Prologue
331 Words
FOURTEEN YEARS
FOURTEEN YEARSFourteen years.
He had served fourteen years of a twenty-year sentence for murder and so, would soon be released from HM Prison Barwon, the high-security prison near the town of Lara, some 70 kilometres west of Melbourne.
But he would not be picking up his former life in Melbourne. He would not be seeing his ex-wife or his two daughters again, for he was no longer welcome in Australia.
Even though he had lived in Australia for most of his life, for one reason or another, he had never been granted citizenship and his visa had now been automatically cancelled for having what was deemed ‘a substantial criminal record.’
Accordingly, he was now classed as an unlawful non-citizen and under Section 501 of the Migration Act, he faced deportation back to England, a country he barely knew and had only visited twice since arriving in Australia as a two-year-old child.
As soon as his release date from prison was confirmed, he would be transported directly to the airport and put on the first available flight to Heathrow or Gatwick, or else held in a detention centre until a flight became available.
But he was not concerned. He had not spent his time idly whilst in prison.
He had carried out intensive research and now knew who he was, where he came from and more importantly, where he was going. He would of course have to play the system when he first arrived at the airport in England but that was OK. He would contact such charities as Imprisoned Abroad or Travel Care, charities who assisted British deportees arriving back from countries where they had been imprisoned. They would help him with emergency grants and assist him to find a cheap hotel or hostel, help with Benefits applications, and find a job.
Play the system. Establish an identity as a reformed citizen.
A penitent.
At least for the time being.
And then he would make his move.
- Writer
