to become the hub of an enormous scandal. Imagine if the world found out that six hundred and forty-four prisoners had been framed over the last three decades. What happens then? What happens when every case tried by those judges and attorneys is now appealed in the courts because it’s been proven they’ve rigged trials before?”
The warden sat forward, removing his glasses and scraping his hands over his face. “Do you have any idea what you’d be doing? The prison system would be in ruins.”
Once more, Webster shrugged. “The prison system is already painfully broken. If it wasn’t, you people wouldn’t have been able to do what you did in the first place. You people chose to enslave the underprivileged so you could line your own pockets. You treat them like animals.” Webster forced himself to smile. “If you want to keep your operation under wraps, I suggest you figure out how to give me what I want. Keep in mind, I could be asking for much more.”
The warden’s hands flailed. “I can make some phone calls, get you out in a day or two, make the DA drop the charges, say it was a misunderstanding,” King said. “But Mr. Whitaker is going to take more time. Three months, at least. It’s the best I can do. I can get him before the parole board and give them my letter of recommendation, but I can’t call a special meeting just for him. It would look suspicious after he just went to the SHU.”
Frustration dragged over Webster’s nerves, making him want to hit something. “Cy didn’t kill his father. My mother did. She and the sheriff set Cy up and robbed him of twenty years of his life. He should have never been in here in the first place. His record should be expunged.”
“That’s way out of my limited scope. I don’t have that kind of power,” King said, voice climbing an octave.
“But you know people who do. Right? People much higher up on the food chain than you?” Webster countered.
King fidgeted as he spoke, his calm facade cracking a bit more each minute. “You don’t know who you’re messing with. These people are dangerous. I can’t just go in there demanding favors for one inmate, especially one who’s already served twenty years of his sentence.”
Webster sat forward. “You people did that to him. You picked the wrong man. Get me out of here and put me in the room with the right people, people who do have the power to fix this, or my boss takes everything we’ve discovered and starts calling in favors from our friends, and I promise you, you don’t want to go to war with us over—as you put it—one inmate.”
King didn’t respond right away, leaving Webster to watch as the older man seemed to realize he had no choice but to, at least, attempt to give Webster what he wanted. Might as well ask for one more thing. “Also, I want access to my brother any time I like.”
The warden frowned. “Once you’re free, you can visit him any time visiting hours allow.”
Webster shook his head. “No, you’re not hearing me. I want conjugal visits.”
King’s brows shot up. “I can’t do that.”
“Sure you can. We’re family. Family is entitled to conjugal visits. If it’s going to take you time to get him out, then I want weekend conjugal visits. This is non-negotiable.”
“I’ll…I’ll see what I can do.”
“Oh, and another thing. I want him out of the SHU now. And I want him to be able to keep working with his animals. No more punishments. No more taking things away from him. From now on, he’s a fucking VIP. Got it?” King gave a weak nod. “Also, Rogers and Kemp get moved to another pod. They stay far away from both Cy and me.”
“Anything else?” the warden snarked, seemingly defeated.
“Yeah, I want Cyrus back in my cell tonight.”
The warden shook his head. “I’m afraid I can’t do that. He’s in the infirmary.”
Webster’s heart plummeted into his stomach. “What?”
“It seems your…brother had an outburst in the SHU and decided to punch a brick wall. The nurse seems pretty certain his hand is broken. The doctor needs to look at it when she arrives in the morning. He may require a trip to the hospital for x-rays. He’ll be returned to his cell as soon as that’s been taken care of.”
Webster hated the idea of Cy being upset enough to lash out, more so that he took it