Prison Politics

by Beast

  “June Bug slipped a note to a guard in the Investigative Unit accusing me of having sex with an inmate. Why would that nigga do that right before coming to save you?”

  Raheem stared at Xavier, thinking. The shit did sound off. But then again it was coming from Xavier’s manipulative ass. Either he was being honest or he was trying to drive a wedge between him and Shawn. Either way, Raheem knew he had to tread carefully.

  “So what you want me to do?” Raheem asked. “June Bug wants me on his squad when they go after those Spanish fucks and Shawn is locked up in a cell with me eighteen hours out the day. I’m too exposed to make any fucking moves.”

  “I want you to trust me for once. I know you don’t like being told what to do, especially by me. But you can’t ever say I didn’t have your back. Everything I do, I do it for your ass. I don’t give a fuck about Patterson, June Bug or Shawn. I’m here for you.”

  “That’s the shit that has me worried. You can’t be in this for me. I’m locked up, nigga. I’m a fucking prisoner. And even if I did entertain some faggot relationship type shit, aint much we could do besides sneak off and fuck once in a while.”

  “I want your loyalty. I want your trust. I want you. Give me that and you can have whatever or whoever. I don’t care.”

  Raheem looked at Xavier and scratched his head. What the man was saying had him tripping. But it wasn’t just the CO’s words. For a brief second Raheem wanted to say that he would give Xavier everything he wanted. That faint voice that whispered in his ear since he first laid eyes on the guard got a little louder.

  “Help me deal with this shit with the Muslims,” Raheem finally said. He couldn’t bring himself to say what he knew Xavier wanted to hear. “And get rid of Twist. I’ll take care of June Bug. That’s all I can promise.”

  Xavier frowned. A look of defeat covered his face. “Do you trust Shawn?”

  “Come on man, don’t start with that shit again.”

  “If you trust the boy let me use him to deal with June Bug. If he has no ties to the dude then he won’t hesitate to do what needs to be done. You claim he’ll do anything to protect you. Let him prove it.”

  “Fine. But you can’t make him kill no one. There’s enough blood our hands. He’s not that type of dude. Won’t be right to make him a killer when he’s in prison.”

  Xavier nodded. A plan was already forming in his mind. He and Raheem stood there in silence until Shawn came back with all the supplies for the unit. The guard saw the worried look on Raheem’s face when he looked at Shawn. It didn’t matter. The boy would be gone soon enough.

  The prisoners bum rushed the supply bin the moment Shawn pushed in from the Plexi Glass holding them inside. Xavier shook his head and went to the command station. He’d given up on trying to divvy up goods a week after he started working. Being equitable only lasted when a guard was around. The inmates that wanted something would just take it later. Letting them delve into the evolutionary fact of survival of the fittest actually minimize altercations later on.

  “Did I miss anything,” Xavier asked.

  Marco shrugged and thumbed through the Sports section of the paper. The new guy was nose deep in paper work that Xavier was sure Marco’s lazy ass shoved onto him. The veteran guard had tried that same shit on Xavier the first day as a type of initiation. It didn’t fly.

  Xavier took half the stack of work from the man’s pile and went to work. He offered Xavier a small smile of gratitude. Xavier simply nodded. He still wasn’t there to make friends but he wasn’t about to shirk his responsibilities. There had to be balance. And Marco was going to get his fair share soon.

  An hour went by before Xavier looked up from the work before him. Officer Carter, a blonde trailer park looking woman, came into the unit with Twist. He looked angry as Hell and it was obvious as day who that rage had been directed towards.

  After Carter turned in the paperwork for Twist she looked to Marco and said, “I need Daryl Blalock. He had put in a request to see a nurse.”

  Marco passed the woman the sign-out form and called June Bug over the intercom. Xavier stared at Carter. He knew all about her dealings with Raheem. Now, he was more sure than ever that she had a craving for black dick and June Bug was her next victim. It was time to make some moves and start the destruction of June Bug.

  Xavier picked up the phone and called his boy over in the Investigative Unit. The conversation was short. He tipped him off about Carter and June Bug. Xavier prayed that he was right about the two of them. Having June Bug caught up in a sex scandal with a guard would be the best way to discredit him and his accusation against Xavier.

