“Prison is like high school with knives.”
― Raegan Butcher
― Raegan Butcher
4.18 The Morpheus Project
Tony
"He wants to talk to you in person!" Eun said excitedly after returning from his little "Mediator round".
The person who had the information I needed, went silent for weeks and let me just wait and bite my nails off no matter what Eun did or said to them. It had been frustrating, I was so close and couldn't get any further. If I didn't like Eun so much I would have ripped the name of the person out of him at night, so impatient I felt. Now finally he has brought the news I had been waiting for and I suddenly wasn't sure it was good or bad.
"He wants to talk to you in person!" Eun said excitedly after returning from his little "Mediator round".
The person who had the information I needed, went silent for weeks and let me just wait and bite my nails off no matter what Eun did or said to them. It had been frustrating, I was so close and couldn't get any further. If I didn't like Eun so much I would have ripped the name of the person out of him at night, so impatient I felt. Now finally he has brought the news I had been waiting for and I suddenly wasn't sure it was good or bad.
"In person? Didn't you say most trade offs happen without the buyer and the seller ever meeting each other?"
"Yes, but he seems to be eager to talk to the famous Meatball."
"Wait a minute. I thought you had a 'no names policy', Eun."
"I do, I never told him your name, Tony. When I mentioned what kind of information my 'client' is looking for, he knew it was you. It's probably not a big secret that you want to find this Lien guy."
"Maybe." I didn't like being in disadvantage and not knowing who the other person was while they knew me. I really missed my computer and access to all kinds of information such as the list of names of all inmates.
I missed many things. The quality of food I was used to, my fine black clothes, morning swimming in the pool and yes, the beautiful women too. Loking at all those ugly male faces gets old very fast.
But what I missed more than anything was privacy. Nothing like privacy existed in prison. For a loner like me it was the hardest thing to get used to. You didn't take a piss without feeling your cellmate's eyes in your back. Then there were the regular inspections during which even the little we called our possession was often being scattered over the floor like trash. I'm a meticulous person, my job requires it. In moments like these my self-control was tested to the limits. I swear there were at least two times when I would have lunged myself at the guards and strangle them with my bare hands hadn't Eun stood there smiling at me comfortingly. He always made me think of my son.
"When does he want to meet?" I asked.
"Tonight."
We were enjoying the fresh air and today's first rays of sunshine in the yard when Roy joined us all of a sudden. I didn't have any problem with Roy, neither did Eun as far as I knew. My conversations with Roy usually didn't go further than what courtesy required.
"How's it going, Roy?" I greeted him.
"I'm coming to give you a heads-up," he said. "Someone snatched Nancy's eyeglasses in the showers last night. Kellog's really upset about it."
Kellog was the guy you feared to have as your cellmate when you got locked up. You didn't want to cross Kellog. Ever. There were only three possible results of you getting into a conflict with him. You ended up with few bruises in the "hole", you ended up in prison emergency ward or you ended up dead. He and Nancy were... you know. I prefer not to think about it in much detail. The important thing was that when it came to Nancy, if you only looked at him the wrong way, Kellog looked at you the wrong way and gave you something else to occupy your attention. A broken jaw. A concussion. A ruptured spleen. Or the whole package.
Kellog was the guy you feared to have as your cellmate when you got locked up. You didn't want to cross Kellog. Ever. There were only three possible results of you getting into a conflict with him. You ended up with few bruises in the "hole", you ended up in prison emergency ward or you ended up dead. He and Nancy were... you know. I prefer not to think about it in much detail. The important thing was that when it came to Nancy, if you only looked at him the wrong way, Kellog looked at you the wrong way and gave you something else to occupy your attention. A broken jaw. A concussion. A ruptured spleen. Or the whole package.
"Who would be so suicidal to do that?" I wondered.
Roy shrugged. "They certainly have a deathwish, whoever they are. I suggest being more careful than usual and staying out of Kellog's way until things calm down."
