Ch.67Their Plan!

#067

As soon as the word “project” was mentioned, the man’s eyes began to waver.

Seeing this, Dexter smirked and placed his foot on the man’s chest while making a call to OSA headquarters.

-Call received.

“Yes, this is Hughes. I’m at Summerlin Thomas W. Ryan, West Lake Mead intersection. I’ve caught two operatives, so please send two agents for arrest.”

-…Location confirmed. We’ll send the two closest agents.

Upon hearing the clear voice of the OSA agent, Dexter hung up and gradually began applying pressure with the foot on the man’s chest.

“Urgh…”

“Why don’t you spill a bit before they arrive?”

While the man was debating whether to answer, Dexter started applying more pressure.

“Hurry up, I don’t have time. I need to get home.”

Feeling his chest tighten beyond discomfort and thinking his ribs might break soon, the man opened his mouth.

“F-first, your f-foot…”

“Are you going to talk?”

“Ugh. I-I’ll talk. I’ll talk, so please…”

When Dexter slightly eased the pressure, the man gasped for breath, and Dexter spoke quietly.

“First question. Why were you driving Hector’s gang van?”

“Since it was a dead man’s car anyway, no one would use it, so we were told to take it…”

“By whom?”

“The Project Team Leader.”

“What kind of project is it?”

“I don’t, I don’t really know… Argggh!”

When he didn’t get the answer he wanted, Dexter pressed down hard on the man’s chest again.

“If you don’t know, at least tell me what you do know.”

“Just! Like today, we were told to install round things on streetlights and stuff like that, ack!”

“How did you know this Project Team Leader?”

“A f-friend asked if I wanted to make some quick cash doing easy work, so I went, and this Project Team Leader guy gave me odd jobs.”

“What kind of jobs?”

“Like going somewhere to pick up a bag, things like that… Please, stop stepping on my chest…”

The man seemed to know nothing about the project’s content and appeared to be just an errand boy at the lowest level of the project.

“So you really don’t know what this is?”

Dexter showed him the hologram projector he was holding.

“I don’t know, I really don’t…”

Worn down by Dexter’s force, the man’s voice had changed to an almost whining tone.

A moment later, an old black sedan pulled up near Dexter.

A middle-aged woman in a black suit got out of the driver’s seat.

“Mr. Dexter Hughes? You called for agents.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Dexter pointed with his eyes at the two men on the ground.

“This one and that one. You can take them away. They seem to be related to the ionized gaborium leak incident from before.”

As he said this, Dexter handed the hologram projector to the agent and continued.

“This is a long-range hologram projector that was attached to a streetlight. These guys were moving to remove it.”

The middle-aged female agent nodded slightly at Dexter’s words and took the hologram projector.

“Thank you. We’ll inform Agent Libero and you as soon as the investigation results are in.”

“Thank you for coming at such a late hour.”

The young male agent sitting in the passenger seat took handcuffs from his pocket, cuffed the two men, and loaded them into the car.

“Have a good holiday.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you.”

After the two agents who had briefly greeted Dexter disappeared smoothly, Dexter returned to his pickup truck and thought.

‘I can’t relax because of these bastards.’

For Dexter, who was essentially working two jobs, he couldn’t even rest properly on holidays because of these so-called “bosses.”

‘When I see these so-called bosses or whatever the fuck they are, I should really beat them half to death.’

After getting in the car, Dexter grumbled only in his thoughts as he headed home.

His good mood from spending quality time with Himena had plummeted straight to rock bottom.

Shortly after arriving home, Dexter sent a message to Himena.

>I had fun today, sleep well.

After sending the brief message and taking a shower, Dexter checked his phone to find that Himena had also sent a short reply.

-Me too. Thank you, XOXO 🙂

As soon as he saw that message, all memories of the boss’s operatives completely melted away.

“Ah, this is happiness!”

Dexter exclaimed as he flopped down on his bed.

* * *

The day after the golden holiday ended.

