Part IV: The Next 4 Years

Four accounts of the next 4 years.

Part IV: The Next 4 Years

Year One

Sydd

Sydd, handcuffed to the person in front of him, follows the line to the prison. After going through the proper procedure, he’s assigned his cell and goes to sleep. The next morning, he wakes up to the sound of the guards. He goes downstairs and goes for breakfast when he sees a bald inmate staring at him. He takes his tray and walks up to him, and is about to sit down when he jumps in place when he realizes who it is… Rob.
“Oh s**t, what are you doing here?”
“I’m here because of you, a*****e.”
“What- What do you mean?”
“You weren’t in the car after we got busted, which means that you gave us up and hid until they caught you!”
“What? No, I-“
“Shut the f**k up, a*****e, my baby girl is in jail and I’m here, because of you!”
“Where’s Zakk? Maybe I can talk to him.”
“Zakk’s dead.”
“What? How?”
“Because he knew you gave us all up, he was surrounded by the cops, so from what I understand, he was going to go down like he wanted but overdosed before he could. They found him on the floor with the minigun in his hands.”
“That’s fucked up, man. But listen, I didn’t rat him out, my brother told me you did.”
“No I f*****g didn’t!”
“That’s why you’re in here. He told me everything.”
“Then what are you in for?”
“I, uh, killed Janis.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah, she told me she was pregnant from a possibility of two different guys, neither of which was me, and I blacked out and killed her.”
“Haha, I knew you had it in you!”
“Shut up, I’m not like you.”
“I always knew you had a monster in you, that’s why I like you.”
“Stop it.”
“So, how’d ya do it? Did you just beat her to death or did you have some fun with her and had some knife play? Torture her a little bit?” He says hungrily and excitedly.
“You’re sick, you know that? If you must know, from what I was told, I pushed her into oncoming traffic.”
“Oh. That’s it? What a gyp.” He says, disappointed.
“Sorry I’m not psychotic like you are.”
“Eh, you’ve got potential.
“Stop, I’m not like you and I never will be the kind of monster I know you are. Only I know the fucked up s**t you’ve done in the past.”
“Yeah, you’re right. I’m just as surprised as you are that I’ve let you live this long. Hahahaha.” He starts laughing uncontrollably.
“Dude, what’s wrong with you?”
“I feel so stupid, no wonder I got caught.”
“What?”
“Zakk was right, tie all loose ends.”
“You’re crazy, man.”
“Took you this long to figure that out?”
“No, it’s just worse than I thought.”
“Oh, it’s bad. This is the safest place for me for everyone else’s sake at least. Even now I’m considering a free for all anyway considering I’m in here for 15 years. How long you in for?”
“Ten. I got insanity considering I wasn’t conscious during the actual murder. I had brain scans done and everything.”
“Damn, I should have tried that!”
“Too late now, unless you can prove it.”
“Prove what?”
“I don’t f*****g know, it’s your job to figure that s**t out.”
“Oh, I thought you knew something.”
“Nah man, I just know about my case.”
“You got lucky. I’m probably going to die in here. Pfft. I got a bunch of drug charges and s**t, but you got less time than me, how does that work?” Sydd shrugs.
“Boss got busted.”
“Zakk’s dead.”
“His boss.”
“Carlos?”
“Yeah. Don’s still safe, they don’t know he’s actually top.” Sydd whispers.
“Is boss here?” Rob whispers back.
“He’s due tomorrow, they’re still trying to get information out of him. I overheard a couple of officers. You’d think they’d watch what they say to each other with civilians, or in our case, prisoners present.”
“I wonder what he’s going to say to them.”
“I hope a whole lot of nothing.” After lunch, they’re all let out into the prison yard. He starts wandering until he notices another inmate staring at him. ‘Do I know this guy? Is he staring at me? No, is he?’ He walks up to the inmate. “What’s your problem? I got no beef with you.”
“I know you don’t, and I got none with you,” says the inmate, a light skinned guy with a full moustache/beard combo, long, straight, dark brown hair.
“Then why were you staring into my soul?”
“Sorry, I did that cause I knew you’d notice, it’s a part of my demeanor too, so it’s not really my fault. Listen, I’m not really a bad guy, I shouldn’t be in here but just cause it’s considered a ‘felony’ I got a couple of years Possession with intent to sell. I had a few ounces of weed that I was gonna make money off of, but alas, as you can see… The name’s Frank by the way.” And he extends his right hand. Sydd reaches out and shakes it.
“Sydd.”
“I watch the local news, ya know. I’m allowed to watch tv. Where’s your buddy? I wanna meet him too.” Sydd goes and gets Rob.
“What do you want?” Rob asks Frank.
“Listen, Rob, I admire that you’re still alive.”
“Why?”
“Cause none of Carlos Burgsov’s lieutenants were left alive, they were all executed except for Lt. X.”
“Lt. X? Lieutenant? You think I’m a lieutenant?”
“Yeah, there was a whole tree of his hierarchy and since you were dating his niece, you were an automatic lieutenant. Maybe that’s why you’re still alive, because you’re family.”
“Other lieutenants? Wait, Carmella was-? Cool!”
“Yeah, he had guys all over the city. You guys were in the thick of it all though. You got to work alongside the cleaner and Lt. X.”
“Cleaner?”
“Zakk Philips, he’s the one who executed all the other lieutenants. He cleaned them all out which is why he killed himself at the end of it all.”
“He must have known he was gonna get busted.”
“He did, phone records show he got a call before I’m assuming by last name, your brother-“. He points at Sydd.
“Yeah.” Sydd says.”
“Marvelous. -made the bust within minutes by Burgsov who himself was planning an exit plan which he didn’t have time to execute. His flight was delayed and he got busted at the airport. The snitch was then himself killed, but nobody knows who did it. Personally, I think it’s Lt. X.”
“Wait, Lt. X? You don’t mean-“, Rob says. He looks at Sydd.
“Brian?” Sydd finishes.
“I knew you guys knew his name! He’s the only one they can’t find. They don’t know who or where he is. Only one who might is Carlos, and I bet you he won’t give it up.” Frank says.
“Damn, no wonder I got so much time. Didn’t know I was so important. Sweet, I’m a big shot after all.” Rob says. He walks away with a big grin on his face and shouts to other prisoners, “Yo, you all better respect me, I’m Carlos Burgsov’s nephew. If you f**k with me, I’ll kill you!” He continues to ramble on about how great and how tough he is.
“I’m not a lieutenant?” Sydd asks.
“What? No, you were down at pusher/mule which wouldn’t have landed you in here. No, you killed a pregnant lady and on the same day as the bust! Which you also happened to be a part of!” Frank answers.
“Why are you so happy about this? What I did was horrible, I can’t live with myself anymore. I deserve to be in here.”
“Oh yeah? What happened?”
“I literally went insane when my girlfriend told me she was pregnant with some other dude’s kid.”
“See? Not your fault. If you were able to control yourself, it wouldn’t have happened, but because you’re not conscious of your decisions, you’re not technically in fault. By the way, kudos on the insanity defense.”
“Uh, thanks?”
“Aha, this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.” Sydd feels a rush of nervousness at the sound of the words, running through the possibilities in his mind of all the outcomes to that sentence. The next day, as soon as they’re in the yard, Frank runs up and finds Sydd. “Get your buddy.” Sydd goes and gets Rob. “I heard on the news this morning, your boss blew his brains out in the interrogation room. Got ahold of a cop’s piece and did it when they had their backs turned. Their narcotics division suffered a nasty whiplash from it and a couple officers from their department got fired over it.”
“Holy s**t, that means I’m head of the family. Sweet.” Rob says.
“Sorry to bust your bubble there, Chumbalaya but you weren’t married to her, so technically not.
“Goddammit.”
“Besides, you’re better off. They’re interrogating his immediate family, you avoided all of it.”
“Eh, not all of it. They asked me questions the answers to which I have no clue.”
“Like what?”
“Just personal s**t. S**t I wouldn’t know.”
“Gotcha.”

