tell me what they wanted with you. Every detail. When will they make their move?”
Josh coughed. They can’t make a move. Something the warden said.”
Leo smiled, but the air of menace remained. “Good. But they must have wanted something.”
“No, they just wanted to get to know your cellmate. They’re really obsessed with you.”
“Obviously,” Leo approached Josh again, backing him up against the bars of the cell door. “but if you keep holding out on me, I will not be happy. You know what I do when I’m unhappy?”
Josh shook his head.
“I kill you in your sleep.”
Josh felt himself go white, the feeling of dropping down the first hill on a rollercoaster. He was locked in with a madman.
But he still had a play. Josh grabbed the bars behind himself, and with a strong pull the door slid to the side. As it moved, Josh ducked through the opening, and on his way he jammed his pinkie into the lock mechanism on the door jamb. He fished out a small piece of balled-up toilet paper and let it drop to the ground. Before Leo could even react, Josh had the door slammed shut again, with Leo standing dumbstruck on the inside.
A whistle blew, and a C.O. ran to Josh. He raised his hands on got down on his knees.
“Farewell! How the hell did you get out here?”
“Sorry, Officer, I don’t want to make trouble. But my cellmate wants to learn how to escape and I’m afraid of what’ll happen if I don’t show him.”
“Hell with that. Never should have let the two of you house together anyway.”
The C.O. cuffed Josh and then stood him up.
“Time to find you a new cell, Farewell.”
Josh smiled at Leo this time, and was led away.
*****
At the same time, on the third and highest level of the block, Ox Werden was hard at work. Under cover of darkness, he used a freshly made shank to scrape deep cuts into the side of a plastic mug. The shank he was using had been made from the handle of the very same mug.
After he had six lines, evenly space around the sides of the mug, he placed it between his foot and the floor and applied pressure. The mug folded and collapsed, tearing the plastic along a few of the lines. Once that was done, he used the shank to cut away the bottom of the mug, then finished separating the side into six evenly sized pieces of rectangular plastic.
He picked up a piece of metal. It had been tricky getting the metal, but Sonny had managed. It was thinner than a dime, and had been crudely cut into a triangle about two inches long on the long side. He placed the metal so that it overlapped the top of one piece of plastic. He placed another piece of the mug on top of that, sandwiching the metal between two pieces of plastic. Using his pillow and blankets to block the light, Ox lit his cigarette lighter and used the flame to melt the two plastic sections, fusing them into a single piece that held the steel in place. When he was done, he had a rough approximation of a box cutter—plastic handle, metal blade. All that was left was to sharpen the blade against the wall of the cell. But that could be done tomorrow. For now, he had two more shanks to finish.
When he was done, Ox had turned a mug and three pieces of steel into three deadly weapons. He crawled beneath his bed and felt along the wall. The walls were concrete, and he had carved out a narrow crack here. He found the spot. He removed the false section of wall—a long strip about one centimetre wide and six inches tall. This false strip was made out of soap, coloured with grains of concrete from when he had carved the crack. Into the crack went all four shanks—the one he had made previously and the three new ones. Then he plugged the crack back up, and got into bed.
Each of Ox’s trusted men had been given metal. They would have twelve more shanks just like these, for a total of sixteen. Four for the members of the motorcycle club, and twelve for some good guys they knew they could count on. More than enough to take care of
Josh coughed. They can’t make a move. Something the warden said.”
Leo smiled, but the air of menace remained. “Good. But they must have wanted something.”
“No, they just wanted to get to know your cellmate. They’re really obsessed with you.”
“Obviously,” Leo approached Josh again, backing him up against the bars of the cell door. “but if you keep holding out on me, I will not be happy. You know what I do when I’m unhappy?”
Josh shook his head.
“I kill you in your sleep.”
Josh felt himself go white, the feeling of dropping down the first hill on a rollercoaster. He was locked in with a madman.
But he still had a play. Josh grabbed the bars behind himself, and with a strong pull the door slid to the side. As it moved, Josh ducked through the opening, and on his way he jammed his pinkie into the lock mechanism on the door jamb. He fished out a small piece of balled-up toilet paper and let it drop to the ground. Before Leo could even react, Josh had the door slammed shut again, with Leo standing dumbstruck on the inside.
A whistle blew, and a C.O. ran to Josh. He raised his hands on got down on his knees.
“Farewell! How the hell did you get out here?”
“Sorry, Officer, I don’t want to make trouble. But my cellmate wants to learn how to escape and I’m afraid of what’ll happen if I don’t show him.”
“Hell with that. Never should have let the two of you house together anyway.”
The C.O. cuffed Josh and then stood him up.
“Time to find you a new cell, Farewell.”
Josh smiled at Leo this time, and was led away.
*****
At the same time, on the third and highest level of the block, Ox Werden was hard at work. Under cover of darkness, he used a freshly made shank to scrape deep cuts into the side of a plastic mug. The shank he was using had been made from the handle of the very same mug.
After he had six lines, evenly space around the sides of the mug, he placed it between his foot and the floor and applied pressure. The mug folded and collapsed, tearing the plastic along a few of the lines. Once that was done, he used the shank to cut away the bottom of the mug, then finished separating the side into six evenly sized pieces of rectangular plastic.
He picked up a piece of metal. It had been tricky getting the metal, but Sonny had managed. It was thinner than a dime, and had been crudely cut into a triangle about two inches long on the long side. He placed the metal so that it overlapped the top of one piece of plastic. He placed another piece of the mug on top of that, sandwiching the metal between two pieces of plastic. Using his pillow and blankets to block the light, Ox lit his cigarette lighter and used the flame to melt the two plastic sections, fusing them into a single piece that held the steel in place. When he was done, he had a rough approximation of a box cutter—plastic handle, metal blade. All that was left was to sharpen the blade against the wall of the cell. But that could be done tomorrow. For now, he had two more shanks to finish.
When he was done, Ox had turned a mug and three pieces of steel into three deadly weapons. He crawled beneath his bed and felt along the wall. The walls were concrete, and he had carved out a narrow crack here. He found the spot. He removed the false section of wall—a long strip about one centimetre wide and six inches tall. This false strip was made out of soap, coloured with grains of concrete from when he had carved the crack. Into the crack went all four shanks—the one he had made previously and the three new ones. Then he plugged the crack back up, and got into bed.
Each of Ox’s trusted men had been given metal. They would have twelve more shanks just like these, for a total of sixteen. Four for the members of the motorcycle club, and twelve for some good guys they knew they could count on. More than enough to take care of
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