EMERALD CITY

E2S1: Genie in a Bottle

Jackson-Charlie Hunnam

Kai-Darren Criss

Riddle-Christopher Meloni

Warden Ross-Idris Elba

LV-Trevante Rhodes

CocaCero-Adam Rodriguez

Kona-Keanu Reeves

Slick-Kelvin Pena

Babyface-Jeremy McClain

Jax buttoned the second to last button at the top of his denim shirt as he looked out at the common area waiting for the doors to unlock and for Kai to wake up. For someone who had been in prison for less than a week, the rookie was holding up as well as Jax had seen anyone else do.

He put his hands on the glass and next, his forehead. He was silently begging for the freedom that the morning crew would allow when they unlocked the doors to the cells.

Kai lay awake facing the wall, so that Jax didn't look at him in his eyes. Jax had cold eyes that could be mistaken for dead and ever since he held what he was convicted for away from Kai, he had been acting cold, too.

Kai heard the click and the door sliding open. He exhaled.

Jax made his way up the stairs of the two-tier unit and into the office of Dr. Michael Riddle.

"Hey, our meeting is today."

"You need me here?" Riddle said as he removed the brown leather satchel from around his chest.

"No, you can't be here." Jax said standing in the doorway leaning against the frame.

"What are you gonna talk about, huh?" Riddle asked. Every other week, the leaders of each group met in Riddle's office to discuss the needs, wants, and rules in Emerald City. Almost like a city council.

"It's really...none of your business." Jax said shifting his weight to rely fully on the door to hold him up.

"Well," Riddle said, standing up and into Jackson's face. "This is my office. It is my business, Jackson." Riddle said in a low voice.

Jax could feel chills up his spine as Riddle said his first name. He had always called him by his last name in front of everyone else, but when they were alone…

"I told you to stop doing that." Jax said, just above a whisper.

"Okay, fine." Riddle said, backing away. He sat on the edge of his desk, looking directly at Jackson. "You and LV and Kona and Cero, you can have the office for thirty minutes."

"An hour." Jax said firmly.

"No, that's insane."

"You know what else is insane?" Jax said walking towards the older man and standing directly in front of him.

"Tell me."

"That it takes one meeting with Warden Ross to get you in a lot of trouble." Jackson said quietly, so that the guard outside of Riddle's door couldn't hear him.

"You never play fair, do you?"

"How long have you known me?"

"Fine, one hour. But after that, I'm coming in and kicking you guys out, with force if need be." Riddle said gathering his things and making his way to the door. "You like force, don't you?"

"So, we have one hour. We have a lot to talk about." Jackson stared at the clock. 10am. Perfect.

"I want to talk about tits." Cero mumbled. They all knew they were being watched. 'Tits' was code for drugs inside the walls of Oswald Penitentiary.

"We talk about tits at every fucking meeting." Jackson said, sitting on the desk of Dr. Riddle. " LV, what you got to say?" Jackson questioned.

LV had his back to the group, facing the short bookshelf in Riddle's office. He was flipping through War and Peace when Jackson asked and didn't look up with his answer.

"Why your boys complain so much?" LV asked with his back still turned.

"They don't. Next issue." Jackson shot back. LV put the book in the waistband of his pants and turned around.

"Yes, they do. Last night, it was our shower time, and some 'your' boys told them to get out." LV put air quotes around your and was moving closer to Jackson. "What's the issue? I know y'all don't like us, but we can be civil can't we. What are y'all afraid of anyway. Scared we gon get you like we the fucking boogeyman or some shit." LV was now in front of Jax. "Ah naw, y'all are afraid that our dicks are bigger than yours." LV said grabbing his crotch in front of the other man. Cero stepped in and in between the men facing LV. Jackson was playing it cool, leaning back on the desk on his hands.

"Look, your boys do be wild. Tell them to cut that shit out, aight?" Cero said looking over his shoulder at Jackson. "If it's the Blacks time to shower, then they shouldn't be in there. Understood?"

"I'll tell them to cool it." Jackson relaxed and sat up. LV sat down next to Kona in the swivel chair that was in front of Riddle's desk. "Next."

"Tits." Cero said.

"Fine." Jackson said plainly, inspecting his fingernails. "We know the Latinos have them, and don't like to share." LV, Kona, and Jax all looked at Cero, who was in the corner standing.

"Yeah. Well, I got a proposition for you foo's." Cero explained.

"Where'd you learn that big word?" Kona smiled.

"Your mother taught me." Cero snapped back. "Look, I can get you all in on the trade. Have you making as much dinero as I am."

"Yeah." Jax said, genuinely interested.

"Yeah. See, the kid in mi pandilla, Slick,"

"The young buck." LV asked.

"Yeah, yeah. He got the connect, baby." Cero smiled, rubbing his hands together.

