Ch 4
Wufei felt the heavy magnetic restraints around his wrist pulling down and was strangely happy to have them. Now was not the time to lose his head and feeling their weight was all that was keeping him in check within a slight state of reality. This was actually happening. He had been taken away in the early morning to arrive here at the prison. He changed into the standard prison uniform of the high security prison, a thin white cotton shirt and the dark navy cotton drawstring pants that were somewhat durable. The halogens lights above him gave a faintly pale bluish coloration to his skin tone. He thought it made him look sickly.
The place was sterile and made entirely of concrete and tile. No glass unless it had the thin metal reinforcing mesh to strengthen it. Everything else had been metal bars and razor wire to the prisoners in.
The two guards flanking him throughout the establishment were carrying automatic side-arms. This could have been simply standard procedure...or they could have been taking extra precautions. He did not know which.
They directed him through a large metal door with a small window in it. It looked new and recently installed; it slid open without a sound. "Move." He stepped into the small room; there was another door in front of him that appeared to be much older. The two guards followed him in and the door slid shut behind them. As soon as it shut the one in front opened outwards.
The room was long and open with cells lining the walls. It was the main block, two levels of steel and concrete holding in some of the 'world's most dangerous criminals'. Too bad he helped put half of the people in here after the war in his short term working with those...traitors.
Fuck them. The Preventers too.
"Walk." The guard was annoying, but efficient; Wufei had to give him that. He stepped forward confidently; the inmates here would appreciate him being under eighteen and smaller then probably all of them. He needed to exude disdain. The cellblock was surprisingly quite, for the number of people that it housed. It appeared to hold three hundred people in the block. Two people per cell. They were all awake and watching.
Wufei didn't tense up, just strode forward under all the stares. Random calls were now being yelled at him through their bars. Didn't matter though, the prisoners were all full of meaningless crap and probably bored of the monotony from living in this place day in and day out.
The guards led him to the other end of the cellblock and directed him into the last cell on the ground floor. There was no roommate in it, just a single bunk bed for him alone. They had explained when he came in that he would have his own room as a trial period until he got used to prison. They didn't say how long that trial period would be, but they would move him into a double when they thought he was ready. Wufei felt that the way they said that was slightly…ominous. The guards deactivated the restraints and motioned with their guns for Wufei to enter. He would not make it far out of the prison if he moved against them. So he stepped forward.
The bars slid shut behind him and the guards left for the other end. Wufei walked forward more to get into the cell further. It was small, just the bunk bed and a toilet.
He lay on the top bunk and stared at the ceiling. Quatre said he would visit in a week; the others might come… except for Trowa. Bastard.
Now to wait. It was doubtful he would sleep tonight.
Day one.
The hall outside his bars was dim as only the emergency lights flickered in the cell block. He could hear the early morning movements of some of the other prisoners. "Everybody up!" Echoed down the hall and the fluorescents lights came on full blast in the corridor and his personal cell. "Hey you! Time to get up!" The guard rounded the corner and was surprised to see that Wufei was already alert and standing in front of the bars to be let out. Wufei had figured they would have a tightly controlled schedule. He had gotten up earlier when he started to hear movement from other prisoners echoing in their cells. The man chuckled, "Had a hard time sleeping here your first night, huh pretty boy?" then moved off to pick out other stragglers of the routine.
The schedule was to make the guards' jobs easier by maintaining a strict system and reduce the chance of mishaps within the prison. Wufei was ready for the day. He hadn't slept as predicted, just meditated and thought about his situation throughout the night.
Today would be a day of observation and nothing more. Work out the schedule; see who would be a threat and who would be a mere annoyance. The bars slid open and Wufei stepped out, waiting for further instructions. He could feel all the other prisoners' eyes on him, but he carefully controlled his face to reflect neutral disdain. "All clear! Free time!"
Wufei turned back into his cell. He didn't feel the urge to take a shower at the moment, nor did he feel like associating with his fellow inmates. Friendship didn't hold its promise of everlasting bonds on the outside of this soon to be hell hole, why would it be different on the inside.
He had four days until Quatre would come, if he honored his promise, and while he wasn't sure if he would forgive the blonde at least he would have someone from his past for a short thirty minute stint. His overall rage at the situation hadn't dimmed any, just bubbled lower beneath the surface.
After an hour, by Wufei's mental clock, they were once again yelled at to move to the cafeteria area of the complex. Wufei made sure he was at the back of the pack. They were led through the same doors that he had entered through last night, but the pack moved down a different hallway to the right. Once he entered he got in line and waited. All inmates from the four different cell blocks were present and all eyes were on him. Apparently word of a new inmate had spread quickly. It was making his skin crawl, but with his practiced neutrality in body posture it was easy to not give away his sentiments towards these people.
