Iron Point

Quick note: I had edited the previous chapter and changed the name of Gofer to Dutch and I also rewote some of his lines. The character of Gofer will appear later doing something else. In other words, he will be separate.

One night, Jack slept on the top bunk in his cell. It had been weeks, almost a month since his incarceration. It wasn't his finest hour. A good amount of the population, at least in the block he was in, they wanted his head on a platter. The good thing about this was that Hildy and Chris came to visit from time to time. Even Chris came to visit his father, Prentiss, whom Jack liked to call "Preacherman."

While he was asleep, he started to toss and turn. It has always been known that if someone has visions in their sleep, it won't be long until the person awakens. In that case, Jack started to get these weird visions while he lied there asleep.

Jack found himself back at the construction site for that subway. He saw signs everywhere with the name Pinnacle on them, whether it was the hotels and businesses, as well as Pinnacle Construction as the mayor owned this company and he likely funded for this project. He looked around the site. Several construction workers were strapped, gunshots were heard. Jack ran along with Shadow as the paths on the site widened and lengthened. Many more gunshots were heard.

A trail of blood was seen on the ground, and the more Jack walked down the path, the streak of blood extended right all the way up until he reached the entrance to the subway that was still under construction. The door opened, right before Jack's eyes was Frank, his own father, standing with visible gunshot wounds, blood running down his torso oozing out of the wounds. It was a very unsettling sight, especially with Frank standing there among the living.

"Dad…," Jack said. "You're okay."

"Jack," Frank said as if his voice had a weird distorted vibe. "The man who shot me…"

"What? Who shot you?!" Jack said.

In a quick flash, Jack found himself back in Augie Blatz's place. He looked around, in this dream, the entire room widened and extended. Jack ran right towards the couch where Augie was tied up and gagged. The feeling of shock never escaped Jack, but he drew his weapon regardless, and then BANG! BANG! The gunshot came from behind. That same flamboyant assassin from before, Patch stood over Jack's wounded body as he looked up right at the assassin holding that golden pistol. Jack looked right at the end of the barrel, ready to seal his fate.

"Ready to die, Officer Slate, I'll make it worth your while," Patch said with his accent and vocabulary. "You wanted to avenge your father's death. I think I can propose a better offer, mate. You shall join your father very soon."

The way this man talked, he had this proper way of speaking, as he spoke the Queen's English.

"Kill me," Jack said.

"What have you like, sir," Patch said, holding the gun right to Jack's face and then BANG!

Out of the blue, Jack's eyes popped open as he slept in the top bunk in the cell. Darkness brooded through the windows of the prison. It was late at night. Preacherman slept in the bottom bunk as they shared the same cell.

The dream he had, Jack wondered if there was any meaning. For a few minutes, Jack stared directly at the ceiling.

All I can think about was those nights when everything had changed, especially the night when my dad was murdered.

A lot of this did not add up. I know I was brooding with so much rage that I needed to get answers. Augie Blatz was my number one target. Whoever had him killed knew that I would be there right when it happened. Someone had to know about my old man's grudge against Blatz. Whoever ordered this even plotted me to get sent to Iron Point.

If I didn't go after Blatz, I wouldn't be knee deep in this shit.

It was the next day. So much was on Jack's mind, ranging from the night his father was killed to the night he was framed. Jack's schedule was pretty basic as he would do some work during the early parts of the day after having breakfast and taking a shower. He would go and handle some tasks in parts of the prison.

But the one place he would often go to alleviate his own personal stress was the prison's gym. For the amount of time he had been locked up, he had been working out a lot; likely making up for the time he spent grieving his father's death when he drank away his sorrows.

Jack had the top part of his jumpsuit undone, revealing a white tank-top, as well as displaying tattoos on his arms, with one reading USMC on his right shoulder. He had lifted weights, ranging from doing arm curls, bench press, and deadlifts. Afterwards, he spent time using the speed bag in the gym. A British inmate approached him.

