by Aman Gupta
The queue started moving forward. The guard pushed Sam and told her to keep moving. Sam reluctantly moved ahead. She waited for a chance to talk to Mart for the next two hours. Sam remembered they was no lunch today, so she would have to wait for the cells to open.
It was 3 PM. The cells opened. Sam went outside but saw her entire floor was surrounded by the Brotherhood. The guards started walking outside the facility.
Pretty soon, there was only Sam and the rest. Vira’s friends were also surrounded on the floor below. Sam was terrified. Hot sweat was dripping from her face as she looked at her death.
Mart stepped out of the crowd and walked towards Sam.
“We need to talk,” said Mart, and pushed her inside.
She pulled the curtain.
“What are you doing?” asked Sam.
“You have fifteen minutes to live. I suggest you use them wisely,” said Mart.
“I want a truce. I am a small-time hacker. This war, I don’t like this. I have never hurt anyone in my entire life,” said Sam.
“It’s too late for a truce,” said Mart. “Anything else?”
Mart started pulling back the curtain. Sam got up and stopped her, pulling her hand back.
“Please sit,” said Sam.
“Don’t ever touch me,” said Mart, swatting away her hand.
“Okay. Please. Let’s talk,” said Sam.
“If Vira wanted a truce, she would’ve shown up here herself or in the yard. Instead, she plays games with her puppets, like you,” said Mart.
“I’m not her puppet,” said Sam. “She’s my friend. But if you’re in the Brotherhood, you can’t be friends with anyone else. Isn’t that right?”
“Brotherhood is about family. You can be friends with the fucking warden for all we care. But when it comes to family and anyone else, you choose your family. That’s what Brotherhood is all about. Right and wrong doesn’t matter out in public. Family is always right,” said Mart.
“See, this is where you and I differ. Family isn’t always right. And when they’re wrong, you stop them. Even if you could lose them if you do,” said Sam. “That’s what my mother taught me.”
“I don’t have anything to say to you,” said Mart.
Mart got up and walked to pull the curtains.
“Just you and me,” uttered Sam.
“What?” said Mart.
“You can kill me for what I did to Trista. Then it’s over,” said Sam.
“And your friend, Vira, suggested that?” said Mart.
“No. She wanted me to get close to you and betray you. But I’m done betraying people,” said Sam.
Mart didn’t say anything. She pulled back the curtains and walked out. Soon, the yelling and the shouts dwindled. Sam took a step forward and glanced outside the cell. The crowd had disappeared. She didn’t know what that meant.
Later, it was announced that in the light of recent events, the yard time was being cancelled for the foreseeable future. Vira and Sam had anticipated this and had made a plan.
During the dinner service, Sam sat alone, looking at everyone. They were looking back at her. There were a lot of whispers in the room, which resonated at such a high frequency and pitch, that the guards were forced to yell multiple times.
Later, Mart approached Sam and told her that they would talk tomorrow morning. Mart told her she needed time to think about Sam’s proposal. Sam nodded.
Sam didn’t sleep that night. She was scared of being attacked in the middle of the night under cover of darkness. Her ears were listening for footsteps. Some occasional yelling and grunts were heard in the middle of the night. Sam inferred it was the North and the South tearing each other apart in their cells.
The next morning, during breakfast service, Sam noticed the security cover had multiplied. She learnt several inmates were injured last night in both North and South wings. Sam tried to talk to Mart during the breakfast service, but every inmate had already been assigned a seat. Sam was nowhere near Mart.
Around 11 AM, Sam was doing her floor duty, when her supervisor told her that another inmate would be assisting her. Sam saw it was Mart. That was it. The moment Sam was waiting for. Her time alone with Mart, as per Vira’s plan. There were a hundred rooms on each side of the floor. Sam would kill and dump Mart anywhere, and no one would know. Only the supervisor would know about it. Vira would buy his silence, Sam thought. After that, Sam would spend a couple of weeks in the solitary. Vira suspected that the guards wouldn’t punish Sam for killing Mart, as it would risk extending the war if the inmates realized Sam killed Mart. Sam knew it was the perfect opportunity to save the lives of thousands of others.
