Day 34
Law's good behavior was doing him well in jail.
Most prisoners knew better than to get in his business, and he wouldn't get in theirs. Of course, this didn't apply to everyone. Law had been playing cards with a few of the other inmates who had proved to have no interest in the violence either. They'd invited him over for cards, with the only thing to gamble being the stuff from the vending machine and other random things they somehow smuggled in here.
"Raise a cigarette and a quarter." One of them said, adding his bet into the figurative 'pot.' The middle of the table acted as their pot, currently full of a single serve coffee ration, four cigarettes, four dimes and two quarters, and a soda from the vending machine in the rec room. Law watched his face, looking for any sign of a bluff, but of course it wasn't that easy. Had it been Shachi or Penguin he'd have better odds of seeing the tell, but inmates were notoriously good card players.
"Two bucks."
"Call, and also an extra five minutes at the weight machine during rec."
There was interest with that one. No one liked giving away their allotted time at the gym equipment. Being strong was basically a feature of life around here, and no one was willing to lose their edge.
They rotated a few more times, raising bets, one of them folding, until it was just Law and the other inmate left in the game. They stared each other down, occasionally taking a peak at their own cards again for good measure.
With an unspoken signal, they both nodded to mutually end the round, and he spread his cards on the table. A full house. Three eights and a pair of twos. With a smirk, he leaned back in his chair.
Law pursed his lips, nodding slowly, before placing his own hand down, watching the man's face fall as his four-of-a-kind hand of Queens beat out his. Law was never the kind to gloat his victories, and so he simply raked in his earnings without another word. They'd come to respect each other, at least to a marginal degree, so there wasn't any ill feelings between them.
"Another round?" Law asked, but they shook their heads.
"I'm cleaned out. Nothin' left to bet. Maybe next month when the commissary is stocked." The inmate said with a shrug. And then his eyes widened, and he stood quickly from his chair.
Law had the sense to look behind him in time to avoid the sharpened shiv that was aiming for his neck, ducking just out of the way as the guy attacking him launched himself forward from the momentum. Expecting resistance but meeting none, he landed hard against the table, but spun and tried going for a second attack.
Law was up on his feet in an instant, grabbing the inmate's wrist once he was within reach. He twisted the limb, sending the man to his knees with a groan of pain, but he was a dedicated backstabber, if anything.
He tried dropping the knife and reaching for it with his other hand, but one of the inmates Law had just a moment ago been playing cards with stepped on the weapon before he could get his hands on it. Law used the opportunity to plant his knee in the guy's back, forcing him further to the ground.
The telltale signs of approaching prison guards made the inmate even more vicious than he first had been, flailing within Law's grip as much as he could manage.
"On your fucking stomachs!" The guards shouted with authority. Law released the guy who'd tried attacking him and did as told, but it seemed his attacker wasn't quite finished. As soon as the bartender lay down as instructed, he stood and attempted to resume his assault.
More yelling was done as Law rolled out of the way of where his foot planted itself in the ground. Before the man could go any further however, the prongs of the taser shot into his chest and he was sent falling to the floor with tense muscles. Two guards were on him in an instant, putting him in cuffs and dragging him away.
Unfortunately, because he'd also been mixed up in the assault and was seen actively participating this time around, Law too was forced into handcuffs and dragged away to one of the solitary cells in a different part of the prison.
Day 37
"You know, getting into all of these fights is not doing you any favors. Neither is getting thrown in solitary. I can't have a client meeting when they won't release you." Hitomi remarked with an amused smirk. Law wasn't in the mood for humor, however, still tending a bruised rib from where the guards had jammed their elbow into him to keep him on the floor to cuff him.
"Not exactly my idea..." He remarked blandly.
She hummed in acknowledgement. "Hmm...still, at least you don't have a black eye this time. We want you without any signs of fighting for your court appearances."
"Which is when?"
"One month from now." She replied steadily. "The prosecution wanted it sooner, but that was the only time the judge had room for. They're currently in the process of summoning jurors for the trial."
Hitomi gave him a sympathetic look. "From here forward, things will begin to move pretty quickly. I hope you're prepared."
