My mistake of speaking openly about escape put me under extra surveillance by the prison authorities and their informers, and forced me to learn the necessary skills of secrecy and diversion. I became, by all appearances, an ideal, compliant inmate.
Training Khalid how to box was, therefore, very conspicuous. The only way I could get away with it was if I also trained others, particularly Emiratis and informers, who could then assure the police that my intentions were strictly fitness-related.
Because everyone believed that Khalid was still a Christian, many people warned me that it was unwise for me to teach him how to fight, as I would then bear the responsibility if he were to ever get in a fight with a Muslim. I was even warned about this by some of the police who used to watch us train.
This was a useful expectation.
After analyzing our options, Khalid and I determined that our best opportunity would be to escape from court rather than from the prison. We could sit together at the back of the bus, unlock the shackles , and make a run for it on arrival as the prisoners filed off the bus to enter the courthouse.
The only way to guarantee that he and I would be taken to court at the same time was if we had a court case together. It sometimes happened that prisoners would get into fights with each other and, if one of them was injured, he could press charges against the other prisoner, and they would be taken to court together. Khalid and I, therefore, had to fight each other.
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