by JD Dutra
President Villeneuve sighed, cleared his throat and said, “I hope we can do this. No one else has succeeded in removing their grip from humanity once and for all.”
A discreet knock interrupted the conversation and young aide stuck her head around the door.
“Mr. President, it is 9:00 am and the breakfast buffet is ready as you requested sir.”
Barry stood up, the French President and the German Chancellor followed.
“Join me for breakfast please and we’ll continue this conversation afterwards. My new $500,000.00 dollar a year Chef is worth every penny, you’ll see,” said Barry with a warm smile.
The German Chancellor finished the last of her whiskey in one shot, getting a chuckle out of Barry and President Villeneuve. The French President followed her lead, finishing his glass as well. Barry walked out of the room first and held the door open for the German Chancellor, who gracefully walked out of The Oval Office. President Villeneuve headed towards the door as well, but before he left the room, his eyes couldn’t help but take one more look at the intimidating eagle carved on the front of the Resolute desk. He felt like the 13 arrows were pointing directly at him.
I will do what must be done, he thought, before Barry shut the door behind him.
Chapter 11
Tent City Jail, Phoenix, Arizona
Thursday, October 22nd, 2020
10:00 A.M.
Daniel threw the payphone handle back on the hook. His daughter hadn’t paid the house phone bill so he couldn’t even call collect to get a hold of her. His business phone rang until he could hear his own voice asking him to leave a message and his daughter’s cell phone didn’t accept collect calls. Maybe he should’ve spent more money on her phone plan.
Standing around in the bright sun making calls that lead to nothing got to him and he cursed, then slapped the side of the phone twice.
“Do that again and you’ll have trouble using that hand for a while inmate!” The sudden and sharp command of a female voice came and made him spin around to face whoever that was. A young Hispanic officer with sunglasses was just a few feet from him, holding a folded telescopic baton on one hand. When she saw his face there was a look of confusion in hers.
“Daniel? Daniel Cross, is that you?” she asked, her voice quieter.
“Yes, that’s me. What can I do for you officer?” He thought he recognized her voice, but looking at her meant looking straight into the sun. As he shaded his eyes a light breeze helped him sense the peach and vanilla perfume of her shampoo. Now he remembered that scent.
“Jennifer?” Daniel asked with a light chuckle that was somewhat forced through his embarrassment.
“You didn’t strike me as the bad boy type Danny” she said, trying to hide the playful smile on her full lips. She lifted up her dark sunglasses over her hair bangs to take a better look at him, her brown eyes holding more than just a feeling of surprise.
“You didn’t strike me as dominating police officer type Jennifer…” He grinned, gazing at her the telescopic baton in her hand. She put it away, laughing.
“What are you doing here?” She asked, checking over her shoulder as to who might be watching her being friendly with an inmate.
“I came to satisfy that one fantasy of yours… I see you have the handcuffs ready,” he replied, arching an eyebrow and winking at her.
She laughed and blushed, putting her sunglasses back on.
“Don’t say that around here, are you crazy?” She whispered and held herself back from giving him a playful slap on the shoulder.
“Now you know why I didn’t call,” he sighed.
“I guess I do, but how come you’re here? What happened?” She looked over her shoulder again, and the playfulness in her voice gave way to concern.
“Long story. I know all inmates say they are innocent, but in my case it’s true,” he said, trying to work out a quick way to tell her his story.
“Hmm. I know how that goes,” she teased.
“How much time you got?” He asked, wishing they were at the place where they’d met so he could buy her a drink. That thought gave him a twist in his gut.
That was the old life.
“I don’t have any time at all, if they catch us here chit-chatting we’ll both be in trouble. I don’t doubt you. I can’t do much for you while you are here, but if you need something let me know and I’ll do what I can. How long are you here for?” She turned to watch a group of inmates walk by for a few moments, the warm wind kissing her lightly tan skin.
