The Prison

by Stefano Pastor

  “What did he do to you…,” murmured Nico. But he was already looking around to find a way to free him.

  The cell door was locked with a chain, twisted several times and holds by a large padlock. There was no way to open it. Even the chained young man realized that.

  “The keys!” he shouted. “You must find the keys!”

  “Where are them?”

  “I don’t know! I have no idea. I’ve always been here; I don’t know what there is upstairs!”

  “How long have you been here?”

  “A long time.”

  “But why?”

  He interrupted him with a groan. “Not now! He can come back at any moment! Look for the keys, release me!”

  Nico returned to look around without knowing what to do. There was nothing in the basement, no tool to break the lock. Anyway, he doubted that he would have the strength to do so. If he succeeded, there were always the chains that imprisoned the young man, and those can be opened only with their key.

  “Go!” he shouted again. “Go find the key.”

  Nico stepped back without looking away from the cage, and only when the darkness wrapped him again, he turned and ran. He climbed the steps two at a time, careless of the darkness and presence of his mother hanging up there. Terror prevented him from thinking. That man was a fool, a maniac, and that was what he wanted from him, locking him in that cell.

  He emerged in the hallway without any precautions, but luckily no one was there. There he tried to calm down, to reason, because its hopes to get out alive from the house depended on that. He came to fear for his mother, who was in the hands of a maniac. It was only his fault, and now she was in danger.

  In front of the door of the study room, he became cautious. He opened the door just a bit, to check that no one was in the room. Then he slid inside.

  As he crossed it, he heard a sad cry. So he approached the living room door, it was still ajar, and there he saw them. It was his mother who was crying in the arms of the man, who pretended to console her.

  The keys, he thought. Where are the keys? Will he bring them with him? Nico doubted it. He remembered the padlock, how big it was. Even the key had to be massive. Nevertheless those chains. No, it wasn’t a bunch of keys that could be kept in a pocket. He turned. That was his kingdom, the heart of the house. That was the desk where he kept the money. It was the most logical place to hide what it was closest to his heart.

  Then he started to open the drawers, one by one, and rummage inside. He found numerous cards, documents, but no key. One of the drawers was full of cash. Nico stared at them, not daring to touch them. He was not an expert but estimated that there were at least 50,000 euros in cash. Then he stopped and began to move them, to be sure they did not hide the keys.

  “What are you doing?”

  The man was on the door, but he spoke silently not to be heard by Katia.

  “I’m coming, baby!” he shouted and closed the door behind him.

  He continued to whisper. “What pops into your mind? Below there is your mother, and she is upset, I don’t know how to make her calm, and you…” He froze because finally saw the drawer opened and the money in plain sight. He grimaced.

  “This is not the way…” began, then he met the eyes of Nico and read his terror. “What’s going on?”

  Nico could not speak, not even think. A wrinkle appeared on the man’s face.

  “What are you looking for?”

  Nico realized that he betrayed himself. Despite the evidence, the man had understood that it was not the money that he was aiming.

  “You saw him, didn’t you? You went down to the cellar.”

  Nico realized that he was dead with both him and his mother. He glanced around; looking for an escape, but the only gate accessible was the one that led to the basement.

  “It’s not what you think,” said the man.

  Nico looked at him incredulously.

  “I have no idea what he said, but it is not what you think. He lied to you.”

  The man looked tired, but his voice was quiet, hypnotic.

  “He asked me to lock him up there. He begged me, he agreed. He begged me not to free him, no matter what he said.”

  He moved slightly, and then, seeing that Nico stiffened, he stepped back one step.

  “It is my son. He is a drug addict. He has already risked dying due to an overdose twice. He couldn’t stop, there was no way. You don’t know how much it cost to me, but he didn’t leave me any choice. It’s his only hope.”

  He seemed sincere, but Nico didn’t quite believe him. Which son? Where did he come from; he had never spoken before about him, he had never said to have been married, or have children. Then he remembered the words of the young and hissed: “Liar!”

  “Don’t believe it, if you don’t want to, but I assure you that this is the real truth. He is there for his good. You don’t think that…”

  The door behind him opened, and Katia appeared.

  “Max, I feel better now. I could…”

  They all paralyzed all three. The tension reigned supreme, without anyone daring to break that silence. Then Katia saw the drawer open and the money well in sight. She jumped at Nico and slapped him with violence.

  “Rascal! What are you doing?”

  She grabbed his wrist and squeezed it like she wanted to crush it.

  “Max, I… oh what a shame”, then she stared at him in the eye. “What did he say?”

  The man took his quiet smile, relaxing. “I’m sure he didn’t do anything wrong.”

  “Did you know he was here?”

  The smile did not crack. “I thought that he was already gone. He didn’t want to meet you.”

  “Why did you come?”

  “I don’t know; you came for him he had not the time to tell me.”

  Katia stared out at him, trying to read in his eyes the truth. The man seemed as innocent as a baby. He had no chance, Katia, in front of him.

