I, the Accused Chapter 10, an ironside fanfic

I, the Accused

Chapter 10

Lieutenant Carl Reese understood hostage situations. They took time to come to a satisfactory conclusion. What worried Reese was would there be a satisfactory conclusion in this case. He was concerned for Chief Ironside and Sergeant Brown. Both men were not just fellow police officers, but also two of his closest friends. He knew storming the prison wasn't the answer, but that is exactly what he wanted to do. If the chief and Ed were still in the warden's office, they would be safe, at least for the time being, so storming the prison was out of the question.

The man in charge of the National Guard was Captain Gary Delong. A hostage negotiator was also brought in. Regardless of what the prisoners wanted, Reese was well aware their chances of getting it weren't good. In most of these situations, they demanded more than the state was ever willing to give them.

Lieutenant Reese located the man who would attempt to negotiate the release of Chief Ironside and Sergeant Brown. He was known for being able to negotiate a peaceful settlement between parties. The difference this time was that probably most of the prison population hated Robert Ironside. Carl worried that he was in extreme danger.

The prisoners would be hell-bent on getting into the warden's office. They would figure they would be in a much better bargaining position if they were able to prove they were holding the detective captive.

When Lieutenant Seymour Gilbert saw Reese coming, he knew what he was up against. He was aware of the loyalty Ironside commanded.

"Any word from inside yet?" Reese asked.

"Not yet. It should come shortly though."

"What the hell are they waiting for?" Reese wondered.

"My guess is that they're trying to get to your boss. They probably think they'll have the upper hand if they have him. You know what they're going to demand, don't you?"

Unfortunately, Reese knew exactly what they were going to demand. "Yeah, they're going to want us to release the whole damn prison."

Gilbert was not without feeling. He knew what that meant. If they didn't comply with the inmates' demands, it could mean the forfeit of Robert Ironside's life. "You do realize that I can't do that no matter the consequences."

Reese looked down. "Yeah, I know it. Even if I was the one in charge, I know I wouldn't be able to do it either, no matter how much I wanted to protect Ironside and Brown's life."

"Listen, Carl, we're going to do everything we can to get them out of there. Maybe we'll get lucky, and the prisoners won't be able to get to them."

All Reese could do was nod. He was afraid they wouldn't be that lucky. The inmates would be hell-bent on getting a hold of Ironside. "Let me know as soon as you hear anything."

"You can count on it."

Outside of Commissioner Dennis Randall's office, the phone was ringing continually. Most of the calls were from concerned citizens worried that the inmates from the prison might escape. The most important calls were having a hard time getting through. Mayor Ted Barr was on his fourth call to the Commissioner. Once again, he got a busy signal.

Completely frustrated, the mayor reached into his pocket and pulled out his personal cell phone. Opening the contact application, he was certain he placed Randall's number there. Relieved to find his name, he pressed the icon that would dial the number. He waited while the phone rang. Just before it would go to voicemail, Commissioner Randall answered.

"Ted, I was going to call you, but every line in this office is busy. The people in this city are in a total panic. We can't get a call in or out that matters." Realizing what he just said, he corrected himself. "Well, all of the calls are important, what I mean is …"

"I know what you mean, Dennis. Forget it, we are all under stress here. Have you heard anything about Bob yet?"

"No, but then it is too early. The inmates are probably deciding what they want to demand."

"They are going to demand that we pull all National Guard, Police and SWAT teams out of the area. They'll want the entire prison population to be allowed to walk out. That way, they will figure some of them will definitely get away. Dennis, they will use Bob as leverage. Regardless if they do, you know we will never be able to meet that demand."

"I know that, Ted. Furthermore, Bob knows it. Let's just hope they can stay barricaded in the warden's office."

There was momentary silence on the mayor's side of the conversation. "Is there anything else we can do? Anything we haven't thought of?"

"We have a hostage negotiator there as well. Seymour Gilbert is about the best there is. He has talked down many situations. We have a presence of the National Guard, a SWAT team, and the San Francisco Police. I just don't know what else we could do. At this point, we have to wait until they contact us."

"Are you sure there isn't something we haven't thought of? We have to get the chief out of there. He's just too valuable to this city."

