Oz 7
Every death in Oz affected everyone different. Some deaths caused a stir only amongst the group to which the now deceased party belonged. Last year’s murder of Kennedy was a perfect example. No one, the guards, the Muslims, the Homeboys, the Latinos, all but his fellow Aryans cared that he was so violently dismembered. But then there were deaths that hit everyone hard. Such as it was when Augustus Hill died just a few months back. Hill was different. He understood, he never meant anyone harm. And yet he was the one being carted out of Oswald and buried six feet under. Not Vernon Schillinger, who was so utterly full of hate. Not Chico Guerra, a man with no respect towards anyone. No, it was Augustus. And it was that fact that rattled everyone.
His presence was greatly missed amongst the inmates. Though, as time passed, as new inmates cycled through the system, thoughts of Hill began to fade. Things had calmed. Until one day.
“Don’t like this,” John muttered. “Things now, it’s just too quiet.”
Randy met John’s eyes, nodding in agreement before watching Said head out through the Em City gates for some press meeting he had. “Yeah. Don’t feel right.”
The news spread like wildfire. John and Randy were right. It had been the calm before the storm. It was yet another death that affected everyone. When Kareem Said was shot and killed, the prison was sent into lockdown mode. Ted sat on his bunk, staring blankly off into space. He was in shock. No, he hadn’t talked to Said much, but he was the one that helped him through one of his toughest times. Said was the one that helped him deal with the anger that boiled up inside him recently. And now he was gone. He felt the bed sink down next to him, then there was an arm around him, pulling him down to lean on a shoulder. Then he heard a voice, “How you doin’, baby?”
“Said is gone, Cody. He was… he seemed indestructible.”
“No one is. But, damn, he meant so much to so many people. And the way he went out? That asshole doin’ what he did? Not right at all.”
Downstairs, John laid down on Randy’s bed, Randy in his arms. “Don’t make sense.”
“Not at all. Augustus, Said… anyone could be next. Maybe Cody, maybe me. Maybe you. Almost was you. Never gonna forget that,” Randy said as he rolled over and ran his finer over the scar gracing John’s neck.
“Me neither,” John whispered.
“How close were you?” Randy asked, his voice so quiet, John could hardly hear him.
“To what?”
“To dying.”
There was a pause before John could bring himself to answer, “Too damn close. Lying on that gym floor, thought for sure I was gone. I remember lying there, it hurt, ya know, but at the same time, felt a kinda calm over me. Next thing I know, I’m waking up in the hospital ward.”
“Shit. I don’t wanna lose you, John.”
“Same here. But the thing is, everyone here knows about us. And you know that I’m a liability, could be used to get to you.”
“Well, it’s the same with me. But after all these meaningless deaths, no one’s safe no matter what. No matter if they go for me straight up or use you to get to me. That’s why I decided I gotta get some work done.”
“What you mean ‘work’?”
Again, his thumb brushed over the scar. “You got this for me. I need something, too.” Randy tilted his head to the side, exposing his neck on the same side as the scar. “How about right here? Match you.”
Reaching out, John caressed the perfect skin of Randy’s neck. “No, not there. Leave right there alone. Don’t want it marked up.”
“Ok, how about…” Randy grabbed John’s hand and placed it on his chest, right over his heart, “right here?”
“No, no, not there, either,” he replied with a shake of his head.
“Where then?”
“I ever tell you my favourite part of your body?”
“My dick? I ain’t getting’ no tattoo on my dick,” Randy replied, mock seriously.
“Apart from your dick, shithead,” John said with a roll of his eyes.
“Then no, you never did tell me. How ‘bout you do it now?”
“Your arms. When you’re fuckin’ me and I ain’t lookin’ at your face, then I’m lookin’ at your arms. The way they flex and bulge when you move is…” He didn’t quite know how to finish that thought, so he continued with, “Plus, you already got those there,” he said, now tracing the thick tribal patters.
“So, what, want your name there? In the tribals? Or somewhere else on there?”
“Here. Right here,” he replied, dragging two fingers down the empty expanse of Randy’s forearm. “Right here’s where I see all the time. Really like this spot right here… Who you gonna get to do it?” he asked, changing the subject.
“Was thinkin’ one of your boys. Know Chucky had some work done in here. Who did he go to?”
“Tony.”
“Tony? Can’t Italian parents get a little more original?”
“No. It’s kinda like how everyone’s got an Uncle Bob, right? Every family’s got a Tony. My middle name’s Anthony.”
Randy shook his head, chuckling, “As long as he’s good, that’s all I care about. He is good, right?”
“The best. But… you sure you wanna do this? Have my name on you forever?”
“Gonna be in here with you forever, right? You’re gonna have that scar forever, right? Ain’t no takin’ that off. So, yeah, I want you on my body forever.”
As of two months ago, Randy’s trial ended. He was being charged with the murder of Kofi Kingston, and was convicted of murder in the first degree with 100 years added onto his current sentence. His first parole hearing was set for seventy years. Yeah, he was spending forever in Oz. With John. At least there was one upside to the whole situation.
“And you’re ok announcing to everyone that-”
“I’m yours. No issue with that at all. I just got one question.”
“What’s that?”
“You gonna watch?”
“Ya know what? I like surprises.”