  No more than ten minutes had passed when a half dozen Sheriffs came charging in the unit. They rushed Marco and cuffed the man on the spot, reading him his rights. Xavier struggled, trying to look as shocked as a fellow officer should be. He smiled from ear to ear on the inside. Patterson was at the Plexi glass door and gave his signal to lock the unit down.

  Xavier got on the intercom and told all the inmates to go to their cells. Patterson was gone before the last inmate made it back to the cell. Xavier didn’t miss the little interaction between Raheem and Dee Dee. He prayed the boy wasn’t getting soft on the prag. The last thing Raheem or Xavier needed was for folks to start thinking the inmate was sweet.

  Calm settled over the unit. Usually, Xavier enjoyed the silence. But right now, it only highlighted the wait. He stared at the phone, waiting for his boy in the investigative unit to call him back with the good news.

  Xavier had everything planned out. He’d take out June Bug and Shawn in one fatal blow. All he needed was to have June Bug locked up in solitary. Patience wasn’t an attribute Xavier had. He got up and told the other guard he was taking a break. He radioed for someone to cover.

  As soon as his replacement came, Xavier was on his way to the solitary unit. He needed to pay Gustavo a visit. Convincing the man to do what needed to be done wasn’t going to be easy. He needed some type of leverage. Xavier knocked on the inmate’s cell and peaked in on Gustavo, naked as the day he was born.

  “Tired of being in solitary yet,” he asked as soon as he opened the door. “Looks like you’re not getting any sleep.”

  “You think the shit is funny, don’t you? You and your little bitch Raheem playing me for a dumb fucking Spic. Holding that video over my head to help ya’ll fuck over that CO, Marco. We had a deal, motherfucker.”

  “And you fucked Raheem more than a few times,” Xavier said. He didn’t want to give away the fact that he had no idea about a video. But now, he was beginning to understand why Raheem had asked for the phone. “The shit wasn’t going to last forever. And you got the money in your commissary. Besides, you wanted to kill Brady anyways. You and your boys run all the drugs and shit on the block.”

  “Don’t do me no damn good with me sitting in this bitch and your fuck buddy holding that video. You know what happens to a Spanish Disciple that fucks another man?”

  “I don’t but I’d imagine it’s not pretty,” Xavier said. He grinned as he kneeled down in front of the inmate. “I need you to do one more thing for me and I can get you out of this cell and have that phone in your hand before last count.”

  “Fuck that! Raheem said he’d give me the phone after I took care of that Marco shit for your ass. Now ya’ll trying to pull some more games on me. You pushing it, nigga.”

  “Just one more job. And I’m sure you won’t mind doing it.”

  Gustavo looked up at Xavier suspiciously as the guard explained what he wanted him to do. It took some haggling and a promise to give up some ass but Xavier convinced the Latin thug to do as he said. Everything was falling right into place.

  Xavier went to his connect at dispatch and got Gustavo out of solitary. It wasn’t hard considering that Officer Marco was now under investigation. Plus, Gustavo didn’t actually attack the man. He verbally accosted someone who he believed killed his cousin. It didn’t matter that he had wanted Javier dead because no one besides Xa
vier and Raheem knew the truth.

  When Xavier made it back to the unit, the guards told him that Patterson said the inmates could come off locked once he got back. He set the paperwork for Gustavo down and saw that June Bug had been brought back to the unit.

  Xavier escorted Gustavo up to his cell and said, “June Bug is back on the block. He’s not in solitary like I thought. You have to do it here.”

  Gustavo shook his head. “You trying to get me caught with a murder charge.”

  “Make it happen or your gangbanger friends will see that video.”

  The Spanish Disciple didn’t utter another word. He went to his cell and Xavier went back to the command post. He waited a few minutes, giving Gustavo time to get his weapon of choice ready, before letting the men out.

  Inmates poured out of their cells the moment the locks clicked open. Like any other day they went for the newspapers, dominoes and chess boards. Others headed out to the yard to play ball or work out. Everything was running like clockwork. Xavier sat back in his chair, smiling, thinking about how things would finally come to an end. He stood up and headed to Raheem and Shawn’s cell.

