“Similar for the guys who get out around the same time I do, but they hog the court,” Rain said. “Coalbelcher and his right hand man get the court every day. It’s rare that someone else gets to go. You basically have to kill someone to earn enough respect to get in.”

“If you go that far you’re never leaving,” Capricorn said. “Maybe they figure they might as well get to know you, if you’re committing to being a lifer.”

Rain snorted, a laugh without humor.

“Court, weights, and…” I prompted.

“And the main yard,” Rain said. “There are a lot of rules for all of it. Weights cage, you get seven minutes at a time, have to clean up and reset the area as part of those seven minutes, or you don’t get a turn for a week. You go from there to the yard, next person in the yard gets a turn. Court, you can’t have a record of altercations with other prisoners. Yard is where most go.”

“Most people run laps,” Ashley said. “You have to stay a set distance from others. If you don’t, your ankle beeps until you get away. We can’t stand close to one another, but there’s leeway if you’re in the middle and doing something active. Some throw or kick balls. Talking happens while running thirty feet behind someone or playing catch. You’re always far enough apart you have to raise your voice, and so you can’t conspire with anyone.”

“I’m not really social,” Rain said. “I haven’t really tried, but it’s hard enough to run that long and not look like a wuss. People try to lap you, too. They’ll signal the guards, guards call out for you to stop in a corner and let them pass.”

“They do it on purpose,” Ashley said. “You get the people who run together, just close enough to not cause trouble, talking while they run, others try to lap people, shame them, show off their stamina, and the rest are either trying not to look bad or they give up and throw balls.”

“Sounds right,” Rain said.

“Can you talk to Crystalclear?” I asked.

“You might have better luck than me. I haven’t seen him yet. They keep some buildings of people segregated from others. Like, they don’t want Fallen in the same yard as me, you know?”

“You have a better chance of ending up in the same yard with him than I do,” Ashley said.

“Yeah,” Rain said. “Sure. I mean, if the chance comes up, I’ll try.”

“And I’ll try on my end,” I said. “I’m not sure if it’ll ring alarm bells, me being too obstrusive, but I’ll see what I can do.”

Rain nodded, cracking his knuckles again. “While you’re at it? Could you keep an eye on Cradle and Love Lost?”