Chapter 8

The bus ride to the Cleveland jail was silent. In fact, minus the bus driver, there was only one inmate on the bus; John Shaw, temporarily going under the name Dean Ambrose. John Shaw was clean shaven with short cropped hair and wearing a long ersleeved light blue denim shirt with a white wife-beater underneath and navy blue denim jeans. His wrists and ankles were handcuffed together with a long chain in the front connecting the two sets of shackles.

John sat in his seat looking out the window, his mind racing with questions such as would he be able to identify the men responsible for the two beatings on the two inmates with drugs found in their cells and would his family be okay without him at home?

The bus had pulled up to a gated area. John saw that he had arrived. He inhaled and exhaled a breath as the gate doors opened allowing the bus to pass through. The gate doors shut from behind as the bus was out of the way. John glanced at the barbwired fences, the inmates and the guards out in the yard. Although John had done countless undercover jobs, he figured this would come easy for him. However, he had never faced anything like this. Other jobs were easy, but this? This was new territory for him.

Literally, and figuratively.

He'd never been to prison. Never. He had always been a good person and always behaved. He had put numerous people behind bars, but had never experienced that himself until a few nights prior. He had asked Captain Calaway if for practice he could bunker down in the jail cells at the precinct for a few nights to get a brief feel of the experience. Captain Calaway agreed.

John Shaw's job consisted of bringing people to justice. He was all about justice. He was the definition of justice. He represented justice and he would continue to do so until the day he died, which, he hoped, wasn't during this case.

The bus came to a stop near the front of the building. The driver opened the door letting two officers step inside. They two men looked around and caught the attention of the 'inmate'.

"Just the one," the shorter of the two asked.

"Yep."

"Any problem with this one," the taller one queried.

"He was actually pretty quiet. Never heard a peep out of him."

Both officers approached John as the bus driver turned in his seat to watch the scene before him playing out. John knew at that moment there was no turning back now. John looked up at the men, his eyes darting back and forth among them.

"What are you nimrods looking at?"

"Another lowly worm walking the face of the Earth," the taller one replied.

John chuckled. "Worms don't walk, they slither..You look like a smart guy. You should have known that. Then again, you must be as stupid as you look."

The insulted officer reached forward and backhanded John across the face.

"I can already tell I'm gonna have trouble with you, boy."

John chuckled again meeting the man's eyes once more. "Boy? The name is Ambrose. Dean Ambrose."

"I know who you are, Dean Ambrose. Then again, I wish I hadn't known you."

John flexed his jaw. "What are you? Samoan?"

"And proud of it."

"Name?"

"Roman Reigns."

"Hmm. Roman Reigns. Well, listen up. That little love tap of yours was weak. Pathetic. Of course, those two words are what I could also use to describe you."

Roman went to take another swing at John when his partner stopped him.

"It's not worth it, man. Don't stoop to his level."

"And you are?"

"Rollins. Seth Rollins."

John laughed out loud. "This just keeps getting better and better. Seth Rollins? I actually have a better name for you."

"Oh? And what exactly would that be?"

"Well...let me ask you this. What's another 4-letter word that starts with an 'S'...and is another name for poop? That would be my new name for you."

Seth looked at Roman standing to his right. "Pick him up."

Roman walked to where John sat and yanked him from his seat. Roman positioned John in front of himself. Seth stepped forward and slapped John hard across the face.

"We are gonna have trouble with this one, aren't we, Roman?"

"I believe so, Seth."

Seth clasped John's face by the chin and forced their eyes to meet. "You had better behave yourself, Deany-Boy. You're dealing with us now."

"And if I don't behave?"

Roman roughly spun John around to face him gripping John by both arms. "Just do what we tell you to do and there won't be anymore trouble."

John smirked. "You can't tell me what to do."

"You're in our world now. It's our rules. And you will abide by them. Move it."

Seth stepped to the right allowing John and Roman to pass. The 3 men began to exit the bus. Before Seth stepped out, he pulled out a crisp 50 dollar bill and handed it to the bus driver.

"You never saw nothing. Not a word to anyone."

The bus driver tucked the money into his jeans pocket. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Good man."