by Nana Prah
Corinth sat on the edge of her desk with her legs crossed at the ankles. “We’re playing politics here, Sarita. In order to keep South Korea happy, we’re sending the president’s daughter to jail and then deporting her. I know.” Her shoulder length gray streaked dark hair shifted when she shook her head. “It makes all the sense of having sex with a known HIV-infected man without a condom. But that’s what they want so that’s what we’ll give them.”
“Did you at least try to dissuade them?”
“This decision came from a much higher position than me. My singular role is to deliver a strong agent.”
“Why me?” Plopping into a chair, Sarita realized that sounding immature wouldn’t help her case, so she removed the whine from her tone. “We have plenty of female agents here. Pick Duncan, Williams, or Bilks. They’re all excellent.”
“They’re missing the one necessary thing you possess.”
Sarita raised an eyebrow wishing her boss would get to the point. “Large hips?”
Corinth chuckled. “An accent.”
“Pardon me?”
“You heard me. We need someone on the inside who’s a believable deportee. You still have your accent so it’s plausible you’re being deported back home to Columbia.”
“What about Juang? Her Japanese accent is sometimes so heavy I can hardly understand her.”
“You’re exaggerating. Besides, she’s on assignment. We need to get you in as soon as possible.”
“When?” Sarita didn’t want to hear the answer.
She’d never tried to get out of an assignment before, but the thought of sitting in jail, doing a babysitting job as some brat’s punishment, held no appeal.
“Tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow,” Sarita repeated slowly, ensuring that the rising panic didn’t reflect in her voice.
“We aren’t sure when we’ll capture the girl so you have to be in position, ready to catch her.”
As an alternative to kicking the chair over, Sarita paced to the door to calm herself. The assignment had been allotted and no amount of arguing would change the decision. “How long will I be in there?”
“It depends on when and where she’s retrieved. They want to keep her in for at least three days before sending her back. So anywhere from four to ten days. It could be longer.”
What a nightmare. Sarita couldn’t be heading off to jail, not her. The only reason she’d been such a good girl growing up on the rough streets of Boston had been so she’d never end up behind bars like some of her friends. And now her job was sending her in.
This could be a stanza in Alanis Morrisette’s song about irony.
“I’m sorry, Sarita, but right now you’re the best agent for the job. The higher ups want this girl fully covered so there’ll be a couple of others in place from other departments, but you won’t know who they are.”
“So because the damn Feds or CIA aren’t good enough to find this girl, I’m stuck with the grunt work?”
“It looks like I need to remind you that she gave our people the slip first.”
“Good point.” Sarita blew out a breath with resignation. “Know this. As soon as I get back, I’m taking lessons on how to get rid of my accent.”
Corinth grinned. “Do what you have to do.”
***
Being held in a medium security prison for the past three days hadn’t been entirely bad. She learned about immigration from another perspective. Stories from the majority of the inmates and illegal aliens were intriguing. She enjoyed hearing everyone’s tales of how they became illegal aliens. Aside from being controlled as a prisoner, the detainee unit was somewhat relaxing. Although, she could do without the part that included peeing and taking a dump with someone else in the room.
Chapter 5
“They’re sending me home tomorrow morning. Well, at least back to Namibia.” Monica clapped then covered her mouth, most likely to stifle a scream.
Sarita’s eyes opened wide in fake surprise, but she felt genuine joy for her cellmate. “That’s great. Didn’t I predict you’d be getting out soon?”
The release had been fast tracked, courtesy of Sarita’s department. The unit, in fact the whole facility, was packed with prisoners, and they needed to get a bed ready for Hana. Sarita let a tiny bit of her sentimental side show. “I’m going to miss you when you go.”
“You, too. You made the past few days fun. Thanks. This correctional facility can go to Hades in a hand basket for all I care, but I’ll always love the good ole US of A.”
“Maybe you’ll be able to come back soon.”
“Not for a good ten years.”
Sarita whistled. “Sorry about that.”
“Consequences.”
The woman’s ability to shoulder the responsibility of her situation in a place where people blamed the government, the law, anyone but themselves, had elevated Sarita’s respect for her.
Monica gazed out of the bay window for one of the last times. “At least I’ll get to see my mother again. I miss her so much.”
***
The click of the door indicated their release for morning recreation, allowing everyone to leave the cell.
Sarita scrunched her nose when she noticed Atherby on duty. He claimed two titles on the unit in no particular order: a tall, dark chunk of chocolate for the eyes and an asshole of great proportions. His presence aggravated her because he lorded his power over the detainees.
Although she’d prefer to avoid him, she gravitated to Carter who stood next to the gorgeous ass at the desk. “Hey,” she said.
Carter’s gaze moved from his papers to her eyes. His slow smile made her stomach flip. Why did she react to him in such a physical sense? The skin tingling, hammering heart, and stomach flipping were enough to make her crawl out of her skin with the unfamiliarity of the reactions.
“Hey,” he said.
She pointed toward Monica. “I’m losing my cellmate.”
“Is that so?”
