The Circle: Fallon's Story (THE CIRCLE SERIES)

by Danielle Santiago

  Nanny gave Smitty a quick hug. Smitty cracked a smirk because he didn’t really smile and suddenly the mood in the room went from death-like to new life-like. The Porter children knew that a smirk from Smitty was better than a serious scowl. Everybody waited for the word from Smitty. He turned his eyes towards Nanny and raised an eyebrow. Fallon was holding her breath. Rain’s eyes were closed.

  “They did a fucking outstanding job,” Smitty announced. “We couldn’t have asked them to do it any better than that. Textbook shit if I do say so myself, Rachel. You got some good kids here.”

  Nanny turned towards the Porter children and finally approval sparkled in her big, round brown eyes. Nanny smiled and did a little dance. Fallon’s shoulders slumped and she blew out a windstorm of breath. Autumn jumped up off the couch and started bouncing on her legs like an excited kid at Christmas. Dayvid and Rain were playing it cool, but Fallon could see the excitement creasing on their faces slowly but surely. They were all feeling the same thing—a gut full of relief and joy. They had officially pulled off their first real heist under the direction of Nanny and Smitty. They had been so nervous coming out of the bank because they weren’t sure if they’d made the mistake of getting a dye pack or not enough cash.

  Smitty was a smooth operating older cat who’d had history’s biggest run as a professional bank robber in Maryland in the 80’s. Smitty walked with a slight limp from being shot in an illegal gambling spot dispute and just like usual donned his signature straw fedora, which he kept pulled so low it almost covered his eyes. Smitty had spent countless days, months and years teaching the Porter children the ins and outs of how real heists were done. Smitty was down with that Ocean 11 type of shit. Not that bullshit give a teller a note or jump on the counter with a gun type of operation. Smitty received military general type respect from the Porter kids although he never asked for it or demanded it.

  Dayvid stood up, at fifteen years old; he was almost as tall and as built as Smitty. Size didn’t matter though; Dayvid had as much respect for Smitty that he had for his own father.

  Smitty extended his hand and Dayvid accepted. They did the obligatory pound and shoulder bump greeting. “Great fucking job, if I do say so myself. You got a future in this for sure kid. Way to stand up like a man. I don’t think I ever came off like this during my early years, so be fucking proud little man,” Smitty said to Dayvid. Dayvid smiled...one of the rare times he had smiled since they’d lost their parents.

  Fallon moved her legs in and out in anticipation. Rain had her hands shoved deep into the pockets of her jeans as she eyed the bags Smitty held and Autumn was still bouncing like she had to pee real bad. Nanny was puffing on her twentieth cigarette. The rapt anticipation in the room was palpable to say the least.

  “C’mon Smitty…let me see what my little protégés got done out there. The suspense is fucking killing me,” Nanny complained, blowing out the lung full of cigarette smoke she’d taken in a few seconds before.

  Nanny had a two pack a day habit that caused her to have the worse rattling chest cough; but you couldn’t tell physically that she was a smoker. Nanny was still holding onto some of her youthful beauty; even her teeth weren’t yellow or stained like most chain smokers. Fallon was the most like Nanny of the Porter children. She liked to follow Nanny’s lead with makeup, clothes, shoes and perfumes. Nanny kept her body tight and she always wore the best shit, thanks to her super boosting ability. She could walk out of stores like Gucci and Chanel with clothes, shoes and bags, so you know she had skills. Fallon often wondered if Smitty was hitting it, but she never dared to ask.

  “Down to business,” Smitty said, taking off his fedora and resting it on his left knee. He sat down the two large black duffel bags he brought in with him. Everybody in the room had their eyes on those bags. The sound of the zipper seemed so loud in Fallon’s ears. She didn’t even realize she had been holding her breath again. Smitty stretched the top of the bag open. Everybody’s eyes went to the same spot. Nanny was the first to react.

  “Hot fucking damn!” Nanny yelled, clapping her hands together. “Ya’ll did it! Ya’ll fucking did it!” she said excitedly. That was everyone’s signal that celebrations were in order. There was no dye pack in the bag so the money looked crisp and clean. They all jumped up and started screaming and hugging each other. They had finally taken everything Nanny and Smitty had taught them over the five years since their parents had died and put it to real use.

