Chapter 2 Lockdown
A very stressed-out Caputo ran his hand over his balding head as he paced his office with Humps watching him.
Humps frowned. "Are you saying that you don't believe me?" he asked to which only frustrated Caputo, causing him to grow angry at Humps.
"I'm saying that if an inmate had a gun, it would make more sense if they shot you. And how the hell could you bring a gun to work?!"
Humps aimed an offended expression at Caputo. "To my defense, I was concerned for my safety. These inmates are like animals; you kill one and they all come clawing after you." he paused, unwilling to shake Caputo's initial comment. "Why would it make more sense if they shot me?"
"I'm not stupid, Humphrey." Caputo gets in Humps' face. "The walls talk and I hear things."
Without saying a word, Humps wondered exactly what Caputo has heard.
Ferguson entered Caputo's office, placing her cellphone in her purse to speak with him.
"Okay, inmate Diaz is in maximum security and inmates are being searched as we speak by MCC's SWAT team."
Caputo ran his index and thumb finger over his graying mustache. "MCC has a SWAT team?"
"We like to come prepared at all cost. Of course a very low cost. We contacted male facilities that released inmates due to overcrowding and provided those particular inmates with jobs at a very low wage as possible. They're eager to work because, let's be honest, who wants to hire a convicted felon."
"Doesn't that pose a threat to the safety of the women here?" Caputo asked. "Having armed men, who are only out of prison due to overcrowding, perform a search in a women's prison sounds like a recipe for disaster."
"Don't worry, if anything happens they're already in prison." She shrugged with half a smile.
Her words somehow seem to mollify Caputo.
Outside of Caputo's office door was Danny Pearson, hunched down behind a janitor's cart, writing in a small notebook.
There were two SWAT men to a dorm, each appeared heavily armed with enough ammo to take the life out of someone- if prison didn't take it first. They pointed their assault rifles at the women while blurting derogatory things at them. If insults were not enough, these men were aggressively pushing the inmates around. They were strict when it came to maintaining control over the inmates and had a no bullshit policy- anyone that challenged it would be shot where they stood, or at least that's how they were perceived.
The women stood outside their bunks with a pessimistic outlook for the future. The Black dorm and Spanish dorm received additional hostile treatment from the men, while the CO's watched from the side like defenseless children. Like most inmates, Flaca couldn't block the image of Humps killing McCollough. It haunted her how manipulative and corrupt the CO's could be. Daya's innocent. The words repeated in her head as if it could be heard by others and validated as proof for Daya's innocence. An actual tear drop ran passed her tattooed one and she sniffed, feeling all of the emotions hitting her hard.
"Head up, inmate!" One of the SWAT men screamed while pointing his gun at Flaca's temple. She was the first to get her bunk raided. The men bared no regard to the women's personal possessions; everything was thrown, broken or ripped apart.
Meanwhile in the White dorm, it was less hectic compared to the other dorms, but nonetheless, the inmates received the same verbal treatment. White pride group were in near proximity to each other, despite being told to stay in their own bunks. Brandy couldn't help but notice Kasey's hands trembling uncontrollably.
"What're you so nervous for?" Brandy asked. "You know they're just gonna strip search the coloreds- they're the ones all wild eyed and violent. You seen what happened out there with that brownie."
"She didn't shoot anyone! Fuck! Things will be even stricter before and with the new guards, they're bound to kill someone else…"
There was a pause between them before Brandy interceded the silence.
"Remember when I told you that we have to come prepared? Rocks in socks, that type of shit?"
"Of course I do." Kasey replied back, sounding slightly annoyed.
Brandy raised her own shirt to which Kasey stared in shock to see the missing gun tucked in her friend's pants.
"Shit!" It was the only word that slipped Kasey's lips.
Brandy nodded with a smirk on her face, until the SWAT men rushed in, demanding every inmate to stand outside their bunks for a thorough search. It didn't take long for them to perform a body search after tearing apart their bunks, leaving a trail of scattered mess behind. Brandy couldn't recall the last time she sweated that much before or held an increasingly accelerated heartbeat. One of the SWAT men retrieved the weapon from his frisk and then aimed it to her forehead causing her to gasp in shock. He then gave the gun to his partner and escorted the inmate out of the dorm. His joke elicited a flashback to Brandy of Daya aiming the gun at her and her friends during the riot.
Caputo slammed the phone down, inhaling profoundly as he turned his eyes to Humps, who was sitting across from him.
"The gun has been uncovered. Now as for you, you will take a temporary leave of absence without pay."