He grabbed a tray as he drew close to the front and was handed a plate of grey mush that looked as though it was supposed to be mashed potatoes; all the while he felt the itching sensation along his spine and a slight increase in the muttering behind him. He was the newest addition to their fold and obviously it was causing quite a buzz.
It was going to be a long three months.
Day two.
Wufei followed the flow of the day. It was get up and get clean for an hour, breakfast for one hour, then yard time for three. Then lunch for one hour. After that was work detail for three hours and another hour of 'free time' then dinner for another hour. Then they would be escorted back to their cell blocks for free time for one hour before it was lights out for the night. It was a twelve hour day.
It was now the last hour of free time before lights out and Wufei was tucked away in his cell reading a book he had borrowed from the prison library. At least it wasn't the worst way to spend time; then again the library did not have a very extensive collection.
No one had approached him the first day or the second, only watched from a far. Good. He just wanted to be left the fuck alone. Didn't want to make any friends, didn't need to since this is where he ended up as a result. They would betray him in the end and that was something he would not tolerate happening again.
No one had bothered him. But that didn't mean it would hold out. "Line up!" echoed out over the speakers. Wufei stood and moved just outside his cell, only to turn back in when they indicated and have the bars shut for the night.
He lay down once more and attempted to meditate. He was still raging inside at the other's actions. How he ended up here, because they volunteered. They know he could have disappeared and Une…Une could have done something. He had Une and Quatre and Relena on his side…or at least he did at one point. And they could have done something.
Wufei breathed in and out again. Just three days.
Day three.
Today would be like yesterday. He would be left alone, follow the crowd, and keep his head down. He didn't need the attention. It was the fact that he was a Gundam pilot that made him land in this place. The other people who were actually more devoted to the Mariemeia cause could claim brainwashing or temporary insanity or some other strange diagnosis and get off.
The ancient bars slid open with a grinding noise and the guard yelled, "Everybody out!" Wufei dutifully stepped through and waited. Immediately he noticed something different in the air. Everyone was watching him again like the previous day, but this time eyes were sliding between him and this large beefy inmate about six two, with a barbed wire tattoo around his neck. Wufei internally sighed. The man came up in his observations as a potential problem the last two days, but he had sincerely hoped the guy would just leave him alone.
The prison appeared to be organized into four main groups and a scattering of random inmates. It made sense considering the four cellblocks, but the other three cellblocks had obvious leaders unlike this one. The other three seemed a lot more organized as well, he could see it in the cafeteria and when they all had yard time together.
The cellblock he was in appeared to be a lot less organized; more out of fear of an individual and his lackeys. That individual of course was the barbed-wire tattooed, shaved-head man, who appeared to be the leader.
Wufei decided to ignore the warning signs and act as though nothing caused his reflexes to fire, by deciding to shower before breakfast. The shower was a large completely tiled room with eight shower heads and two drains. Others joined him in the showers that morning and he could feel them checking him out. It had been the first time he had showered since entering the prison and he had yet to work out in front of any of them. Curiosity must have been driving them mad; the allure of fresh meat in such a petite package compared to the rest of them.
Wufei had heard noises in the night indicating that anal intercourse definitely occurred here. In some cases it was desired, in others it obviously was not, but the guards did not seem to care either way.
Finishing and dressing slowly he made his way to the cafeteria and sat alone at an empty table much like the two previous days. Not as many people were paying attention to him as the first two days. A good sign as far as he was concerned, although it was still disconcerting to have them watching him constantly.
A shadow fell over his tray, but Wufei didn't bother to look up. He had already felt the presence of the barbed wire man before he came over. Besides, it wouldn't help. "I believe you are sitting in my seat." The man had a smirk in his voice, in his stance and on his face, one that his lackeys mimicked.
Wufei calmly picked up his tray and moved to another empty table, sat and began eating. The group that was following the man sat after he did.
There would be no point to a fight. Not to lie low. Not to survive peacefully for three months, especially if he took down a man that had nearly a foot in height on him. It would cause a stir within the system he did not want to deal with.
Every person in the cafeteria had watched the exchange, but now went back to their meals. Yet Wufei still felt the eyes of three inmates that bothered him severely, the eyes of the three people that concerned him most in this jail.
Day four.
