Chapter IX - Strength in Numbers
*A/N: Sorry that I have not been able to give you more content. I have been very busy recently and unfortunately this will continue so I expect to be updating this every one to two weeks. I will be working on the next chapter this weekend however it may take me a while to finish it. Thank you to all those who have given me kudos and have stuck with this story. I appreciate it more than you will ever know. Again, thank you.*
It had been two weeks since Sonia's party in which she had managed to cement her power base and her top dog status with all the women in the prison. Nobody had contested to her, and Kaz had no public intentions of stepping up to the mantle. It turned out that luck was on Bea's side, and Jane Grieves had stuck to her promise. They had managed to turn seven of Sonia's women: Bea did not know them by name but they were friends with Jane and understood her distraught and as friends, they agreed to be faithful to their little secret rebellion. In fact, Jane had been key to getting the women onside. Bea had to be more cautious given her former top dog status and she found it a lot harder as she was still not trusted a lot within Sonia's ranks.
Sonia maintained about a crew of twenty or so women that she trusted highly throughout her time and stay at Wentworth. The other women that she included were just allies that were useful to have on her side, like Bea Smith, Lucy Gambaro and Tina Mercado. They were all public figures in Wentworth and it was good to have their support as it legitimised her rule for top dog and gave her a mutual respect from every single woman inside the compound. However, this respect seemed a little uneasy lately, and Sonia inferred that it was a lot to do with the events that had occurred over the last two weeks since her gathering with her crew and allies.
The last two weeks had seen a dramatic uprise in the amount of people who were using gear. This unnerved Bea, and especially Allie, as she was desperate not to have a slip and remain faithful in her promise to Bea. She just hoped that something wouldn't repeat and somehow she would end up with some life-ruining shit in her vains. She depended on her lover to protect her, and she knew that she would do the same. Bea knew that Allie would not consciously take drugs but the threat of another woman injecting her still followed her. The horror of Ferguson still lived with Bea, and she knew that she wasn't going to be able to deal with it again.
There had been a grand total of nine overdoses, all from the same gear. It was of a midnight-blue colour, nicknamed 'Panther, a new variant of heroin that was addictive as anything, and around Wentworth, it had become the new craze. Women who had not even touched drugs before were giving it a go and getting hooked: much to Sonia's delight as she was gaining massive profit from her share in Tina's business. She had made a grand fortune selling the gear as well as lighters, and of course the needles to inject it with. After about one week of selling this 'Panther', Tina had a steady flow of customers.
It was more accurate to say that she had about an eight of the inmates hooked on it, and she was bringing in more cash than she could use to buy even more Panther to replenish her stock. Tina had got herself a job on the cleaning crew, and the gear was hidden within a pink bottle that had a triangle marked on the back of the label of the bottle. Tina would then take the bags and stuff them in her trousers or bra before storing it in various safe locations around the prison. The money she had earned was passed via courier by laundry basket, directly to Sonia who was handling the steam press.
But just before selling, Tina had a free hour slot before she had to clean the showers. They would head to the showers, one of the girls blocking the door. They would then mix the floor cleaner that was given to them in the cart by the guards and place it into one gram bags. The girls then gave the bags to Tina who either stashed them or sold them later on. It was not a complex operation but nor was it so simple that they got caught. However, Tina knew her lucky streak would not last, and she could sense that something and was going to happen, and soon.
"Good morning, Mr. Jackson" Vera said as her deputy came in with a brief smile before closing the door to her office and sitting down in a chair next to Bridget Westfall. "I don't even need to tell you what this meeting is about do I" Vera said with a sad smile, Bridget and Will both nodding. They knew they were going to have to shut down the source quickly before the board got on to Vera and sacked her for doing a bad job. Her job was t protect these women and to make sure that they stayed safe in the duration of their sentence, and it was easier said then done, all three of them in the room knowing this for sure.
"Nine overdoses in the past week" Vera stated, looking at her files. It detailed every prisoner that had died from an overdose in the past two weeks. Only two of them had previous occurrences with drugs, so the fact that first time users were submitting themselves to this drug was worrying to say the least. "The women are calling it Panther" Bridget said, Vera quirking an eyebrow before turning to her computer. She typed quickly on the computer before confirming what she already knew. "Heroin".
Will looked at Vera, and then Bridget, and then back again. "Then it's Tina Mercado. Cindy Lou used to get involved with that before she died. Tina's obviously taken the reigns. How nostalgic" Will said sarcastically, knowing that women were dying from this drug. He felt a bit disgusted as he knew so many people that had died to heroin, most notably Debbie Smith. As he had said goodbye to her for Bea, this was a bit personal to him. Bridget nodded. "Franky used to have trouble with them" she spoke before Vera pushed a fleck of black hair away from her face and tucked it behind her ear.
