Bang Up: Prison walls don't just keep criminals in, the keep the outside world at bay

by Karen Woods

  Sarah sipped at her vino and stroked her neck. This was a passionate affair and the more she was hearing, the more she was aroused. She’d heard from friends before about having affairs, secret meetings, the forbidden fruit, the fantastic sex, but as of yet she’d never had one herself. It wasn’t right, people got hurt. Sarah had always declared she was a one-man woman and liked to think her loyalty to any man she dated was something special. Rachel was getting down to the nitty-gritty now, the real reason her sister had disowned her. Her head dipped as she stared into the bottom of her glass, slowly running her finger around the rim. “I was pissed out of my head. And, there he was, ready for the taking. I was fed up and just wanted to feel good about myself. I only wanted a kiss, nothing more. Someone to show me they cared. But, we just got carried away and before we knew it we were having sex. None of us heard the door opening and there she stood… I will never forget the look in her eyes,” Rachel choked up and it took a while for her to compose herself. “I’d hurt her so badly, done her right in. Cath just looked at us both and closed the door behind her and left the room. It would have been easier if she battered me, kicked fuck out of me, but all she did was give me the silent treatment.” A chill passed over her and goose pimples started to appear all over her arms, she was spooked. Her back was up now and her grip tightened around her glass. “Of course that twat blamed me for it all. He’s dead smarmy and one of these days he’ll get what’s coming to him. She’ll see what he’s all about. Cath thinks he’s innocent but he’s a dark horse. I’ve heard loads of stories about him with other women but if I told her, she’d just turn a blind eye to it all. She’s like that, our Cath, she just likes to think she has the perfect life.” Sarah was caught up in the whole episode now but Rachel switched the subject so quickly that there was no going back. “You’re right, you know. I should try and fix stuff with them all. I’m not getting any younger am I?”

  This was just what Sarah wanted to hear, she loved a happy ending and hoped in the future that Rachel would have her family back onside. She jumped out of her seat after she swigged the last bit of wine from her glass. “Come on then, let’s get you sorted. You can’t let them see you like this, let’s get you all dolled up.” The makeover began and the two of them were actually laughing together for a change.

  *

  Mark Fulton sat alone in his front room. The TV was on low and in his hand he held a letter from his mortgage provider. The idiot had done it this time, he’d blown the money Smithy had given him to pay the arrears. What a complete dickhead he was! How on earth was he going to get out of this one? This was serious, he was going to be homeless. The clock on the wall ticked loudly in his ear and as he stared at the debt letter his eyes filled up. Dropping the piece of paper from his hand he plonked onto the sofa and let out a laboured breath. Mark froze, there was noise coming from outside the room. He could hear her coughing. It was his old ball and chain stood at the door. This woman had a face like thunder and no wonder, every time he looked at her he wanted to slap her, she was so cocky. “Are you coming to bed or are you staying down here all bleeding night again?”

  Mark twisted his head towards her and snarled. He could easily have jumped up and strangled the moaning cow, stopped her breathing, ended the misery of her constant moaning. He turned over to his side and plumped the pillow behind his head. “I’ll come up when I’m ready. I’m just going to watch a bit of football.”

  Tracy came into the room with a hand fixed firmly placed on her hips. “Don’t you mean you will be watching more porn like you always do? I’ll tell you what Mark, I didn’t sign up for all this crap and if you come home one night and my bags are packed, don’t be surprised.”

  Mark bolted from the sofa and ran at her with clenched teeth. She was getting it now, he was sick to death of this moaning bitch and he was telling her how it was. Night after night she was pecking his head and he was ready to blow. “What are you saying? Me, come to bed with you. And what, watch you sleep, fucking snoring your head off like a fat pig. Yeah, I will be watching some porn tonight just for the record. I’ve got to get my kicks somewhere haven’t I? It’s like shagging a wet lettuce, having sex with you.” Mark used his flat palm to push her away from him before he punched her lights out. He snarled at her. “What happened to you ay? You used to like sex, every night we used to have a bang and now I’m lucky to get a feel of your tits. A frigid bitch you are! Oh, what was is it you always say to me? I’ve got another fucking headache. I’m just too tired, let’s leave it tonight Mark.”