  It was a fighting game, the most important of their lives. Nico could talk, say something, but what? Tell his mother that her Max was a maniac? Tell the man that her mother intended to rob him? Anyway, anyhow it would end up, whoever won, for him, it would not make any difference, and he had no future ahead.

  “You could have told me!” Katia hissed.

  The man raised his hands in surrender and chuckled. “They are your problems; I didn’t want to get involved. I don’t like to be involved.”

  It seemed innocent and harmless.

  “And did he say anything? Why do you think he came here?”

  The man sighed. “He needed to talk, yes. I believe that it is not easy for him. With the two of us…”

  Katia turned her gaze to Nico, trying to figure out what the truth was, but the open drawer attracted her gaze again. She bent down and closed it. Her disturbance diminished. He grabbed Nico on one arm, holding it tightly.

  “Let’s go home!” Then she turned to the man. “Are you going to call the police?”

  The man seemed appalled.

  “Why say that? Absolutely not! That was nonsense; he would never do it, he was just curious.”

  Katia grimaced. “I told you it was wrong to keep all that money in your house.”

  The man continued: “No, no, I’m certain that Nico would never…”

  She pushed her son to the door. “Move! We have to talk at home!”

  Nico was no longer able to react, the choice before him was terrible. Get out safely from that house of horror to end up in the clutches of Rocco. After what he had done, he wouldn’t have got away with it.

  The man followed them, worried. “But there is no need… he did absolutely nothing! I’m not angry with him.”

  At the entrance, in front of the door, Katia turned toward the man. “If you believe that it is not appropriate to go out together again, I understand.”

  “But no, what do you say? Nothing happened, I repeat it!”

  “So tonight.”

  “Of course, d
arling! Of course!”

  A slight smile appeared on Katia’s lips as she opened the door.

  “You’re a wonderful man, Max.”

  The man laughed. “It’s you who are special.”

  The execution platoon was awaiting him. Katia get on near the driver, on the new car she had just bought, while Nico was taken over by Rocco and Tano and had to get on the rear seats with them.

  Katia did not look at him not once, and Nico felt he was dead.

  “He didn’t say anything to him,” She declared, sitting down.

  “This is what he says!” Rocco replied.

  “He went to rob him; I got him with the money in his hands.”

  Rocco burst out laughing and pulled a punch into the side of Nico, who remained breathless.

  “Not stupid, the little bugger!” Then greed took over. “Did you see them? Did you see the money?”

  “There’s a drawer filled with,” Katia said.

  Nico felt a knee grind and let out a groan.

  “What about him?” asked Rocco?

  Not even this time Katia turned around. “Take him with you, was not this the plan?”

  “He’ll try to fuck us.”

  “Well, you knew that before. But it’s my son. Do you think you can hold him off?”

  His hand went up on his shoulder and made him scream. Katia said nothing. Tano had locked his wrists and Nico had no way to defend himself. He felt the breath of Rocco, very close.

  “I will not kill you, stay calm. Tonight you have to be able to walk with your legs. But do not think it ends like that.”

  He felt a punch on his chest, which took his breath away.

  “Hurry up,” said Katia, without talking to no one in particular.

  6

  “You’re alive, why are you complaining? And you owe me.”

  They were alone in the bathroom, and Katia was curing his wounds.

  “You were convinced that I am worthless, that I wouldn’t be able to make them respect me. Well, you were wrong.”

  “He almost killed me!” Nico hissed, looking at her incredulous.

  “Almost! It seems to me you’re here. And if you’re talking it means you’re not dead. It could have been worse after what you did to Rocco. You know him.”

  “I should be thanking you, then.”

  She walked away, and Nico finished himself alone.

  “I don’t claim so much,” said Katia. “What did you think when you go to him? Did you want to rob him? You realize that you’d gotten me into trouble if tonight Rocco hadn’t found the money?”

  Nico did not feel at all lucky; he knew that his execution was yet to happen.

  “Stop complaining; he did nothing to you! You deserved worse for what you’ve done!” Then she changed her tone and lowered her voice. “Why didn’t you tell him? I thought you cared about him.”

  Nico put on his shirt and turned to her.

  “I want to go away. Away from you. I do not ever have to see you again.”

  Katia chuckled, though she felt a little bit disturbed.

  “That’s all? Is this because of Rocco? We can do it. After the robbery, I can give you something, and then each one will go their way. You’re old enough to deal with it alone.”

  Nico looked skeptical to her.

  She laughed. “Are you still convinced they would kill us? You are stupid!”

  She started to leave, but Nico stopped her. “Max…”

  “Yes, what is it?”

  “He… has already been married?”

  Another laugh. “What? He does not know anything about women, him!”

  “But it is possible.”

  “No, he was not married. I can assure you. He made me visit the house and the only woman who has ever lived there was his mother.”

  “He might have a son.”

  “I told you he was never married!”

  “Neither you.”

  Katia burst out laughing. “What problems are you having? Does he have a child? What do I know? It could be, so what?”

  “You said he didn’t know anything about women.”

  “Halt! I’m talking about sex. Of real sex. And in that he is a novice, there is no doubt. I’m talking about a good fuck. He may well have had his adventures; I do not argue. But surely he cannot have fun!”