"Hey there, mate." Jack looked to his right and saw the man coming up.

"Hey, no worries, bloke, just noticing that you're quick with the punches," the inmate said. "My name's Deckard, by the way. I'm impressed with your speed on the bag."

"Um, thanks, I'm just trying to keep fresh with my skills," Jack said. "I'm Jack, by the way."

"I know who you are, mate," Deckard said. "In fact, you're quite well known here."

"Not in the mood to talk about this," Jack said and proceeded to walk away.

"Not so fast, mate," Deckard said. "I hear that a lot of muppets and tossers want your fucking head, and I saw how you are quick with your fists. My advice is that if you need to hone your skills, go see Stinger over by the ring."

Deckard pointed to a bald black man, who looked to be in his late-30s to early-40s. It had to be Stinger. He was throwing punches to a large punch bag close to the boxing ring. Jack walked over to the punching bag. Stinger took a breather by the time he got there.

"Are you still using this?" Jack said.

"Just taking a breather right now, but I saw you with the speed bag," Stinger said. "If you want to use the big bag, go ahead."

A deep breath went out of Jack's mouth as he put on some gloves. The moment Jack went into a stance, he threw a few punches right to the bag. The more he threw them, the more aggressive he got and the punches got harder. It even led to a point where Jack started throwing kicks, as well as a roundhouse kick, and finally a jump spin kick to the bag. Deckard walked up, Stinger looked at Jack's attacks with so much intrigue.

"Not bad, man," Stinger said. "You seem like you have seen a few scraps in your time. Are you a kickboxer or something? With those moves, you sure seem like you've been in some fights."

"Something like that," Jack said. "I have trained in boxing, kickboxing, and Krav Maga. I also served in the Marines."

"Well, I saw how hard you punched, like you got a lot of fire in you," Stinger said. "You ever want to spar, just let me know. Take out your frustrations on the bag. But if you want to show me what you got, just let me know. What's your name?"

"I'm Jack," he said.

"Okay, they call me Stinger around here," Stinger said and shook Jack's hand, especially out of respect for his skills. "If you want to go a few rounds with me, just let me know."

"I will," Jack said and walked away.

The next day, Jack continued his routine. It was hard to adjust to prison life, but he was there and it was something he had to do. It was now lunchtime. Jack walked around and found Preacherman sitting alone at a table. Being that he was Jack's only friend in prison, he often sat with him, if it wasn't enough sharing a cell with him.

"Still thinking about your old man?" Preacherman said.

"Not a day goes by," Jack said.

"Frank was one of the good ones," Preacherman said. "Always did right by me even on the outside. Even before I got in this hellhole, I always told him that God has a plan for all of us."

"Sometimes I wonder if your boy is like a guardian angel to me, especially since I almost got killed one night," Jack said. "And Dad always knew a good man when he met one."

"It's too bad the judge didn't think so, and Chris is a good boy," Preacherman said. "He came by to visit me recently. He asked about you."

"What did you say?" Jack said.

"I told him everything," Preacherman said. "I told him you live in the same cell as me. He even said that next time he comes by, he'll be sure to visit you as well."

"That's great, I'm glad to hear that," Jack said.

As they were eating their lunch, Preacherman's eyes shifted a little to his left. The clarity in his glasses made things apparent as a few inmates from a distance were eyeing Jack. One man had a shaved head and mutton-chop sideburns, he was known as "Mad Dog." Another man had a beanie and sunglasses, was rather muscular and had the top part of his prison suit undone and tied, revealing a plain white T-shirt, known as "Big Arm Tony." Finally, who seemed the leader of the leader of their pack was a man with a shaved had, wearing his prison suit the same way as Big Arm Tony, revealing a lot of tattoos on his arm, as well as a shaved head with tattoos on his head and some on his face. This man was called "Tattoo." The trio of men had their eyes on Jack, like maybe they had something planned.