Day 41
Law had perfected the art of blending into the large crowd in the yard during their outside free time. Even tucking himself up against the edge of the fence and keeping to himself, no one looked his way or tried anything. Exercise hour was always one of the more dangerous portions of the day.
Maybe it was because he wasn't too bulky or too outspoken. But he had a sneaking suspicion it was because he'd shown—twice now—that he wasn't a good person to mess with, but he was otherwise left to himself. He was a bit anxious to have that reputation, as he didn't want that information to leak out to the prosecution team hoping to throw him in prison for 20 years. But it was useful for keeping him out of harm's way, at the very least.
So he was relatively surprised when the two guys who'd been playing poker with him the week before suddenly came up to him from somewhere else in the yard, dragging Kaku of all people between them. He was kicked and struggling to break free, cursing loudly for anyone that might care to listen, but the two burly inmates he'd been gambling with were strong and determined to bring him forward.
"Hey, Law. We've got a little present for ya." One of them laughed, and a few of the nearby inmates came a little closer to see what was up. There was less of a chance of a guard stepping in if things happened out on the yard, so people were much more eager to join into altercations if they sprung up.
"Figured out who ordered that hit on you the other day. This cunt payed him to stick you in the back. Didn't have the balls to face you himself I guess." The other explained, forcing Kaku onto his knees as he swore at the pain.
"What do you want to do with him?" The first asked eagerly, smiling with anticipation of the beat down Law was to surely order them to start. Snitches and conniving weasels who got caught were the least tolerated types of inmates in jail. And anyone was willing to get a piece of the violence if it was against someone like that.
As the circle of inmates around them began calling out suggestions of what his punishment should be, Law stared at Kaku, stumped as to what his best move was. He honestly didn't like the path that these circumstances were taking him, towards being one of the top dogs of the prison and someone other people followed. He didn't want to suddenly find himself the head of a brand new jail gang.
But doing nothing and showing forgiveness would make him an extremely easy target in a place like this. If you weren't known to ever follow through with retaliation of some kind when you were taken advantage of, it would encourage more of the same behavior.
Eventually, Law smiled devilishly, causing the inmates to settle themselves a bit as they waited to hear what he had in store for Kaku.
"I'll let him go." He said suddenly, and some of the others looked extremely confused for obvious reasons. "For now, at least. I'll get what I want from you one way or another, whether it be me snapping your neck in the showers when no one's looking, or a friend of mine reenacting the murder he's currently in here for on you."
The others suddenly took a huge liking to Law's plan, and Kaku's eyes widened in terror. It was pretty typical for inmate justice to come swiftly and brutally, but something like this really upped the level of tension to it. The punishment could come from anywhere, at any time, and from apparently anyone. Kaku would have to watch his back like a paranoid schizophrenic from this point forward if he wanted to keep his life.
The crowd of inmates cheered and laughed when Kaku finally wrestled his way out of the others' grips and ran off towards somewhere else in the yard. Law watched him go, wondering just how hard he'd try to identify the fictitious inmate who was supposedly incarcerated for murder.
Day 44
Law,
I hope the picture gets to you alright. I'm not sure how strict the jail rules are when it comes to gifts but hopefully they won't take it away. I hope I at least did your family justice with a good picture, but the wind was pretty bad that day so… If you want me to retake it, just let me know. And don't worry, I put new flowers at their graves for you, too.
And there's a few pictures of me and the boys in there too, just so you don't forget what we look like. I doubt you have very pleasant company in there to look at all day so here's something maybe a bit better.
Penguin's back on his feet, and according to Shachi he's back at work now. They moved apartments to get away from what happened, and I don't really blame them. You should have seen the carpet, it was awful…sorry, that's probably the last thing you want me to write about.
And don't ask me to skip the trial. Of course I'm going. Why would I miss it? Even if the things they say or you say won't be what I want to hear, I'm not going to miss something this important. And hey, as morbid or cynical as it sounds, I guess I'll get to know all about you somehow. You've always been so secretive, I just didn't think I'd find out what those secrets were in this circumstance.
Still missing you, and I'll try to include more pictures next time, if I feel they're good enough to send.