Leon

“Good work, Xero, you wrapped up that case pretty well. We got an undercover case, it’s for one of the big dealers in this county not related to the Burgsov case, but this guy’s harder to take down, for one thing, we don’t even know who he is, but he goes by the name ‘Big Don’. Apparently, he has his own chain of command, and we have an insider who’s already been part of the game but wants out, you’ll be working with him. You’re going to be around lots of illegal activities but there’s not a thing you can do about it, I want monthly reports and you will be randomly drug tested, so don’t pull anything, once you go deep, it’s hard getting out of it. Understood?”
“Yes sir.”
“Good. This is Jerry, he’s our informant, and your partner.”
“Oh, uh, hey.” Says Jerry, a short, balding skinny guy with round glasses
“What’s up?”
“Just figured, you know, we could talk?”
“Uh, yeah, I’m sure there’s lots to talk about.”
“Mmhmm mhmmm, c’mon, let’s go in the car, go for a ride.” So, they leave the station and get into the car. “Ok, first thing you gotta do, is make everything real as possible, yeah you’re going to get drug tested, but Big Don knows if you’re faking, so you basically have to do it for real.”
“Wha- no, my brother-“
“Hey pal, I know about your brother, we met a couple of times, when I heard he was in jail, I knew it was a matter of time because that case he was a part of was bein’ watched fer years! That’s when I knew I had to get out of this one so I became an informant, now I gotta watch my a*s around Big Don or I can compromise the whole situation or become dead, the first time he caught me faking he threatened to kill me, ya know, after I became an informant, so that’s why I said: Make it look real!”
“Ho boy, oh jeez.”
“Let’s go, he’s waiting to meet you. Jerry turns on the car and starts driving.
“This guy loaded?”
“Of course he is, he’s the main supplier for the whole Upper crust of the city. Middle class, too”
“Holy shi-“
“We’re here.” and they reach a nice looking white house in the city’s Upper North section. They get out, and knock on the door. They are greeted by a skinny, shriveled, bald man who looks about eighty.
“What?” he says.
“Snow all year round.” Jerry says.
“Come in. Sir, Jerry is here with a guest.” They’re greeted by a plump, black haired guy with a thick New York accent.
“That’s all, Brick, you can resume cleaning.”
“Glad to, sir.” Brick replies.
“Jerry! Who’s your new friend?”
“Oh! Big Don, Larry Fields, Larry, Big Don.”
“Splendid, nice to meet you! It’s time to get initiated! Brick, hand me my party box.” So Brick returns with a big white box with a black lid. Big Don opens it up and takes out a green pipe, a smaller white pipe, and some LSD. “Let’s get started, shall we?” And he hits and passes the green pipe to Leon, while Leon hits it, Big Don is hitting the white pipe, and when Leon passes the white pipe, he’s handed LSD and takes it. He zones out and after a little while, he hears a woman’s voice.
“Hello.” She says.
“Hi.” He looks around and sees everyone else in conversation until he spots a girl with rainbow hair in the corner of the couch. He goes and sits next to her. “Who are you?”
“The answer to all your problems.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Don’t you worry, I’ll love you forever.”
“Really?”
“Of course, I wouldn’t lie to you.” Jerry sits in the place next to her and it appears as if he’s kissing her.
“Hey, why are you kissing him too?”
“Oh, it’s ok. There’s enough of me to go around.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, now come over here and give me a kiss. He leans toward her, but when he does, the room appears to be on fire. He turns around to see Big Don point a gun at his face and he pulls the trigger. Leon blacks out.
“Jeez, what a lightweight.” Don says from across the room to Jerry who has Leon passed out at his feet.
“Is he going to be ok?” Jerry asks.
“Yeah, he’s fine. Probably tripping hella balls.”