  The Porter children had pulled off one of the biggest bank robberies in Maryland since the early 90’s. Their very first heist had netted them six hundred twenty five thousand dollars. All of that money in fewer than two minutes of work. Fallon hugged her brother and sisters, then Nanny and Smitty. She secretly couldn’t wait to go see her new boyfriend, Linx, who she’d been keeping a secret from her siblings. Christmas 2001 was going to be one she would never forget.

  ***

  “Porter. Stand center for bed check,” a correction officer’s deep baritone snapped Fallon out of her daydream. The slot at the top of the door, which Fallon hadn’t noticed when she’d first arrived in solitary, slid open. Why the fuck do they need to do a bed check and I’m in the hole? Where the fuck they think I’m going? Through the cinderblock? Fallon thought disgusted.

  “Step up to the window,” the officer told her. His voice wasn’t as annoying as most C.O.s, maybe because he wasn’t screaming like the rest of them usually did.

  Fallon reluctantly stepped in front of the door slot. The officer was looking down at his clipboard scribbling something down. He finally lifted his head and looked at Fallon. He did a double take. Fallon had her head cocked to the side sassy like. She smirked and shook her head at his reaction. She was used to men doing a double take when they saw her. What did he expect? Some busted ass fiend? Some straight tore up convict bitch? Fallon sucked her teeth.

  “Um…um…what’s your inmate number?” the officer stammered. His butter pecan face was immediately flushed pink. Fallon straightened her head and pushed her size 40 F breast up to make sure he got a good eyeful.

  “788936542B-D-C,” Fallon said in a sexy, throaty voice. She was fucking with him now to amuse herself. Making men drool was what Fallon did best. The officer exhaled. It was working. Even in the jail jumpsuit, Fallon knew she had it going on. Fallon’s deep brown, smooth skin, high cheekbones and full pouty lips were hard to miss. Fallon had that head turning type of beauty.

  She was a flawless mixture of her Trinidadian mother and Dominican father. Fallon’s long weave ponytail was still neat, although by day three, Fallon certainly would have gotten it redone already. She stood five foot nine and was solid as a brick shit house. Her thighs where thick and her hips were spread just enough to give her an hourglass shape, but not so much that she had saddlebags hanging. Fallon’s ass sat up taut and round like she’d gotten implants and because her waist was so slim people often accused her of visiting a plastic surgeon. Fallon was a bad bitch, a fact that she was well aware of. She had never been shy of embracing her beauty; in fact, she counted it as her best asset.

  Fallon knew she had the officer’s attention now by the hungry look on his face. This was going to be one of those moments that she often took advantage of; using what she had to get what she wanted.

  “Ok. Bed check done,” the officer droned, unable to take his eyes off of Fallon. He wanted to get away from the beautiful, chocolate temptation standing inside the cell.

  “What’s your name officer?” Fallon asked seductively. “If I’m going to be all alone down here at least I’ll have you to talk to,” she laid it on thick, licking her full lips. She was not trying to miss out on this opportunity.

  “Morrison,” he answered like he was a little winded. He was clearly unnerved, something Fallon often did to men. Fallon was unbuttoning the first couple of buttons on her jumpsuit now. The officer swallowed hard but couldn’t keep his eyes from wandering.

  “It’s nice to meet you…Morrison,” Fallon said sexily,
walking away from the door. Teasing had worked best in her years of experience. Had she thrown it all out there too soon she knew she would’ve spooked Officer Morrison and then he would’ve been of no use to her.

  “Um…I’ll be assigned to you from now on,” Morrison yelled at Fallon’s back. Of course he didn’t want her to leave the door. Got him! Fallon screamed in her head. Another one bit the bait of Fallon Porter.

  Fallon never looked back at him, but she knew he had watched her for as long as he could. When Fallon heard the slot in the door close she exhaled. Her mind was moving like the cars on the track at NASCAR.

  “Porters are never down…ever,” Fallon whispered. Even when locked up…the Porters were never really down.

