Chapter 2

Marvin

“Marvin!”

I looked at my younger brother, Santiago, who ran into the visitation room and flew into my arms. No, he wasn’t ten-years-old, he was twenty-one but tented to behave like a toddler.

“What’s up, Santiago!” I greeted him and pulled him into an embrace. The last time I’d seen him outside of this place was a week before his seventeenth birthday. “Let me take a good look at you.” I smiled at him.

“Look!” Tiago spoke with open arms. He stood in a proud stance and waited for me to praise him. “I am looking. You look healthy!”

I looked behind Tiago and nodded at Panther. He wasn’t only a great asset to the family but also my bodyguard and my best friend. He was more than a best friend. He was like my brother.

He protected Tiago, just as he promised, and when I got out of here, he would be the first one to get a big reward.

My name is Marvin Romero Castillo. I’m 25-years old, and I’m the son of the head of the Castillo cartel, Mario Castillo. The Castillo’s were in charge of California and the most powerful cartel in the area.

We had people from all over and were still growing day by day.

“Marvin.” Panther laughed. “You’ve gained weight!”

I looked down at my still-toned abs and wondered what kind of bullshit Panther was on. “The food isn’t too bad, so I can’t complain.”

“Of course, it isn’t bad.” Panther spoke. “We’ve made sure you get full course meals.”

It was no lie. The Castillo’s had connections everywhere, so I didn’t have a difficult time at all. It was more like an extended vacation, but I was glad that I was here and not Santiago.

All of this happened four years ago. Because of a rat in the business, the DEA closed in on us and ruined one of our transports. It was Santiago’s first job, so he freaked out and accidentally killed an officer.

I did what got expected of me and took the blame for my brother’s mistake. I ignored my father’s request to let someone else take the fall and took responsibility. It might’ve broken the family, but Tiago was free, and at the end of the day, that was all that mattered.

Tiago wasn’t made for this world and wouldn’t survive a day within this prison, so I decided to do it for him.

“He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. You’re still in good shape!” Tiago defended me and attacked me into another hug. I ruffled my hand through his hair. “Thanks, Tiago.”

“No touching!” The officer suddenly called out. I pulled away and turned to the man who was way too soft to be in here, Stanfield.

“My bad, boss.” I chuckled at him.

Even though Stanfield was an officer, he was alright. The inmates used to see him as an easy target and liked to bully him, but everything changed when I got involved. I convinced the other Castillo’s to protect Stanfield, while Stanfield gave me several privileges such as more free time than the other inmates and unlimited access to the computer rooms.

“Sit,” I told Tiago and Panther. They followed my instructions and sat down. “How are you? How are mom, dad, Karina?” I asked Tiago. It was always good to have someone visit.

Tiago shot me a smile and gave me a nod. “They are all doing good.” He spoke. “Dad’s been a dad. He’s been giving me a hard time, as always.”

That was no surprise. Mario Castillo was a strict and ruthless man and the reason why the family business became untouchable. He came from nothing and worked his way up, and he wanted us to do the same.

Tiago was different from me and my younger sister, Karina. Tiago was kind, soft, and polite. He couldn’t fight, he couldn’t even pull a trigger, and he couldn’t even stick up for himself. He shot and killed an officer by mistake, and that was his only wrongdoing.

A failure, son.

That’s what my dad used to call him, but I liked to think otherwise. Tiago’s kind and pure personality was the one thing that had kept our family together. He was the light we needed in this dark family.

He had a difficult time after killing that DEA officer, but he picked himself back up and became a stronger person.

“How about mom?” I asked. While both parents had no issues showing they preferred me, mom and Tiago had gotten closer. “Mom is organizing the wedding. She’s been driving Anya crazy.”

“That’s right, just two more weeks.”

Tiago being Tiago, had plans to marry his high-school sweetheart, Anya. She was a nice girl, and I was happy for him. He was getting married to a normal girl who did not have any ties to the cartel, and I couldn’t be any more proud. It was time for him to lead his own life.

“I’m sorry I can’t be there.” I apologized. It was what I wanted the most, but I had no other choice.

“That’s fine. You’ll be out soon—that’s all that matters.” Tiago reassured me. Luckily there was not enough evidence to hold me in prison any longer, which meant all of this would soon be over. It would only be a matter of time before my charge would get dismissed. I only had to survive this place for six more weeks.

“So, what have you been up to?” Panther asked.

“Laine told me he signed you up for some sort of prison pen pal. What’s the deal with that?”

I rolled my eyes and let out an exhausted breath. It was never my intention to sign myself up for that kind of program, but our family lawyer, Laine, told me that it could be seen as a sign of good behavior.

“You should see the messages people are sending me,” I spoke as I thought about the messages, which were either too formal or too thirsty, which was mainly the reason why I decided to ignore all of them.

Why would I, Marvin Romero, talk to these random citizens?

If anything, those emails were just like a piece of comedy to me. I hadn’t checked my message board in over two weeks and was done laughing. I had more important stuff to worry about, for example, the fact that I was getting out.

“Come on, Marvin.” Panther spoke. “If Laine tells you to do that, you’ll do that!” Panther opposed. “Please just work along.”

I was about to attack him with harsh words, but everything changed when I saw the look on Tiago’s face. “Just listen to Panther, Marv.” He spoke. “You should at least work along and reply to one person.”

“Fine.” I gave in. “I’ll take a look at that damn message board and send something back.”

“See,” Panther spoke with a mischievous smirk on his lips. “You know, people should be grateful even to be talking to you.”

“True.” Tiago agreed. “You should at least send one back for the looks of it, don’t you think?”

“I said, fine!” I repeated myself yet another time. “What’s the situation with the Hernandez?” I whispered so no one could hear us. We used to split California with the Hernandez cartel, but everything got screwed up after the DEA caught us.

