Double Noose

by Jay Sharman

  Nick was relieved that she did not have to take her clothes off otherwise the officers would have found out that she was a female rather than a male.

  Julian remarked, ‘That was a lucky escape. They had to come here when you had menstruation. Oh my God, it was a lucky escape. Well you are going to face one more problem very soon. What you are going to do, when you run short of tampon pads.’

  Nicki looked at another drop of blood that fell to the floor and said, ‘I have already used the last one, so I will have to find an alternative. Maybe, you can ask some female officers to get them for you. I have heard that with money you can get anything in prison.’

  Julian was more innovative and said sardonically, ‘We can use the cotton buds available in the canteen and put them in a cloth to cover the vagina.’

  Nicki took a deep breath and said, ‘Yes, that is a good idea as we should not take any unnecessary risks. You are brilliant Julian. That is why you are a doctor.’

  Julian said, ‘if I was that brilliant, I would not end up in prison. Anyway, you better not leave the cell for the next couple of days, till your menstruation stops.’

  ‘Ok, yes, I will love to do that. At least I will stay away from that creepy arts teacher.’

  Julian looked at the door where he saw a paper passed under the door.

  There was a notice from the governor which stated “I am sorry for the inconvenience caused to all the prisoners by the complete lock up of the prison this morning. We had to take this action due to security concerns. We have received the information that some convicts are trying to make an attempt to escape with outside help. Besides drugs and weapons, we are also looking for guns and explosives. Some of you may be opened early and others may have to wait for a bit longer. The servery food and the visits will not be affected”.

  Greg, Robin and David read the leaflet as well. Greg had his own cell, whereas Robin and David shared a room together.

  The Greens were fearful for their lives after the death of Angelo. Despite their huge followings and influence on the prisoners, they realised that somebody was engineering their elimination from the prison. The people responsible could be of certain ethnic or religious group or it could be some of the prison officers trying to get rid of them one by one.

  The Greens were aware that some prison officers were fed up with their arrogant and bullying attitude. Despite many attempts, they had not been able to control them in the past due to their huge followings among prisoners.

  Few times, Greens had manhandled prison officers but no actions were taken against them. Therefore, the Greens felt that these officers were now taking their revenge against them by resorting to carefully planned murders.

  Greg had suggested to his friends that to safeguard themselves against future attempts on their lives, they must try to escape from the prison. With the help of one prison officer, whom they had paid a huge sum of money, they had managed to smuggle a gun into the prison. The officer also had some explosives hidden in a bag. The prison officer had been kept under surveillance for months by the prison as he was seen talking to the Greens in an increased frequency over the last one month, as a result, the prison had installed bugging devices in the button of his official uniform. The prison officer had met the Greens more than anybody else, but the prison was disappointed for not finding any guns and explosives in their rooms.

  The prison had also searched the car and locker of the suspected prison officer but could not find anything. Jack Wilson, the concerned prison officer had managed to smuggle the gun but had hidden it in one of the workshops that was used to do repairs of the heavy industrial electrical goods.

  Nobody in management had thought of checking the workshop and the prison kept on searching for guns and other weapons somewhere else. But unfortunately for Jack and the Greens, Jack was suspended from his job and he could not inform the Greens about the exact location of the gun.

  Jack had suspected that he might be caught and suspended, but before that, he had booked a doctor’s appointment for his depression. Two days later, Jack Wilson sent an anonymous letter to David, posing as a friend, where he asked him about his health. On the back of the letter, Jack had written a serial number 23/56775/00/55 which corresponded with a faulty lamp in the repair workshop.

  Jack Wilson had gone to this particular hire shop in London, which sent some items for repair to prison. It was very cost-effective for them as prison charged very nominal money from them.

  Jack borrowed few lamps from the shop, and in one of the lamps, he cut the wire inside it, so that it stopped working. He then opened the plastic base of the lamp and hidden a gun for David to take it from there.

  Jack was aware that if the light would not work, then the shop will send the lamp to the prison for the repair. The lamp was then subsequently sent for to the prison workshop but Jack did not know that when David was supposed to work next in the workshop.

  Jack was surprised that the prison governor had received an anonymous call about possible escape from the prison with the help of guns and explosives. Because of the lock out in prison, David did not go to work for two days. In a way that suited Greens better. If they had smuggled the gun into their rooms, they would had been caught by the prison officers and probably charged with possession of firearms. The sentence for that was up to ten years.

  Chapter 20

  Finally, the search by prison officers was over, but the prison was unable to find any guns or explosives. David went to work that afternoon. He wanted to be the first one to go to the workshop to get hold of that special lamp with a serial number 23/56775/00/55. After changing his clothes, David waited to get the tools for the repairs of electrical goods in the workshop.

  He was the first one in the queue to get the tools and headed straight for the container, that was holding all the unrepaired lamps. David searched everywhere in the heads of the lamps by unlocking their screws, he looked for that particular lamp but could not find it, that worried him. He shook all the lamps upside down and sideways to hear for any sounds, but still had no luck.

