Being a Man for Himself Ch. 02

Amy let Merissa go and then slowly backed away.

Merissa stood there looking down. "I don't know what to say about this."

"I'm sorry." Henry said.

"How long has this been going on?"

"A few days." Amy answered.

"That's it?"

"Yes." said Henry.

"How much did ... um ..."

"We've had sex." Amy said.

"Really?" Merissa said in disgust. "Then why would you ... Ugh ... why would you want to be with me? If you're with her then why do you want to be with me?"

"Because he doesn't want to be with me." Amy said. "He wants you. Ok. Don't blame him for this. It's my fault. I forced him into it."

"That's enough." said Henry.

"Be quiet. I'll handle this." Amy said.

"No. Amy sit down. Now." Henry commanded. "Merissa, you can go if you want. I'm not keeping you here."

"Can you please just help me understand because I thought we had something special."

"We do. But look, family comes first. Always. That's something my fake wife could never understand. Getting married means she joins my family but she thought it meant that I was a tenant in hers. Ok, so we're messed up. Fine. Amy is my sister and I'm going to take care of her. A condition of you being with me is accepting that even if you don't like it."

"I'm not stopping you from taking care of her."

"Until I can get some other help for her, then this is what I have to do. You know and if you want to be part of this family then you need to understand that we all have to look out for one another."

She looked up. "You want me to be part of the family."

"Yes. Of course. Yes."

"Then show me."

"I want you to be part of the family."

"Not tell me. Show me. Show me what you do with your sister."

Amy stood up and address the other woman. "You want to see me suck his dick?"

"Show me for real. The real thing. Fuck her."

"Why?" asked Henry.

"I'm not going to be a one night stand." she said. "You're telling me this crazy thing that I just can't even believe. So go ahead. Show me it's real."

Amy got out of her shorts and then she bent over the nearest chair. She spread her legs apart and encouraged Henry to come fuck her. Merissa watched as Henry cautiously got his dick back out and moved behind his sister. As Henry started to fuck his sister that way, Merissa got down and put her face right there so she could see it up close.

"You're really fucking her. And she's really your sister?"

"Yep." Henry answered.

In silence, Henry fucked Amy but not until she reached an orgasm. Henry hadn't cum yet either but he felt he'd put on a display for long enough. When he pulled out of Amy, Merissa put his dick in her mouth and she sucked on it for a moment. Then that moment ended and she let his dick go. She stood up and then took a breath while she let all that she'd learned sink in.

"So, are we ok?" Henry asked.

"No. We're not ok." Merissa answered.

"I do need you to keep this a secret."

"I will."

"I have to ask, do you want to be part of our family?"

"I wanted ... well. I don't know."

"Don't break up with him." Amy said.

"I just don't know if I can handle this. It's too much. I hear what you guys are saying. Maybe, after you get some other help for your sister we can talk about it but for right now, this is just too much. I mean, seriously. The wife thing and the job thing and now a sister thing. It's all just too much Henry. And I like you. I do. Please don't think that I don't because I do but you've got to get your life in order a bit more than this."

"Alright." Henry answered.

"No, guys. Come on." said Amy. "Don't leave it like that."

"Enough, Amy. She's decided."

"I didn't decide anything, yet. I'll give you time, Henry. But right now it's too much. Later. Fix some of this and then we can talk later."

"Alright. Can I call you?"

"Tomorrow. Call me tomorrow after work and let me know how it's going. But until you sort some of this out, maybe I don't want to see you."

"Ok. That's fair."

Merissa left after both Amy and Henry were decent enough to open the door.

Henry felt beat. He just sat in the chair at the dining table and looked at the numbers in the computer.

"I'm sorry." Amy said.

"On Monday, I'm taking you to see a doctor and you're going to go."

So his list of things to do on Monday was growing. He looked over a the numbers again. Amazingly, they just looked like numbers. There was no meaning to it. He couldn't construct the story in his head.

Without thinking of anything better to do, he set himself up with some storage space on a server at a hosting company. All the data he was collecting wasn't filling up his hard drive yet but at this rate it wouldn't take long. He'd keep all his data there safe and sound and continuing to grow until he was in the right state of mind to deal with it.