Randall stood up and walked over to the window. Looking outside, he bowed his head and closed his eyes. Yes, Robert Ironside was extremely valuable to the city of San Francisco. But, to Dennis Randall, he was even more valuable as a friend. He had known Bob Ironside for more years than he could count. Both he and the city council depended on him for so much. Randall couldn't even begin to comprehend the police department without him.

"If there is, I don't know what it would be. No inmate is getting out of that prison. It is surrounded by the National Guard. The problem is, Bob can't get out of there either."

"Why in the hell don't they put a window in the warden's office? We could get him out of there if one existed."

Randall had no doubt that the mayor knew exactly why there were no windows. It would be an escape route for inmates. That, of course, could never be allowed. The prison was designed to keep people inside. It was much like a fortress. Unfortunately, it also kept people outside when the need to get inside arose.

"Don't answer that, Dennis. I know why there's no windows. It is just frustrating we have no way of getting Ironside and Brown out of there. You will contact me as soon as you hear anything, right?"

"As soon as I know, you will know," Randall assured him. After the mayor hung up the phone, Randall put his cell phone back into his pocket. He stood there staring out the window wondering if he would ever see Robert Ironside alive again.

Max Carter really didn't care what happened to any inmate in the prison. He cared about one person, and one person only ... himself. The rest of them could be killed in the riot as far as he was concerned. He was getting out of this hell hole one way or another. Still, he had to play the game. He had to make the demands so outlandish, that the authorities couldn't possibly meet them. He was going to walk out of this prison as a prison guard. Fortunately, the one guard everybody insisted could be his twin brother was not killed at the beginning of the riot. Due to the circumstances, the man was the same size as Carter. He would take his uniform and identification, and walk directly out of the prison. He was certain nobody would question his identity. Carl Reese would be outside with the police. He knew the guard. Carter was certain he would confirm him as that guard. Nevertheless, he knew he was going to try. All they could do was throw him back in prison. On the bright side, he just might get out.

"Max, when are we going to call the authorities?" Mike Woods asked.

Drawn out of his personal thoughts, Max turned around to see Woods standing there. "Actually, they don't know who to call. They haven't tried to contact us, which is what I was waiting for. I have no idea who's in charge out there. Also, I was hoping you would get Ironside out of that office."

"We're working on it. The damn doors are made of steel and so is the framework. It is not going to be easy to break into that office. It could take some time. I got men over there working on it right now."

"Mike, we need Ironside. They will do everything they can to save his life. That leaves us with a big advantage."

"I don't want to save the son of the bitch's life. I want him dead. He's the one who put me inside here for life."

Carter smiled. "You know, it amazes me that guys blame him for putting them in here. Everyone knows that murder could bring a life sentence. Yet, we all did it anyway. Then Ironside is blamed for doing his job. He didn't put any of us in here. Every one of us did that ourselves. I don't blame him for me being here. Nor do I regret that I killed a man. He deserved it. I knew if I got caught, I'd end up here. All of you guys should realize that each of you is responsible for you being here. No one else. Not Ironside, Not the prosecutor, not the judge, and not the jury. If we hadn't killed, we wouldn't be here. You know the old saying, if you can't do the time, don't do the crime. So, stop blaming that damned crippled cop."

"Well is it okay if I hate him?" Woods snarled. "After all, if he hadn't caught me, I wouldn't be here. I'd be down in Mexico, or on a beach somewhere in some foreign country."

Carter shook his head. "Hate him all you want. It doesn't change the fact that you're here because you murdered somebody. You can't blame Ironside for that."

Woods was agitated, and he made no attempt to conceal it. "What's with the Ironside love fest? That crippled cop probably put half the guys in here. Don't tell me that it isn't his fault. Guys like him have no idea what it is like to survive out there when you have nothing. Then they use their high and mighty attitude to arrest us for doing what we have no choice. You're damn right I blame him! And quite frankly, I don't understand why you don't. You're in here because of him too."

"No, I'm in here because of my own actions. I killed a man. I got caught. That's just the way it is. The truth of the matter is people cannot be allowed to go around killing other people. It is supposed to be a civilized country. There's nothing civilized about killing people. Deep down, you know that. People cannot be allowed to go around killing at will. As I said before, I did it, I don't regret it, and I deserve what I got. So do you, and so does every other guy in this prison that killed somebody. Now, are we going to quit arguing about this and get something done? Obviously, we don't agree, and we're not going to convince one another to change our opinions."