"I don't trust it." Kona said looking around to see if anyone was gearing up to agree with him. No one else objected so he continued to listen.

"My boy's baby momma. She got ways, my nigga."

"Right up the chocha." LV smiled.

"Nah, they think she still pregnant. Shawty be rocking a belly and all that shit. The baby is three months now." Cero smiled back.

"Damn. That's genius, Cero." Jax smiled. "What do we have to gain, though? Why would you want us in on your game?"

"I don't. I just thought I'd make you an offer."

"For a cut." LV said looking at Jax and then at Cero.

"Nothing in life is free, amigos." Cero said lighting a cigarette he had pulled from his pocket.

"I'm out then, I'm not gonna get into business with slime and I'm not taking the wrap when your boys snitch on us." LV said matter-of-factly.

"Snitch. My boys don't do that shit. And if you're out then you're out. You'll never be back in, so don't ever ask. Your boys can keep on sniffing cleaning supplies and choking each other out."

Jax looked at the tension between them. Their eyes locked, waiting for the other to budge, but they both turned their attention to him.

"I'm out too, C. I can't get my boys addicted." Jax said inspecting his fingernails once again.

Cero laughed through his words. "Yeah right, the gringos got it the worst. The itch."

"Next issue." Jax said looking up at the clock. 10:30am.

"The Asians want more reps in council." Kona said unassuredly.

"Call some of your guys on the outside and tell them to beat somebody to death like you did. You'd have more reps." LV laughed as he turned to Kona in his swivel chair.

"Very funny, LaVon. We'll run this shithole, someday. And we won't waste our opportunity to overthrow the haoles like the Blacks."

"Fuck you."

"No, fuck you." Kona said standing up with his fists balled up. LV stood up with him in a similar stance.

"Hey that's enough." Jax said jumping up and in between the two men. "Look, Kona, LV's right. The Chinks don't have the numbers. You're gonna have to wait until you do."

"We're not 'Chinks'. We're Ohana. Means family, haole." Kona said, sitting down.

"Next issue." Jax said, sitting back down on Dr. Riddle's desk. The room was silent, only filled with the ticking clock. 10:40am. "Can we all talk about the elephant in the room? Some people leave messes in common areas. Messes that include bodily fluid. We're not all animals here. Can we clean up after we fuck?" Jax asked looking in the direction of Cero.

"You think it's us?" Cero questioned pointing at himself to represent the Latinos.

"I didn't say it...but I wouldn't be surprised." Jax looked on menacingly.

"We," Cero said, making a circular motion with his hand signifying himself, Kona, and LV, "don't do that. That's all 'your' boys. Pinche gringos, dirtier than everyone, but wants to talk to us about cleaning up."

"Eat me, C." Jax said, rolling his eyes.

"You'd like that too much." Cero snapped back.

"We can all clean up. Next." Kona said calmly.

"We want to throw a party." LV said. "In the common room."

"Hell no." Jax said, twisting his face. "No parties."

"It's some people's birthdays coming up and we want to throw a party."

"Give them your cake at dinner time, like we all do and carry on. No parties."

"We're gonna do it anyway." LV said smiling and teasing Jax.

"Invite everybody, then, since it's the common area." Cero said looking on intensely.

"No. It's a Black only event." LV said.

"We're Black." Cero smiled. He knew he wasn't wrong.

"Not like us."

"Not like 'Babyface', huh?" Cero asked.

"He just lightskinned." LV laughed. "Look, all the Latin niggas can come. And...your roommate." LV said, looking at Jax.

"Got a crush?" Jax laughed and the other two men followed suit.

"Hell naw." LaVon said, lying through his teeth. "He looked mixed when I met him. Bet he got some nigga in him."

"If not, you'll put some in him." Jax said, rising from the desk. 10:55am

"Ha-ha." LV responded sarcastically.

"Anything else?" Jax asked. As Jax heard silence, the meeting was adjourned and the other men left the room.

Jax waited until 11:00.

"Still here, huh?" Riddle said, throwing his things on the desk. He sat down behind it as Jax walked over to the desk and sat sideways on it.

"I...I was just kidding."

"Bout what?" Riddle inquired furrowing his brow.

"Telling the Warden on you. I wouldn't do that." he said quietly.

"Yeah, everything was consensual, too, right?"

"I'm a prisoner, I can't consent." Jax explained as if Riddle didn't already know this.

"Yeah, but...you liked it...right?' Riddle said very low from the swivel chair behind his desk.

Jax let out a sigh and looked Riddle in the eyes. His icy blue bulbs darted looking for the confidence, almost cockiness, he knew that Riddle possessed. It wasn't there at that moment. Only insecurity and Jax hated when he got like that. There was no reason. "It was fine." He said rising from the desk and rushing out of the room. He knew staying there would make things worse. He shouldn't have stayed behind in the first place. But he had to let Riddle know that their little big secret was safe with him.