by KW Finch
“I needed the break.” I answered.
“What?” he grunted.
“You know.” I continued. “A bit of R and R. I wanted to get away from it all for a while, different scenery, some new food, meet some interesting people, that sort of thing.”
“What?” He repeated again. His fists clenched tighter every time he spoke.
I didn’t say anything for a moment but just stared at him. He stared back. Eventually, when I thought the moment was right I just said.
“I got caught.”
“Caught?” he repeated, clenching his fists as he spat the word out.
He clearly didn’t know what to do or say next so he turned around and walked off.
“Don’t wind him up too much,” Davidson commented, “he’s not the sharpest tool in the box and he tends to talk with his fists.”
“Yeah, I can tell,” I answered, “definitely a tool though.”
With that Davidson went back to his computer and I started to read the papers Mike had given me. It was time I actually got down to doing what I came here for.
NINETEEN
Over the following weeks I started to get to grips with the computer and how it worked. The days started to go a bit quicker. The course was every weekday and then at the weekends I had a booze up with Muzzleflash and the servery cons. It all settled down into a pattern. Very dull and boring but I needed to keep myself busy. I’d noticed a desperate despair creeping up on me every so often since being inside and the remedy seemed to be to keep myself busy and not to think about the long stretch in front of me. I just needed to concentrate on my immediate future.
Every weekday followed the same pattern with me starting in the computer centre at 9am until 1130am. That was followed by the delights of lunch and then back to the computer centre from 1.30pm until 4pm. Mike kept himself pretty much to himself. There was a little office at the front of the class and he tended to stay in there most of the time and only ventured out now and again during the course of the day. The oddball Woolfe did interest me and I was keeping a close eye on him. He too had a little routine. He would make Mike a coffee first thing in the morning and then again just after we returned from lunch for the afternoon session but then he would disappear each time. He only showed his face now and again during the day. Nobody really took any notice of his comings and goings which intrigued me even more.
“Where’s Woolfe keep disappearing to?” I asked Davidson one morning.
He craned his head towards me and answered.
“I’ve no idea.” He answered.
“Nobody seems really bothered that he keeps disappearing.” I continued.
“You don’t know Woolfe very well then.” Davidson went on.
“No, he’s not on my wing and I don’t see him around much.” I answered.
“The man is a complete psycho, stay away from him he’s dangerous.”
“Yeah, he has got that look about him.” I admitted.
“Yes, he’s not all that bright like I said. Any kind of conversation soon gets out of hand and he usually talks his way out of a situation with his fists. Have you seen his hands, full of cuts and scabs from his fist fights.”
“Yeah.” I answered thoughtfully. “But what about Mike, he doesn’t seem bothered either?”
“Mike doesn’t care less.” Davidson continued. “He sits in that room playing his silly flight simulator games all day trying to relive his past.”
“What?”
“He was a commercial pilot before he came here.”
“Oh Right.” I was a bit surprised.
I had noticed the cuts to Woolfe’s hands and it had been bugging me for a while. I had also noticed that they were actually worse after he had come back from his disappearing routine. Was he going off to some kind of fight club? Just then he entered the computer room and started milling about at the front of the classroom. I needed to go and find out what was going on. I got up from my seat and wandered down towards Woolf.
“You alright there mate?” I ventured.
He was crouching under a desk trying to grab a bag that was pushed right back and he was having trouble getting to it. I could see scratches and cuts not just on his hands but also going up his forearms as well. Some of them looked quite fresh. They had puffy weal marks around the scratches and fresh blood on them. He just ignored my question, so I tried again.
“Do you need a hand there?” I asked.
“No!” came his quick response. “I need you to fuck off and mind your own business.”
He managed to grab the elusive bag and disappeared out of the door again without another word. I looked around the room but nobody had taken any notice of what had just gone on. Everyone was staring at their monitors and working away quietly.
I decided to follow Woolfe and find out what he was up to. I emerged into the corridor just in time to see him disappearing around a corner, he was heading away from the block entrance and further into the building. I knew that other classes were in the block but I didn’t know the layout. I ran up to the corner Woolf had turned into and paused for a moment before peering around it.
Wallop, a fist drove straight into my face. Woolfe had been waiting for me and before I knew what was happening I was on the floor. My vision was blurred and my eyes started watering. I could feel warm liquid streaming from my nose and I recognised the metallic taste of blood in my mouth. I couldn’t see Woolfe through my streaming eyes but I knew he was still there, he was muttering under his breath.
“What part of fuck off and mind your own business is it you’re not sure about?” He rasped.
He grabbed me roughly by the shoulder and although he was a skinny bloke he felt very powerful. I struggled to get up but was still disorientated from the punch to the face and couldn’t manage it. I tried to curl up into a ball. If I couldn’t escape then I would have to try and protect myself. It was then Woolfe decided to hit me again, two rock solid punches to the small of my back, kidney punches. The pain was instant and unbearable. You need to know what you’re doing to deliver a really good kidney punch and I guessed that Woolfe had practiced this manoeuver to perfection. I would be pissing blood for a week now. That was the last thing I remembered before everything went black as I passed out.