Woods just didn't understand him. Knowing that, he was right about one thing. Arguing about it was a waste of time. He wasn't going to change Carter's opinion, and he wasn't going to change his. So why argue about it? "All right, we'll have to agree to disagree. I just don't understand you. So, what do we do next?"

"We have one phone hooked up in the surveillance room, right?" Woods confirmed they did. "Okay then, The next thing we do is contact the police department. We can do that by calling 911. I don't have phone numbers for the National Guard or the SWAT team."

"How do you know that the National Guard and the SWAT team are out there?" Woods asked.

"Trust me, they're out there. Let's go make that phone call."

Warden Leyton paced back and forth in front of his desk. Ironside watched him. He had known him for many years. He was not the type of man who panicked. The detective knew the warden had never been in this kind of situation in all the years he ran the prison. Despite knowing he had reason to be nervous, Ironside felt the need to reassure him.

"Pacing isn't going to do you any good. Why don't you sit down and relax."

The warden turned and looked at the former chief of detectives. "Relax? How do you expect me to do that? We have no way out of here, and the inmates would like nothing better than to get their hands on us."

"They are going to have a tough time getting through two steel doors," Ed Brown offered.

"What the hell are they waiting for? Why haven't we heard anything?"

"Right now, we don't know whether or not they have contacted the authorities outside the prison. We have no way to communicate with them or with the inmates running the prison," Ironside pointed out. "The only choice we have is to wait."

"Nerve-wracking, isn't it," Burl Bricker said while supporting a grin.

"Mr Bricker, you are in the same situation as we are. Since Max Carter is in charge, the inmates will follow him. You're yesterday's history." Ironside stared him straight in the eye. "You are expendable. You better hope they don't get in here. Phil Brody knows by now that you are here with us. You are a liability for him. He knows he has nothing to lose. He can pretty much guess that you've talked to me. In other words, he will have to silence you to protect himself. So, I suggest you wipe that smug look off your face. If we don't get out of here alive, neither do you."

"Brody is scared of me."

"You go on thinking that. I am sure Mr Brody hopes you believe that," Ironside said.

The phone on the warden's desk rang. Ironside wheeled his chair over. He picked up the phone and barked, "Ironside."

"Well, Chief, I see you were too much of a coward to come out of there."

"Mr Carter, isn't it?"

"It doesn't make any difference if you know who I am. You wouldn't believe how many of the inmates in this prison don't like you. Most of them would like to see that you never walk out of this prison alive. Oh, wait! You can't walk." He waited for a reaction from Ironside, but didn't get it.

"What do you want Mr Carter?" Ironside asked.

"We are about to give our demands to the police. I thought you might like to hear the conversation. By the way, Ironside, don't bother to try to talk to the police. It won't do you any good. We will allow you to listen to the call, but we will have your microphone blocked. Do you understand?"

"I understand," the chief replied.

"Good. We will get started then."

Ironside pressed the speaker button on the phone so everyone in the room could hear the conversation. They listened to the phone ring.

"San Francisco Police Department."

"This is Max Carter at the prison. We, the inmates, are now in control. We are holding the guards hostage. We need to speak with whoever is in charge outside. So, I suggest you patch me through to them, and do it now."

"One moment, sir."

Within a minute, the line came alive again. "This is Lieutenant Seymore Gilbert of the San Francisco Police Department."

"And just who are you?"

"I am the lead negotiator for the police department," Gilbert said.

"Well, in that case, I must tell you there will be no negotiation. You are going to give us what we want, or we are going to kill Chief Ironside and Sergeant Brown."

Carl Reese was standing beside Gilbert. He whispered to him. "We need to find out about the chief and Ed."

Seymour Gilbert nodded in acknowledgment. "Before we talk about your demands, we need to know that Chief Ironside and Ed Brown are all right."

"Let's get one thing perfectly straight here," Carter said smugly. "We are running the show, not you. Now for the list of our demands…"

"There will be no list of demands until we can confirm that the chief and Brown are all right. I want to talk to them."

"Tisk, tisk, Lieutenant Gilbert. I told you, we are in charge, not you. You better start listening if you don't want people to die."

