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the unlocked and opened administrative offices door. We walked down an empty hall to a door labeled “Conference Room.” He opened it, ushered me in, and closed it behind me. Seated inside at a solid-oak conference table was my new best friend, Special Agent Rollin Schmidt, in his black rumpled suit, along with . . . well, perhaps I should explain it this way. Imagine you have been in a darkened theater for seven years, and you’ve seen the exact same boring movie every day. Then one day, unexpectedly, you leave the theater without your sunglasses, and the sun is just over-the-top bright when you walk out the doors. There was a brilliant ray of sun sitting next to Agent Schmidt, and she stood and offered her hand as I walked in.
    “Chase, this is Jenna Brighton. You two will be getting to know one another in the very near future,” he said.
    “Nice to meet you, Chase,” she said, as her large, emerald eyes appraised me. The only females I had seen the past seven years were the occasional infirmary nurse and my mom on her four visits. Some prisons had open visitation, but I had never experienced that.
    Back to the ray of light that was Special Agent Jenna Brighton. She was about five feet five inches with straight blonde hair that came to her shoulders. I didn’t see any makeup and the more I stared, the more I realized that girls like Jenna didn’t need makeup.
    “Nice to meet you, Special Agent Brighton,” I managed to get out, as she firmly shook my hand.
    “Chase, get used to calling her Jenna. She is going to be your contact in Foggy Harbor; you two will be playing the part of boyfriend and girlfriend. We don’t have time now to go over all the rules about that, but Jenna will bring you up to speed in due course.”
    “Wow, the FBI springs me from prison and provides a girlfriend too. You guys are the best.”
    “Just remember to do what Jenna says, Chase. Now, your lawyer, Mr. Stinson, arrived thirty minutes ago and is waiting over at intake. He has no idea who we are and will not see us while here. He will be provided a copy of your parole papers after you sign them. Before release, medical will check you out and give you a couple of shots. Once that is completed, you will be released and working for us. We will give you three or four days to become acclimated to life on the outside. Enjoy yourself and relax. We don’t want you doing any snooping at all, or job hunting, got it? Monday, Jenna will find you and set up a more public ‘date,’ but I need you to approach her. It will look more legit if anyone has eyes on you. I’m sure a good-looking, confident guy like yourself will have no problem with that.”
    “No, I imagine that will not be a problem for me,” I said, giving Jenna a quick smile. “Why would anyone be watching me?”
    “We’re just covering the bases, Chase. Dotting our i’s and crossing our t’s. Okay, we’re done here. Best of luck, and God help you if you try and screw us over on this,” he said as we shook hands.
    I’m not sure I bought Agent Schmidt’s covering the bases comment, but I wasn’t upsetting the apple cart this close to freedom.
    “Agent Schmidt, I have no desire to ever return to prison.”
    “I guess we will find out soon,” he said, looking at me with those untrusting, tired eyes.
    “Until we meet again, Ms. Brighton,” I said with a nod.
    “I’ll be in touch soon, Chase,” she said, a little twinkle in her eye. Or maybe I was just imagining that. All I knew was that one way or another, I was now in bed with the FBI. I exited the room, and Patterson dutifully escorted me over to medical, where I endured one final round of poking and prodding and two shots, one particularly painful, in my shoulder.
    “One for tetanus and the other for the flu. Compliments of the state of North Carolina,” said a nurse I’d never seen before. What did I care, I was being released. Twenty minutes later, I was shaking hands with Arthur Stinson and wearing jeans