Nikki groaned to herself when she was woken up at two in the morning by the sounds of their crying baby but crawled out of bed along with Helen. After a nappy change didn't do the trick, Nikki took Rose into her arms, rocking with the baby and rubbing her back vigorously. Finally, a spurt of liquid landed on Nikki's nightie.
"Aha, greedy guts. Too much mother's milk. You can have too much of what you want," sang out Nikki quite naturally to Rose who quickly relaxed limply into her arms.
"Well done Nikki," Helen called out softly from behind her, admiring her partner's quick and flexible thinking. They settled the half asleep baby down in her cot and grabbed much needed sleep.
When the alarm clock rang, she was still suffering form a bleary night and quickly shoved on her usual work suit without much thought. Here she was first thing in the morning, hastily touching up her make-up with a life or death investigation on her hands. What's worse was that it was Monday morning, without the rest of the week to get her into gear. Watching from the sidelines, Helen recognised this device to ratchet up much needed confidence.
"You're sure of what Kristine told you?"the smaller woman asked, adjusting her partner's lapels. This gesture reminded Nikki how her mother used to ready her father for a day's work and this thought didn't bother her as it might have done once. Helen knew this.
"Kristine made things crystal clear when she explained it and typed out her statement. It's what use I make use of it in the snake-pit," Nikki said a little nervously. This was counterbalanced by her friend's incisively related story and the way she shooshed her to keep quiet while she rattled out her statement on her computer at lightning speed.
"There's something else. You know I'll get my turn later on, sweetheart. You know you're looking at a relentless career woman who likes moving mountains. I'm taking a break and enjoying what I'm doing. You do this for us as it's an old battle of mine," laughed Helen perfectly seriously, kissing her partner lightly on her lips. Nikki brightened up for the first time that morning as that kiss was the final touch in putting everything in focus.
"You've eased my conscience. I'm as ready as I'll ever be," she laughed. As she gulped down her coffee, she looked down at Rose, still peacefully and innocently asleep. She was fighting for their baby's unknown future, her family and those she was helping through her work. She gave Helen a last farewell kiss and went out the front door armed with the truth and her briefcase towards their red Peugeot.
She zoomed off like a woman on a mission and it was only when she got through the security on the gate when it surprised her that she hadn't had the faintest attack of nerves like she did on her previous visit. Her well-developed sense of irony put it down to a combination of feeling more secure in her present occupation and a bad night helping settle their crying baby. After managing that, all things were possible.
"I've received instructions to escort you to the Governing Governor," Bodybag declared in peremptory tones after she'd passed by Ken on the security gate much as she'd seen him on her last visit. Her prison pass which Ken had given her was pinned to her lapel as an emblem of immunity. Her old enemy had her typical down-turned mouth and glaring eyes. Nikki wasn't to know that since Lou had broken the news to her the day before, she'd had time to become incredibly wound up.
"Suits me," Nikki said with light assurance, her long stride threatening to outpace the other woman who had to scuttle along to keep up. The drive over to Larkhall Prison and this encounter had retuned her nerves to become wire taut, ready for anything, including her preliminary researches on Miss Masterton. On entering the room, the ramrod straight , short-haired woman behind the desk wearing a frown and eyes boring into her confirmed she was right on the mark.
"I've heard of you, Ms Wade,"she growled, declining the outstretched hand.
"Good news I trust. I've been here before you know,"Nikki said lightly.
"So your old prison file tells me. In my book, I'm not sure you're a suitable visitor to be allowed round official premises." Nikki was prepared for this one.
"Just the reaction I expected of you. My credentials say otherwise. If you insist on having me escorted off the premises, I have the choice of two male high court judges to write me out a warrant which I'll be back with in double quick time. If you keep pushing your luck, you'll be summoned before the Old Bailey to explain your actions and either of two barrister friends of mine will make mincemeat of you. Now shall this be done the easy way or the hard way? I'm prepared for either," Nikki retorted in harder tones, anxious to squash his obstructive behaviour at the outset.
Miss Masterton averted her eyes from this young upstart, not being used to such tough opposition to her spit and polish army ways. This woman was dangerously well connected and she had to find some way of saving face. Nikki read the older woman's mind with perfect accuracy.
"So you're a lesbian I hear."
"So are you," came Nikki's cool retort.
"Whatever makes you jump to that conclusion," rapped out Joy Masterton, feeling more and more uncomfortable under her opponent's direct gaze.
"Gaydar. Anyway, what's all this got to do with my visit. I want to get started as soon as possible," Nikki said determinedly, putting on the pressure.
Joy Masterton reached for her phone. For once, she prayed Lou Stoke would be around to take this accursed woman off her hands. Nikki watched with amusement as the phone was answered and agreement was reached and stepped in before the other woman was due to speak.
"After I do the tour of G Wing, I'll come back and of course discuss any matters of interest," she offered politely.
"That may not be very convenient," Joy Masterton said in hard dry tones, her Northern accent becoming more prominent than ever. She had thought that was the end of the matter.
