Jailbird's Heaven 7/10
I know, I know, it's been forever. I've been busy working on, well, work and other fics, namely Strange. So I'm updating with two chapters, which will hopefully make up for the wait!
It came to him in the middle of the night, the plan to keep Werner and Jo in the prison. The plan was less than spectacularly brilliant but then no one would have pegged Anis for a strategist. He would simply have to convince the guards and the warden that there were other, worse prisoners they would desperately love to get rid of. He'd make them seem worse than any of Sonnenschein’s crew, make them seem outrageous, dangerous.
There were men who hated it here, men who talked about other prisons like they were long-lost lovers. They would love a transfer. He could give them that transfer. Werner and Jo would have to be on their best behavior for a while, just until Bushido’s time was up and then, hey, not his problem.
First, he had to find out why the guards despised the pair so much. Then he could Werner and Jo to cut back. It was so easy. Why hadn’t Sonnenschein thought of it?
ØØØ
Isolation had done a turn on Jan. The mastermind who had trapped Jan in a display cage had understood his personality very, very well and had scarred him with pustules of bubbling fear and deep bruises of apprehension. Jan didn’t want to be alone, especially in the yard, always glancing fearfully at the men who still watched his every mood with interest. As a result of all this, his attitude towards Juri had changed completely. Juri was no longer a necessary babysitter; he was a very much wanted protector. Jan clung to him, which worried Juri at first.
When Jan pulled him into a deep and lasting kiss during shower time, though, Juri was hard put to care if it was an act. The blatant display of ownership mixed with his six-foot-plus frame and muscles made the other men back away. They left Jan alone, Juri only having to glare darkly at them once or twice.
Jan wouldn’t stay with him all day long, his independence reestablishing itself after the first few days, but they spent plenty of time together. The little heartthrob would pop into Juri’s cell during their spare time when Juri was laying on his cot, staring at nothing. He’d bring a book or a magazine, something to do that didn’t involve what everyone seemed to think they did all day long. Juri’s cellmate didn’t bother with teasing after Juri put a fist in his face the one time he tried.
All in all, Juri was pleased with the progress he’d made with Jan. That is, until he learned that progress might all be for nothing. Sonnenschein had motioned him over the day after he’d gotten out of segregation and told him that the warden was thinking of moving Jan and did Juri know anyone at his last prison who wouldn’t mind guard duty? Sonnenschein would pay well, in whatever was asked. Juri’s chest had clenched.
He couldn’t lose Jan, not now.
ØØØ
Juri slammed Ferchichi into the wall, face stony as the man yelped and cursed, hands scrambling at his throat to release the hand holding him up.
“I need your help,” he announced, not noticing the complete lack of emotion in his voice. Juri didn’t talk much. Nor many people were interested in talking to him and his conversation skills were poor as a result. It paid to be a silent wall of muscle. Jan was hardly Juri’s first guard job. He’d been a bouncer at a nightclub, one of the few jobs a felon could get that didn’t involve a background check or, rather, preferred not to have one.
Juri wasn’t a stupid man. He’d simply struggled to make ends meet and, like the man he was currently suffocating, had made some poor decisions that had landed him here. Nothing dramatic or flashy like some of the other prisoners, Juri was in here for the short time if he made his parole. Right not, he was kind of thinking about not trying for parole just yet. If Jan was here, Juri didn’t want to go anywhere.
Unluckily for Juri, the warden was planning to move Jan to Juri’s last prison. He’d gone to great lengths to get out of that place. He was certain the warden would welcome him back to that hell mouth. He was also certain that that homecoming would be worse than a week in segregation. Sonnenschein had said the warden’s choice was deliberate. Juri believed him.
“Can’t…breathe,” Ferchichi choked out.
“Sorry,” Juri said simply, letting him go.
Ferchichi slumped over and gasped, drawing in several ragged, shuddering breaths. Juri felt a twinge of regret.
“Whatever you need to do, I’ll help,” he told the dark-skinned man. “Anything that keeps Jan here, I want to help with.”
