Chapter Four-
Franky woke up when Will walked into her room, and felt mildly disoriented as she sat up.
"You ready?" He asked.
"Yeah, alright." She stood up, and Will allowed her to lead the way. The bruising on her ribs complained a little as she walked, but she refused to let the pain show.
The weak don't survive.
"Franky!" Cried Kim, spotting her lover. She skipped through the hall, then wrapped her arms around Franky. Franky winced briefly, but covered it up, kissing the top of Kim's head.
"I'm back," whispered Franky.
"You missed it all yesterday! You should have been here!" Exclaimed Kim.
"What happened this time?" Sighed Franky.
"Did you know Emily and Charlie are related to the Holt family?" Asked Kim. Franky felt like she'd been slapped in the face.
"What? You're shitting me, right?" Replied Franky.
"Emily told everyone yesterday. Aunty Jac and Uncle Vin. How crazy is that?" Asked Kim, wrapping an arm around her girlfriend as they walked through the corridor.
"That's pretty twisted," said Franky.
"You know what else? My social worker dropped in this morning, said I was eligible for a parole hearing tomorrow! Said that Miss Ferguson put in a good word for me, and they fast tracked the process," said Kim excitedly.
Another one, leaving before she did.
"That's great," replied Franky, distracted.
"I'm gonna miss you, you know," said Kim softly.
"Me too. Guess I'll have to find myself another girl, won't I," remarked Franky. Kim pulled away, hurt.
"What about me?" Asked Kim.
"You're leaving, aren't you? Kinda hard to make out if you're on the outside, you know?" Snapped Franky. Kim's eyes filled with tears, before she turned and fled. Franky continued walking towards her unit, then into her cell. She slammed the door, locking it behind her, then finally let herself break down.
First Erica, then Kim.
Who else would leave her in her life?
"Vera!" Called Joan from here office.
"Yes ma'am?"
"I see you split the Wilson twins between H3 and 4 when assigning them. Can I ask why?" Said Joan, reading the paperwork.
"Miss Davidson felt it best..."
"I believe that the Wilson twins would be better behaved in the same unit," replied Joan.
"There isn't any room," replied Vera desperately.
"I believe cell four in H4 has ample room to fit a second bed inside it. When the women are working, I'd like you to arrange for the Wilson sisters to be put together. This afternoon we have a new intake; Lexi Patterson* is being transferred across from Barnhurst. I'd like her to be placed in H3 once you have made the vacancy. Understood?" Asked Joan.
"It's unusual to place two prisoners in the same room. We made an exception when Toni Goodes was in here with her daughter Kaiya, and allowed the two to share a room with Doreen Anderson. Are you sure it's a good idea to repeat that practice?" Asked Vera.
"Are you questioning my authority Vera?" Asked Joan sharply.
"Um, no, no. Of course not. I'll see to it," said Vera softly.
"Excellent. I'll have Linda and Fletch take care of Lexi's processing for you. You're dismissed," said Joan. Vera walked out of the office, feeling like she was a child in trouble, but unsure as to what she had done. She headed to the officers lounge, grabbing a coffee. Fletch was on his lunch break, reading the paper.
"You alright?" He asked.
"Just got a lot to do today," said Vera wearily. She poured herself a coffee, relishing the warm mug before taking a sip.
"What's The Freak got you doing today?" Asked Fletch.
"We're combining the Wilson sisters into Jacs' old cell, and then when we've processed Lexi Patterson and her transfer paperwork from Barnhurst this afternoon, she'll take Emily's place in H3."
"So you have to organise another bed to go into cell four in H4, do the paperwork for that, process Lexi, and hopefully do rounds?" Said Fletch.
"Something like that. God, when did things get so complicated in here?" Asked Vera.
"When you stopped putting your head in the sand and started paying attention," he said blatantly.
"You think I'm not good at my job?" Responded Vera.
"I didn't say that!" Exclaimed Fletch.
"No, but you implied it. I get it; little Vera feels smothered by her mother, so she can't be capable at her job. Stuff you Fletch." Vera stormed out, anger flushing her face a brilliant scarlet. She didn't know whether to cry or to scream. After a few moments of internal struggles, she pulled herself together. There was work to be done, and she needed to do it well.