For two more days, Ted sat on his bed, more often than not Cody right there next to him, as they talked. Or sat in silence. When they did talk, they didn’t talk about anything special. Whatever came to their minds. But when they weren’t talking, they were thinking. About Said. Usually about each other. About how anyone could be killed at any moment, themselves included. They weren’t the best thoughts to have, but that was their reality. That was the common occurrence in nearly every pod, since the only options they had were to talk or to stew in complete silence until whenever the warden decided it was safe to end the lockdown.
The day lockdown finally ended, Randy headed upstairs and knocked on Tony’s door. Tony waved him inside. “Take a seat. What can I do for you?”
Randy sat on the metal toilet and told him, “Want a tattoo here.” He held out his right arm, displaying his blank forearm to Tony.
“And what would you like there?” he asked, fishing out his kit from the chest at the end of his bed.
“John,” he answered.
“John? As in…”
“Yeah, that John.”
‘You serious?”
“Yeah, I am. Would I be here askin’ you to do this if I weren’t? Now just fuckin’ do it.”
Tony looked him up and down, thinking Randy was crazy. “You wanna let everyone know you’re a fag?”
“I ain’t a fag. Look, you got a woman on the outside, right? Love her, don’t you? Love to fuck her, right? Well, only difference here is John’s a guy, too. Not to say I didn’t enjoy fuckin’ women when the opportunity arose, but in here we don’t got that luxury. Gotta say, though, after John, never wanna go back to a woman, even if I could. So if that makes me a fag, then I guess that’s how it is. But you gotta admit, we’re some pretty damn tough guys with connections everywhere. Despite the fact that we happen to like to fuck each other. Now tell me, are you gonna do the tattoo, or not?”
“Yeah, I’ll do it. Still don’t get it, but I’ll do it,” he replied with a shake of his head.
“You fuck a man, just try and come back and tell me you don’t get it anymore.”
With another shake of his head, Tony grabbed Randy’s wrist, extending his arm, exposing the forearm. Tony’s canvas. “How big you want it?”
“Whatever looks good. It’s all in your hands now, anyway. But if you do fuck it up, I’ll make sure John and I fuck you up.”
“Nothin’ I do looks bad,” he assured as he turned on his machine.
As the needle sunk into the flesh, Randy cringed. This hurt a hell of a lot more than his other tattoos. Makeshift machine, lord knows what for ink, was the needle even sanitized? Yeah, this didn’t make for the best of experiences. But it was worth it. Every second of that needle puncturing his skin over and over. Worth it. Randy looked down, seeing the name take form. Watching as the cursive J slowly began to join with the o, which connected with the h, finally ending with the n. It was a long, painful process, and even around the red, swollen skin, Randy knew it was perfect. Better than he could have imagined. And it was there forever.
After Randy paid for his work, Tony wrapped it up in some supplies he had someone acquire for him from the hospital ward. “There. Just don’t come blaming me when you get shit for it.”
“I knew what I was getting into. You got your money, you did good work, the rest is all me.”
While Randy was upstairs, John stood underneath the main stairs, talking to Chucky. “Fuckin’ lockdown, fucked up the shipment,” he groused. They couldn’t very well push their goods while everyone was stuck in their own separate pods. No tits flowing, no cash flowing. It was pretty simple, really. Whoever had the goods had the cash, whoever had the cash had the goods. And in lockdown, none of the above was possible. So they were working out the details of how the next shipment would go down. “We gotta get in touch with our guys. Everyone here’s itchin’ for their fix. Can see it in their eyes.”
“I’ll get on the phone with them soon as I can, don’t worry. Tits’ll get here,” Chucky assured.
Just as he said that, Cody walked by on the opposite side of the stairwell, catching some of their conversation. There had always been an underlying, yet never vocalized question between them. John was the one bringing the tits in, Cody sold on the streets. Of course, that’s what got him in Oz in the first place. But he was damn good at it, and if it weren’t for that raid, he’d still be slingin’ tits. It was second nature to him by this point to peddle drugs. He slipped behind the stairs, startling the two men that were already occupying the space. “You two might wanna be a little bit quieter.”
John and Chucky looked at each other, then back to Cody. “The fuck you doin’ here?” John asked.
“How come you never came to me before?” he asked the pair.
“I told him to talk-”
“Chuck, shut up,” John cut him off. “Yeah, talked about it before. Decided that you shouldn’t get involved.”
“So you decided for me that I should never involve myself with this?”
“Why would you want to? Everybody knows you here on drug peddling charges. And, well, everybody knows it’s the Italians that run the tit trade.”
“So you let Randy sell for you and not someone who has years of experience?”
“Do you want to sell for us, Cody?” John asked him. “If I said right now deicide on whether you wanna deal for us, what would you say?”
Cody had thought about it before. He didn’t want to barge into John’s operation, but, still, he had the skills. “I just… I thought about it, about comin’ to you to see about, ya know, working. But now? I dunno, it’s been months since I so much as touched the stuff. And Teddy wouldn’t be too happy. But, then again, I’d love to know if I still got it in me.”
“You know there’s no gay bars for you to work in Oz, right?”
“Yeah. Probably wouldn’t like a blowjob as some extra incentive to buy, either.”
“Now you’d be surprised with that one,” John said with a smirk. “But I don’t think Teddy would be all that happy with that.”
“You’re right. Teddy’d be pissed.”
“Look, if all you guys are gonna do is dick around, I’m gonna go make a business related phone call,” Chucky butted in, not wanting to hear about Cody’s antics from before coming to Oz.
“So, what’s your decision? Do you wanna work with us?”
