8, 11, or 70?
“I got fired. Hmm. About time, I suppose.”
Santos flicked his thumb across the tablet’s screen, lazily letting his eyes scan the news article. Blah blah attempted murder, blah blah resisting arrest, blah blah extremely fast trial, all of it ending with the news that the Vale Colony officially terminated his position. He’s not angry. Or shocked. Or anything. He really hadn’t felt much of anything since he arrived at Pluto’s Penal colony.
Which in its own way was bit of a disappointment. Santos wasn’t sure what a space prison would be like, but he never thought it would be so…bright. Cheery. Covered in plush carpeting. Instead of harsh prison life there were therapy sessions and promises to ‘fix’ whatever made him break the law in the first place. There were so many pictures of smiling prisons on the walls. So much teeth. Kevin would have loved it here.
“You say somethin’, Doc?”
That was Santos’ cellmate, Gold. Santos liked Gold. Gold was a sweet man with a southern accent that could easily rip him in half. The other prisoners were afraid of Gold, which meant that as long as Santos stuck by him he was safe. Which was why Santos was sitting next to him at the card table in the large common area all the cells were connected to. He was safe there. And it was a bit entertaining to watch Gold play against his three, also imprisoned, brothers. The way they all cheated at once was truly a sight to behold.
“My position at the Vale Colony has been terminated.” Santos said as he glanced up from the tablet. If he read marks on the back of the poker cards right, then everyone at the table had two aces each. “Not surprising, considering the reason I was there no longer exists.”
Kevin. He forced the memory back into the depths of his mind. Kevin shouldn’t be thought about during the day. Not when there were other people around.
“Vale Colony?” Said Gold’s brother Grey. A dour man who was more slouch than human. “Why does that sound familiar?”
“Because that’s where Violet works. I believe he is part of the custodial staff.” Said Blue, tapping his free hand fast against the table.
“TRAITOROUS FIEND!” Green shouted as he punched the table, causing a few of the robotic security guards to look their way.
“Now now, keep your jets cooled, Green.” Gold said as he looked over at Santos’ screen. “But that is where old Violet is these days. Can I see this?”
Before Santos could reply Gold grabbed the prison-safe toddler-level tablet and began tapping away. Santos tried to lean over to see what Gold was doing, but the much larger man was determined to play keep-away. Finally Gold let out a roar of a laugh. “Ha! I knew you sounded familiar when you first showed up! Violet mentioned you a few times in his emails.”
“Why was he, wait, how are you getting emails-”
“Don’t worry that pretty little face of yours about it.” Gold said with a wink. “Even if he did put us in the slammer he’s still our brother. And that means he likes to keep us up to date with everything going on.”
“How our mother is doing-” Said Blue.
“How the mayor we tried to kill is still alive-” Mumbled Grey.
“AND THE JUICY GOSSIP HAPPENING AT HIS JOB! APPARENTLY THE HEAD CUSTODIANS OF THE DAY AND NIGHT CREW HAVE FINALLY KNOCKED BOOTS!” Was obviously Green.
“Look, he even forwards us the company newsletter so we know who he’s talking about.” Gold turned the tablet back to Santos, showing him the screen. It was one of Leanna’s newsletters, which just as Santos recalled still had the tagline of ‘Read This Or Else’. At a glance it seemed like nothing else had changed since he left. Same boring news, same puzzles, same announcements-
“Wait. Give me that.” Santos tugged the tablet away from Gold and scrolled down. There was an announcement important enough to warrant Leanna to use italics, bold, and underline. A wedding announcement.
Carlos and Cecil’s wedding.
Carlos, in an ill fitting tux, hugging the robotic Cecil and grinning like an idiot. Cecil didn’t have his helmet on, but instead wore a crown of flowers on his head. The robot was obviously laughing, his glass eyes filled with more emotions than anything synthetic had the right. But that wasn’t what caught Santos’ attention. What caught his attention was the slightly blurred figure in the background behind the newlyweds. A golden figure with black voids for eyes and a smile Santos could see despite the blur.
“Kevin.”
Santos hadn’t noticed that the poker tablet went silent. Or that the four brothers were looking at him. He probably wouldn’t have noticed if Green head started yet another fire. He felt a slight pressure on his shoulder from Gold’s strong hand.
“Ain’t Kevin your old boyfriend? The one that’s, um, dead?”
“He is. He was. He is.” Santos scrolled through the wedding photos. The brothers leaned over to look at the screen as well. He found another photo of Kevin, this time dancing during the reception. His Kevin, his sunshine, the one he saw dead and empty was dancing and smiling and alive his sweet Kevin was alive Kevin was-
Dancing with Eileen.
Santos hadn’t felt any real emotions since he arrived.
He burned.
“Doc?” Gold nudged him in the side. “You okay?”
“I.” Santos placed the tablet down on the table. “Am fine.”
“You uh, sure?” Grey said and seemed to instantly regret it.
“It would be perfectly understandable if you need a moment.” Blue said.
“PERHAPS YOU WISH TO SPEAK ABOUT TO ONE OF THE THERAPISTS ON STAFF?”
Santos neatly folded his hands on the table and took a deep, relaxing breath. It took him only a second to figure out what he had to do. That was his specialty, after all. If something was broken you had to fix it. If something was going to cause a problem you had to stop it. That’s why he did what he did. That was why he was in prison. He looked up at the four brothers and gave them a polite smile.
“You’re smiling.” Gold noted. “You have a plan.”
“I do. I am going to be a model prisoner. I will do absolutely everything I am told. I will go to my therapy sessions, I will work hard, and I will become a shining beacon of light on this God forsaken desert planet. And when I’m up for parole in three to four years I will thank the prison for helping me change. How I’m a new man and how much I deeply, deeply regret my actions. If that does not work I will try again and again or until my sentence is up. And then?”
Santos smiled hard enough to show all of his teeth.
“Then I will pay the Vale Colony a visit. I do have a promise I intend to keep.”