“Yuto, wake up.”
Yuto’s eyes snapped open as he felt someone shaking his shoulder, and balked when he saw the man peering into his face. For a moment, in his shock, he wondered if he was somehow back in his regular cell.
“It’s me. Dick,” said the man, taking off his dark sunglasses and laughing at Yuto, who was still half asleep.
“Don’t scare me like that.”
It was only natural for Yuto to be surprised; Dick was dressed from head to toe in a black guard’s uniform that he had managed to get somewhere. He even had the shoes and hat.
“Where did you get that?”
“It was in my backpack. I got Gasly to prepare it in advance for my escape. The National Guard are moving in soon.”
Yuto bolted to his feet.
“Already? What time is it right now?”
“Seven in the morning. There’s a lot of guards that got left behind, and the rioting isn’t dying down. That’s probably why they pushed the schedule forward. The radio’s started a live broadcast already.”
True to Dick’s words, the radio was in the midst of reporting news of the Schelger Prison riot.
“Schelger Prison is now surrounded by over a thousand troops of the National Guard, and tensions are continuing to run high. The inmates are refusing to comply with the police’s demands to surrender, and they show no signs of releasing the five guards they are holding hostage. Smoke is rising from various parts of the holding cells. We can only imagine what is going on inside―oh, the stationed troops are moving! They’re heading for the building entrances. It looks like the raid has started. I repeat, the National Guard is using military force to suppress―”
Dick switched the radio off. He slung the backpack containing his prison uniform over his shoulder and turned back to Yuto.
“Yuto, I’ll be going now.”
“Dick…” He wanted to say something, but he was too choked up.
“I’m glad I met you. I’ll be praying for your happiness no matter where I go.”
Dick embraced him so tightly he could feel his back creak with the pressure. Yuto let out a shaky breath.
“Me too.”
Dick let go of him and pressed his lips to Yuto’s. The passionate kiss was so painful, Yuto felt like his heart was being torn apart.
“I wish I could take you with me. I don’t want to let you go,” Dick murmured in a pained voice between kisses. Yuto felt tears well up in his eyes. It was just as painful for Dick to say goodbye as it was for him. The agony in his heart was not his alone to bear.
“I wish I could go with you, too. But I can’t.”
“I know. I’m just being selfish.”
Yuto knew that even if he were to escape from here with Dick, they would soon have to say goodbye anyway. After helping Yuto get out, Dick would disappear to go after Corvus.
Their desperate kiss threatened to stretch on forever, but Dick forced himself to break off and put his sunglasses back on as if to cut himself off from his emotions.
“You stay here for a while. Don’t go outside until the racket dies down. And one last thing: be assertive when you negotiate with the FBI. You have more information on Corvus than you think you do. He got so wrapped up with becoming Nathan that he let a few things slip in front of you.”
“What do you mean?”
“The state of the prison that he so passionately told you about. If you look beyond the dark underbelly of the prison industry, you’ll find Corvus there.”
Dick opened the door.
“Wait, Dick!” Yuto found himself blurting.
Dick turned around, but his blue eyes were no longer visible behind the dark sunglasses he wore. It was impossible to read his emotions.
Would I see you again someday? Would we meet each other somehow?
Yuto resisted the urge to ask those questions and smiled instead.
“I’ll always be praying for you to find peace. I’ll always pray for your happiness.”
Dick nodded and opened the door. He checked to see that no one was outside, and burst out without looking back.
Yuto walked up and placed his palms against the closed door, hanging his head.
He felt a loss that was like a gaping hole in his heart. He prayed with every fibre of his being that Dick had made it out safely.
There was nothing else that Yuto could do.
The Schelger Prison riot was successfully put under control three hours later thanks to the intervention of the National Guard.
The resulting casualties were eight deaths and more than three hundred injured, putting it second only to the Attica Prison riot of 1971, the biggest prison riot in history. However, if you included casualties from the riots that Schelger set off in other prisons, the number of fatalities was expected to rise.
This incident called into question again whether inmates should be segregated by race inside prison. The topic was discussed front and centre in newspapers and news outlets, along with whether it was necessary to implement the latest security systems, such as remote-operated tear gas sprays. However, the main issue at hand for the prison was housing the displaced inmates of the west wing, which had been destroyed and rendered utterly uninhabitable.
As an emergency measure, approximately two hundred inmates were to be transferred to the east wing, and the remaining thousand or so were arranged to be transferred to surrounding state, county, and federal prisons until repairs were completed. Starting the next day, fleets of inmate transport buses arrived at Schelger Prison daily to take prisoners away.
While one group after another was being shipped off to prisons that were prepared for intake, Yuto was visited by Mark Heiden, FBI agent. A guard was required to be present at all inmates’ meetings with visitors, but Heiden had evidently pulled some strings, for there was no one else there apart from Heiden and his subordinate.
Heiden was waiting for him leisurely in a crisp, expensive suit, wearing an irritatingly haughty sneer.
“Can you believe this commotion? But I’m glad you’re safe. It’s nice to see you looking well.”