He shifted his focus from her to scan the room. She’d noticed from the first day on the unit that he excelled at his job. His constantly roving gaze missed nothing, never staying on one point for too long. He gave a sense of being in motion and readiness, even when he stood completely still. She’d bet her last candy bar that no inmate would be able to take him by surprise.
“Monica’s being sent home tomorrow.” Was it sad that she wanted his full attention back on her again?
They both turned toward where the woman in question spoke with exaggerated hand gestures to two other detainees.
“Good for her. Not so much for you. No more laughing like hyenas.”
“We’re making the best out of a tough situation.”
“I know it’s none of my business, but how did you get in here?”
Her heart skipped a beat. Did this mean he thought about her? Calm down girl. He probably wonders about everyone’s story, just like you do. “Through those locked double doors.”
He tapped his pen on the clipboard and shook his head. “You are such a smart ass, Cerez. You know what I mean.”
She hated to tell this man the lie she’d been sharing with the other inmates. When she told her story she kept it as simple and honest as possible, but she had no desire to lie to Carter. “Standard deportation story. Came from Columbia as a visitor five years ago. Overstayed my visa and got caught.”
“How’d they get you?”
She forced herself to maintain eye contact. Nothing said big fat liar like visual avoidance. “At the airport on arrival from a visit to my friend in Florida back to Baltimore, where I lived. Not the kind of welcome I expected.”
He shook his head. “That’s rough.”
The sympathy in his eyes made her stomach twist at the lie.
“Chatting up an inmate, Carter?”
Atherby’s manner of looking at her grated on every one of her nerves. In the outside world, she would’ve told him off, using the most creative cuss words she knew. Here, she had only one
viable option so, without comment or even expressing the sneer tugging at her upper lip, she walked away.
“Why do you have to be such a jerk?” Carter mumbled at his coworker.
***
Matt couldn’t get the image of Sarita’s huge, clear, brown eyes out of his head. Thoughts of the inmate plagued him.
“Want another beer?” Ryan asked from the kitchen.
Matt tilted his half-filled bottle. “Nah, man, I’m good.”
His roommate, best friend, and work colleague plopped himself into the leather Barcalounger. “The Jets should be winning.”
Matt hadn’t paid much attention to the game. “I don’t think this is their year.”
“Hasn’t been for a while.” Ryan took a swig of his beer. “What’s up with you? You seem all distant and shit.”
Matt laughed. “Distant?”
“Like you’ve got something on your mind.”
“What do you think about that new guy Atherby?”
“Is this about what he said to you and that inmate today? Don’t look so shocked. You know word spreads faster than chicken pox in that place. Is it true? You got the hots for a prisoner?”
The need to defend Sarita burned in Matt’s gut. “She’s not actually a prisoner. They’re called detainees. Most of them didn’t commit a crime. They just overstayed their visa.”
“You’ve got it bad. She must be gorgeous.”
Matt didn’t know how much to tell his friend about her. How could he admit that she stayed in his mind and he wanted to get to know her? What little he knew about her, he liked.
“She’s cute.” He hoped the shrug would be enough to keep what lay under the surface hidden.
“That’s not what I heard. Rumor has it she’s a curvaceous babe, could be on the cover of a Victoria’s Secret catalogue if she had a little more height and boobs. It’s not like you to interact with an inmate. She must be something special.”
Matt rubbed both hands over his face, trying unsuccessfully to wipe away his feelings. “She is, but Atherby blew it all out of proportion. There’s nothing happening. You never answered my question. What do you think about him?”
“He’s all right. Cracks me up with his jokes. Why? What’s your opinion?”
“I can’t put my finger on it, but there’s something off about him. Plus when he’s around, I want to punch him in the face.”
“What are the Jets doing today? They’re killing me!” Ryan stopped short of throwing popcorn at the plasma-screen television. “That’s probably ’cause he called you out.”
“No, it’s because he’s an ass. Where did he transfer in from?”
“I heard he worked in Chicago before showing up here last week.”
"Have you ever...” Matt hesitated, not sure he wanted to ask his next question.
Ryan paused with a handful of popcorn midway to his mouth. “What?”
“Well, have you ever liked an inmate?”
“In all the time I’ve worked in the prison system, I’ve only liked about all of them. There are some stunning females that come through the system.” Ryan chuckled.
Typical of him to joke when Matt needed a serious answer.
“I’m kidding, man,” Ryan continued. “I remember being attracted to one, but she got sent to another prison.”
“What happened after that?”
“Nothing. She ended up out of coverage area. End of story.”
Matt rotated his beer bottle. “You didn’t try to contact her?”
“What for?” Ryan’s forehead creased. “Nothing physical happened between us. Besides she was sentenced to ten years.”
“So you didn’t like her, you lusted after her.”
“Like, lust, what’s the difference?”
“There’s a difference.” What raged through Matt for Sarita superseded a physical attraction. “Whatever. There’s a reason we’re not supposed to get involved with them.”
“Yeah, I know.” Ryan jerked his head a way from the mess the Jets were making on the screen to look at him. “So even if you’re in love with the chick. There’s nothing you can do about it. It’s for the best.”