  Tracy’s eyes were wide open, she was gobsmacked. How dare her own husband talk to her like this? Her eyes filled up and she pointed her finger deep into his chest. She was livid. “Oh, so it’s like that is it? And, for your information Casanova, I bleeding hate having sex with you too. You’re like a mad, crazed animal, there’s no tenderness, no kissing, just wham bam thank you mam. Sex is crap.” She took a deep breath and looked him straight in the eyes Tracy looked him up and down in a disgusting manner. Silence. Go on girl, she was holding her own now and going to put him in his place. She walked further into the room and sat on the edge of the sofa and smirked. She was the one calling the shots now and he was getting a mouthful. Why should she have to listen to his bullshit anyway? Two can play that game, she was giving him a taste of his own medicine. His face dropped. He’d opened a right can of worms now. She continued. “Why are we even together? We don’t do anything anymore. We’re like two pensioners. All the things we used to do, you hate now. So, come on, you tell me what you want from me, because I don’t have a bleeding clue. I know what I want,” she paused and sucked in a large mouthful of air before she delivered the killer blow. “I want a fucking divorce.”

  Mark went bright red and he marched around the front room like a headless chicken. “Yeah me too. There you go, I’ve said it now. You make my skin crawl and that fucking droning voice of yours goes right through me. And I tell you something for nothing should I? You’ve turned into your mother.” This was below the belt, he knew how much she loved her mother. Tracy stood up and picked up the piece of paper from the table, she hadn’t read it yet, she was too busy telling her husband what she thought of him. “Go on, call my mam like you always do. I’m used to it by now, call my sister too and our Simon. You can’t hurt me anymore. I’m immune to you.”

  Mark stormed into the kitchen to get a cold drink. He was sweating and ready to burst. Tracy blew a laboured breath and started to read the letter in her hand. Her jaw dropped and she was speechless. She yelled after him. “So, this is what it’s really about. What the hell have you done with the money? Oh, don’t tell me. The fucking bookies again.” Mark was back in the room and he was white. He’d seen the letter in her hand and his head dipped, his secret was out. He was calming down now and as per usual he started to regret his words but she’d wound him up, she knew what he was like once his temper blew. There was no forgiveness this time, there was no going back. “Go on you tell me why the mortgage hasn’t been paid? Don’t lie. For once in your life just tell me the truth.” Tracy’s body folded in two and she was sobbing. Her home was everything, she thought she would have lived here until the day she died.

  Mark sat near her and dropped his head into his hands. He was stuttering, ashamed. “I’m sorry. I need help, I just can’t help it anymore. I try so hard to stop the gambling but it’s got a grip of me.”

  Tracy looked over at him and her fingers started to unfold from the clenched fist, she loved her husband so much but he was just a dickhead sometimes. Her hand reached over and touched his knee. “We can’t lose the house, Mark. It’s our dream, it’s all we ever wanted. If the house goes then there’s nothing left.” He lifted his head up and a single tear ran down the side of his cheek. Yes, she was a moaning cow but deep down he did still love her. If she left, what would he have then? Nothing - fuck all and plenty of it. His head was all over the place and he was panicking. “I’ll get the money, somehow, some way. I’ll make it right. Don’t
leave me, just give me a bit of time. If you go I’ll end it. I swear. You’re all I’ve got.” Here it was, the real Mark, not the big man he to liked to portray. He was just a weak man who wasn’t coping.

  Tracy kissed the top of his head and ran her fingers through his hair slowly. “I don’t know if we can fix it anymore. I’m sick of worrying every day about the next payment. We need a miracle.”