Carmella/Charlotte

Carmella is lying in her cell, trying to take a nap but can’t. She hears banging on the bars, it’s the guard. “Hey you piece of s**t, you have a visitor.”
“Is Robbie out of jail already?”
“No, it’s a chick, your lesbian lover, perhaps?”
“Shut up you b***h!” The guard cracks her over the back of the head with her flashlight.
“Keep it up and I’ll send you to solitary cause I feel like it and you won’t see your girlfriend, how about that?” So, she keeps quiet until she gets to the visitors’ center, and when she gets there, she sees Charlotte.
“Charlotte? What are you doing here?”
“To see my best friend of course!” Charlotte says.
“Ok, so what’s up?”
“Ok, so our- well, my plan, you were just in it- worked!”
“Ooh, give me the dirty.”
“Ok, like, we both know that Leon fucked you and we broke up, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Ok, so things were getting a little hairy, he noticed I wasn’t at his show, you know, since I was f*****g Brian during it, but luckily I snuck in as soon as he got offstage. So, I told you we need a quick breakup and you volunteered to f**k him, nice job by the way, course his defenses were down because I fought with him for no apparent reason.”
“Then I fucked him…”
“Right. I got depressed because he started getting violent- not part of the plan by the way, and I cut myself and ended up in the hospital. Leon found out and tried to apologize, but I was looking for an excuse to end it, that’s where you come in, and blame it on him and go on living my life guilt free.”
“And?”
“And while I was in the hospital I found out I was pregnant, but it’s definitely Brian’s! Speaking of which, we’re engaged!” and she shows off her ring to Carmella.
“Oh, that’s so nice Charlotte I hope things work out”. She says sadly.
“Me too!” Charlotte says, oblivious.
“Alright ladies, time’s up!” And Carmella is taken back to her cell.

Aaron

Sitting alone in the house by himself, John’s in jail and Leon’s whereabouts are unknown; as a matter of fact, he hasn’t seen Leon in months, 7 to be exact. He answers texts once in a while, but only sometimes, three times a week if he’s lucky. He sits and lights up another bowl, listens to music and passes out, another b***h will be here soon, might as well get a cat nap. He wakes up a couple hours later to knocking on the door. He answers it, lets her in and screws, she leaves and he lights up another bowl. He watches a movie until he passes out. He wakes up to yet another knock on the door. He answers it, and it’s Leon, high as a kite. “Whassup buddy?”
“Leon, what’s up fam? I haven’t seen your a*s in months dude.”
“I’m good… wanna smoke up?”
“I- yeah, sure, come on in.” So, he comes in, and they start smoking. “So how ya been man? It’s been a minute since I seen you.”
“Working a lot mostly.”
“Dude, I haven’t seen you since all that s**t with Sydd and his friends went down, how’s Charlotte doing by the way?”
“We broke up, I- well, I didn’t technically cheat, I just slept with another girl, but if I hadn’t, we’d still be together...”
“Damn, that sucks, I’m sorry bro.”
“It’s a’ight, what have you been up to?”
“F*****g b*****s, smokin’ some weed, work, same s**t different day.”
“Oh, that’s cool.”
“I guess…, hey how come you never write me back or answer any of my calls, it hurts. I thought I was your best friend, c’mon man, what the f**k?”
“I don’t know, I’m just, I don’t know. Hey can I borrow 50 bucks?”
“Yeah sure, what do you need it for?”
“Just to get some stuff.”
“What kind of stuff?”
“Normal stuff.”
“Um, ok then, so how long are you hanging out for?”
“Actually bro, I gotta be heading out now.”
“Oh… ok, well then I guess I’ll see ya later.”
“Yeah, later man.”
“Bye.”
“Peace.” And Leon leaves the house. He doesn’t return for a while.

Year 2

Sydd

Sydd wakes up in the in the morning, goes through his routine and goes into the yard where he meets up with Frank. “Hey baby killer.” Ernie, a fat, balding guy with glasses says to him.
“Sup, baby raper?”
“Guys, really?” Frank says.
“…yeah…”
“Oh hey, I haven’t seen you freak the hell out in a couple of weeks, what’s up with that?”
“The drugs have finally left my system.”
“Damn, it sounded like you were possessed by demons.”
“You have no idea.”
“I can’t imagine a worse kind of hell. You want a cigarette?”
“Yeah. Menthol?”
“Yup.”
“Sweet!”
“You definitely do look better though, compared to when you first got here.”
“Yeah, I’m sure I looked like hell.”
“You really did. And you looked like you weighed nothing.”
“Pfft. I lived off drugs.”
“Amazing you’re still alive.”
“I wish I wasn’t.”
“You ok man? You seem kind of down…”
“It’s been a year since Janis died.”
“Oh, it’s like that, huh?”
“I loved her…”
“Tell me about her. What was she like?”
“Well, she was nice, was with me for 2 years, I don’t remember most of it, I was strung out on so many drugs, it was insane. I remember one time, it’s a little foggy, but I’ll never forget what I took that day. It was a capsule filled with heroin, coke, mushrooms, and angel dust.”
“Whoa, I’m surprised that didn’t kill you… say, that sounds familiar. Apparently that particular drug mix combination thing was Burgsov’s trademark.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, man. It ended up killing a bunch of people. Part of the reason he got busted.”
“Wow, that’s so fucked up!”
“Yeah… continue.”
“So yeah, I took it and I freaked the f**k out, then I remember Rob attacking me, I… oh s**t, I think I might’ve punched Janis in the face… damn… and she still stayed with me. Then I got sent to rehab and left after a few hours of being there… great story by the way, I’ll tell ya sometime. Anyway, I re-upped from my dealer, Zakk, and I got caught in the process, so my brother tells my girlfriend, and long story short, she leaves me. Then I made the decision to go clean a few days later. Then I’m in rehab for nine months and everything goes to s**t. I can see why she did it now, because I treated her like s**t and she couldn’t take it anymore, I deserve to be in here.”
“It sounded like you had a good girl.”
“Yeah, I did and I fucked it all up.”