"Then make time for me," Nikki said, drawing her face closer to the other woman and letting her suppressed anger finally burst through her polite exterior. She strolled casually out of the room before the astonished woman could think what to say.
As Nikki paced her way unescorted towards Lou Stoke's office with sweeping strides, her mind was racing. Kristine's clear portrait of the woman whose help she wanted to solicit still left her nervous. She was never more confident in dealing face to face with people and she needed Helen's imagined soft, dulcet tones knowing that her partner used to have to gamble her position in the deadly game of office politics for high stakes. Finally, the dull green painted door opened wide for her and one glance at the alert, friendly long-haired woman told her everything, including that she was devoid of pretence. The two of them started nattering away straight away.
"Tell me Nikki," Lou said with a sharp-eyed look,"something tells me it's mighty coincidental that Kristine Thorne gets her freedom and you turn up. I reckon you know her."
"I had a long chat the other day with that remarkable woman. She was particularly interested on the outcome of the sexual assault on her by Spiers."
"You get straight to the point," grinned Lou."The long and short of it is that my move to ensure he gets his comeuppance has been blocked by his friend on high."
Nikki felt the bitter after-taste of this capable woman's words and wonder how come the closet lesbian who ran the prison could be suckered by Spiers. She didn't doubt Lou's honesty though prudence prompted her to double-check.
"He's part of the same reactionary clique that was around in my day here," Nikki tentatively offered, feeling the cards about to fall on the table.
"Too right you are. I could do with seeing the back of them," Lou said with feeling, sensing possibilities about to open up.
"The worst of them used to be the Principal Officer, Fenner, right at the centre of power on the wing if you let him. He had his allies. From what I hear, only some of the names have changed. Besides him, your enemies who will hold you back and sabotage your efforts are Di Barker, Sylvia Hollamby not to say Joy Masterton."
"Got it in one," Lou said, intensely interested, drinking in every word said to her."With decent replacements, I can do anything, even Buxton though she's as bad as the rest of them except she's more upfront."
"Now is the time for a total clearout. I know the B wing governor of Holloway and their set-up, prisoners and prison officers alike, would keep her in line. No chance of well meaning but naive people being twisted round her little finger."
Lou's smile widened out into a happy grin. She couldn't believe her luck that this smart woman, who definitely knew her stuff, had visited providentially.
"Then you'd better talk to Pat Kerrigan and you can pick up my written statement
by the time you get back from your inspection. Good luck," Lou said softly, shaking the other woman's hand gratefully.
As Nikki came out onto the wing, the Julies' heads swivelled round and they and Denny called out excitedly, much to Bodybag's disgust. A rapid sequence of multiple conversations broke out in a manic attempt to catch up since her previous visit eighteen months previously. Yet here she was, reconnecting as if she'd only popped out for the night for a packet of cigarettes. In fact, the Julies were surprised when their friend politely declined a cigarette, bashfully admitting she was now a mother. This drew loud cheers from the growing crowd, Kris Yates having led the way to see a woman who'd won her grudging respect. She studiously ignored the deepening glare of disapproval out of the corner of her eye as Bodybag's home turf had been wantonly invaded. Asleigh wasn't there to see the visitor as she was down the block for her attempted assault on Kristine so Buxton scowled on her own in the background.
"I ain't going to ask you why you're here seeing as you can drop in anytime but good on you," Julie Saunders observed in her friendly fashion that missed nothing.
"Yeah, the bitch in charge must have come from the SAS. The army can have her back anytime," Denny cynically added. They knew, Nikki thought, tears forming on her eyelids as these generous women who were scratching an existence on prison spends made her feel right at home.
"Gotta go," Nikki said regretfully as she caught Pat's eye from the back of the atrium area. They made way for her as they correctly deduced that Nikki's business with their resident top dog was private business that could only do them good. Pat gestured to Sheena that she had private business. The auburn haired woman looked hurt so the Julies gestured to her to join their company. Thanks to the astonishingly benevolent decision by Lou Stoke to move her into Pat's double cell, she was on fire all over with desire for the dark-haired woman even with the nights of passion she enjoyed so that Pat's unexplained decision felt like rejection. Out of the corner of her eye, Pat felt a little guilty but gut instinct told her that conspiracies needed as few in on the deal as possible.
Once they'd sat down in the limited spare space in the cell, Nikki couldn't get a word in edgeways to begin with. Pat had changed markedly since the ice-cool, hard wary woman Nikki had met in Holloway Prison. This creature was brimming over with emotions, firstly for the resourceful and brave former cellmate who didn't need to put her neck on the line and next for the love of her life, Sheena Williams who'd dissolved away her hard defences and showed her a shiny soft world beyond the grim slog of everyday survival.
"I've never been in love with a woman before. It feels so good,"Pat admitted with touching sweetness and a glow in her eyes.
"I was an early starter but my partner Helen had never been with a woman before me and we're here for the long run. We've just had our baby so it must mean we're serious."
"Good for you Nikki," Pat said softly without a blink."If Helen's anything like you, your child will be brought up right. Let's face it, I ended up in a Catholic children's home so anything's better than my upbringing." Nikki rode along the switchback ride of the intensity of Pat's emotions. It recalled the more fractured episodes in Nikki's past so she could relate to it.
