6. Digging
Funny thing, I didn't intend for Dean to be Dean, I either specifically pick names for people or I pick them very randomly for small characters - like literally who walks by I name them after that person. But Dean popped in my head when I needed one and I pictured the character as this huge scary guy with tats and mangled up skin. Then I ended incorporating his character in more and started watching Supernatural and then he just started becoming other Dean and that made for a pleasant visual. So I've totally spilled the beans that there is absolutely no rhyme or reason sometimes to how these stories go, I just put the pedal to the medal and hope my brain works it out.
Sorry for the delay in updates. I was sick and then playing catch up and then a bunch of stuff came my way.
Sweets and Dean go and see Chet who admits he got drugs but not from an inmate – from the new guard. Sweets leaves instructions for doctors to properly help Chet but upon leaving Sweets the pair is found but only Sweets is captured – set to be punished before everyone else the next day – a long and excruciating day. The inmates help Sweets upon his return, Dean also helps leaving Sweets continues to question Dean's true incarceration.
The morning came far too early but Sweets managed as long as he operated on a near savage type survival mindset. He ignored all the aches and pains, showered early since he had only passed out mid-conversation with Dean last night and dressed for the day.
"You look like hell, I still think you should have gone to the infirmary." Dean said getting in line behind Sweets for breakfast.
"Yeah well I don't think that was in warden's plan."
"Wallace is an asshat." Dean concluded.
"Well there's very little doubt in that." Sweets commented as they took their trays and headed towards the table.
"Have you heard anything more on Chet?" Sweets asked.
Dean shook his head, "no, but no one's been carted away so I'll have to deduce that he's fine."
"That uh reminds me Dean, uh, you said you were out of here in a month." Sweets said wondering if letting Dean in on the murder situation was a good idea.
"Well, three weeks now." Dean said. "That was a week ago you know."
"Right, you said you were going to Georgia though, not to the big house."
"Yeah, I'm getting transferred back for trial, whole thing is nuts."
Sweets nodded along, does that mean he's safe? Madere was killed on his way to the big house, maybe Dean is different and will be okay.
"Why Georgia?" Sweets asked, he couldn't help but ask questions.
Dean cleared his throat, pushed the food around his plate. "That's where my wife was uh, where everything happened."
Sweets looked at Dean's finger, no ring, nor a ring mark. "Were you married a long time?"
"Yeah, high school sweethearts."
Sweets could feel the tension that set in but he had to know, why was there a gap? "Why did you do it Dean, what happened?"
Both men had stopped eating, their eyes never meeting and tension easing in. Sweets wasn't sure why he was bringing this up, but it had been bothering him.
"You know, sometimes people just snap." Dean said.
"Are you sure?" Sweets said, his face devoid of emotion as he asked. "You don't seem like a vengeful person."
Dean's expression suggested he didn't appreciate the question. "Right, so why did you shoot the state trooper?"
Sweets felt cornered, did he tell Dean he really was innocent? "I guess anyone is capable of something when they are put to the test."
The pair ceased conversation and Sweets didn't divulge his topic of Madere's murder. The conversation was over, silence prevailed and tension hung in the air.
The men were issued towards the door and Sweets didn't like how things were left between he and Dean but being guys, both were hesitant to say much more.
"Hey Dean, about before…"
"Forget it Kale." Dean said with a grin. Sweets smiled back but something else bothered him.
"About that…"
"Mallory!" Lee, the guard shouted.
Sweets continued talking. "I wanted to tell you the…"
"MALLORY!" Lee shouted again.
"Dude, he's shouting at you." Dean said stopping Sweets from his confession of the same nature.
"Oh." Sweets said turning. "Oh yeah."
Sweets left to see what Lee wanted, leaving Dean to wonder why the man hadn't answered automatically to his own name.
"Yes sir?" Sweets asked trying to swallow the hatred of having to address the oppressor as such.
"Need you on special detail today." Lee said counting people off the clipboard. "Gerald has work for you."
Sweets wasn't excited, Gerald was the new guard now known to dole out drugs cheaply. Sweets wasn't sure if this was work or a shake down. He stiffened as he headed that way.
"Yes sir?" Sweets asked having found Gerald around the side of the building.
"Cooper died." Gerald said surprised. "Need you to bury him."
Sweets was surprised at the nature of the conversation.
"The dog stupid!" Gerald shouted and nodded to a blood hound behind him.
"Oh, we have dogs?" Sweets had never heard any before.
"You don't ask questions stupid!" Gerald shouted and threw a shovel at Sweets. "Over there should work." Gerald nodded to the area just at the perimeter of the area. "I'm watching you, I just got other work to do here too."