Heiden’s superficial concern was irksome. It was obvious that he was more concerned about disruptions to Yuto’s investigation rather than Yuto’s own safety.
When the man got to the main question of how Yuto’s search for Corvus was going, Yuto slapped him with a statement he had prepared beforehand. In summary, it went something like this:
I found out who Corvus is, but since he was impersonating someone else, I don’t know his real name or identity. A CIA agent was also undercover in this prison and was after Corvus, like me. The agent has a substantial amount of information on Corvus. Corvus took advantage of the riot to make a break, and the CIA agent escaped to go after him. I don’t know either of their whereabouts.
Heiden, his face ashen, demanded to know why Yuto hadn’t told him sooner. Yuto responded that he had no time, since everything came to light just as the riot was occurring. When Heiden demanded more details, Yuto firmly refused.
“No. Mr. Heiden, let’s make a deal. I’ll give you information in exchange for my release. If you can get me out of here, I’ll tell you everything I know.”
“Lennix, I can’t get you released immediately. There’s a lot of paperwork―”
“Then you can come back when you’re ready to hold up your end of the deal.”
Yuto cut off the conversation one-sidedly and left the visitation room. He had no idea if the FBI would bite or if they would dismiss it as a false story. It was in the hands of fortune now.
“Yuto!”
Micky came running toward him once Yuto had left the central wing and was walking down the hallway of the west wing. Aside from the large bruise on his face, Micky seemed otherwise uninjured and well. Apparently, when the riot happened, he had been running around the west wing worried for Yuto’s safety.
“I’m being sent to San Quentin State Prison,” Micky told him. “I’m leaving on the bus today.”
“San Quentin, huh. That’s the closest prison from here.”
“Yeah. I won’t even get a good breath of fresh outside air before I’m locked up again. You take care, alright?”
Micky offered his hand and Yuto shook it firmly. Yuto was scheduled to be transferred to the east wing, so he was the one to see everyone else off.
“Micky, thanks for everything. Your cheerfulness always helped me get through the grind. I’ll be wishing you the best over there.”
“Thanks. I’ll have to start my business from scratch, but I’ll make sure not to slip up. But Nathan and Dick, man, they really pulled it off.”
A considerable number of inmates attempted to escape in the confusion when the National Guard stormed the prison. However, most of them were rounded up and brought back, save for two people – Dick Burnford and Nathan Clark.
The rumour shared amongst inmates was that Dick and Nathan had teamed up to escape together, since they were close to begin with. There were more than a few inmates who praised them, saying that only they could pull something like that off, and they certainly had the balls.
“I hope they don’t get caught,” Micky murmured wistfully. “Wonder what they’re up to right now.”
“I’m sure they’re fine. It’s those two – there’s nothing to worry about.”
“You’re right,” Micky said, giving a big nod. Yuto felt conflicted. In Micky’s mind, Nathan would always be a brilliant, respectable man.
Yuto recalled Nathan’s benign smile and couldn’t help but wish he didn’t have to discover the man’s true colours.
After parting ways with Micky, Yuto made his way to Block C. A burnt smell still permeated the building, and white residue from the fire extinguishing agents still remained here and there.
Yuto peered into Neto’s cell. Neto was sitting alone on his bed reading a book.
“Neto, do you have a moment?” Yuto called. Neto looked up and gestured for him to sit on the bed.
“How’s your foot?” Yuto asked.
“It’s fine. This is no big deal.”
Neto had injured his foot in the skirmish with BB and his gang. He apparently had a fractured bone, but had no issues living daily life using crutches. The majority of the Black Soldiers, who were the biggest risk factor in prison, had been sent off to other prisons at the first chance. Thanks to that, there were no visible signs of conflict between inmates for now, and an atmosphere of calm was beginning to return.
“Where’s Tonya?”
“She’s throwing a farewell party in the rec room with the sisters. Will you drop in and say hello to her? She’ll appreciate it.”
Tonya was scheduled to leave on the next day’s bus to be transferred to a federal prison.
“Sure I will,” Yuto said, then paused. “Aren’t you worried being separated from her?”
“Not at all. Federal prison is like heaven compared to state prison. Besides, I have fellow brothers over there, too. Tonya should have everything she needs.”
Despite his words, Neto looked somewhat sad. He was no doubt worried about Tonya.
“Yuto, join me on the grounds, will you? I feel like getting some fresh air.”
Neto stood up on his crutches, and the two men left Block C together.
Even in the aftermath of such a widespread riot, the grounds were full of inmates kicking a ball around or basking in the sun with relaxed faces. It was the same scene as always, and nothing seemed out of place if you didn’t think about the devastation in the west wing.
Yuto and Neto sat down on a bench beside the basketball court.
“The weather is beautiful. Feels great.” Neto narrowed his eyes as he looked up at the blue sky. Yuto looked up as well. The sky was clear and piercing blue. He couldn’t help but remember Dick’s eyes.
“You must be lonely with Dick gone,” Neto said. Yuto’s heart jumped. He felt like the man had read his mind.