Leon

High as f**k, Leon’s sitting in Big Don’s living room. He just got done with a round of coke, and a few rounds off of the bong, he’s toasted. Jerry is sitting across from him in the same state, they’re both out of touch with reality. “I’m uh, I’m going home.” Leon says.
“Drive safe, or don’t.” Big Don calls over to him. So, Leon gets in his car and drives home. On the way, he sees a girl being harassed by a thug. Leon pulls over and gets out of the car. He walks up to the thug.
“Hey!” Leon calls to him. The thug looks over, sees that Leon is taller than him, and he drops her purse and runs in the other direction. Leon goes to chase after him, but decides not to because he just doesn’t feel like it. “Are you alright?”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. My name’s Carly.”
“Leon, nice to meet you.” She looks into his eyes and smells him.
“Ha, you like to party, don’tcha?”
“Well, I-“
“It’s ok, I love to party too! I’m a regular party girl. Where’d you get that-“ sniffs him again, “good s**t?”
“Oh, well I-“
“I don’t care, here’s my number, maybe we should uh, hook up sometime, maybe go to the club.”
“Uh, sure. When?”
“Tonight.”
“How- how old are you Carly?”
“Nineteen, why?”
“I just wanted to kn-“
“Why? Are you a cop or something?” and she lets out a little giggle.
“What time?”
“Ten.” So that night, he calls her, picks her up, and they go to the club. When they get there, the music is loud, there’s lights everywhere, and smoke from a smoke machine.
“What kind of club is this? Everyone looks so… young.”
“Oh, it’s an all ages club, from teenagers to early twenties, there’s a separate bar for the older people.”
“Oh, ok, um, I’m gonna get a drink then.”
“Come right back, and oh, sneak me one please?”
“I really can’t, I mean, technically you are still a minor-“
“Wow, you really do act like a cop. C’mon, it’s harmless, the bar is so crowded, they’ll never notice.”
“Whatever.” So he goes into the bar, but notices it’s not crowded like she said, buys himself a drink and comes back out.
“Where’s my drink?”
“It wasn’t as crowded as you said it was.”
“Ugh, fine, whatever, let’s leave.”
“What? But we just got here like ten minutes ago! And I paid twenty dollars cover charge for both of us to get in!”
“I don’t care, I wanna get fucked up, take me to where you get that good s**t.”
“No, I can’t, I just-“
“Do it. NOW!”
“I-“
“C’mon, please?” So Leon calls up Big Don but no one answers.
“He’s asleep.”
“Oh, poo. Let’s go to your house!”
“What? Um, ok.” So they go to Leon’s house, and he goes upstairs to get his stash. He comes back downstairs and sees Carly looking at the pictures.
“You dated Charlotte?”
“You know her?” He asks as he packs a bowl, hits it, and passes it to her.
“Mhmmm. She was a couple of grades ahead of me, the fat skank.”
“Whoa, whoa, hold on there, she was a great girl, I was the one who fucked that relationship up, not her.”
“I bet you any amount of money, it was her fault, not yours. Hey, can we burn anything that has to do with her?”
“No, that’s just wrong, like I said, she did nothing wrong.”
“You’re wrong.” she says as she lights up a picture of Charlotte.

Carmella/ Charlotte

“Your lover is back.” Carmella gets out and goes to the visitor’s center.
“Hi Charlotte, what’s new?”
“Well, nothing much, how about you?”
“Well, it turns out I’m gonna be in here awhile.”
“Aww, how long?”
“Pfft. I don’t know. A lot.”
“Well, that sucks. How come?”
“I just found out that Burgsov is my uncle.”
“So?”
“So, because I’m part of the family they assumed I knew everything… Once you go in here, your rights are gone, I didn’t have a say. No wonder mom never mentioned him…”
“I am so mad for you right now.”
“Oh thanks, how’s your son, um…”
“Jason?”
“Yeah, how’s Jason doing?’
“Mommy’s little angel, he turned one last week.”
“That’s so awesome, how’s Brian?” Charlotte grimaces.
“Unemployed as usual. He just sits on his a*s and drinks beer and watches TV, he’s useless, I don’t know what Janis saw in him.”
“Janis?”
“Oh, yeah, Janis introduced me to Brian when she was dating Sydd, and I was dating Leon, last year, when we started having our problems. He was just supposed to be a treat for once in a while, but it got a little out of hand, but, he gave me a son, so I’m grateful for that. He was pissed when Janis died though, I don’t know why…”
“Did you know that Janis was pregnant with his kid?”
“What? Well, that makes sense I guess. B*****d.”
“Huh?”
“I’m gonna give him a piece of my mind when I get home.”
“Keep in mind Janis is dead, along with his would be child, and it was over a year ago.”
“Hmm, maybe you’re right.”
“Yeah, you won that one.”
“I’m not sure I would exactly call it a win…”
“Oh, so what? At least you got a kid out of it.”
“That’s true.”