"Jack, do not turn around," Preacherman said. "But there are some men who look like they want to take you out."

"How many?" Jack said.

"Three men, but like I said, don't turn around or they'll know you're onto them," Preacherman said.

The two continued eating their lunch. The food may be bad, but he needed to show that he had no idea that he was being watched. But out of his left peripheral, he noticed a tall and muscular African-American inmate named Mac hassling a smaller, yet somewhat paunchy inmate who was clean shaven and wore eyeglasses. Even worse, Jack noticed Mac reaching for something, and it looked shiny.

Jack quickly got up and walked towards his left with his tray in hand. Just his tray, as no food was on it.

"Where are you going?" Preacherman said. He was met with no verbal response, as Jack walked right towards the two men. As Mac got out his shiv, ready to shank the guy, Jack sped up and raised the tray. The moment Mac turned to his right, Jack swung the metal tray and clocked Mac right in the face. BAM! The sound of the impact drew the attentions towards other inmates in the cafeteria, as well as any guards that were around.

Mac tried to grab the shiv. It was barely in his reach, but Jack stood over him.

"Don't even try, asshole," Jack said and kicked the blade from Mac's reach.

"Fuck you, pig," Mac said. "Yeah, I know who you are."

"Doesn't everybody?" Jack said, sarcastically.

Mac glowered at Jack for what he just did. Unbeknownst to Jack, Tattoo and his cohorts slowly walked towards, but Big Arm Tony stopped Tattoo, who appeared to have a shiv of his own in hand.

"No, we'll handle that fucker soon," Big Arm Tony said.

Meanwhile, the guards went up to Mac to get him and to separate him from Jack, whom also had some guards near him.

"Stop, wait," the bespectacled guy said to the guards. "This man saved me."

It was clear that he knew that he was about to get shanked, even though Jack and the guards were surprised to hear this.

"Thank you," the bespectacled man said to Jack.

"Don't mention it," Jack said.

"Wait, listen, I'll repay you somehow," the bespectacled guy said. "I owe you, but you got to keep these assholes off me. Some of these guys have been fucking with me lately and I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do."

"Okay, I'll keep them off your ass," Jack said. "What's your name?"

"My name is Tim," the bespectacled man said. "But people call me Wireboy. You must be Jack Slate."

"In the flesh," Jack said.

"Well, thanks for saving my ass," Wireboy said.

"Like I said, don't mention it, and I'll keep an eye for any of these motherfuckers," Jack said. Wireboy nodded his head in response to that.

However, as Mac was being taken away, he shoved the guards away from him and turned around.

"This ain't fuckin' over, cop!" Mac yelled. "Next time, I'll fucking stab your motherfucking ass!"

The guards cuffed Mac and walked him out of there. The guards would have likely attacked Jack if it wasn't for Wireboy's intervention. The look of this guy, however, it was likely that he would get shanked any day now, or worse.

Meanwhile, Tattoo and his crew backed away.

"So when do we handle that fucker?" Mad Dog said.

"You let me worry about that," Tattoo said. "I got my connections on the outside. Remember, a guy I know came to me to see about taking out that fuck. I know I will take him out. He ain't that tough."

"We can help you out," Big Arm Tony said. "When you get a chance, put in a good word for us and maybe we can get out, too."

"I'll see what I can do," Tattoo said.

It had been almost a week. Jack had gained quite a reputation in Iron Point Penitentiary, although it was mixed. While he was still unpopular with some of the inmates, some people were impressed with how he handled himself against Mac. It appeared that Mac was put in solitary confinement after the incident, much to Sickle's dismay, who had it in for Jack for some reason.

Whenever Jack went to the gym, he trained and sparred with Stinger, who also showed him some new moves. Since word had gone out that a lot of people want Jack's head, Jack needed to gain some new moves and also work on some other things such as instinct when it comes to surviving in Iron Point.

Sometime after that, Jack had walked around the prison yard where another gym area was, as well as a basketball court and a table. Jack sat on the bleachers with Preacherman and Wireboy.

