The Mountjoy Redemption

Brooks was here.

The sun rises over grey stone. Brooks stands on a chair, poised at the bars of a window, cradling Jake in his hands. He tosses Jake through the bars. The crow flaps away. Two short siren blasts herald the opening of the gates of Mountjoy. It swings open, revealing Brooks standing in his cheap suit, carrying a cheap bag, wearing a cheap hat. Brooks walks out, tears streaming down his face. He looks back. Red, Andy, Anto, Deco, Elmo, Chico, Deco Snr, and others stand at the inner fence, seeing him off. The massive gate closes, wiping them from view. Brooks waits for a Dublin Bus. The timetable says a 38A will arrive in two minutes. It appears forty-seven minutes later, along with three other 38A's. Brooks rides the bus into town, clutching the seat before him, gripped by terror of speed and motion.

"Dear Fellas. I can't believe how fast things move on the outside. I saw a homeless man once when I was a young fella, but now they're everywhere. The world went and got itself in a big damn hurry. There's no more Argos. No more Xtra-Vision either. Superquinn is now SuperValu, The Point is now The 3Arena, but my head is still wrecked. The parole board got me into this manky gaffe in Tallaght, and a job bagging groceries at the Tescos. It's hard work. I try to keep up, but my hands hurt most of the time. I don't think the store manager likes me very much. Keeps reminding me to double-bag. I will, yeah. I'll double-bag his face if he keeps it up. Fool. Sometimes after work I go to the park and feed the birds. I keep thinking Jake might just show up and say hello. But he never does. I hope wherever he is, he's doing okay and making new friends. I have trouble sleeping at night. I have -- bad dreams, like I'm falling. I wake up scared. Sometimes I do forget where I am so I do. Maybe I should get me a baseball bat and rob a deli, so they'd send me home. I could dance on the manager's face while I was at it, sort of like a bonus. I guess I'm too old for that sort of craic anymore. I don't like it here. I'm tired of being afraid all the time. I've decided not to stay. I doubt they'll kick up any fuss. Not for an old crook like me."

Brooks steals a digger from a nearby construction site and attempts to rip out an ATM from a wall. He is apprehended by Gardaí and taken back to the Joy.