Aaron

“Yo, Leon, call me back. We have a gig tomorrow.” He hangs up the phone, disappointed that once again Leon ignored his phone call. “Where the f**k has he been? What’s he doing?” He hears a knock on the door and he answers it. “Leon, where the f**k have you been? We need to rehearse, got your keyboard? Who’s this?”
“Oh, sorry, my bad.” Leon says almost incoherently. “This is- Carlos.”
“Carly. Nice to meet you-“
“Aaron.”
“Aaron, you’re cute.”
“Thanks, are you Leon’s girlfriend?”
“Yeah, yeah I am.”
“It’s in the car!” Leon shouts unnecessarily.
“Then go get it.”
“I got it!” Leon shouts again. He turns around, goes to the car, and takes out the keyboard, and goes back into the house.
“Ok, should we pack a bowl, I’m not sure, cause you’re acting like you’re on meth or something.”
“NO! I’m good, pack a one.” So Aaron packs and passes it. It goes around, and they finish it.
“Ok, so we’re gonna rehearse for tomorrow’s gig, so if you-“
“Nah, know what man? I gotta be peacing out.”
“But tomorrows the-“
“Look man, I’d love to, but me and Carly got… things to do, you understand, don’tcha?”
“But what about-“
“Look, I’ll practice at home, and then I’ll meet you tomorrow at five.”
“It’s at seven.”
“Yeah, that’s what I meant.”
“Alright, but you’d better-“
“Can I borrow fifty bucks there, buddy?”
“What about the other fifty you owe me?”
“Put it on my tab. C’mon, you’re my bro, I’m your bro, we’re bro’s, it’s what we do for each other.”
Aaron sighs, “Ok, fine, here ya go, but you owe me.”
“Thanks, cool.” And he heads towards the door.
“Remember.”
“Remember what?”
“Tomorrow, seven o’clock sharp.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’ll be there. The next day, at seven o’clock, Leon is nowhere to be found. Aaron does the gig by himself, and Leon continues to dodge him.

Year 3

Sydd

“Damn, I still can’t believe this is your last week, dude.” Sydd says to Frank one day.
“Yeah, I’m excited. Got a girl and some grass waiting for me.” He rubs his hands together.
“That’s awesome, man.”
“Yeah. Uh, good luck trying to get out early.”
“I’ll do everything I can to make sure I do.”
“You’d better. I wanna see you on the outside.”
“C’mon, you really think we’ll be friends on the outside?”
“Hey, you’re a cool dude, I don’t think you’re as bad as you or your buddy think you are. What the news says you are and who you really are, are two different people. I know you didn’t mean to kill her, I know you’re sorry. There’s still a person inside you. You’re friend on the other hand, I’m not so sure.”
“I know, he’s been in solitary for a year and a half now.”
“It’s because he won’t stop shanking people.”
“We’re lucky that’s all he’s doing.”
“What do you mean?”
“He’s bloodthirsty. He wants to kill everyone in here, he’s actually restraining himself.”
“How? He’s shanking people.”
“Because if he wasn’t, they’d all already be dead along with more.”
“Wow, I knew he was fucked up in the head, but I didn’t know how bad.”
“It’s worse than you think.”
“What do you mean?”
“You only know of his drug charges from the news. He’s killed before.”
“Are you joking?”
“Not in the slightest.”
“Damn, and nobody knows.”
“S**t. I wasn’t supposed to tell you or anybody. I’ve still got time with him, if he finds out I told anybody, he’ll kill me too.”
“I promise I won’t say anything. Besides, I’m out of here soon anyway, I’m not going to make it hell for you when I leave, that’d be a dick move and I thought we were friends.”
“Good. I don’t need any more s**t in my life.”
“You should disassociate from him completely.”
“I guess you got a point… but I can’t just abandon him, he’s been my best friend for twenty years, and he didn’t exactly have a good life himself.”
“He ruined your life, dude. You’re in jail!”
“How is it his fault?”
“What do you mean, how is it his fault? You told me yourself that he turned you onto drugs, he instigated every time you got arrested. At some point, you have to cut off a finger to save the hand.”
“Well, when you put it that way..”
“Exactly my point. He can’t drag you down anymore, once you get out, you can leave him behind. Not sure how long he’s got in solitary, but use it to your advantage anyway."
“Thanks, man.”
“No problem.” A few days later, it’s Frank’s last day.
“So you’re leaving in a couple hours, huh?” Sydd asks.
“Yeah, looks like it.”
“Thanks for all your help, dude.”
“No problem. Here, look me up when you get out.” He hands him a piece of paper with information written on it.
“Thanks, I definitely will.”
“Well, I should get going, it takes a while to process before I’m actually free.”
“Alright, take care Frank.”
“You too Sydd.” Later, when Sydd goes into the yard, he sees Rob.
“Dude, you look like hell.”
“Get the f**k away from me.” Rob says.
“Why?”
“You’re not safe.” Sydd backs away as he sees Rob pick up a rock and smacks another inmate in the head with it. The guy turns around and Rob starts hitting him in the face with it. He keeps beating him until he’s on the floor. The surrounding inmates egg him on and cheer. Then, he takes the rock and starts digging it into the guys skull, making some progress before the guards finally get to him. They take Rob away in cuffs and the other inmate on a stretcher. Sydd takes out a cigarette and lights it.