"Hey, Jack," Wireboy said.

"Hello," Jack said with little emotion in his voice. "So tell me something, why do they call you 'Wireboy'? And why were you put in here?"

"I got put in here for hacking and extorting some companies," Wireboy said. "I got caught when it was said that I allegedly stole some of the bonds from Temple Industries."

"Temple Industries? You tried to steal from Julian Temple?" Jack said.

"I didn't steal shit but some of the blue hats that Temple has working for him probably mistook me cracking into the mainframe and thinking that I posted some illegal shit on there," Wireboy said.

"You tried to fuck with a rich media mogul, you're likely to get your ass in jail, especially someone like Temple," Jack said.

"Well, computers and technology are my specialty," Wireboy said.

The only response Wireboy got from Jack was a nod. Preacherman turned towards Jack.

"Hey, Jack," Preacherman said. "I see that Tattoo and his boys are looking over here again. What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to see what they want from me," Jack said.

"Are you fucking nuts?" Wireboy said. "I hear that Tattoo is connected on the outside."

"Everyone in the place has connections," Jack said. "Just like I know the reason why a lot of people in here want to shank me. You have to know one thing, I have been through a lot of shit, whether it's busting criminals or even in my time in the Marines. I am not afraid of those guys."

And just like that, Jack got up and walked away from Preacherman and Wireboy as they still sat on the bleachers. Tattoo and Mad Dog looked up.

"Hey, look who's coming over here," Mad Dog said.

"Well, well, the pig does have a death wish, huh?" Tattoo said, giggling a bit, reaching for a pocket on his jumpsuit.

"Shut up," Mad Dog said. "He doesn't know anything about that."

The two convicts stood apart, revealing that a table was behind them as Big Arm Tony sat at a table. Right in front of Tony was an empty chair.

"Well if it ain't the killer cop himself," Tattoo said. "You got a lot of balls walking around in this place. I am surprised you ain't dead yet."

"Fuck you," Jack said.

"What do you want, Slate?" Mad Dog said.

"I want to know what your problem is with me," Jack said. "For a while I have noticed that you've been looking at me, like you want me dead or something."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Tattoo said, trying to hide it, but Jack wasn't buying it.

"Whatever, I just want to settle this," Jack said. "Why don't we have ourselves a little wager? If I beat you guys, you will stop trying to fuck with me and my crew."

"And if we win?" Tattoo said.

"Well, you get to do what you want, but I still want you guys to leave Preacherman and Wireboy alone," Jack said.

"Can't make that promise, pig," Tattoo said. "But what's the catch?"

Jack looked over and saw Big Arm Tony sitting at the table. For a while now, whenever Jack went to the prison yard, he would see Tony engaging in arm wrestling. Each and every time, Tony would win. There was a reason he was called Big Arm Tony.

"I take on Big Arm Tony in an arm wrestling match," Jack said, to which Tattoo and Mad Dog replied with a laugh.

"I am serious," Jack said.

"You think you can beat me?" Big Arm Tony said. "Okay, how about a round of one arm?"

"You're on," Jack said.

Right then, Tattoo and Mad Dog stopped laughing. Jack went ahead and sat right in front of Big Arm Tony, who had arm ready with his elbow on the table. Jack looked him dead in the eye, even with Tony wearing shades. The hands locked and the match was on. Tony immediately pushed Jack's arm with all of his strength, but Jack didn't budge as he held his right arm up as hard as he could. Tony continued with all of his might to try to get his opponent's hand to hit the table. As a matter of fact, both men tried with all of their might. For a bit, Tony had the advantage, but Jack wasn't about to go down like a punk. Both men breathed hard to continue using their strength. Right when both men were at the starting position, Jack pushed Tony's arm to the left a bit, in his perspective.