“Everyone’s speculating that Dick and Nathan escaped together, but I don’t think so,” Neto continued. “Dick would never partner up with a guy like Nathan.”
“Did you dislike Nathan, Neto? Everyone loved him,” Yuto asked curiously. Neto shook his head in disgust.
“There isn’t anything specific that I disliked about him. He was just extremely unsettling. I can’t explain it..”
Yuto was impressed by Neto’s sharp instinct. Perhaps he had an uncanny sixth sense, like an animal in the wild.
“You’d be the only person Dick would take along if he were to break out of prison with someone,” Neto added.
“Wow, Neto. Are you psychic or something?” Yuto laughed. Neto turned to him in surprise.
“Did he invite you along? Why didn’t you go with him?”
“I wanted to, but I said no. I want to walk out of the front doors of this place with my head held high. I don’t want to live a life in fear of being caught by the police. Anyway, there’s a chance I might be released.”
Neto’s face glowed in elation.
“So you found the guy you were looking for?”
“Yeah, but I don’t know what’s going to happen yet. It’s a fifty-fifty chance.”
“You’ll be fine. Look, Yuto. There’s a swallow.”
When he glanced to where Neto was pointing, he saw a single swallow gliding across the sky.
“Look at him go. Must feel nice,” Yuto murmured with envy and admiration. Neto reached over and ruffled Yuto’s hair roughly.
“You’re just like him. Soon, you’ll be free to fly to your heart’s content. Keep believing. Fate sides with those who believe in her. Give up, and all the good luck will leave you.”
“I guess you’re right,” Yuto said to Neto’s words of encouragement.
Neto was indeed right. The power to believe was connected to the power to live. The future was something you had to grab with your own two hands.
As if to look his own future in the eye, Yuto gazed intently at the swallow spreading its wings in the blue sky and ingrained the sight into his memory.
Two weeks later, Yuto Lennix was released from Schelger Prison. He was able to leave through the front doors, just as he had wanted, but it was not because he had been able to strike a deal with the FBI; it was because Paul McLean’s actual murderer had been arrested, proving Yuto’s innocence.
Mark Heiden insisted that FBI’s thorough re-investigation of the case had led to the arrest of the true murderer, acting as if Yuto was somehow indebted to the FBI. However, Yuto suspected that the FBI had always had an inkling of who the actual murderer was. It was more than likely that FBI had held on to the truth to use as a trump card.
Still, promises had to be kept. Yuto wasted no time in providing information to the FBI. He described Corvus’ appearance and characteristics, his history as a leader of a cult called White Heaven in the past, the fact that the warden of Schelger Prison, Richard Corning, was suspected of helping Corvus escape, and so on. Yuto divulged everything he knew to the FBI, excluding parts that would give away Dick’s personal information.
As a result, the unthinkable happened: the FBI offered to recruit Yuto as a special agent. Apart from his track record as a competent DEA investigator, Yuto was the only one who had come directly into contact with the mysterious Corvus. The FBI aimed to make use of Yuto as a valuable resource in their investigation.
Yuto knew that, behind all of this, the FBI also had the personal motive of not wanting to be outdone by the CIA. Nonetheless, Yuto decided not to return to the DEA but to join the FBI instead.
After being released from prison, Yuto spent just three days in Arizona enjoying his time with his family. His stepbrother, Paco, took time off to come down to LA. Leti and Paco, along with Leti’s sister and her family, were genuinely overjoyed at Yuto’s release.
On the morning of the third day, Yuto soothed his tearful little sister, Lupita, who wanted to spend more time together, and got into Paco’s car to head to the airport.
Yuto was scheduled to enrol in the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia to undergo training to become an agent. Although it was a mere formality, he had to undergo the training in order to obtain the qualification.
Once they arrived at the airport, Yuto and Paco shared a fierce embrace. They parted ways with a smile, and before long, Yuto was in the air.
Yuto had a strange dream on his flight.
Dick was standing on a beautiful beach wearing a white shirt and jeans. He was holding his sneakers in his hand and was slowly walking along the shore, paying little mind to the water wetting the hem of his pants.
Dick noticed Yuto and gestured for him to come over.
“Come join me, Yuto. The water’s nice and cold.”
He nodded and was just about to break into a run when―
“Excuse me, sir. I’m sorry to wake you. We’re preparing for landing now. Please fasten your seatbelt.”
Yuto was awakened from his dream by the flight attendant. He felt wistful, but remembered how peaceful Dick looked in his dream. He was happy that he had at least been able to see Dick in that state.
An expanse of blue sky and white clouds spread outside his window. As he gazed outside, he finally felt it hit home: he was free.
As long as he was chasing after Corvus, there as a chance he might see Dick again.
That day, Yuto had thought that the thread connecting him and Dick had been broken, but it was actually still intact. Yuto had been handed a huge opportunity.
He felt like their future paths, which were never meant to cross again, were instead drawing curves that stretched on forever. He wanted to give this coincidence a chance.
His heart was a mix of anxiety and anticipation, but there was no fear.
His belief would build his future. His wishes would carve out the path of his destiny.
Yuto’s new life was about to begin.