  “Time to prove your worth,” Xavier said. “You’re going to beat June Bug down with Gustavo. Make him regret ever running his fucking mouth.”

  Raheem frowned. “When did that crazy fucker get out of solitary? You can’t trust his ass. He’ll do some bogus shit and get us all fucked up.”

  “I need you to trust me, Raheem. I got this all taken care of, okay?”

  “Whatever. I’m going with Shawn to make sure everything runs smoothly.”

  “I need you to go and get rid of June Bug’s cellmate. You two play ball sometimes. Get him out on the court so June Bug will be alone. Nothing bad is going to happen.”

  Raheem shook his head. “Shit don’t feel right.”

  “It doesn’t need to feel right. Do what I say and everything will work out.”

  Raheem stood up and reluctantly left the cell. Xavier looked back at Shawn.

  “Hope you don’t bitch up and back out. Raheem said you would ride for him. June Bug is trying to fuck him over. He needs to be dealt with.”

  “Chill with that shit, shawty. I aint no bitch nigga. He done already told me what’s going down. I’ll handle that shit for him, not you.”

  Xavier grinned and backed out of the cell. He stood at the tier for a moment, scanning his surroundings. He caught sight of Raheem heading to June Bug’s cell. The prison fag, Dee Dee, ran into him. They exchanged words but Raheem was quickly back on track to busy June Bug’s cellmate. Xavier watched Dee Dee for a moment, wondering if the he-she was going to be a problem.

  When Gustavo came from his cell Xavier nodded towards him, signaling that he had a green light. Gustavo walked over to the tier, four cells down from June Bugs. Xavier tapped on Shawn’s cell and headed back to the command station.

  All his little soldier were doing their duty. Now, all Xavier had to do was sit back and watch. His heart raced from excitement when he saw Raheem leave June Bug’s cell with his cellmate. Gustavo and Shawn quickly moved towards the cell. Xavier couldn’t help but grin.

  A few minutes went by. Xavier was sure the deed had been done. He stood up and started walking towards the yard. Watching Raheem run up and down the court with his shirt off would be icing on the cake. But before he could make it to the door leading outside, he caught a glimpse of one of the Spanish Disciples walking towards June Bug’s cell, a little too fast for comfort.

  The tatted gangster pushed into the cell. Xavier was stuck. There wasn’t anything he could do. He hoped that the man was working under the direction of Gustavo but something deep in the guard’s gut said that it wasn’t the case.

  Five whole minutes went by before there was any movement. When the door opened, Xavier was shocked. Shawn emerged, unscathed, from the planned death trap. After him came the Spanish Disciple. Gustavo never came out of the cell.

  Shawn’s eyes met Xavier’s from across the block. Anger burned in his pupils. He rounded the tier and trotted down the stairs. Xavier gripped his pepper spray as the enraged inmate came towards him like a bull that only saw red.

  Shawn didn’t attack Xavier. Instead, he stopped in front of the guard, looked him up and down and simply shook his head. It was a message that required no words. Xavier had tried to get the boy killed and it hadn’t worked.

  Xavier watched, hopelessly, as Shawn stepped outside on the yard. He walked straight to the court where Raheem was playing ball. The object of Xavier’s infatuation saw the boy and passed the ball. He almost ran to him.

  Everything had fallen apart. Shawn was still alive and was probably going to tell Raheem that Xavier had tried to get him killed. There was no coming back from the deceit. Raheem would want blood.

  Xavier watched the pair. He couldn’t hear what they were saying but he saw Shawn’s lips run a hundred miles a minute. After he was done talking the expression of Raheem’s face made Xavier’s heart drop. It was only topped when Raheem looked over at Xavier.

  Pure hatred radiated from the inmate’s face. Raheem’s fists balled and his chest heaved with anger. The message was clear: Xavier was a dead man.

  Chasing the Dragon

  “He tried to have me killed,” Shawn yelled. He paced back and forth in the cramp cell, his fists balled ready to hit something, anything. “That motherfucker is dead. I swear to God his ass is mine. I promise you that shit!”

  Raheem looked up from his hands and watched Shawn fume with anger and thoughts of retribution. He couldn’t blame the young inmate for feeling how he felt. After hearing what had went down in June Bug’s cell, he would have felt the same way if it were him. Nothing went down how it was supposed to, or at least how Xavier said it would.

