A Way Out

Prologue

Its the year 1950, five years after the end of World War II. A war I knew all too well. Life hasnt been the same since Ive come back. Yes, there was the mental struggles, but I struggled more financially than anything. I have-well had a family. I havent had one since I got locked up. No matter how many letters or apologies.

A beautiful wife and six-year-old son were waiting for me when I came back from the war, but not for long. We have always had financial trouble which is why I wet to the war. It didnt help, we still struggled after I returned, causing my wife and I to further distance ourselves from the reality that we were in. She left six months after I came back, taking our son to go live with my wifes grandma.

Like anybody, I wasnt happy with the situation but at the same time I wanted the best for my kid. He didnt choose to be born into a poor family who only made excuses to not work. I wanted them back, so I tried working. I started working at the docks for the Union, which paid fairly. All I ever smelled after that was ocean water and fish. I worked there for about two years, constantly getting screwed out of pay by my Union rep.

I left that job in 1947, living in my brothers basement. My brother, Tom, noticed I wasnt working and asked if I wanted him to introduce me to a friend of his. Back then I said yes, I wanted my family back.

He takes me to see a guy named Hector, who apparently ran the distribution of cocaine in Florida and Cuba. Hector was just like any common drug lord, stubborn, hard to convince. Over a six-month period, he had me steal cars and pretty much anything that wasnt nailed down. He said I had to prove myself, so he had Tom come along every time.

Then came the reason Im locked up. It was a team of six of us, set to rob the biggest bank in Florida. Everything went according to plan, until we had to escape. The cops response time was faster than we had predicted. Only three of us made it out, Tom, Shawn, and I were arrested that day. We all received sentences of twenty-five years. I tried to provide for my family, make things right, but I cant do that now.