There was pain. From his forehead to the center of his chest he felt a kind of dull ache that wanted to make him sink into himself.

"Fuck you, Keiko." he said. Keiko had nothing to do with this and he knew it but just saying those words directed at her had the effect of helping him feel better. "Fuck you, and your stupid, fucking fake consulting shit. Fuck you."

"I'm sorry." he heard Amy say as she came over to him.

He looked up at her with fained anger that was there to keep that other feeling at bay. He tried to hold onto his anger but his sister knelt down in front of him and then kissed his hand. He couldn't hold it together and then a tear fell from his eye. It was the first of many. Amy put her arms around him and he wept.

...

Monday came and Henry needed to meet with one of the managers from the company he used to work for. He didn't think he really needed it but just as insurance, he had Amy positioned across the street with a camera to record the meeting, just in case. Henry didn't want any of his words or actions to be lied about after the fact. Knowing all the politics and maneuvering that happened with them, it was best to cover his bases.

Henry ordered his coffee and sat at a table right along the iron fence that was by the street just as two cop cars rolled past. He would have expected Susan to be there before he even arrived but it looked like he'd gotten there first. A seemingly random cop car drove past on the street. Henry looked down at his watch. The woman he was going to meet with was almost going to be late. Then another cop car passed and this one had its lights on. Henry looked up. Something must be happening. He sipped his coffee and then looked down at his phone which he had set to record all the audio of the meeting.

He wondered how this meeting would go. How long would it take? Did Susan just want dirt on Henry's old boss or was she serious about paying him to come back on a limited basis? He'd have to see and maybe think about it. Maybe they'd hire him back and let him work from home. If he had to go back into the office everyday, that would be weird. Would he get his same office back?

He looked at his watch again. Susan was now officially one minute late. It was ok. With all the police cars circling the area the traffic must be backed up. He hoped it didn't stay like this all day. He'd gotten his sister an appointment to see someone and he wanted to be there with her to support her when she went. And after that, he had to meet with his broker about moving some more money. And then ...

Another police car came and started blocking traffic right in front of the cafe. Then Henry felt a hand come and place itself on his shoulder. Another hand reached over a startled Henry and pulled his phone from Henry's hands.

"Henry Cooper." the policeman said as he moved around to stand at Henry's side and look down at him. It was that same cop from before. With him were several other police officers who were going around tables and surrounding Henry.

"Officer Sanders. What bullshit line did that woman give you this time?"

"Oh, I'm not here for her. I'm here for you."

Henry just shrugged.

"So, where are your cameras now, big man." he said and then in that moment two cops held Henry in place so Sanders could punch him in the face. "Oh, you're a fan of choke holds, I remember." the cop said. Henry felt another officer's arm reach around him and squeeze so hard that it cut off his wind pipe. Henry struggled to get air while Sanders and probably some of the other cops started to punch him or hit him with weapons.

...

Henry woke up in a tiny cot that was barely big enough to sleep in. He tried to get up but every part of his body hurt. His left arm was in a cast and he had bandages around his chest. After about an hour of wondering what exactly the fuck had happened to him, he was finally able to stand up in the little space next to the bunk and look at his face in the foggy, distorted mirror above the metal toilet.

The left side of his head was swollen which explained why he wasn't able to see very well out of his left eye. Henry just shook his head. Why? He assumed it was because of something that Keiko must have said.

He eventually became conscious of his surroundings. He was in some kind of jail cell that was stone walls on three sides and bars for the forth. It was only big enough for him and if he had been able to stretch his arms out there actually wasn't enough room to do it all the way. The cot was also just a bit too short for Henry and he either had to cock his head to the side or let one of his feet hang of the bed when he slept.

Henry didn't know the floor plan of whatever this place was but outside his bars there was some sort of hall and across the hall there was a wall that was stone all the way up with a few narrow barred windows near the top. Henry heard quiet voices and sometimes howling on the hall.

