Control Comes from Within

Detective Johnson looked at the two pieces of human filth spasming on the marble entryway and was glad they had resisted arrest. He would have preferred to use his own taser, but Officer Mendez was a quicker draw than he. The kid was probably looking forward to it, too, judging by the way he was hopping up and down.

Taking out his handcuffs, he forced the tall bastard’s giant wrists into them, specially requisitioning a comically large pair for this particular suspect.

“Corey Bouley, you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can, and will, be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney and to have an attorney present for any questioning. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand these rights as I have said them to you?”

He wouldn’t get anything usable out of Bouley or his girlfriend now that they were a blubbering, drooling mess, but at least he could add resisting arrest to the list of charges. He said his piece, just so the bodycams would have it on record, and enlisted the officers with him to stuff the both of them into the back of their cruiser.

The law was the law, and it had its place, but his job would be so much easier if he didn’t have to deal with damn criminal defense attorneys. Those two would definitely hire some high-priced bigshots from one of the big law firms, and he knew he would be buried in depositions and paperwork for at least a year or two before those two ever saw the inside of a courtroom.

But, for all that he grumbled and moaned about the annoyance, at the end of the day, it was worth it, as he reminded himself of the kinds of things they had done and covered up.

Extortion, assault, battery, vehicular manslaughter, and the big guy had even stumbled into smuggling fentanyl across the border.

And of course, the brutal assault and near-murder of that unlucky kid in his 20’s, which a terrified yet resolved shopkeeper had given them footage of.

The first time he had seen the footage, he was shocked at the lengths Bouley was willing to go to, all on his girlfriend’s insistence. But he was even more shocked when the footage showed the body just…disappearing into thin air.

Dozens of people had been over that site by now, looking for anything to explain it. Their department’s CSI’s were stumped, as were the forensic analysts from the lab and even the Feds when they caught wind of it.

The body, and there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that it was a body, had just disappeared, though a judge had ruled that the tape was admissible and was grounds for further investigation.

But all the legal proceedings in the world couldn’t wipe the smirk off Johnson’s face.

Those two were bound for prison and, try as they might, no attorney could disregard the mountain of evidence the police had collected. Despite their willingness and zeal for engaging in a criminal lifestyle, they weren’t exactly criminal masterminds.

Two years later…

“On three counts of murder in the first degree, I find you guilty, and hereby sentence you to …”

“On thirty-seven counts of aggravated assault, I find you guilty, and sentence you to…”

“On two counts of tax evasion, I find you guilty and sentence you to…”

“On sixteen counts of possession of illegal substances over ten pounds, I find you guilty, and sentence you to…”

“Mr. Bouley, if you have anything to say, now is the time to say it.” the judge said impassively.

The courtroom was practically empty, except for him, the judge, the four bailiffs, the stenographer, and his attorney. Corey had at least wanted some cameras at his trial for more publicity, and he was even thinking of trying to swing one of those true crime documentaries for himself. He remembered reading a tweet about how ladies loved criminals, some psychological shit or something, it was too complicated for him, but then those dreams died when they connected one of his suppliers to a terrorist cell, and now the courtroom was empty of all ‘non-essential personnel’ as he became known as a national security threat,

This courtroom was his last stop before he got shipped off to some federal lockup somewhere.

He didn’t even get the chance to tell Ellie goodbye.

And these dickwads expected him to say something?

“I ain’t wasting my breath on the likes of you. You can bet your ass I’m gonna kill you in your next life. All of you,” and he glared at everyone in the room just to make his point.

“Bailiff, please take the defendant into custody,” the judge declared, his tone so full of boredom, it was like he heard threats like that every day.

Maybe Corey had lost his touch after two years of house arrest.

“My apologies, Mr. Bouley, but it appears our time together is at an end,” his attorney said as he collected some papers into his briefcase and snapped it shut. “If you truly wish to, you can attempt to appeal the court’s decision, but I’d advise against it. There’s just too much evidence against you, not to mention the possibility of the feds getting involved with possible terrorism charges ... .Make your peace, Mr. Bouley. You don’t have that much longer left. Do you want me to pass on a message to Ms. Cordson?”

Ellie…

“Tell her I’ll find her eventually.” His attorney nodded as he patted his arm before leaving the courtroom. Thousands of dollars wasted, just like that.

And it looked like he would be getting wasted soon, too.

Eleven months later…

He was finally getting out of this hellhole, some damn supermax prison in the middle of Colorado. He thought about escaping at first, but it was impossible.

Cameras, motion detectors, laser beams, razor wire fences, attack dogs, it was all just too much.

This was the end of the line for him.

Everything about the place was shit. The food was shit, the beds were shit, even the tiny four-inch windows were shit, as he barely got to see the sky. Seeing the sun meant the day was good.

He tried to lose himself in working out, as he had before in his life, but he was never allowed outside for long enough to get a good workout going.

Winter was bad, especially in the hole, the solitary confinement unit that was maybe eight feet by ten. The guards weren’t exactly big on fairness, and he found himself thrown in there multiple times for no reason whatsoever.

The first time he lashed out, he got caged, and he had no desire to repeat that experience ever again. Stripped to nothing, made to stand in a tiny box and hosed with pressurized water in the middle of winter, if that wasn’t torture, nothing was.

When one of the guards propositioned him, he almost exploded and nearly tried to kill the man, but he leashed his temper and let out a quiet no.