“Not now… I mean, I can’t. Not right now. Maybe later on, ya know, if ya need anyone.”
“We’ll keep the doors open,” John agreed. Looking back to Cody, he then asked, “So, where’s Ted?”
“Oh, he’s at a meeting with Pete. He’s at the, uh, rape support group session now,” Cody told him.
“Shit,” John said with a shake of his head. “How’s he doin’ with all that?”
“Gets better every day. Talkin’ to other people really helps… And then I told him about all the shit I went through… Yeah, he’s a lot better. We’re having sex way more often…” He trailed off before he wound up spilling every detail to John, who most likely didn’t want to hear it. “Anyway, where’s Randy? You’re usually attached at the hip.”
“He’s up there,” he answered, pointing straight upwards. “Getting a tattoo done.”
“Really? I didn’t know he was plannin’ on adding more.”
“It was kinda a last minute decision.”
“What’s he gettin’ done?”
Cody watched, surprised, as John’s face flushed while he answered, “John.”
“For real? He’s gettin’ your name on him?”
“Yeah. Said cuz I got this,” he started, placing his hand on his neck, “that he needed something, too. That boy’s crazy.”
“Sure is. Takes balls to do that, too.” He looked up when he heard someone walking down the stairs above his head. “Think that’s him?”
“Let’s find out.” Together they walked out from underneath the stairs and into the bright lights of Emerald City. John grinned when he saw Randy taking that final step off the stairs and turn towards them. “How’d things go?”
“Gave me a bit of a hard time, at first. But I told him I was still payin’ him… and maybe that if he fucked up, we’d fuck him up.”
“Now, Randal, you should know that violence doesn’t solve everything,” John said, his grin slipping into more of a smirk than anything.
“Right. But it helps. Threats aside, though, he did some damn good work.” He straightened his arm by his side, showing off the white strip of bandages to John and Cody. “Just let me know when you wanna see,” he said, adding in a wink before he walked off to his pod. Both men stared as Randy headed off.
“Damn…” Cody muttered.
“What?”
“Just jealous is all…”
“But you’ve got Teddy.”
“I’m still a red blooded, All American homosexual, John, boyfriend or not…”
“Well, you can look, but you sure as fuck can’t touch.”
“As long as that applies in the showers, I’m good with that rule,” Cody said with a smirk as John glared at him. “Later, John. Go, see the tattoo. I’ll just be imagining you and Randy naked. Together.” With that, Cody turned around and headed out of Emerald City to the library.
John shook it off, chuckling at Cody’s brashness. He walked over to his pod and opened the door, finding Randy leaning against the bed. “So, I think I heard something about a tattoo.”
“Where’d you hear something like that?”
John shrugged, “Around. Ya know how word travels, rumours spread like wildfire in this joint.”
“Well, maybe there was some truth to that one.”
“Oh yeah?” John asked as his finger traced around the bandage on Randy’s arm.
“Yeah. Wanna see?”
With his finger on the corner of the bandage, John slowly began to peel it back, revealing, at first, a small portion of black ink. And then the J began to come into view. John’s breath hitched when he revealed the o next. The h and n followed, and John didn’t even know what to think. “Oh, God,” he whispered as he saw the tattoo in its entirety. “It’s beautiful, Randy.”
“The redness will fade in a few days… Then you’ll be able to see it even better.”
“I… I can’t even believe you did this. I see it, mean, it’s right there, but shit. It’s real. That’s me right there. You one crazy fucker, Randal Keith Orton.”
“Takes one to know one,” he replied with a smirk.
“Got that right.” He then leaned in, his face close to Randy’s, and said, “Later tonight, think I’ll show you just how much I like that tattoo.”
Time went by, life went on. Then Cody’s former roommate, Henry, was called out of Emerald City as a sponsor of a new incoming inmate. Prisoner number 03T323. His entrance into the prison made quite the scene, his boots and flamboyant attire called attention to himself. Just as he wanted. Soon he was flocked on all sides, Henry, Fiona were right there. And then one man caught his eye, just before he was about to take the first step upstairs, he turned and headed to a table.
As he passed, Chico Guerra looked to Miguel Alvarez and asked, “Who the fuck is that?”
Alvarez grinned and replied, “That’s, uh, Torquemada. Club owner. King of the Night.”
“Cody Runnels,” Alonzo Torquemada said as he bent forward, running his finger down Cody’s cheek, “I’ll be dammed.” He stood straight and smiled down at the young man. “I heard about the bust. Such a shame. You know, we all missed you, you always made us feel so young and vibrant.”
Cody couldn’t believe who was standing in front of him. He hadn’t seen Alonzo in months, had no idea he was coming here. He hadn’t thought of Alonzo’s club or home much, either. But with him standing right there, talking about it, it was hard to forget.
Alonzo looked around at the bewildered faces sitting at the table with Cody and smirked. “Baby, why don’t you fill them in on who I am and then get your pretty little ass upstairs,” he said, now running a hand through Cody’s hair, trialing it down his neck. He waved as he left the table and finally headed upstairs.
Cautiously, Cody turned his attention back to the other three men at the table. John and Randy looked confused, if not a little green. Ted, on the other hand, looked pissed.
“Care to explain what the fuck that was all about?” Ted asked.
“Sure. But, uh, you probably won’t like it. That was Alonzo Torquemada. He’s a really well known club owner.”
“I never heard of him,” John said.
“Me either,” Randy agreed. “The fuck kinda clubs does he run?”