For two days they didn't even bring him a meal, just medicine for him to take. The guy with the cart that came by the cell said that the medicine was pain killers. Henry made a show of taking it but really he just flushed them. He wasn't going to take anything unless a doctor told him directly to take it.

After three days in solitary, they came to get him. He was put in a room with his lawyer and another woman who said she'd be handling his criminal case. She was the one who explained what had happened. Henry had been accused of insider trading, securities fraud, resisting arrest, and battery on a legal officer.

"They're using a document you wrote as evidence against you."

"So, it was a trap."

"They had wanted to arrest you at your new apartment but you weren't there so they asked Mrs. Meyers to set up that meeting with you."

"I don't understand. All of that was publicly available information."

"I know that. You know that. Even they probably know that. But they're guessing a jury might not be sophisticated enough to understand that. You made a lot of money fast and in turn you made a lot of people broke. They're pretty pissed off about it."

"But if I explain ..."

"Mr. Cooper, they already know you're innocent. They just want you to take a deal."

"What deal?"

"Surrender all of your recent earnings and pay an additional 10 million dollars in restitution to your victims. If you do that, you're only looking at three years."

"In prison."

"Yes. They feel confident that you'll be convicted if this goes to trial and if you are, then you're looking at anywhere from 25 to 100 years."

"That might as well be the death penalty."

"They want an answer by the end of today."

"I'll never be able to pay that much."

"The exact amount of restitution might be negotiable. But they've been on me to get an answer."

"No. Tell them no."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm not going to be rushed to an answer. They want me to say yes. They're scared I'll say no; so they put a time limit on it. So saying no must hurt them. So my answer is no."

"The judge says she won't even set bail for you until you agree to the deal."

"Bail? For what? To get a couple of days outside before coming back to spend three years of my life in prison. No. We go to trial."

"They could keep you in here for three years awaiting trial so even if you're acquitted they've already won. And then they could confiscate all your assets just off a suspicion of wrongdoing. They have ways. I've seen them do it."

"No. The answer is no. Let them keep me in here. Let them steal my money. I'm not going to lie."

After that Henry was brought back to his cell and even as hungry as he was, his rage wasn't going to let him eat when the trustee with the cart brought his food to him.

All that night Henry worked over his previous deal in his mind. He hadn't done anything illegal. But he couldn't vouch for what the broker had done. Henry just assumed that the broker had followed the instructions Henry had given him. But what if he hadn't?

Still, Henry did know one way out of this mess. He could kill himself. That was a pretty dark thought but if he died having never taken a deal or been convicted of any crime then the government couldn't touch that money. It would all have to be given to ... FUCKING KEIKO. FUUUUUUUCK!!

Henry searched his memory but couldn't think of a rule that would let him leave his money to his sister. He needed that annulment. Or he could just set something up for his money to go to his sister in the event that both himself and his wife were dead. Then all he had to do was kill her before he offed himself. There was no way to do that from in jail, though. It wasn't like hitmen had a convenient POBox to send kill requests to.

The next morning, Henry started to eat and he discovered that prison food was actually very good. Then again, anything would be better than the slop the fucking bitch made for him. Still, even compared to restaurant food, prison food was almost on par. He'd been skeptical of the sausage at first but after tasting it, it was one of the best things on the menu.

After lunch they brought him his mail. The bitch had written him a letter which someone had already opened for him. Henry didn't even read it. He couldn't exactly tear it up with a broken arm so he stomped on it and kicked it over by the toilet.

A few days later a guard came and asked Henry to write down the names of people he wanted to have come and visit him. Henry wrote down Merissa as well as his brother and sister and very specifically told them not to let his wife in.

So of course when visitation day came around, instead of Ron or Amy; Keiko was the one waiting to talk to him. One good thing about prison, the soundproofing was amazing. Henry just sat there smiling at her through the window while Keiko was gesturing to get him to pick up the phone. He wasn't doing it. He had nothing to say to her and he certainly didn't want to hear anything from her. Then time was over and Henry was so happy to be brought back to his cell where he'd have peace and quiet.