"I have no authorization to negotiate until we have spoken to Chief Ironside. That's final," Gilbert warned.

Heeding the warning, Carter hesitated for the moment. He needed to keep the upper hand, or they would ignore him completely. Yet, he would have no hand at all if they refused to negotiate. He decided it was better to give in on this one point.

"Chief, since I know you are listening, I am going to turn on your microphone. You better watch what you say. You will give out no information. I will cut you off if you do. Do you understand me?" Carter flipped the switch which would allow audio from the warden's office. Ironside responded in the affirmative.

"All right, Lieutenant, Chief Ironside has the ability to speak with you. Go ahead, but I caution you, keep it simple."

"Chief, are you and Sergeant Brown all right?" Gilbert asked.

"We are fine for the moment. I don't suppose Mr Carter will have a problem with telling you that we are locked behind two steel doors in the warden's office."

"That's a relief. You just sit tight, we're going to get you out of there."

Carter cut off the conversation. "Satisfied?"

"For now."

"We have a list of demands. You're not going to like them." He laughed as he knew that only would they not like them, they would never grant them.

Gilbert looked over at Reese as both of them prepared for unreasonable demands that could not be met. "All right, what are your demands?"

"We are not an unreasonable group. We are more than willing to allow all of the guards and Ironside to leave this prison" He made sure he didn't say alive. Carter knew once the inmates broke through those steel doors, Ironside would forfeit his life. "First of all, the National Guard, the police, and the SWAT team that I am sure you have out there, are to leave immediately. Next, we will be coming out of the prison as a group. The entire prison population will be included. You see, that will give some inmates the opportunity to get away and lead a decent life. Certainly, you will recapture many of them. It is the ones that get away that we are supporting. You will wait one hour before going after any of the inmates. If you violate the agreement, there will be someone left inside to kill Ironside and everyone in that room with him. Do you understand these demands?"

Gilbert looked at Carl Reese. This was exactly what they were expecting. Both knew the demands could never be granted.

"Mr Carter, you know fully well I don't have the authorization to meet these demands. Why don't we talk about something that we can meet? Is there something within the prison that the inmates want changed? Are they being treated humanely? Is the food inadequate? Is everyone being given ample exercise time? Are your working conditions unacceptable? These are the things that I can immediately help you with."

"You're not listening! I already told you these demands are non-negotiable. This is what we want. We don't care about conditions, food, or anything else in this prison. All we care about is getting out of here. You will meet our demands. Or, just as soon as we get in the warden's office, you can kiss your chief goodbye."

"Mr Carter, be reasonable. Everyone that is in that prison is there for violent crimes, most of them were convicted of murder. I will never get the authorization to turn the entire prison population loose on the city. I believe you know that. So, tell me what it is you really want." Gilbert had the sinking feeling the man already had.

"What school of negotiation did you go to? You're not listening. You will meet these demands or we will kill everyone in the office once we obtain access. Do you understand me?"

"All right, we are going to need time. The governor will have to be convinced to sign off on all of this. He is the only one who can authorize it," Gilbert said.

"Now, that's better. It wasn't so hard, was it? We will give you only until we are able to obtain access to the warden's office. If you haven't done so by then, we will eliminate everyone in that room. So, I would suggest that you be very persuasive with the governor. In good faith, we will release a couple of the guards. That will happen shortly." Carter cut the communication between them.

Mike Woods smiled. "Do you really think they'll do it?"

"Oh hell no. There is no way the governor of the state is going to release a prison full of murderers."

"Then why bother to ask for it? Why don't we ask for something that they actually will comply with?

Carter smiled. "Because you and I don't have to worry about it. I am going to walk out of this prison. In the next phone call, I am going to make sure that they allow you to do so as well."

Woods shook his head in agitation. "They aren't going to let either one of us walk out of here. What the hell are you talking about?"

"You are forgetting, there is a guard in this prison who looks exactly like me. There is another guard that could pass for you. So what we are going to do is this — we are going to put on those guards' uniforms. I told them we are releasing two guards in good faith. That will be you and me."

Woods stroked his chin. "Even if they let us get out, they are going to want to question us extensively on the situation in the prison. I don't see how this can work."