There was no doubt that Tony had his nickname for a reason as he was not only muscular and had big arms, but also a lot of strength. Jack pushed Tony's arm down some more as looked like it was getting closer to the table. Big Arm Tony continued to struggle; Jack had this match in the bag. With so much force, Jack pushed Tony's hand right to the table and BAM! Jack was the winner.

Without any word, Jack stood from the chair and proceeded to walk back to Preacherman and Wireboy. From behind, though, Tattoo reached for his pocket and pulled out a shiv. As Jack was walking towards his crew, Preacherman and Wireboy signaled to him with minor pointing. Jack quickly turned around and saw that Tattoo had the blade in hand, in a stabbing position. Jack quickly blocked the shanking attempt and grabbed Tattoo by his right wrist, twisted his arm and hit Tattoo's arm from the bottom as he hit the man's forearm, close to the elbow, fracturing Tattoo's arm. Tattoo howled in pain.

"Nice try, Tattoo, but you're fucking with the wrong man," Jack said.

"Fuck you, Slate!" Tattoo yelled as he held his right arm, aching in so much pain.

But it didn't end there. Mad Dog and Big Arm Tony, along with a couple of other inmates approached Jack ready to attack. But Jack wasn't about to go down without a fight. Mad Dog tried to punch him a few times, but Jack dodged the attacks and laid a few hits on him. Tony tried to attack Jack from behind, but was met with a couple of punches and a roundhouse kick as soon as Jack turned around. However, it wasn't long until Mad Dog and the other two convicts grabbed Jack, letting Big Arm Tony to lay a few hits to Jack's stomach and face. They weren't done, as Tony grabbed a hold of Jack, letting Mad Dog have his turn to give him a beating. But Jack quickly laid a swift kick between Mad Dog's legs.

"Ow! Fuck!" Mad Dog yelled. Tony still held onto Jack, but Jack quickly moved his head back, hitting Tony in the face, causing him to let go.

BANG! A shot was heard. Every convict looked up. A prison guard named Johnson fired a shot from his shotgun in the air, warning everybody and having his fellow guards grab onto Tattoo, Mad Dog, Big Arm Tony, and Jack. They were all taken away back inside the prison.

There must be some reason why Tattoo wanted to take me out so badly. I know it's not going to end here. If I am going to spend much more time here, I'm going to watch my ass for the rest of my life. There had to be a way out of here. I got unfinished business on the outside.

Out in Grant City in a tall building known as "Sanderville Heights," in an office was Mr. Sanderville sitting at the end of a table with Dutch and Palmer standing beside him. Right in front of him was a rather muscular man with tan skin, a suit, and a man-bun. Near this man were two women who were twins and had short hair and wore veils. This man was known as Fahook Ubduhl, as it was stated that he was an Arabian prince. No one knew for sure, but he was loaded, had connections, and had power. The twins were named Meeshaka and Shadraka.

"Now, Fahook, before we get down to business, I just want to know if you would like a drink," Sanderville said.

"Of course, I would love a drink," Fahook said.

Sanderville grabbed a bottle of wine and poured some in a couple of glasses. One glass was on his desk, and Sanderville passed the other glass to Fahook.

"Now, Fahook, I understand that you own a lot of property here in Grant City," Sanderville said. "You must know that I have ruled this city for decades and while a lot of organizations may be at war, I believe in the concept of partnerships depending on the, how do I say it? Circumstances."

"Care to elaborate?" Fahook said.

"You see, up until a couple of months ago, I was working with the late Augie Blatz until his untimely demise," Sanderville said. "I thought about having a partnership with the Russians, but Blanjov decided not to work with me anymore. As for others, Fat Chow is only good for his own thing involving providing guns if necessary. But being that you have a lot of wealth and power, I think you could rule Grant City when my time comes."

Fahook sat there with an expression that said, "Hmmmmm, I like the sound of that."

"Well, that's if you're interested in working with me," Sanderville said.

"It doesn't sound like a bad idea to me," Fahook said. "I think we can work a deal, my friend."