Mart also grabbed a mop, and they started wiping the floor together. Sam looked at the cameras and identified a few blind spots. She deviated from her path and checked the rooms located on that side. One of them was unlocked.
Sam called Mart’s name and said that they needed to have a final conversation.
Mart dropped her mop and followed Sam to that room.
It was an old washroom, possibly for the guards. The lights were flickering, but the room was well-lit by the prison’s standards. There was no one else when Sam looked under the stalls.
Sam was still holding on to her mop.
“So, how would you do it? Kill me, I mean,” said Sam.
“I like to be creative. First, I would slam your head on that sink on your right. Your head would start to spin and bleed at the same time. Then I would grab your leg and dislocate your kneecap by a sharp kick on the knee. Most likely, you would fall on the ground. You wouldn’t be able to move, and you wouldn’t be able to think. Then, I would choke you to death. Every time you would breathe, you would think that it would be your last breath. Except it wouldn’t be. Just when you would be about to pass out, I would snap your neck,” said Mart.
Sam gulped.
“That was pretty elaborate,” said Sam. “Would you like to know how I would defend myself?”
“Please, by all means,” said Mart as she smiled.
“Attack is the best form of defense,” said Sam.
Sam took a step back and threw a spork in her left hand, at Mart. Mart ducked, losing the sight of Sam for a second.
Sam slammed the mop on Mart’s head. She fell unconscious, bleeding from the side of her head. Sam grabbed the spork. As soon as she was about to stab Mart, she heard footsteps coming from the corridor. She quickly grabbed the mop and hid Mart under one of the stalls. She went outside and closed the door.
She began mopping the floor like nothing had happened. She saw a guard approaching her from the corner of her eyes. Vira was wrong about the guards, Sam thought.
“Stone! You got a visitor,” said the guard.
“Okay,” said Sam.
She dropped the mop on the floor and walked with the guard.
The guard escorted her to the visitation center in the next building. Usually, the inmates were taken through the yard, but due to heavy rain overnight and in the morning, the yard was pretty much flooded. Sam was escorted through the Officer’s building. Sam tried to memorize the corridors as much as she could. She walked by a couple of rooms that looked identical to the one where she and Trista had sneaked into. She recalled her desperate cries for help. Why she didn’t give me up, Sam thought.
Sam was told to wait for a few minutes when they reached the visitation center. She was extremely stressed handcuffed to a wooden bench. Every minute she was losing here, she felt someone could find Mart. She didn’t even know who had come to visit her. The guard assigning the booths didn’t tell her either.
After a few minutes, she was taken to Booth 3. She saw a phone on the sidewall. Instead of a glass, the visitor and the inmate were separated by a steel mesh. They could still see each other, but barely.
Sam sat down, tapping her thumb on her knee, nervously.
She saw someone enter the room on the other side. It was Vik.
**************************************************
Vik wa
s waiting for a couple of hours. Around 11:30 AM, he was finally told by the guards that the warden had approved his request for an early visitation citing exceptional circumstances. Vik didn’t even know if he had unknowingly put a request for an early visitation. He was happy to wait for another thirty minutes.
Vik walked passed Captain Brad Bell, who looked in a foul mood. They shared eye contact.
“You want to lose the eye?” asked Brad as he walked past Vik.
“I’ll be sure to put that in the review,” said Vik.
“What review?” asked Brad as he stopped.
“Funding of Clarence is being investigated,” said Vik.
“Since when?” asked Brad.
“Effectively immediately. I represent the interest of North Trust Investments,” said Vik. “They give quite a sizeable contribution to Clarence every year.”
Brad knew what Vik was talking about. North Trust Investments was a private organization, and their existence wasn’t mentioned anywhere in Clarence Penitentiary’s official records. The only way someone could know about it was if they were with North Trust. Only the warden and the captain knew about it.
“What’s your name, again?” asked Brad as he stepped forward.
“Doesn’t matter,” said Vik. “What’s yours?”
“Captain Brad Bell. I’m sorry if I offended you. You know how these inmates are. The tone always gets the outsiders,” said Brad as he offered to shake Vik’s hand.
