chapter 2 The prison life and the aftermath

My prison life is not that harsh,as I ve expected to be. Joanne was devastated. She was a good person and not suited to this life and shock. Despite everything that had happened, she promised to remain true to me and to visit as often as she was able. Joanne  was disgusted to learn that I was involved in organized crime. The fact that I hadn't told her made things even worse.

It didn't go unnoticed that not a single member of the De Pamei Family came. I knew that they were distancing themselves from the authorities and I didn't blame them, but it still hurt a little. My only hope was that they didn't think I was cutting a dea,and selling them out. But the fact that I was doing my time would eventually prove that I wasn't.

Everything I had was taken away from me. I could only hope that my outside money was still there when I was released. I was given a uniform, toilet items and some necessary items and bedding. I was then led to my cell. The other inmates, including my cellmate, weren't there when I arrived. I was given the rest of the afternoon to unpack before everyone came back from their day's activities and went to dinner. I wasn't sure how they had done it, but I found a small folded stack of money slipped neatly into my Bible. It was nice to see that the Family hadn't forsaken me entirely.

I saw the prisoners returning down the halls to their cells after their afternoon labor session. They all looked toward me, interested in the new fish. I had hoped to get out in 5 years on good behavior, but the hardened looks on the other inmates' faces made me wonder if that would be possible. The guards would be watching me and making their reports as to whether I should be released early or not.

At least I wasn't as well known here in prison, although some of my reputation had preceded me from the outside.

One man stopped in front of my cell as the door opened. It was my new cellmate.He was large with tattoos covering most of his body. His name is Lanilung aka Lane.

Lane strode boldly into our shared cell while looking me in the eye.

"So, my old roommate must have died," he said. "I guess the beating I gave him finally killed him. Before things get out of control, I introduced myself.

Just stay out of my way and don't touch my things," he said before ignoring me on that first day.

It was less than an hour later when I heard a buzzer telling us that it was time for dinner. It was easy enough to guess what to do when I saw everyone else getting to their feet and waiting for the doors to open. As a group, we all walked down the hall and into the prison cafeteria. I filled an aluminium tray with food and looked for a place to sit down.Lane glanced up at me from amid a group of prisoners, so I joined him.

It was nice to be sitting with an instant group of acquaintances. Lane introduced me to everyone and they introduced themselves to me. I was starting to think that prison wasn't going to be that bad after all.

That night after dinner as we were escorted back, I had an opportunity to speak to the guard,and I gave them some money.

They were just like the cops back home, eager for a handout. They took my money without a word. I had to hope that I hadn't just wasted a lot of money

The days of gangster  ruling the prisons were long gone. I used to love seeing movies where the wiseguys would own an entire wing of the prison and have huge banquets of great food. I wasn't made, so perhaps that wouldn't have been me anyway. During those first days in prison, It was just another inmate trying to get by. My first real trouble began the very next day in the yard. It was a chilly morning when we were sent out to get some fresh air and exercise. There was nothing physical going on that day; it was too cold. Instead, everyone clustered in small groups to ward off the chill. I went to the same group of people that I had eaten my dinner with the night before.

"Hey, you," a voice yelled in my direction. "Stand right here. It's frickin' freezing."

It was a big guy with short hair and a crooked nose. He was pointing to a spot near him in the direction that the wind was coming from. I realized that I was being asked to be his wind blocker. I feel irritate so I told him to fuck off.

An instant hush fell over the yard. I watched as the enormous bull of a person stomped toward me with a sneer on his face. The incoming fist looked the size of a bowling ball as he took a swing at me. I look at my cell mate but it didn't happen anything.

He just grinned at me. The only good thing I can say about that fight was that it was short. I was  beaten into submission while the other inmates watched. The guards did nothing except take me away to the infirmary for the nurse to look over my wounds. Even though I had lost, I was glad that I had stood up for myself and not let the other inmates see me getting walked all over.

The nice thing about being in prison was that society wanted to reform you. That meant that I had all sorts of free options that I never had while I was on the outside. I decided to finished my schooling and became an accountant inside the prison . I was only two years into my bachelor's degree when I quit to work for 6 Finger, and it was nice to get back into it. The courses kept me busy as I finished my degree. I spent a lot of time reading in my cell and watching documentary, I'm proud to say that I passed out with flying colors. The best part was, the state paid for it all as a part of my rehabilitation.

I was halfway through my prison term when I met my first connected gang guy from New tamenglong. It was an enormous prison, after all. He was getting beaten up by a bunch of guards when I first saw him. They were really laying into him.He belongs to Sangpuan family. His name is jaikam.I could see blood covering his many tattoos as the beating continued. We'd never spoken before and I knew that he would likely make my life miserable if he knew I was here, considering that Nathan had killed one of their guys.

The guards didn't seem to show any sign of letting up. I wasn't sure what I had walked in on.I told the guard to stop beating him.The guards looked up with anger still on their faces. When they saw that it was me, they stopped. They walked away, leaving the bloody man on the floor. I went over and helped him to his feet.

The confines of prison changed a lot of things. I never would have expected that I would have made a friend from the Sangpuan Family during my stay, but I did."It was the Gangnei Family," he said. "I had this great night club on the east side and they took it away from me the moment I got arrested. And now I know that one of them bribed the guards too. Thanks for helping me out."

One of the biggest problems with being in prison was that I was no longer earning money. All of my schemes were sitting stagnant out there and I had no way to collect on them. Although my options were limited, there were still many ways to make money while behind bars.

But I got better plan. That is I was to be the model prisoner. I didn't want to destroy my chance of an early release for good behavior. I  figured that things were too limited in prison to make any real money. The sooner I could get out, the sooner I could get back to work. I m earning a minimal inside the prison.