As the days, and then weeks passed, Henry was wondering when he'd be taken for a hearing. He knew they had to do that at some point. They can't just arrest people and leave them in jail for extended periods of time without giving them a court date. But that's just what they did. A month passed, and then a second. So much time passed that Henry's arm had healed and it came out of the cast.

Day after day Henry sat there in his cell just thinking and not reading the books his wife had sent him. She selected stupid fucking titles about how to not get angry and not hit your girlfriend and a bunch of other delusional crap. She fucking knew perfectly well that Henry had never hit her. The bitch was just trying to play it up and hoped the cops took notice so she could use it against him in court.

At first it had been easy to just sit in that cell all day, everyday. He was healing up from whatever those rogue cops had done to him. Rogue cops. He'll never trust the police again. Anyway, at first it had been easy to sit in prison. But now that he was healthy again he was feeling the walls closing in around him. He wanted to talk to people. He wanted to go outside. He wanted to do a push up or a sit up.

At night his thoughts went to Merissa. Even though it hurt at times, he missed her. He wanted to be with her. He wanted to feel her skin again. He wanted to smell her scent again. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and kiss her.

Why hadn't she written to him? Why hadn't she come to see him? Who was he kidding? He knew why. Henry was just too messed up for her. He'd probably never see her again.

There was no hope. His lawyers weren't even coming to see him anymore. He was going to die in there. Another day passed. Then another day passed. Then, Henry would wake up after a nap and not know if it was still the same day as before or if another day had come.

Poor Amy. She was out there. What was she doing? How was she taking this? She hadn't come to see him and he got no letters from her. He just hoped she wasn't back in that house all the way out in the woods. He didn't want her to be alone. He wanted her happy.

And then, in his mind, his sister replaced Merissa as the object of his sexual fantasies. He'd certainly lost Merissa. There was no way she'd want anything to do with him. But that shouldn't mean he'd go to his sister. That was ... exactly what his sister seemed to want. But she was seeing a doctor. Maybe she wasn't like that anymore. But had she seen the doctor? He didn't know.

He wanted out. He wanted out. He wanted out. Just looking at those damn bars was hurting his eyes. He wanted out.

And then, the madness passed and something even worse came. He felt content. He felt like him just being trapped in that place was normal. He didn't mind it. He was able to just stay there and it didn't matter.

...

Henry's day in court finally came around. Before leaving, the guards had him take a shower since he had more than three month's worth of body oder on him. Then they gave him some clothes that his lawyer had purchased for him. The original clothes he'd been wearing when he was attacked in the cafe had been cut off of him so the doctors could treat him. Henry didn't remember that. He wondered if they'd let him shave off his beard. No such luck.

Judges were so pretentious, thought Henry. This wasn't a courtroom. It was an office but they still made Henry stand up when the Judge stood up or moved. Henry hoped he wouldn't have to deal with this lady for too much longer.

Henry had a cop standing next to him at all times because his wife had accused him of hitting her. Henry really just wanted to get through this and get back to his cell. He found he rather enjoyed the peace and quiet of solitary confinement. He felt a bit unnerved to be outside his cell in fact. He felt exposed. The walls were too far apart. It was too bright. Henry really just wanted to get his annulment and get out of there.

"What makes you want an annulment instead of just filing for divorce?"

Henry started to answer but the judge snapped at him that it wasn't his turn. Then his wife answered.

"I don't want a divorce. I don't want an annulment. This is all just a big mistake, your honor."

The judge turned away from Henry. "Mrs. Cooper, you say your husband struck you and you're asking the court for a restraining order against him. That sounds to me like this marriage is pretty much over."

Henry was going to defend himself but just as his lawyer was going to advise him not to say anything the judge jumped in and flat out ordered Henry not to make a sound. Henry could see the joy and satisfaction on his wife's face and Keiko's lawyer just smiled with confidence.

"Your honor," said Henry's wife; "I know we have our problems but I forgive my husband. We've both been under so much stress with our financial difficulties and my consulting business is the only thing keeping us afloat. I know he's a good man. Maybe he just needs some help dealing with all the pressure."