Oh, a bit of good news, Corazon managed to track down your motorcycle from a storage place on the other side of town. It wasn't easy to find, and the police wanted to take custody of it as 'evidence' at first, but we managed to get it back. It's a little scuffed and scratched, but Shachi and Penguin promised to fix it up for you. They said it was free of charge this time because they 'failed you' as a friend. I think they're still beating themselves up over what happened to me but...
Anyway, please keep being safe in there. You're not boring yourself to death, are you? What do you even do to pass the time in there? I've sent the jail some money to go into your account. People say that even $20 goes a long way in there. Hopefully it'll be of some help.
Summer
Day 46
The guards had allowed him to take on some of the laundry responsibilities for the inmates, which put him away from most of them during long periods of the day. Only him and one other guy worked in the laundry room handling all of the dirty garments for the prison, a bulky man named Jesus Burgess, and neither of them spoke much to each other.
Law was in charge of folding and stacking, while Burgess took point on loading the washers and switching loads to the dryers. They worked pretty smoothly as a team, despite no communication between them, as the task was always finished on time and in quick efficiency.
One of the days, however, while they stood with their backs to each other, minding their own portion of the job, Burgess spoke up for the first time since they'd started working together.
"Teach wants to meet with you. Later tonight in the rec room, just before lock up."
Law tried catching his eyes but the man was busy switching the dryer into a basket to hand to him. After a moment when it became obvious that Burgess was intentionally ignoring him, he grabbed the basket and set it on his own work table. "And why would I do that? He attacked me the first time we met."
"Like you said. A misunderstanding." Burgess supplied in a normal tone. As if they were talking about nothing more than the weather. "He knows that now. Think of this as a clean slate. A fresh start."
Beyond that, Burgess said nothing more to him the rest of the shift. Law didn't ask any further questions. He supposed the rest was just up to him.
And despite better sense telling him that this was probably a bad idea and an obvious trap, he went. As expected, Teach was there in the rec room, about twenty minutes before lock up would commence for the night. More surprising was the fact that he was alone.
"Law." He said, then chuckled when he noticed the bartender looking around suspiciously. "Relax, I'm not here to kill you. If I wanted you dead, you'd already be."
He cocked a brow at the inmate's words. That wasn't exactly the best way to start off this encounter. "What is it you want?"
"To make a deal." Teach sauntered around a few paces, arms crossed in thought. "You and I...we're the biggest of the baddies here. I know that now."
He pointed to Law in emphasis. "After that first fight, I knew you were trouble. Truth be told, I still have half a mind to beat your ass for that ball shot you took. Heh, but another time. You really caught my interest when Kaku tried to send his guy after you with that shiv, and you put him to the ground in three second flat. That's talent. That's instinct. And you only get that by growing up on bad streets."
Law watched him pace the room, waiting to hear what exactly Teach had in mind for this 'deal.'
"So I thought...what better way to eliminate a threat to my position than to make nice?" He proposed, spreading his arms to indicate Law. "Extend an olive branch…equal partners, how does that sound? We both run this place and make the others respect us. You have the guts for it, and the skill."
Law chewed the inside of his lip, already unhappy with where this discussion was going. "I don't have any interest in running anything. You can keep your position. I don't care. Just leave me out of it."
Teach seemed speechless, eyes narrowed and watching Law like a hawk. He probably suspected something dangerous in the gears in Law's head. "Is that so? That doesn't mean you won't start your own following and try to usurp me later. This could be a in-house war in the making, right here." He reasoned, stepping really close just to add in a little intimidation. But Law wasn't effected.
He looked up into Teach's face and shook his head. "I want out of here. That's all. You can keep your people. Keep your territory. I don't want anything to do with anyone in here. I keep to my fucking self."
Teach tried to see any sign of deceit in Law's eyes but found none. And strangely enough, he started laughed jovially, stepping away with a grin. "Then we can reach an agreement, I think. You'll be left alone by my people. I can't promise anything about the stragglers, but for the most part people will give you space."
"And in exchange?" Law questioned, knowing that a one-sided deal like that was too good to be true.
"You won't go around trying to take my place. And you stay away from my people. You keep your mouth shut if you see something you shouldn't. You walk the other direction. Hear me?"
They shook hands, coming to a resolution. Law only hoped Teach was the sort of person who kept his word.
