Bang Up: Prison walls don't just keep criminals in, the keep the outside world at bay

by Karen Woods

  BANG UP

  KAREN WOODS

  EMPIRE PUBLICATIONS

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  As always, thank you so much to the people who support me and read my work. Thanks to my children Ashley, Blake, Declan and Darcy. A big thanks as always to my mother Margaret for all her hard work, also a big massive thanks to Rebecca Ryder for her expertise.

  Bang-Up is my 15th novel and I hope you all enjoy the insight into a life we never really see behind bars. Since I've started writing its opened so many doors for me and I've enjoyed meeting many creative people. The ‘Ard Knox Theatre Company has now been set up in North Manchester and this year at the Lowry theatre I will be putting on my fifth sell out show called "My Big Fat Jobseekers Wedding". I hope some of you will attend it.

  Big Thanks to Ashley and John from Empire and to all my followers on Facebook and Twitter. Check out my website www.karenwoods.net for more information on the play and forthcoming titles.

  My last thanks goes to my son Dale in heaven, always in my thoughts.

  Love

  Karen

  "LIFE DOESN'T GIVE, YOU HAVE TO TAKE."

  CHAPTER ONE

  Mikey Milne stood in the dock at Manchester Crown Court with his hands tucked neatly behind his back. His shoulders forced forward, his chest expanding with every breath he took. He was a cocky fucker and he didn’t give a shit who was watching him, he was here to impress. The young offender looked into the public gallery and showed little remorse for the crimes he’d committed. His nostrils flared as he jerked his head forward slowly. “I’m ready, you cunts!” he mumbled under his breath.

  Mikey shot a look at his co-accused and smirked. What a smacked arse his mate was! This was just a bit of jail, nothing to lose any sleep over. He’d do the time on his head. The guy was a pussy. Mikey stuck his hand down the front of his tracksuit bottoms and flicked his fingers across his cock rapidly. His solicitor had advised him to dress smartly for court but he had told him straight to get a grip. There was no way he was dressing up for a court appearance, not now not ever. They could get to fuck. The prosecution could take him as they found him; rough and ready. He didn’t really care anymore. Brendan was shitting himself; fidgeting, gasping for breath, panic had clearly set in. The corners of Mikey’s mouth began to rise. He sniggered through his fingers and leaned in to the side of his mate’s ear. “Fuck it mate, do or die isn’t it. We’ll have to soldier it. Don’t let these twats get to you.”

  Brendan Mellor dipped his head, he didn’t reply. His heart was in his mouth and he wasn’t as confident as Mikey. Brendan was just a lad who had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. A follower, his dad had always called him. A daft fat prick who would do anything to gain a bit of street cred. This sentence was going to break him in two, his arse was twitching already, his heart pumping inside his rib cage. Mikey nodded as he studied the judge in his large black leather chair. He was like an Indian chief talking to his tribe. Mikey weighed him up. How did he sleep at night playing about with the destiny of people’s lives? He looked a right grumpy old fart too; grey hair, rotund figure and a bright red nose.

  They were all seated at the Crown Court today for the sentencing of these two criminals and the wig brigade were out in full force; a gang of them in grey curly hair and black gowns. The police officers wanted the pair of them off the streets and they had made that clear in their statements to court earlier in the case. Mikey knew that, regardless of the verdict, this judge was getting a mouthful from him today. Who was this tosser anyway? How could he judge him and tell him what was right and what was wrong? He was just another do-gooder telling him what he already knew. Fuck it! He was ready to kick off, he had nothing to lose. Mikey Milne was a law unto himself and lived every day by his own code of conduct. Nobody could tell him what to do or say. The courts had tried in the past to put him in his place but to date no one had ever controlled this young tearaway. He would spit in their eye and tell them he’d do this sentence on his head. Jail meant fuck all to him, it was his second home. A place he was familiar with, living with lads just like he was - fucked in the head. They didn’t know how easy they had it. Three meals a day and no worries about paying bills – it was a piece of piss compared to some people living on the outside.