“It was supposed to be a few days, now my judge is sick and it got pushed back a month. I really need to talk to my daughter again. She’s 18 and is handling everything out there by herself - my business, my son, my problems…” He hated sounding so weak and needy, especially to someone he desired, but he had no other option.
“Things are falling apart and the collect calls won’t even go through.”
“Here,” she said and reached into the pocket of her tactical pants, she pulled out a phone token with two delicate fingers and offered to him. He took it and quickly pressed it against his lips firmly and winked at her.
“Thank you so much Jennifer. I owe you dinner when I get out of here,” he said, trying to rescue a little of his charm.
“I don’t date inmates,” she said with a grin.
“I’ll be innocent again then, you’ll see!”
“If you need me, just let me know,” she said with a soft smile, before she started to walk away.
“Thanks again, Jennifer, I owe you.”
Admiring her figure as she walked, Daniel waited until Officer DeLeon, also known as Jennifer, turned a corner and then walked up to the phone.
I’ll ask to take this uniform home with me once I get out of here, Jennifer will love it.
The thought of it all and the renewed hope to finally reach his daughter made him smile, he stuck the token in and began to dial. He tried his business phone and his daughter’s cell phone again, but with no luck. He’d keep that token and try later.
Daniel began to walk towards his new ‘crib’, Tent 201; Whitey’s tent. The one he’d left wasn’t any better than Whitey’s anyway; most people there were angry and desperate, some seemingly paranoid… like Whitey.
Daniel hadn’t been able to sleep the night before, he didn’t feel comfortable around Whitey, but today he found friendship in another inmate, Larry, who had already been roped in as part of Whitey’s crew. He was a manager at a restaurant whose employees were using the place to sell drugs and he got time for not catching them doing it. He would be locked up for 90 days and he was halfway through his sentence. Larry had told Daniel to watch out for Whitey, saying he wasn’t mentally stable and he was extremely paranoid and violent. The white inmates were drawn to that tough guy attitude of Whitey’s and they had his back.
Larry told him about jail economics, how cigarettes, salt and pepper were the currencies of Tent City, since they were forbidden items. Daniel could use them to get ahead among the inmates, but if an officer caught someone with any of those substances, they’d be thrown in solitary for a few weeks. When Daniel got to Whitey’s tent, there was a poker game going on.
“There is our pretty boy,” said Whitey, who looked like he had half a dozen cigarettes crushed in his mouth.
“Hey Whitey.” Daniel said, nodding at him.
“Come over here and play some poker with me and the boys. Watch me make these dangerous criminals beg for mercy!” Whitey guffaw and spilled a lump of chewed tobacco and paper on the dirty tent floor. He picked it up, blew what he could of the sand and dirt off of it and put it back into his mouth again.
“Nah, I don’t play poker, sorry,” Daniel said, lying in bed.
“We’ll teach you. You gotta learn something while being locked in here,” said Whitey. He got a cup he made out of a piece of notebook paper and spat a brown wet stream of tobacco in it. “Come on, just sit down with us.”
The day was hot and walking around in the sun
was torture this time of the day so Daniel sat around the circle of inmates and began to play. There were other people learning and an hour later everyone was laughing, except Whitey; there was no humor in his expressions when he lost a game. Daniel started to feel comfortable with the sequences of cards, and he had a lot of beginner’s luck.
“Now let’s see who has some real guts,” said Whitey, throwing in the cigarette off his ear and looking around to see what other’s had to offer. A couple of packets of sugar, a five dollar bill, and four calling tokens appeared in the middle. Immediately interested, Daniel asked where the tokens came from.
“Some of the guards are cool,” said Larry. “If you behave well they usually hook you up. It’s a way for them to get through some of the walls between us and them. You know what I’m saying?”
“They are that easy to get?” asked Daniel, with another glance at his cards. He pulled out his token, but didn’t toss it into the pot.
