Read The Top Prisoner of C-Max for Free Online

made his way to the top floor. That was easier to find. All the lifts went there.
    Yudel walked slowly down the passage on the top floor, looking for the office of Brigadier Sibiya, who was in charge of parole matters. He passed the office of the chief of staff in the commissioner’s office, then the office of the chief of staff in the deputy minister’s office, then that of the minister, then the departmental chief of staff, the political advisor, recruited from the ruling party, each with a PA ’s office adjoining. Eventually he reached the office of Brigadier Sibiya and his PA . Yudel reflected that he was the only one on the floor who did not have a PA . At least I’m on the top floor, he thought. Yesterday morning, I was on my way home, jobless.
    Sibiya was bent over a list of names and addresses, and seemed to be studying it. ‘Yudel,’ he said, smiling. ‘Come in.’ To his assistant, an attractive young woman in a dark business suit and stiletto heels, he said, ‘It’s all right, Julia. Mr Gordon is always welcome in my office.’ As Yudel sat down, he said, ‘So Yudel, you want to talk about Hall?’
    ‘Does everyone know that?’ Yudel asked. ‘Is it a talking point?’
    ‘The minister mentioned it to me.’
    ‘Oh.’ This was a surprise to Yudel. He thought the minister had dismissed the matter by the time he left her office. ‘What did she say?’
    He sighed. Senior officials did not like having their duties explained to them by the minister. ‘She said Hall’s movements must be limited to the greater municipal district, that I must ensure that he reports daily to his local police station and, in addition, he must be visited at least once a week. She also said that he must not change his address without permission and I must personally agree to the nature of any employment he finds. He is not to get any job in the arms business or the security industry. For the moment, he has to stay in the caretaker job.’ The brigadier looked appraisingly at Yudel. This was only the second time in their careers that they had met. ‘By the way, these are all decisions I had already made. Does that satisfy you?’
    Yudel had not assumed that all of this was simply to satisfy him. Oh, I like this minister and this parole boss, he thought. I like them very much. ‘I’d rather keep him in C-Max,’ he said, ‘but failing that, yes, indeed. It satisfies me very well.’
    ‘Does it change anything – to restrict him?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘In what way?’
    ‘He’ll infringe in the first month and have to be rearrested.’
    The brigadier looked seriously at Yudel. ‘I hope not.’ As Yudel got up to go, he spoke again. ‘This is not an easy thing for me.’ Yudel waited for him to continue. ‘Men like Oliver Hall were heroes to me when I was a kid.’
    ‘You knew of him then?’
    ‘No, but I knew of others like him and that they were fighting for my future. But I realise he’s gone off the rails, made mistakes since then.’
    ‘Serious mistakes.’
    ‘I know,’ the brigadier said. ‘And I know my duty. You and the minister don’t have to explain it to me.’

FIVE
    ‘ MR GORDON ,’ the voice on the phone said, ‘you better come here.’
    There was something close to panic in the tone, enough of it to get Yudel’s attention. ‘Is that Warder Maloka?’ Yudel asked. He had struggled to find the phone under a pile of files he had brought from his old office. Now that he had retrieved it, he had no place to put it down. He found himself holding the unit itself in both hands with the handset wedged between shoulder and jawbone.
    ‘Member Maloka,’ the warder corrected him.
    ‘What is it, member?’ Yudel asked. God, it sounds ridiculous, he thought.
    ‘This important American lady is here. The minister said—’
    Yudel interrupted him. ‘All right, I’m coming. Don’t let her in until I get there.’
    ‘She’s in already. She’s got a letter from the minister. I thought …’
    So that is how