“Great,” Ferchichi said. "I’ll tell you what: you get me into the warden’s files and I’ll find a way to keep you and your boyfriend here.”
ØØØ
He hadn’t been too happy about the reason but he had agreed to let Juri help. Schewe was imposing, tall. He’d turned out to be a great asset in breaking into the warden’s office while the man was out at a meeting. However, because he’d been unwilling to leave Werner for more than ten minutes, Bushido got to choose between having Werner tag along and wait directly outside with Schewe or getting a different look out.
God knows why, the first one to present himself was Yard-man.
The plan had been to break in and read the warden’s comments on various prisoners, which any intelligent warden would write down to facilitate others dealing with those prisoners.
This warden didn’t.
He had found nothing along the lines of “so-and-so is an obnoxious dick” and plenty of perfectly professional notes. Which was fantastic. The warden seemed unbiased or at least uninterested in putting his personal thoughts into files that might be seen by higher powers. Whatever feelings he harbored against Sonnenschein’s crew, he didn’t mention them in Sonnenschein’s file.
Bushido looked through the files again, skimming them when he realized the words pretty much fit with what Werner, Jo, and Sonnenschein had told him. They hadn’t lied, which was slightly reassuring in a weird way, and they hadn’t bragged about things they hadn’t done. There was a notation on Jo’s file about “multiple partners and increased risk” that Bushido brushed off after he realized it was meant for the nurse and no one else.
He looked up Fler’s file for kicks. Numerous charges ranging from aggravated assault to shoplifting, nothing exemplary. He’d probably been placed here because of the number of charges, not the actual crimes.
Bushido flipped through a couple more files, looking up various people around the jail. He glanced at the clock, then at the door. Yard-man was still there, keeping watch. The time window was far from up and Bushido was starting to think he’d find nothing of use here. Obviously, the warden wanted to break up Sonnenschein’s band. Removing Jo and Werner would do that.
Something Jo said came back to him. “One of us did it. I don’t know who.”
Who was included in that we? The whole group hadn’t been punished, only a select few members and not even the person who’d done the deed. Why hadn’t Timo been put in solitary with the rest He was the one all those guys looked to. Why not punish the leader?
Unless there was another connection between the group, one that didn’t place Timo- Sonnenschein, not Timo!- as the epicenter of the problem. One that involved a certain black-haired man who spent his time watching people he never seemed to talk to.
God, it was so obvious! Sonnenschein was the leader. He was the protector and the most level-headed of them all- Bushido rubbed his neck with a grimace; count down one more for the psycho ward- but that masked what the others did. Werner caused constant disturbance among the other prisoners by his very presence. Jo did worse when he moved from man to man. Sonnenschein was protecting them from themselves. He didn’t control them. Yard-man did. So who the hell was he?
Bushido started opening every drawer of the file cabinets, their rollers screeching as he pulled them out. Self-preservation had him glancing with trepidation at the door. He prayed the tall, black-haired man wouldn’t turn and fix him with that cold stare.
Alphabetical order was of no use if you didn’t know the name you were looking for. Bushido glanced at the computer, hoping there was a file, a spreadsheet, something that would give him a clue as to who this mysterious man was.
It was impossible. With his luck, he’d run out of time before he happened upon Yard-man’s picture. Bushido stopped at the K-L drawer. He was wasting time. Surely it would be easier to ask someone else the man’s name.
He stood up, closing the drawers quietly. Yard-man looked in and Bushido nodded wearily. What’s your name? he wanted to ask. Why are you doing this?
Instead, he trudged out into the hallway, looked at Schewe leaning over Werner, an arm up on the wall like this was a freaking American high school movie and not jail, the little psycho smiling up at him dreamily, and walked on. This was what he was fighting to get away from. Break Yard-man’s incognito spell and he would be out of here, away from all this. Away from Yard-man. Away from Werner.
Away from Timo motherfucking Sonnenschein and every damn one of his psycho freaks.
The pep talk would probably have worked better if he could stop remembering how damn good-looking the man was and those lips of his. Any broad would die for lips like those. Perfect Cupid’s bow.