One more day. One more day till Quatre came. One hundred and sixteen days until he was out of this concrete cage. It was strange that he was still so infuriated at their betrayal, but was now depending on one of them to calm his fraying nerves. This place was already gnawing at his tight control only four days in and Quatre's visit was the light at the end of the tunnel.
Nothing had happened the previous day after the cafeteria incident. He sat alone in the yard watching the other inmates and thinking. He had gone to lunch without incident, then went to work in the library, a position he landed after requesting it on the second day, strangely. Then after dinner he read in his room again before lights out.
Then the routine had to start all over again. Wufei almost sighed when a shadow fell across his cafeteria tray again. Almost.
"I think you are in my seat, little man."
Wufei moved to pick up his tray as he rose. "I think that's my food you're trying to take."
Wufei simply let go of the tray and move to an empty table in the corner. People watched him again, though not as many. Some were losing interest, while other's interest was all too obvious. Wufei felt their eye on him even as he closed his own to meditate. To escape this place.
Day five.
Wufei was awake and doing pushups in his cell instead of waiting for the morning call. He did not feel the need to expose his capabilities to the others, but he didn't want to go soft at the same time and at the moment his cell seemed the only safe harbor.
No one had yet to approach him in any way near his cell. He felt that it was off limits somehow to everyone, but did not know why. The only prisoner interaction he had was the occasional one-liners a customer would say to a hooker and the tattooed man, who apparently went by the initial T. He was a common thug judging by the way he acted. Not too smart, but knew how to put fear into a person just right.
"Everybody up!" Wufei pushed himself up and stepped out of his cell. A guard came up to him, "You have a visitor. Come with me." Wufei stepped out of line and walked down the cellblock and out the steel double doors. Instead of heading to the right down to the cafeteria, they headed instead to the left, where he had come from on his first night. They paused before a door and put handcuffs on him. They were flimsy, but it was not like he was going out of the prison. Magnetic restraints seemed to only be used in and out of the prison. Wufei mentally noted that. The guards still carried their semi-automatics though.
Behind the door was a room with several tables, the other end was made of chain link fence. At one of the plastic tables in the middle was Quatre. He smiled and rose to give Wufei a hug. He allowed it momentarily, before stepping out of the blonde's arms. As angry as he was, he couldn't help but feel slightly calmer around the boy. Quatre always did have that effect on the other pilots though. "How are you?"
Wufei shrugged and sat down at the table. He didn't know what to say to Quatre. 'I'm glad you came. At least you kept one of your promises.' Or how about 'where the hell was everyone else?', 'why did you do this to me in the first place?'
He settled for, "How is my case going?"
Quatre visibly relaxed. He had never been good at hiding his emotions. "Well" he said cheerfully, "I've hired the top two lawyers that are experienced with military tribunals. They are both highly interested in defending you. They'll be in next week with me to discuss the charges and begin building defense." His smile faltered slightly when Wufei did not seem as relieved at the news as he had hoped.
He reached behind him for a small package that he had brought with him. "Duo thought it would be nice for you to receive something, so he looked up a bunch of old movies and everyone always brought pie. He baked cookies instead, but that's Duo for you." He set the package in front of Wufei. "He says that he's spry he couldn't be here today. I think he still has problems with prisons since the moonbase incident. Maybe earlier than that."
Wufei nodded in thanks. Duo would be Duo, but that didn't mean he would show up to the prison for him. Still it was a nice gesture. Quatre continued, "Trowa is working on a project that he hopes will help you."
"How can it help me if he won't even come to visit?" Quatre visibly winced and Wufei tried harder to control his growing, but still hidden rage. He shrugged it off.
Quatre hesitated briefly then whispered, "Heero is being Heero. He says he will see you in three months if not sooner." He paused again before continuing, "He really needs to talk to you."
Wufei frowned frustrated. Heero needed to talk to him. Really needed to talk to him. Bullshit. "And when will you talk to me, Quatre? When will you explain to me how you could have carted me off so easily?"
Quatre looked pained and then easily slipped into business mode. Wufei knew the look well. The conversation was over, "I will apologize to you after I finish my number one priority of getting you out. It was good seeing you again. I'll see you next week."
He turned and left abruptly and the guard was calling Wufei to come back to his cell block. He quickly grabbed the small package and followed the guard out, who released the cuffs before letting him back in with the other cellmates. Wufei carefully tucked away the package under the pillow of his top bunk before lying back on the bottom bunk trying not to think, just staring at the rusty bars supporting the top mattress.
Another week before Quatre's next visit, a full seven days this time. A new light at the end of the tunnel to drive towards and focus on.
But for some reason the light seemed a lot dimmer then before.
TBC
