Farid had a new type of question for Dagur the next day in therapy. When the client came, he had a sheepish look on his face.
"Hey, Doc," he said, smiling nervously. "Guess what? There was almost a fight yesterday between me and Ryker."
The psychologist's expression became troubled. "What happened? You don't look injured at least."
"No, I wasn't. I didn't want to fight–I swear that I didn't."
"I believe you. How did it start?"
"Like you said it would. Ryker knew about my reputation and wanted to prove that he was the best. He admitted that he has drugs coming into the cell and even said that his last cellmate is gone because he either accidentally or intentionally snitched on him. I said that I wasn't going to start telling other officers. Too many are in on it anyway. I don't trust any of them besides Gobber and he probably already knows. I told Ryker that I wasn't just going to do whatever he said, though. It was a deal. I'd stay quiet and he'd keep his flunkies away from me. See? I was trying to be nice."
Farid contained a smile upon hearing how sincere he sounded. "But he didn't want to make that deal?"
"Nope. Tried to choke me out before I even was done talking! He had a knife on him too. I was fine with dodging until I saw that his people were coming over. That's when I put him in a choke hold." He quickly added, "I wasn't going to kill him. I didn't even really hurt him. I've squeezed way tighter, but I just wanted him to call off his goons. I think I added to my reputation, though."
"Most likely, but now that you have, you might be able to use it to help people. If they're afraid of Ryker and that's why they're buying the drugs, having a new person in charge could change up enough things."
Dagur looked contemplative. "I didn't think about that. Yeah, I guess I could. I've never really seen what it's like to be top dog. It might be nice."
"Power can change people, so just try to remember to not let it make you act differently."
"Don't worry. I'll use my powers for good," he said, smiling.
"I'm sure that you will. Also, I have some questions for you that are a little different."
"Okay, what are they?"
"Were there any places Oswald liked to visit a lot?"
"Yeah actually. After everything happened with Mom and Heather, he started going out more. I'd try to follow him from time to time, but he always noticed me before I could really find where he was going. I got far enough to see he was in the wilderness. It was about a mile south from where we used to live. He'd go there a lot. I just don't know the specifics like if he had a log cabin out there, a treehouse, or a tent. He might have just stood in the grass for all I know. Even when I went out looking while he was at work, I'd get too bored." Dagur paused. "Are you going to try to find him?"
"I'm not sure if I will, but there has been talk of it."
The redhead's brows furrowed in thought, so Farid spoke.
"Would you want to see your father again?"
"Alive? I don't know. Even though I didn't kill him, I just figured he'd probably gotten himself killed by someone else out there on his own. If he were still alive…if I saw him again." Dagur started to frown more at the table. "I don't have anything to say to him. He faked his own murder and framed me for it. What would I say to that? 'You suck?' He wouldn't visit me here anyway and if I get out, he certainly won't be on my list of people to see."
"Do you want him to be found?"
"Maybe. Just to help prove that I didn't do it. I couldn't have killed someone who's still breathing." Dagur crossed his arms. "He better be dead, though. If he's dead, then he didn't set me up. Either that, or he did, but he didn't have as much time to realize that it was a messed up thing to do. If he's alive, then…he just hates me that much." The client got quiet for a moment. "I really wasn't trying to be a bad son, Doc. I just didn't know how to be a good one."
"Sometimes, when people have children, they also have expectations for what they want them to be. When those aren't met, there's resentment. In some of those cases, there might be nothing the child can do to change that."
"Too bad that those expectations exist. Seems like all we can do is disappoint."
"But there are always people out there who won't have those expectations."
The inmate liked the sound of that. They spoke for a little longer until Gobber returned. When he did, he had some news for Dagur.
"There's another visitor today."
"Heather?" Dagur asked hopefully.
"Not this time, but Hiccup's here."
This kept a smile on the redhead's face as they went to the designated area. Like Gobber had said, the other young man was on the opposite side of the glass, holding the phone. He had a small smile on his face as well. Excitedly, Dagur grabbed the phone when the cuffs were removed.
"Thanks for getting Heather to talk with me," he said, beaming.
"I'm glad it worked out. She and I spoke and it sounded like it went well." His smile faded slightly. "She wants to find your father. Do you think you could help with that?"
"Heather's the one who wants to find him? I guess that's not surprising. Does she have any leads yet?"
"Nothing yet. If she does, she hasn't told me."
"The doc asked me about Dad today. All I know is he used to go out to the wilderness near where we lived a lot. I wish I could tell you more than that, but he never let me go with him."
"That's okay. Even knowing just that helps. I'll tell her." Hiccup paused, suddenly unsure what he wanted to say. "If we find Oswald, do you want me to see if he'll visit?"
Dagur laughed, then stopped himself. "That's basically the second time I've been asked that today. Thanks, but I'm fine."
"But he's your dad."
"I know, but that doesn't mean we were close." The inmate frowned a little in thought. "Do you and the warden still get along? I remember things being tense sometimes."
"Yeah. High school was weird since I wasn't athletic, but we both got past it and things worked themselves out."