Hello, and for first-time readers, nice to meet you. I’m Saki Aida. Thank you very much for picking up this book.
This is the fifteenth book I’ve written, and my first one with the Chara Bunko. And for my first work with this publisher, I ended up writing a story set in a smelly, messy prison. I was given many pages to write an afterword, and I took that as a message from my editor to explain myself (give an excuse) on why I decided to write a prison story. I’ll do my best to share everything with you.
So, prison stories. For some reason I’ve always loved them, especially films. I remember the first prison film I got hooked on was Midnight Express directed by Alan Parker. A young American man travelling in Turkey gets arrested for trying to leave the country with marijuana, and is put into a Turkish prison. The film is based on a true story, and its sheer darkness and ruthlessness left a huge impact on me.
On the other hand, I also love prison break movies with an exhilarating ending, like Escape to Victory (this one’s a prison camp, though) starring Sylvester Stallone. Whether the protagonist works together with a group of friends, or is a proud lone wolf who devises a plan by himself, either way, the exhilaration of overcoming hardship to achieve success and claim victory is like no other.
This one isn’t a film, but I also enjoyed the manga masterpiece Sukeban Deka (Delinquent Girl Detective) by Shinji Wada, especially the Ryozanpaku arc where the protagonist, Saki Asamiya, infiltrates a mysterious juvenile training school. The worm bath brings back memories.
I’ve seen many films that are set in prison, and generally I think there is no such thing as a bad prison film. I think the compelling aspect of prison stories is that there are many conflicts laid out from the very beginning. Justice and evil, crime and punishment, trust and betrayal, despair and hope. I feel like because it is such a closed-off and isolated environment, various things are more condensed and concentrated, which makes for a naturally-intense human drama.
An extreme world, full of only men. Not only that, it’s like a jungle where it’s eat or be eaten, there are no rules (laugh) and it’s the survival of the fittest. In a world with no way out, the men are given no choice but to take a good look at themselves and at others head-on. They’ll make enemies, but also friends. Sometimes they’ll harbour hatred, or on the contrary, feel a budding friendship. Maybe sometimes they’ll trip up and end up falling in love.
The sight of these men – desperately trying to protect their dignity even while being humiliated, and stubbornly trying to stay true to themselves even after being faced with one setback after another – is something I find very attractive. I love men as fighters. It’s oddly sexy to see a powerful man being battered and bruised in a fight, isn’t it?
Last year, in autumn or so, I wrote an essay about how much “moe” I had for prison in the magazine Shosetsu Chara. I got carried away in a passionate rant then, too, but I still have so many more things I want to say. “Moe” is like a bottomless swamp that you can never crawl out of once you fall in (laugh).
Anyway, after telling my editor about how much I loved prison settings, I was given the opportunity to write this book. I’d always dreamed of writing a prison novel, so I am very happy that it came true.
However, despite how glad I was, I had quite a difficult time actually writing the book (of course). I started writing around spring of this year. I was so excited and pumped going into it, but once I started writing, it was so difficult that it took me longer than it ever has to complete it.
I had a lot of uncertainties, since this was my first novel that I had to write with a sequel in mind, as well as my first story set overseas. Furthermore, I ended up writing more than my allotted pages, which is rare for me (I always have to add more later because I end up short). This work has become the longest I’ve ever written, but I still feel like I haven’t written enough. “How obsessed are you with prison stories??” I almost want to chide myself.
I’d like to give a huge thank you to M, my editor. I caused you so much trouble in my first time working with you, and I am nothing but apologetic. The entire time leading up to handing off the complete manuscript, I felt so guilty that I thought I would get a stomach ulcer. But thanks to you always encouraging me with kind words, I was able to work full steam ahead without giving up. I’m grateful from the bottom of my heart for your checks and sound advice. Please don’t let this experience discourage you, and please let me continue to work with you.
To Yu Takashina, who drew the illustrations for this novel: I swooned at your phenomenal illustrations. The beautiful and alluring depictions of the characters, and the photorealistic backgrounds. They were incredible. I’m sure there are many readers who will pick up this book who aren’t necessarily interested in prison stories, but were drawn to the beautiful illustrations. Thank you so much. I’m looking forward to your work in the next volume as well.
Lastly, my readers: I crammed all the prison tropes into this book, Deadlock. How did you find it? I hope you were able to enjoy it even a little. Please feel free to send me your thoughts.
The direct translation of “deadlock” means “standstill” or “stalemate”. In IT, it is a processing standstill that occurs when multiple processes are waiting for each other to release the resources that they solely own.
Yuto and Dick were going after the same man, but were impeded by each other’s existences and were unable to achieve their goal. This book ended with them parting even though they were strongly attracted to each other, but in the next book I’ve planned for them to reunite again. Now that their relationship has moved to the outside world, how will it change along with the search for Corvus? I hope you will be there to see Yuto and Dick’s reunion. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. I can imagine how passionate their reunion will be, and I myself cannot wait to write it.
Next time, I hope they will be able to confirm their love anew on a nice, clean bed (laugh).
