The Family Business 3(9)
“It’s cool. I’ve been expecting them,” I replied.
I stood up and adjusted my kufi then whistled at Lenny and Squiggy, my two pet rats, who scrambled up my arm and onto my shoulders. I’d raised them from babies after I killed their mother for chewing into a pack of Oodles of Noodles I’d stashed in my cell. There was only one thing in the world I cared about more than those two rats, and that was my wife Sonya—who, unfortunately, didn’t seem to share the same feelings for me anymore.
As I fed Lenny and Squiggy peanuts, two white-shirt screws, Sergeant Jefferson and Captain Nugent, stepped in front of my cell. They might have been employed by the state, but both of them were on my payroll as well, and occasionally did a job or two on the outside when the price was right. Jefferson, a brother, stepped in my cell and almost killed himself tripping over Nugent to get out when he saw Lenny and Squiggy perched on my shoulders.
“Jesus Christ. What the hell are those things doing in there?” he asked once he was safely back outside.
“What’s wrong, Jefferson? You don’t like rats?” Nugent laughed as he walked into my cell. Unlike his darker counterpart, he didn’t seem to have a fear of my pets.
“Fuck no. If it wasn’t for the money he’s paying, I’d have those nasty motherf*ckers exterminated. If you don’t mind, X, I’ll stay right here.”
“Suit yourself,” I replied.
Unlike his partner, Nugent was always careful not to implicate himself in anything illegal, so he spoke in a low tone, making sure that only he and I could hear what he was saying. “The Italians just got word that their little problems in Attica and Rahway were taken care of. They send their thanks.”
“Tell them that prompt payment is thanks enough.”
Nugent nodded then made his way out of my cell. A few seconds later, Jefferson poked his head back in and said loud enough for the entire tier to hear, “Hey, X, I need you on a work detail over by Cell Block C. Deputy Warden Martinez said I can buy you some KFC if you finish it today. What do you say?”
I smiled. “Long as it ain’t swine, I’m down.”
Five minutes later, Jefferson and I, minus Nugent, were walking down the main corridor of my cell block. Jefferson was keeping his distance because I had Lenny and Squiggy hidden in my orange coverall pockets. That didn’t stop him from talking, though.
“X, man, what the hell would make you wanna mess with nasty-ass rats?” Jefferson asked.
I wanted to stab him in the neck with the shank I was hiding for talking about Lenny and Squiggy like that, but I also knew I needed his diarrhea-of-the-mouth self, so I kept it lighthearted. “They wouldn’t let me have a dog,” I replied.
Jefferson laughed, continuing to talk about nothing as we turned down another corridor and walked until we had no choice but to stop at a gate. I’d never seen this part of the prison, but I had no doubt he was taking me to where I needed to be.
“On the gate!” he yelled, smiling at the female screw behind the glass. She pushed a button, triggering a loud buzzing sound, and then the gate opened. We’d already gone through five similar gates, and not one screw even raised an eyebrow. This was the power of the white shirt, and the reason why I paid fools like Jefferson and Nugent so much. Guys like them gave me and the brothers carte blanche to move freely throughout the prison to do our jobs.
Twenty feet after the gate, we went through a door that led outside to a long, barbed-wired path, which led to another building. I stopped and let the sun touch my face. Something I had always taken for granted when I was outside in the world was now considered a luxury.
Halfway down the path, Jefferson, who had somehow retrieved a rake on his way out of the building, interrupted my thoughts and started talking again. I swear that dude loved to hear the sound of his own voice.
“X, when we get around that building, I want you to take this rake and start cleaning up the leaves. It’s a blind spot in the camera network, so the only people who will be able to see you are me and the other COs on the yard and in the tower. He should be around here in about twenty minutes, so I’ll keep them occupied. When that time comes, I’m sure I don’t have to tell you what to do.”
I nodded in confirmation as he escorted me to the spot where I would be raking.
After five minutes, Jefferson wandered off to talk to some other screws on the other side of the small street, so I let Lenny and Squiggy out to play in a pile of leaves. As I raked, my thoughts wandered to Sonya. I still couldn’t believe she was having an affair. I wasn’t one to explore my emotions—hell, some people might say I didn’t have any emotions—but every time I thought of Sonya with another man, I became overcome with an intense jealousy.
“Motherf*cker, I want my fifty dollars!” I turned around at the sound of a fight starting. This was nothing new. In prison, dudes fight every damn day. What made it different this time was that it was two COs who were beefing. Jefferson was pointing a finger at another white-shirt screw who was almost half his size. He was yelling loudly enough for half the prison to hear him.
“Get your finger out my face. I don’t owe you shit!” the pint-size screw yelled back.
I had to stifle a laugh when Jefferson pointed his finger and poked him in the nose. What happened next surprised me, and probably all the other screws, because no one would have expected the short screw to punch Jefferson in the face. A melee ensued, and every screw on the yard came running.