Jail Cell Love Affair - 6. More Time or More Waiting?

The next morning at breakfast, Mo told Fred about his altercation with the guard, Dennison.

"I guess he was tired of me just giving him blowjobs. He wanted to fuck me."

"Geez, Mo. I feel bad that you had to do that to see me."

"No worries. It was a small price to pay to be with you. Unfortunately, making love may have to wait a while. There's no way I'm letting that dickhead fuck me. That type of contact is reserved just for you."

"You can be sweet when you want to."

Mo snickered, "Yeah. Don't let that get around."

Fred chuckled, "Never. Hey, if we can't make love again for a while, I understand. We'll be okay."

"Sure, but who wants to be just okay when they could be happy?"

"Yeah, I hear that. When I was found guilty, I didn't think I could ever be happy again. I never would have thought I could be happy in here. Even part of the time."

"Yeah, this place is definitely not very conducive to happiness."

"Gotta take what we can get, Mo."

"I hear ya. I'll try to work something out."

"Maybe I can try to talk to Laggert."

Mo grimaced, "No. Don't even think about that. That could backfire and put you in a world of hurt. I can protect you from the other prisoners, I can't do shit about the guards."

"Okay. Yeah, I guess you're right."

That night, when Mo got Laggert's attention to go see Fred, he was shut down again.

"Sorry, Mo. Dennison will screw me. He said if I let you out again, he was going to tell Winters I was doing it. Winters wouldn't believe me if I said Dennison was too. I can't lose this job."

"Yeah. I get it. Thanks for the time you have given me."

"I know you and Fred are close, and even though I could guess what you were doing in his cell, Dennison told me what he saw you doing on his nights. You obviously didn't have enough time to do that when I let you out, but I couldn't risk a longer interval."

"Yeah, I get it. It's cool. If you could let Fred know I won't be visiting him when you make your rounds, I'd appreciate it."

"No problem."

Laggert did as Mo requested. Fred pretty much expected it. The guards are going to stick together. They have to. They're outnumbered almost twenty to one. Six to one in pure numbers, but there are multiple shifts. They may have guns, but a lot of guys here don't have much to lose.

The days passed slowly. A week after Mo's discussion with Laggert, Dennison decided it was time to make some trouble for Mo and Fred. What he didn't realize was, he made even more trouble for himself. On his rounds one night, he let the cat out of the bag.

"Lights out! No more midnight rendezvous for our resident lovers, Mo and Fred. They're going to have to fuck each other on someone else's time. They won't be doing it on mine anymore."

He purposely stopped at Mo's and Fred's cells to make sure they knew he wasn't going to be bending the rules for them anymore. Fred really couldn't say anything about it. However, he was pissed off that the whole cell block now knew about it. And everybody else within the sound of Dennison's voice. Mo wasn't about to let it slide that easily, though.

"You're a real asshole, Dennison."

"I'd guess you would know about assholes, wouldn't you? Do you lick them too, or just stick your dick into them?"

"I'm not going to forget this. You'll get yours, somehow, someway."

"Yeah. I'll be waiting until I'm old and gray. Since you can't fuck Jammers anymore, go fuck yourself."

Dennison walked away. Mo was seething. One could almost see the smoke coming out of his ears, he was so fired up. The next morning at breakfast, nobody knew what to say to Mo. They knew they couldn't rag on Fred, for fear for their well-being. Nobody could picture Mo as gay. Another morning later, Mo did have something to say to one neighbor, though.

"Hey Conway."

Surprised, Conway answered quietly, "Um, yeah Mo?"

"Come here for a minute."

Sean Conway was another of the smaller guys on the cell block. Mo didn't go out of his way to protect him, but he also didn't do anything to hurt him. Sean had been beaten and raped a number of times in the two years he was there. He sat down with Mo and Fred.

Mo spoke quietly, "I have a proposition for you, Sean."

Obviously nervous, literally shaking in his shoes, "Sure, Mo. What do you need?"

"It won't be one way. You do me a favor, I do you a favor. I'll extend my umbrella of protection over you if you do this thing for me."

"I ain't killing nobody."

"No, I wouldn't ask you to do that. There's plenty of other guys a lot higher on the 'get them to kill someone for you' list than you. I need you to go to the Warden."

Conway looked all around to see if anyone was listening, "Warden Winters? Why?"

"You heard Dennison the other night. I need someone to get word to Winters about Denny, but not include Fred or me."

Frowning, "How would I do that?"

"You basically tell the Warden what Denny let slip, without using names. Tell him you're pretty sure Denny's been letting a prisoner out of his cell to visit with another at night. You're down at the end, past Fred, so you can truthfully say you couldn't tell who it was, or where he was going."

"What if Winters asks everybody who the cons are?"

"You let me worry about that. I doubt anybody is going to rat me out. Even if I got time in solitary, I'd be coming back."

"Yeah, I guess that's true."

"So, will you do it?"

"Does it have to be today? I have to think about it."

"No, not necessarily today, but soon. I can't trust Denny to not make up a story that puts him in a good light. You're the ideal guy to do this. You're at the far end of the block, and you've shared shit with the Warden before."

Conway inhaled sharply, "What do you mean?"

"Yeah, like you don't know. I don't care that Vinson spent some time in solitary for doing what he did to Natters. And I won't let anybody know it was you that ratted him out."

Rolling his eyes, and looking at Fred, "So, if I don't go the Warden, you tell Vinson it was me?"

"No. Straight up, one for one. You go to the Warden for me, I make sure everyone knows you're off limits. No strings. You don't want to, I can understand that, you're not here for fifteen more years, like I am. You're doing your time quietly, I respect that. Fred won't say anything either, right Fred?"

Shaking his head forcefully, "Never."

