CH 5

“So this is Schelger Prison, huh. It’s huge,” Rob said in amazement as he gripped the steering wheel. Yuto sat in the passenger seat and gazed at the fencing that seemed to stretch on forever, feeling a mix of nostalgia and dread.

The first time, he had looked at this fence through the reinforced glass window of a prisoner transport bus. Matthew had been sitting beside him. Shortly after being admitted, he had received his violent welcoming ritual. Every day, he had faced racial slurs being hurled at him. He remembered the horrible food, the unhygienic living conditions; the days in solitary that had nearly driven him insane.

All were unpleasant memories, but what had crushed Yuto the most was being raped by BB, the second-in-command of the Black gang. He had been pinned down by multiple men in the shower room and forcibly penetrated from behind by BB, unable to put up a fight.

That incident had caused Yuto’s mental thread to snap. Until then, it had maintained a delicate tension as Yuto desperately tried to encourage himself, telling himself to keep pushing onwards no matter what hardships he encountered. But after having his body beaten and his dignity shattered, he finally came to the brink of giving up.

But Dick had been the one to bring Yuto back up on his feet. As Yuto blamed himself, Dick had held him tight and given him a sympathetic kiss on the forehead, telling him that it didn’t make him any less of a man to admit his suffering. And then―

“We’re here,” Rob said. Yuto’s reminiscence was cut short as he was brought back to reality. The car was already parked in a parking spot.

“Shall we, then?” Rob said.

“Yeah,” Yuto said as he opened the door, but his body felt heavy. It was like his body was resisting his mind – it was refusing to go back to a place that it associated with horrible memories.

“―Yuto, is something the matter?” Rob came around to the passenger side and rested an arm on the car, looking down at Yuto worriedly.

“It’s nothing,” Yuto said as he forcefully lifted himself out of the seat.

“If you don’t feel well, you can take a break.”

“I’m fine. Let’s go.”

Yuto clapped Rob’s shoulder lightly as he broke into a walk. Sure, Schelger Prison was the last place he wanted to be, but not all of his experiences here were for naught. Although he had no good memories, he wanted to think that he had at least gained some insight.

“I’m going to introduce you as FBI to the prison staff. I hope you won’t mind,” Yuto said. It was possible that the prison might refuse Rob entry if they found out that he had no investigative privileges.

“I don’t mind. The question is, do I look like FBI?”

“You look fine,” said Yuto, turning back to Rob. Today, he was dressed smartly in a suit with his hair neatly groomed. He looked so different from his usual self that Yuto almost didn’t recognize him, though Rob had claimed that this was in fact his usual look. Either way, with his appearance today, no one would doubt him if he claimed to be an FBI agent.

“Say, just wondering, is your brother always like that?”

“Paco? Always like what?”

“He was glaring at me like I was a murder suspect or something. He must really not like me.”

Yuto remembered the events of this morning and smiled wryly. “It’s not like that,” he said. “He’s just worried because I was suddenly going on a long drive out with someone he didn’t know. He’s usually more laidback.”

Last night, Yuto had told Paco about Rob over dinner. Paco had asked him numerous times if he was someone to be trusted. When Yuto told him that he had nothing shady in his background, he had relented. Nonetheless, he still seemed to have his worries, for when Rob showed up to pick Yuto up at the LAPD, he had scrutinized Rob’s every move like a hawk.

“I’m sorry if he offended you. He’s just more on-guard now, especially after I got arrested under false charges.”

Paco had always put his family first, but ever since Yuto’s father passed away, his love and sense of responsibility toward his family seemed to have grown even stronger. When Yuto got arrested, Paco had dropped everything to fly to New York.

“Ah, I see. He’s a good brother, isn’t he? Why don’t you stay at his house, then?”

“Paco offered to let me stay at his apartment, but his girlfriend just moved in with him, so I don’t want to get in the way.”

Paco had grumpily told him not to be so standoffish, but Yuto had gone ahead and checked into a hotel, anyway. To be honest, he felt uncomfortable around Paco’s girlfriend. She was a beautiful and sexy-looking Chicano who had acted pleasant and friendly toward him when he stayed over once before, but Yuto had found out later that she actually didn’t want him around.

“Why don’t you stay at my place, then? I’ve got a spare room. I have two cars, so you’re free to use one.”

Rob’s suggestion was much too nonchalant and lighthearted to make to someone he had barely met.

“Are you this nice to everyone, Rob?”