Oh, yeah, he definitely wanted to get away from Sonnenschein.
It came to him in the middle of the night, the plan to keep Werner and Jo in the prison. The plan was less than spectacularly brilliant but then no one would have pegged Anis for a strategist. He would simply have to convince the guards and the warden that there were other, worse prisoners they would desperately love to get rid of. He'd make them seem worse than any of Sonnenschein’s crew, make them seem outrageous, dangerous.
There were men who hated it here, men who talked about other prisons like they were long-lost lovers. They would love a transfer. He could give them that transfer. Werner and Jo would have to be on their best behavior for a while, just until Bushido’s time was up and then, hey, not his problem.
First, he had to find out why the guards despised the pair so much. Then he could Werner and Jo to cut back. It was so easy. Why hadn’t Sonnenschein thought of it?
ØØØ
Isolation had done a turn on Jan. The mastermind who had trapped Jan in a display cage had understood his personality very, very well and had scarred him with pustules of bubbling fear and deep bruises of apprehension. Jan didn’t want to be alone, especially in the yard, always glancing fearfully at the men who still watched his every mood with interest. As a result of all this, his attitude towards Juri had changed completely. Juri was no longer a necessary babysitter; he was a very much wanted protector. Jan clung to him, which worried Juri at first.
When Jan pulled him into a deep and lasting kiss during shower time, though, Juri was hard put to care if it was an act. The blatant display of ownership mixed with his six-foot-plus frame and muscles made the other men back away. They left Jan alone, Juri only having to glare darkly at them once or twice.
Jan wouldn’t stay with him all day long, his independence reestablishing itself after the first few days, but they spent plenty of time together. The little heartthrob would pop into Juri’s cell during their spare time when Juri was laying on his cot, staring at nothing. He’d bring a book or a magazine, something to do that didn’t involve what everyone seemed to think they did all day long. Juri’s cellmate didn’t bother with teasing after Juri put a fist in his face the one time he tried.
All in all, Juri was pleased with the progress he’d made with Jan. That is, until he learned that progress might all be for nothing. Sonnenschein had motioned him over the day after he’d gotten out of segregation and told him that the warden was thinking of moving Jan and did Juri know anyone at his last prison who wouldn’t mind guard duty? Sonnenschein would pay well, in whatever was asked. Juri’s chest had clenched.
He couldn’t lose Jan, not now.
ØØØ
Juri slammed Ferchichi into the wall, face stony as the man yelped and cursed, hands scrambling at his throat to release the hand holding him up.
“I need your help,” he announced, not noticing the complete lack of emotion in his voice. Juri didn’t talk much. Nor many people were interested in talking to him and his conversation skills were poor as a result. It paid to be a silent wall of muscle. Jan was hardly Juri’s first guard job. He’d been a bouncer at a nightclub, one of the few jobs a felon could get that didn’t involve a background check or, rather, preferred not to have one.
Juri wasn’t a stupid man. He’d simply struggled to make ends meet and, like the man he was currently suffocating, had made some poor decisions that had landed him here. Nothing dramatic or flashy like some of the other prisoners, Juri was in here for the short time if he made his parole. Right not, he was kind of thinking about not trying for parole just yet. If Jan was here, Juri didn’t want to go anywhere.
Unluckily for Juri, the warden was planning to move Jan to Juri’s last prison. He’d gone to great lengths to get out of that place. He was certain the warden would welcome him back to that hell mouth. He was also certain that that homecoming would be worse than a week in segregation. Sonnenschein had said the warden’s choice was deliberate. Juri believed him.
“Can’t…breathe,” Ferchichi choked out.
“Sorry,” Juri said simply, letting him go.
Ferchichi slumped over and gasped, drawing in several ragged, shuddering breaths. Juri felt a twinge of regret.
“Whatever you need to do, I’ll help,” he told the dark-skinned man. “Anything that keeps Jan here, I want to help with.”
“Great,” Ferchichi said. "I’ll tell you what: you get me into the warden’s files and I’ll find a way to keep you and your boyfriend here.”