“What kinda clubs do you think? The kind I used to work. Gay clubs, drag clubs… All exclusive, too.”
“How’d you get in there, then?” Randy asked.
“First time? Fucked the bouncer,” he answered, knowing that his bluntness would likely hurt Teddy, but, really, he had to find out sooner or later more details of how he once lived. “That night, while I was in there peddlin’ blow to the patrons, I bump into Alonzo. He stops dead in his tracks when he sees me there. He goes, ‘Look at what we have here,’ as he walks around me, just eyeing me up and down. Next he asks, ‘You got a name, sugar?’ so I tell him. Then it’s, ‘And just how old are you, Cody?’ I remember him touching me, like he did today, his fingers down my face… And I answered. This was two years ago, when I was sixteen.”
“Sometimes I forget how young you still are,” John said when Cody paused.
“That’s understandable. It is Oz. Well, anyway, he says he knows a couple guys that would love to get to know me. Little did I know that he was bringing me out back for one of his infamous orgies.”
“What?!” Ted shouted, his voice carrying throughout most of Em City. He shied back in his chair when he saw people from all over staring, but continued to look at Cody. “Orgies?” he asked, his voice much lower now.
“Yeah…”
“Hold up,” Randy butted in, “everyone has wet dreams about taking part of an orgy once in their life, right? You two are lyin’ if you say no,” he said before either man could reply. “And you’re tellin’ us that you were sixteen when you-”
“The first time, yeah. I mean, I was popular. Men are perverted, for sure, couldn’t get enough of my teenage ass. Don’t know how many I went to, but I know that there was a lot of sex and a lot of drugs. And I fuckin’ loved it. Last one I got to go to was about a month before the bust.”
Ted didn’t know how much more of this he could listen to. Too much at one time. How, he wondered, were they even compatible?
But Cody continued recalling the events, completely lost in the memory. Alonzo had guided him into the back, and the first thing that Cody saw when the curtain was pulled back to the side was a group of naked men doing anything and everything to one another. Next thing he knew, they all stopped and all eyes were on him. Resting both hands on Cody’s shoulders, Alonzo dropped his head next to Cody’s and whispered, “You’ve got the look, baby. Just look at them. They all want you. Want to taste you. Want to touch you. Want to fuck you. And I want to watch you.” Gently pushing on Cody’s back, Alonzo eased him forward, urging him to join the other men. Alonzo walked away and sat on his chair, his eyes trained on the beautiful, sweaty men before him.
As the men surrounded him, he felt hands. And lips. Everywhere. There were hands under his shirt, hands on his neck. Caressing and undressing. Hands were dragging his pants down his hips and off his body, pulling the shirt over his head. Now there were more hands in more places. Lips were kissing up his neck, along his jaw, over his face, across his lower back, down his legs. Anywhere they could reach.
This was nothing short of sensory overload. So far in his life, one set of hands, two at most, were on his body at the same time. Now he couldn’t keep track of the number of hands on him. The sounds were like nothing before, as well. Sounds of moaning and sucking were echoing around the room all around him. From so many different sources. He could feel other’s skin sliding against his skin. “Jesus, you’re so hot,” was breathed into his ear by some anonymous man. His eyes shut as further words and obscenities were spoken to him. “Wanna fuck that sweet, young ass of yours,” he heard from another man.
Opening his eyes, he looked straight ahead, directly at Alonzo. Those eyes, one deep brown, the other a sheet of white, were staring back, full of hunger and desire. But he didn’t look as though he were about to join anytime soon. Instead, he watched. God, with all those beautiful specimens before him, how could he resist? Yet he never moved, just looked on intently.
One man standing behind Cody dropped to his knees, running his hands down Cody’s back, then caressed and squeezed his ass as he licked up the light sheen of sweat that accumulated across his lower back. Suddenly, the hand that had been on his ass was removed, but quickly returned with a slap. Cody’s eyes went wide at the instant sting. And then it happened again. And again. Still, as that was happening, men were attending to other parts of his body. A man on his side was so close, his hard dick pressed fully up against Cody’s hip. He continuously trailed kisses up and down Cody’s arm and shoulder, one hand tangled in Cody’s dark brown hair, the other grazing across his chest. And it was happening in stereo. Another man on his opposite side was doing the same, taking Cody’s fingers into his mouth, sucking and licking, his hands both gripping Cody’s wrist. It was one thing to have his cock worshipped, but his arms, as well? Fuck, it felt amazing.
In front of him, there was another man, kissing Cody for all he was worth. He, too, slowly dropped to his knees, his tongue working its magic on Cody’s cock. From behind, he could feel fingers pushing into his ass as another hand slid along his calf. Was that the same one with the fingers in his ass, he wondered? He wasn’t sure just how many other men were in that room with him, circled around him, treating him as if he were some sort of god.
Alonzo had never seen such a sight. His men, while beautiful creatures, were generally far more concerned with getting their own dick sucked that they didn’t try to make another single person feel the way Cody was surely feeling right now. Their attention was never on just one person. They wanted it from anyone and everyone. But now? Now they wanted Cody. He wanted to see where this would go, how far the young man would let it go. Though he never said a word, Alonzo could imagine, and he was imagining Cody on the bed, on all fours, his head thrown back as man after man fucked him.
The man behind Cody rose to his feet, and that’s when Cody knew there was indeed another man involved, as hands were still on his legs and lips were now on his feet. Again, someone was whispering into his ear, and Cody guessed it was the man that previously had his fingers up his ass. “Your ass is so tight, want my dick inside you now.”