"Will do. Thanks, Roy."
* * * * *
The same day in the evening
"Are you sure this is the right place, Eun?" I asked my cellmate. "This is quite far from our cell block. I would prefer not having to explain what we're doing here to the guards."
"Are you sure this is the right place, Eun?" I asked my cellmate. "This is quite far from our cell block. I would prefer not having to explain what we're doing here to the guards."
"Trust me, Tony. The guards are well paid to ignore this place most of the time."
We rounded the next corner and were met with two not so friendly faces.
"Do you have an appointment with Mr. M?" one of them snapped.
Mr. M? Who the hell is Mr. M?
"I believe we do," Eun said.
The two of them didn't move, just kept glaring at us. I especially didn't like the asian guy. My friend Victor Feng was exceptionally skilled with knives and any small sharp objects. Those were easy to hide in the prison uniform. I didn't let this guy's hands out of my sight for a second.
"It's alright, Guz," came a voice from behind them. "Let, Mr. Corleonesi in. We have a business to discuss."
I approached this man they called Mr. M with caution. He offered his hand and I shook it. I found that I was feeling quite... nervous. I was looking into his face and I had no idea whatsoever who he was.
"We meet at last, Mr. Corleonesi. You have quite a reputation, I must say."
"I'm afraid I cannot say I had ever the pleasure of hearing about you, Mr...?"
He smiled. "Morti."
I was hoping his name would ring a bell with me, but it didn't. I was in complete darkness here. I didn't feel like exploring this new territory at all. I wished I could do a thorough research before making any deals with him.
"My name is not known around these parts," he explained. "If you lived in Windenburg you would have heard about me, I assure you."
It explained things a bit. I haven't been to Windenburg for years. "I used to know a man in Windenburg," I said. "His name was Nigel Bathgate."
"Nigel is dead, Mr. Corleonesi. Things have changed a lot in Windenburg since his death."
"They have indeed."
This wasn't good news. Nigel was old school, predictable. I couldn't imagine how things looked like without him. Who was in charge of the business now? But those were thoughts for another time, it still didn't explain who Mr. Morti was. An unsuccessful successor of Nigel maybe? He must have had access to some resources if he could afford protection of those two goons behind me. I decided I had done enough speculation which was getting me nowhere. It was time to get what I came for.
"About the information you claim to have for sale, Mr. Morti. How much is it going to cost me?"
"Enough of the pleasantries and back to business, right, Mr. Corleonesi? I'm sure you have gathered a small fortune over the years and although I'm a man who never says no to money, I'm more interested in something only you can offer. I really could use a man of your talents, too bad you prefer working alone. However, I want to have the option to use your skills when I'm in need of them. I want you to owe me a kill, Mr. Corleonesi."
"You want me to kill an inmate for you?" This sounded too easy.
"Oh no, I don't care about local low lives. I want you to kill someone outside for me. Who, that remains to be decided yet. It is even possible I won't need your services at all, but the idea of having them at my disposal is too tempting for me to resist. All that for a piece of information I know you want so bad and that had cost me nothing. It's a dream bargain, let me tell you."
"There's a slight problem, Mr.Morti, I'm here and I'm not leaving this place anytime soon."
"Men like us, Mr. Corleonesi, talented and well-connected don't get stopped by something so trivial like bars. We only get slowed down, but never stopped. We will both get out of here before our term is done, I'm sure of it."
If I knew what would happen later that evening I would have called the man a prophet. However, he was wrong if he thought I could just pledge to kill anyone for him.
"Mr. Morti, surely you understand that I cannot agree with such deal. There are certain risks I'm not willing to take. You could for instance ask me to kill a president which would bring a way too much excitement into my life. Maybe if I was younger I would find such challenge tempting, but these days I prefer less exciting jobs."
"I believe anything is negotiable."
"I'd want to have the option to refuse to kill the person you pick if it poses a conflict of interests or if it is against my personal principles. Even though it's hard to believe I have some."