"It's going to work because you are going to be armed. I am going to get their attention, and you are going to quietly slip away. I'll hang around. They will think that I am Barry Corey. So, are you game? Do we really need to care about anybody else? After all, they are never going to turn an entire prison full of inmates loose. Anyone who thinks so, isn't very bright."

"There is the problem of the two guards you're talking about." Woods was quick to point out that fact.

"We are going to eliminate them. I'll take Barry Corey and you take Joey Milner."

"You really think this will work?"

"Yeah, I do." Carter really didn't believe that. He did believe he would get away with it. Woods would not. He didn't look that much like Joey Milner. However, Carter knew he looked exactly like Barry Corey. Corey would be his ticket out of this hell-hole.

"Okay, let's get it done." Mike Woods left him to find Joey Milner.

It really amazed Carter how stupid some of the inmates in this prison were. Woods didn't know it, but he was about to become one of the first casualties of the prison riot. Carter left to find Barry Corey. His time had run out. He headed for the cafeteria where most of the inmates were gathered. As soon as he entered the room, they started shouting questions at him.

Obviously, the natives were getting restless. He would need to calm them down so he could continue with his plan. As soon as the sirens had gone off in the prison, Carter locked Barry Corey in a prison cell. After spending some time calming his fellow inmates' nerves, he headed for the cell block where the guard had been contained. When he arrived, Corey stood up.

"Max, what the hell are you doing? You're not going to get away with this. You need to talk these men into giving themselves up. People are going to get killed. The police and the National Guard are only going to wait so long before the governor orders them in. This will turn into the worst bloodbath in prison history. You've got to put a stop to it, and do it now."

Holding a gun on Corey, Carter unlocked the cell door. "Get out of that uniform."

"Oh, I know what you're going to do. You are going to try and walk out of this prison as me. It won't work. They already know. The warden knows. You won't get away with it."

Carter put his head back and laughed. "The warden is locked in his office behind two steel doors with Ironside and Brown. The boys are working on getting them out of there. It is going to take them quite a while to make that happen. There is no communication going in or out of that office. I shut it off. I am going to get away with it. Now, I'm only going to tell you one more time to get out of that uniform. If you don't, I am going to shoot you dead right here and now. I can always put a prison jacket over top of the shirt to hide the blood stain."

"For God's sake, what the hell is a matter with you? We grew up together," Barry exclaimed.

"And you testified in court against me."

"You know damn well I didn't have a choice. Ironside found out and told the district attorney."

Carter surged forward and got directly into Corey's face. "You could have lied. You could have backed me up. It might have made the difference between going to prison and not going. You didn't give a damn about me. Don't expect me to give a damn about you!"

Corey started shouting at him. "My God! What have you become? You murdered a man. You did it in cold blood. You belong right where you are! If you think this prison riot is going to get you out of here, you better think again. You're not going anywhere. You're here for the rest of your life. Blaming Ironside isn't going to do you any good."

Carter walked over and sat down on the bed. "It might surprise you to know I don't hate Ironside. He's a cop. He did what he had to do. I don't hate him. He has no connection with me whatsoever, but you do. You didn't care enough about me to protect me. You got right on that stand and sealed my fate. I have hated you ever since. Now, get out of that uniform. You got exactly one minute. Then I blow a hole in your chest." He pointed the gun at his head for emphasis.

There wasn't any chance Barry could talk any sense into his brother. Max was gone, at least the Max that he grew up with. This was a totally different man. Max could shoot him without compunction. He didn't have any choice because he knew exactly what Max was going to do. He was going to walk out of the prison posing as him. He began removing the uniform he was wearing. "You won't get away with this."

"Watch me. I'll be long gone before they realize that it wasn't you that walked out of the prison. You are so naive. You really think that anybody is going to be able to tell the difference. There will be people out there to identify me, or should I say you. They won't have a clue. As soon as I can, I will simply slip away and head for Mexico."

After stripping down to his underwear, Barry threw the uniform over to him. Max stripped down and began putting on Barry's prison guard uniform. "It's a good thing we're the same size. I knew you would come in handy for something sooner or later."

Barry stood there in his underwear. "So now what? Are you going to give me something to put on? I would rather not stand around like this."