Horny as he was, he couldn’t help but think that if this one guy wanted to fuck him so badly, what about all the others? Would they all want him, too? Would they continue to fuck him until his ass was raw and bleeding, or would they stop and go back to each other, such as they were before he showed up?
His presence was greatly missed amongst the inmates. Though, as time passed, as new inmates cycled through the system, thoughts of Hill began to fade. Things had calmed. Until one day.
“Don’t like this,” John muttered. “Things now, it’s just too quiet.”
Randy met John’s eyes, nodding in agreement before watching Said head out through the Em City gates for some press meeting he had. “Yeah. Don’t feel right.”
The news spread like wildfire. John and Randy were right. It had been the calm before the storm. It was yet another death that affected everyone. When Kareem Said was shot and killed, the prison was sent into lockdown mode. Ted sat on his bunk, staring blankly off into space. He was in shock. No, he hadn’t talked to Said much, but he was the one that helped him through one of his toughest times. Said was the one that helped him deal with the anger that boiled up inside him recently. And now he was gone. He felt the bed sink down next to him, then there was an arm around him, pulling him down to lean on a shoulder. Then he heard a voice, “How you doin’, baby?”
“Said is gone, Cody. He was… he seemed indestructible.”
“No one is. But, damn, he meant so much to so many people. And the way he went out? That asshole doin’ what he did? Not right at all.”
Downstairs, John laid down on Randy’s bed, Randy in his arms. “Don’t make sense.”
“Not at all. Augustus, Said… anyone could be next. Maybe Cody, maybe me. Maybe you. Almost was you. Never gonna forget that,” Randy said as he rolled over and ran his finer over the scar gracing John’s neck.
“Me neither,” John whispered.
“How close were you?” Randy asked, his voice so quiet, John could hardly hear him.
“To what?”
“To dying.”
There was a pause before John could bring himself to answer, “Too damn close. Lying on that gym floor, thought for sure I was gone. I remember lying there, it hurt, ya know, but at the same time, felt a kinda calm over me. Next thing I know, I’m waking up in the hospital ward.”
“Shit. I don’t wanna lose you, John.”
“Same here. But the thing is, everyone here knows about us. And you know that I’m a liability, could be used to get to you.”
“Well, it’s the same with me. But after all these meaningless deaths, no one’s safe no matter what. No matter if they go for me straight up or use you to get to me. That’s why I decided I gotta get some work done.”
“What you mean ‘work’?”
Again, his thumb brushed over the scar. “You got this for me. I need something, too.” Randy tilted his head to the side, exposing his neck on the same side as the scar. “How about right here? Match you.”
Reaching out, John caressed the perfect skin of Randy’s neck. “No, not there. Leave right there alone. Don’t want it marked up.”
“Ok, how about…” Randy grabbed John’s hand and placed it on his chest, right over his heart, “right here?”
“No, no, not there, either,” he replied with a shake of his head.
“Where then?”
“I ever tell you my favourite part of your body?”
“My dick? I ain’t getting’ no tattoo on my dick,” Randy replied, mock seriously.
“Apart from your dick, shithead,” John said with a roll of his eyes.
“Then no, you never did tell me. How ‘bout you do it now?”
“Your arms. When you’re fuckin’ me and I ain’t lookin’ at your face, then I’m lookin’ at your arms. The way they flex and bulge when you move is…” He didn’t quite know how to finish that thought, so he continued with, “Plus, you already got those there,” he said, now tracing the thick tribal patters.
“So, what, want your name there? In the tribals? Or somewhere else on there?”
“Here. Right here,” he replied, dragging two fingers down the empty expanse of Randy’s forearm. “Right here’s where I see all the time. Really like this spot right here… Who you gonna get to do it?” he asked, changing the subject.
“Was thinkin’ one of your boys. Know Chucky had some work done in here. Who did he go to?”
“Tony.”
“Tony? Can’t Italian parents get a little more original?”
“No. It’s kinda like how everyone’s got an Uncle Bob, right? Every family’s got a Tony. My middle name’s Anthony.”
Randy shook his head, chuckling, “As long as he’s good, that’s all I care about. He is good, right?”
“The best. But… you sure you wanna do this? Have my name on you forever?”
“Gonna be in here with you forever, right? You’re gonna have that scar forever, right? Ain’t no takin’ that off. So, yeah, I want you on my body forever.”
As of two months ago, Randy’s trial ended. He was being charged with the murder of Kofi Kingston, and was convicted of murder in the first degree with 100 years added onto his current sentence. His first parole hearing was set for seventy years. Yeah, he was spending forever in Oz. With John. At least there was one upside to the whole situation.
“And you’re ok announcing to everyone that-”
“I’m yours. No issue with that at all. I just got one question.”
“What’s that?”
“You gonna watch?”
“Ya know what? I like surprises.”
For two more days, Ted sat on his bed, more often than not Cody right there next to him, as they talked. Or sat in silence. When they did talk, they didn’t talk about anything special. Whatever came to their minds. But when they weren’t talking, they were thinking. About Said. Usually about each other. About how anyone could be killed at any moment, themselves included. They weren’t the best thoughts to have, but that was their reality. That was the common occurrence in nearly every pod, since the only options they had were to talk or to stew in complete silence until whenever the warden decided it was safe to end the lockdown.