It was the day both cartels lost their transport and the day Tiago shot the DEA officer.

They blamed us for setting it up to get rid of them, which had caused us to stop working together. “What’s the plan for when I get out of here? You know they’ll try to start some shit.”

Panther shrugged it off and gave me a dismayed look. “The issue with you is that you overthink.” Panther spoke, but I could see the worry behind his eyes. I bet the only reason why he was hiding it was because of Santiago’s presence.

“How are they treating you in here? Are they trying to get to you, or is it still peaceful?” Santiago asked, worried. I looked at Panther, whose look told me to lie to my brother's face, so I did. “It’s quite peaceful around here.”

The truth was that the Hernandez men had been eyeing me since the moment I stepped foot in this place, but making a move would’ve been stupid because I was surrounded by the Castillo’s all the time.

“How is Anya doing?” I asked Tiago and watched as his face lit up. He could rant about Anya and the wedding all day, and it was almost fascinating to me. The time passed by quickly while I listened to Tiago’s rant, and before we knew it, the time was already over.

“Maybe we should talk about something other than Anya for once!” Panther scolded Tiago and gave him a push against his head. “It’s fine,” I reassured them as I got up. “I like Anya.”

The main reason why she got accepted into this family was because she was polite and quiet. She knew what was going on, but she kept her mouth shut and minded her business. She was the perfect example of an ideal daughter-in-law.

Tiago gave me one last hug. “Anya likes you too, and it’s mainly because her sister-in-law has been giving her a hard time.”

“I can imagine.” I sighed. My younger sister Karina could be a pain in the ass and could not stand it whenever someone else became the center of attention. Rumor had it she scratched Tiago in his face the day he was born.

“Teatime is over, ladies,” Stanfield called out. I looked down at Panther’s clenched fists and shook my head. Stanfield could be a pain in the ass, but I liked his personality. He was like my puppy. The only issue was that he was in denial.

“Make sure to take care of everyone,” I told Panther. “And don’t let Karina do anything stupid to ruin Tiago’s big day.”

“Oh, trust me, she won’t,” Tiago spoke and looked at Panther for confirmation. “I got you, boss.” Panther smiled at me. “See you!”

I watched as Panther and Tiago walked off and smiled at Stanfield, who stood right beside me. He pulled me along and patted me down. “I bet you wished to find something on me.” I teased, while Stanfield ignored me.

“It’s time for you to go back into your cage.” He spoke as he pushed my back to make me start walking.

“Yes, boss,”

“Actually.” I began. “How about you bring me to the computer room?” I politely requested. “There’s something I have to take care of.”

Stanfield let out a growl and changed our direction. Even if he wanted to say something, he couldn’t because he knew I helped him when he needed it the most. He knew the inmates would’ve beaten him to minced meat if it wasn’t for me.

“You’re a true annoyance, did you know that?” He complained. He was always acting tough, but behind that tough act was so much more. He was not cut out to work here, he was as nervous as a cat, but somehow he still managed to feel comfortable around me. It wouldn’t be too far stretched to say that it was most likely because of my outgoing personality.

“Just a few minutes, Castillo,” Stanfield ordered as he opened the door to let me through. I nudged some of the familiar guys and made my way over to my usual spot so that I could check my message board. It was the only computer with WiFi.

I scrolled through the pictures and read every single message, but none of them seemed to interest me. I had no desire for any therapy sessions, and for some reason, it seemed like that was what these people were out to give me.

I looked at one last profile and noticed the message had been on the board for about two weeks.

Elena Torres.

I zoomed in on her picture to take a better look at her face and scrunched my nose in approval. She was definitely one of the better-looking people, so replying to her wouldn’t hurt. I clicked on her email and took a look at her message.

—

‘Hi, Marvin!

My name is Lena🤗

Just like you, I’m also from San Diego.

I saw your profile on the message board and read you needed someone to talk to🤔

Guess what? I can be that someone!😯

If you would like to talk and are up for a challenge, I would like for you to solve this riddle😉

What kind of bars won’t keep a prisoner in jail?

From,

Lena.

—

“Is this a joke?” I whispered in disbelief. She typed like a pre-schooler and even had the nerve to let me solve some silly riddle. What was up with all the emojis?

For some reason, I couldn’t stop myself and leaned forward while I thought of a solid answer.

“Boss!” I called out. Stanfield frowned his eyebrows and walked towards me.

“Finished?” He asked, but I shook my head and told him to come over.

“Boss, what kind of bars won’t keep a prisoner in jail?”

Stanfield placed his hands in his hips and went into deep thoughts. “The only correct answer to that question is chocolate bars.” He concluded. “Chocolate bars?” I laughed out loud while all the other guys joined me.

“Hey!” Stanfield yelled out. “You better quit laughing, or playtime is over!”

“Thanks, man.” I smiled at Stanfield and focused my attention back onto the screen. I guess it was about time to send someone a message in return and the unfortunate victim was the one who was brave enough to send me a riddle.

Elena Torres.

—

Hi Lena,

It’s good to talk to someone from San Diego.

It took me some time to get back, and I would like to apologize for that, but I’m a bit shocked.

This is not quite what I meant when I said I needed someone to talk to, and I’m a bit confused as to why you would send me a ‘prison riddle,’ but so be it.

You asked me if I knew what kind of bars

won’t keep a prisoner in jail.

The answer to that corny question is obviously chocolate bars. Even though the riddle was a bit weak, the intentions were definitely there, and you’ve caught my attention.

I think it’s only fair for me to ask you something in return. I was very intrigued by not only your way of talking but also your use of emojis, so I just have to ask. How old are you?

Marvin

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