  One prison officer was watching him, who asked curiously, ‘What are you looking for David. Are you expecting to find a treasure. Just pick up one lamp and get on with your work.’

  David simply nodded and picked up one lamp for repairs. In David’s mind, many questions were arising about the lamp. What had happened to it, maybe, it never arrived here. He decided that one way to check was to see if somebody else had already repaired it or he was given a wrong serial number.

  David checked in the log book of the workshop and was pleased that finally, he could find that lamp logged in the book and it was already repaired by James, a fellow co-worker few minutes back.

  David approached James cautiously who was busy repairing the next lamp. David glided slowly laterally to stand next to James. He whispered, ‘Hi James, how is your work today?’

  James was busy drilling a hole in the base of a lamp stand, so his eyes were still focused on it. He replied without looking at David, ‘Hi David, just keeping myself busy here by repairing these fucking lamps.’

  David put his arms on James’s shoulder and muttered, ‘What is the point in repairing so many lamps? We only get paid nine pounds per week and more lamps you repair, more work you get. Nobody fucking appreciates our work here, mate.’

  James switched off his drill, took off his gloves and said, ‘David I do my work for personal happiness and satisfaction. Rewards do not bother me, buddy.’

  David enquired, ‘You must be very competent in your job then. You have repaired so many lamps now’

  James nodded and took a sip from glass of water lying on the table.

  David moved closer to James, and said,’ I was trying to repair a lamp two days ago but just could not do it. Its serial number was 23/56775/00/55.’

  James switched on his drill again, ‘Oh yes, I remember that two days ago I was trying to repair a lamp, but cannot remember anything with a serial number 23/56775/00/55, but I fo
und it very difficult repair one particular lamp.’

  ‘Did you manage to finish the incomplete job on it, mate?’ asked David.

  James thought for a second and stared at David with wide pupils and frowned forehead, he replied, ‘I can't remember which particular one you are referring to, mate. For me all those serial numbers sound the same.’

  David brought the log book to James, and said, ‘Look at this one here. You repaired it and signed here on this book.’

  ‘But why are you so keen on that particular lamp?’ smirked James.

  David bent forward, looked around the workshop and whispered, ‘I just wanted to see that why I could not repair it, so what did you do differently, mate.?’

  James kept on drilling and said wryly, ‘if I remember it correctly, then I found that lamp difficult to repair, as the wiring connection was loose in the bottom part, but the top part was missing completely.’

  ‘So, you did not open the base of the lamp?’ asked David.

  ‘No, as far as I remember.’

  David looked around to check the location of the prison officers, he was busy talking to another prisoner. He asked James, ‘Do you think that lamp is still around here somewhere?’

  James realised that David had his own reasons to ask for that lamp, but that did not bother him and he did not want to upset any of the Greens. He said, ‘You can check it in the store room. If it is not there, then it would have been sent back to the repair shop with the delivery van.’

  David went to the store room to look for that lamp but the log book had confirmed that the lamp was sent back to the shop only that morning.

  David just shrugged his shoulders and frowned his forehead and told himself that either the gun had gone back with the lamp in the morning or James had reported finding of the gun in the basement of the lamp and informed the prison officers about it who had then passed on the information to the Governor. Subsequently, the whole prison was locked up to look for more firearms and other weapons.

  David looked at James after he came back from the store room. James eyes were down on the lamp and hardly rising. David caught James looking at him from the corner of his eyes, but the drops of sweat had accumulated on the forehead of James – a sign of nervousness and fear.

  David was concerned that James had a role to play in informing the prison officers about the finding of the gun. David did not want to question him too much otherwise; prison officers would come running after him as the prime suspect for gun smuggling.

  After coming back to his cell, David informed about James’s incident to two other Greens, Greg, and Robin. An action was planned.

  James entered the shower room that evening unaware that Greg was already waiting for him inside there. Greg had stood on the door earlier preventing other inmates to go inside the shower room stating that the room was full. David was standing in the landings of the wing, waiting for James to come out of his room. Greg pretended to take shower and had put shampoo on his head rubbing vigorously with both of his hands.

  Finally, James took his clothes off and came under the shower with his underwear on. Within second, both David and Robin took their positions besides James. James’s eyes were closed, as he was enjoying the touch of warm water touching the various parts of his unclean body but when he opened his eyes, he saw Greg and Robin standing next to him. James’s heart nearly came to a standstill, as he realised that he was in some kind of imminent danger. Before James could move or shout, he felt Robin’s elbow around his neck, which made his breathing more and more difficult. Suddenly James felt pain in his tummy, as Greg’s heavy blow landed there.

  Greg shouted, ‘You rascal, it was you who informed the prison officers about the gun.’

  James folded both of his hands and pleaded, ‘I did not know that it belonged to you. I just informed them about the gun that was found at the base of the lamp in the workshop, as I was frightened that I will be implicated otherwise.’