ØØØ
He hadn’t been too happy about the reason but he had agreed to let Juri help. Schewe was imposing, tall. He’d turned out to be a great asset in breaking into the warden’s office while the man was out at a meeting. However, because he’d been unwilling to leave Werner for more than ten minutes, Bushido got to choose between having Werner tag along and wait directly outside with Schewe or getting a different look out.
God knows why, the first one to present himself was Yard-man.
The plan had been to break in and read the warden’s comments on various prisoners, which any intelligent warden would write down to facilitate others dealing with those prisoners.
This warden didn’t.
He had found nothing along the lines of “so-and-so is an obnoxious dick” and plenty of perfectly professional notes. Which was fantastic. The warden seemed unbiased or at least uninterested in putting his personal thoughts into files that might be seen by higher powers. Whatever feelings he harbored against Sonnenschein’s crew, he didn’t mention them in Sonnenschein’s file.
Bushido looked through the files again, skimming them when he realized the words pretty much fit with what Werner, Jo, and Sonnenschein had told him. They hadn’t lied, which was slightly reassuring in a weird way, and they hadn’t bragged about things they hadn’t done. There was a notation on Jo’s file about “multiple partners and increased risk” that Bushido brushed off after he realized it was meant for the nurse and no one else.
He looked up Fler’s file for kicks. Numerous charges ranging from aggravated assault to shoplifting, nothing exemplary. He’d probably been placed here because of the number of charges, not the actual crimes.
Bushido flipped through a couple more files, looking up various people around the jail. He glanced at the clock, then at the door. Yard-man was still there, keeping watch. The time window was far from up and Bushido was starting to think he’d find nothing of use here. Obviously, the warden wanted to break up Sonnenschein’s band. Removing Jo and Werner would do that.
Something Jo said came back to him. “One of us did it. I don’t know who.”
Who was included in that we? The whole group hadn’t been punished, only a select few members and not even the person who’d done the deed. Why hadn’t Timo been put in solitary with the rest He was the one all those guys looked to. Why not punish the leader?
Unless there was another connection between the group, one that didn’t place Timo- Sonnenschein, not Timo!- as the epicenter of the problem. One that involved a certain black-haired man who spent his time watching people he never seemed to talk to.
God, it was so obvious! Sonnenschein was the leader. He was the protector and the most level-headed of them all- Bushido rubbed his neck with a grimace; count down one more for the psycho ward- but that masked what the others did. Werner caused constant disturbance among the other prisoners by his very presence. Jo did worse when he moved from man to man. Sonnenschein was protecting them from themselves. He didn’t control them. Yard-man did. So who the hell was he?
Bushido started opening every drawer of the file cabinets, their rollers screeching as he pulled them out. Self-preservation had him glancing with trepidation at the door. He prayed the tall, black-haired man wouldn’t turn and fix him with that cold stare.
Alphabetical order was of no use if you didn’t know the name you were looking for. Bushido glanced at the computer, hoping there was a file, a spreadsheet, something that would give him a clue as to who this mysterious man was.
It was impossible. With his luck, he’d run out of time before he happened upon Yard-man’s picture. Bushido stopped at the K-L drawer. He was wasting time. Surely it would be easier to ask someone else the man’s name.
He stood up, closing the drawers quietly. Yard-man looked in and Bushido nodded wearily. What’s your name? he wanted to ask. Why are you doing this?
Instead, he trudged out into the hallway, looked at Schewe leaning over Werner, an arm up on the wall like this was a freaking American high school movie and not jail, the little psycho smiling up at him dreamily, and walked on. This was what he was fighting to get away from. Break Yard-man’s incognito spell and he would be out of here, away from all this. Away from Yard-man. Away from Werner.
Away from Timo motherfucking Sonnenschein and every damn one of his psycho freaks.
The pep talk would probably have worked better if he could stop remembering how damn good-looking the man was and those lips of his. Any broad would die for lips like those. Perfect Cupid’s bow.
Oh, yeah, he definitely wanted to get away from Sonnenschein.