  Mark was desperate and he held his hands on her cheeks. “Baby, don’t go. Just give me a bit of time. I’ll sort it out. We won’t lose the house. Honest, trust me, just give me a chance to make things right.” The two of them held each other tightly. The pressure was on now, he had to get the money from somewhere otherwise he’d lose it all. His wife, his home, everything he loved.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Mikey Milne was back on his landing; he was the man now, the top dog. He’d proven what he was all about and at last these muppets on the wing were going to give him the respect he deserved. The battle with Frank let them all know he was game as fuck and if they wanted a piece of him, all they had to do was ask. As he held his personal belongings in his hand, he marched along B-Wing like a soldier returning from war. Head held back, chest pushed forward, smirking. The other inmates nodded respectfully towards him and each of them knew, without asking, that things on the landing were about to be turned around. This new kid was sly and cunning and none of them fancied getting into any kind of beef with him, he was a dodgy cunt who was capable of anything. They’d whispered to each other behind his back as he strolled past them. None of them was ready to challenge him yet.

  Potter came out of his pad and smiled as he spotted Mikey returning. He was a soft fucker and you could tell by his body language that he’d missed his pad mate’s company. Being banged up alone was bad news, no one to talk to, no laughter, just pure silence. Of course Potter had tried to amuse himself and he even tried to make a few new friends on the wing but without Mikey, no one gave him the time of the day. He was a prick in their eyes. Why the fuck should they bow down to him just because his pad mate could swing a few punches; no, they owed him fuck all. Since Mikey had been down the block, Potter had had a lot of thinking time on his hands and he was more than ready to fight to the death for this guy. It was an honour in his eyes and he would take the role seriously. So what if it was against his morals, this was prison life and he was going to do what he had to in order to keep his head above water. Never in his life had he ever been part of anything like this, he had always hid in the background like a shivering wreck. With Mikey as the daddy on the landing he would earn the respect of the prisoners. No longer would they look at him like he was a big nothing. From now on they would respect him and bow down to him, kiss his arse and do as he said.

  Brendan Mellor ran to Mikey’s side and casually punched his fist into his chest. This prisoner looked like he had just come from a concentration camp, he was so thin, at least half the size he used to be. “Fuck me Mikey, I’m glad your back. Shit’s been going down on the landing and I need to word you up about a few things when you get settled back in.”

  Potter heard the conversation and chirped up. He was the sidekick here, nobody else. “I’ll word him up Mellor. No need for you to be involved. I’ve got his back.” Brendan shot a look to Mikey. Was he hearing this kid right or what? The plonker better keep his mouth shut before he decked him! Brendan’s friendship with Mikey went back years, not a few weeks like this runt. And, if anyone was pulling rank here, he was. Brendan was fuming. This arsehole was getting told, he was holding nothing back. “Mikey, have a word with this specky cunt will you? Tell him me and you are running the shit on here now, not him.” Potter looked puzzled.

  They watched Mikey for an answer. Here it was; whose camp was he in? He had to decide. He took a deep breath and scratched the side of his nose. “Brendan, chill out will you. Potter is my pad mate and I need someone who’s watching my back twenty-four-seven. You’re over the other side of the wing. What good are you to me if it kicks off?”

  Brendan choked up, what a fucking sell-out his mate was. All the promises he’d made about looking after him had gone out of the window. There was no way he was taking this lying down, he was getting told. “Mikey, we’re a team me and you. Don’t give me all this shit about somebody watching your back around the clock. If you’re picking that bean sprout over me then just say it. I’d rather know.”

  Mikey started to enter his pad and both of them followed closely behind him, hanging on his every word. Mikey Milne stepped inside the cell and smiled as he looked around. He was glad to be back. But what was this, white paper hanging from one side of the room to the other. Potter had made him a welcome home banner out of toilet roll. His heart was in the right place but you didn’t do shit like this in prison, what the hell was he thinking? Prisoners would get the wrong idea about their relationship and the banter would start. There were lots of gay relationships formed behind the prison walls, some that were never ever spoken about. Nobody would admit it but even a few of the straight lads would have a suck from the landing slag when times were hard. Most of them just covered the guy’s head with a towel or a blanket, anything, so they couldn’t see the man’s head sucking hard on their cocks. It was well known every landing had someone to give oral sex out. Nobody batted an eyelid either, it was just the done thing. Mikey had never had a crunch off another man but he’d said it in jest in the past that if ever he got a ten-year stretch or more, he’d seriously consider a bit of oral sex with a gay inmate. He wouldn’t have anal sex though, no way. No matter if he was the one giving it he would never do that, it was sick and twisted in his eyes, memories of a past he was trying to forget.

