Instead, I took the slip from Friendly, thanked her politely and made my way to the visits centre. There was only a single manned gate to get through and the officer on duty made short work of it, not paying me the slightest attention.
The back of the visits centre was fairly quiet, only 2 other crooks waiting to be processed. The 2 officers took each of them, stripped them and watched as they dressed. When one of them finished, it was my turn to do the nude dance.
5.
While I half expected San to be sitting at the table assigned to my visit, it was another man waiting for me, one I hadn’t seen in a long time. I barely remembered the exchange between us, but it was his sideburns I couldn’t forget.
Giorgio Ling sported sideburns that would have made Elvis proud, gold sunglasses sitting atop his head and a blank notepad open on the small table in front of him. He was flicking a pen around his knuckles, the kind of clicky-pen often reserved as corporate gifts.
He stood as I approached, a wide grin across his face as he pumped my fist enthusiastically.
“Dylan. Hey, sport. Good to see you.” He waved for me to sit and resumed his previous pose. “Giorgio, please,” he added, patting his chest.
“Hey,” was all I could offer, unsure of what he was doing there. “
“Probably a bit surprised at being pulled up here from your unit. Your Dad asked me to drop by and have a chat with you. Maybe see if there’s a way to get you out of here.”
“Get me out of here? You think there’s a chance of that happening?” I asked, a strange emotion washing over me.
“There might be. I tried to help you and your brother back when this all began. Our chances would have been better back then, but hey. Never too late, right?” He sounded confident with a fair amount of cockiness mixed in. I was half-expecting him to jump up on the table and begin a rendition of ‘Blue Suede Shoes’.
“Pretty sure they had an open and shut case. Hence why we ended up here.”
“Yes, maybe. But there’s such a thing as circumstantial evidence. All we need to do is introduce doubt into the minds of a judge or two and voila…retrial.”
“You think you can get me a retrial now? Dude, forgive my ignorance, but it’s been like 5 years. Why would they give me a retrial after all this time?” In all honesty, I didn’t want my hopes raised. I’d already lost so much since that fateful day. My life had been all but erased. The last thing I wanted was for this Muppet to raise my hopes, only to have them dashed all over again.
“That’s what I’m here to see, Dylan. Your Dad wants me to dig around a bit. See what I can find.”
“No,” I suddenly said, the sound of the word even shocking me. Giorgio paused for a minute, staring at me, the pen he’d still been flicking temporarily frozen on top of his hand.
“No?” he finally asked. He sounded annoyed more than surprised.
“That’s right. No. I don’t want a retrial.” My mouth felt like it was on rails, the words coming unannounced, as if chosen by a separate mind entirely. Did I really want to pass an opportunity to get out of this place? This guy had the means and experience to win me my freedom. Why the fuck would I refuse?
“Are you hearing these words coming out of your mouth, kid? You really want to stay here?” he asked, leaning forward in his seat and slapping the pen on top of the notepad. “This isn’t exactly the Hilton, Las Vegas. I’m giving you a real opportunity to grab a chance at freedom.”
“That’s right. You are. A chance at freedom. You can’t guarantee it.”
“Guarantee it? No-one can guarantee anything. But I can put you into the ring to at least have a crack at it. Fight a little.” He was eyeing me suspiciously, as if seeing something I wasn’t feeling. “Are you insane? Passing this chance up is like…” He paused, the shock robbing him of the words.
“There’s nothing out there for me now. In here, in here Giorgio, I have a job to do.” It wasn’t the work in the hospital I was referring to, but he didn’t need to know the truth. But it was true. I still had some scores to settle and there was less chance for me to settle them if let out.
I sat back pausing, looking out the window. I wondered whether that was true or whether there was something else. Could I really handle having my hopes dashed again? I struggled the first time I had to let go of freedom and accept this place. Could I really go through all that again?
“Think long and hard before you throw this chance away, kid. Your Dad is fitting the bill and I’m here free of charge as far as you’re concerned. This nightmare could all be over within a couple of weeks.”
I turned back towards him, lent forward and lowered my eyes. I stared at his pad, trying to make sense of my feelings. It was hard, fucken hard. Did I really want to do this?
“Your Dad just wants you out of here. Out of harm’s way.” It was hearing that final sentence that sealed the deal for me. It was Frank. He was the one threatening my safety now, not Rock, not the Jesters. It was the man who swore to bring me into his so-called family and protect me.
I suddenly stood, looked at Giorgio and knew that I was making the right decision. Regardless of what else happened, I had a score to settle. A score for more than just me. I had to settle it for a