The day lockdown finally ended, Randy headed upstairs and knocked on Tony’s door. Tony waved him inside. “Take a seat. What can I do for you?”
Randy sat on the metal toilet and told him, “Want a tattoo here.” He held out his right arm, displaying his blank forearm to Tony.
“And what would you like there?” he asked, fishing out his kit from the chest at the end of his bed.
“John,” he answered.
“John? As in…”
“Yeah, that John.”
‘You serious?”
“Yeah, I am. Would I be here askin’ you to do this if I weren’t? Now just fuckin’ do it.”
Tony looked him up and down, thinking Randy was crazy. “You wanna let everyone know you’re a fag?”
“I ain’t a fag. Look, you got a woman on the outside, right? Love her, don’t you? Love to fuck her, right? Well, only difference here is John’s a guy, too. Not to say I didn’t enjoy fuckin’ women when the opportunity arose, but in here we don’t got that luxury. Gotta say, though, after John, never wanna go back to a woman, even if I could. So if that makes me a fag, then I guess that’s how it is. But you gotta admit, we’re some pretty damn tough guys with connections everywhere. Despite the fact that we happen to like to fuck each other. Now tell me, are you gonna do the tattoo, or not?”
“Yeah, I’ll do it. Still don’t get it, but I’ll do it,” he replied with a shake of his head.
“You fuck a man, just try and come back and tell me you don’t get it anymore.”
With another shake of his head, Tony grabbed Randy’s wrist, extending his arm, exposing the forearm. Tony’s canvas. “How big you want it?”
“Whatever looks good. It’s all in your hands now, anyway. But if you do fuck it up, I’ll make sure John and I fuck you up.”
“Nothin’ I do looks bad,” he assured as he turned on his machine.
As the needle sunk into the flesh, Randy cringed. This hurt a hell of a lot more than his other tattoos. Makeshift machine, lord knows what for ink, was the needle even sanitized? Yeah, this didn’t make for the best of experiences. But it was worth it. Every second of that needle puncturing his skin over and over. Worth it. Randy looked down, seeing the name take form. Watching as the cursive J slowly began to join with the o, which connected with the h, finally ending with the n. It was a long, painful process, and even around the red, swollen skin, Randy knew it was perfect. Better than he could have imagined. And it was there forever.
After Randy paid for his work, Tony wrapped it up in some supplies he had someone acquire for him from the hospital ward. “There. Just don’t come blaming me when you get shit for it.”
“I knew what I was getting into. You got your money, you did good work, the rest is all me.”
While Randy was upstairs, John stood underneath the main stairs, talking to Chucky. “Fuckin’ lockdown, fucked up the shipment,” he groused. They couldn’t very well push their goods while everyone was stuck in their own separate pods. No tits flowing, no cash flowing. It was pretty simple, really. Whoever had the goods had the cash, whoever had the cash had the goods. And in lockdown, none of the above was possible. So they were working out the details of how the next shipment would go down. “We gotta get in touch with our guys. Everyone here’s itchin’ for their fix. Can see it in their eyes.”
“I’ll get on the phone with them soon as I can, don’t worry. Tits’ll get here,” Chucky assured.
Just as he said that, Cody walked by on the opposite side of the stairwell, catching some of their conversation. There had always been an underlying, yet never vocalized question between them. John was the one bringing the tits in, Cody sold on the streets. Of course, that’s what got him in Oz in the first place. But he was damn good at it, and if it weren’t for that raid, he’d still be slingin’ tits. It was second nature to him by this point to peddle drugs. He slipped behind the stairs, startling the two men that were already occupying the space. “You two might wanna be a little bit quieter.”
John and Chucky looked at each other, then back to Cody. “The fuck you doin’ here?” John asked.
“How come you never came to me before?” he asked the pair.
“I told him to talk-”
“Chuck, shut up,” John cut him off. “Yeah, talked about it before. Decided that you shouldn’t get involved.”
“So you decided for me that I should never involve myself with this?”
“Why would you want to? Everybody knows you here on drug peddling charges. And, well, everybody knows it’s the Italians that run the tit trade.”
“So you let Randy sell for you and not someone who has years of experience?”
“Do you want to sell for us, Cody?” John asked him. “If I said right now deicide on whether you wanna deal for us, what would you say?”
Cody had thought about it before. He didn’t want to barge into John’s operation, but, still, he had the skills. “I just… I thought about it, about comin’ to you to see about, ya know, working. But now? I dunno, it’s been months since I so much as touched the stuff. And Teddy wouldn’t be too happy. But, then again, I’d love to know if I still got it in me.”
“You know there’s no gay bars for you to work in Oz, right?”
“Yeah. Probably wouldn’t like a blowjob as some extra incentive to buy, either.”
“Now you’d be surprised with that one,” John said with a smirk. “But I don’t think Teddy would be all that happy with that.”
“You’re right. Teddy’d be pissed.”
“Look, if all you guys are gonna do is dick around, I’m gonna go make a business related phone call,” Chucky butted in, not wanting to hear about Cody’s antics from before coming to Oz.
“So, what’s your decision? Do you wanna work with us?”
“Not now… I mean, I can’t. Not right now. Maybe later on, ya know, if ya need anyone.”
“We’ll keep the doors open,” John agreed. Looking back to Cody, he then asked, “So, where’s Ted?”
“Oh, he’s at a meeting with Pete. He’s at the, uh, rape support group session now,” Cody told him.
“Shit,” John said with a shake of his head. “How’s he doin’ with all that?”