  “Do you think he is… gay?”

  She frowned. “Did he make some proposal?”

  Nico shook his head.

  “So why do you think he’s a faggot? Are you afraid that he would do anything to you? Well, soon the problem will be solved.” She laughed again. “However he is not, don’t worry.”

  “But you said…”

  “I said! I said! Look that sex is my thing, I live with that! And if I tell you that he is not it means he is not! I’m not mistaken about certain things!” She put her hand on the doorknob. “Do you need to know anything else?”

  Nico shook his head.

  “Stay away from Rocco. Try not to make him angry and do whatever he wants. I say this for your good.”

  She went out, leaving the door wide open so that he was always in sight.

  Nico was getting worse. Did that man tell the truth? That young man in the basement could be his son? It was so improbable, absurd, which father would treat a child like that? Even if he were, it would not have been less horrible. No, the man had betrayed him, he had disappointed him, and he had played against him.

  But then what did he have to do now, what should he do? How could he survive?

  The camera was in the tree. Nico noticed it only because he knew where to look. The others did not even see it. It would also film him while he did the robbery, but he did not care. He did not say anything.

  Rocco was opening the door with the keys that Katia had given to him. His partners in crime took care of Nico, holding it tightly to prevent him doing anything wrong.

  Then they dragged him in. As soon as he came in, Rocco grabbed his neck tightly that it took his breath away.

  “If you try to trick me I will kill you! And I don’t care what that bitch says!” Then he screamed: “Do you understand?”

  Nico was able to nod, although every movement was painful. He got a punch in his belly, then Rocco let him free, and he fell to the ground trying to breathe.

  “Let’s split. You!” He pointed out Tano. “You go upstairs, look everywhere. And you search here, do not miss anything!” He grabbed Nico’s arm and lifted him. “We’re going to empty that drawer full of money! Show me the road!”

  He pushed him to the living room.

  “And pray that he has not changed the place after the shit you did. Otherwise, I will kill you!”

  But the money was there, and the drawer wasn’t even locked. Rocco pushed him aside, throwing him against a bookcase, and catch the banknotes. He slid them between his fingers, pack after pack, and slipped them into a sack.

  “What an idiot!” He commented.

  But in the end, his reaction was not what Nico had expected. “They are all here?”

  They were the same packs of banknotes Nico had seen in the afternoon; it seemed to him nothing was missing, so he nodded.

  “That’s not good,” said Rocco. “Katia said that he keeps them at home, he doesn’t trust banks. They are not enough. Not to have the life he is having.” He caught Nico's eyes. “There must be others somewhere.”

  Nico started to shake, cursing himself. But every defense broke down in front of Rocco.

  “I haven’t seen any others, I swear!”

  Rocco continued to search the desk, and then devoted his attention to the other furniture in the room. Nico tried to stay away from him, to make himself invisible. Rocco never asked him to do anything in his eyes was useless.

  Every minute that passed Rocco grew angrier. He began to break everything that was in front of him, ornaments and valuable objects.

  “Where are them?” he yelled.

  Then he went to the libraries. He took the books and threw them on
the ground, looking for a hidden safe.

  It was Nico that saw them first, and pointed: “There! There!”

  From the pages of a book thrown to the ground, something leaned out, and it was a hundred euro note. At first, Rocco did not pay much attention to it, he was looking for something much more valuable, but then he bent over and picked up the book. He turned it over and slid the pages. Other banknotes fell to the ground. Then he picked up another book accidentally from the shelf and repeated the same treatment. Even in this case, rustling banknotes dropped to the ground.

  He burst out laughing, without being able to stop.

  “Stupid! Stupid!”

  Nico looked around, incredulous. The bookshelves filled the room on every side. They reached the ceiling. The books were thousands and thousands, each guarding his treasure.

  “Come on!” Rocco yelled. “Hurry up, collect them!”

  As soon as he was bent, he threw a kick to him.

  “And pay attention not to get even one!”

  His companions arrived after about ten minutes when a rug of leafy books filled the floor. Nico did not want to collect money and put them on the desk, while Rocco was browsing a book after another, harvesting his crop.

  “So?” they asked.

  “Nothing,” said Mario, and Tano added, “I’ve checked the entire floor upstairs, but there is a door that I was unable to open.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Rocco said. “The treasure is all here. The chump has hidden them in the books. Help me; there are thousands. It will take all evening!”

  At one point he also needed a ladder to reach the higher shelves. Nico collected money in handfuls and had never seen so many. He had no idea that one person could be this wealthy. There was no more room at the desk, and he was forced to leave them on the ground.

  “There are Lire here!” Tano shouted from the top of the ladder. “What do we do? I throw them away?”

  “Are you kidding? I know someone who can change them in euros. Get everything!” Rocco said.

  Mario, who was freeing a shelf by the door, said the fateful words.

  “There are keys here; they were behind the books.”

  Nico stood still as his eyes stared at them. It was a massive deck, a dozen big and long keys, of an old craftsmanship.