“Of course not. I pick and choose,” Rob said with a wink. Yuto ignored him.

“You’re only offering because you’ve got ulterior motives.”

“No, never! Well, I do have ulterior motives, but…”

“Make up your mind,” Yuto said with an exasperated smile.

“I’m personally interested in this case. So you can say I have ulterior motives as an academic. I’ll put my personal ulterior motives to rest for now. I won’t do anything that makes you uncomfortable. No need to worry.”

“I don’t know about that. You’re a manipulative one.”

They bantered back and forth like this until they reached the central wing of the prison. Yuto told the reception that they were FBI, and asked for a meeting with the warden. They were immediately let through and introduced to the new warden, a man named Carter. Carter was a wiry man who looked to be not yet fifty years old, and unlike the previous Warden Corning, was open and friendly.

“Sorry for the sudden visit. I’m Agent Lennix from the FBI. This is Agent Connors.”

When they introduced themselves, Carter smiled amiably and shook hands with them. Once they took a seat on the meeting-room sofa, Carter was the first to launch the conversation.

“Are you here to talk about Corning’s murder case, by any chance? I was just flabbergasted when I found out.”

“Were you acquainted with Mr. Corning?”

“To a degree, since we worked in the same company. I was the warden at a prison in Utah before I came here. Corning and I only exchanged a few words at company functions.”

Although Schelger was a state prison, its operation was contracted out to a private corporation called Smith Bucks Company. Smith Bucks Company operated dozens of prisons across the United States, and was the country’s biggest correctional services company.

“And when were you transferred here, if I may ask?”

“About two weeks ago.”

“I see. Well, the reason we’re here is actually not about Mr. Corning’s murder case. We’re looking for information about a certain Nathan Clark who escaped during the riots a few months back.”

“Ah, Nathan Clark. I don’t think you’d be able to find his whereabouts by looking inside the prison, though.”

“We’re looking for even the tiniest piece of information. Will you allow us to talk to the guards and inmates?”

Carter looked with uncertainty at Yuto for a while, but finally agreed. When Yuto then asked to speak to Gasly, the chief guard, Carter looked at him apprehensively, but nonetheless called him through the internal telephone.

Gasly appeared five minutes later. He was in charge of Block A in the west wing, where Yuto had been kept. Gasly gaped at the sight of Yuto, but when Carter introduced him as an FBI agent, he appeared unfazed.

As they left the warden’s office and walked down the hallway of the central wing, Yuto spoke to Gasly, who was leading the way.

“It’s been a while, Gasly.”

“It sure has. What the hell is going on? You were in here just a few months ago, and now you’re an FBI agent?”

“But you knew, didn’t you? You surely would have heard from Dick.”

The CIA and Dick had suspected that Yuto was part of the FBI. Gasly, as a cooperator with the CIA, would likely have known as well.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the man said.

When Yuto asked to speak to him in private, Gasly reluctantly led them into a visitation room.

“You were lending a hand to make things easier for Dick. Were you also aware of what he as after?”

“I have no idea what you’re getting at.”

“Don’t play dumb with me. I know you’re cooperating with the CIA.”

“Me? Cooperating with the CIA? That’s nonsense.”

It seemed as if nothing was going to make Gasly acknowledge his actions. As Yuto wondered what he could do to make the man confess, Rob spoke up beside him.

“It’s no use,” he murmured. “He won’t crack unless you torture him. Cooperators of the CIA are notoriously tight-lipped. After all, they’re the ones who might be offed by the CIA if they’re found blabbing. ―Am I right?”

Gasly glared silently at Rob. Yuto decided to switch gears.

“Alright, I won’t ask you about your ties to the CIA. Instead, I want you to answer me as the chief guard of this place. Given your position, you should know this information.”

Gasly seemed willing to go with Yuto’s compromise.

“What do you want to know?” he asked curtly with a sigh.

“I want to know about former Warden Corning and Nathan Clark. They seemed to talk to each other a lot on their personal time. What were they like actually? Were they acquaintances from before?”

Gasly took off his cap and ruffled his hair in annoyance.

“I don’t know the details, just that when Nathan was admitted, Warden Corning told me to look out for him because he was his friend’s son.”

“Did you think that was true?”

“No. I knew it was a front. Warden Corning loathed Nathan. Yet, he gave him special treatment as if he were afraid of the guy. That’s why I reckoned that Nathan was leveraging some kind of dirt that he had on Warden Corning.”