"How is that fair when-"
"You brought a gun into my prison! This is grounds for termination. I'm being soft here." Caputo pointed to Humps as a measure to accentuate on the punishment. Caputo's migraine became more evident when thinking of his upcoming, yet again, news speech on another death at Litchfield Penitentiary.
It didn't take long for Humps to relay the news to Piscatella.
Piscatella's eyes were watery for the death of his friend, McCullough, but his voice remained unscathed like his posture of a combat soldier. His dry beard hinted to his determination of concealing all emotions, but underneath it was a strong jawline that shivered so unrestrainedly, it projected sadness through his expression. Being the type that expressed extreme sovereignty, Piscatella made it his due diligence to revert Humps' leave of absence. Though demanding, Piscatella found himself being threatened yet again by Caputo's statement of his past work history. The mere thought made Piscatella blush slightly with gaping eyes and surprisingly provoked him to abide Caputo's decision. The decision left Dixon and Stratman out of work as well for not abiding the rules. It was added stress for Caputo, another death and fewer staff.
.
Nothing but darkness and cold air surrounded Piscatella as he stared up at the tiny constellations that filled the night sky like scattered diamonds in a voided black space. His light jacket barely offered him any warmth from the harsh Colorado wind that blew in his direction. Despite the freezing temperatures, being the disciplined man he was, he felt the need to impose a disposition that could withstand any type of weather brought on to him. He didn't mind being warmed every now and then, especially if it was by his close friend Goremen.
Goremen's arms were protected by Piscatella's heavy black jacket, which entirely sealed the upper half of his underclothes. Goremen lended a hand to Piscatella's cheek, his hand was also covered by Piscatella's gloves.
"I love being out here with you." Goremen said with a naturally deep voice that somewhat contradicted his petite frame. His blond hair was chopped down to the scalp of his skin in honor of some cult brotherhood. The height comparison between the two was like a small boy looking up at a tall tree, being that Goremen was only 5 foot 7 inches. Goremen continued, inhaling and exhaling the cold wind as if it was something pleasantly sweet and addictive, "nature is such a beautiful thing that most people take for granted. It is an abstract art that could only be appreciated by those who see the beauty of it."
Piscatella returned, gazing into Goremen's eyes. Goremen had been the type of man Piscatella always thought about being with as a teenager.
"Desi bear, let's warm up next to the firepit. Hell, we can take our clothes off and rely on each other's body heat for warmth."
Piscatella smiled. "Maybe another time. We should leave now, it's getting late."
An annoyed sigh escaped Piper as she stood in her bunk with her other three mates. It had been a full 24 hours into the lockdown and no one had been permitted to leave their bunks- not even to use the bathroom. Instead of using a toilet behind the comfort of a stall, these women were given a bucket to do all of their business in. There was only one bucket per bunk and within 24 hours their bunks reeked with the smell of urine and gas from restrained bowel movements. Their restroom, cafeteria, and sleeping quarters became an all-in-one place during the lockdown.
"It is unjust to punish every inmate on the account of other people's actions." Piper said while scanning the new guards on duty.
Red let out a chuckle. "I'm sure the new guards over there want to hear all about fair treatment."
"Alex and I wasn't even in the riot." Piper said, nearly under her breath because speaking was prohibited. "It is against basic human rights to force this type of unsustainable living situation. Our families are in the dark about our well-being considering they took away our visitation and phone rights."
"We're all the same to them." Red said in her low voice that made her Russian accent more prominent. "It's the prison suit that strips us from our identity and marks us as identical. One bad apple, the rest the same- it's prison mathematics."
While the rest of the inmates suffered in their tight bunks, Yoga Jones and Judy King were tucked away in their luxury cell with a guard posted outside monitoring the door. Jones was sitting on her bed meditating in silence, attempting to flush away her unhappy thoughts towards Judy for not speaking much about the incident that occurred. When Jones heard the gunshots, she asked Judy about it the moment she came back from the riot, but Judy refused to reveal anything other than her eagerness to leave Litchfield. Judy's stubbornness drove Jones to fully block her presence.
Nearly a week into the lockdown, the entire resting quarters of the prison reeked of vomit and other bodily fluids so intense that one could taste it. Large garbage bags had been placed in front of each bunk unit along with a few bins and soap bars. With prison conditions worsening, majority of the inmates found themselves in conflict and some were immediately sent to SHU.
Daya sat outside in the fenced area with her back against the brick wall. She had a busted lip and a cut over her eye from police brutality. There was an expression of lost hope on her face as she stared ahead of her, not really focusing on anything. It was the same look in her photo that was plastered on Channel 12 news with the above title reading, Cop Killer.
A female guard stepped to Daya, "You have a visitor."
It was the one thing that broke Daya away from her gaze and induced the question as to who was the visitor.
To be continued…