Revenge of the Three (Hand of God) by Tim Miller Page B

were literally inside her head. It was the same voice that told her to go see Charlie the night before. Her head hurt every time it spoke.
                  Maria, everything Charlie told you is a lie. Charlie is a lie. He will be destroyed.
                  As the voice spoke, she closed her eyes and a tear ran down her cheek. Something deep inside her told her the voice she was hearing was right, and that voice was not going anywhere any time soon.
    Chapter 20
     
                  They stuck me in a holding cell somewhere at least three floors below ground level. I never knew there was a Federal prison here in Del Rio, but I suppose technically there wasn’t. This place was off the grid. The cell was dark, cold, and smelled like piss. I sat on the canvas bunk bed and glanced that the stainless steel toilet attached to the wall. Fortunately, I didn’t have a cell mate. It was just me alone.
                  I looked around at some of the other cells, but didn’t see anyone else. I didn’t know if this was a temporary holding area, or a long term housing for people like me. Being so deep below the ground in a cage was another form of being buried alive. I tried not to laugh at the irony. After all of the things I’d done to people over the years, I supposed this would be a suitable way for me to meet my end; kind of like being in the abyss before the Abyss. I sure wasn’t expecting Lucifer or anyone else to show up here. They had me locked away tight. Before I could think too hard, I lay down on the bunk and dozed off.
                  I don’t know how long I’d been asleep when a guard came by and shoved a plastic tray through the little door in my cell.
                  “Chow time, Chuck,” he said.
                  “Thanks, and its Charlie,” I said. I really hated that name.
                  “Whatever,” he grunted as he walked away.
                  I picked up the tray and stared at its contents. There were mashed potatoes, mixed fruit and some kind of stew. Using the little Spork that came with it, I scarfed it all down as fast I could so I wouldn’t taste it. It was disgusting, but I was starving and needed fuel. Once it was gone, I tossed the tray aside and walked over to the cell door. There was no one down either stretch of hallway. I stood there thinking about Maria and wondering what the Feds had told her, or how much they actually knew. The thought made me a little sad, at least what I always imagined feeling sad would be like. I definitely wasn’t sure how I felt about Maria, but I knew I didn’t want her to hate me, and I didn’t want to put her in danger
                  I turned to walk back to the bunk when I heard keys jingling again. I stepped away as the door slid open. There was another guard there with another prisoner. He pushed the guy in and closed the door behind him.
                  “Hey, what’s up man?” the guy said. He was a skinny white kid who probably weighed 120 pounds, soaking wet. He had short cropped hair and some fuzz on his chin where he was trying to grow a beard. “So, you a terrorist too?”
                  “What the hell are you here for?” I asked.
                  “They said I was plotting to blow up the police station. They think I’m part of some white supremacy group. Isn’t that stupid?”
                  “How’d they catch you?”
                  “Some snitch they caught with explosives told him I was the mastermind. Total bullshit.”
                  “It happens. So what’s the drill? They just hold us till whenever?”
                  “Shit, I dunno man. I been locked up a few times but never in here. This place is one hardcore shit hole.”
                  “You got that right,” I said as I turned to look back out at the