  Brendan covered his mouth with his hand as he clocked the welcome home banner. He was giggling and making sure everybody heard what he had to say. “What the fuck is all that about? Mikey are you slinging one up Potter or what?” Mikey turned slowly and growled, the vein at the side of his neck pumping rapidly. So what, Brendan was his pal on the outside, there was no way he was listening to stuff like this, it made his stomach churn. This was how rumours started and he wanted to nip it in the bud before all the lads started to think he was a poo-poker. “Brendan, sort your fucking head out will you. Potter has just done it to show he’s missed me that’s all. He doesn’t mean anything by it, do you our kid?”

  Mikey rubbed his hand over his the inmate’s hair and messed it up. Potter was bright red and you could tell he’d not thought this through. He was caring like that. If it was somebody’s birthday at home he would always decorate the room for them and make them feel special. It was just the way he was. His dad had often doubted his sexuality and on more than one occasion he’d even asked him if he was gay or not. Potter was stuck for words, he was on the spot and had to make sure he had Mikey back on side. “Yeah, it was for a laugh, a piss take nothing else. I just thought you could do with cheering up that’s all.”

  Brendan saw his arse and this was the second time today Mikey had picked this new lad over him. Brendan cupped his hands together and slid them across each other. “Anyway, Mikey, what’s the script now you’re back on the wing? Is Potter getting carted and I’m moving pads with him. Me and you know each other and you know I’ve always got your back. No disrespect to you specky but that’s just how we roll, isn’t it Mikey?”

  There was an eerie silence as Mikey jumped onto his bed and looped his arms over his head. He knew he called the shots on the wing now and he only wanted people in his team who he could trust with his life. Brendan was a yellow-belly and when they were on the outside, there had been a few occasions when he suspected that Brendan had set him up. It was only a feeling but his mate was not all he seemed. He studied him for a few seconds and his mind was made up. “Brendan, you can tag along with us if you want but Potter is staying put. I promised I’d look after him and that’s what I’m doing. You’re big and daft enough to look after yourself. You don’t need me behind you.”

  Brendan screwed his face up, he was spitting
feathers. “Nar, seriously though. You said you would look after me but since we’ve landed in this place I’ve seen fuck all of you. What happened to sorting me out? I’ve been having a bad time too if you’d even bother to ask me.”

  Mikey licked his lips. His mind was made up and no matter what Brendan said here today, he wasn’t selling Potter out. Brendan stood waiting for some sort of answer but as he looked around the room, he realised he wasn’t going to get one. He went nose to nose with Potter, who was stood near the door and pushed him slightly. Mikey was alert and if he needed to, he’d put this bully on his arse. Brendan shouted behind him as he stormed out of the room. “Fuck it, I’ll do my own shit. You stay here and look after a lad you’ve only known for a few weeks. I can see now that our friendship means fuck all to you.”

  Before Mikey could say a word, Brendan slammed the door and left the room. Potter was a bit shell-shocked and even though he was trying to act hard, you could see he’d been unnerved. He stood on the same spot for longer than he needed to and it was only when Mikey spoke to him that he moved back onto his bed. “Don’t let him rattle you. Brendan’s just a bit annoyed that’s all. He won’t lay a finger on you while I’m around. Just keep away from him and you’ll be fine.”

  Potter digested the words and he wasn’t happy that he’d made an enemy already. “It’s not my fault I’m padded up with you, so why is he taking it out on me? I don’t make the rules in this place, do I?” Mikey just wanted a bit of peace and quiet and now he was back from the block, he had to get things moving.

  Potter reached over to the small table and grabbed a pile of letters. “Here you go, they came earlier today. That one smells of perfume. I think it’s from your girlfriend. I’ve been smelling the envelope all morning it’s a gorgeous smell, it smells like fresh daises.”