"We both do, despite what common people think. But what would prevent you from turning me down every time I pick a target for you?"
"I have a reputation to uphold and every intention to pay this debt. As you said, the information is important to me. It would be more than an obligation to repay you for helping me find the person I'm looking for. It is very personal. So would be my gratitude, Mr. Morti."
This was what finally convinced him to share the information with me.
"I understand your desire for revenge very well, Mr. Corleonesi," he said. "I really hope you will find this Mr. Lien. As it seems he sought out help of a wealthy individual from the high society of Newcrest. The person is helping him cover all his tracks in exchange for a share of all his profits. It's a high price to pay for being safe from a single man, but then again your reputation and your skills make you a very dangerous enemy. He had no choice."
He didn't give me a name, but this information was enough. I knew where to look now. Your death will finally be avenged, my love. Soon.
* * * * *
"Did you get what you needed, Tony?"
"I did."
"I'm glad."
"Thank you, Eun."
*crack*
I felt something shatter under the sole of my shoe. I stopped to look at it. There were pieces of glass and a frame on the floor.
Eyeglasses.
I bent down to pick them up, but Eun was faster.
"Shit!" he swore. "These must be Nancy's glasses."
Before we could start wondering what a pair of glasses was doing on the floor in the middle of an empty corridor, a large shadow fell upon us.
Shit indeed.
This was no coincidence. I wondered if Mr. Morti had something to do with this, but what could he possibly gain? No, this was someone else's doing. Someone wanted me or Eun dead and set this up. More likely me, since Eun had been here for a while and nothing happened to him so far.
Eun made a futile attempt to reason with Kellog. Without any warning the big guy hit him right in the face and sent him flying. The boy collided with the wall and collapsed on the floor. He wasn't moving.
"Eun!" I cried.
He groaned and curled up in a fetal position, covering his face with his hands. Kellog was trying to get to him to finish the job. He was met with me.
"You shouldn't have touched my boy, you mindless beast!" I snarled. "You get to meet the real Meatball!"
This guy was no fun at all. I threw him such a nice cue and he missed it. He could at least say, "When I'm done with you, I'll eat your meatballs!" But no, he just stood there silent like a mountain.
I tried a few swings and kicks at him. He wasn't as slow as he looked, but I was faster. The trick was to keep moving and stay away from those big fists of his ― I realized there's no way I could knock him down. The only way to defeat the mountain is to climb it.
I danced around him. He wasn't as slow as he looked, but I was faster than him. I got behind and on his back. I wrapped my legs around his waist and hooked my arm around his neck pressing on his carotid artery. This should reduce the blood flow to his brain. All I needed to do now was to hold on about fifteen seconds until he would lose consciousness. Easier said than done.
15... 14... 13...
My spine protested as Kellog threw himself against the wall trying to crush me.
12... 11...
Another collision with the wall.
10... 9...
His hands groped for my arms, my hair pulling at them, then he grabbed me by my uniform. Watcher, he was a strong one!
8... 7...
He bent forward trying to throw me over his head. This was the trickiest part. Just a couple more seconds...
6... 5... 4...
Pain shot through my body all of a sudden as something sharp was thrust into my back. And again. I gasped and released my hold on Kellog sliding down his back onto the floor. I reached behind and felt a knife handle sticking out of my back. The pain was excruciating. I pulled the knife out and collapsed on the floor. As my vision was darkening I saw Kellog looming over me. Then everything went black...
* * * * *
* * * * *
I opened my eyes into a bright light and there she was. A vision. Beautiful as ever.
"Oh, Tony," she said in a sad voice. "What have you gotten yourself into?"
"So this is it? Am I in Heaven?"
"This is not Heaven."
"It must be, for you are here, Beryl. I'm ready."
"Ready for what?"
"To follow you wherever you'll take me to. To finally be with you for eternity."