"You impress me. Not many people impress me but you and Kristine do and that means something," Pat continued, feeling her friend's thoughts in conversation.
"Thanks. Thanks a lot for everything you've done for Kristine but we must get down to business. We need to talk and get a statement about the assault on Kristine as I know I'm going to need it to nail the bastards responsible," Nikki replied in apologetic tones, hating to curtail this necessary overflowing of emotions.
After Pat had run rapidly through her account of the past two weeks, she smiled in a conspiratorial fashion. She stood up to fish out a crumpled, folded over piece of paper out of her front jeans pocket. She straightened it out and Nikki inspected the prison issue paper and Pat's rather unshapely script. At first glance, there were all sorts of spelling mistakes and unshapely grammar until Nikki got past it and admired the hard work that had gone into it. It was just as raw and intense as its composer and gripped Nikki's attention and the wide-eyed woman wouldn't change a single word in it when she'd finished.
"I was never much much good at English," Pat said in embarrassed tones as she knew what she wrote wasn't slick or intellectual."My best friend in the home used to keep a diary till she hung herself. She was more educated, much good that it did her. You can retype it and smarten it up if you want."
"Don't change it Pat. It's real and there's nothing you've said that misses out anything you've written," Nikki said in soft admiring tones. Pat smiled bashfully. No one had ever congratulated her on written work before, certainly not her late boyfriend, who'd kicked the crap out of her at the time until she had to defend herself by stabbing him.
"Do you think you'll finally sort this dump out? If I didn't think that religion is a load of shit, I'd say it needs exorcising," Pat suddenly said after a long reflective pause. The thought of chanting Hail Mary's and clutching rosaries made Nikki smile.
"Fenner used to be the Principal Officer before Bodybag and he was an evil bastard and when he snuffed it, I thought that would sort it out. This time I mean business, more than embarrassing the Prison Service in writing critical reports. I'm not kidding."
It was Pat's turn to feel the intensity behind the other woman's polite middle class manners. She believed in her guts that this woman had done time and grinned broadly.
"Anyway, I'd better get on to talking to Selena and I'd better let you get back to your lover," Nikki said lightly. A soft foolish smile spread across Pat's face. It did her good to hear her relationship with Selena being spoken of this way.
Nikki was on her own strolling along the corridors to track down Selena before returning to her more orthodox aspects of study update. She was overjoyed how splendidly her investigation was proceeding as she had thrown off her early morning tiredness. Being so focussed on her errand, she rounded the corner without thinking and bumped into a blond-haired woman coming from the opposite direction with immaculate make-up, blue eyes and sharp features.
"Oi," the other woman called out in nasty tones."Watch where you're going."
"I'm terribly sorry. I wasn't looking," Nikki apologised in the natural accents and good manners of her upbringing.
"So you're the do gooder. Coming round here and dissing the screws. I saw you earlier on, everyone kissing your arse. You should know it's not safe around here and no screw wanting to protect you," the other woman said with an evil leer. Instantly, Nikki knew who this other woman was and she was in for trouble.
"It was an accident. They happen you know," Nikki countered with an edge to her voice."You're Buxton."
"Got it in one. And guess who's top dog around here," Natalie sneered, edging closer. Instantly, Nikki reverted to the instincts of her former self and squared up to her enemy. Sure enough, Buxton threw a lightning fast jab to Nikki's head followed by a punch with her left fist which Nikki dodged followed by the third and fourth punch. The dark haired woman was waiting for her enemy to expose herself and she seized the split second chance to hold her enemy's right arm in a half nelson and bear her enemy to the ground with far more strength than Buxton suspected she possessed.
"Hey, I need backup here," Nikki called out in carrying tones that echoed down the corridors. She used the first words that came into her head that fitted the situation. She made sure to hold her squirming enemy to the ground as she was spitting out curses. A clatter of shoes echoed down the corridor and Nikki was overjoyed to see Colin Hedges and Selena Geeson zero in on them.
"We'll take over," Colin Hedges kindly offered."You're for it this time Buxton," he said forcefully into the woman's ear.
"It's all a big mistake. This maniac suddenly set on me. You should watch who you let into this place," Buxton said, red faced and her hair dishevelled
"Sure Buxton. We believe you," Selena said sarcastically, reaching for her handcuffs and clicking them shut."What do we do with her."
"We'll get her down in segregation and then tell the boss. I'm going over Spiers head and I'll get authorisation from Lou Stoke," Colin Hedges said in determined tones as the crestfallen look on Selena's face told him that she feared not getting the backup they wanted. While Bodybag's prejudices were predictable, Spiers was capricious and very likely to take Buxton's side for the most capricious of reasons.
"You all right?" Selena asked, most respectful of this respectable looking woman who had miraculously got the better of this most dangerous of women. Nikki nodded and dusted herself down and picked up her handbag where she'd flung it at the first signs of trouble. She felt a little breathless and ruffled but pleased with herself with this unique trip down memory lane.