“What are you waiting for, throw that in,” said Whitey, his jaw twitching lightly, as if he was trying to unclog his ears or grind the tobacco to a paste in between his yellow teeth.
“I don’t know guys, I need to call my daughter, things are falling apart at home. I think I’ll sit this one out,” said Daniel, clenching his fist around the token.
“Don’t be disrespectful Mr. Danny. You are part of our crew now, you’re playing a serious game of poker among men. Any of the guards can give you another token. Throw it in… ” Said Whitey like a general commanding an insubordinate soldier.
They gazed into each other’s eyes for seconds that seemed like an eternity and the tension took the life and fun out of the game immediately.
Whitey’s pupils began to dilate and his jaw snapped and twitched faster as the seconds went by, in sudden spasms. Daniel simply stared back, like a man who was tired of being told what to do.
“Chill guys, chill out,” said one of the inmates, and tattooed hands started to spread in the air between them, patting shoulders, holding chests.
Larry leaned into Daniel’s ear.
“Just do it man, I’ll get you another token. It’s not a big deal.”
Daniel held back, and Larry nudged him on. When Daniel broke the gaze with Whitey, the other inmates were staring back at him. Some were shaking their heads as if he were the one making a big deal out of nothing. Finally Daniel threw his token into the pot, with enough force to send it bouncing it off the bet pile. Whitey’s eyes were still wide as he lowered his head to look at Daniel’s token and then at him again.
“I want two cigarettes for this disrespect pretty boy,” said Whitey and the rest of the inmates in the tent fell silent.
“Let’s just play the game Whitey, there’s the token you wanted, come on, let’s play,” said one inmate, nudging Whitey lightly whose face was frozen in hatred, his icy stare fixed on Daniel.
Suddenly Whitey’s hands shot into pile of bets, smashing his own cigarettes, tearing open the packets of sugar and sending phone tokens everywhere. The inmates watched him like statues.
Daniel stood up slowly and he was ready to fight, his eyes were fixed on Whitey’s, who stood up as well, both men had their fists balled up, tense like coiled springs and the other inmates now moved quickly, getting in between them.
“Chill out guys, the cops will come here and beat us all up. It’s just a game, chill out!” said the guy who’d nudged Whitey, trying to control the breaking of rules one through five.
Larry gently placed his hands on Daniel’s chest, and began to walk with him outside the tent.
“Make that five cigarettes Mr. Danny! You got two days!” said Whitey before Daniel was too far to hear.
When Daniel’s eyes left Whitey’s, Larry was inches from his face.
“Are you insane? All that for a phone token, Daniel?” asked Larry as he turned Daniel around to walk him towards the lunch room.
“I hate that guy! Why does everyone need to be on their toes around him all the time?” Daniel could feel his heart still racing, he was shaking with anger.
“Because that’s the way things are in here, Daniel. Despite what he might think of himself, he’s no gang leader, but he does have a crew in here. Phone tokens come and go man, sooner or later your daughter will come see you, that token won’t even matter.”
Larry’s words began to cool Daniel off, but he was so mad at Whitey and at himself. He didn’t know what had happened back there and he didn’t know what to say.
The communication coming from the sound system interrupted his thoughts.
“Inmate Daniel Cross, report to the visitors’ center right away, you have a visitor waiting.”
“See? Don’t let this place take over control of your mind Daniel or you’ll go mad in here,” Larry said, shaking his head.
“Sorry man,” was all Daniel could say; he had so much to tell his daughter.
“Go see your visitor and I’ll go see how Whitey is doing. We’ll figure this out,” Larry said, trying to stay positive.
“Thanks Larry,” replied Daniel as head off towards the visitors’ center.
He was identified and taken to the same room where he saw his daughter at the first day of his incarceration. He sat on the uncomfortable concrete stool, rubbing his sweaty hands on it, trying to dry them off.
“Daniel? Is that you?”
And for the second time in a day, he heard that phrase coming out of lips he had kissed before.