"Give me the day. I'll let you know for sure by dinner."

"Sounds fair."

Conway thought it over a lot quicker than that. Mo's protection? It was almost a no-brainer. Eleven o'clock that day, Conway told the guard he needed to talk to the Warden. The guard knew he'd been a rat at least once before. Helping the Warden get dirt on somebody always looked good for a guard.

"Yeah, let me call, see when he can see you."

After talking to the Warden's assistant, he told Conway to be ready to go at five to two. Conway was nervous walking into the Warden's office. Shit, pretty much anybody would be. Mo saw Conway and Faines, the guard, walk past his cell. It didn't take a genius to figure out where they were going.

Faines let Conway into the Warden's office, then left.

"Hello, Warden Winters."

"Good afternoon, Mr. Conway. Take a seat. Mr. Faines says you wanted to talk to me. I'm guessing it's another situation you have some dirt you want to tell me?"

"Yeah. But it's not a con this time."

"You're walking on very thin ice if this is about a guard."

"I understand that, but I know it's something you wouldn't like."

"Go on."

"I'm pretty sure Mr. Dennison has been letting a prisoner or prisoners out of their cells at night, to visit another con."

"That's a pretty serious accusation. Who is he moving, and who are they visiting?"

Beginning to sweat, he lies, "I don't know, sir. All I hear is the cell doors opening and voices out in the hall. I can't tell who it is."

"You don't recognize them as they walk past your cell?"

"No, sir. I'm down at the end, I don't see sh... anything."

"Okay, I suppose that's believable. What makes you say it's Mr. Dennison?"

"It only happens on the nights he works. And he told the whole block two nights ago that late night visits weren't happening anymore."

"I get the distinct impression there's more that you're not telling me. But I'll put it down to self-preservation. However, I am going to find out about this. You'd better hope that I can't find out who the prisoners are. If they want revenge, I can't protect you all the time unless you're in solitary. And I don't think you'd want to spend the remaining three to five years in solitary."

"No, sir. But that's what I wanted to tell you."

Winters has his assistant get a guard to come escort Conway back to his cell. Winters isn't one to let grass grow under his feet. But he has to wait until he goes to interrogate the rest of the prisoners in that block. If he goes too soon, he's saying it's obvious that Conway snitched. He decides after breakfast tomorrow is safe enough.

The next morning, shortly after the south wing has finished eating, Warden Winters goes on a stroll. Nobody will suspect anything because he does walk through the cell blocks on occasion. He stops outside each cell in turn, nods to Faines, who unlocks the cell. He starts with Mo, his cell being first in line.

"I have a couple questions I need to ask you and the rest of the block, St. Louis." The Warden pronounces it correctly, San lu-EEE.

"Sure thing Warden, sir."

"I have it on good authority that Mr. Dennison is letting prisoners out of their cells to have late night visits with other prisoners. First, is this true?"

Mo answers without actually lying. "Well, he does walk up and down the block at night, like he's supposed to. If he's letting someone out of their cells, they wouldn't walk past me. But now that you mention it, I occasionally do hear a door or two open some nights."

"You seem to always know what's going on here. Who are the prisoners involved?"

Still not exactly lying, "Nobody's said anything about leaving their cell. And like I said. Nobody walks past me except for guards."

"Alright. You keep your ears open and let me know if anybody says anything."

Thinking 'yeah, right,' Mo says, "I'll do that, sir."

For the next couple cells in line, the Warden hears essentially the same things, and also indicates they should let him know if they hear anything. The only variations until he gets to Fred's cell are if someone walks past, it's while they're asleep, or it's too dark to tell who it is, other than Dennison. Which most of the time is actually true. When Mo walks by though, it's obvious who it is. Fred tells basically the same story as the prisoners in the first few cells, nobody walks past his cell. He also, technically, doesn't lie, since Mo doesn't walk past his cell, but into it.

There are two more prisoners between Fred and Conway. They essentially repeat Fred's story. The Warden also visits Conway, so it doesn't appear that he's the rat.

"I heard pretty much what you said. A couple prisoners said they noticed people walking past their cells, but it was too dark to say for sure who it was, aside from Mr. Dennison."

Dennison's profile is easier to recognize in the dark. Overweight, patches on his clothing that nobody else on the block has, and an annoying habit of slapping his billy club with his hand in time to his steps. The next day, the Warden is waiting in the guard's locker room when Dennison reports for work.

"May I have a moment, Clarence?"

"Sure, sir."

They walk into an empty portion of the room before the Warden confronts him.

"I've heard disturbing news about you. Letting prisoners out of their cells at night, allowing them to go into another's cell."

"Whatever St. Louis and Jammers said are lies."

"I never mentioned who the prisoners involved were. Nobody on the block could or would tell me. How would you know?"

Dennison mumbles something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like 'oh fuck.'

The Warden heard, "Yes. Oh, fuck is right, Mr. Dennison. Consider yourself on administrative leave, effective immediately, until I get to the bottom of this."

"That's not fair, sir. You're going to take the word of a couple faggots over me?"

"Your absence could be a suspension without pay, so tread very lightly there, Mr. Dennison."

"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir."

"Leave your weapon, and go home, Mr. Dennison. I will call you when your leave is over. One way or the other."

The Warden made it painfully obvious that Dennison's leave could be over in multiple ways. The least likely of these ways was via his return to work. More likely it is being fired. And worse yet, being fired and arrested.

Winters couldn't get a replacement on such short notice. So, Dennison's temporary replacement was one of the two nighttime guards from the minimum-security wing. He felt it was safer to have the full staff in medium security. He expected some real fun the next day, when he called in St. Louis and Jamers.

Next up - "Formal Meetings With the Warden"