Vik didn’t offer his, and Brad wasn’t expecting him to, but he clenched his hand back in embarrassment.
“Who are you visiting?” asked Brad.
“Sam Stone,” said Vik.
“Wait, so she’s..” said Brad.
“Yes, she is. I hope you and the warden have been nice to her,” said Vik.
Brad was sweating a little. Vik just smiled and left.
Brad immediately went the opposite way and headed to the elevators to go to the warden’s office.
After being made to wait for a minute, Vik entered the room and saw Sam sitting behind the steel mesh. He sat on the chair, looking at her face. He could barely see her.
Immediately, a guard entered the room with a radio in his hand. He told Vik that the visitation’s location was being changed. He saw Sam was being escorted too. Vik was extremely confused.
“Sam!” said Vik.
“Jay!” said Sam. “What’s happening?”
“I will find out,” said Vik.
“Jay!” said Sam.
Vik walked outside with the guard.
“What’s wrong?” asked Vik.
The guard pointed at the empty corridor. The elevator doors on the other side opened, and he saw two guys exiting the elevator. He recognized one of them as Captain Brad Bell.
Vik walked towards them as they met him halfway.
“Hi, my name is Elliot James. I’m the Warden of Clarence Penitentiary,” said the warden.
“Okay. I was just visiting a friend. What’s wrong?” asked Vik.
“Yes, yes. Captain Brad Bell told me about it. I’m so sorry we couldn’t arrange for a more lavish visit,” said the warden. “It’s just been so long we have had a visitor representing North Trust.”
“I’m in a hurry, so I would like to see my friend soon if that’s possible,” said Vik.
“Yes, yes. Captain Bell would escort you to one of our rooms where you can have a private conversation. After that, I would very much like to welcome you to my office for a drink,” said the warden.
“Okay,” said Vik.
“Splendid,” said the warden.
“If you’ll come with me, sir,” said Brad.
Vik nodded. Brad walked forward as Vik followed closely behind. He probably shouldn’t have dropped North Trust’s name, he thought. He was in a hurry to meet Sam and get out of here. Assuming the identity of a representative of such a major donor of Clarence could land him in prison, he thought.
Vik was checked for weapons before he was escorted to a large room. It looked like a study, though it was missing most of the furniture. There was a vending machine and a couch, though.
Brad told him to wait for a minute as he went out. Vik checked for the cameras but couldn’t find one. He patted the couch for a bug, but couldn’t find one either. He was happy he could have a private conversation with Sam.
Sam’s cuffs were removed, and she was told to go inside the room. Vik got up as he saw Sam enter the room.
She blinked a couple of times. She grinned when she saw him and ran towards him, hugging him as hard as she could. Vik hugged back.
“It’s so good to see you,” said Sam.
“Wasn’t expecting that reaction,” whispered Vik.
They hugged for a minute, but it felt like only a few seconds. Vik asked her to sit on the couch.
“Would you like anything from the vending machine?” asked Vik.
“Everything,” said Sam.
Vik saw the front door of the machine was unlocked. He opened the front lid and took out chips and chocolates. Sam grabbed them from his hands and ate the chips like a starving child.
“You look terrible,” said Vik.
“No thanks to you,” said Sam.
“How are the accommodations?” asked Vik.
“South was good. North looks like a prison,” said Sam.
“I did what I did to save your life,” said Vik.
“What?” asked Sam.
“I thought it was obvious. You screwed over some powerful people at Atlantis. There was a hit out on you,” said Vik. “Clarence was the only place I could think about where you would be safe.”
“I don’t understand,” said Sam. “And how did you arrange this room? I heard even conjugal visits have guards standing at the door.”
“I didn’t do anything. You can thank your family for that,” said Vik. “Nothing bad happens to a Stone at Clarence.”
“What’s that? I heard some guy mention it too,” said Sam, eating chips with both hands. “And the bit about my family?”
“Didn’t Margot tell you?” asked Vik.
“Margot? Who’s that?” asked Sam.
“Your aunt. She’s been here forever. Your entire family has been here at some point in time, if I remember correctly. Clarence is like a second home to the Stones,” said Vik.
