5 hours before the escape.
“You shouldn’t be here.”
“Why is that?”
“You should be in a mental institute, not a fucking prison. Have you lost your mind? You’d get at least ten more years if you get caught,” Ronaldo’s cigarette was now as short as his pinky, “It cannot be done Dante.”
“Want to bet?”
“Piss off,” Ronaldo started on his next stick, “If I lose, we’ll either be dead or stuck here for longer than we need to be. In my case, it won’t make a difference.
His eyes said a very different thing. He wanted to get out just as bad as the guy next to him did, and the only way was to break out of prison. Ronaldo faced lifetime imprisonment for taking the life of his landlord. He’s practically not a safe person to be with, but Dante took his chances.
“Which is why, you’re the perfect man for the job. Don’t you see? You got nothing to lose! If we get caught, then you’ll be in the hole for maybe a few weeks, then you’re back to your normal life leaning on this wall and smoking all the cigarettes in the world.”
What Dante said made Ronaldo feel very old.
It’s true. He’s been in Silverburg way long before Dante came in, and he had done nothing but tear up cartons everyday and insert the butt of sticks into his mouth. He was sick of it.
“I know you’re listening so I’m going to talk, even if it makes me look like an ass,” Dante started, leaning on the same wall beside him, “I know you got night duty tonight, and you’d be in the shed until before lights out.”
Ronaldo pretended to be not paying attention, looking in a different direction towards those playing ball.
“I need you to get a crowbar out of there into the locker room,” said Dante, motioning his lips towards the tool shed.
“What? A crowbar? How about a freaking shovel? You expect me to pass by those clowns without them noticing a crowbar in my hand?”
“That’s where your creativity comes in. You look good in your duty uniform, by the way.”
Seeing where Dante was getting at, Ronaldo decided to show a little interest.
“Nice try, but you’re dumber than I thought. That I can tell. If we do that, we’d miss head count after the lights out. Talk to me again when you’ve come up with something a little cleverer. I don’t even get the point of taking a crowbar into the locker room, and you-
Ronaldo was stopped by his own realization of Dante’s plan. Some guards leave their spare uniforms inside their lockers and the crowbar would get their hands on them. Before Ronaldo could react, Dante explained how flawless his plan was.
“You don’t necessarily need to be there during head count, because we’ll be out of this fucking prison even before that!”
After a pause, Ronaldo spoke, “Go on,” his eyes were now sparkling with enthusiasm.
“I need you to wait for me in there. Lights are out at 9:00 P.M. while head count starts after an hour. During that window of opportunity, I’ll be working my way towards you. Better yet, while waiting for us, how about you bust those lockers open right away?”
“You failed to mention how in hell we would be getting past the damn cameras.” Ronaldo was now pointing out details which he thought Dante skipped.
“I know this would be hard to believe, but only a few of them work, and none of which are along the way. Just trust me on this. I’ve figured this out from start to the point when we’re lying under the sun in a white sanded beach, drinking four seasons and humping Hawaiian women.”
“Really? So tell me, do you have the ability to pass through walls and bars and other concrete stuff? Because you see, the last time I checked, not a coin could pass through those walls and not even a kid could fit between those rusty metal bars. How are you gonna get past those?”
Skepticism was in Ronaldo’s nature. He wasn’t very trusting. But he never thought Dante had an answer that would leave him with more questions than vivid descriptions on as to how he got to a solution on breaking free. He even thought Dante was joking when he said he had the keys that opened all gates.
All they needed was a disguise and guard uniforms looked the perfect getaway dress-up. Ronaldo looked convinced that it was possible. He didn’t believe him at first because escaping Silverburg was a crazy idea. But based on Dante’s words, it could be done.
“I’m bringing William with me,” he was toying with his lighter when he spoke.
“Of course. I wasn’t expecting you to leave your nephew in here,” Dante smiled, “But just William and no one else. Are we clear?”
Ronaldo nodded, signing the contract.
“See you later then,” Dante walked away and headed back to his cell. Despite leaving without hearing Ronaldo officially agree with the plan, he was confident that he’d see them where they needed them to be.
Back in the cell, Cristoval awaited the good news.
“Are we good?” he asked.
Dante was being suspenseful by not answering right away. This kept Cristoval to his toes, shrugging his shoulder at Dante’s lack of response. After a long stare at the void, Dante finally answered.
“We leave tonight.”
YOU ARE READING
Under Arrest
RomanceHow would you keep up with something that won't allow you to let go of the past? How would you live each day, knowing that tomorrow would force an impossible choice on you? Ask Sharee. A twenty-two year old cop that believed her wounds to be long he...