"Well, I say that we meet after dinner. We establish all possible routes that Tina could be trafficking her drugs through the prison. We then conform with the other prisoners to see if they know any information" Vera said, closing her files as she stood up. Bridget and Will both nodded, taking it as a dismissal before standing up and both leaving the room to resume to their duties. Vera sighed; she knew the culprit responsible, but all she needed was that tiny bit of evidence that would be able to shut down the supply route and hopefully convince Tina to stop selling drugs and ultimately ruining people's lives.
After dinner, Bea had spoken to Jane and had told everyone to meet in the showers during rec-time. This was strictly invite only, and everyone had to make sure that they were not being followed. Bea was very cautious about this, she did not want to be seen corresponding with Kaz as it would blow her cover and leave her and the rest of H1 at risk from Sonia's wrath. Jane understood this paranoia, and did as she was told. Thankfully, all the women who had said that they would stand up against Sonia adhered to their word and turned up when asked to. Prior to the meeting, Bea had asked Kaz to explain to them. She seemed very good at public-relations and it seemed fitting for Kaz to deliver the news.
Bea counted ten people including herself, Kaz and Jane. The women mumbled among the ranks before Kaz cleared her throat and everybody gave her undivided attention to her. "I'm not here as a power figure, but I think it's wrong that Sonia gets to protect Tina who is selling gear that is getting our friends hooked. I don't think it's right and I think we should make a stand" Kaz spoke, everybody nodding in agreement with a few "yeah's" from the women. Bea took this as her opportunity to speak to the women and to get a few things across to them which may increase the support that they needed.
"Me and Kaz are going up as a united and democratic front. Me and her leading the prison and listening to your problems and dealing with them together. No bullshit top dog, just a union that will save everyone a lot of shit" Bea said, all the women grinning at this new possible power establishment. All of the women started talking before Jane told them to simmer down. "Now, this is where we need your help".
Vera had come up with a mindmap of all the possible places that Tina would have been able to access and would have been able to traffic a steady flow of drugs through. She had come up with laundry and the kitchen so far, but it baffled her as to any other ways that it could come in. She decided that it was best to take a rest so that her brain could conjure up any other ways of how possibly drugs could get in. There is no way that she could get it in through the mail as that was thoroughly checked. As Vera pondered, she was interrupted by her thoughts by Will entering her office. "Instead of you doing all the work, why don't you ask Smith?" Will suggested, Vera nodding in agreement. Will took the hint and went to go and find her.
"We need you to find your mates who also think the same. We don't want some hypocritical ice queen that only protects her interests and her money and doesn't give a shit about the women. Once we get about another ten of Sonia's women, she will be weak and disliked. Then, me and Bea will make our move and we will establish a nice and kind democracy for all the women in here" Kaz smiled, the women nodding. "Now off you go. Don't go blabbing, remember what we said" Bea shouted just as the women were leaving. "Let's hope that worked" Bea said sighing before Kaz nodded. "Here's hoping" the fiery blonde said before exiting the showers.
As Kaz had just come out of the showers, she came to find a red-faced Will who had obviously just been looking all around the prison for somebody. Kaz knew just by instinct that he would be looking for Bea, so she just gestured at the shower door before Will saw the redhead that he had been searching for the last fifteen minutes. "Governor's office?" Bea suggested, Will nodding but also puffing as he led up the way to Vera's office. It was a slow walk but Bea was thankful that she was recovering extremely well since the attack with Ferguson. Her physical injuries had gone, but she still had panic attacks in her sleep.
"Smith for you, governor" Will said as he opened the door. The redhead hesitantly stepped inside, wondering what it was this time that the governor required her presence for. "Tina Mercado" Vera uttered as the door was closed, Bea still standing by the door and not wanting to move. The redhead knew that the governor would be wanting someone's head for bringing in the drugs, and Bea was conflicted with telling the governor or keeping the information she knew to herself. She knew that if she lagged again, she would not be so lucky.
"Governor. I'll make you a deal. Get Proctor up here and we'll make some arrangement" Bea offered, Vera a bit taken aback by Bea's statement. She decided to be smart and did not question as to why she wanted Proctor here, but instead radioed in for one of her officers to go H3 and collect her. Bea knew that Sonia was going to have to be taken down and it was going to have to be quite significant in order to take her from the top dog mantle. Unfortunately, there was only one way she knew how, and she knew that Proctor and the governor were not going to like it.