I could hear muffled voices in the distance, like there were people talking in the room next door. I could make out my name, yes, definitely my name, being mentioned. It was a women’s voice.
“London?” It called.
I forced my eyes open. The room was dimly lit and I could make out the outline of a woman sitting next to me. I was in a bed and I felt pretty good, a bit numb and floaty perhaps but fine apart from that. After a few moments the relaxed floaty feeling started to disappear, the room wasn’t dark at all it was where I wasn’t fully awake. The woman talking to me was a nurse and standing next to her was Monk with a vacant look on his face.
“Welcome back to the land of the living London.” He said with an evil grin. “You’re going to be in some pain for few weeks!” Again he grinned but this time much more smugly.
“Care to tell us what happened London?” He questioned.
“I can’t remember much at the moment.” I lied.
“Who hit you London?” Monk questioned again.
“Can’t remember.” I lied once more.
“Come on London.” Monk was getting quite agitated now. “As much as I detest you, your life has been put in danger today. I’ve enough paperwork to complete as it is. If you had died there would be a full scale inquiry and that really would have given me the hump.
You’ve been lucky today London. If you had been hit a little bit harder you could have lost one if not both of your kidneys. If the blow was a little bit to one side you could have been paralysed. Life in a wheelchair, how does that sound London?”
“Spiffing.” I replied. “Now how about a nice cup of tea please nurse?” I said, turning to her.
The nurse looked up at Monk.
“How about a
name London?” Monk was getting rather annoying now.
“I tripped over.” I answered. “There was no one else!”
“Okay London, have it your way.” Monk continued. “No more pain killers for this one nurse.”
“But he will be in agony for days!” The nurse exclaimed “I will have to let the doctor know.”
The nurse seemed quite alarmed and so was I. I didn’t fancy going through any kind of unnecessary pain but there was no way I could point the finger at Woolfe. That way would probably open up a whole new world of pain that no amount of pain killers could touch.
“Look Mr Monk.” I was going to try to appeal to his better nature. “At the moment it’s all a bit fuzzy, I can’t really remember what happened. One minute I was trying to find my way to the toilet and the next thing I knew someone hit me from behind. I never saw who it was.” I lied again.
“I don’t believe you London.” Said Monk, narrowing his eyes at me as he said it. “Why were you punched in the face if you were attacked from behind?” He challenged.
“As I turned around to confront whoever it was they punched me straight in the face, I never had a chance to make out who it was.” I said, trying to look as if I meant it.
Monk frowned at me, I don’t think he believed a word of it.
“Okay London.” He finally said. “I’ll be back, this isn’t over.” With that he started to leave.
“What about the pain killers?” The nurse called after Monk.
“No, no pain killers. Wait a while. Let me see what else I can find out first.” Said Monk as the door closed behind him.
“How about that cup of tea now?” I asked the nurse. “If you can’t give me any drugs how about a cuppa.” I managed to smile at the nurse.
“I’ll see what I can do.” She smiled back.
TWENTY
A couple of days later I was back on the wing. The pain was quite intense and my wee was a nasty shade of red. Monk had come back to me after his investigations. He couldn’t find anything out from other sources on the wing and I stuck to my original story, which he still didn’t believe. So after he had a row with the doctor and the nurse I was sent back to the wing, in agony. Woolfe certainly had it coming to him, there was no way I could let this one go. I had to concentrate on recovering first.
I hobbled into the computer room the next day glad of the cushioned computer chair after my careful 20 minute journey. It felt like I had just finished a marathon. Woolfe had followed me into the room and he seemed quite twitchy and agitated. He looked at me and instantly gave an evil grin. He made a pistol shape with his hand and pretended to shoot me. He then made himself busy and sorted out Mikes coffee before his usual disappearing trick. It was still bugging me where he was going. With a massive effort I pulled myself up and onto my feet to follow him. I had to find out what he was up to.
I was hoping he wouldn’t be expecting me to follow in this state and to be honest I wasn’t sure I could. Walking was bad enough and I had to be really careful, another Woolfe attack would finish me off! I crept along the corridor supporting myself on the wall as I went, pausing every few steps to catch my breath and to listen. I retraced my steps from a few days earlier. When I reached the corner where Woolfe had walloped me I paused and took a deep breath before peering around the corner.
To my relief it was clear this time and there was no sign of him. Along the empty corridor there were three doors on the left side and four on the right. A brick wall was at the far end so Woolfe had to be behind one of these doors. I slowly crept along, listening in turn at each of the doors and trying the handles to see if any of them opened. I was starting to get hot, partly from all the effort it was taking but more I think at the thought of Woolfe discovering me again. A bead of sweat ran from my forehead and down my face to my mouth. The salty water making me realise I was putting myself in an unnecessary danger.
The tension was increasing with every handle I tried. All the rooms were silent and every door was locked which in turn made me feel hotter and more apprehensive. Finally I put my ear to the last door and listened carefully. Again there was no sound. I tried turning the handle but unlike the others, this one kept turning. Eventually it reached the bottom and I pushed it, ever so gently, trying not to breathe. I started to push, gently, carefully, trying to see in the room. I was crouching low to the ground trying to make myself a small target.