If she ever had a chance of leaving.
"Emily?" Called Linda, striding across the exercise yard towards the Wilson twins.
"Yes Miss Miles?"
"Miss Bennett would like to see you in your unit. Charlie as well," said Linda. Emily shrugged, glancing at Charlie, then the pair headed into H3.
"Emily, Miss Ferguson has decided to move you into H4 with your sister, and you will share the same cell. I would like you to collect your things and move cells immediately," ordered Vera. Emily couldn't believe her luck, and with Charlie's help, quickly collected her small cache of belongings, and moved from H3 to H4. After a quick spot check of Charlie's room, Emily and her sibling were left alone.
"Do you think Uncle Vin pulled strings?" Asked Emily.
"No idea. I like this though. Being apart was awkward," said Charlie. Her bed had now been moved to an upper bunk, and Emily's bed placed underneath at a ninety degree angle, against the adjacent wall.
"So, I heard a rumour in the years today," said Emily.
"Better be good," replied Charlie.
"Lexi's coming back," answered Emily. Charlie dropped down from her bed to sit on her sisters.
"You serious?"
"Dead serious," stated Emily.
"Finally. We could get some decent smack in here if Lex is coming in. We could get anything we wanted," exclaimed Charlie.
"Won't that get us into trouble?" Replied Emily.
"We're in enough trouble as it is. We'll be lucky to get out I we've years with good behaviour. Might as well have a bit of fun while we're here," said Charlie, shrugging her shoulders.
"Alright. Same deal as the outside; you arrange them to come in, I'll distribute. It's worked well in the past," decided Emily.
"Do you know when Lex is coming in?" Asked Charlie.
"All I know is she was being transferred from Branhurst. Should be in by tomorrow," replied Emily.
"Whatever you do, don't tell Franky. Want her to think that someone else has taken over," said Charlie sternly.
"Lips are sealed."
"Get your hands off me you ugly screw," hissed Lexi Patterson angrily.
"Can't do that Lex, not until you've been processed and in your unit," responded Fletch.
"Come on, at least let the pretty bitch hold me! She looks like she'd be good in bed. You tried her out yet?" Asked Lexi. She smiled at Linda, batting her eyelashes her direction.
"That's none of your business Patterson," snarled Fletch.
"You haven't! God, she'd be an amazing fuck I reckon. Can I have a go? You just leave me in the processing room with her for a few minutes, and I reckon I could get her to change teams," grinned Lexi.
"Lock her into processing. I'm going to tell Vera that I don't want to do this alone," said Linda.
"Good luck. Vera left early; her mother fell down the stairs," said Fletch.
"I'll go straight to the Governor then," replied Linda. She marched away, making a beeline for Joan's office. After knocking, she was quickly granted admission.
"Linda Miles. How are you?" Asked Joan.
"I've got a prisoner whom I don't think should be processed by myself alone Governor," said Linda.
"Oh," said Joan simply.
"I would have asked Vera to help, but she's left early for a family emergency," said Linda desperately.
"Give me a moment, and I'll meet you down at P2," said Joan. She waited for Vera to leave, then pulled out her black leather gloves.
No stone would go unturned.
Joan marched smartly down the hall.
All hell would break loose after this.
She twisted the door handle for P2.
Every prisoner would fear her.
"Lexi Patterson? I'm Miss Ferguson, and I'm here to do a body search, make sure you haven't brought anything with you that you shouldn't."
She wasn't called "The Freak" for nothing.
"You'll start by stripping."
This would make her very happy.
"I'm sure you've done this at Barnhurst many a time."
This woman wouldn't ever really be the same.
Not after this.
This would be one body search she wouldn't want to remember.
"Has anyone seen Franky?" Asked Bea as they sat down to eat dinner.
"Not since this morning," replied Kim sullenly.
"What happened between you two?" Asked Boomer between mouthfuls of food.
"Nothing. Nothing that matters anyway," replied Kim.
"Hey, isn't that Lex Patterson?" Asked Liz.
