Prison Politics

by Beast

  Xavier watched Raheem and Abdul wiped the blood from their flesh as he got dressed. He wondered how much blood the men had spilled to get to him. Xavier wanted to know what the hell was going on between the two inmates. He wondered how he fit in. Xavier had a million and one questions but he couldn’t get answers. Chaos had erupted on the block again and law and order were on the way. At least he wouldn’t have to welcome the cavalry in solitary.

  Blood In, Blood Out

  Xavier turned towards the only window in the small, cramp office. His eyes followed the rain water cascading down the glass. Taking a moment to appreciate nature usually calmed him. It didn’t work this time. Frustration brimmed in his gut. Xavier let out an exasperated sigh and turned back towards the quack psychologist.

  The sour faced old man looked up from his pad and said, “I’m not going to clear you to return to work if you don’t answer my question, Xavier.” A defiant frown wrinkled his worn leather like face. “After all you’ve been through, why do you want to go back and work at that prison? You could have died in there.”

  “But I didn’t,” Xavier replied. His gaze narrowed as he tilted his head and poked out his chin defiantly. “I’m still here. I want to get back to work. I’m no good to anyone sitting at home twiddling my thumbs. A man has to work.”

  Dr. Roman grimaced. He rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration. “I spoke to your father yesterday on the phone. He told me that you were offered a couple jobs as an accountant but you turned them down. Why?”

  “I don’t see myself holed up in a cubicle crunching numbers.” Xavier took a deep breath and eased the tension from his face. “Spending my life counting other people’s money doesn’t interest me anymore.”

  “Even though that’s what you earned a degree in, accounting?” the doctor asked. Xavier shrugged in response. Dr. Roman’s brow twitched. “Your father said that you seemed different. That you had changed since the riot. He said he felt like he didn’t know you anymore.”

  “I am different. Surviving that riot changed who I am. I had to fight for my life and defend myself.” Xavier laced his fingers and leaned towards the doctor. His voice ruffled as he spoke. “I’m not the same man I was. Who would be after what happened in there? But I do think I’m a better man. More resolved. More focused. I’m good at my job, doc. I want to move up the ranks and run that prison one day. I want to make sure that my fellow officers never go through what I did.”

  Dr. Roman tapped the end of his pen on his pad as he studied Xavier’s face. Finally, he asked, “Did you kill Jerome McKinley? D-Rock?”

  Xavier pressed his lips together as he leaned back in his chair. “I told you before. I defended myself. How many times do I have to say it?” he asked, almost shouting. Xavier gripped the armrests of his chair and forced himself to calm down. “The man had a grudge against COs and wanted to take it out on me. When I left him he was still breathing. What those animals may have done to him after I escaped I can’t tell you.”

  “The man was stabbed over a dozen times. Do you think he deserved to die?”

  “I don’t know. It’s not my place to say. I’m not God. But the way he died was cruel.” Xavier licked his lips thinking about who might have stabbed the beast of a man when he and his saviors fled the cell. “It was just as tragic as the deaths of about a dozen other inmates who were murdered during the riot. They were locked up but they all had families waiting for them to come home. It’s not right.”

  “I agree. The way those men died is very cruel. As of right now, the prison is saying that they all died at the hands of other inmates during the riot. Yet, not one person is being prosecuted for those murders. It just seems wrong that no one will get justice.”

  “It was chaos in there, doc,” Xavier explain. “If I was a betting man I’d put money on the fact that most of those men that were killed were taken out by more than one person. These guys had beefs with each other. Some that went back for years.”

  “So I’m back at my original question; why on earth would you want to go back?”

  “I want to do something that makes a difference. I want to be responsible for the lives of my fellow officers. I can help the inmates who will be free again one day. I saw what thugs like D-Rock did to young men who were impressionable. He was the type of man that made young guys trying to do their and get out institutionalized.”

  “So you’ll do what to inmates that are like D-Rock?”

  Xavier narrowed his eyes. “My job.”