“Isabella…” Was all he managed to say, the rest of his words were choked in his throat.
She was wearing tight jeans and a semi see-through white blouse that fell over one of her shoulder, exposing her soft skin and the strap of her bra. Her blond hair was curled lightly, her lipstick gave her lips a soft, moist look. He wanted to break through the metal fence that separated them and sink into her mouth.
She sat down and stuck her delicate fingers through the opening near his face. He grabbed them, the little he could, leaned his face into them. She curled her well-manicured nails over his badly shaved scalp, caressing him gently and he rubbed his cheek and jawline onto her fingertips and kissed them lightly. The taste and softness of her skin aroused him immediately.
Tears began to swell in her eyes, making the light blue in them shine like delicate aquamarine gems.
“Please don’t cry, Isabella, I’m so happy and glad to see you. I’ll be out of here soon.”
He kissed her fingertips again, this time, biting on them ever so slightly.
“I’m sorry. I just loved your hair and now it’s gone,” she tried to laugh but that only made a tear run down her face.
“It’ll grow back. I’ve missed you so much, but now you know why I didn’t call.” He couldn’t believe he used that line twice in the same day, from inside jail of all places. He’d tell this story to his son someday, when he was old and in his death bed.
“I’ve missed you too, Danny. I reached out to Summer through Facebook. She told me everything and I›m so sorry you are going through this. When do you get out of here?»
“I don’t know. I thought it was going to take just a few days, now it will take a month or more because the judge who was going to hear my case needed time off.” He was the one with tears in his eyes now.
“A month or so is nothing. It’ll be okay” she said, squeezing his fingers gently.
“I hope so Isabella. I’m sorry you had to come see me here. I will get out of here and clear my name. In a month or so I want to take you out to dinner - just you and me - and we’ll laugh at this.”
“What can I do to help you?” she asked, breaking eye contact with him for a few moments to look at his features again. She decided she liked him bald.
“Nothing. You have a family Isabella. Just hang in there for me until I get myself out of this.”
“Nonsense! Let me help you. He is gone again on another of his damn secret trips and I have no idea when he’ll be back. I’ve got time.”
“Well, if you could just tell Summer
to come see me, I need to find a way to tell her I›ll be here longer than I thought. It will crush my little girl for sure, but I need to tell her and I can’t get her on the phone.»
“She isn’t so little anymore, Danny, and she’ll learn from this. I’ll have her come see you. I’ve been talking to her on and off and she seems to be doing okay.”
“And Nick?”
“He is doing well too, Summer is taking good care of him.” Her beautiful smile made him dream of the future, of being with her; of sleeping with her again.
“I worry for her, but then I remember I was about her age when she was born. She’ll have to grow up quick just like I did.”
“Soon this will be just a memory,” she said while still caressing him gently. “What else do you need? Anything you need in here?”
He took a deep breath and shook his head slowly.
“No, I’m ok.”
“Daniel, tell me. What do you need? You can ask me anything.”
“Anything?” He let his desire come out in his voice, half joking, and half wanting.
“Anything…” She said arching a playful eyebrow.
They both laughed, recognizing the mutual want in each other.
“I read outside they do conjugal visits here,” she said, her voice was suddenly smooth and silky.
“I’d sure like one of those,” Daniel said, biting his lower lip.
“Me too.”
“Are you serious?”
“Serious as sin. Do you want me to bring anything… Special?” She grinned, as if he knew what she meant.
“Well, this time I’ll take five cigarettes, that’s the currency in this forsaken place. I’ll save our special thing for when I get out,” he added as he winked at her.
She laughed, and he loved the sound of it.
“You know they forbid that right? There’s a big sign about cigarettes, drugs and other stuff outside. If I get caught I can be in big trouble, Danny.”
“Oh, I forgot they inspect you on the way in,” he replied, shaking his head. “Okay don’t bother then,” he added, thinking that he’d find another way to sort out Whitey.