After about two minutes of short waiting, the short blonde stepped in the office but felt immediately comforted by seeing Bea sat down in font of the governor. Kaz took the hint and knew that this was about Tina, and Bea and her revealing their plans to the governor. Kaz and Vera had never got on, and there was a hint of hostility still in the air, and in this instance, Bea was the peacemaker between them both. "Me and Proctor have had a plan to get Sonia off the top dog mantle ever since she stepped up" Bea stated, Vera surprised by this.
Nobody except all the women that were on their side knew about the whole arrangement so this was news to Vera. She was pleasantly surprised as she knew that somebody rational was planning to make a step for top dog again. "We want to represent a democratic and united front with a few policies. One of them being no drugs" Bea smiled, Vera instantly knowing where Bea was going with this. She was going to need something in return in order to get to the top.
"We're waiting. We've got a few women that are convincing Sonia's women that they have backed the wrong horse and that they don't want to be in the crew of somebody who's pure interests are profit and about themselves" Kaz stated, Vera eying the pair suspiciously. She was a bit surprised by the sudden alliance of the two power figures, but knew that the one thing that brought them together was Allie Novak. Vera then suddenly got confused. "What do you mean?" Vera said, Bea looking at Kaz, but the blonde understanding that she did not know about Tina and Sonia's alliance.
"Sonia has a share in Tina's business and protects her. That's how there has been no repercussions about the overdoses" Kaz stated, Vera cursing under her breath for not putting two and two together. "Tina gets the gear in through the cleaning supplies and then dishes it out. The cut gets given to Sonia through the laundry" Bea said, Vera rapidly scribbling down all this new information to her. She was amazed at how much that they knew that she didn't. As governor, it was her job to know everything that went on. In practicality, it did not work that way.
"So, how are you going to shut them down then?" Vera queried, Kaz looked over at Bea. "There is only one way that I know how that will work effectively enough for the long run" Bea said, the other two perking up to listen to Bea's proposed idea. "The women will deliberately show their dislike towards Sonia. Hopefully, she will then get very angry and order some sort of meeting. With this meeting, we'll be able to stand up to her. But the problem is, that means violence will be involved" Bea stated, Kaz and Vera both looking on.
A governor knew that she had to play dirty in order to keep control of the women but she knew that her conscience would not be clear if she agreed to have somebody brutally injured all for the sake of power. She would not be a dutiful governor if she did so. "Are you suggesting that I let you commit an act of violence?" Vera snorted, almost laughing but knowing that she was going to have to be lenient. "I don't know, governor. Do you want to keep your job?" Bea questioned with honesty. Vera frowned at the redhead, knowing that she hated being proved wrong. Kaz remained silent for the exchange of comments, knowing better than to get involved.
"Bea is right. There is no other way that the union will set in stone unless we make an example of Sonia. It's an unwritten rule that all the women follow by which puts us in an unfortunate position. However it will be better for the long run. Surely you can see that" Bea proposed, almost begging. Bea just wanted some sort of peace and to keep her head down for the rest of her sentence, knowing she was going to spend her life behind these bars. Vera pondered before nodding slowly. "What do you need?" she asked, almost in a whisper as it was unearthly quiet.
"We are going to have to gather the women in some sort of area so I guess we will wait until it's Sonia's call. That way we'll get all the women and it won't look so suspicious. Sonia will not be expecting an attack if she summons everyone else. It's the perfect ambush" Kaz mused, Vera very impressed by both of the women's smarts. Vera knew better than to ask too many questions. As she wiped a line of sweat off her brow, she decided to dismiss the two women. "Send Doreen from H1 to tell me where you will be having your meeting. I will make sure the guards are rostered away and the CCTV scrubbed" Vera said, the two women nodding.
Vera had no idea what she had just signed up to, but she hoped that it would be enough for her to keep her job. She had worked too hard to let it go now and she knew that she was going to have to be lenient in some circumstances in order to be able to play the long game. She understood that a union between Kaz and Bea would be better for the women and more convenient for her. For Bea, this one was personal to her. She lost Debbie and she knew that she could not let Allie succumb to the same fate by having drugs loose on the prison. For Kaz, it was the same, she could not stand to see women being hooked to the poison that would eventually lead them to their inevitable deaths.
They all just hoped that the women would listen to them and what they had to say. They all had voices and this was their opportunity to use them. Bea knew that if they had got enough of the women's support, there would be strength in numbers and therefore it would make getting Sonia off the throne of top dog a lot easier and more efficiently for her and Kaz. She just hoped that it would work.