  Mikey stretched his hands above his head and yawned, mouth wide open, eyes fully closed. He ragged his hands through his thick dark hair and looked at the uniformed security guard just to the right of him. The youth licked his lips slowly and studied him for a bit longer than necessary. Was it worth it? Could he take him down and jump the dock, he wasn’t sure. Smirking at the guard, Mikey ground his teeth tightly together. A slight nod of the head towards him was all it took to unsettle the man. The prisoner stood cracking his knuckles as he sneered at him. The way he was feeling right now he could have broken him in two; snapped his jaw, ended his worthless life.

  Mikey’s girlfriend Sarah sat in the public gallery looking over at him. She was tearful and knew her boyfriend was going down today no matter what. Mikey had already been found guilty of supplying Class A drugs along with a few other charges. She thought he was just unlucky. The dibble had caught him bang to rights and no matter how much he tried to worm his way out of this one he had to admit to himself that he was getting a long stretch no matter what. Mikey had done a deal with the prosecution earlier and held up his hands to a lesser charge. He’d probably saved himself a few years already, so in a way he’d got off lightly. It could have been a lot worse.

  Mikey’s mother was at court today. She nodded towards her son, feeling guilty that she’d let him down all his life and never been there when he needed her most. Rachel was as hard as nails – her face betrayed no emotion. Life had made her like this. She’d had such a hard miserable existence and it wasn’t all her own doing for sure but still she struggled, she’d had to fight all her life. Nothing had ever been simple. Rachel kept her chin up and listened to everything that was being said about her son. Her head dipped as she listened to the prosecution talk about his criminal record. There was whispering from others sat near her. Already her son was being judged. Mikey’s mother had done a bit of bird too. In her day she was always getting a few months here and there. She had been a top shoplifter - a professional one in her day and she knew how the justice system worked more than most but to watch her boy go down hit her hard. Rachel sucked hard on her gums, praying for a good result.

  Sarah, Mikey’s girlfriend, was a pretty little thing; long blonde hair and such lovely baby blue eyes, she looked angelic. She wasn’t like Mikey at all; she came from a good home and knew right from wrong. Her family thought her relationship with this dead-leg had ended long ago but it had never really stopped. If they ever found out he was still in the picture he would have been in a body bag. They had connections; big men who would take anybody down for the right price. Money talked and her family had more than enough of it to make sure this scrote disappeared off the face of the earth if need be. Mikey had been warned off already. He kept that on the low though, he didn’t like admitting that he was vulnerable. There was no way anyone could know that he had backed down to these hard nuts and admitted defeat. One night he was cornered and had a gun held to his head, one thug had rammed the cold silver barrel to the back of his throat until he gagged. But, still, even though he should have kept away from Sarah he carried on seeing her. It didn’t deter him, he loved a challenge. And, if these pricks came for him again he would be ready for them next time. Sarah loved her bad boy with all her heart and c
ouldn’t imagine life without him. She was smitten, besotted. He was her world. Mikey loved her in his own way too but she was so needy, always wanting more from him, always wanting him to spend more time with her. She made him do things that made him feel weak. He was never really a romantic guy and he found it hard to display any kind of emotion. Holding hands and kissing in public was for wimps, it just wasn’t his style. She thought she was better than him sometimes and it really pissed him off.

  The court room was silent as Judge Mayor started to speak. He cleared his throat, sipping on a glass of water. It was time to hear their fate. Everybody was hanging on his every word. Journalists, their pens held tightly in their hands, were ready to let the world know Mikey Milne was no longer at large on the streets of Manchester. They would word his story in the usual way, making him sound like a thug, a lowlife, a danger to the public. Rachel swallowed hard and shook her head slowly knowing it wasn’t good news. She had a gut feeling and by the looks of things this was going to be a nightmare. This judge had a moody look about him, his expression was sour. He looked like he’d smelt a fart and he was looking around the courtroom for the culprit. Mikey whispered to Brendan and nudged him in the waist with a single finger. “This is showtime mate. Here we go. Don’t let these fuckers break us. Keep it real.” Rachel Milne hung her pale wrinkled hands over the brass rail and gripped at it tightly, her knuckles turning white. Her eyes squeezed together, her mouth was moving but no words were coming out. Perhaps, she was praying, the poor cow. She needed a miracle.