September 2006
Saki Aida
“Yuto, wake up.”
Yuto’s eyes snapped open as he felt someone shaking his shoulder, and balked when he saw the man peering into his face. For a moment, in his shock, he wondered if he was somehow back in his regular cell.
“It’s me. Dick,” said the man, taking off his dark sunglasses and laughing at Yuto, who was still half asleep.
“Don’t scare me like that.”
It was only natural for Yuto to be surprised; Dick was dressed from head to toe in a black guard’s uniform that he had managed to get somewhere. He even had the shoes and hat.
“Where did you get that?”
“It was in my backpack. I got Gasly to prepare it in advance for my escape. The National Guard are moving in soon.”
Yuto bolted to his feet.
“Already? What time is it right now?”
“Seven in the morning. There’s a lot of guards that got left behind, and the rioting isn’t dying down. That’s probably why they pushed the schedule forward. The radio’s started a live broadcast already.”
True to Dick’s words, the radio was in the midst of reporting news of the Schelger Prison riot.
“Schelger Prison is now surrounded by over a thousand troops of the National Guard, and tensions are continuing to run high. The inmates are refusing to comply with the police’s demands to surrender, and they show no signs of releasing the five guards they are holding hostage. Smoke is rising from various parts of the holding cells. We can only imagine what is going on inside―oh, the stationed troops are moving! They’re heading for the building entrances. It looks like the raid has started. I repeat, the National Guard is using military force to suppress―”
Dick switched the radio off. He slung the backpack containing his prison uniform over his shoulder and turned back to Yuto.
“Yuto, I’ll be going now.”
“Dick…” He wanted to say something, but he was too choked up.
“I’m glad I met you. I’ll be praying for your happiness no matter where I go.”
Dick embraced him so tightly he could feel his back creak with the pressure. Yuto let out a shaky breath.
“Me too.”
Dick let go of him and pressed his lips to Yuto’s. The passionate kiss was so painful, Yuto felt like his heart was being torn apart.
“I wish I could take you with me. I don’t want to let you go,” Dick murmured in a pained voice between kisses. Yuto felt tears well up in his eyes. It was just as painful for Dick to say goodbye as it was for him. The agony in his heart was not his alone to bear.
“I wish I could go with you, too. But I can’t.”
“I know. I’m just being selfish.”
Yuto knew that even if he were to escape from here with Dick, they would soon have to say goodbye anyway. After helping Yuto get out, Dick would disappear to go after Corvus.
Their desperate kiss threatened to stretch on forever, but Dick forced himself to break off and put his sunglasses back on as if to cut himself off from his emotions.
“You stay here for a while. Don’t go outside until the racket dies down. And one last thing: be assertive when you negotiate with the FBI. You have more information on Corvus than you think you do. He got so wrapped up with becoming Nathan that he let a few things slip in front of you.”
“What do you mean?”
“The state of the prison that he so passionately told you about. If you look beyond the dark underbelly of the prison industry, you’ll find Corvus there.”
Dick opened the door.
“Wait, Dick!” Yuto found himself blurting.
Dick turned around, but his blue eyes were no longer visible behind the dark sunglasses he wore. It was impossible to read his emotions.
Would I see you again someday? Would we meet each other somehow?
Yuto resisted the urge to ask those questions and smiled instead.
“I’ll always be praying for you to find peace. I’ll always pray for your happiness.”
Dick nodded and opened the door. He checked to see that no one was outside, and burst out without looking back.
Yuto walked up and placed his palms against the closed door, hanging his head.
He felt a loss that was like a gaping hole in his heart. He prayed with every fibre of his being that Dick had made it out safely.
There was nothing else that Yuto could do.
The Schelger Prison riot was successfully put under control three hours later thanks to the intervention of the National Guard.
The resulting casualties were eight deaths and more than three hundred injured, putting it second only to the Attica Prison riot of 1971, the biggest prison riot in history. However, if you included casualties from the riots that Schelger set off in other prisons, the number of fatalities was expected to rise.
This incident called into question again whether inmates should be segregated by race inside prison. The topic was discussed front and centre in newspapers and news outlets, along with whether it was necessary to implement the latest security systems, such as remote-operated tear gas sprays. However, the main issue at hand for the prison was housing the displaced inmates of the west wing, which had been destroyed and rendered utterly uninhabitable.
As an emergency measure, approximately two hundred inmates were to be transferred to the east wing, and the remaining thousand or so were arranged to be transferred to surrounding state, county, and federal prisons until repairs were completed. Starting the next day, fleets of inmate transport buses arrived at Schelger Prison daily to take prisoners away.
While one group after another was being shipped off to prisons that were prepared for intake, Yuto was visited by Mark Heiden, FBI agent. A guard was required to be present at all inmates’ meetings with visitors, but Heiden had evidently pulled some strings, for there was no one else there apart from Heiden and his subordinate.
Heiden was waiting for him leisurely in a crisp, expensive suit, wearing an irritatingly haughty sneer.
“Can you believe this commotion? But I’m glad you’re safe. It’s nice to see you looking well.”