Matt bowed his head to hide the truth from shining in his eyes. “No one said anything about love.”
“Okay. All you need is to get laid. How long’s it been?”
“A while.” Matt hesitated, on the verge of admitting the embarrassing fact that it had been at least six months.
“Marlene screwed you over big time when you found her in bed with your cousin.”
Matt held up his hand. “Don’t want to talk about it.”
“Who knew they’d hooked up?”
“I told you I didn’t want to talk about it,” Matt said with finality.
“Sorry. I thought you were over it.”
“I am, but it doesn’t mean I need to discuss it.”
Ryan contemplated him as if he were a piece of artwork. “You’ve had a run of bad luck with women. They keep leaving you. Kimberly took off after you helped put her through college. What did Linda say when she dumped you?”
The muscles in Matt’s face tightened. “I don’t remember. Why the need to go over my dating history?”
Ryan ignored him. “Oh yeah, she said you were great in bed but emotionally unavailable. That had to be the best compliment any man could receive. Remember Shashana? In my opinion, she happened to be the hottest woman you’ve ever dated.”
“She ended up being a lesbian.”
“You can’t get any sexier than that.” Ryan waggled a brow. “And then there was--”
“Enough already. So I’ve had a lot of ruined relationships,” Matt grumbled.
Both the advantage and disadvantage of being friends with someone since childhood had to be that they knew all of your garbage.
“Dude, you’ve been dumped a lot. What is it with you? Linda came the closest when she pegged you as emotionally unavailable. You know, I’m not one for a lot of feelings, but at least I’ve been in love a couple of times. How many times have you been in love?”
Matt pushed himself off the couch. “I’m going to bed. Gotta get up early for work tomorrow.”
“That’s what I thought. Never, hey, buddy?”
“Night.”
Matt left the living room with Ryan’s laughter hovering in the air. Ryan had been dead on point. Matt had never been in love. He figured that none of the women he’d been with had been lovable, but deep down he knew the truth, he wasn’t capable of the emotion.
Since graduating college his parents had been happily married, so he couldn’t blame them for not setting a good example. He’d always wanted to be in love, but never fell.
Sarita’s ever smiling lips flashed in his mind and his heart lurched, making him rub his chest. This love shit could not be happening to him now. Getting attached to her would be akin to emotional suicide. She had no choice but to leave him.
If he kept it professional, everything would be fine. She’d be deported before he had the chance to say Jack.
Chapter 6
Monica left that morning amongst waving and well wishes. Although happy her cellmate got the chance to go home, sadness lingered because Sarita would miss her fun-loving friend.
During her morning phone call, Corinth confirmed that Hana remained at large. How could one little girl be so slippery?
Sarita moved to the window. Without warning, Matt pivoted, riveting his gaze on her. The rapid drumming of her heart must have been the cause of her flaming face. Immobilized by his intense stare, she fought to step away from the glass without flinging herself back as if possessed. One large step backward removed him from view.
What the heck?
She picked up a book and fanned herself as she paced the room before settling herself on her bottom bunk resting her head in her hands. “I’ve got to get a hold of whatever is causing me to feel this way about him. You’re trained, Cerez. You’ve brought down men the size of professional wrestlers. You can do anything you set
your mind to. Set your mind to not letting Carter into your system.”
After her little pep talk, she got up and analyzed her face in the mirror. She frowned when she noticed her eyebrows were filling. If she didn’t take care, they’d go back to the bushy mess they’d been when she’d missed too many waxing appointments.
She squinted as she glanced at her nasty, neon-yellow top and bottom detainee uniform. There wasn’t a lot of color in her wardrobe at home, but she’d be damned if she’d wear yellow any time soon once she got out.
She removed a piece of string from the sleeve of one of her standard issue white T-shirts. Tied it into a loop then twisted the center once, making an X.
Gladys, the unofficial unit beautician should be doing this for her. How hard could the procedure be? The X created a sort of tweezers, used to remove hair, since neither tweezers nor hot wax treatments were allowed in prison.
When Sarita first observed the procedure, she thought it ingenious. She now took the string and pulled out a hair with a wince. After tweezing her brows at home in between wax jobs for years, she’d become somewhat accustomed to the slight stinging sensation. A few minutes later she stepped back from the mirror to admire the full scope of her handy work.
Raising and lowering her eyebrows, she snickered under her breath. Why hadn’t she let Gladys do it for her?
When the doors opened for afternoon rec ten minutes later, she attempted to avoid Carter. Their eyes had a way of finding each other and today turned out to be no different. He averted his gaze but a chuckle escaped. Her eyes widened as a smile snuck onto her lips at hearing the wonderful sound for the first time.
The realization that her crooked eyebrows were the cause sent her scurrying in search of Gladys. The fellow ICE inmate had no care for Sarita’s feelings when she broke out into a boisterous hoot. Everyone turned to see what had entertained her. When they saw Sarita’s mismatched eyebrows, they laughed at her expense. She couldn’t blame them because she’d reacted the same way.