Lane was a decent cellmate, despite the first night. He was very strong and enjoyed working out in the gym. If a problem could be solved with his knuckles, Lane could fix it. However,intellectual endeavors were not his might. I saw him struggling through his lawyer's paperwork one night, a very confused expression on his face. I helped him make sense of the legal documents,for free using my knowledge which I ve learnt. Lane's lawyer was terrible. It was no wonder that he was serving so many years for such a simple robbing a stationary store. I not only showed him how to follow the reports, I even found a few things to suggest that his lawyers look into.

It was a long time later when I found out about Lane's old cellmate. He had been a small-time car thief who served his time and left. There had been no beating, no infirmary, and no prison cemetery. Lane and I had a good laugh over this when I found out.

My time in prison is peacefull, because I was the role model. I was approaching my release date when I heard a rumor going around the cellblock. Although I had rarely seen Jaikam since the day I had helped him with the guards, I heard that the gangnei Family was going to have him whacked. Two big no-necks were going to grab him in the cafeteria and a third was going to use a piece of glass with a taped handle to turn his throat into Nkhui duam. I told the guard about it.The day of the attemped assassination started off according to their plan. But the instant the two muscle-bound prisoners grabbed Jaikam, the guards dove onto the third man who had the home-made knife. Although Jaikam was alive and thankful, I wasn't given the credit I felt I deserved. I had broken a long-standing rule and ratted on a criminal undertaking.Just over 6 years. That's how long I spent in the state  Prison. I was given 2 year off for good behavior. I was very happy to pack up my things and walk out of the front door when I was finally released.

I was even happier to see Joanne pull up outside the prison to drive me home. I gave her a big kiss as I have miss her lips, and got in the car. I have to admit, I was a little nervous that nobody from the Family was there to welcome me back to society. I kind of expected to see Asin, Fust or someone. I didn't waste any time and went straight to Gaidinliu bazaar, my area.

The moment I stepped into the bowling alley, I knew things were going to be okay. Neva met me at the door with a big hug and everyone else from the crew was right behind him. There was a large "Welcome Back Gaimei" banner hanging across the wall. There was even a bottle of fine whiskey for me from the Don. It was an ironic gift that everyone laughed over. I enjoyed the party, and when it was over, I looked forward to getting back to work. My time away had taken some of the heat off of me too. I had many things to do again so without wasting any much time ,I jump straight into my World again. I looked for the money I had left on the outside. I was thankful for Detective tip off before I was taken by the police.  I had been careful to not be carrying any of my money on the day of my arrest. All of it was still safe. I added my another twentyfive thousands from prison to it and continued on my way.

It turned out that the Family had taken care of this for me. I found a ticket for a long-term parking lot in living in a small apartment near Gaidinliu bazaar.I took an auto to the lot and found my Tesla waiting for me. Tentatively, I looked in the glove box. I was pleased to see my Magnum .44 sitting there as well. Someone from the family must have moved it for me.I was happy to see that Asin had been checking in on my  business. The juice had continued to run in my absence and Asin had made the collections on my behalf. I'm proud to say that my investment  paid me back a nice sum after the Family's share had been sent up. The best thing was, my original investment was still earning me money. My business was all caught up on its payments. I learned that my agent had been visiting to ensure that my arrangements continued in my absence.

My drug operations did run well too,Nobody from the family had been ensuring that my drug ventures were continuing smoothly. I took a personal visit from to get things back on track. Fortunately, they were good earners anyway, so it didn't take long to remind everyone of my role in the business. Despite the lack of family involvement, I still sent up my tribute.Fust  had been keeping my bookie in line while I was away. I had missed several profitable game,Series and other major sporting events. Luckily, my business had continued to earn in my absence.

I talk to my pet detective, He was strangely happy to see me when I met him.

I soon realized that he genuinely liked me. I was supplementing his pay, after all. He was still getting paid through my various activities. I thanked him for the tip he'd given me and told him to be sure to keep the law away from me and tell me what was going on.

And I went to the First National Bank of New Tml to try the key I got from the dead Sangpuan Family member.

I have to admit, I was very excited to see what would be in the safety deposit box. My informer was correct: there was nobody watching the bank from the car when I arrived. Enough time had passed that they had given up on watching the bank to see who would show up. I knew that confidentiality would keep me safe inside the bank and that the contents of the box were now mine.

I stood in the small room under the bank and waited for the banker to leave before opening the box. I didn't find any money, but what I did see caught my eye. It was a fully automatic compact MAC-11 submachine gun with a sound suppressor on the muzzle. Although not technically a machine pistol, it was small enough to carry comfortably under a jacket.

The timing of my return was very fortuitous. Had I not been released on good behavior, I would have missed a nice little opportunity. I heard about a bakery owner who had a lot of personal gambling debt. I purchased the man's debt. The bookies were very happy with the arrangement. They didn't want to get into the bakery business and they didn't have the same methods of debt collection as I did. The man now owed me ₹ 30000 and I was a part-owner of his bakery,THUAN Hot loaves .

My no-show job as Assistant Manager for New Tml  Storage Department was back and better than ever. I had gotten a substantial raise as my various business ventures had their funds laundered through my weekly paycheck.

My taxes were becoming complicated, but I was up to the challenge.

It was good to be back home with my girlfriend, Joanne . My absence had placed a very large strain on our relationship. Her parents hated me still, of course. The prison sentence made it even worse. Joanne's parents were making my life very difficult.

I convinced them that I was innocent of the charges that I had been found guilty of. By the time I was done with them, Joanne parents were infuriated with the legal system for convicting an innocent person. Their doubts were further soothed when I reminded them that I still had my high-paying job at New Tml International storage. Joanne was happy that I was getting along with her parents again.