Was Corning really being blackmailed by Nathan? Was that why he bowed to Nathan’s demands and helped him? It was possible, but something didn’t feel right.

“Gasly, did you know that Nathan was a fake?”

“Fake? Fake what?”

Gasly looked genuinely nonplussed. Yuto took it to mean that Gasly wasn’t privy to everything. The CIA wouldn’t disclose such important classified information to a low-level cooperator. Perhaps Gasly was simply accommodating Dick’s requests on CIA’s orders to do so.

“Never mind,” Yuto said. “So, I understand there are some guards who would get involved in inmates’ wagers and take a cut of the winnings, or take bribes, that sort of thing, correct?”

“I haven’t done any of that.”

“I know. You were a good guard. Even I’ll admit it. But you’ll agree that these guards do exist, right? If Corning found Nathan a nuisance, he could have used his authority to hurt him or put him into solitary.”

“Well, it’s not impossible.”

“Even if Nathan had some piece of information that would affect Corning’s social standing, Corning had the power to completely cut off Nathan from contacting anyone outside. Do you think he’d fall for blackmail so easily?”

Rob, who had been listening silently until then, spoke up.

“What if he didn’t fear Nathan himself, but what was backing him up?”

Yuto turned to look at Rob. He may be right. Perhaps Corning knew about White Heaven, and feared being harmed outside prison if he were to disobey Nathan’s orders.

“Is Dr. Spencer in?”

Spencer, the part-time physician, was also a cooperator with the CIA like Gasly. Dick had worked in the infirmary as a nurse’s assistant, and if Yuto’s guess was right, he had probably been contacting the CIA through Spencer.

“Yeah, he is. Want me to call him?”

“No, we’ll visit him. Will you take us to the infirmary?”

As they exited back into the hallway and began walking, Gasly cautioned Rob, who was staring interestedly at his surroundings.

“I’d ask you to stop gawking at the inmates like that. Hard to imagine, but they’re quite sensitive. Rub them the wrong way, and who knows what could happen. I don’t want you starting any trouble.”

“Right-o,” Rob said, fishing out a pair of dark sunglasses from his breast pocket and putting them on. “Now you can’t tell where I’m looking, can you?”

Gasly shook his head in exasperation.

“Gasly, has anything happened since I left?”

“Lots of small skirmishes, but on the whole it’s been peaceful. Oh, Libera was released last week. You two were close, weren’t you?”

“Libera? I see… so he was able to get out.”

Ernesto Libera was the charismatic leader of the Locos Hermanos, a Chicano gang within the prison. He had received overwhelming support from other inmates as a leader figure for Chicanos as a whole. By coincidence, Yuto and Libera had ended up next to each other in solitary, and hit it off without even knowing what the other looked like at first. Yuto called Libera by his nickname, Neto, and Neto also acknowledged Yuto as a friend, and looked out for him even after they got out of solitary. Yuto was a little disappointed, as he had hoped to meet with the man personally later, but he was happy for Neto that he was finally free.

The infirmary waiting room was empty, as all appointments had concluded in the morning. Yuto asked Gasly to wait outside as he stepped into the consultation room with Rob.

Spencer was at his desk writing something.

“By Jove,” he said, his face breaking into a smile as he looked up to see Yuto. Yuto felt nostalgic to see him with his familiar messy hair and overgrown stubble.

“If it isn’t Yuto. What brings you here today? Come down with a fever again? Sorry, though, we’ve finished taking appointments for the day.”

“That’s a shame. I’ll come for an IV drip another time, then.”

Yuto offered his hand to Spencer, and the man shook it with a smile.

“It’s been a while, doctor.”

“Sure has. I’m glad to see you looking well. And the gentleman beside you is?”

Rob took off his sunglasses. “Agent Connors from the FBI,” he said coolly.

“Really?” Spencer said in astonishment, looking wide-eyed at the two as Yuto showed him his ID card. “So you were from the FBI, huh.”

Spencer’s surprise seemed genuine, and it was hard to tell if he was putting on an act.

“I’m looking for Nathan Clark right now.”

“Ah, the Nathan who escaped? Don’t you want to know about Dick? He’s a fugitive, too.”

Spencer’s nonchalant question seemed to imply something.

“The police are after Dick. We’re looking for Nathan because there may be a criminal organization backing him. You’re aware that Nathan and Dick were close, right, doctor? Has Dick ever told you anything about him?”