"I figured that would happen. It was clear even back when we were kids. Sure, your dad would look disappointed when you didn't want to play sports, but…there was always something else there. It was never that he was really upset with you. I just thought he didn't understand you that well back then even though he wanted to."
Hiccup smirked. "That's a pretty good observation. I sort of wish we'd have had this talk back then because it used to bother me a lot, thinking he just wouldn't try to understand me."
Dagur shook his head. "Sorry to disappoint, but this talk would've ended in me trying to set up some elaborate scheme to make it look like you were winning in a major league baseball game or something."
The visitor's smile widened. "I wouldn't say you were that bad. We probably would have wound up in the little league."
This got them both laughing. It began to fade as a less pleasant emotion filled Hiccup.
"You seem so different from back then, but I can also see a lot of similarities."
Dagur cringed. "Guess I should work more on those. It's the laugh, isn't it? I can't make it sound normal. I've tried."
"They're not bad similarities," the trainer corrected, seeing the smile return. "I just wish that you could've received the therapy you needed in those days. It didn't have to be like this."
The inmate put his hand on the glass. "I wish it didn't have to be like this either." A sad smile crossed his face. "Those days seem so long ago now. I used to be really jealous of you."
"You were? I was jealous of you for a while. I would've done anything to have your athleticism."
"At the end of the day, it doesn't matter that much. It was all I had. You still had your brain."
"You've always been clever, though."
"Then, you were one of the few to think so. It wasn't just that. You had your mind, an honorary uncle, and your dad. No matter how upset he got, he still loved you. I knew that I'd never have any of that. The doc can spend the rest of my life treating me, but I'm always going to think a bit differently." The smile became less sad. "But he's helping me learn to not mind that so much. Different doesn't mean bad, after all."
"It definitely doesn't. If it did, then we'd both be pretty terrible."
A hand on Dagur's shoulder let him know it was time. He gave a parting smile and goodbye to Hiccup before leaving. The two returned to the cell and he was let in. Ryker glared, but he did not say anything. He busied himself and once Dagur had done some more working out, he began trying to focus on his breathing. After a little bit of time, another guard walked by the bars. He tossed something in and Dagur frowned as Ryker grabbed the item. Momentarily, the older inmate looked at him.
"Don't tell anyone what you saw," he said.
The redhead just sighed. "Why do you want to get people addicted to those?"
"It's about the money."
"Is this how you got busted?"
"What if it is?"
"That wasn't a sign?" Ryker was no longer looking at him. Dagur frowned. "You'd do anything for money, huh?"
Ryker did not answer again, so the other inmate returned to his meditation. When the cells were opened and it was time to go to the yard, they got to their usual activities. Dagur watched and began thinking of what Farid had said to him earlier.
"I can do something about it now," he thought.
Yes, he could potentially have the drug dealing stop, but that also meant he would not be able to do something else. He looked again at his cellmate and the buyer. The inmate Ryker was talking with seemed unwilling to hand over some money. Something flashed as the taller man began going for the knife. Making his decision, Dagur walked towards the inmates. When he saw him, Ryker started glaring. Before he could say anything, the newcomer did.
"If you don't want to end up like Ansson, you should hand over what you owe."
Turning pale, the other inmate gave Ryker the money and scurried off. The dark-haired man was about to make a comment, but Dagur just went back to where he was watching. Ryker followed him over and crossed his arms.
"You got involved?"
"I noticed."
"You seemed against it earlier."
"I didn't say that I was. I was just curious why you did it. I'm not used to being out of solitary. Some money sounds nice."
"So, you plan on getting involved more?"
"Maybe." Dagur shrugged. "Haven't decided yet."
The other inmate did not ask anything else, seeing he was probably not going to get an answer. The rest of the time in the yard went smoothly as did things with Farid's other clients. When he was done for the day, he went to speak with the warden. Stoick answered the knock and glanced up from some papers, a curious look on his face. They greeted each other before the psychologist got to his question.
"Could I see the file of another one of the inmates?"
"I don't see why not. Which one?"
"I was hoping I could see Ryker's."
Nodding, Stoick unlocked a drawer and took out a file.
"Ah, Ryker Grimborn. Arrested on distribution and physical assault charges. Is he going to be a new client of yours?"
"I'm not sure, but it seems like he'll be impactful in another case." Farid paused. "Grimborn…that name sounds familiar, but I don't think I've heard of Ryker before."
"You've undoubtedly heard of his brother–Viggo Grimborn." Stoick's face clouded over as he said this.
"Yes, I think that's how. He…he owns a research company, right?"
The warden scoffed. "According to the press, yes, but he belongs here with his brother. The only real difference between them is he just knows how to not get caught."
As Farid reached for the file, Stoick pulled it back slightly. The frown on his face remained, but it was not directed at the other individual.
"Is he causing trouble?"
"I believe so. Hopefully, something can be done. Maybe something can even be done about Viggo if he's also a threat."
Stoick had a thoughtful look on his face. "Well, good luck if you plan on going after those brothers. The Grimborn are a dangerous bunch. Don't get fooled by Ryker being here. He got lucky. The other people who Viggo views as expendable get killed. You wouldn't want to know what happened to the people who have directly gone against him."
A determined expression appeared on Farid. "Justice comes for everyone eventually."