I kissed her and she tasted like home long lost and found. How could I have survived all the time without being able to kiss her?
"You need to go back, Tony. You need to move on."
"Move on to what? To whom? Who would want a man like me? Women look for fun with me, not a relationship. I can't open myself up to any woman. I can't tell them what I do for living. Do you think any of them would let me touch them if they knew? I'm like an undertaker. Most women can't bear the thought of a man who handles dead bodies coming home to them and touching them."
"I knew and I let you touch me. Marissa knew too."
"Yes, Marissa knew the real me and it didn't repulse her, but she was spoiled and manipulative like her father, not a woman I felt comfortable to open my heart to. You were one of a kind, Beryl. Being my bad self I saw a nice bonus in you at first when we met. You were so young and brave, you acted up in an up-front manner and played no games with me, which I found so refreshing, so different from what I was used to. I fell for you without realizing it until later."
"And I fell for you."
"I wasn't worthy and still you loved me despite all my shortcomings. You deserved much more than I was giving you. Where could I possibly find another woman like you who could love me and see a better person in me like you did? There isn't another you in the world. I belong here by your side. Besides I'm getting old, I've given up hope for another miracle to happen in my life. I am old."
She put a finger on my lips. "No, you are not. And you don't belong here. You don't want to stay here. This place is nothing but oblivion."
"As long as you are here this place can be a maw of madness and I don't care. Who do I have to bribe to let me stay?"
"If we both stay here we'll become forgotten."
"It doesn't sound bad at all becoming forgotten with you, Beryl. Let the whole world forget about us and let's do some hard reminiscing right now. I don't know how about you, but I am really..."
Again she put a finger on my lips. "You are not dead, Tony. You have to go back and I can't stay either."
"Not dead? I was in a prison full of murderers and serial killers and I didn't end up dead?" Idiots! Amateurs! Botchers!
She kissed my forehead. "It's time. Goodbye, Tony."
The feeling of loss I've lived with all those years returned. "When will I see you again?" I asked.
She looked at me with sad eyes. "I have no idea. I'm sorry. Everything has changed."
"I don't want us to part again," I cried, but she was already gone.
* * * * *
Next time I opened my eyes I found myself in a hospital bed.
"Finally, he's come to," someone said.
"Finally, he's come to," someone said.
A doctor appeared at my bed. "Welcome back, Mr. Corleonesi. I'm doctor Grandville." He shone a medical flashlight into my eyes. "How are you feeling?"
I supressed the urge to push his hand away. "Fine, I guess. Where's the boy? Is he okay?" I asked.
"Pupillary response normal," he said to himself and examined me some more. "The boy? The broken nose, split lip, two broken teeth? I treated Mr. Huang's injuries and sent him back. Should be all right in a week or two. He's in a solitary confinement now from what I heard the guards say."
I breathed a sigh of relief. Thank the watcher Kellog didn't kill Eun.
"You on the other hand are something else entirely, Mr. Corleonesi. You should be dead. Your inner injuries were too extensive. Any other man would have bled to death before they got here," he informed me frowning. "You've recovered almost miraculously I must say." He pulled at the bandages covering my upper body. "You won't need these anymore," he said and started removing them.
I raised my eyebrows. Shouldn't he be showing more enthusiasm that his patient survived? Maybe he thought the less criminals in the world the better. "It's a good news, is it not? That I recovered quickly, I mean." I asked caught off guard by his lack of professionalism.
He gave me a long stare. "Someone else will have to answer your question. It seems you are no longer my concern." He turned his head away from me. "You can talk to him now, agent. He's all yours," he called out and then left.
A man in a suit came up to my bed. "I am agent Stiles, Mr. Corleonesi. Is it even your real name?" he smirked.
An agent? What was this about and what was this guy's problem with my name? I didn't like his smirk. I was going to make a research on agent Stiles when I got the chance. And who knows, maybe I would even pay him a visit in the future and introduce him to the contents of my toolbox number three.
