye, Angel."

"Bye, Digger."

Turning from the doorway, I slowly walked across the yard and up to the fence protecting the outside world from me. My thoughts were a clutter racing amok in my mind like a dog chasing its tail. It wasn't hard to fill in the missing spots in the conversation between Morrison and Ice. The warden had obviously found out about the investigation into Ice's missing transcript, which was something I had been desperately trying to avoid. He most likely called her out on it and she responded by threatening to pull her contributions from his little automobile laundering scheme, which in turn led to his threats toward her and her friends, myself included.

This was not what I had in mind when I begged Ice to at least look into the possibility of reopening her case. In hindsight, her warnings to me on this very topic were crystal clear. Why I hadn't heard them at the time I'll never know, but I didn't. My mind was on the injustice she'd suffered, sparked by her sadness that we wouldn't always be together.

I've always been somewhat of a crusader. It's been part of my nature since I was very young and making up plans to free the dogs from the local humane society. I'd thought, however, that I'd gotten over the 'leap before you look' philosophy while still a girl. Apparently, I needed to study up a bit more because I'd obviously blown it, big time.

Threading my fingers through the links, I rested my forehead against the cool metal, trying to come up with a way to make things better. Ice had every right to be angry, though she had agreed to my attempting to get her records. Still, I hadn't told her that I'd given in to Corinne's suggestion about using her reporter friend to help with the search. And I had no doubt that that was what brought the whole matter to a head.

I was deep in my thoughts when Sonny approached, laying a compassionate hand on my shoulder. "Are you alright, Angel? Was Digger bothering you?"

Swallowing back the tears in my throat, I pasted a semblance of a smile on my face and turned to her. "I'm ok. And no, Digger wasn't bothering me. She just had some news to share with me."

"Was it about Ice? I saw her coming in from the warden's office looking like she was ready to kill someone."

Not trusting myself to speak, I nodded in affirmation.

"Shit. Is there anything I can do to help? Maybe get together with the others?"

"No. Thank you though. This is something I need to work out with Ice."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

Sonny squeezed my shoulder, smiling slightly. "Alright then. You know where to look if you want to talk, right?"

Covering her hand with my own, I returned her smile. "I do. That means a lot to me, Sonny. Thanks."

"You mean a lot to us, Angel. Don't forget that, alright?"

"I won't."

Despite the gravity of the situation, or perhaps because of it, her words made me feel a little better. I hadn't been as close to Sonny as I had been to Pony and Critter. But after the stabbing, we became friends. Beneath her somewhat rough and tumble exterior, she was a sweet, kind and caring woman who was always available to help someone in need.

Of course, she was also an armed robber, the only female in a bank and armored car robbery ring who met their demise during a botched bank hold-up. Everyone in the band was killed by the SWAT team except for her. She said that the only reason she remained alive is that at first the police thought she was a hostage and not one of the robbers. She almost got away with it too, until one of the actual hostages pointed her out as she was leaving the building.

Giving me a final pat on the back, Sonny turned and walked back to the weight area where the rest of the Amazons were congregated. As I looked out onto the black parking lot, part of me damned my insatiable curiosity, for it was what led me out to this very spot those months ago to see what Ice was looking at. If I had not walked up to this very fence, I would not have seen the warden and Ice's betrayer, and perhaps none of this would have ever happened.

But another part of me jumped all over that maudlin thought. If I hadn't seen what had happened in the parking lot, Ice most likely would never have taken me down to the chop shop that fateful evening when she bared her soul to me. We might never have made love in that very room.

Had I destroyed the trust she had so painstakingly given me with my zealotry? In my quest to right an injustice, had I ruined everything between us that I had fought so hard to build? I took a deep breath and mustered my courage.

There was only one way to find out.

Ice was sitting on her bed, back ramrod straight, her hands resting lightly on her thighs. Her feet were flat to the floor and her eyes were closed as if in meditation. The air was still around her. Even the always present hum of the fluorescents seemed subdued in her presence.

I stood there, watching her for long moments in silence, knowing somehow that she was aware of me, yet not wanting to shatter the seemingly peaceful scene. I worried at my lower lip with my teeth as I tried to stand against the signals my body was sending me to leave and not look back.

Just as I was about to give in to my panic, her eyes snapped open, bathing me in their pale blue fire. "Is there something you need?" she asked, her voice calm and uninflected.

I stayed outside the boundaries of her cell, not sure where I stood with her. The feeling was uncomfortable for me as I had considered this place a haven of sorts. What could I say to make her understand? What words could I use to make everything better? There seemed to be none adequate enough. The two secrets I held within burned me like a brand.