  The doctor studied Xavier’s face as he tapped his pen on the pad with all the scribbled notes he’d take during this final session. He was on the fifth page and it had only been forty-five minutes. Finally, the old man broke his steely stare and tossed his pad on the table.

  “There is nothing emotionally or psychologically wrong with you,” he said almost as if he were disappointed. “Nothing that I can see, anyways. I can’t even diagnose you with PTSD. Either you’re fit as a fiddle or you’ve managed to fool me since the moment you walked into my office a month ago. Considering what you went through, I’m a little troubled that you weren’t affected more. I don’t think you’ll seek revenge mainly because the man that tortured you bled to death in that cell. But there is something that I just can’t put my finger on and it bothers me.”

  “I’m just ready to get back to work and do my part, doc,” Xavier said. “It’s really just that simple.”

  “Fine. I can’t keep you from work longer than the 30 day evaluation unless I think you pose a risk to yourself, your fellow officers or the inmates. And I can’t make that claim. I just hope you don’t do something to make me regret my diagnosis. You’re fit to get back to work. I’ll fax my recommendation to your lieutenant. You can report back to work in the morning.”

  Xavier stood up and smiled. “Thanks.”

  “Don’t thank me, son. I wish you’d take one of those accountant jobs and move on with your life. But I can’t stop you from doing what you want. Good luck.”

  Xavier left the office, his heart slamming against his chest. Tomorrow he’d finally be able to see Raheem and Abdul again. He felt butterflies flutter in his stomach. He wouldn’t have been able to wipe the smile off his face if he wanted to. Still, there wasn’t time to celebrate. He had work to do.

  Somehow, Raheem had managed to get a few messages out to some of his friends from prison. A week after the riot, some random hood dude was on Xavier’s door step with a sheet of paper with a deciphered code that said: threatened. The man had been back twice since that first message with requests for contraband. The only message Xavier had sent back was a date: when he’d be back on the block.

  Xavier headed downtown on I-75 and merged onto I-20. The barber he went to in the Westend knew a guy that sold pills and weed. Xavier needed to get a nice little supply for Raheem. He needed the product along with money on his books. Xavier took care of all that.

  For thirty days Xavier looked forward to the day he’d see Raheem again. Nothing else really mattered. He wasn’t worried about getting caught with drugs in his system or about the risk he’d taken by sending Raheem a message. Once he was back in the prison, he’d ask Raheem if the messenger needed to be taken care of. Loose ends weren’t an option and he wasn’t comfortable with the man knowing who he was or where he lived.

  Xavier finished his transaction with the dope boy his barber connected him with and headed back home. It was almost noon and he had to ingest the product so he could access it by tomorrow afternoon. He had a pack of condoms he’d use to wrap up the pills and weed and a bottle of castor oil. He’d take a spoonful in the morning before he walked out the door.

  The day seemed long. Xavier paced in his apartment, anxious for the hours to roll by and the morning to finally come. He didn’t get to bed until midnight but was up bright and early at six. His eyes were wide, staring at the alarm on his dresser just before it went off.

  He tried to go through the motions of showering and shaving but he was so excited about s
eeing Raheem that he could hardly contain himself. Their reunion was something he’d fantasized about every day since the riot ended. He was damn near obsessed with the boy. Occasionally Xavier thought about Abdul but only in the context of how he fit in with him and Raheem. What he felt was overwhelming.

  Xavier stood in front of his bathroom mirror and looked at his reflection. He unwrapped the towel from his waist and gripped his dick. His hand moved slowly at first, in rhythm with his breathing. Slow and measured. He closed his eyes and grabbed the door frame with his other hand. He didn’t need porn to get off but he definitely needed to bust one off right quick.

  When he opened his eyes he saw Raheem’s chocolate ass towering behind him, muscles flexed and tats looking raw as fuck. Xavier bit at his bottom lip until it hurt. Short, hard breaths blew through his clenched teeth. Xavier stroked his painfully swollen manhood with rugged purpose, his calloused palm slamming against his aching balls each time. Finally, release ravished his body. Three thick globs of cum shot from his dick. One even hit the mirror.