Yuto knew that mentioning dangling the term “CIA” in front of Spencer wouldn’t get him any answers. Although Spencer looked good-natured, he wasn’t so easy to crack. In the same way he had done with Gasly, he decided to seek information while respecting the man’s official position.

“Unfortunately, he hasn’t told me anything. As you know, Dick isn’t very talkative. The only time he ever got chatty was to complain to me.”

Spencer was countless steps ahead of Gasly. Yuto figured he wouldn’t be able to glean any more useful information from the man, and gave up on his questioning.

“I see. Well, sorry for intruding, then.”

“No need to apologize. It was nice to see you. ―Say, I remember Dick mentioned something,” Spencer murmured. For a moment, Yuto felt a swell of anticipation. Unfortunately, Spencer’s next words had nothing to do with the case.

“He said he used to have a dog.”

“A dog? Wasn’t Dick raised in an orphanage? I heard he had no parents.”

“Yeah. The dog belonged to the orphanage. Apparently it was this aloof black dog who’d shrink back and run away if Dick tried to pet him, but once you started ignoring him, he would stare forlornly at Dick from the shadows.”

“Uh-huh. And you mentioned this because…?”

“He said you reminded him of that dog.”

“Me? Remind him of a dog…?”

As Yuto stood unsure of how to respond, Rob sniggered.

“Rob,” Yuto said sternly.

“I-I’m sorry. It’s just that… I think I can see what he means. Pfft.”

As Rob shook with laughter beside him, Yuto fixed him with a glare, wondering what he found so funny.

“When you collapsed and were brought here, Dick was genuinely worried about you,” Spencer said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so frantic. After that, a lot of things happened that set you two on different paths. You’re in vastly different positions, too. But I believe that he truly cared about you, and I don’t believe that any of it was a lie.” Spencer’s tone was firm, his eyes soft. Yuto felt the words pierce his heart.

“Dr. Spencer, how did you see Dick as a person?”

“Are you asking me that as an FBI agent?”

“No. It’s a personal question.”

“Well, hmm,” Spencer said, his gaze wandering mid-air. “He was brusque and aloof, but inside, he was a loving, kind man. All my bedridden patients in the infirmary were grateful for Dick, no matter how much they complained. People who’d been cared for by Dick would always call out his name when their pain became too much to bear. Like a child calling for his mother. They probably knew that Dick would understand their pain – something about him made them feel that way. He was a mysterious guy.”

Yuto agreed with the doctor. Although Dick exuded a cold, unwelcoming aura, something about him made one want to lean on him. It made one want to lend himself over entirely, and to seek the gentle embrace of those arms.

Remembering Dick made his chest tighten painfully. Yuto shook off his sentimental thoughts and thanked Spencer before leaving the consultation room.

Once they joined Gasly outside and left the infirmary, Yuto saw a familiar face approaching.

“Matthew?” Yuto called. The young man looked up curiously. The freckled, boyish face; the thin, waifish frame. There was no doubt about it. It was Matthew.

“Yuto…? Is it really you…?”

Matthew’s child-like face lit up as soon as he recognized Yuto. The next moment, he had bounded over and half-tackled him in a hug. Yuto caught the young man’s delicate frame in his arms.

“Yeah, it’s me,” he said cheerfully. “It’s Yuto. Long time no see. When did you get back?”

Matthew had suffered a gruesome beating from a Chicano inmate called Bernard, and had been recovering in a hospital away from prison. Since Yuto had been released before Matthew’s return, he hadn’t had the chance to say goodbye.

“About ten days ago, I think. I was so surprised to see everyone gone. I heard the news about you, Yuto. You got out because you were proven innocent, right? Congratulations.”

“Thanks. Are you completely better now?”

“Good as new. I’m helping out at the infirmary now.”

“Is that so? Are you getting along with the other guys?”

Yuto was worried. He hoped Matthew wasn’t being preyed on again or otherwise being picked on after spending so long in the hospital to recover.

“Yeah. I’m not really sure why, but this Chicano named Alonso has been really good to me. Thanks to him, no one picks on me anymore.”

If Yuto remembered correctly, Alonso was one of the senior members of the Locos Hermanos, and was Neto’s right-hand man. For a moment, he wondered why a Chicano like him was protecting a white man like Matthew. However, he instantly knew that someone had directed him to – Neto. Before his release, Yuto had asked Neto for a favour – to do what he could to protect Matthew if he ever returned from the hospital.

Yuto felt relieved seeing Matthew’s cheerful face, and at the same time, a heartfelt gratitude for Neto who had faithfully kept his promise.