"Good," Sanderville said with a smile and put his glass out, waiting for Fahook to do the same so that the glasses could tap each other. "Let's drink to that."

The two crime bosses took a sip of their wine.

RING! RING! RING! Sanderville's phone started ringing. It was his cellphone, at that.

"Let me take this call," Sanderville said. "Hello. Marvin, what's going on? What? I thought you said that he could do the job. No, no, it's not your fault. It seems like we have a bigger problem than we thought. Well, maybe there might be another way to get rid of the problem. I think I will have a word with the mayor about this. Okay, I will talk to you soon, Marvin. Thank you."

After the call ended, Sanderville proceeded to talk with Fahook about his business proposition, but he also remembered that he needed to talk to Mayor Pinnacle about something.

One day, at a restaurant called "The Oar House," Hildy was there waiting tables there with a fellow waitress named Dominique, a young brunette woman who looked to be in her mid-20s, just a bit younger than Hildy. This restaurant was located close to the docks, but not right at the area. The place served seafood mainly, but had variety on the menu.

Hildy and Dominique were on their break as Hildy went the bar and saw a news program being shown.

"…So what's going on with you?" Dominique said. "I hear you're quite a dancer."

"Hey, I don't want you telling people about that," Hildy said.

"Why not? I mean I don't know why you're doing this and dancing on stage," Dominique said. "You get a lot of tips and stuff. You even said that you have a degree in nursing and medical emergency. Me, I'm just working my way through school."

"It's not easy to try to apply for the med field," Hildy said.

"You can try," Dominique said. "I saw you provide some of the cooks with some care after one cut himself, and when one of them burned himself."

Hildy continued to listen to her coworker/friend, but then looked up at the TV as a blonde female news anchor came on. It was Marla Bales, who was about to read the next story.

"In other news, Mayor Pinnacle has issued a new development in the case of the murder of Augie Blatz. Blatz was murdered by former Grant City police officer Jack Slate in cold blood. Mayor Pinnacle has issued a release stating that Jack Slate's sentenced to be shortened and that he will be executed this coming May."

As Dominique continued to talk, Hildy no longer could listen to her. Her eyes widened and her jaw slowly dropped.

"Oh no," Hildy whispered to herself. "Jack."

Meanwhile, at another restaurant called "Emerson Grill," Chris was having a meal with his girlfriend, Melissa. Chris was coming back to their booth from the restroom and passed the bar, where a news report was shown with the same story. This time the report was done by Kip Waterman. Chris listened to every word that was said and a look of shock and concern rose on his face.

It wasn't long until Chris went back to the booth where Melissa was. Chris sat down but couldn't look his girlfriend in the eye.

"Baby, is there something wrong?" Melissa said.

Chris nodded and took a deep breath. "It's Jack."

Author's note: And that's it for this one. Man, this one was not easy because I had trouble on where to go with this one. The next chapter will be the final prison chapter, by the way.

The dream sequence at the beginning was inspired by Max Payne, which many people said that the original game was a rip-off of as it came out a year after Max Payne did. I figured if Max could have nightmares about what happened to his wife and daughter, Jack could have the same about his father and also the night he got framed. Even Max Payne 2 had dream sequences, but thankfully no bits involving walking on a trail of blood.

Although many of the characters from the prison sequence and other ones (except Chris and Melissa, who are my original characters) existed or were mentioned in the original game, Julian Temple was a character from Dead to Rights: Retribution and played a role. No, I'm not going to have him appear (at least I don't plan to). He was just a media tycoon. Besides, I may have included Inness, Redwater, and Marla Bales, all of whom were in Retribution, but I am doing things differently. Hell, Hildy is kind of a composite character with Faith from Retribution, at least how I'm writing her in my story. Speaking of which, I recently bought that game and started playing it, despite having watched the walkthrough on YouTube.

I'm already planning on what to do for the next chapter. I just got to see how I will do it. Stay tuned.