Alone with Michelle in the empty shell of a cell Carla comforted her friend who now had broken down in tears. She was so upset and prison had well and truly broken all of Michelle's fighting spirit. Carla knew that if they were going to overthrow Denzy and her regime she needed to get that spirit back into Michelle and bring out the fighter once more. What she didn't know right now was just exactly how she was going to manage this. Peeling Michelle away from the wall she scooted around her so as to see just what damage had been done by Jessica.

Gulping down the bile she felt rising in her throat when she saw that Michelle's head was covered in blood that had also covered the whole left side of her face, Carla tried to examine the wound closely to see what she could do to help. It looked as though the roughness of the brickwork had just scraped away a layer of her skin from just along her hairline. It wasn't as serious as she had first thought and certainly not deep, it just covered a lot of surface area and looked far worse because of the other injuries sustained jurying her earlier beating.

Putting Michelle's arm around her shoulders Carla helped her up onto her feet and found she was supporting most of her weight as she walked her to the top of the stairs. At the bottom of the metal staircase, just to one side sat at the table with her head buried in a book was Amy. She sensed someone on the top floor above her and looked up. She gasped the second she saw her friends as she classed them. Michelle looked awful, covered in blood and barely able to walk. If Carla wasn't holding her up then she swore she would be on the floor. Dropping her book without a care Amy hurried up the stairs to aide Carla in getting Michelle down because she was struggling.

"What happened?" Amy whispered to Carla in a stressed voice.

Carla just glared across at the woman, this was not the time and the place with witness upon witness who would run back and report to Denzy or Jessica. Hobbling with Michelle hanging between them they headed towards the cell and straight inside where they closed the door behind them for some privacy. Carla helped Michelle to lie down on her bed as Amy wet a flannel she kept by the sink with cold water to apply to Michelle's wound and help clean her up.

"I think she needs the nurse" offered Amy and Carla snapped back with a no.

The nurse was the worst idea. If Michelle went to the hospital wing questions would be asked and they could potentially get separated if the governor felt Michelle was in danger on that wing. It was important her and Michelle were not split. If more than just a cell ever did split them up their plan would fail them and Carla was sure neither of them would survive their stint inside. It was already a long sentence and without a companion and best friend it would only seem more of an eternity.

"I will deal with this" stated Carla as she squeezed Michelle's hand.

She was watching Amy tend to the wounds when an idea popped into her head. Denzy wanted alliances, and if that was all she wanted all she needed to know was that as a team Michelle and Carla would be more of an asset then she would be alone. With that thought she suddenly bolted without a word and she thundered up two staircases to the top floor where she stopped just outside Denzy's cell. The door was ajar and she was about to go storming in and lay down her terms when she was stopped by what she saw through the crack of the door.

Denzy was sat on her bed, back to the door and with her sat the chief prison guard Miss Jones or Sarah as she was better known against select few of the longer serving criminals who had been in residence the longest. Sarah was the complete opposite of Denzy. Blonde with big blue eyes, pretty and so feminine she made Denzy look like a man. She had a small frame and petite figure but there she was with her hand holding the prisoner's like they were best friends. Quiet and remaining outside and just out of sight Carla watched and listened to what was going on within and then she stumbled across the juiciest of secrets.

Turning she hurried away before she was caught, excited to tell Amy and Michelle she knew how she was going to get to the top now. She feared for them no more and practically ran back down the two flights of stairs before coming to an abrupt stop at ground level when Jessica stepped before her and blocked her path. With a wicked grin and gleam in her eye she twirled the chewing gum with her finger as it stretched from where it was being held between gritted teeth curtained only by her lips.

"Going somewhere?" she asked as she pulled the gum out completely and dropped it carelessly to the floor.

Carla stared her down; she wasn't afraid any more. With what she had just witnessed she had a hold on both Denzy and Jessica. She knew playing dirty wasn't very civil but inside, there was no room for being civil. It was all about survival, dog eat dog and she had an advantage. It was almost like a stand off between them as cocky and confident Jessica stood staring at Carla who suddenly seemed very sure of herself. She was waiting for an answer to her question but Carla had just paused to add hesitation to the situation as she thought of the perfect way to deliver the threat she wanted. Then leaning forward she leant towards Jessica's ear and whispered, this was private and only Jessica would hear.

"I suggest you move" Carla threatened. "Because if you don't I am going to tell about what I have just seen happening in that cell up there...and I think that would get you into a lot of trouble...especially if you were the reason I told"

Jessica's eyes widened and she stepped back from the stairwell, heeding Carla's warning very well. She was right, if Denzy found out it was all her fault because she hadn't moved when Carla had asked she'd be on the receiving end of her temper and she didn't want that. Denzy had already attacked Jessica when she had arrived a new inmate and they had only become friends when Denzy had seen a potential sidekick in her. Jessica was quite weak when challenged, she could talk the talk and walk the walk but when it really came down to it she was like everyone else, a frightened girl just trying to survive.

Jessica disappeared quickly allowing Carla to walk to Michelle's cell without any further interruption. She was waiting for her to disappear inside before heading upstairs to warn Denzy that Carla knew her secret now. Rushing her heels got caught in all the meshing of the walkways and steps as she noisily clambered up to the third floor and she was so panicked that by the time she reached Denzy's cell she was exhausted and out of breath. She burst in on them, causing both Denzy and Sarah to look up in fright. Denzy glared and Sarah immediately got up as Jessica caught her breath and started to explain what had just happened to her on the stairs.

Carla burst in on Amy still nursing Michelle. They both looked to her and she was expressionless. Walking in slowly she made sure the door was closed properly behind her so that she wasn't overheard. Then her face lit up with a smirk as she joined them by perching at the foot of Michelle's bunk.

"I have something interesting to tell you two. And I have a plan" explained Carla with a hint of excitement in her voice.

Both Amy and Michelle were intrigued. Pulling away from Michelle Amy sat back on her heels upon the floor and Michelle shuffled on her mattress to be lying flat on her back. Expectantly they waited to hear what news she had for them and Michelle hoped it wasn't something bad. Carla leant in to tell them and kept her voice hushed.

"You will not believe what I have just seen" she began.