  Something deep in Raheem’s spirit knew the plan hatched by Xavier was tinged with the ugly, sloppiness of treachery. He had hoped the guard wouldn’t have played his cards so recklessly but Raheem wasn’t at all surprised. He feared how zealously Xavier desired him. Now, it was painfully obvious that anyone that seemed to take Raheem’s attention was considered a threat.

  “Are you sure Gustavo didn’t just come for you because he wanted you dead?” Raheem offered. The question tasted sour in his mouth. “I’m saying, I know Xavier didn’t like you to begin with but trying to get you killed is bold as fuck, even for him.”

  Shawn stopped and looked at Raheem like he was a fool in a royal court. “You fucking serious, nigga? I just told you what the fuck happened. Gustavo had June Bug in a choke-hold and I was pounding his body. I know I broke a rib or two. When the dude passed out, Gustavo let him fall to the ground. He pulled out a shank and came for me.”

  “Damn,” Raheem said, rubbing his head in disbelief. “How did you get away? That motherfucker is big as shit. If he wanted you dead you wouldn’t standing be here.”

  “One of those Spanish fuckers came in while me and Gustavo were tussling with the shank. Nigga had the shit to my throat. I saw that fucker come in and knew it was over. Saw my fucking life flash right before my eyes. I thought he was coming to make sure Gustavo didn’t need help. Then he pulled out a shank and stabbed that Spic in the back like three times. Shit was brutal.”

  “Why didn’t he come for you?” Raheem asked. Something wasn’t adding up. No Spanish Disciple would walk away from a chance to knock off one of the brothas, Triple Deuce or not. “He could have killed you and June Bug after shanking Gustavo.”

  Shawn shrugged, annoyed by the question. “How the fuck am I supposed to know? I was too busy trying to live. I held my hands up and kept saying I aint see shit. I walked out that bitch as quick as I could. Hell, he may have killed June Bug. That nigga was out cold on the ground.”

  Raheem only nodded. He had nothing else to ask. There was no need to upset Shawn any further. Taking him at his word was the only thing Raheem could do. He wasn’t in the cell when everything went down. The only thing he knew for sure was that the second Spanish Disciple that kille
d Gustavo was in that cell with Shawn because of him.

  Before he went out to the yard he told Dee Dee to pass the cell phone to one of the old Spanish Disciples. The man had sent a foot soldier to take Gustavo out just like Raheem had planned from the get go. He was just happy that the man killed the Spanish prick before he could cut into Shawn.

  “So what the fuck we going to do, hunh?” Shawn looked at Raheem expectantly. “We can’t let that nigga try me like a bitch and just get away with it. He knows that he fucked up. You saw the way he looked when I came up to you on the court. Nigga is guilty as sin.”

  “You need to calm down. Aint shit we can do right now, anyways. The whole fucking prison is on lock down. We might be stuck in this bitch for a couple of days. Too many niggas getting killed and shit.”

  “Fine. So let’s think of a way to take out that fucking guard while we twiddling our thumbs up in this bitch. Just tell me you got my back. Like I got yours.”

  Raheem looked up at Shawn, knowing what the boy wanted to hear. He only wished he had gone to the cell with the boy. Committing to taking out a guard was one thing. Making that promise against Xavier, especially with not knowing exactly what all went down was another. He knew Xavier was bat shit crazy about him but hoped that he wasn’t completely insane. Still, Raheem was stuck in a cell with Shawn, not Xavier.

  “I got you,” he finally answered. “We’ll take care of this. I promise you that.”

  Shawn pounded his fist in his hand and nodded his approval. Raheem could see the plots of revenge sparking flames in the young inmate’s eyes. He wanted blood and demanded Raheem’s full and unfettered commitment.

  Raheem jumped up on the top bunk and laid back. He looked at the white paint peeling from the concrete ceiling wondering why Xavier had fucked up so horribly. Hadn’t enough people died because of them? Was there really a need for more bloodshed? He’d already told Xavier that adding Shawn to their little prison fuck fest would be more exciting. Was the guard so infatuated with Raheem that he couldn’t let anyone near him?