  A twisted look of satisfaction covered the correctional officer’s face as he squeezed out the last few drops of nut. He snatched his washrag from the shower and wiped up. Now he was ready. All the pent up tension was gone…for now anyways. He went to his bedroom and put his uniform on. It was a little snug. It wasn’t until that moment that he knew he’d put on some muscle from hitting the gym every day since the riot.

  Whenever he worked out he envisioned D-Rock charging at him as he grasped the shank that would save his life. Never again was Xavier going to be too weak to save himself. He would make sure, with every weight he lifted and every mile he ran, that he’d prepare himself for the mayhem that would surely come to the block. It was only a matter of time

  Everyone was all smiles when Xavier made it to the prison. Every CO he saw either patted him on the back or shook his hand. He fed on the hero worship. He’d fought off a savage criminal and lived to come back and face the inmates another day. Even the guy that searches all the employees before they enter the prison barely touched him because he spent so much time talking about how Xavier was the man for what he’d done. It really wouldn’t have mattered if the search were thorough or not. Xavier had swallowed his gift for Raheem.

  “Officer Brown,” someone called out. Xavier looked up and saw Lieutenant Patterson, the commander of his block. “Come to my office before you start your shift. There are a couple of questions I have for you, son.”

  Xavier put on his game face and followed the man to his office. It was just another hoop to jump before he was back on the block. He calmed his nerves and settled the thoughts racing through his mind. He was sure the man wasn’t going to try to trip him up. COs were like family, especially after a prison riot.

  “Have a seat,” the lieutenant said as he sat behind his desk. “I wanted to check in on you before you jumped back into it. How are you doing?”

  “I’m fine, sir. Tired of sitting on my ass to be honest. Ready to get back to work.”

  “The doctor said he was a little concerned about how eager you were about getting here,” the lieutenant said. He leaned back in his chair and eyed Xavier. A grin slowly creased his face. “He’s a pencil pusher. He doesn’t understand what it means to wear this uniform or walk these blocks. Besides, he’s only working here because he couldn’t get hired anywhere else and he was too scared to open his own practice. Anyways, I’m happy you’re back. Thought you’d turn in your uniform after what all went down. Hell, looks like you might need to get fitted for another shirt.”

  Xavier grinned. “It feels good to be welcomed back with open arms, sir. I’ve been so bored out my mind that I spend most of the day at the gym. I just want to make sure I’m strong enough to make this a career and not just a job.”

  “Sounds good, Brown. Stay focused and don’t go trying to be a tough guy. Take it easy this first week and get back into the groove of things. I know how it feels to come back after a stint away. You feel like you have to prove yourself all over again. I just want you to be careful. All the inmates think you were the one that killed D-Rock. Some of them aren’t too happy about that.”

  “I’m well aware, sir. I promise I’ll exercise extreme caution. Last thing I want to do is incite another incident. My plan is to move under the radar and just work.”

  “Good,” the lieutenant said with a smug grin of admiration on his face. “I’m sure you’ll continue to make us proud. Let me know if you need anything.” The man motioned towards the door. But before Xavier stepped out he said, “Oh and we’re investigating how that gun got in the jail in the first place. We have a couple leads. I promise you’ll be the first to know when we have a suspect.”

  Xavier smiled and nodded as he left the office. He’d hadn’t given much thought to who might have smuggled the gun in the jail. He knew Raheem had something to do with it but he didn’t know any of the details. Long as it didn’t get back to the young inmate, Xavier wasn’t concerned.

  When the doors opened to the block, Xavier felt like he was home. Memories of the riot ran through his mind but they didn’t shake him. Fear was no longer an option. If anyone tried him he’d take them out just like he did D-Rock. No one was going to fuck with him. Not this time. Not every again.

  “Oh shit,” Marco hissed. The round, mixed guard stood up. “Look who the fuck is back.”

  “Sup man,” Xavier said. He walked over to the man and shook his hand. “Been a while.”

  “I honestly didn’t think you’d ever be back in this shit hole, man. Me and my girl watched the news all night when the riot went down. We was praying for you, bro.”