  Chapter 2

  Can’t Keep A Bad Bitch Down

  It had been two days in the hole and Fallon had already figured out that Officer Morrison was pretty much going to be her regular guard during the hours that she was awake. He was awkward and kind of shy around her, but Fallon could sense that underneath it all he was someone just like her—a scared kid that wanted nothing more than to get ahead.

  “Porter, locking out for rec, get ready,” Morrison said through the slot. Fallon rushed over to the cell door with anticipation filling her stomach. She had already decided that today would be the day that she put her plan into action. All she could do was hope that she was as good at the art of seduction and gaming as she thought she was.

  Fallon turned backwards and put her hand through the bottom slot on the heavy steel door. Morrison put the cuffs on and Fallon slid her hands back through.

  “Opening punitive seg door 15!” Morrison called to the booth through his radio. Fallon heard the clocks clicking. She bit into the side of her cheek. They can’t keep a bad bitch down Fallon. You got this. Get in this motherfuckers head and work your magic. She gave herself a quick pep talk.

  “Step lively,” Morrison told her. Fallon was finally face to face with him. She locked eyes with him and they both shared a long stare for a few seconds. Seemingly embarrassed, Morrison broke the eye contact first. He was kind of cute, in a regular dude type of way. There was nothing extremely gorgeous about him, but Fallon told herself that if she had to give him some ass at least he wasn’t bottom-of-your-shoe ugly.

  “C’mon before you miss out on your time in the yard,” Morrison told her.

  “Will you be there with me? Because standing inside that gate alone is useless. I’m starting to go crazy with nobody to talk to,” Fallon replied in the most pitiful, yet sexy voice she could muster up.

  “It’ll be me and you, Porter,” Morrison answered trying to avoid eye contact with Fallon. He had already been a victim of her seduction. He was trying real hard to hold onto his cool. He didn’t really see female inmates that were as attractive as Fallon, so it was a gift and a curse of sorts for him.

  “Great! Because I think you’re a real nice guy. You fine as hell too. None of these guards in here can come close to you boo,” Fallon said with a fake cheery tone. Her lies were working, slowly but surely. She noticed Morrison blushing. That’s what she needed…confirmation.

  Fallon was locked into the small 8x8 fenced in area that was isolated from the rest of the jail recreation yard. She leaned up against the fence and eyed Morrison, a sweet smile spread over her lips.

  “I can tell that when you fall in love you love deep…am I correct?” Fallon asked, flashing her straight pearly white veneers. An aggressive move that she hoped worked. Morrison looked down at his feet.

  “I knew I was right! So who was it that hurt a nice guy like you? A stupid young girl who couldn’t see how hard working and damn handsome you are? I don’t even have to ask. It’s so obvious that some bitch somewhere is giving you hell. These young chicks just don’t appreciate sweet dudes like you Morrison,” Fallon said, squinting her eyes like she knew Morrison’s life story.

  “Why don’t you sit down over there and I’ll stand away. When you speak cover your mouth so the guard tower and all those cameras won’t know we are chatting. I ain’t really supposed to be chatting with you like we’re friends or something,” Morrison warned Fallon. That was a great sign. If he was willing to break the rules for her already, she knew she could keep working on him to do even more for her.

  “I’ll do whatever you need me to do handsome,” Fallon replied. She sat down and covered her mouth like he’d told her to do. Fallon kept talking to Morrison. By the end of the hour, she felt like she had made at least a little bit of progress.

  The next day during her one hour recreation time, Fallon did the same thing. She sat again in the fence and put her head down. She spoke into the material of her jumper and he turned his back and spoke with her so the cameras wouldn’t catch his mouth moving.

  “Why didn’t you tell me you were Dayvid Porter’s little sister?” Morrison asked right way. Fallon’s heartbeat immediately sped up. Fuck! Does he hate my brother? What does he know?

  “How was that important?” she asked, trying to see which way this conversation was going to go.

  “Shit, you know how long I’ve looked up to Dayvid and Rain Porter? Man listen, I wish I could’ve just had one day to hang with them. Those two are street legends from the time we were kids. I wanted to be just like that man when I grew up, but I guess you could say shit ain’t work out like that for me. I used to watch Dayvid from a distance and secretly wish I could have the cars, clothes, girls and swag that he had,” Morrison said. Fallon’s shoulders slumped in relief. An ally after all! Who knew that this was going to be this easy? Fallon said to herself.