Leon

“Here ya go, Big Don” Leon says as he passes the crack pipe.
“Larry, you have been a great addition, and on that note, I trust you made your deliveries?” Leon passes the bundle of money over to Big Don. Big Don counts it and gives a fraction to Leon. “Great work, I need you to transport some horse for me to the Lower East side, you think you can do that for me? There’s a nice cut of it for ya.”
“Yeah sure. C’mon Jerry.”
“Alright,” Jerry says. They get in the car and Leon starts driving. “Dude, when are you going to bust this case already? It’s been three years already.”
“I’m just- I’m just waiting for the right moment.”
“You’ve had plenty of chances Leon, pretty soon this is gonna be a waste of time!”
“I’m just- I’m just waiting for the right chance Jerry.”
“Yeah, you said that already.”
“Yeah.”
“You know what I think? I think you just like the drugs too much, you’re too into it.”
“NO I’M NOT! I’m just- I’m just waiting for the right time.”
“Whatever.”
“Hey Jerry? I got a question. Who is Brick?”
“Oh, Brick is Big Don’s son. He was born a crack baby and never recovered, he’s on it constantly. His name was John when he was born but because of how slow he is, Big Don legally changed his name to Brick. So now his only purpose is to be a servant, you can’t tell by the way he looks, but he’s actually thirty five. Oh, we’re here.”
“Ok, let’s see who I’m delivering to.” He knocks on the door and Carly answers.
“Leon?”
“Hey baby, who’s this clown?” says a guy behind her.
“I’m her boyfriend, a*****e!”
“No way, she’s with me, jerkoff!”
“Tell him, Carly!”
“Sorry Leon, but this has been going on for a while, but I’ll still buy off of you.” And she hands him money and he sells to her. “I wanna live the single life now, he’s not my boyfriend, just tonight’s dinner special.”
“Seriously babe?” the guy says.
“Shut up, you’re getting fucked and fucked up, so what are you complaining about?”
“So, I guess we’re over?” Leon asks.
“Uh yeah, dickface, it’s been like that for weeks.” And she slams the door.
“Wow, that sucks dude.” Jerry tells him.
“Yeah, come on, we have lots more deliveries to make.” So they make their rounds and go back to the house.
“Ha ha, good job Larry” Big Don says as he counts his money and gives a fraction to Leon.
“I aim to please, hey, you got any horse left?”
“Why, you want some?”
“F**k yeah, I’m looking to get ripped!”
“Uh, Larry, you sure that’s a good idea?” Jerry asks him.
“F**k yeah! I need to do this s**t!”
“Ugh, I don’t even know why I try anymore.” Jerry says to himself. So Leon does a couple lines and zones out on the couch.
“Hey Larry, LARRY!” Big Don calls out to him, but he just stays zoned out. “Eh, he’s been working hard lately, I’ll let him enjoy his high for now.”

Carmella/ Charlotte

“Hey girl!” Carmella says.
“Hey, how’s it going?” asks Carmella.
“Well, I found out I got 20 years to life.”
“Oh s**t, really?”
“Yup. What’s new with you?”
“Well, I finally got married, don’t know what took him so long, but guess what?”
“What?”
“I’m pregnant again!”
“Oh, that’s awesome!”
“Yeah, I hope it’s a girl!”
“Well, that is just great, I hope the best for you.”
“Oh, thanks Carmella, I, uh, hope your sentence, uh, goes by fast.”
“Nice try. Have you heard from Leon lately?”
“No, and I don’t care.”
“Oh, well, that’s too bad I guess.”
“Look, I don’t give a f**k about him anymore, I heard he was with some skank anyway.”
“Ok, sorry I asked.”
“What about Rob? Have you heard from him?”
“Uh, no, he’s in jail, just like me.”
“Wow, so we’re running out of stuff to talk about, huh?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“I just have a question for you.”
“Ok, shoot.”
“How come we stopped talking for a while?”
“What do you mean?”
“When you were dating Rob, I was dating Leon, you were always hanging out with Sydd, and we didn’t hang out at all.”
“When I was with Rob, he had a hold over me, I wasn’t allowed to have my own friends, I could only hang out with his friends, and only when he was around. Plus, you know, I really loved the drugs.”
“He used you as a crack w***e.”
“Like I said, I really loved the drugs, and I would do anything to get them, and I love sex too, so he used that to his advantage, just like you did.”
“You seemed all for it at the time.”
“YEAH! CAUSE I WAS HIGH AS F**K!”
“Look, I’m sorry I put you through tha-“
“No. Stop. You’re just as bad as he is, using people for your own personal gain. You’re not a true friend.”
“But-“
“This is your last visit. After today, I don’t ever wanna see you again.”
“Fine.” And Charlotte gets up and leaves.
“Aww, break up with your girlfriend?” the guard asks Carmella.
“Shut up b***h.” Carmella responds.

