Three Faces of West (2013)

by Christian Shakespeare

  “Found it, now where’s the correct one for the segregation unit?”

  Scrolling down he could see complete access to each section, of each wing,

  “The prisoners would kill for something like this.” He thought to himself.

  No sooner had he had that though then he came across the codes for the segregation unit. The times and dates against each combination illustrated that the codes were still valid at this time. He could use them. Quickly taking notes of the four digit combination, his fingers worked fast to record the code on his phone. His mission accomplished, shutting down the computer in a rapid fashion ensured he quickly got up and moved toward the door wondering if he had been spotted or noticed missing.

  Back in the segregation unit Jack waited with the wardens. The air filled with uncertainty certainly from the warden’s point of view. Jack however remained pensive, he knew where John had gone and to some extent what he was doing. He only hoped his partner had been successful. Hudson entered the isolation block swiftly. His body language told Jack he understood and achieved what he went for,

  “I’ve got the code, hacked into the system. Do you want me to try it out?” Asked Hudson in a hushed tone. He didn’t want the warden’s to find out about the technique used to compromise their system,

  “Ok let’s give it a try.” Replied Jack.

  Hudson walked over to the gate thus instantly attracting the attention of the guards,

  “What are you doing?” They asked

  “I’m going to try this code.”

  West butted in, “We want to speak to Grey again, about his possessions. So we need access.”

  “Yes but the codes are locked out, you can’t get in.” Rebutted Davison,

  “I’ll try anyway.” Said John as he punched in the known code into the keypad, 7…5…3…1, the door buzzed and clicked open.

  The wardens looked on in surprise, how on earth did he do it? They were certainly perplexed, but West knew exactly how he did it. He clandestinely instructed Hudson on what to do when he first suggested it. Knowing the way the two men re-entered the isolation unit to find Grey once again. The duty warden in the small office chamber looked as surprised as the ones outside, there was no way anyone could crack the security codes, how did they do it? West gave them no time to answer, with Hudson in tow; they made their way back to the end cell where they knew Grey to be incarcerated. Looking through the small window, they could see Grey was busy at a small table. With his back turned to the door he didn’t notice the re-emergence of his visitors. West wanted to cry out to alert Grey once more but he did not have to, he could see him pause as if to be aware of a presence. Quickly but discretely he put away what he was doing before turning round to face them. The stare between Grey and West was intense, but West wasn’t going to break. Getting up and slowly walking to the door both men faced each other this time closer than ever through the Perspex window,

  “I’ve been through your possessions.” Said Jack,

  Grey didn’t like that, he tensed up, “You have no right!”

  “Why not?

  “Because.” Replied Grey in a sinister undertone. West Probed even further this time,

  “We found the periodic table, and the elements marked on it.”

  “So what?”

  “Oh come on!! We know the elements marked on the table are the formula for Scopolamine!! Remember that? Now what do you know about its use?”

  Grey suddenly became defensive. A sure sign of a cover up,

  “No comment.” He replied. He knew that the burden of proof was on West, if he kept his mouth shut there was nothing they could do,

  “I’m not taking that for an answer.” Said West trying to extract info, Grey sensing his adversary’s tactics tried to deflect him by using the notion of double bluff,

  “Look the Scopolamine is harmless, unless mixed with something else to increase the concentration, then and only then does it becomes deadly.”

  Hudson could tell what Grey was up to, and as a result he knew that even though Grey tried to make it look like a bluff in reality he was telling the truth. Grey continued,

  “Perhaps the strength of the poison is enough to kill a grown man, even one that is protected like say, a public figure.”

  “Like Finnin.” Said Hudson

  “A poison like this requires so much knowledge, that it would take a person with a special knowledge to mix it.” Replies Grey smiling.

  This was the focus of Grey’s bluff, in doing so he tried to finish it off,

  “So how could someone like me obtain the materials, mix them and smuggle them out if I’m in here.”

  West threw back at him, “I didn’t say you were responsible, why did you imply that?”

  “It’s what you think isn’t it?”

  West wasn’t buying any of Grey’s games. Instead he shifted the direction of the interview,

  “What about Mr Fisher?” Asked Jack, suddenly triggering a reaction from Grey. Now they were beginning to get somewhere,

  “I don’t know a Mr Fisher.”

  “Yes you do, we also found an invoice from China in that name for a quantity of something called arsine. We know Fisher is one of your aliases, pretty poor of you’re still using it, I believe it’s been compromised.”

  Grey for the first time was disadvantaged. He tried his best not to show it but the body language mood changed,

  “So you was arrested and convicted on this name by a man called Waterson.” Commented West

  This clearly checkmated Grey, turning away from the door was his signal two the two men that the conversation was over. Grey had tried to use mind games to throw them off the scent but clearly it has not worked. Grey’s response was to block them out with West looking on. He saw him return to his desk, back turned toward them fidgeting in a pattern resembling what he was doing before. It was obvious that he was resuming his activities and it was even more obvious that what he was doing, he was doing in secret. West turned away from the door waiting until they were a safe distance from the cell before turning to Hudson,

  “What do you think?”