  “For real. Well you know that can still be arranged. We’re always looking for people to be down for us. Dayvid will do whatever I tell him to do when it comes to stuff like that,” Fallon lied. She had her fingers and toes crossed. The Porters didn’t allow any outsiders in their circle or in the loop on their activities. Fallon had trusted an outsider once and that had almost gotten her killed.

  “Nah baby. Thanks but no thanks. I ain’t got the kind of heart Dayvid and Rain have. I mean, shit, I’ve heard they pulled off million dollar heists. At least that’s what the hood news was saying about them. I ain’t built for that type of thing. I’m on the straight and narrow…have kids to feed, an elderly mother to take care of and a baby mother that fucking won’t stop at nothing to destroy my finances,” Morrison replied, his tone serious. He sounded weak with that bitch ass answer, but Fallon didn’t care. He was an end to a mean right now, nothing more.

  Damn. Baby mama drama and financial woes were the invitations that Fallon needed to make her proposal to Officer Morrison. She almost got so excited to tell him her plan that she uncovered her face.

  “I got a proposition for you, Morrison,” Fallon said, wasting no time. “I think it’ll benefit you in more ways than one and if you can pull it off, I will be sure to tell my brother how well you did. Dayvid is always looking for straight-laced types like you to work the inside. You feel me,” Fallon told him.

  “A proposition?” Morrison asked.

  “Yeah, meaning I want to propose an idea that will help us both out of the crazy situations we’re in right now,” Fallon clarified.

  “Ok?”

  “You know they’re saying we pulled off that big diamond heist. Well, that ain’t true so they got us in here on some bullshit trumped up charges for no real reason,” Fallon lied. “But, we have money though. I have plenty and I’m willing to share it, but I have to get out of here in order to really help you. I can give you a deposit so you know that I am serious. I just need help getting out of here.”

  “You mean…mean…help you escape like your sister did?” Morrison asked, his voice already quivering. Fallon had to choose her words wisely if this plan was going to work. If Morrison got spooked at all it wouldn’t go down as Fallon plotted it out in her head.

  “I mean make some quick cash. More than a year worth of the salary you are getting right now. I mean I can tell you where some of the cash is tonight as
a deposit and you can get that bitch baby mother off your back so fast that bitch won’t know what hit her ass,” Fallon replied confidently. Morrison was quiet and contemplating when the time bell rang.

  “Fuck!” Fallon cursed under her breath. He hadn’t given her an answer and now she had to lock back in, which meant, no more talking about it that day. Fallon didn’t want Morrison to have too much time to think about what she’d ask. Fallon was afraid that if he went home and had time to sleep on it, he would realize how much he had to lose by helping her and he would come back and tell her no.

  Morrison handcuffed her and brought her in from her whack ass one hour recreation time. It would be at least one more day before she could execute her plan. Each day that passed Fallon envisioned her siblings making it to the border without her; a thought that was starting to make her go crazy.

  The next day just like clockwork Morrison showed up for his shift. This time, he slid a newspaper under the slot with Fallon’s nasty jailhouse breakfast. Fallon grabbed the paper and pushed the unrecognizable food aside.

  Fallon couldn’t eat or think when she saw the faces of her sisters splashed across the front page of the paper. Fallon was frozen in place as she held her breath and read the headlines:

  SIBLING FELONS PULL OFF A BRAZEN AND DEADLY COURTHOUSE ESCAPE

  Fallon didn’t know whether to feel sick or proud. She read the newspaper article and decided she was sick. The news was reporting that her sisters, Rain and Autumn had shot three law enforcement officers and kidnapped another prisoner that had been in transit with Autumn during the escape. Fallon knew that meant the entire city of Baltimore, including the mayor’s office, was looking for her sisters. She also knew that every law enforcement official on the east coast was probably itching to kill Rain and Autumn for revenge since law enforcement was really the biggest, most violent gang in the world. This was going to complicate things for Fallon. Even if she gets out, there was no way she’d be able to make it to all of her stash spots to pick up her emergency cash like she’d planned. Unless…. Fallon jumped up when the idea hit her.