"You are not going to need clothes … ever again." He pointed his gun at Barry's forehead and pulled the trigger. Barry Corey fell to the floor dead. Looking down at him, he felt nothing. No regret or remorse. What he cared about was Barry betrayed him. He deserved to die. Carter didn't give the murder a second thought. He already received a life sentence. There wasn't anything further they could do to him. After all, there wasn't a sentence beyond life.

Carter picked up the body and shoved it under the bunk. He pulled the blanket from the bed and draped it over the edge, hiding the body for the time being. It wouldn't keep the police from finding it, but all he needed was to conceal it until he left the prison. He would be long gone by the time they discovered it.

A backup plan was essential. If he got any bad vibes about trying to leave the prison as Barry Corey, he would back off and find another way to get what he wanted. He didn't think it would come to that, especially since he had Mike Woods as a distraction. In less than an hour, if all went well, he would soon leave this place for good.

Ironside stared at Burl Bricker. He trusted his instincts, and they were telling him the man was holding back information. He knew something, and Ironside was going to find out what it was. Turning to Leyton, he decided to find some answers. "Warden, the picture in Max Carter's file is several years old. Isn't there a more up-to-date photo?"

Warden Leyton pulled another file out of the cabinet. He walked over and handed it to Ironside. The chief looked at the picture. The man in the photo was much older, with a harder look. He could not help but think he looked familiar. He never saw the man as far as he could remember, but something was nagging at him. He supposed he must have run into him the many times he entered the prison. Wheeling over to his sergeant. "Ed, does this man look familiar to you?"

Brown took the file from his boss and looked at the photo. Frowning, he stared for a moment before speaking. "He looks familiar, but I can't place him."

"Warden, is there a chance Ed or I could have come in contact with this man." He took the photo out of Brown's hand.

"No, you would never have been anywhere near him. He acts like the model prisoner, but he isn't. He has been planning for some time to take over Mr Bricker's position as the top bully among the inmates. He has been nurturing friendships and respect among the inmates."

Ironside wheeled around to look at Bricker. "Seems you are being dethroned, Mr Bricker."

Bricker's face turned red. "The hell I am. Carter wouldn't dare try. I would kill him, and he knows it."

"Apparently, he isn't afraid of you," Ironside said.

"The son of a bitch! I should have killed him. Should have realized he couldn't be trusted. The day he walked into this prison, I couldn't tell the difference between him and the damn guard."

Ironside turned his head quickly back to the photo. "Guard — that's where I've seen this man." The detective started ruffling through the files of the guards. He checked out every picture in every file until he came upon the one belonging to Barry Corey. Comparing the two photos, Ironside could only come to one conclusion. "Max Carter and Barry Corey are twins."

"Yes, that is correct," the warden confirmed. "Two totally different temperaments. Barry is quiet and reserved. He's an extremely good guard."

Ed Brown stood behind his boss and looked at the two pictures comparing the two men. "I don't understand, why do twin brothers have different last names?"

"They have no other family. Their parents are dead. There were no other siblings. Both their parents were an only child. When Max murdered the man and was convicted, he was assigned to this prison. Barry has been working for us for some time, long before Max came here. He was embarrassed. He wanted nothing to do with his brother from then on. He went to court and had his name changed to Corey, which is his grandmother's maiden name."

"Max Carter is going to escape from this prison," Ironside said.

"That doesn't make any sense, Robert," the warden said. "No one is going to allow Max Carter, dressed in a prison uniform, to walk out of this prison."

"He's not going to walk out of here in a prison uniform," Ed Brown said, knowing exactly what the chief was thinking.

"What do you mean? How else would he get out of this prison?" the warden asked.

"He's going to change into his brother's uniform and walk out of here as a guard. He's going to walk out of here as Barry Corey."

Burl Bricker began laughing. "And you thought he wanted to take over my position. All he wants to do is get out of here. That is why he has never been the leader in this prison. He only cares about himself. I care about all the guys."

"Even the ones you have murdered?" Ironside asked sarcastically.

"They deserved what they got, and so will any others that don't follow my rules."

"Robert, how are we going to stop this? If you are right, a murderer will walk out of this prison, and no one will realize it." The warden picked up the phone, forgetting that all communications in and out of his office had been shut off. He put the receiver back in the cradle. "We've got to get word to the authorities outside this prison."

"Unfortunately, there is no way for us to do that. Max Carter may very well get away with it," Ironside said.