  Robin increased the grip of his elbow around James’s neck and whispered, ‘Now, you will tell the prison officers that it was you who had smuggled the gun in the prison and it was you who was planning to escape, you piece of shit.’

  James struggled to breath as he grasped for air, his lips had turned blue and pupils of his eyes dilated. He managed to mutter, ‘If I admitted to the possession of the gun then, I will be imprisoned for another seven to ten years.’

  Robin shouted again, ‘you piece of shit, if you do not do what we ask you to do, then you will die in next seven to ten minutes. The choice is yours.’

  James had no words left to say but just nodded to say “yes”.

  Robin released his grip but then put James’s head against the wall and Greg held his hands and legs with his hands. David came from behind James to open his bottom and in one swift action, David pushed a small mobile phone into James’s anus, who cried with pain and agony. He said grimly, ‘Why are you doing this to me? I have never harmed you.’

  Before James could finish his sentence, David put boiling water from the kettle on James’s back. The excruciating pain was so severe that James fell on the floor and started to roll from side to side trying to ease the pain, caused by the blisters on his back.

  David wanted to put more water on his body, but Greg stopped him and said, ‘For this asshole, it should be enough for today. Listen, you, son of a bitch, tomorrow, you must go to the prison officers and admit about possession of the gun. If you informed them about the boiling water, then we will burn you alive here, like a heap of fucking wood. Do I make myself clear?’

  James was still crying with pain and could hardly breath, he managed to say, ‘Yes, I am clear.’

  Robin took James under the shower again and opened the cold water on to James to ease his pain and prevent further scalding and blisters formation on his back.

  James lay down on the floor in pain for few minutes but then Greg kicked him on the back, which caused even more anguish and pain.

  ‘Get up, you asshole,’ shouted Greg, ‘And put your clothes on now. Not a word of this incident should go to anybody. Just say that you scalded under the hot water of the shower. You understand, piece of shit’

  James quickly got up onto his feet, still clenching his abdomen with his hands. The pain from the scalding was unbearable, and he tried to look for blisters by turning his head towards them but could not see anything.

  Three greens left the shower room in a hurry and were pleased to realise that no prison officer was in the landing to see them leaving the shower room.

  Greens went to Greg’s room and shook hands with each other, Greg said abruptly, ‘Well done boys, I am sure that the message must have gone across to James and others that fucking any animosity towards Greens would have dire results.’

  Greg went to the sink to wash his hands and then turned his head to one side to say, ‘We need to be on our guard, as the prison officers are monitoring us closely. The other danger comes from some inmates, who may have formed a bigger gang than ours. They may be operating in secret that is how Angelo was killed.’

  He splashed some water on to his face to clear some brown marks from there.

  David always thought that he had more wiser ideas and suggested. ‘Yes mate, and also we must all stay together all the time, then nobody can harm us, but the moment we move separately, we could be under attack.’

  Few minutes later, Jackson received information about the presence of a mobile phone in James’s possession, so his team raided his cell. Poor James was still lying on his bed, with one big blister on his back. He had rung the emergency bell for the nurse, but nobody had come for his treatment. When the door opened after an hour, he had expected the nurse but instead two big built prisoner officers entered into his room, who did not notice James’s blister or did not want to know about it. They simply declared, ‘James we have come to search your cell again on the basis of more information about you.’

  James cried in pain, ‘, Gov, what do you want to know? Can't you
see I have burns on my back.’

  One officer was more sympathetic and asked, ‘How did that happen?’

  James looked at the officer, while taking a deep breath and said, ‘I went to take shower and suddenly the hot boiling water came from the shower to cause these burns and I had no time to run away from there.’

  ‘I am sorry to know about that, but it is strange that a shower water could cause burns, or you do not want to tell us that who poured the boiling water on you. You seem to be in lots of pain, ‘I am sure that the nurse will look after you shortly, but we still need to search your cell. It is part of our routine.’ said the officer.

  The second officer was busy in looking around in the room but found nothing.

  He came back to James. ‘We still believe that there is a mobile phone hidden in this room. We would need to search you properly. Can you take off your trousers and underwear?’

  James obliged them as requested. Both officers asked James to bend down and put his bottom towards them. One officer put his gloved finger inside James’s anus which brought out the mobile phone in one stroke.

  The officer shouted, ‘you were lying earlier. Why, what are you trying to hide from us, we found the mobile phone in your back-passage James. Earlier you found a gun in the workshop. How did you get this mobile? This confirms our report that you were planning to escape from the prison.’

  Jackson had also joined the two officers in James’s cell. He said, ‘We already had suspicion about you. Tell us why you needed a loaded gun in the prison. Were you planning to escape or planning to take revenge against the Greens?’

  James managed to put his clothes back on and said while holding his back with his one hand to relieve his pain from the burns, ‘Gov, I did not smuggle that gun. If that was the case, I would not report about the gun to you myself. I am not sure that how a mobile phone came inside me. Some people forced this phone in my anus and warned me of the consequences, if I reported the incident to you.’