Aaron

Almost a year has gone by since Aaron has heard from Leon. He decides to send him a message just on the off chance he’ll answer. He humps and dumps, takes a nap and packs and smokes a bowl. There is a knock on the door. He answers it and Leon is at the door. “Hey buddy!”
“Dude, I don’t hear from you for almost a year and now you decide to answer me?”
“You told me we have a gig tomorrow.”
“Oh, so when there’s money involved, you decide to answer me?”
“Dude, calm down.”
“No! I WILL NOT CALM DOWN!”
“Dude, seriously, c’mon, let’s smoke a bowl and just chill the f**k out.”
“That’s your solution for everything! Who are you, Sydd?”
“Take that back, f****r!”
“And you still owe me a hundred bucks a*****e!”
“Dude, I don’t have the money right now!”
“Well, if you make the gig tomorrow instead of not showing up like last time, you could pay me back!”
“Alright, fine, I’ll do the stupid gig tomorrow, just get off my back!”
“You’d better show up!”
“I will!” The next day, Aaron is backstage waiting for Leon. Ten minutes till show time.
“He’d better make it.” He checks his watch. Eight minutes.
“Hey! I made it!”
“Finally! What took so long?”
“I had- I had- I had stuff to do.”
“Dude, what are you on?”
“Oh, you know, a little of this, a little of that.”
“Meaning?”
“A little horse, a little coke, a shroom…”
“Seriously? What the f**k?” He checks his watch. “S**t, we’re on. You sure you’re good to go?”
“Yeah, I’s fine.” So they start up their first song and halfway through it, Leon collapses and falls off the stage.
“F*****g grit.” Aaron says and he walks off stage.

Year 4

Sydd

“So, Sydd, I hear you’re going before the parole board tomorrow.” Sam, a short, brown haired guy says.
“Yeah I am.”
“All I can say is good luck dude.”
“Yeah, though you do realize that once I’m gone, you won’t have anyone to get your back.”
“Already working on it.”
“Ok, good. I really hope I’m out of here, it’s been hell.”
“Yeah, I’m still looking at another four years myself.”
“Well I-“
“Hey f****r!” Sydd hears behind him.
“Oh f**k.” He turns around and sees Rob approaching him. “Look, I don’t want any more trouble from you.”
“I don’t give a f**k. I hear you might be getting out tomorrow.”
“It’s not even definite yet.”
“I don’t care, I’m gonna make sure you f*****g stay here, a*****e.”
“Look, like I said, I don’t want any-“, and Rob punches him right in the face. Sam tries to pull him off of him but one of Rob’s cronies punches him in the back of the head. Rob keeps on beating on Sydd until he finally snaps and grabs Rob by the throat. He starts choking him and doesn’t let go until he is cracked over the head by the guard’s baton. He wakes up in the infirmary and sees the warden, a couple of guards, the nurse, Rob, and Sam all in the room.
“Sit up Sydd.” He hears the warden say. So, he sits up and looks around, Rob and Sam are sitting on beds opposite of him and the warden, guards, and nurse standing in the middle of the room. “So, you two were fighting again, and you brought Sam into the battle. Now, you’re up for parole tomorrow Sydd, you’re this close and now you wanna jeopardize it?”
“I’m sorry, I-“
“I don’t wanna hear it. I thought you could behave yourself, but apparently not.”
“Sir, if I could just say-“ Sam begins.
“No, I said I don’t wanna hear it. Back to your cells, all of you.” They start to leave, escorted by the guards. “Oh and Sydd? You better hope the board is in a good mood tomorrow.”
“Haha, you’re never getting out of here f****r.” Rob says as he’s led to his cell. The next day Sydd hears a banging on his bars.
“Sydd Xero, get up, you’re wanted before the parole board.” So, he gets up, leaves his cell and is escorted by the guard to his hearing. He walks in, and the door is shut behind him.
“Sydd Xero, you have been brought before the board today because the warden has recommended that you be let out early on good behavior. Now, according to your file this is your fourth year of a ten year sentence for the double homicide of Janis Walker and her unborn child. It also says that you were tried under reason of insanity, however you have had counseling and therefore have been deemed fit for the possibility of parole. Keeping your anger under control this entire time has led to this recommendation. However, it has been brought to our attention that you have gotten into a few fights during your time here, including one yesterday. What do you have to say in your defense?”
“I was merely defending myself from another inmate, I didn’t want to fight, especially since I wanted to be paroled.”
“We also understand that you are the brother of narcotics officer Leon Xero, who busted the Burgsov case that you happened to be a part of.”
“I honestly did not know I was buying off of Burgsov, but that is not who I am anymore. I’ve been clean the four years I have been in here and I feel that I have reformed.”
“We will meet with the warden to discuss our decision. We will announce our decision at eight a.m. tomorrow morning.” Sydd leaves and joins the other inmates out in the yard, escorted by a guard.
“So? How’d it go?” Sam asks him.
“I find out tomorrow morning.”
“Oh s**t, well, even though I enjoy your company and being your friend, I do hope you get out, you know, just cause being here is horrible.”
“Well, we’ll just have to see I guess.” The next morning at eight a.m., Sydd is brought back in front of the board.
“Sydd Xero, we have reached our decision…”