  “I appreciate that.”

  Xavier chatted Marco and Dylan up like they were old friends. He had never particularly liked either one of his fellow guards but now it seemed like he was obliged to indulge the new found camaraderie. Xavier figured it wouldn’t hurt since the men had been reassigned to work the evening shift with him since the old man and the chick with the gaudy jewelry quit.

  The shift just started and it was time to do count. Dylan offered to do it but Xavier said he would. What better way to say hello to Raheem than to be the first face he saw before being let out of his cell. It was a moment the guard longed to experience.

  Surprisingly, Xavier enjoyed going to each cell and checking off the names of each inmate. They knew he was back. The fact that Raheem’s cell was the last on the list was just icing on the cake. The suspense of seeing the viral inmate only excited Xavier more.

  “Jones,” Xavier shouting in the cell as he pushed the door open.

  Raheem was on the top bunk. He looked over at Xavier and a knowing grin spread on his sexy lips. Seeing the boy again made Xavier’s heart race and his manhood stir in his slacks. But as much as he wanted to enjoy the reunion, he had a job to do. Xavier closed the door and went back to the command station on the floor of the block.

  Marco and Dylan gossiped like a pair of hens once the men were let out. Xavier’s eyes were glued on Raheem’s cell but it didn’t open. The urge to go up on the tier and see what was going on was overwhelming. But Xavier knew he couldn’t be so anxious. He reluctantly engaged in Marco and Dylan’s superfluous conversation as he worked on the computer and worked on reports.

  Raheem had a new roommate and Xavier didn’t see his old cellmate name on the roster. He looked the man up and discovered that he’d died during the riot. Raheem’s new cellmate was Lucas Freeman. The man was serving twenty-five to life for a murder. He was a suspected gang member and had a number of run-ins with inmates and COs alike. Xavier’s jaw clench as he read the man’s file. He was trouble.

  Xavier also didn’t see Abdul. He looked him up, hoping that something didn’t happen to him during the riot. A sigh of relief left Xavier’s lips when he saw the boy had been put in the SHU for fighting. Xavier read the names of the men he was supposedly fighting. They were all Muslims.

  Why the fuck is Abdul fighting other Muslims, Xavier thought. W
hat the Hell happened while I was gone?

  Xavier picked up one of the papers and pulled out the Sports section. He acted like he was reading it so that Marco and Dylan wouldn’t keep trying to suck him into their conversation. He needed time to think. Things had changed. Abdul was obviously in trouble and Raheem seemed a bit distracted. Xavier wondered more and more what the inmate had meant when he said he was ‘threatened.’

  Two hours passed and Raheem still hadn’t emerged from his cell. Xavier couldn’t wait any longer. He stood up and told the other officers that he was going to walk around and do a cell check. They barely acknowledged him and went back to their conversation.

  Xavier went to the second tier and started on the opposite end of Raheem’s cell. He looked in each cell, making sure nothing inappropriate was going on. When he finally made it to Raheem’s cell he peered in and saw Freeman snorting something up his nose as Raheem washed his boxers in the sink. His eyes met with Raheem’s and the boy gave a slight nod. Xavier snatched his radio from his hip and called it in.

  SWAT was on the block in under a minute. Everyone went to the ground as the small gang of well armed men made it up to the tier. They pulled Raheem and Freeman from the cell and did a search. Nothing was found but they took Freeman to the infirmary to be tested for drugs. Raheem was let go.

  Xavier was halfway done with his incident report when he finally saw Raheem step out of his cell. Seeing the boy again made Xavier’s hairs stand on end. More than anything he wanted to sneak off with him and enjoy the pleasures the young inmate had to offer.

  Once the report was filed, Xavier made his way out to the yard and watched Raheem play basketball and lift weights. Watching him run up and down the court with his shirt off was maddening. Xavier’s mouth watered just thinking about running his tongue up and down the inmate’s sweat covered body. How Raheem’s taut, jailhouse muscle might feel to the touch made Xavier’s libido rile beyond comprehension. He needed to fuck.