Barsoap - Life Behind Bars Vol. 1

June 14, 1997           Nestled in a sea of cubicles, Sean Collins, accountant, sits at a meticulously organized standard-issue workstation. He fidgets uncomfortably in a tight, drab gray suit. Stacks of file folders competing for height are piled on both sides of his monitor. He glanced at a framed photo of himself in wrestling garb, proudly wearing a medal with his mother standing next to him, both smiling joyfully. He paused for a moment, glazed over, then turned back and is taken hostage once again by his computer monitor and the sound of something unearthly.           “Die, you mutant bastard!”            From the adjoining cubicle, a frustrated voice carries over the wall.           “I’ve had about all I can take of these twelve-hour days.” Said Larry looking for solace.           Sean is locked into his monitor and is frantically punching keys on the keyboard.           “Tis’ the season, suck it up Larry.”           Larry stands up and peers over the cubicle wall.           “I see you’re quite busy. You know if she catches you playing that, she’ll have your ass.”           Sean dismisses Larry’s concern.           “I’m on break. The battle-ax doesn’t work as late as the rest of us grunts anyway.”           Larry has a sorrowful look on his face. “By the way, my condolences about your mom. How are you holding up?”           “Thanks Larry. I’m pretty beat from working at the club last night, but I’m doing all right. I don’t mind the long hours right now. I like the distraction.”           Larry checks the reflection of his posterior in a dark exterior window and nods his head in approval.           “I can’t even imagine how I would handle losing one of my parents. Oh yeah, the mail-room left this for you while you were in the latrine.”           Larry drops a large manila envelope on Sean’s desk. Sean moves it to the left stack, which was now winning a close battle.           “Great, now the clerks are kicking my ass too.” Sean shakes his head.           Larry continues to peer over the partition waiting for a response. “And they’re going to keep piling up if you don’t get a grip on them.”           “Yeah, I’ll get right on that.” Quips Sean.           “Aren’t you going to open it?”           “What?”           “The envelope!”           “Eventually.” Sean states disinterestedly.           “It’s kind of odd. Look at it.”           “Huh? Damn, where did that one come from?” Sean pounds the keyboard in disgust.                 “The envelope, it’s handwritten and has no return address. Any exes on your bad side?”           “Aren’t they all, if they’re your exes? I suppose it is odd though. When did you become so concerned with my mail anyway?” Said Sean.           Larry shrugs his shoulders and looks dumbfounded.           “Damn it, I’m dead. All right, I’ll bite. Let me see.”           He cuts open the envelope and dumps the contents onto his desk. It reeks of newsprint.           “Ew, I hate that smell.” Said Sean.           On his blotter lay a yellowed newspaper article, a typed letter, and a golden charm.           “Oh look, a cracker jack prize.” Sean sarcastically remarks.           Sean first glances at the newspaper article. It is dated April 25, 1971, with a headline that reads Success Cut Short; Chips Down For Rising Tech Entrepreneur. He continues to read the article. It chronicled the story of Fab Inc.’s cutting edge chip breakthrough, partnered by Fabicinni and Garrett and the tragic unexplained death of Johnny Fabicinni. Sean doesn’t see much relevance in the article and moves on to the letter.           Sean unfolds it and reads:            Son, you have received this package because I am no longer with you. I know this is hard, but please be strong. There are things that you should know. Jerry, the man you thought was your father, was your adopted father. I loved your real father, Johnny very much, and I never got over losing him before you were born. I believe he would have made a wonderful dad, and I’m so sad that you missed out on that. The circumstances of his death were very suspicious. The police were of no help. I’m almost certain his business partner, Beau Garrett played a part in his tragic death.           Over the years, I’ve hired people to investigate, but they’ve ran into roadblocks every time. Subsequently, Garrett has kept the fortune he and your father had acquired, for himself. Sean, he is an evil man and should pay for destroying our family. I’ve saved an article about the incident and a charm that belonged to him. Follow your heart and I know you will do the right thing. I’ll be watching over you. Love Mom                Sean immediately tears up. He picks up and examines the charm. He shakes his head in astonishment, and then puts everything back in the envelope.           “I don’t need this right now.”           Larry is bobbing up and down like an impatient puppy awaiting words from Sean. “Well, what’s all that about?”           Sean’s voice crackles. “I have no idea, I feel like I’ve just been sucked into the Twilight Zone.”           A booming authoritative announcement comes over the office PA. “Mr. Collins, report to Ms. Overton’s office.”           “Oh s**t, I thought she was gone.” Sean mumbles.           Larry gave a reassuring look to Sean. “I’m sure it’s nothing.”           Sean begrudgingly paced to the supervisor’s office and sat in a chair at her desk.           “Sean, I know this is terrible timing with your mom’s passing and all, but I have more bad news for you.”           Sean has a puzzled expression. “What, I’m on a break.”           “It has nothing to do with your break. I’ve been made aware of a serious situation by one of our clients. You’ve violated the morality clause in your contract and I have no choice but to terminate you, effective immediately.”           Sean is stunned and pauses before speaking.           “You mean the dancing?”           “No, I mean the stripping!” Quips the manager.           “But I’ve already quit. You must understand I was buried in debt from the medical bills and student loans.”           “I do understand, but it’s inconsequential. We simply can’t have that kind of conduct tarnishing the PW’s reputation. It’s policy. Here is your final check. Please clean out your desk.”           Sean is in shock. He meanders back to his desk. Larry meets him at his cubicle.           “What’s wrong Sean?”           “They let me go.”           “What the!”           “One of our clients saw me at Pump.”           “Damn Sean, I’m sorry. That’s lame.”           Sean rolls his eyes and looks to the heavens. “Can this day get any worse?”            Larry attempts to console Sean.           “Let’s go grab beers somewhere. We can skip our workout for one night.”           Sean hesitates but then nods his head in agreement. “All right, I could for one, or ten. O’Rourkes?”           Larry smiles. “Sounds good, I’ll finish up and meet you there shortly.”           Sean hurriedly and carelessly throws his personal belongings in a box, creating a small commotion. A security guard was waiting and escorts Sean out of the building. He gets to his car, opens the trunk, and throws the box’s contents inside, scattering them throughout the back of the vehicle. The glass in the framed photo of his mother shattered, causing him to pause and sigh.           This is too much to process. Dad died when I was nine. I thought. Now there’s another? Why didn’t you tell me this sooner mom? What the hell am I going to do with this now?             Sean is sitting at a table in a semi-dark smoke-filled pub. Larry joins him. There were already several bottles of beer and shots at the table, as Sean was well into self-medicating. Larry grabs a beer and hands a shot to Sean. Larry raises his drink to make a toast.           “f**k PW and f**k that bloated scunt Overton.”           Sean smiles. “Scunt?”           “Stupid cunt” Larry spews matter-of-factually.           Sean chuckles. “I’m going to use that one.”           “I’ve known quite a few, go for it.”           They down another round. The suspense is killing Larry and he has to probe.           “So, tell me what’s going on with the things in the envelope.”           Sean pauses for a few moments, starts to break down again, but pulls his thoughts together.           “It’s from my mom. There’s a letter and some other cryptic s**t about some guy named Garrett and my biological father.”           Larry thinks for a moment. “Isn’t that the guy who’s opening the new nightclub downtown? I think Jane handles his account.”           “The letter says he was partners with my father years ago, and he kept my dad’s part of their profits without any concern for my mom.”           “Wait, bio father? I thought he died when you were a kid.”           “I did too, I mean he did. The guy she talks about in the letter had some kind of accident before I was born.”           “Why didn’t she tell you sooner?”           “I guess she was trying to save me from the pain, I don’t know.”           “Why didn’t she talk to the police?”           “She did, but they couldn’t get anywhere.”           “Hmm, well what can you do about it now?”           “Probably nothing, but I’d like to know if there is any truth to it and to get some kind of justice for my mom.”           “Of course. It’s about your dad, your mom, and maybe some cash!”           “Yeah, apparently a lot of cash.” Said Sean.           “I don’t think the club is open yet, so they probably still need people.” Larry hints.           A light goes on in Sean’s head. “If I could get a bartending job there.”           “Yeah, why not? It’s not such a crazy idea, especially since you’re going to have a hard time getting another accounting gig without any references from PW.”           “You’re right and maybe I can gather some kind of intel on Garrett, if I’m in the mix.”           “It’s a long shot, but it will give you some cash flow if nothing else. I hear it’s going to be quite some joint. The tail should be ridiculous.”           “Yeah, I’m sure. Hey, in the meantime, can you do me a huge favor?”           “Name it.”           “Can you get your hands on a copy of Garrett’s files?”           “It may be tough, but I’ll see what I can do. Jane digs me.”           Sean smirks. “Of course she does. I appreciate it, you’re a good friend Larry.”           “No problem Sean Juan, you’ve always had my back.”