Leon

“We need to bust this guy now! Jerry yells to Leon as he’s driving towards the Big Don’s house.
“We will, I just gotta, just gotta, just gotta-“
“Spit it out already!”
“Wait for the right moment.”
“You’ve been saying that over and over, when are you gonna actually do it?”
“When the time is right!”
“The time was right lots of times, you’re pissing me off Leon!”
“I don’t know what you want me to do.”
“I can’t do it cause I’m not a cop, you’re the one who’s supposed to be doing your job, I’m just the inside man.” They arrive at Big Don’s, and get out of the car.
“’Ey! Larry! How’s it going today?” Don asks enthusiastically.
“Sober.”
“Ah, I can fix that.” So they go into the house and do some drugs. The whole time, Jerry is staring daggers into Leon. “Is there a problem Jerry?”
“Oh, no problem Don.”
“Good. Larry, how’d you like to make some more deliveries for me today?”
“What?”
“Just a few bags of weed, nothing big.”
“Oh yeah sure.” So, Leon goes and makes deliveries and comes back to the house.
“Larry, while you were gone, I received-“ the phone rings. He momentarily leaves the room and comes back. “That was another one. People are complaining that their shipments are a gram off. You know anything about that?”
“Sorry sir, I took a little finder’s fee from each bag-“
“I pay you f*****g enough for you not to take a finder’s fee, not only that, but I supply you with all the drugs you could possibly want! Why the f**k are you cheating me out like this?”
“I- I’m sorry, I-“
“Know what? You’re not getting f*****g paid! The both of you, out of my house now!”
“But-“
“NOW! You’re lucky I don’t f*****g kill you right now!” So, Leon gets in his car, drops Jerry off at his house and goes home. A few days later, the withdrawal symptoms creep up on him. He calls Jerry but there’s no answer. So he drives up to the Don’s place. When he gets there, he sees Jerry inside the house through the window yelling at Big Don. Then he sees Don pull out a gun and shoot Jerry twice in the chest, once in the head, then another shot while he’s on the ground. Leon pulls away and calls for backup at the Big Don’s house. A few minutes later, the house is surrounded and Big Don is arrested. Leon heads straight into rehab and stays there for thirty days before finally returning to work. He makes a couple of arrests, but is exhausted. He approaches his captain and requests some time off.
“Before I approve your requested time off, explain what happened to our informant.” his boss says.
“From what I can gather, Jerry was, um, mad at me, so I guess he told Big Don I was a cop. Big Don must have figured that since he knew I was a cop, Jerry was also working for the police, so he was killed, I saw the whole thing happen, so I called to get you guys to arrest him.”
“Well, thanks to you, Big Don is serving a double life sentence plus a hundred years with no possibility of parole. You did good, even though it took longer than you should have.”
“Well, I was just doing my job.”
“You got too into it, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, yeah I did. I’m sorry.”
“I warned you, it’s too easy to fall into that.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know, I’m sorry.”
“You keep saying that, but I don’t know if I should allow you to continue in this department.”
“No, I swear I can-“
“Well, I don’t know if you can handle this job, Leon. Maybe you should be put back onto patrol duty.”
“No, no, not that. How about I just lay off the undercover for a while? I love doing the busts.”
“Alright, no undercover for you for a while.”
“So can I take that month to regroup?”

Aaron

‘Hey’ Aaron checks his phone and sees a text message.
‘Who is this?’ he writes back.
‘Ugh, did you delete my number too?’
‘Probably. Who is this?’
‘Gabriella’
‘Gabriella, what’s up?’
‘Having trouble with my boyfriend’
‘Oh that sucks. What happened?’
‘We got into a bad fight.’
‘Oh that sucks.’
‘Yeah. Do you still talk to Leon?’
‘No, I haven’t talked to him in close to a year.’
‘Why?’
‘He was on drugs and passed out during a show we were supposed to do. F*****g grit.’
‘Oh. What are you up to Aaron?’
‘Nothing much. Just trying to live my life.’
‘I hear ya. Things aren’t working out too well with my boyfriend. It sucks cause we were going steady for a while and I finally got my teaching degree.’
‘Need a new boyfriend?’
‘Not right now but I’ll keep you in mind ;)’
‘Cool’
‘So how’s Florida?’
‘It’s not too bad, the pay over here sucks though, I’m thinking of relocating.’
‘Oh yeah? Where?’
‘I don’t know yet.’
‘Well, you should totally let me know, maybe I’ll come visit you and we can hang out or something.’
‘Haha you say ‘or something’ but I know you Aaron…’
‘Ok, you caught me.’
‘It’s ok. ;)’ A few months later, the messages are escalating. ‘So what are you up to big boy?’
‘Eh, nothing as usual. Just life.’
‘Yeah, I hear ya. Me and my boyfriend broke up about a week ago.’
‘Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.’
‘Yeah, but I got good news for you.’
‘Oh yeah? What’s that?’
‘I’m moving out of Florida next week.’
‘Oh? Where are you moving to?’

Gabriella

“Hey honey.” Mike says to Gabriella.
“Oh hi.” She gives him a kiss on the lips. “How was your day?”
“Ugh, work was horrible. Johnson lost the big account.”
“Oh that sucks.”
“Yeah, it does. That means no bonus this year.”
“Oh man, I was hoping to get a car.”
“With my bonus?”
“Well, I thought, you know, it’s what I really want for Christmas this year.”
“I’ll try to make things work, I promise.”
“Did you ask your boss about that promotion?”
“Mmm… not yet…”
“Well, what the hell are you waiting for? That position has been open for months! Grow some balls and ask him!”
“I WILL! When the time is right!”
“STOP YELLING AT ME!”
“SHUT UP!” and he smacks her hard across the face.
“B*****D!”
“I’m so sorry babe, please, please, I’m so sorry.” A few months later… “Gabriella, I have some great news.”
“Yeah, what?”
“I asked my boss for that promotion.”
“Finally! And…?”
“I got it!”
“That’s so great babe.”
“Although…”
“Although?”
“I’m gonna have to go on business trips.”
“That’s fine.”
“And I want you to come with me.”
“No, I can’t, I have an obligation to my students.” He grabs her by the arm.
“You’re coming with me.”
“NO I’M NOT!”
“Fine, but while I’m away, I’ll just get my p***y from somewhere else.”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me.”
“WHAT?”
“I SAID-“ But before he can finish, Gabriella snaps and kicks him in the chest, sending him flying. She starts bashing his head on the table, then grabs a metal baseball bat and beats him with it, breaking both of his arms. She wakes up in the hospital.
“What the- where am I?” She comes to her senses. She’s released the next day and comes home to a mostly empty house.