Day 49
"A psychological evaluation? Really?" He questioned harshly, arms crossed in complete disbelief. "Are you fucking kidding me?"
Hitomi shrugged with a sigh, spreading her hands to display her own frustration. "I don't get it either. For all intents and purposes, you've displayed no behavior that would raise the question in the first place. Chances are I can get the request thrown out. So don't worry too much about it."
"They have some mystery witness that can apparently speak on my past crimes. I have no idea who it could be. They've even got a video of me apparently, so yeah, I'm a little worried." He reasoned, trying to wrap his brain around it.
"The most important thing right now is not to panic." Hitomi instructed calmly, holding up a placating hand. The silver-haired woman was remarkable put together during all this, and Law wondered how she did this with several cases all at one time. Being a lawyer was an emotional nightmare, and he wasn't even one himself.
"If you're panicking, the jury thinks you've got something to hide. So you need to get your emotions in check." Her quiet tone and understanding expression helped to even his own nerves. Her confidence was inspiring.
"How do you do this every day and not go insane?" He mumbled with a humorless huff. Hitomi smiled warmly.
"I have no idea."
Day 54
Summer,
The pictures look just fine. Thanks for going to the graveyard for me. I've never missed a Sunday until now, but I'm glad they aren't being forgotten. Those pictures are hanging on my cell wall, and they do a lot more than I could probably describe in this letter.
Penguin is resilient. I like to think he's way too stubborn to die. Which is good. I owe them a lot, so I'm glad things are looking up for them and they've both recovered. I'll have to pay them back for having to move out of their apartment. If it wasn't for me, that never would have happened in the first place.
The days can be long, definitely. Only two months in here and it feels like forever. I've mostly been reading in the library to pass the time when we aren't required to be anywhere. It's very structured here. Wake up, eat, roll call, work, some free time, exercise in the yard, then lunch. After that we have more free time or work, depending on the day, then dinner. Lock up at night and that's about it. We have to keep to the schedule or there are consequences. The guards aren't too unfair, so as long as you don't get on their bad side things aren't terrible.
If there's one thing I'll never take for granted again, it's home cooking. Obviously they don't spare too much of their funding towards the quality of food. I doubt Max would even want to touch the stuff. So yes, the money you sent will go towards getting something from the vending machines to keep me alive instead. Which you don't have to do by the way. I know for a fact that Corazon is putting money into my account despite the fact that I told him not to. Stubborn bastard.
It's nearly impossible to use my calls, since there are so many inmates here. The phones are constantly being used, and you're lucky if you even get to be in the line. The guards cap it at a certain amount of people for safety purposes. So I'm sorry if I haven't called you all this time. I really have tried, trust me. It seems letters are a much more reliable form of communication. Besides, there's something comforting about getting something hand-written. I keep all of your letters. It helps to remember what I have to come back to after all this is over.
Obviously I can't convince you not to attend the trial but…I know you won't like what you hear. All I can say is that if I had the choice to go back and change what I've done, I would. Who I was back then isn't who I am now. I've done so much to try to make right the mistakes I've made, and I just hope you'll keep that in mind...Nothing I have to say in front of that jury is the admission of someone who had any choice.
I promised you before that I'll make everything up to you and I fully intend to keep that. Hitomi had to knock some sense into me the other day, and I'm ashamed to admit I almost thought about giving up this whole trial. Had it not been for her, I think I would have taken that easy road in a moment of weakness. But I'm doing everything I can to get back to you as soon as I can.
I love you-
Law stopped writing, swallowing thickly as he stared at the words he'd unintentionally written. It was an instance of letting his thoughts drive him as they came, and they'd been etched onto the bottom of the page before he could stop himself.
He looked up at the picture that the blonde had sent of herself, holding up Max in the mirror. She smiled brightly, and he couldn't help but feel a swell of emotion in his chest. Hell, he couldn't deny that feeling anymore. He didn't want to. He wanted to admit it.
But not now. Not yet. If he told her the truth of how he felt, it would be face to face, as a free man, with her in his arms.
-r letters and pictures. They make dealing with this whole mess worth it.
Law
ns 18.68.41.148da2
