Charlie Goes to Jail
Disclaimer: Standard, don't own the show.
A/N: Thanks to OhBuddy66, TMVH50, aviaryfriend, wotumba1, knirbenrots, Guest M, Ziva sofia, and Hoosier65 for the reviews!
The chill of the fridge had seeped through their clothes and Deeks found himself starting to shiver from the cold. To distract himself, he took a moment away from staring out the window at his limited view of the kitchen and examined the door. He found something of interest and pointed it out to Billy. Billy smiled and held up a finger, signalling him to wait. Deeks went back to watching while Billy scavenged through the kitchen.
"Here." Billy held out an empty mesh bag.
Deeks had found the emergency knob that connected to the lever which opened the fridge. When it was pushed, it opened the door from the inside. However, if it was stopped from being moved, the door would stay closed. Deeks wrapped the bag around the knob and tugged on it. "Is this going to hold?"
"It can hold fifty pounds of onions, I think it can handle being yanked on." Billy leaned back against one of the shelves. "We also have ammunition to chuck too." He threw an onion in the air and caught it with a grin.
"Defense with vegetables, that's a new one." Deeks rolled his eyes and piled the bulbs Billy handed him in a neat pile on the closest shelf.
Wyma split his time between watching the monitors and the floor. He called out the positions of the guards to the four creeping their way through the maze of hallways.
"Whoa, hold up." Wyma squinted at the screen. "Problem: looks like there's a dozen or so inmates grouped in the southwest corridor."
Seigler's voice came over the radio. "I thought all the cell doors are locked."
Wyma cursed under his breath. "The doors are. Chris is talking to them. Sorry Seigs."
"I've accepted the fact that my former friend is a bastard. Now where is he so I can yell at him?" Seigler sighed.
A scan of the floor plan made Wyma wince. "It's going to be tricky – I want to keep you away from the cells so the inmates don't alert them to your presence."
"Take your time…but do it quick." Granger spoke, urgency humming through his words. "I have a bad feeling about this."
"The crazies are hanging in the hallway. Consider our sixes covered." Chris joined Herb and Liam. "Anyone who manages to get the door open to this wing'll have to go through them first."
Liam shook his head. "This is turning into something too messy."
"Do I need to remind you how many zeroes are on your bank account?" Herb sneered.
"If we get to spend it." Liam huffed. "When this over, I'm buying a plane ticket. I don't want to do this anymore."
Herb punched Liam's shoulder. "Get it together. We smoke out the mole, make sure he's not telling his side of the story, and tell the brass that he started a riot. Problem solved."
"We have to find him first." Chris pointed out as he scanned the doors lining the corridor.
"Split up, Chris, you search the yard and scan the cells. Check in with Luke and see if he's found them in between fending off calls from the warden. Me and Liam will clear these rooms." Herb left no room for argument as he pushed at Liam to get him moving. Chris and Liam shared a look but followed the given orders.
Deeks launched himself away from the window and slammed his back against the fridge wall. His grip on the mesh bag tightened as he pulled it taunt. Billy straightened and grabbed an onion off of the shelf.
"Why can't they store heavy pots and pans in here?" Billy hissed under his breath as he and Deeks shared a look.
This was it. Any decent guard wouldn't skip checking the fridge since it was an obvious place to hide. The problem Deeks had when rushing to create this plan was that he'd spent less than a week exploring the wing and his limited excursions had found very few possible spots. He knew it was because there weren't supposed to be places to tuck away in a prison. Still, he half-wished whoever designed it wasn't so good at their job. Then he remembered who was locked in the solitary wing, they didn't want him getting free any time soon, and felt a bit of guilt. He shoved it down beside where the guilt over Billy had been roiling for the last few days. He needed to focus.
The footsteps came up to the door and Deeks pushed every ounce of strength he had into holding the knob and keeping the door from unlatching. The first tug on the outside handle was half-hearted, but the second was more enthusiastic. A voice called out and the third try was a full yank. Deeks felt like his arms were being pulled out of their sockets but he hung on through sheer determination.
A conversation was held and the footsteps moved away. Billy and Deeks hunkered down because they knew what was coming next.
They didn't have to wait long.
Bullets ripped into the door, tearing the metal and sending insulation floating through the air like confetti. A piece of shrapnel or a bullet tore at a section of the bag, but it still held. A lull dropped on them as juice chugged out of ruptured jug. Billy gave Deeks a thumbs-up and Deeks looked over himself to check for injuries. Finding none he smiled back at Billy.
The guards, seeing no response, fired a second round. The glass of the window finally gave way and the shards blew out of the frame, showering them with little pieces. Deeks closed his eyes as he gave his head a shake, trying to dislodge the glass. When he opened his eyes, the bullets had stopped and Billy was launching himself upright. Deeks' jaw dropped as Billy started to pitch onions out of the open window. A shout came from outside and Billy smirked, knowing one of his projectiles found its mark. He threw the last two he had beside him and dropped back into the corner, waiting for the retaliation.
"You want to throw things? Fine!" A yell came from outside.
Cover fire, identified by the single shots spaced close enough to keep them behind cover but far enough apart to conserve ammo, peppered the door. Being pinned down, they could only wait for what was following. An object came flying through the window and Deeks' stomach clenched when his brain processed what it was.
"Cover!" Deeks yelled at Billy as he tried to shove his body under the closest shelf while curling his head into his chest. He tried to maneuver to plug his one ear while squeezing his eyes shut as tight as they could go.
It didn't matter. The ensuing blast from the flash grenade was compounded by the tight space and the metal walls. The overall effect blinded them and left an overpowering ringing rattling through their heads. Deeks equilibrium was shattered and his arms flopped as he tried to push himself upright. Gravity fought him and he slumped over to his side. He was sure his eyes were open, but all he was seeing was light patches and dark shadows. He would've thought he'd gone deaf if it wasn't for the unceasing high-pitched whine. His hand slipped off the bag and he tried again to push himself up.
Sight was the first of the senses to return. Deeks jammed a fist onto the floor and used the horizontal shelves as a reference point to get his body vertical. He acknowledged the fact he probably appeared stone-drunk but there wasn't anyone around to judge as he swallowed to pop his ears and twisted his head to crack his neck.
His lack of hearing meant he wasn't warned when the two guards burst through the now-open fridge door. Deeks was in no condition to fight the man who latched onto his shirt and dragged him out into the kitchen. The other guard dropped Billy beside him against the wall. Deeks could see the one guard was saying something but with his hearing still slowly returning, it was like Deeks was listening to someone talk on dry land while he was underwater. When the one guard pulled a shiv out of his pocket, the worry started to build.
The door to the kitchen opened as Deeks' hearing suddenly slammed back into working order. A guard pushed an inmate into the room. "Found this one hiding outside."
The one guard waved him over, "We'll deal with it. Keep watch outside."
Deeks slowly pushed himself up and took a swaying step away from the wall when the guards' attention was divided. Billy moved in beside him. His mind starting running double-time when he saw the face of the inmate. It was Bart, his original contact.
The guard from the door propelled Bart over to the little group. He then stalked back out into the hallway. Bart stumbled when he was shoved over to Deeks and Billy.
"Herb, Liam…there's something you should know." Bart started to talk. Deeks knew what he was going to say.
"Shut up. I don't care." Herb solved one problem for Deeks. "Here's the deal. Say your final prayers, because you're not leaving this room."
Deeks swallowed. He realized he had made the decision a long time ago without even really thinking about it. He lifted his head to look at the two guards, this was the time to make his stand…and his amends. With a strong voice he said "This is a very bad idea."