"So, Mr. Corleonesi," he continued in amused tone, "what would you say if we took you for a small trip? I think a change of scenery will do wonders to your health."
* * * * *
Kellie
"I don't know what to do, Grayson. He won't see me until I have found a boyfriend."
"He couldn't have meant it that way," Grayson said. "I'm sure he just wanted you to spend more time doing what you enjoy and think more about yourself which I noticed you often fail to do, Kellie."
"Oh, he did mean it. If only you saw him how he was looking at me. He literally said, 'Don't come back until you have a boyfriend with whom you have spent a fantastic vacation'."
"I don't know what to do, Grayson. He won't see me until I have found a boyfriend."
"He couldn't have meant it that way," Grayson said. "I'm sure he just wanted you to spend more time doing what you enjoy and think more about yourself which I noticed you often fail to do, Kellie."
"Oh, he did mean it. If only you saw him how he was looking at me. He literally said, 'Don't come back until you have a boyfriend with whom you have spent a fantastic vacation'."
"What I would give for a vacation right now," Grayson sighed. He was currently supervising a team of colleagues charged with studying viruses causing llama flu and conducting bioinformatic and phylogenetic analysis of children's stools. "I could pose as your boyfriend if you wanted."
"No, Tony would know that you're a gay."
"How could he know?"
"He's like that. He looks at you and he sees right through you."
"Why do you want to visit him again? He seems to give you headaches."
"Somebody needs to help him reconcile with Chris. I'm the only person they both talk to. Usually. But this 'find a boyfriend' thing complicates everything." I wasn't even sure whether I wanted another boyfriend. "Grayson, how did you know you're a gay?"
He cocked an eyebrow at me. "Why? You think you're a lesbian now?"
My cheeks were burning. This wasn't easy for me to say aloud. "More like asexual to be honest."
"I see. Are you sure? Do you find sex repulsive?"
Oh dear, I opened the Pandora's box. No topic was awkward enough for Grayson not to talk about. "Normally I don't think about it at all," I said. "When I was dating Thomas all... sex related matters were making me very uncomfortable."
"It doesn't mean anything. You told me you considered him a friend and weren't in love with him."
"Yes, but I don't feel attracted to anyone. When Gabriel asked me out..."
"Gabriel is a sleazy lecher, Kellie. I wouldn't go out with him if they paid me to. You should spend time with someone nice to be sure. What about the detective that helped you out? He seems like a decent man. Easy on the eyes, the only male cop at the station wearing a cologne ― a top quality one, I could tell. I wouldn't say no to him if he asked me out, but I wasn't the one he couldn't take his eyes off. Is he single? I didn't see a ring on his finger, but he could be taking it off at work."
My brain was overloaded with the amount of unrequested information Grayson just shared with me and was trying to process the data piece by a very small piece. Now that Grayson mentioned it I remembered noticing that detective Mitchel smelled nice when I ran into him the night Tony was arrested. However the thought of me asking him out made me blush again. Oh, Watcher, that would be so awkward! "Detective Mitchel is a family friend, Grayson. I couldn't... He would never... I don't think..."
I was saved from more tripping over my words by Gabriel who came to our table in his characteristic swagger. He greeted us with a curt nod. "Kellie, Graham."
Everyone was mixing up those two names once in a while, but Gabriel always called Grayson Graham, he was doing it on purpose and we both knew it. Grayson thought it was Gabriel's way of insulting him for his being a gay.
"What the two of you are still doing here? I've been sent to find you. Everyone's in the auditorium, there's someone from the board of managers making an important announcement. Get your arses there now!"
I and Grayson exchanged looks. How did we missed this? We got up and hurried to the auditorium together with Gabriel.
"I'm an easy-going person, but I swear one of these days I'm going to have a little chat with Gabriel," Grayson whispered to me en route. "The little punk won't talk to me like that. If he doesn't stop, I'm going to make his life a living hell. I can arrange for him to get such unpleasant tasks to do in the lab that cleaning the Augean stables will look like a stroll through a park compared to that!"