Sam was confused as she put away the chips. Vik realized Sam had no idea about anything he was saying. Clearly, she hadn’t figured out his clues that he gave her the last time he saw her.
“Ok, I’ll start from the beginning. Your grandmother, Marge, was incarcerated at Clarence. Your father came looking for her and stayed behind. Your aunt, Margot, was arrested a few years later. She requested Clarence, which I assume was to look after Marge,” said Vik.
“My father? How do you know all this?” asked Sam.
“I ran a check on you and your family at Verati. Some interesting things came up. I created the perfect AI. Just like we talked about in college,” said Vik. “I was just testing the system. I got to know about your family history and this stuff. Your father disappeared shortly after his arrest. As in there was no record of him after that. But he wasn’t in Clarence’s list either.”
Vik had lied to Sam how he stumbled upon her father’s name, but in his heart, he had a good reason.
“Mart told me about Marge, but I don’t know if that’s the same Marge,” said Sam.
“Mart, as in Margot?” asked Vik. “I thought you didn’t know who she was.”
Sam stood up in horror. She realized why Mart had been so protective of her. Maybe Mart knew about Sam. She recalled how Mart told him that Sam reminded her of her brother.
“I don’t understand what’s happening, Jay,” said Sam.
“I suggest you ask Mart the next time you see her,” said Vik.
“I might not get a chance. I think I killed her,” said Sam.
Vik stood up.
“What? You killed your aunt? Why?” asked Vik.
“She was going to
kill me,” said Sam. “I killed her to protect myself. From the Brotherhood.”
“That doesn’t make sense? Why would Mart kill you?” said Vik.
“I killed someone she knew,” said Sam. “I mean, I didn’t kill her. I left her to die.”
Vik sat back on the couch as he looked at Sam in horror. He blamed himself for turning Sam into a killer. He should never have sent her to prison.
“What did I do!” uttered Vik.
Sam sat next to Vik.
“I killed Trista, this hacker, to avenge the Brotherhood’s actions against a friend,” said Sam.
“Hacker named Trista? You mean Trista Farrow?” asked Vik.
“Who’s Trista Farrow?” asked Sam. “She didn’t happen to work at Verati, did she?”
“Yeah, she worked for me at DC. She did..” said Vik, before Sam interrupted him.
“Please don’t say behavioral testing,” said Sam.
“Yes. How did you know?” asked Vik.
“I saw a picture of hers. I think I saw Olivia too, in one of those photographs,” said Sam.
“Did she hurt you? Trista?” asked Vik.
“No, she didn’t. She was nice to me,” said Sam. “I don’t know.”
Vik was furious. He grabbed Sam by her shoulders.
“What do you know? Who are you, Sam? The Sam I knew didn’t kill people and left them to die for stupid reasons. I thought being a part of a plan to kidnap kids was where you drew the line, but I guess I was wrong. What, she was mean to you? In prison? God, Sam!” yelled Vik.
Sam was in tears. She tried to hold on to Vik, but he pushed her away. He got up. He was emotional as he put his hand on his face. Trista was a friend. He had sent her away because she was challenging his moral compass, during the time when he couldn’t afford to have one. He couldn’t find her after that. She just disappeared. After 1/1, he believed she perished like so many others.
“I didn’t know that Trista was your friend,” said Sam.
“Did she tell you how she ended up here?” asked Vik.
“Yeah, she robbed the Federal Reserve. Almost $250 billion,” said Sam.
“I knew it was her,” said Vik. “A few years ago. I knew it in my heart.”
“What are you talking about?” asked Sam.
“Some four months after 1/1, there was a heist that was never made public. When Verati collapsed, all their stockpile in gold, cash, and cryptocurrencies, were transferred to the Federal Reserve. Almost $300 billion. I heard about a heist that lasted for almost a month. Almost all of it was stolen. They weren’t looking at the money, as they were busy counting bodies,” said Vik. “It looked like Trista. She joked once that if the going went tough, she would rob the Federal Reserve. When it happened, I smiled. I thought her ghost had come back to fulfil her promise.”
