I’ve never been happier, and I’ve never been sadder. Those are the sort of things that have happened to me from my first 72 hours out of prison. Most of it I’ve spent in bed. And I never pictured that being the case. Before I got used to prison, I always imagined all the things I’d have to catch up on. And now, I have to admit, I’m scared to do so.

I was originally sent to prison for ten years, but my parole was denied, and that was a very strange day. I’d gotten used to the system, and even some of the guards. Jonesy especially was kind to me. I always behaved and avoided fights. Why in the world was I denied? Maybe it was my buff build and my stupid cracked tooth.

That day, I had to swallow an acceptance I probably was never going to leave, that Heathrow was my home for life. I then realized I didn’t have any friends or family with Conner dead and Dr. M having long abandoned me. I had old contacts that were still in the black market but none of them ever felt like the sort of family the three of us were. I accepted then that even if I actually escaped, there wasn’t a true home for me on the outside.

What Murray said about this being my new home really did a toll on me. After Murray went back to sleep and Bentley started work, I had to hide in the basement to cry. I used one of Murray’s pillows to prevent anyone from hearing me.

For a little while I couldn’t quite put my finger on why I wasn’t enjoying myself. Hanging with Dimitri for that shopping spree was okay, I guess. It really is cool wearing clothes that aren’t sleep-inducing gray. Okay, I admit, it perked me up. But it didn’t last. And now I think my finger’s on it. Sly. From what I heard, he’s been missing for a few months, and since he could be missing somewhere throughout time, we can’t just put out flyers or a rescue poster on this thing called ThiefNet Bentley introduced me to.

Bentley and Murray have had to deal with this for months, and from what I’ve been told about that policewoman Miss Fox, she’s had to deal with it the worst. But I might have to kick her off her pedestal, because I’m definitely not holding it in well. Because there’s two ways this could go. One is we never find the little guy and he’s lost for good. The second is we do find him, and the adventure has us pulling something the authorities would see as slimy and I’d end up back in prison. 

I wish I could meet up with my old self. The one and only James McSweeney used to scoff at the idea of capture and was always excited for the thrill of the next heist. Now I’m a domesticated used-up crook, who’s now out...and doesn’t want the true taste of freedom. If I get used to it too much and I end up back behind bars, I think it would break me. I was in a max security holding cell for several months after a fight broke out, and if I were to return to jail, I just know that’s where I’d be put, and I don’t think anyone has ever escaped from there. If they didn’t want that mouse to escape, that’s where they should’ve put her.

So, another afternoon has just started, and I’m still in bed. I’m not really trying to sleep. I feel rested. Murray has a weight set. I could try it out, but I always hogged the weight set at the Heathrow Gym. Doing twenty would probably transport me back there for a minute, so I haven’t gotten to it yet. However, with Sly still missing and Bentley’s ex-girlfriend on the run, I just know something’s going to be arriving soon.

This thought process brings me to Penelope. She was only in prison for a short time and we were in completely different cells and lunch periods, so I never met her. Still, considering what Bentley’s told me about her and the agony that seemed to be in his gut whenever she was brought up, I really hate her. She didn’t realize how lucky she was, nor how happy she made Bentley. I wish I had a girlfriend…sort of.

In high school, as an orphan in a rough boarding house, I was always too shy to ask anybody out, and by the time I got over my introversion and shyness when I was recruited for the Zimbabwe job with Conner, I was rooted too deep in the art of thievery to think about a relationship. Conner and M were all I needed, and getting ripped from them was a breakup enough.

Bentley and Murray are now back home, but Bentley told me he still had to wait for a very thorough caller who was to dial him. He’s now in the middle of it, so as long as I have my nice giant earplugs in, I have the place to myself. 

I sneak into the kitchen for a snack. As I’m taking a bag of cheese puffs back to my bed with me, alongside some lemonade to wash it down, I notice a bunch of Bentley’s gadgets and tools are laying around the dining room table. They weren’t like that when we had sausage casserole last night. 

I notice something’s under the table, and when I lean down I see what looks like a giant, broken, futuristic clock. 

I look up and see him hard at work on his headset phone. The little guy actually looks kinda sleepy. I bet he was up late trying to find some sort of data that could hint to Sly. Deciding I’ve been thinking too much of him, I turn away. 

Maybe I should actually do something today. See if Dimitri is up for another day out at the mall. I need to loosen up a bit, I guess.

When I go to my room however, I freeze in my tracks.

I hear rustling, and it sounds like it’s from someone relatively big, but not big like Murray or I.

“Who...Who’s there?”