We took seats in the auditorium. The board spokesman was already giving a speech. Gabriel asked professor Morgan if we missed anything important. Fortunately we didn't.
"Ladies and gentlemen," the spokesman said. "I and Mr. Robertson have some exciting news to share with you. We received extra funds from the government. They want us to revive the Morpheus Project."
"What is Project Morpheus?" I asked Gabriel.
"Remember the alien lady in the tank I showed you a while ago? She is Project Morpheus. Looks like you'll get your chance to stick some needles in her, Heffner," he smirked. "Or even better," he added and looked at the man in the front who spoke again.
"A new subject has been discovered. He's showing similar regenerative abilities as the last one. He's going to be transported to the premises this afternoon."
Ms. Bachman, the alien reproduction specialist squealed with delight. "A he?! Does that mean it's a living male specimen?"
"That's right, Ms. Bachman."
Everyone started talking excitedly. Grayson leaned to me. "Is my hearing failing me or did Ms. Bachman just squeal unprofessionaly like a teenager?" he asked.
I grinned. "She did."
He gave out a deep sigh. "I really need a vacation."
* * * * *
The same day in the afternoon
Everyone who had a clearance for the Morpheus Project was still discussing the exciting news and waiting unpatiently for the new arrival, me included. A living alien male in our lab and I was going to be part of it. What interesting information would we learn from him? Was he going to be friendly or hostile? Were we going to see him in his true form or was he going to be disguised as a human?
All these questions were going through my head, the scientist in me couldn't wait for the great opportunity to find the answers to them. Everything I talked about with Grayson regarding my sexuality and my problems with Chris and Tony seemed insignificant in this moment. This was history in the making! We were about to meet a living alien.
The door opened and two men escorting another ― was he the alien? ― between them entered, followed by a man who looked like a government agent. Then the cuffed man in the middle looked up and I gasped. This couldn't be happening.
"Hello, Princess," he said when he saw me. "Care to enlighten me what kind of madhouse this is?"
Everyone who had a clearance for the Morpheus Project was still discussing the exciting news and waiting unpatiently for the new arrival, me included. A living alien male in our lab and I was going to be part of it. What interesting information would we learn from him? Was he going to be friendly or hostile? Were we going to see him in his true form or was he going to be disguised as a human?
All these questions were going through my head, the scientist in me couldn't wait for the great opportunity to find the answers to them. Everything I talked about with Grayson regarding my sexuality and my problems with Chris and Tony seemed insignificant in this moment. This was history in the making! We were about to meet a living alien.
The door opened and two men escorting another ― was he the alien? ― between them entered, followed by a man who looked like a government agent. Then the cuffed man in the middle looked up and I gasped. This couldn't be happening.
"Hello, Princess," he said when he saw me. "Care to enlighten me what kind of madhouse this is?"
Some of the sim characters I borrowed for this chapter were created by these amazing simmer friends of mine: Orangeplumbob (you have to check her story Second Chances you'll love it!), Pammiechick (author of the amazing Day & Knight), beverlyallitsims (author of My Little Sin City full of many swoonworthy characters, including Mr. Morti), CitizenErased (author of Ashes 2 Ashes Legacy), Leeuska and of course Rory (the author of Legacies of the Sims and creator of Tony Corleonesi for which she can never be thanked enough.) Grazie!
Many poses were used to make this chapter what it is. First of all I want to thank mypalsim1 for creating a pose specifically for Tony when I took it into my head that he would jump at Kellog's back, and didn't want to give that idea up.
Other pose creators whose creations were equally important and largely appreciated:
beverlyallitsims, matcha, Helga Tisha, La Sims Society, Ryan Jayden, Mysterysims, Joanne Bernice, Siciliaforever, Sweetsorrowsims, The Study of Simology