Second Chance runs unconventional resocialization programs, and one of them sounds completely insane. They send people to a marriage contract fair, their weird idea of ‘reform’!
For a second, I think I must be misreading it.
Who would want tomarry a criminal, let alone a murderer? But the fine print makes it clear they vet the hell out of everyone, inmates and buyers. If you get picked, you move into your spouse’s house, but it has to be set up the way the program wants. They put an ankle monitor on you, and you’re not allowed to step off the property.
It’s not freedom, but it’s close enough to taste.
Staring at the poster, it hits me all at once.
Damn. This could be my way out!
My one real shot at escape and revenge. My brother’s murderer is still walking free, untouched, and I refuse to let that stand.
Way too many times I’ve seen his smug face on TV, acting the part of the grieving brother for the cameras.
That vile bastard played his role as the shattered brother perfectly, claiming he had lost two younger siblings to a deranged beta who imagined or misheard things.
He flat-out denied killing Senu. And because the police couldn’t find his body… pretty soon I stopped being Salt and turned into a headline.
The nickname was born.The Alpha Slayer.
And nobody cared about him anymore.
My poor brother… Senu.
His young life cut short too soon. I can’t even think about everything he suffered through. Before our life got better, before we fought like hell to find normal jobs, we were just two orphaned teenagers on the streets.
Senu went down on his knees for strangers so I could eat, so we could even survive, so I wouldn’t have to do it. Now it’s my turn to pay that debt. Honor demands it.
A cruel Fate never gave him a chance at happiness. I can’t bear it. I can’t live with it. He deserves justice. Someone has to get to the bottom of what really happened to Senu.
But they don’t give a fuck.
So the hell with them. I need to find a way out, no matter what.
For now, though, I’m stuck in this shithole.
Reading that Second Chance notice kicks my brain into planning mode: I give myself to some rich bastard, buy time, find a way to remove the ankle monitor, and disappear.
Then I hunt Tanner down. I’m already staring at four life sentences, so adding another won’t change much.
It probably won’t even get that far. I’ll let myself get shot during the chase. Clean and simple.
End of story.
Salt and Senu, finished.
Maybe I’ll meet him somewhere in between, purgatory or whatever passes for it. Probably not. I’m heading straight for hell, and Senu was too good for that. He isn’t suffering anymore. His soul was selfless. Mine is filth, but at least I can use it for something worthwhile.
One last act of revenge.
The next morning, I ask to see my attorney.
He’s an older guy who genuinely tries to help, and I can feel that he believes me, that what I overheard in the Tanners’ garden was real. There’s understanding in his eyes when it comes to my need for justice.
After reviewing the Second Chance guidelines, though, he’s honest. My odds are bad. Killers are violent offenders, and those kinds don’t usually make the cut.
Still, I see him thinking it through, looking for cracks in the system. After a while, he offers another option.