"Well?"

I decided to wait and hear what I was going to say with my own ears. The dam broke. "I just wanted to tell you that I heard . . .about what happened with the warden. And that . . . ." I trailed off as Ice rose to her feet, her face a mask of rage.

"I'll kill that bastard!"

"No! Ice, wait!" Moving to block the door, I held my hands up. "It wasn't the warden. It was . . . it was Digger. She was in the office when he called you in. She overheard some of the conversation. She was worried and so she came to talk to me about it. Honestly!"

To her credit, and my utter relief, Ice didn't try to come through me. Instead, she narrowed her eyes. "What did she say." It wasn't a question.

Taking a deep breath, I replayed the conversation for her as best I could, trying not to put my own spin on things in case I was wrong. As I spoke, I could see the tension gather in the long lines of her body until she fairly radiated it as if from her pores. My heart picked up in response. When my voice finally trailed off to silence, she simply stared at me, though I knew it wasn't me she was seeing. Her hands were fisted so tightly that I could see the white of her bone pressed against the tan of her flesh.

"Ice?" I asked tentatively.

She blinked once, slowly coming back from wherever she'd gone in her rage. Her shoulders slumped slightly. "You weren't supposed to know," she half-whispered.

I smiled a little. "I'm glad I do."

"I'm not."

Chancing it, I took a half-step closer to her, reaching out and laying a hand on her muscle-knotted forearm. "I am. I think I have a right to know when I'm being used as a Sword of Damocles to hang over your head."

That got a small smile out of her. "Only one of many swords, Angel."

I grinned back. "Maybe, but I'm just egotistical enough to believe that I'm one of the bigger ones," I teased.

"The biggest." She tipped me a ghost of a wink as the tension began to release from her body, easily felt through my fingertips.

Becoming serious once again, I gripped her arm with more fervor. "Ice, I need you to know that I'll willingly go to Hell's Kitchen if it means you can continue your fight to get out of this the right way."

"Your right way, Angel. Not mine. And no. I will not let that happen. As I've told you before, I'll deal with Morrison in my own way and in my own time. You just concentrate on getting yourself out of this slag heap the 'right' way, alright?"

"Ice . . . ."

She laid a finger over my lips. "No, Angel. No more. I asked you to stop and I meant it. This is my problem. Let me deal with it. Please." Removing her finger from my lips, she gently pried away from my tight grasp on her arm, then turned back toward her bed. "I just wish I knew how he learned about it."

I felt myself color. "Um . . .about that . . . ."

She turned back to face me ever so slowly. "Yes?"

My blushed deepened, me ears burning hot with embarrassment. "Well, it was just that I was so frustrated and Corinne was so persistent and . . . .:"

"Corinne?" Her face was becoming dangerous once again.

"It wasn't her fault!" I interjected, raising my hand again. "It was mine. I take full responsibility here."

"Spit it out, Angel. What's going on?"

Scratching the back of my neck, I sighed, giving in to the inevitable. "Well, I was tired of getting the run around from those bureaucrats at the Hall of Records. Everywhere I looked, every letter I sent, every call I made, it was always the same thing. Nothing. I finally got so frustrated that I okayed Corinne's suggestion about her reporter friend . . . ."

"Her what?"

"Her reporter friend?"

Her fists clenched again. "Damn it, Angel!"

"I know, Ice. I know. It was stupid. And I shouldn't have done it. But I was just about to tell her to call it off when you walked into the library today. It's all taken care of now. I promise."

Shaking her head in amazement, she snorted out a breath of air. "What am I gonna do with you?"

I winced. "Forgive me?"

"Do I have to?"

"It would be nice. I promise I won't do anything like this again without speaking to you first."

She smirked. "Don't make promises you're not sure you can keep, my little crusader. C'mere."

I gratefully walked into her open arms, grinning widely as she wrapped herself around me in a warm hug. "You're lucky I love you, Angel," she said against my hair.

"Yeah," I sighed. "I sure am."

The winter rolled along and brought a flu epidemic with it. It raced through the Bog like a lightening-sparked wildfire, leaving almost no one standing in its wake. While all the hospitals in the area were full to overcrowding, the only place the inmates were allowed to be treated, the County hospital, had shut its doors tight to all but the most severely afflicted. And that didn't include any of us.

In the space of days, the entire prison became an infirmary. The guards had also been hit hard and were operating at half staff. If there was any time to have a replay of the riot of last year, this would have been it. Fortunately for everyone involved, any potential troublemakers were too busy puking their guts up to plan or take part in such a venture.