“Gets better every day. Talkin’ to other people really helps… And then I told him about all the shit I went through… Yeah, he’s a lot better. We’re having sex way more often…” He trailed off before he wound up spilling every detail to John, who most likely didn’t want to hear it. “Anyway, where’s Randy? You’re usually attached at the hip.”
“He’s up there,” he answered, pointing straight upwards. “Getting a tattoo done.”
“Really? I didn’t know he was plannin’ on adding more.”
“It was kinda a last minute decision.”
“What’s he gettin’ done?”
Cody watched, surprised, as John’s face flushed while he answered, “John.”
“For real? He’s gettin’ your name on him?”
“Yeah. Said cuz I got this,” he started, placing his hand on his neck, “that he needed something, too. That boy’s crazy.”
“Sure is. Takes balls to do that, too.” He looked up when he heard someone walking down the stairs above his head. “Think that’s him?”
“Let’s find out.” Together they walked out from underneath the stairs and into the bright lights of Emerald City. John grinned when he saw Randy taking that final step off the stairs and turn towards them. “How’d things go?”
“Gave me a bit of a hard time, at first. But I told him I was still payin’ him… and maybe that if he fucked up, we’d fuck him up.”
“Now, Randal, you should know that violence doesn’t solve everything,” John said, his grin slipping into more of a smirk than anything.
“Right. But it helps. Threats aside, though, he did some damn good work.” He straightened his arm by his side, showing off the white strip of bandages to John and Cody. “Just let me know when you wanna see,” he said, adding in a wink before he walked off to his pod. Both men stared as Randy headed off.
“Damn…” Cody muttered.
“What?”
“Just jealous is all…”
“But you’ve got Teddy.”
“I’m still a red blooded, All American homosexual, John, boyfriend or not…”
“Well, you can look, but you sure as fuck can’t touch.”
“As long as that applies in the showers, I’m good with that rule,” Cody said with a smirk as John glared at him. “Later, John. Go, see the tattoo. I’ll just be imagining you and Randy naked. Together.” With that, Cody turned around and headed out of Emerald City to the library.
John shook it off, chuckling at Cody’s brashness. He walked over to his pod and opened the door, finding Randy leaning against the bed. “So, I think I heard something about a tattoo.”
“Where’d you hear something like that?”
John shrugged, “Around. Ya know how word travels, rumours spread like wildfire in this joint.”
“Well, maybe there was some truth to that one.”
“Oh yeah?” John asked as his finger traced around the bandage on Randy’s arm.
“Yeah. Wanna see?”
With his finger on the corner of the bandage, John slowly began to peel it back, revealing, at first, a small portion of black ink. And then the J began to come into view. John’s breath hitched when he revealed the o next. The h and n followed, and John didn’t even know what to think. “Oh, God,” he whispered as he saw the tattoo in its entirety. “It’s beautiful, Randy.”
“The redness will fade in a few days… Then you’ll be able to see it even better.”
“I… I can’t even believe you did this. I see it, mean, it’s right there, but shit. It’s real. That’s me right there. You one crazy fucker, Randal Keith Orton.”
“Takes one to know one,” he replied with a smirk.
“Got that right.” He then leaned in, his face close to Randy’s, and said, “Later tonight, think I’ll show you just how much I like that tattoo.”
Time went by, life went on. Then Cody’s former roommate, Henry, was called out of Emerald City as a sponsor of a new incoming inmate. Prisoner number 03T323. His entrance into the prison made quite the scene, his boots and flamboyant attire called attention to himself. Just as he wanted. Soon he was flocked on all sides, Henry, Fiona were right there. And then one man caught his eye, just before he was about to take the first step upstairs, he turned and headed to a table.
As he passed, Chico Guerra looked to Miguel Alvarez and asked, “Who the fuck is that?”
Alvarez grinned and replied, “That’s, uh, Torquemada. Club owner. King of the Night.”
“Cody Runnels,” Alonzo Torquemada said as he bent forward, running his finger down Cody’s cheek, “I’ll be dammed.” He stood straight and smiled down at the young man. “I heard about the bust. Such a shame. You know, we all missed you, you always made us feel so young and vibrant.”
Cody couldn’t believe who was standing in front of him. He hadn’t seen Alonzo in months, had no idea he was coming here. He hadn’t thought of Alonzo’s club or home much, either. But with him standing right there, talking about it, it was hard to forget.
Alonzo looked around at the bewildered faces sitting at the table with Cody and smirked. “Baby, why don’t you fill them in on who I am and then get your pretty little ass upstairs,” he said, now running a hand through Cody’s hair, trialing it down his neck. He waved as he left the table and finally headed upstairs.
Cautiously, Cody turned his attention back to the other three men at the table. John and Randy looked confused, if not a little green. Ted, on the other hand, looked pissed.
“Care to explain what the fuck that was all about?” Ted asked.
“Sure. But, uh, you probably won’t like it. That was Alonzo Torquemada. He’s a really well known club owner.”
“I never heard of him,” John said.
“Me either,” Randy agreed. “The fuck kinda clubs does he run?”
“What kinda clubs do you think? The kind I used to work. Gay clubs, drag clubs… All exclusive, too.”
“How’d you get in there, then?” Randy asked.