  “I think he’s planning something. I wouldn’t be surprised if he used this computer glitch problem as a way to make some kind of breakout attempt.”

  “You mean take advantage of the compromised security?” Asked West,

  “Exactly.” Replied John, “He’s smart, it would be dangerous to underestimate him.”

  West agreed, they couldn’t leave it like this,

  “Come on let’s go and talk to the governor again. Best to warn him if something is brewing.”

  With that they exited the segregation block with a haste that couldn’t be hidden, even to the wardens.

  Back in the administrative block, things had calmed somewhat now. The glitch was still present and the corridors still filled out with personnel, but the overall mood had changed somewhat, become more controlled. West and Hudson arrived in the main corridor to find the governor talking to another member of staff. Even though he was engaged in conversation, this did not deter him from noticing the two men from approaching him,

  “Governor,” Said West, “We’ve spoken to Grey for a second time about what we found in his possessions. He appeared rather cagey in his behaviour. It seemed like we disturbed something he was doing, something he didn’t want us to find out.”

  “What do you mean?” Asked the governor,

  “We’ve got reason to believe that he might try to use these computer problems you’ve been having to attempt to break out, or at the very least smuggle information out through visitors.” Interrupted John,

  “Do you think he’ll try to abscond?”

  “Yes.” Replied West, “Look there’s clearly something in his cell. Either he’s having chemicals smuggled inside or he’s shipping them out somehow. Either way I’m not satisfied. Why don’t you conduct an impromptu search of his cell, do it by surprise and you may catch him in the act whatever he’s up to.”

  Gover
nor Jones agreed. Clearly he became very concerned at what he was hearing and to what both men were implying,

  “This is all we need on a day like today, OK; I’ll sanction a cell search. I’ll put a call through from my office.”

  Disappearing back into his office prompted John to turn toward West,

  “We’d better get back down to the segregation unit.”

  Heading the opposite way, they both departed.

  By the time they reached the segregation unit the prison officers had reached Grey’s cell. Full riot gear could be seen on the side, spares for another and a clear indication of the precautions taken with such an individual. Commotions could be heard from the cell corridor while the search was being carried out. Some of it was even quite violent as Grey, ever the unstable individual, objected profusely,

  “Sounds interesting.” Thought Jack.

  It wasn’t long before the commotion died down indicating something had happened. A group of around ten prison officers, eight of them in the same blue riot gear as what was on the side emerged through the now working security gate,

  “We’ve found nothing, there’s no indication that Grey is attempting an escape.” Said Davison removing his helmet after putting his clear plastic riot shield down,

  “Are you absolutely sure?” Asked West,

  “Yes, we’ve done searches like this before. There’s nothing in there that shouldn’t be.”

  “What about Grey himself?”

  “We had to restrain him at one point but he’s alright. Good job these doors are now OK, kept them shut while he was out of his cell.”

  West understood, he really thought something was to come from his hunch. Deep down he was disappointed, even though he wasn’t going to show it. However he had something to do, something private. John was not privy to West’s next instruction as he turned toward him,

  “John, stay here will you? I’ve got something to do.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “I have to make a phone call, see you later.”

  He rushed out of the segregation unit. Looking on in puzzlement as to why his partner retired away so quickly and under such strange circumstances made him wonder if there was more to this than meets the eye. Observing him he noticed that Jack had pulled out a phone before disappearing,

  “Why?” He thought to himself.

  With every out of character action West had been making lately only served to fuel the suspicions of Hudson. What was his motive? Why was he acting the way he did?

  “What’s going on?!!” Shouted one of the wardens, John turned round to the sound of noise not usually heard from the cells. Something was happening and they didn’t know what. Reacting to the confusion, Hudson along with a couple of the other wardens poured over the CCTV screens in the corner. Through the black and white screen the image was not the best, it seemed to have lost its usual clarity,

  “What the hell is that?” Asked on of the wardens,

  “Its gas!! Some sort of bloody tear gas!!!” Shouted Davison, “Get us in there, now!!!”

  Barging past Hudson, Davison and another officer buzzed open the door to enter the now smoky cell block. John stayed well out of it; he wasn’t trained for something like this. Being perfectly happy to let the prison service kick in its training, something just wasn’t right for the situation,

  “Why aren’t the alarms ringing?” He asked,

  A third warden who had stayed behind with John answered,

  “The alarms are linked to the doors. They’re both on the same circuit so if anyone tries to force it, they go off.”

  John became puzzled, “But there’s no alarm, so what about the doors-‘

  “Unless…” Questioned the warden, He rushed over to the security gate with John in tow. Frantically keying in the code for the code for the day coupled with the keys did not work. Like before the door became stubbornly closed,

  “The door’s locked again!! DAVISON, THE DOORS HAVE LOCKED UP, WE CAN’T GET IN!!!”

  “How the hell are they going to get out?” Asked john panicky’

  “I’ve no idea.” Said the warden.