Heiden’s superficial concern was irksome. It was obvious that he was more concerned about disruptions to Yuto’s investigation rather than Yuto’s own safety.
When the man got to the main question of how Yuto’s search for Corvus was going, Yuto slapped him with a statement he had prepared beforehand. In summary, it went something like this:
I found out who Corvus is, but since he was impersonating someone else, I don’t know his real name or identity. A CIA agent was also undercover in this prison and was after Corvus, like me. The agent has a substantial amount of information on Corvus. Corvus took advantage of the riot to make a break, and the CIA agent escaped to go after him. I don’t know either of their whereabouts.
Heiden, his face ashen, demanded to know why Yuto hadn’t told him sooner. Yuto responded that he had no time, since everything came to light just as the riot was occurring. When Heiden demanded more details, Yuto firmly refused.
“No. Mr. Heiden, let’s make a deal. I’ll give you information in exchange for my release. If you can get me out of here, I’ll tell you everything I know.”
“Lennix, I can’t get you released immediately. There’s a lot of paperwork―”
“Then you can come back when you’re ready to hold up your end of the deal.”
Yuto cut off the conversation one-sidedly and left the visitation room. He had no idea if the FBI would bite or if they would dismiss it as a false story. It was in the hands of fortune now.
“Yuto!”
Micky came running toward him once Yuto had left the central wing and was walking down the hallway of the west wing. Aside from the large bruise on his face, Micky seemed otherwise uninjured and well. Apparently, when the riot happened, he had been running around the west wing worried for Yuto’s safety.
“I’m being sent to San Quentin State Prison,” Micky told him. “I’m leaving on the bus today.”
“San Quentin, huh. That’s the closest prison from here.”
“Yeah. I won’t even get a good breath of fresh outside air before I’m locked up again. You take care, alright?”
Micky offered his hand and Yuto shook it firmly. Yuto was scheduled to be transferred to the east wing, so he was the one to see everyone else off.
“Micky, thanks for everything. Your cheerfulness always helped me get through the grind. I’ll be wishing you the best over there.”
“Thanks. I’ll have to start my business from scratch, but I’ll make sure not to slip up. But Nathan and Dick, man, they really pulled it off.”
A considerable number of inmates attempted to escape in the confusion when the National Guard stormed the prison. However, most of them were rounded up and brought back, save for two people – Dick Burnford and Nathan Clark.
The rumour shared amongst inmates was that Dick and Nathan had teamed up to escape together, since they were close to begin with. There were more than a few inmates who praised them, saying that only they could pull something like that off, and they certainly had the balls.
“I hope they don’t get caught,” Micky murmured wistfully. “Wonder what they’re up to right now.”
“I’m sure they’re fine. It’s those two – there’s nothing to worry about.”
“You’re right,” Micky said, giving a big nod. Yuto felt conflicted. In Micky’s mind, Nathan would always be a brilliant, respectable man.
Yuto recalled Nathan’s benign smile and couldn’t help but wish he didn’t have to discover the man’s true colours.
After parting ways with Micky, Yuto made his way to Block C. A burnt smell still permeated the building, and white residue from the fire extinguishing agents still remained here and there.
Yuto peered into Neto’s cell. Neto was sitting alone on his bed reading a book.
“Neto, do you have a moment?” Yuto called. Neto looked up and gestured for him to sit on the bed.
“How’s your foot?” Yuto asked.
“It’s fine. This is no big deal.”
Neto had injured his foot in the skirmish with BB and his gang. He apparently had a fractured bone, but had no issues living daily life using crutches. The majority of the Black Soldiers, who were the biggest risk factor in prison, had been sent off to other prisons at the first chance. Thanks to that, there were no visible signs of conflict between inmates for now, and an atmosphere of calm was beginning to return.
“Where’s Tonya?”
“She’s throwing a farewell party in the rec room with the sisters. Will you drop in and say hello to her? She’ll appreciate it.”
Tonya was scheduled to leave on the next day’s bus to be transferred to a federal prison.
“Sure I will,” Yuto said, then paused. “Aren’t you worried being separated from her?”
“Not at all. Federal prison is like heaven compared to state prison. Besides, I have fellow brothers over there, too. Tonya should have everything she needs.”
Despite his words, Neto looked somewhat sad. He was no doubt worried about Tonya.
“Yuto, join me on the grounds, will you? I feel like getting some fresh air.”
Neto stood up on his crutches, and the two men left Block C together.
Even in the aftermath of such a widespread riot, the grounds were full of inmates kicking a ball around or basking in the sun with relaxed faces. It was the same scene as always, and nothing seemed out of place if you didn’t think about the devastation in the west wing.
Yuto and Neto sat down on a bench beside the basketball court.
“The weather is beautiful. Feels great.” Neto narrowed his eyes as he looked up at the blue sky. Yuto looked up as well. The sky was clear and piercing blue. He couldn’t help but remember Dick’s eyes.
“You must be lonely with Dick gone,” Neto said. Yuto’s heart jumped. He felt like the man had read his mind.