The room looked tiny, but where was Woolfe? The sound of my heart pounding in my ears was deafening, where was he? I really didn’t want to take another beating, I was in no condition to put up any kind of fight. The door was open no more than 4 inches and I could see most of the tiny room but no Woolfe. Perhaps he was behind the door? Another bead of sweat ran down my face. Using what strength I had left I flung the door open with all the force I could muster and it crashed against the bare wall with an almighty thump.
I was left standing in a small room, more of a cupboard really. It was totally empty, just bare walls and a single empty shelf on the back wall. I felt instantly relieved and very confused, where the bloody hell was Woolfe? I had to think straight, he had just disappeared of the face of the earth. I decided to wait it out. My Rolex said I had about another hour and a half before Mike emerged from his office to start winding up for lunch. I sat myself on the cold concrete floor and pushed the door until it was almost closed, just leaving a tiny gap to peak through.
The time dragged and I kept looking at my watch. After almost an hour I was starting to get pretty anxious, I had to get back to the computer room before I was missed. Maybe I got the whole thing wrong and Woolfe was in a different part of the building. Perhaps even now he was back in the computer room wondering where I was. Then suddenly there was a scraping noise along the corridor. I quickly scanned all the doors but nothing was happening. Then I saw it, in the middle of the corridor floor, a manhole cover quickly slid back, it was Woolfe.
He quickly emerged from the hole in the ground and replaced the cover. The whole thing only took a few seconds. He would have to be quick because the chances of being captured were incredibly high. Instantly he was marching off, back towards the computer room. I glanced at my watch again, it was close to lunch time and I had to get back as well. I closed the cupboard door behind me and hobbled back as fast as I was able, only glancing down at the manhole Woolfe had emerged from moments earlier. I would be returning to investigate that in closer detail at some stage.
I was in a lot of pain now, the cold floor I had been sitting on had made my body stiff and the area around my kidneys was really hurting. I needed some heavy duty painkillers. Luckily for me Woolfe wasn’t waiting to ambush me at any stage. He knew I was in a bad way so probably wasn’t expecting me to be following him. I was almost at the computer room door when he emerged with an agitated look on his face. He immediately squared up to me, we stood inches apart. I tried not to breathe to heavy, the rush back had made me hot again and I needed to catch my breath. My side felt like it was on fire. I thought I was going to collapse with the pain. I could feel the beads of sweat building up on my forehead.
“Where you been?” Woolfe spat his words out as usual.
“Piss.” I spat back, trying to control my buckling knees. We stood facing each other, eyes glaring. I couldn’t keep this up for long. Mike appeared in the doorway, much to my relief.
“There you are Woolfe.” He smiled, totally unaware of the situation. “Can you make me a quick coffee before you have your lunch break?”
“I’ll do that right away Mike.” He replied in a really upbeat tone, he could switch to being friendly quite easily.
Mike turned to go back into the computer room, I had to get away from Woolfe and saw my chance.
“Oh Mike,” I started, “Can I have a quick word about my database project?” I took my chance and walked back to my desk with him.
For the next few days I kept an even closer eye on Woolfe's movements. I even started to keep tabs on him of an evening and at weekends. I wanted to
find out what he was up to and who else was involved with him. As he was on a different wing from me it wasn’t as easy as I would have liked.
I called in favours and bought information to find out what was going on. I still kept a close eye on him during the day at the computer room. His routine never changed, he left as soon as Mike had his coffee every morning and the same again every afternoon, returning just in time for lunch break and at the end of the day. I followed him a couple of times and waited again from a safe distance in the cupboard and he was going to the same place every time.
All the information I was getting back from my snouts was the same, Woolfe was a loner and was always keen to talk with his fists. He didn’t have much to do with anyone else. He was inside for a long stretch for some sort of violent crime. He’d already served a good few years but still had a way to go.
After a week I had all the background I needed on Woolfe. The next thing to do was to get down that manhole and find out what he was up to so I needed him out of the way for a while. Now how was I going to do that?
That night sitting in my cell after bang up I turned my attention to Woolfe and how to get him out of the way for a while. It was obvious what he was doing down there beyond the manhole cover, or was it? I guessed he must have some sort of escape plan. He still had a lot of bird in front of him so escape only seemed obvious. It could be something else I guessed, could even be pretty sordid. Woolfe was a closed book and nobody knew much about him, he kept to himself.
What if there was a way out of this place and Woolfe was close to escaping? Escaping, now that was something that never really entered my head as a real possibility until Woolfe had turned up. Sure I’d thought about not being here and being back in the outside world. To actually break out though, where would I go? I started to think about all the things I missed in the outside world and how I could come and go as I wanted. I’d got used to my ridiculous way of living surprisingly quickly. Now at Fulwood Hill I had settled down into a fairly mundane existence. That just wasn’t me at all! I made the decision that if there was a way out then I need to grab that opportunity.