“New lawyer? What about Mr. Wayar? Why doesn’t he confirm with us about this first?”
The fat warden with the big mustache squinted, staring suspiciously at Brazier Ben, the Lawyer, whose business card he was holding in his hand and the person standing in front of him with a big smile on his face.
Beside him also stood someone who looked younger, more serious, and more handsome–if only his glasses weren’t so big.
“Ah! I’m sorry, I almost forgot,” said Brazier’s, turning to the person next to him. “Mr. Deon, can you give me the letter from Mr. Wayar that he left with us earlier?”
Brazier’s assistant attorney opened the leather bag he was carrying clumsily, then took a brown envelope from his bag and handed it to Brazier, who then gave it to the fierce warden. “This is a notification letter from Mr. Wayar.”
The warden peered into the envelope and his pupils widened slightly. There’s cash in the envelope. “What’s with him really?” asked the warden in a more friendly tone. “He doesn’t usually give that much.”
Brazier stepped in to share the rumor with the warden. “His wife caught him cheating on her with his subordinates, a young man who had been depleting his bank account. Now he has to face divorce demands from his wife and it seems that the embittered wife will also demand a large distribution of property, so he has to run here and there to clear things up or two.”
“Aah… I see.”
“So can we see our client now?”
“Sure. By law, it’s only thirty minutes and it’s forbidden to give anything to prisoners. Your bags have been checked, haven’t you?”
“It’s been done up front earlier. Inside are only documents.”
The warden opened the door leading to corridor 8 which is known as a special detention place for prisoners. Most Corridor 8 inmates are former officials, political prisoners, or socialites.
“I almost forgot. Mr. Wayar said I might have to meet the warden named Shankar to tell him something.”
“Shankar? He resigned two days ago. Insolent of him. No manners, he resigned with just a letter. He thinks this prison is just a playground.”
“Oh well then. Then who will replace Shankar for cell number 12?”
“You can call me.”
“In that case, okay.” Brazier and his assistant, the handsome Lawyer Deon, approached cell number 12 and from a distance the warden opened the automatic door.
Gray is sleeping and he wakes up with a shock when he hears the sound of the cell door opening.
He sat on the bed warily. “Who are you? How did you get in here?”
“Relax, Gray,” said Brazier.
He tugged at his false beard and eyebrows, and so did Dean take off his big glasses.
Gray gasped and moved to get something from under the pillow, but Dean’s movement was even faster. He stabbed a thin needle into Gray’s neck and instantly the crippled man couldn’t move his body.
“What are you doing?” Gray hissed angrily. He felt his whole body tingling and stiff.
“Don’t worry, the needle will only block your blood flow for a little while until we’re done talking,” said Brazier.
“Who sent you guys? Gary Jamorhnoom? I remember, you were the one who claimed to be Theo’s lover.”
Dean huffed in annoyance. “You are so stubborn, old man. That Theo is dead. Your niece, that beautiful Nurse Tia is now after my boyfriend Flynt and thank goodness my boyfriend still has a conscience so he didn’t kill your niece.”
Gray laughed sarcastically. “So it was you guys who held and tortured my niece? You bastards! You’ll get paid for it. You think because I was there, I lost my power?”
“Dean, it’s useless talking to mentally ill people. Just give him the pictures,” said Brazier, setting something on the table.
Dean took an envelope and pulled out one photo at a time. “Well, this is the power you mentioned earlier, your liaisons with the outside world,” Dean said cheerfully.
He shows one by one the photos. Inside are pictures of men in the same pose, lying on the ground. a state of bondage and partly as if sleeping.
“Shankar–corrupt warden, your guard here, Attorney Wayar–he wrote his resignation after learning that you ordered Shankar to kill Dean. Here are some of Shankar’s men. This is Vladimir, your chief guard–he has been deported back to Russia for abuse to a girl, a member of parliament’s favorite daughter. We’re still processing the rest of your men. They’re just bugs, but Flynt asked me to clear them all up.”
Gray looked at Dean angrily. “What did you do to them?”
“Just giving them a little acupuncture,” Dean replied gently. “I shut off their blood flow, It will make them sick and temporarily paralyzed.”
“My nephew is an acupuncture artist. I taught him myself, but he’s even surpassed me now,” Gray said proudly.
Dean approached the table and picked up some very thin and fine needles. “Gray, it’s time you stopped bothering Flynt and the Jamorhnooms,” Dean said sharply. “They’ve made me a part of their family and at least I want to show that I’m useful too. So I’ll get rid of you my way.”
“W-what are you going to do?” asked Gray in horror. “What are you going to do? What happened to Tia?”
“Don’t worry, Flynt has already sent her back to her mother. She won’t dare to come back after what she’s been through. My friend is a number one hacker and he can make a lot of pictures that weren’t there before. For example, the picture when Tia, Shankar and some of your men are doing orgy.”
“Damn it! Tia can’t do such a thing, especially with Shankar!”
“They didn’t do anything, but my friend could manipulate anything from the photos.”
“You bastards, let me go, you bastards!” shouted Gray. “Warden! Get them out, hey!”
“It’s good that they made this cell soundproof, yes, like an elite hotel. You must have spent a lot of money while you were here, Gray,” Brazier said. “We don’t have much time, Dean. Let’s just finish it.”
Dean started sticking needles at several points in Gray’s body. “Gray, these needles will stagnate your blood flow and at times will cause you pain. I’ve also sealed your vocal cords so you won’t be able to speak. I won’t make you suffer long, so about six hours from now, the guards will find you dead of a sudden heart attack because your blood flow is too thick. My friends will release everyone in the photo, but believe me, they will also never feel as healthy as before, after I weaken some of their organs.”
Gray’s eyes twitched in panic but no sound came out when he tried to speak. His body is full of fine needles.
Dean counted the seconds on his watch, then after three minutes, pulled out all the needles he had plugged in and gave them to Brazier.
His uncle then took all the needles to the small bathroom in the corner of the cell and with a full flush flushed them all down the toilet.
Dean laid the paralyzed Gray down and smoothed the blanket up to his chest. “Goodbye, Gray. In six hours, you’ll see your wife and son–Theo, if they still recognize you.”
Brazier pressed the green button near the door and the cell door opened automatically.
Gray stared intently at the ceiling of his cell, feeling the pain start to bite his fingertips.
***