"Okay, well is there like a box or a…"
"No you dumb shit! Now go!" Gerald lunged at Sweets who gladly took several quick feet away from the nutty guard.
Sweets carried the dog who had passed to the edge of the property and began to dig as the rest of the trucks with the men left. It wasn't the king of burial he imagined the dog should have but for the savages that were in charge it was better than leaving him in a field. Sweets began to dig and found his thoughts were only on the dog. It struck him as odd, usually his mind thought about a lot of things but lately it just seemed to be on one task at a time. He didn't feel the need to question things like he once did. He was just curious about the dog, he had a name so who did he belong to and how did he die?
Sweets dug deeper, he found that the physical labor hadn't bothered him like it did weeks ago. He dug a bit deeper than he had to but he enjoyed working alone and wanted to dog deep enough no other animals would get to him so he kept digging. Soon the dirt was almost to his height so he knew he had to be about six feet under. He went to crawl out of the hole and pull the dog towards him when something caught his attention. Something familiar. Sweets pulled on the dirty ivory object and soon in his hand found a femur. No way Madere decomposed this quickly. Sweets looked out from his hole in the ground and saw only Gerald taking inventory, he seemed busy. Sweets took his shovel and pulled at the dirt around him. His hole soon became larger and larger and at his feet he had three skulls, found together, as though they had been buried on top of each other. I'm not Dr. Brennan but I've seen enough of these to know they're not old.
"Hey! Where did you go?!" Gerald shouted and Sweets quickly climbed out of the hole so he could be seen. "Oh, there you are. Done yet?!"
"Almost." Sweets said pulling the dog down into the hole. He covered the bones with the dog's body, hoping the pass of the body would make it easier to scan the ground and find the remains later.
"Well hurry up, the warden is waiting on you." Somehow that sentence didn't make Sweets want to work faster.
Once the dirt had covered the ground Sweets looked to the earth around him, where he was at was fairly level but in other spots he could see it has been disturbed but like they had tried to make it flat. He wondered if that was where Madere was buried, possibly others.
"Come on!" Gerald shouted seeing Sweets was done. Sweets followed, wondering what was next.
Sweets was sweaty and dirty when he walked into the warden's office. It was cool in there, a stark contrast from the rest of the place or the outside.
"Did you leave much dirt outside?" Wallace asked Sweets harshly putting away his keys, he had just returned from somewhere.
"Sorry, sir, I was digging a rather large hole."
"That's why I wanted you in here son." Wallace said his voice softening. "I wanted to think you for taking care of Cooper."
Sweets saw a photo on the warden's desk, the dog was apparently his personal pet.
Sweets was confused by the asshat - he seemed sensitive to his dog's death but little else. "Yes sir, I uh buried him deep."
"I'll need to put a marker by him." Wallace said still contemplative. "And now I can see him from outside my window.
Sweets was confused. "Outside your window sir?"
Wallace turned to face him with a bitter glance. Sweets was wished he hadn't said anything.
"You were told to bury him under that tree!" Wallace said pointing to the tree outside his window.
Sweets shook his head, he wasn't going down for this one.
"No, Gerald told me to bury him at the edge of the property." Sweets became nervous he would need to rebury the dog, the bones he found would be obvious.
Wallace's eyes lit up. "Where by the edge?"
Sweets knew the ground would be obvious where he had been digging.
"Opposite the hall." Sweets felt his heart beginning to race faster and hoped his mind would start moving faster as well. "I buried him about four feet deep, is that good enough sir?"
The warden's face seemed to relax some. "Did you see anything there?"
"Like other dogs?" Sweets asked playing dumb.
Wallace backed off. He seemed to think something over.
"Is everything okay sir?" Sweets asked.
"Yes." Wallace said with a smile. "Good work son. Now the other reason I called you up here. They have room for you."
"Where is that sir?"
"In a couple weeks you move up to the big house."
Sweets was not thrilled.
"Hey Bones do you want pizza or Chinese?" Booth asked upon seeing her his office door.
"Neither Booth." By her tone Booth could tell that something was bothering his lovely wife.
"What's going on Bones? Something bothering you?"
"Yeah, I called Sweets." Brennan said, lines of worry etched at the edges of her eyes.
"Well don't worry because he doesn't answer you know they don't have good reception there."
"No Booth, I'm worried because he never checked into his hotel."
Okay, not long but I haven't updated in so long I want to get something up today. So what on earth is going on at this place! Thoughts? All to revealed by the way in the next couple chapters.