Having pulled Jesse away to another location under the pretext of supervision, Dexter was now being scrutinized by Jesse’s persistent gaze.

“What?”

“Somehow you seem to have gotten softer around the edges.”

“What does ‘softer around the edges’ even mean?”

When he asked again about this absurd observation, Jesse didn’t particularly answer but just kept looking at Dexter from different angles.

“Fine, I’m going somewhere else.”

“Ah, why! Stay a little longer!”

In response to Jesse’s whining, Dexter leaned against the wall with his arms crossed and said.

“So what do you mean by ‘softer around the edges’?”

“You seem a bit warmer, like you’ve become gentler.”

“Me?”

As Dexter pointed at himself, Jesse nodded vigorously in complete agreement.

“There’s definitely something… I felt it as soon as I saw you today.”

“What did you feel?”

“The expression you had when coming to work this morning is exactly the same as the one you have after we’ve done it intensely.”

Dexter stared at Jesse in disbelief at this mind-numbing reasoning, and Jesse, holding her chin between her index finger and thumb, pondered before saying.

“Did you get a girlfriend?”

“What?”

Unable to say anything as he couldn’t follow Jesse’s logical structure, Dexter remained silent, which made Jesse smile confidently.

“I’m right, aren’t I?”

Seeing Dexter still unable to speak, Jesse gently stroked his cheek and said.

“Dexter, I told you. From the moment I met you, I never intended to have you all to myself.”

“……”

Unlike her usual self, Jesse was speaking kindly, showing she understood her position accurately, which made Dexter feel sorry and unable to say anything as he looked away.

“Look at me.”

Jesse stepped back from Dexter so he could see her entire body.

Wearing a beige short-sleeved prison uniform, Jesse smiled as if resigned, a sight that filled Dexter’s conflicted eyes.

“I have to be here for at least 10 years. That’s my punishment, the result of my actions.”

“Jesse, I—”

“Just a moment, Dexter Hughes.”

Dexter closed his mouth at Jesse’s solemn voice as she called him by his full name.

“I don’t want you to be tied down by me. I don’t want to be like shackles to you. I don’t want to be the cause of your regret someday.”

Jesse, who seemed to be weighing her situation against Dexter’s worth, carefully embraced him.

“I just want you to do what you want to do.”

Although Jesse also wanted Dexter all to herself, continuing the unstable relationship between an inmate and a correctional officer would be dangerous for Dexter.

Understanding Jesse’s feelings, Dexter patted her back as she leaned into him and said.

“Hey, Jesse? I have good news related to that.”

“…Good news?”

“There will be a parole board hearing within the next month.”

“…Why?”

“Because you’re the subject of the review.”

“What?”

Jesse pushed away from Dexter and said.

“Are you joking? Right?”

“No, listen to my story.”

Dexter recalled what had happened the night before.

* * *

The previous evening.

Dexter was reading documents sent directly by an OSA agent.

He had received paperwork with the results of the investigation into the incident from the night before.

“So they really were just errand boys who knew nothing.”

The documents stated that the two men who had been retrieving the hologram projector had testified they were simply following orders from above.

There was also a sentence stating that when OSA examined the hologram projector they received from Dexter, they found it was designed to project a human-shaped hologram with no particular characteristics, unlike regular holograms.

“Hmm.”

Thinking the rest of the content wasn’t particularly relevant, Dexter put the investigation results on the table and picked up a white envelope that the agent who had delivered the documents had given him separately with congratulations.

‘What is he congratulating me for?’

When Dexter opened the envelope, he found a plain black card wallet and a single document inside.

“A wallet?”

When Dexter opened the card wallet, he found his ID card with his face printed on it, the one he used when working at the prison.

‘Why this?’

When he checked the document inside, he understood why the agent who had handed him the envelope had congratulated him.

[Congratulations, Mr. Dexter Hughes.]

The document stated that Dexter had officially become an honorary agent of OSA.

