Chapter 4 #2
“I’ve tried.” Scoured the fucking internet looking for her. “But it’s like she’s fallen off the face of the earth.” Only explanation I have is that maybe she’s working overseas. Found herself at some high-end restaurant in a French coastal town and that’s why I can’t find her. There’s nothing.
“I know a guy who’s a fucking computer genius.
Did time for hacking. Now, he’s out. If you want her information, he’d be able to get it for you.
You call this number and tell him Red sent you.
” He rattles off the phone number, saying the guy goes by the name Monk.
A name I’ve heard of. Apparently, he was a scrawny little kid who’d been bullied his whole life when he got locked up, but when he left, he was a scary-ass tyrant that no one fucked with.
Good to know his time in here was well served.
“Thanks, man.” Not sure what I’ve done to earn Red’s respect, but a little goes a long way in here.
By the time I get out of prison, though, if I get out, I doubt the information Monk gets me will even be relevant.
My girl will probably have moved many times, exploring the world and all the different styles of cuisine.
But for now, the number is burned in my brain.
And if I ever get my phone privileges back, I know who to call.
The sound of the door clanks at the end of the hall, followed by heavy footsteps that are getting louder the closer they come. I’m shocked that Burbank is returning so soon. But maybe it’s eating time.
“Looks like today’s your lucky day, princess.” My cell door opens. Burbank steps inside with no food in hand. “Warden wants to serve you your last rights personally. Get up, Rork. You’re coming with me.”
Maybe there should be a twist of nerves in my gut, but the death penalty would be a good reprieve from what I’m feeling. The conversation with Red stirred up too much heavy shit. Shit that’s hard to live with.
He tugs on my arm, leading me out of the hole and back to the Warden’s private office, a place inmates don’t usually ever get the privilege of seeing.
Burbank taps on the door three times before he opens it and then drags me inside.
The Warden looks up from his computer. And the moment his eyes land on me, he looks like he wants to strangle the life out of my neck.
And again, there isn’t even a flicker of fear running down my spine.
If they want to send me to the gas chamber, I’ll welcome the end.
Without my Wren, there’s nothing, so I can cease breathing right this very moment and be at peace with it.
“Sit,” the Warden barks.
I take a seat in the big leather chair, getting comfortable while I await my sentencing.
“Let me ask you a fucking question, Rork. The witness who testified for your case, had you ever seen him before?”
“No.” I shake my head, wondering why the hell he’s bringing up my case. That has nothing to do with the pedo’s life I took.
“I’m about to bear some shit fucking news,” he says. “And I’m not even sure where the fuck to begin.”
And I’m not really sure what the fuck is happening right now.
“We’ve uncovered some information recently.
Files from a certain judge’s computer.” I sit forward in my chair, making sure I hear him correctly as he continues.
“It’s come to our attention that he’s been taking bribes to nail innocent men to the wall for crimes they didn’t commit.
So far, we’ve uncovered six, and your name is one them. ”
Not new information. I already knew the judge was bribed.
The judge, the attorney, the witness, and the damn cop who showed up at my door—I think they were all in on it.
What I don’t know is who the fuck the mastermind was, and why they chose me.
Other than the fact that it would be easy for the jurors to believe a deadbeat kid from the wrong side of the tracks would do it.
“I already figured that out, Warden. You want to tell me somethin’ I don’t know. Like who the hell decided to make me the fall guy for the crime?”
“You ever hear of guy named Jed Miles?”
The fuck? The kid who came into my shop demanding service for his prissy little ride, acting like an arrogant ass.
He was driving across country and happened to get stuck in our “shitty town.” I told the spoiled shit that we don’t service pricks in the shop, and that he should take his little dick and find another mechanic who’s willing to work for assholes.
The kid nearly lost his shit. Don’t think anyone had ever spoken to him in such a manner.
It was obvious he grew up with a platinum spoon in his mouth, learning how to talk down to people with perfection.
Damn, I’d never been so pissed. So, what the fuck does he have to do with my case?
It’s a stupid question, because I already know the answer, but I want to hear it from the Warden’s mouth. “Yeah, I know him. Came into the shop for service. I turned him away.”
“Well, turns out he had a beef with you, because he paid royally to have your ass pinned for a crime that apparently was staged. The robbery. The assault. The witness. All lies. All bought and paid for with pretty boy’s money.”
I can hear my sanity snapping inside my head.
The blood literally coming to a boil within my veins.
I’m fucking doing time because a spoiled piece of shit couldn’t handle hearing the word no.
You’re telling me he was that weak and pathetic so he paid a fortune to put me in my place instead of just raising his fists and handling it like a man?
He probably knew I’d clobber the shit out of him if he tried.
The kid was puny, and I was always big for my size.
“You have two options, Rork.” The Warden’s voice barely registers above the pounding of my heart. What’s he going to say—that I can have a retrial, or opt to have my consequences for today’s actions pleaded down?
“We can bring him in and make him serve life without parole. Give pretty boy a taste of what it’s like on the inside. Or…” He looks up at the officer behind my back, a dark look transpiring between them before he returns his attention to me. “Or you can serve him your justice yourself.”
If I’m hearing him correctly, it sounds like he’s telling me I can kill the bastard.
“You giving me permission to squeeze the life out of him once he’s brought in? Because that’s what it’s sounding like, Warden.” It sounds like he’s going to put the little prick in a cell with me and look the other way.
“You’re now a free man, Rork. You can handle him however you see fit and have the assurance of knowing that you’ll never be charged for the crime.”
Not sure what the fuck he’s saying. Shit doesn’t work like that. Not in here it don’t.
“So what? I’m supposed to believe that you’re just going to let me walk out of here? That you’re going to forget about my accomplishments since I’ve been in the slammer?” I’d say crimes, but I don’t see it that way. Those men that I hurt got what they deserved.
“Let’s see.” The Warden smirks, resembling a dirty cop.
“You murdered a serial rapist. Beat the life out of a drug lord who was still playing puppet master and pushing his drugs from inside. And…you strangled the life out of a pedophile who deserved worse.” He shakes his head.
“The way I see it, you did a service to the people. Now their tax dollars won’t be drained over lowlifes who don’t deserve to feel the warmth of the sun shining on their faces.
Sounds to me like you’re a fucking hero. ”
I smirk at that. At least someone sees it my way, but I’m still seeing red over the fact that my life was torn away from me. Worse…I lost my girl over that little spoiled shit. Fuck.
“On a serious note, Rork. The system can’t give you back lost time, but we can make amends for our wrongs.” He passes a piece of paper across the desk. “This is our apology.”
I read the top and see that it’s a bank account in my name, and the balance in that account has a hell of a lot of fucking zeroes in it. That’s more than I can spend in a lifetime.
“Don’t spend it all in one place,” the Warden teases, and I’m beginning to wonder whether I’m being punked. “So, have you made your decision?”
I’m not sure what the fuck I’m deciding on. My mind is still spinning around zeroes and trying to figure out whether this is all some big-ass joke because all of this seems crazy to me.
“Decision about what?”
“The fucker’s fate?”
Yes. Yes, I have. If I’m truly being given the opportunity to handle him, then I know exactly what I’m going to do.
“I’d like to confront him myself before you all bring him in.
” I want him to know exactly what life behind bars is like.
But first, I’m going to make him feel every ounce of pain that I’ve had to endure day in and day out for two thousand two hundred and forty-eight days.
“I approve of your choice, son.” He tips his head to me. “Now, is there anyone you want to call before we let you walk free?”
I still think I’m being played a fool right now, but I’ll take the bait.
“Nah, I’m all set. You can just show me the door, Warden.”