  “Do you think it’s this computer glitch you’ve been having?”

  The warden looked at Hudson despondently, “Yes.” He replied.

  The situation looked momentarily hopeless, but they had to do something, the gas substance was rapidly filling up the block,

  “We’ve got to do something,” Said John, “That gas is filling up the whole section, it’s not just the wardens you may have to evacuate, it’s the prisoners as well!!”

  This kicked the warden into action,

  “Wait a minute, there is another way in, from the adjacent wing.”

  “How do I get there?”

  “I can’t take you, but this young man can.” The warden grabbed a younger warden, clearly pulling rank in a situation such as this,

  “Take this gentleman over to D wing, try and get access to the segregation block from there.”

  The younger warden led John out of the office toward D wing. They only thing they could do apart from speeding there was prey,

  “Where the hell is Jack?!!” Though John angrily.

  On D wing life was ticking over as normal when the junior warden burst in with John in tow. Immediately drawing the attention of the on duty prison officers, they could tell something was up,

  “What’s this?” One of them asked,

  “Something’s going on in the segregation block. We can’t get in from our side. Can we get access through here?” Asked the junior warden,

  “We’re not aware that something’s gone wrong in the segregation block.”

  John intervened, “Take a look, there’s some kind of gas release near the cells. This computer glitch you’ve been having has locked us out from the other side. We need to get inside, there’s wardens trapped in there!”

  The prison officer looked at John suspiciously,

  “Who’s this?”

  “My name is John Hudson; I’m here with my colleague to interview one of your inmates.”

  “What are you, police?”

  “No, counter intelligence. Look can you give us access?”

  As John was busy informing them who he was, time was of the essence, the sound of crackling coming from a radio filled the room as another prison officer in the background tried to radio for verification to what was going on,

  “You better take a look at this.” He declared suddenly. Turning round to the CCTV monitors, the same circuit as the ones where they had come from showed the same black and white images. Looking on they could see the smoke getting thicker, figure stumbling about inside unable to tell which ones were jailed or jailer,

  “Shit!!” The warden shouted, “What is it, some kind of smoke?”

  John cried out to the point, “No it’s a gas!!”

  “Why is there no bloody alarm?!!”

  “Because of the glitch!!”

  “Come on.” The wardens had no time to investigate; they had to take Hudson for his word. Leading them to an outer gate, the prison officer pulled out a special key and inserted into the locking system guarding the door. Swinging open allowed them to penetrate as far as the outer part of the unit from this side, but still unable to get into the main inner part itself,

  “Bloody hell, it stings!!” Shouted the warden,

  “Cover your eyes!!!” John replied. By not the hot stinging smoke irritated their eyes and their throats. Almost unable to speak due to the dryness and their coughing they could be forgiven for becoming unable to point out what was going on in front of them. In the immediacy it looked as if they were most definitely stumped, the inner doors would not open allowing access, how on Earth were they going to get through? Almost turning round to give up, John heard footsteps accompanied by an urgent voice behind him,

  “Here try this!!” Shouted a secondary warden as he joined them, covering his face as best he could he thrust another cardkey into his hand,

  �
�How do we know it’ll work?” Asked John,

  “I don’t know!! Just try it!!”

  John tried the card but to no avail. By now the smoke was getting almost too thick to see, the only sense reliable in this kind of confusion was hearing,

  “It doesn’t work!!” Shouted John frustratingly. They were rapidly running out of options,

  “It only works from the inside!!” Was the reply.

  John in his desperation shouted to anyone inside the segregation wing, anyone who could use the key and operate the doors,

  “Is anyone there?!! ANYONE?!!!!”

  “Yes!!!!” Shouted a faint voice,

  “Here, take this card, try and open the doors!!! QUICKLY!!!”

  Throwing the card in was a bit of a forlorn hope, could anyone see it on the floor? Should he have waited for someone to come to him? He didn’t know, until he saw the almost silhouetted figure of a warden stumble through and pick it up. It was the last thing he saw for the situation was now beginning to get unbearable, the gas was becoming too much. Nobody knew what it was so for all they knew, they all could have been poisoning themselves. Stumbling back out into the outer office to join the other wardens, the air seemed like a soup of freshness as each of the men fought for every last breath,

  “I threw the card into the block; one of the wardens picked it up.”

  “You sure?” Asked one of the wardens, coughing, “With this computer glitch, for all we know the locking system to the cell doors could have been affected.”

  “Hopefully not.” John replied. That was a dangerous thought. He knew he had to get back and try and meet back up with Jack, surely the alarm must have been raised,

  “I’m going back to the other side; see if we can’t get the wardens out. The alarm must have been raised by now.”

  Hudson disappeared sharply, making his way out to where he once came.

  In the C Wing side of the segregation block the atmosphere was almost as smoky as the D Wing side. Hudson rushed back in accompanied by his original warden escort to find Jack standing there. Holding yet another card, he turned to face John, whose face had a look of demanding where his partner had been,