  The criminals stood patiently in the dock and knew after a few minutes that their fate would be announced. Brendan Mellor had bright ginger hair and a plump waistline, he loved food, he loved eating. Ever since being a small child he had loved sugary snacks, he was a carb-junkie. He was shady too, very deep and you just couldn’t get to the bottom of him. This youth had never been to prison before and the colour drained from his cheeks as he stood waiting to be sentenced. His father was in court today and he was eager to hear his son’s fate. He hated Mikey Milne with a passion and from the minute he’d set eyes on him he knew he was nothing but trouble. A gob-shite he was, always the first there when anything was going on. He’d corrupted his son, led him astray. Mr Mellor snarled over at Mikey and wished him dead. Brendan was doing fine until he had got mixed up with this scumbag. He could have had a job and a career. His family were ready to support him in anything he wanted to do. He’d fucked it all up now, and for what, to gain his mate’s respect. What a complete arsehole Brendan was. He never thought this through, he’d dropped a bollock.

  Mikey had done a couple of stretches in jail over the years. An eighteen month and a six month. A shit and a shave he called it, it never broke him. It just made him stronger, more streetwise perhaps. At the age of twenty-two it was something he was proud of. He liked to think he’d earned his stripes amongst the lads on the estate, put his name on the map. Mikey’s nostrils flared as he stood cracking his knuckles, his chest rising with speed and the large vein at the side of his neck pumping rapidly. He was ready now.

  The judge leant forward in his seat and held some paperwork in his right hand. The guards behind the prisoners stood up and moved closer to the offenders. They were preparing for it to kick off. When men got sent down anything could happen, this could get messy. Mikey was like a ticking bomb. The judge began in a firm tone, eyes looking directly at the convicts. “Michael Milne, I have read over your case and you have to realise that no matter what has been said here today, a custodial sentence is the only option I have left for you. You’re a dangerous young man who needs to learn that your life style is not a healthy one. You have had chance after chance from the courts and not once have you mended your ways. ”

  Mikey jerked his head forward and tickled the end of his chin with a single finger. “Get on with it you old cunt,” he whispered under his breath. This was pissing him off now, he just needed to know his sentence so he could crack on with life. He shot a look over at his mother and bit hard onto his bottom lip. Any second now he was going to blow. His ears were pinned back and his cheeks were beetroot. Mikey closed his eyes as he continued to listen to the judge rambling on about the way he’d lived his life in the past.

  Brendan was fidgeting about at the side of him, he was breathing heavily and sucking hard on the edge of his thumb. He couldn’t keep still. Judge Mayor lifted up a white sheet of paper from the case file and he was now ready to pass sentence. Rachel gripped Sarah close to her and held her tightly in her arms. She rested her head on top of hers, inhaling the apple fragrance from her thick blonde hair. The journalist nearby rolled the blue biro in her fingers rapidly and she was seconds away from getting the story she wanted for the local press. Mikey pushed his nose against the glass panel and slid it slowly against it. Here it was, he didn’t have to wait any longer. You could have heard a pin drop. “I sentence you Mikey Milne to five years’ imprisonment.” Mikey sniffed hard and lifted his eyes to the ceiling and stood in deep thought. It was taking time for him to digest what had just been said. He listened eagerly as the case continued. “Brendan Mellor, I have taken into consideration your previous criminal record and that you have not been in prison before. Therefore, I sentence you to two years in prison. I hope you two young men use this time to become better people and learn that crime doesn’t pay.”

  Mikey was bubbling with rage, nostrils flaring. Rachel sprang up from her seat and punched her rounded fist into the air. She was going sick and ready for punching somebody’s lights out. Her voice was loud and the people in the public gallery were on edge as she booted the wall near her. “What a fucking liberty this is! He’s a kid for crying out loud! You could have given him a probation order you old cunt! He’s not been in trouble for over a year now, surely that should count for something,” she pointed her finger around the courtroom. “You’re all the same you lot, useless wankers who know fuck all about the real world. Silver spoon bastards the lot of you!”