“First time? Fucked the bouncer,” he answered, knowing that his bluntness would likely hurt Teddy, but, really, he had to find out sooner or later more details of how he once lived. “That night, while I was in there peddlin’ blow to the patrons, I bump into Alonzo. He stops dead in his tracks when he sees me there. He goes, ‘Look at what we have here,’ as he walks around me, just eyeing me up and down. Next he asks, ‘You got a name, sugar?’ so I tell him. Then it’s, ‘And just how old are you, Cody?’ I remember him touching me, like he did today, his fingers down my face… And I answered. This was two years ago, when I was sixteen.”
“Sometimes I forget how young you still are,” John said when Cody paused.
“That’s understandable. It is Oz. Well, anyway, he says he knows a couple guys that would love to get to know me. Little did I know that he was bringing me out back for one of his infamous orgies.”
“What?!” Ted shouted, his voice carrying throughout most of Em City. He shied back in his chair when he saw people from all over staring, but continued to look at Cody. “Orgies?” he asked, his voice much lower now.
“Yeah…”
“Hold up,” Randy butted in, “everyone has wet dreams about taking part of an orgy once in their life, right? You two are lyin’ if you say no,” he said before either man could reply. “And you’re tellin’ us that you were sixteen when you-”
“The first time, yeah. I mean, I was popular. Men are perverted, for sure, couldn’t get enough of my teenage ass. Don’t know how many I went to, but I know that there was a lot of sex and a lot of drugs. And I fuckin’ loved it. Last one I got to go to was about a month before the bust.”
Ted didn’t know how much more of this he could listen to. Too much at one time. How, he wondered, were they even compatible?
But Cody continued recalling the events, completely lost in the memory. Alonzo had guided him into the back, and the first thing that Cody saw when the curtain was pulled back to the side was a group of naked men doing anything and everything to one another. Next thing he knew, they all stopped and all eyes were on him. Resting both hands on Cody’s shoulders, Alonzo dropped his head next to Cody’s and whispered, “You’ve got the look, baby. Just look at them. They all want you. Want to taste you. Want to touch you. Want to fuck you. And I want to watch you.” Gently pushing on Cody’s back, Alonzo eased him forward, urging him to join the other men. Alonzo walked away and sat on his chair, his eyes trained on the beautiful, sweaty men before him.
As the men surrounded him, he felt hands. And lips. Everywhere. There were hands under his shirt, hands on his neck. Caressing and undressing. Hands were dragging his pants down his hips and off his body, pulling the shirt over his head. Now there were more hands in more places. Lips were kissing up his neck, along his jaw, over his face, across his lower back, down his legs. Anywhere they could reach.
This was nothing short of sensory overload. So far in his life, one set of hands, two at most, were on his body at the same time. Now he couldn’t keep track of the number of hands on him. The sounds were like nothing before, as well. Sounds of moaning and sucking were echoing around the room all around him. From so many different sources. He could feel other’s skin sliding against his skin. “Jesus, you’re so hot,” was breathed into his ear by some anonymous man. His eyes shut as further words and obscenities were spoken to him. “Wanna fuck that sweet, young ass of yours,” he heard from another man.
Opening his eyes, he looked straight ahead, directly at Alonzo. Those eyes, one deep brown, the other a sheet of white, were staring back, full of hunger and desire. But he didn’t look as though he were about to join anytime soon. Instead, he watched. God, with all those beautiful specimens before him, how could he resist? Yet he never moved, just looked on intently.
One man standing behind Cody dropped to his knees, running his hands down Cody’s back, then caressed and squeezed his ass as he licked up the light sheen of sweat that accumulated across his lower back. Suddenly, the hand that had been on his ass was removed, but quickly returned with a slap. Cody’s eyes went wide at the instant sting. And then it happened again. And again. Still, as that was happening, men were attending to other parts of his body. A man on his side was so close, his hard dick pressed fully up against Cody’s hip. He continuously trailed kisses up and down Cody’s arm and shoulder, one hand tangled in Cody’s dark brown hair, the other grazing across his chest. And it was happening in stereo. Another man on his opposite side was doing the same, taking Cody’s fingers into his mouth, sucking and licking, his hands both gripping Cody’s wrist. It was one thing to have his cock worshipped, but his arms, as well? Fuck, it felt amazing.
In front of him, there was another man, kissing Cody for all he was worth. He, too, slowly dropped to his knees, his tongue working its magic on Cody’s cock. From behind, he could feel fingers pushing into his ass as another hand slid along his calf. Was that the same one with the fingers in his ass, he wondered? He wasn’t sure just how many other men were in that room with him, circled around him, treating him as if he were some sort of god.
Alonzo had never seen such a sight. His men, while beautiful creatures, were generally far more concerned with getting their own dick sucked that they didn’t try to make another single person feel the way Cody was surely feeling right now. Their attention was never on just one person. They wanted it from anyone and everyone. But now? Now they wanted Cody. He wanted to see where this would go, how far the young man would let it go. Though he never said a word, Alonzo could imagine, and he was imagining Cody on the bed, on all fours, his head thrown back as man after man fucked him.
The man behind Cody rose to his feet, and that’s when Cody knew there was indeed another man involved, as hands were still on his legs and lips were now on his feet. Again, someone was whispering into his ear, and Cody guessed it was the man that previously had his fingers up his ass. “Your ass is so tight, want my dick inside you now.”
Horny as he was, he couldn’t help but think that if this one guy wanted to fuck him so badly, what about all the others? Would they all want him, too? Would they continue to fuck him until his ass was raw and bleeding, or would they stop and go back to each other, such as they were before he showed up?