Criminal Love

1. And so it starts...

"Mister Wang, please stand. Having considered all factors in your trial, this court has found you guilty of art forgery with the intent to defraud. You are hereby sentenced to serve 4 years in a minimum-security prison. This court is adjourned."

The judge strikes the gavel and leaves the room.

10 months later

Dylan is reading a book, lying on the bed in his cell, when he receives an unexpected caller that requests his presence. He is thinner than he has ever been, which makes him look even taller. Thankfully, in this type of facility, prisoners were not forced to cut their hair short, that would be a tragedy for stylish Dylan. In fact, this place is like a college campus gone bad.

It could have been much worse, is what Dylan tells himself every morning when he wakes up and takes a look in the mirror. He misses being free, who wouldn't? But if he had been an assassin like his father and brother, he would have ended up somewhere much worse. Hence, he thanks the heavens that he never agreed to go down that wretched path.

"Wang! Come with me!" the guard demands and shows Dylan the way to the visitors room.

Weird.

Dylan doesn't like the unexpected in this environment. Most of the time, that type of situation ends up badly. Still, he walks into the visiting hall and finds a familiar face sitting at a table. The tall and handsome guy smiles at him and Dylan numbly nods.

"You look good in orange..." Caesar remarks with a mocking tone.

"You look stupid, as always! What are you doing here?" Dylan narrows his eyes. What could Caesar, the FBI agent turned friend that got him arrested, want with him?

"There is someone who needs to talk to you," Caesar explains, serious.

"Another agent? Someone who will pretend to be my friend like you did? No, thanks."

"They have a proposition for you; you should hear them. Do you really want to stay in prison until the end of your sentence when you could be out tomorrow?"

No, he doesn't want to stay in prison. Although the minimum-security facility indeed resembles a university campus that one cannot leave, Dylan is used to open spaces, luxurious houses and apartments with wide ocean-view windows, and convertible cars that allow the wind to mess his hair. That is why Cesar's words have made him somewhat interested.

"Out, as in OUT? As in FREE?" Dylan asks, skeptical.

"Hmm... Not free free, but out! Isn't that good enough?"

Certainly, it's better than being locked up, but Dylan rolls his eyes because he detests how his life is in someone else's hands and there isn't much he can do about it.

"I knew there was a catch! Alright, I will listen to what the man has to say. At this point, I'd do anything to have the bathroom outside of my room!"

Another man in a suit approaches Dylan and sits at the table. His shoulders are broad, and his face is menacing. He is the head of a new taskforce for the FBI that will investigate art theft and forgery because lately Florida has become a pathway for stolen pieces from all over the world. The agent explains that this undercover unit will be a top-secret operation. The team will respond only to him and it will be composed by very few, carefully selected members. No one can know the taskforce even exists.

"And I care about this because..." Dylan insolently mentions, minding less than zero about the whole operation. "I'm in jail already, you caught me."

"We want to offer you a job."

Dylan raises an eyebrow and makes a puzzled expression. "A job? With the FBI?" Dylan snorts. "Do you have any idea who my father is? Can you imagine what he would do to me if he found out I was helping law-enforcement in any form?"

The man realizes he needs to give Dylan something juicy that will make him take the job, otherwise he will not be able to convince him. "We can make your record go away. You will be clean. There will be no mention of you left in the system."

Dylan looks stupefied. Do they really need him that much? At least what the guy is offering sounds motivating.

"Let's say I'm interested, what does it imply? What do you need from me?"

"First, it implies that you will work for the FBI for the rest of your sentence, during which time you will wear a tracking device..." the man severely states.

"An anklet? No way! I will be dead if anyone in my dad's circle sees me wear that! Thanks for the offer."

Dylan is about to stand up...

"Wait... Trust us, we know how to do our job. We have planned this cautiously. You will tell everyone you're on parole, that way your being suddenly out won't seem so suspicious..."

The man keeps explaining that Dylan will work with a new agent that recently graduated from Quantico, a woman that no one knows, which makes it easier for her to go undercover. She is an art expert as well, and Dylan must pretend to be her boyfriend. They will infiltrate the deepest rings of art dealing thanks to Dylan's contacts. They will live a double life, and nobody can know the truth, not even their families. Their fake life will become their real life, or something like that.

"Is she hot?"

"Man! Is that all you can think of?!" Caesar makes a face. Unbelievable!

"Hey! I have a reputation to maintain! I have never dated an ordinary woman; I've only dated Latin-American Misses! Miss Colombia, Miss Venezuela, Miss Mexico... No one will believe me if I date an ugly chick! I'll be dead as soon as they see me with her..."

"Gosh, in your world people get killed for the stupidest things! Don't you want out of that life?"

"I didn't really choose my parents, you know..." Dylan grumbles.

"Enough! We need an answer NOW Mr. Wang. Are you in or are you out?" the intense man asks with a stabbing scowl.

Dylan makes a disgusted expression and then nods. At this point, all he aspires is to get out of that joint.

"Yes! You will work for the FBI!" Caesar exclaims. "I will pick you up tomorrow morning. Be ready at 8."

Dylan scoffs. "As if I had anything else to do..."

Dylan goes back to his cell and sits on the bed, staring at the blank wall in front of him.

I'm so glad I am leaving this dump! These have been the longest 10 months of my life. After I get acquitted, I will not come back here, I swear! Wang He Di, you will kill yourself before coming back to jail!

◇◇◇

Caesar and Agent Michaels are in the car, going back to the office. Caesar is driving, content about getting Dylan out of prison. He has been looking for ways to make this happen ever since he arrested him. How Dylan has not gotten him killed yet is a miracle. He probably never mentioned to anyone that it was Caesar's fault he got caught.

"You were not supposed to become friends with the criminal you were trying to catch," the agent reproaches with his eyes pinned on the road.

"I followed him for two years, I had to become his friend, or he would suspect me. Besides, I did my job, didn't I? You will see that Dylan is a good man. He is guilty of not standing up to his father, sure, and he is great at forging any painting you put in front of him, but he had no choice. His own dad would have murdered him if he hadn't joined the family business."

"There is always a choice. I hope that once he is exonerated, he will take advantage of that opportunity and start over."

Caesar sighs. He knows who Dylan's father is; he is the bigger fish everyone is trying to capture. Dylan could have stayed out of prison if he had incriminated him, but he didn't. Dylan would never make a deal to save himself if he had to hurt his family, especially his mother.