“Everyone’s speculating that Dick and Nathan escaped together, but I don’t think so,” Neto continued. “Dick would never partner up with a guy like Nathan.”
“Did you dislike Nathan, Neto? Everyone loved him,” Yuto asked curiously. Neto shook his head in disgust.
“There isn’t anything specific that I disliked about him. He was just extremely unsettling. I can’t explain it..”
Yuto was impressed by Neto’s sharp instinct. Perhaps he had an uncanny sixth sense, like an animal in the wild.
“You’d be the only person Dick would take along if he were to break out of prison with someone,” Neto added.
“Wow, Neto. Are you psychic or something?” Yuto laughed. Neto turned to him in surprise.
“Did he invite you along? Why didn’t you go with him?”
“I wanted to, but I said no. I want to walk out of the front doors of this place with my head held high. I don’t want to live a life in fear of being caught by the police. Anyway, there’s a chance I might be released.”
Neto’s face glowed in elation.
“So you found the guy you were looking for?”
“Yeah, but I don’t know what’s going to happen yet. It’s a fifty-fifty chance.”
“You’ll be fine. Look, Yuto. There’s a swallow.”
When he glanced to where Neto was pointing, he saw a single swallow gliding across the sky.
“Look at him go. Must feel nice,” Yuto murmured with envy and admiration. Neto reached over and ruffled Yuto’s hair roughly.
“You’re just like him. Soon, you’ll be free to fly to your heart’s content. Keep believing. Fate sides with those who believe in her. Give up, and all the good luck will leave you.”
“I guess you’re right,” Yuto said to Neto’s words of encouragement.
Neto was indeed right. The power to believe was connected to the power to live. The future was something you had to grab with your own two hands.
As if to look his own future in the eye, Yuto gazed intently at the swallow spreading its wings in the blue sky and ingrained the sight into his memory.
Two weeks later, Yuto Lennix was released from Schelger Prison. He was able to leave through the front doors, just as he had wanted, but it was not because he had been able to strike a deal with the FBI; it was because Paul McLean’s actual murderer had been arrested, proving Yuto’s innocence.
Mark Heiden insisted that FBI’s thorough re-investigation of the case had led to the arrest of the true murderer, acting as if Yuto was somehow indebted to the FBI. However, Yuto suspected that the FBI had always had an inkling of who the actual murderer was. It was more than likely that FBI had held on to the truth to use as a trump card.
Still, promises had to be kept. Yuto wasted no time in providing information to the FBI. He described Corvus’ appearance and characteristics, his history as a leader of a cult called White Heaven in the past, the fact that the warden of Schelger Prison, Richard Corning, was suspected of helping Corvus escape, and so on. Yuto divulged everything he knew to the FBI, excluding parts that would give away Dick’s personal information.
As a result, the unthinkable happened: the FBI offered to recruit Yuto as a special agent. Apart from his track record as a competent DEA investigator, Yuto was the only one who had come directly into contact with the mysterious Corvus. The FBI aimed to make use of Yuto as a valuable resource in their investigation.
Yuto knew that, behind all of this, the FBI also had the personal motive of not wanting to be outdone by the CIA. Nonetheless, Yuto decided not to return to the DEA but to join the FBI instead.
After being released from prison, Yuto spent just three days in Arizona enjoying his time with his family. His stepbrother, Paco, took time off to come down to LA. Leti and Paco, along with Leti’s sister and her family, were genuinely overjoyed at Yuto’s release.
On the morning of the third day, Yuto soothed his tearful little sister, Lupita, who wanted to spend more time together, and got into Paco’s car to head to the airport.
Yuto was scheduled to enrol in the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia to undergo training to become an agent. Although it was a mere formality, he had to undergo the training in order to obtain the qualification.
Once they arrived at the airport, Yuto and Paco shared a fierce embrace. They parted ways with a smile, and before long, Yuto was in the air.
Yuto had a strange dream on his flight.
Dick was standing on a beautiful beach wearing a white shirt and jeans. He was holding his sneakers in his hand and was slowly walking along the shore, paying little mind to the water wetting the hem of his pants.
Dick noticed Yuto and gestured for him to come over.
“Come join me, Yuto. The water’s nice and cold.”
He nodded and was just about to break into a run when―
“Excuse me, sir. I’m sorry to wake you. We’re preparing for landing now. Please fasten your seatbelt.”
Yuto was awakened from his dream by the flight attendant. He felt wistful, but remembered how peaceful Dick looked in his dream. He was happy that he had at least been able to see Dick in that state.
An expanse of blue sky and white clouds spread outside his window. As he gazed outside, he finally felt it hit home: he was free.
As long as he was chasing after Corvus, there as a chance he might see Dick again.
That day, Yuto had thought that the thread connecting him and Dick had been broken, but it was actually still intact. Yuto had been handed a huge opportunity.
He felt like their future paths, which were never meant to cross again, were instead drawing curves that stretched on forever. He wanted to give this coincidence a chance.
His heart was a mix of anxiety and anticipation, but there was no fear.
His belief would build his future. His wishes would carve out the path of his destiny.
Yuto’s new life was about to begin.