Additionally, Dexter smiled with satisfaction when he read that he could exercise the authority he had secured by grabbing the deputy director by the collar, through a contact channel.

There was also information about the enclosed card wallet, which was officially called the “OSA Universal ID,” issued to OSA field agents.

‘It just looks like a regular ID card.’

Even when he took the ID out of the wallet, it looked no different from the Honeygood Correctional Facility ID card that Dexter already had.

He read a bit more of the document.

It explained that the ID had a function that allowed it to disguise itself as an ID from public institutions, media companies, or major corporations. If you held the card wallet and said the name of the institution or company you wanted, the front of the ID would automatically change. Dexter was amazed when he read this.

“So if I say I’m an NSA agent… Oh!”

As he said that, the ID briefly turned white, then changed into a blue NSA ID card with Dexter’s photo and name printed on it.

“That’s impressive. Then, Interpol agent.”

As it immediately changed into a light blue Interpol ID, Dexter clapped his hands in amazement and said.

“This alone makes being an honorary agent worthwhile, really.”

Looking at the document to see if he had missed anything, Dexter confirmed a sentence related to parole, one of the items the deputy director had promised.

[For requests related to the parole of inmates at Honeygood Women’s Correctional Center, please call or text the phone number listed below.]

‘That’s right.’

As the saying goes, “Make hay while the sun shines,” Dexter immediately sent a text message.

>Jesse Blueberg, currently incarcerated at Honeygood Women’s Correctional Center, Medium Security Facility Building 2. Charge: 3rd degree murder.

Soon, a reply arrived to Dexter’s message.

-Confirmed. The individual will have a parole hearing in one month.

Seeing this message, Dexter lay down on his bed with satisfaction.

* * *

“When the warden and all the correctional officers gathered to talk, they were asking for recommendations for special parole candidates, so I put your name in.”

A white lie for Jesse’s benefit.

Although it was a lie, Jesse’s face began to light up.

“S-so?”

At the mention of a parole hearing, Jesse’s voice trembled, as she had never thought she could be eligible for one.

“They said they’d consider it positively, so I asked for more details, and they said they’d review your case.”

Seeing Jesse like this, Dexter smiled gently and continued.

“They said your reputation among other inmates is good, and they believe you’ve been properly rehabilitated at our prison. So, if there are no major issues at the parole hearing in a month… you know?”

Jesse, who had been stomping her feet with each word Dexter spoke, jumped up.

“Oh my god, oh my god!! Really? I’m really getting a parole hearing?!”

“Really, I’m telling you.”

Jesse immediately approached Dexter, hugged his neck, and started kissing his face.

-Smooch, smooch, smooch!

“My Dexter is so lovely!! Really? I can really get out?”

“If you keep behaving well and don’t cause trouble.”

“Got it!!! If I keep behaving well and don’t cause trouble, I can get out!!!”

“Oh, but don’t tell other inmates until after the review. They said to be careful because if rumors spread, other inmates might try to ask correctional officers for favors.”

“I got it, I got it!! Thank you sooooo much, my Dexter!!!”

As Jesse continued to kiss Dexter’s face to the point where it hurt, Dexter patted her back and said.

“Are you that happy?”

“Absolutely thrilled!!!”

Seeing Jesse’s joyful expression, which he hadn’t seen much lately, Dexter thought he had done well to blackmail the deputy director.

As Dexter continued to pat Jesse, she calmed down somewhat, separated from his embrace, and carefully called his name.

“Dexter.”

“Yes?”

“Where do you live?”

“Me? Uh, Honeygood Springs.”

Dexter answered with a puzzled expression at Jesse’s sudden question about his residence.

“Then, can I live there too?”

“Well… probably not at my place, but maybe in the same neighborhood?”

“I see…”

Jesse glanced at Dexter’s face and then smiled, saying.

“Okay, look forward to it.”

“Look forward to what?”

“After my parole period ends, you know?”

‘Live together?’

At Jesse’s provocative statement, Dexter chuckled and said.

“Sure, I’ll look forward to it.”