  The distraught usher ran to her side and gripped her by the arm. “You need to leave. This kind of behaviour is not tolerated inside the courtroom. Come on, leave.”

  Judge Mayor’s back was up as he peered over his gold-rimmed glasses and pulled a sour expression. He was in no mood for this woman and he was ready to have her detained for contempt of court. Rachel was escorted kicking and screaming from the courtroom with the help of the two security guards. What a foul mouth she had!

  Mikey Milne was up in arms and there was no way he was taking this lying down. His clenched fist pounded against the glass panel that separated him from the rest of the courtroom. He shrieked at the top of his voice. “Jail won’t break me you wankers. I’ll do this sentence on my head. Mam, don’t you worry about me. I’ll show these bastards, just you watch.” Judge Mayor sprang to his feet. He watched as the Group Four guards tried their best to deal with the convict. Mikey was throwing punches, kicking his legs out, there was no way they were taking him without a fight. “Pricks, come on, is that all you’ve got, you shower of bastards. Let’s have it.”

  Sarah bit hard on her fingernails and wiped the cuff of her jumper across her eyes. She was sobbing her heart out, unable to breathe properly. Standing to her feet she screamed. “Mikey, you’re just making it worse. Please stop, please, for me, just calm down.” Her words fell on deaf ears though, there was no way he was listening to her. He was in the zone now and trying his best to break free.

  Brendan Mellor stood in shock. There was no way he was making any trouble for himself. He shot a look over to his father and his eyes clouded over. He was ready for breaking down, his lips trembling. He mouthed the words “Sorry” over to his dad and his head dropped. Loud banging noises and screaming could be heard as more security guards came into the dock. Mikey Milne was twisted up in seconds. It took six of them to restrain him. Even now, when he couldn’t move a muscle, he was still shouting the odds out with his face pressed firmly to the floor. “Come on you cunts, you’ll never break me.” The journal
ist had her story now; a ruthless, psychotic criminal is sentenced.

  Rachel paced up and down outside the courtroom, her hands ragging through her hair. She was fuming and speaking on her mobile phone. “The bastards have slammed him. Gary, I swear he’s kicking off. They’re going to hammer him once they get him into a cell. Just you watch, if they put one mark on my boy’s body I’ll sue them.” Rachel held the phone to the side of her ear and bit down hard on her lip. People were coming out of the courtroom now and there was no way she wanted them to see her like this. She took a deep breath and tried to hold back the tears. People were pointing and whispering. The phone call ended suddenly and Rachel stood waiting for Sarah. Each person that walked out from the room looked her up and down, judging her, knowing now why her son was the way he was. Rachel stood tall. If they wanted trouble she’d give them trouble alright. She’d dealt with these sorts of people all her life and, like her son, she was scared of nobody. Tilting her head to the side she placed her hand on the side of her hip and held a cocky expression. A woman was eyeballing her from the opposite side of the corridor. “Have you seen enough or do you want me to spin around for you to get a better look, you nosey cow?” She was ready for her, she was ready for them all. They were no better than her, she’d scratch their eyes out if she needed to. They were just regular people thinking they knew her story.

  The courtroom door flew open and crashed against the wall. Sarah appeared, her eyes were red raw and her voice was low. “They’ve took him Rachel, they’ve took my Mikey.” Sarah’s legs buckled from underneath her as she fell to the floor. She was hyperventilating and finding it difficult to breathe. People just walked past her as if she was a big dollop of dog muck on the bottom of their shoes. Not one person stopped to see if she was alright; inconsiderate bastards the lot of them. She could have been dying for all they knew and not one of them gave her a second thought. Rachel sprinted to her side and held her tight in her arms. She didn’t need this, she had her own grief to cope with without nursing somebody else. She’d told Sarah not to come to court but she just couldn’t stay away; she was in love, totally head over heels in love with her boy.