Hello, and for first-time readers, nice to meet you. I’m Saki Aida. Thank you very much for picking up this book.
This is the fifteenth book I’ve written, and my first one with the Chara Bunko. And for my first work with this publisher, I ended up writing a story set in a smelly, messy prison. I was given many pages to write an afterword, and I took that as a message from my editor to explain myself (give an excuse) on why I decided to write a prison story. I’ll do my best to share everything with you.
So, prison stories. For some reason I’ve always loved them, especially films. I remember the first prison film I got hooked on was Midnight Express directed by Alan Parker. A young American man travelling in Turkey gets arrested for trying to leave the country with marijuana, and is put into a Turkish prison. The film is based on a true story, and its sheer darkness and ruthlessness left a huge impact on me.
On the other hand, I also love prison break movies with an exhilarating ending, like Escape to Victory (this one’s a prison camp, though) starring Sylvester Stallone. Whether the protagonist works together with a group of friends, or is a proud lone wolf who devises a plan by himself, either way, the exhilaration of overcoming hardship to achieve success and claim victory is like no other.
This one isn’t a film, but I also enjoyed the manga masterpiece Sukeban Deka (Delinquent Girl Detective) by Shinji Wada, especially the Ryozanpaku arc where the protagonist, Saki Asamiya, infiltrates a mysterious juvenile training school. The worm bath brings back memories.
I’ve seen many films that are set in prison, and generally I think there is no such thing as a bad prison film. I think the compelling aspect of prison stories is that there are many conflicts laid out from the very beginning. Justice and evil, crime and punishment, trust and betrayal, despair and hope. I feel like because it is such a closed-off and isolated environment, various things are more condensed and concentrated, which makes for a naturally-intense human drama.
An extreme world, full of only men. Not only that, it’s like a jungle where it’s eat or be eaten, there are no rules (laugh) and it’s the survival of the fittest. In a world with no way out, the men are given no choice but to take a good look at themselves and at others head-on. They’ll make enemies, but also friends. Sometimes they’ll harbour hatred, or on the contrary, feel a budding friendship. Maybe sometimes they’ll trip up and end up falling in love.
The sight of these men – desperately trying to protect their dignity even while being humiliated, and stubbornly trying to stay true to themselves even after being faced with one setback after another – is something I find very attractive. I love men as fighters. It’s oddly sexy to see a powerful man being battered and bruised in a fight, isn’t it?
Last year, in autumn or so, I wrote an essay about how much “moe” I had for prison in the magazine Shosetsu Chara. I got carried away in a passionate rant then, too, but I still have so many more things I want to say. “Moe” is like a bottomless swamp that you can never crawl out of once you fall in (laugh).
Anyway, after telling my editor about how much I loved prison settings, I was given the opportunity to write this book. I’d always dreamed of writing a prison novel, so I am very happy that it came true.
However, despite how glad I was, I had quite a difficult time actually writing the book (of course). I started writing around spring of this year. I was so excited and pumped going into it, but once I started writing, it was so difficult that it took me longer than it ever has to complete it.
I had a lot of uncertainties, since this was my first novel that I had to write with a sequel in mind, as well as my first story set overseas. Furthermore, I ended up writing more than my allotted pages, which is rare for me (I always have to add more later because I end up short). This work has become the longest I’ve ever written, but I still feel like I haven’t written enough. “How obsessed are you with prison stories??” I almost want to chide myself.
I’d like to give a huge thank you to M, my editor. I caused you so much trouble in my first time working with you, and I am nothing but apologetic. The entire time leading up to handing off the complete manuscript, I felt so guilty that I thought I would get a stomach ulcer. But thanks to you always encouraging me with kind words, I was able to work full steam ahead without giving up. I’m grateful from the bottom of my heart for your checks and sound advice. Please don’t let this experience discourage you, and please let me continue to work with you.
To Yu Takashina, who drew the illustrations for this novel: I swooned at your phenomenal illustrations. The beautiful and alluring depictions of the characters, and the photorealistic backgrounds. They were incredible. I’m sure there are many readers who will pick up this book who aren’t necessarily interested in prison stories, but were drawn to the beautiful illustrations. Thank you so much. I’m looking forward to your work in the next volume as well.
Lastly, my readers: I crammed all the prison tropes into this book, Deadlock. How did you find it? I hope you were able to enjoy it even a little. Please feel free to send me your thoughts.
The direct translation of “deadlock” means “standstill” or “stalemate”. In IT, it is a processing standstill that occurs when multiple processes are waiting for each other to release the resources that they solely own.
Yuto and Dick were going after the same man, but were impeded by each other’s existences and were unable to achieve their goal. This book ended with them parting even though they were strongly attracted to each other, but in the next book I’ve planned for them to reunite again. Now that their relationship has moved to the outside world, how will it change along with the search for Corvus? I hope you will be there to see Yuto and Dick’s reunion. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. I can imagine how passionate their reunion will be, and I myself cannot wait to write it.
Next time, I hope they will be able to confirm their love anew on a nice, clean bed (laugh).
September 2006
Saki Aida