The big man hadn’t liked that, so he unleashed his full arsenal on Corey. Pepper spray, a taser, a damn baton, and a fucking dog that clung to his leg like a steak, leaving him with a permanent limp that the damn infirmary couldn’t do anything about.

But he had endured, and now he was finally getting out of here, and the best part?

He got to do it lying down.

The day of his departure, he was strapped to a gurney, and his limbs were restrained by chains and leather straps and plenty of other things to keep him from attempting to escape.

But they were wasting their time. He was looking forward to leaving.

Dying. He closed his eyes, and stopped lying to himself. He didn’t mind dying if living meant more of this.

There was a tiny prick, and he felt himself falling asleep…it was about as good an ending as he would get.

Until he felt pain.

Massive amounts of pain. So massive he was ripped from dreamland and thrust back into the real world, his muscles burning and his heart pounding, as he began convulsing mindlessly.

Just then, when the pain nearly became too much for him to handle, Corey heard a voice in his head. And it wasn’t his, cause it was a girl’s, no, a woman’s voice.

As she spoke, he got the sense she was old, like, really old. She just gave off that vibe, even though he could only hear her voice.

But the most important part was that the pain was gone, and so was he. He was floating in some dark space thing that he couldn’t describe well. It looked like the night sky but without any stars.

“Ooh, you look like a decent prospect! Hello, convict. And what exactly happened to you, to land you where you are now?” she said excitedly.

“...Who are you? How are you talking in my head? And why is the pain gone? Are you doing that?” Corey asked. His mind was racing with questions, but the woman was already a step ahead of him.

“For now, I’m your savior. If you need a name to call me, hmmm…you can call me Ira. So tell me, little criminal. If I offered you freedom, right here and right now, along with more power than you’ve ever dreamt of, would you be willing to take it? Or would you rather die and put an end to the suffering?”

…She was baiting him. He wasn’t a rocket scientist or anything, but he was smart enough to know she wanted him to do something for her.

And why the fuck wouldn’t he?! Freedom, and power? Who the fuck would say no to that?!

“Can you do that? I want what you said. Freedom and power.” he replied eagerly, throwing away his desire to die that was so strong only a few seconds ago.

“The better question is, why should I give that to you? What can you offer me, little criminal, that I might want?” she said leadingly.

“I’ll give you my soul. That’s what devils and demons want, right? After I die, you can have my soul and do whatever you want with it, as long as you give me what you said before,” he offered.

Only a demon was capable of doing something like this, and it’s not like he had any use for his soul. What had it ever done for him while he was alive? He might as well use it to get himself a ‘get out of jail free’ card.

“By the laws set forth in the Charter of the Ancients, I, ********, offer freedom from this little prison and a portion of my abilities to the human…what’s your name, human?”

“Uh, Corey Bouley.”

“To the human named Corey Bouley, in exchange for his soul after his death, offered willingly and without external influence. I ask the Charter to stand witness as the pledge is upheld.”

And before he knew it, Corey was back in the real world, listening to the nurse on his right panicking about the muscle mass interfering with finding a vein, and some other science shit, when the pain erupted worse than before, turning into unbearable agony and making him wonder if he had hallucinated or made a mistake, when the pain…transformed.

All of a sudden, the pain was…part of him, while being separate from him. His whole body felt different. The pain from his leg was gone, as were the million other bruises and cuts he’d gotten in his time here. He felt stronger, like he was…just more.

“I have given you a tiny fraction of the power I wield, but it’s up to you to find your freedom. I can only do this much,” she said.

And as she stopped speaking, all of his restraints burst apart, metal and leather and a hard plastic snapping and fraying, giving him free movement again. He kicked the male nurse, who was probably gay if he actually chose to be a nurse, and was still holding the needle that almost killed him.

He kicked the guy until he was sure the nurse was dead.

The prison guard was frozen in shock, and Corey took the opportunity to knock him out with a right hook, and followed up by drawing his pistol and shooting him in the chest twice.

“That’s it, little criminal. All you have to do is think, and you can make your enemies feel the kind of pain you just went through. I mean that literally. Just point your hand at them and think about it, and they’ll collapse to the floor, screaming in agony.”

The lady demon seemed to be getting off on watching him kill people, but hey, he didn’t care if it was her kink or whatever.

Especially when her promises came true, as any guards he saw collapsed in agony once he pointed his hand at them, and he was free to kill them afterwards.

The absolute best part was the sun, shining in the sky despite the cold of winter and the wisps of clouds threatening to cover it up.

It was all worth it.

He looked around the prison yard, the carpets of bodies and pools of blood around him in every direction, and figured he should kill that prick who wanted to screw him too.

But he wouldn’t stop at the assholes who ran this place. There was a judge for him to torture, not to mention his useless attorney, and the cops who arrested him.

And he had to kill Ellie too. He said he’d find her eventually, and he meant it, now more than ever before.

After his lawyer told him she narc’d on him to reduce her sentence, he nearly went ballistic and almost tore through the metal chains around his wrists and stomach.

But now he didn’t have to worry about consequences anymore.

Now he could do whatever he really wanted.

As he made his way to the warden’s office, stepping on the neck of the closest guard, he realized something that made him laugh. He had been right before, that today was the day he would leave this prison.

He had just been so very wrong about how it would go down.