"I thought she was out at Barnhurst," replied Doreen.
"She was, so what's she doing here?" Asked Liz.
"No idea, but she seems to know Charlie and Em," replied Bea.
"Everyone seems to know those two," replied Doreen.
"Franky!" Exclaimed Kim suddenly. Franky shrugged at her, grabbing a tray of food and sitting at the far table by herself.
"The hell is with that?" Asked Bea.
"Dunno, but it's not normal for Franky to sit by herself," replied Doreen.
"Franky! What are you doing over there?" Called Boomer.
"Just wanted some peace and quiet," she replied.
"Come and sit with us," said Bea gently.
"Come on, we can perv on Will's muscles; he's worn that shirt again," said Liz, a cheeky smile playing on her lips.
"I said I don't want to," responded Franky. Bea nodded to Boomer, who stood up, crossed the room, and picked up Franky's chair. She carried her back to their table, and sat her next to Bea.
"See? That wasn't hard, was it?" Asked Bea, voice dangerously sweet. Franky stared at the table, ignoring her fellow cell mates as she finished her meal. Once finished, she stood and stalked away, leaving the H2 unit to stare at each other.
"What the hell's gotten into her?" Asked Doreen.
"No idea. She's been hiding in her cell all day," replied Boomer.
"I think I might know. Sort of," replied Kim.
"What is it?" Asked Bea.
"I found out that I've got a parole hearing tomorrow," said Kim.
"That's fantastic! Congratulations," said Liz.
"Miss Ferguson put in a good word for me, and my social worker visited me today and told me the good news," said Kim, her excitement a little more evident than it was earlier.
"Listen, I'm going to turn in early," said Bea, standing up.
"Not a problem. See you back at the unit," called Liz. Bea traipsed back to the unit, and found Franky's door shut. She knocked.
"Do you want to talk?" Asked Bea.
"Nope. Fuck off."
"See, I want to talk, so I'm gonna come in anyway." Bea pulled open the door, and found Franky sitting cross legged on her bed, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Franky, what's going on?" Asked Bea! taking a seat.
"Everyone's leaving me! First Erica, now Kim, and it's not fair." Franky sniffed a little, trying to control the tears.
"Well, I'm still here. So's Dor, Liz, Booms, Simmo, Jules, Roz, and so many more. You knew knew things were going to change; especially when I topped Jacs. Know, we have a serious problem, and you and I are going to need to work together to end it, once and for all," said Bea.
"What's going on now?" Asked Franky.
"You know about the Wilson sisters and their connection to Jacs?" Asked Bea.
"Yeah, Kim filled me in."
"I don't think you understand how big this is," said Bea.
"How big could something like this possibly be?" Responded Franky.
"Before they were in here, they used to run a drug ring. Supplied their cousin Brayden with the drugs that killed Debbie. Now that Lexi is back in, who do you think will be the first to start up a new ring in here?" Stated Bea.
"You're kidding me, right?" Snarled Franky.
"We need to stick together if we want to come out on top. No one expects us to work with each other; everyone believed that we would start fighting for top dog when I came out of the slot," said Bea.
"You don't want it?" Asked Franky.
"Nah, too much effort. But I am very happy to make Charlie and Em's life hell," replied Bea. Franky's face curved into a smile.
"It's on."
"Lex?" Said Emily softly.
"What do you want?" Responded Lex, laying across her bed. They had fifteen minutes before curfew was in place, and ten before count.
"We have a business proposition for you," said Charlie.
"Does it involve getting to fuck one of you? Both of you would be perfect, but I'll settle for one," said Lex, licking her lips a little.
"Not yet. We can discuss that later. Right now, we want to discuss something a little closer to us all," replied Emily.
"Oh? I'm listening."
*Lexi Patterson is mentioned in an episode during season one, but we never really see her arrive. I've assumed she ends up somewhere else in the Wentworth storyline (other than Wentworth), and is now making her reappearance here.
Please let me know what you guys think - I've never seen Prisoner, so I'm reading up on characters as much as I can. Would love to hear from you all, whether it be through Twitter, PM or review!
MissShawnaAlice xx