23. Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Three
Griffin’s Beach Brock
“ H ere’s your meal,” Tony says after he opens the door and sets a tray down on the floor.
Looking behind him, he makes sure no one’s around before leaning against the doorway. The food is beyond inedible, but Brock forces himself to choke down what little he can. If nothing else, he needs strength. He has no appetite sitting on the floor.
“Not hungry?”
“Would you be?” Brock asks.
“Because of where you are or the food itself?”
He lifts the mush that is the unidentified meat mixture on his fork and lets it drop back down onto the tray. “Honestly, it’s a toss-up at this point. I don’t even know what this is supposed to be.”
“I think it’s sloppy joe without the bun. Or maybe chili? I don’t really know, either,” he admits.
Leaning back against the wall, he looks up at the guard. “What’s with the special meeting?”
Tony checks once more to make sure no one’s paying attention, and he crosses his arms over his chest. “You got a plan to get out of here? Short of tunneling out with the plastic spoons we give you, that is.”
This could be a trap. But what purpose would that serve? He could simply be the good cop to the rest of the bad cops. In the end, the good cop is still a cop. Tony’s the law while I’m the outlaw.
“Maybe.”
“Maybe? I thought you had a reputation of being a genius or something.”
“My reputation?”
Sniffling, he seems to have the same issue Brock does. Can he trust the man sitting on the ground wearing an orange jumpsuit?
“I know people who know the Drifters. People who say you could possibly help me out with an issue or two.”
“An issue or two?”
“But in order for that to happen, I need you to trust me. And I need to do something as a sign of good faith for you to do that.”
He laughs. “Like locking me up in solitary?”
“Look, can we just forget for a moment that you’re a Drifter and I’m a prison guard? We’re just two guys talking.”
“You heard from people who told you my wife was pregnant?”
“The warden knows, too. He wanted to tell you right before he has you killed.”
There it is. The truth Brock needed to know whether he can trust Tony or not. “How’s he planning to take me out?”
“I don’t know. I’m not on the inside because he doesn’t own me. But if you got a plan to get out of here alive, you gotta move fast.”
Yeah, I got a plan, but I need more than a pencil and paper to do it. I need a fucking computer.
“I have a plan, but my resources are a bit limited. There’s clearly a reason I’m not allowed near the computers,” he says.
It’s the truth. Every other inmate gets computer privileges with the exception of sex offenders locked away for the things they purchased or kept on their computers. And Brock. Because they know enough about him to see the danger of giving him even five minutes with any type of technology.
“Computer privileges aren’t exactly possible,” Tony says. “You definitely need it?”
Brock levels him with a glare. “That’s kind of my bread and butter. I thought you said you’d heard about me.”
He smirks. “Fair enough. Any part of your plan require getting a message to the outside?”
“Yeah, I need my laptop. Think you could get a note to Lily? Tell her what I need? The only issue we have from there is getting it to me.”
Tapping his fingers on his bicep, Tony scrunches his face. “I have an idea, but you might not like it.”
“If it gets me my laptop, I don’t really care.”
“Gotta get into the infirmary. Once I get it from Hankinson, I can get it to you in there. The only area no one else will be able to see or stop you.”
That’s not a bad idea. “Okay, I can do that. What do you need from me?”
Leaning back, Tony looks around outside of the cell again. Whatever it is, it requires complete secrecy. Being here this long is already a risk. “Bill and the warden.”
“Which one’s Bill?”
“The one who took you to meet Hankinson.”
The one who made the shit remarks to Lily. “Him. Okay… What about them?”
“It sure would be tragic if something happened to them when you’re on the outside after all the shit they’ve pulled in here.”
“What’s the deal with Bill? Why’s he so far up the warden’s ass? You aren’t.”
“Because the warden’s up his. Literally.”
Eyebrows raised, he juts out his chin. “Come again?”
The warden, a man named Scott Bishop, is married with three children. But now that Tony says it, there are a few things that start to make sense. A lot of sense. It could very easily be what Ramsey has on the man to keep him in his pocket.
“Yeah, Bill’s getting rammed by the married warden. Mrs. Bishop has no idea, and the only reason I’m not fired or dead is because I have proof of it. Bill can’t touch me, and the warden knows that if anything happens to me, the video goes public. He’d be ruined.”
“Might be the same thing Ramsey’s using against him.”
It’s Tony’s turn to look shocked. “That’s who you pissed off? No wonder you’re fucked. No, I don’t think that’s exactly what it is. Might be one of many things, actually, but our wonderful man in charge is notoriously corrupt. There are probably hundreds of things to use against him.”
“I can make that happen if you help me, and we get out. I gotta ask, though… Why’s Beckett locked up down here so much?”
He just laughs. “Because they’re trying to break Cohen. He’s resilient. Might be the worst thing for him in the long run because it forces them to get creative. But I gotta hand it to him… He’s a hell of a lot tougher than he looks.”
“I’m sorry, did you miss where he took out all five guys who attacked us?”
“I may or may not have left his military background out of the dossier I made for the two of you. Had I realized it was Ramsey who’s so pissed at you, I would’ve left your hacking skills out of yours. Given you half a chance.”
It’s like making a deal with the devil, but at least it’s more like a devil he knows. If this is a trap, what’s the worst that can happen? He’s already going to die in here if he doesn’t get out. If Tony doesn’t help him, he’s just still in the same spot.
But what if he really is trying to help? He seems normal. Hard but normal. Hell, he let me talk to Summer to know she’s pregnant. He wasn’t supposed to let me call her.
“I’ll get what I need written out,” Brock decides with a nod.
“I’ll be back in a few minutes to collect the tray from your delicious looking dinner.”
“Be lucky you don’t have to eat the same slop as we do.”
The door shuts behind Tony, and Brock gets to writing. He begins with a list of what he needs, including his laptop and a message to Sebastian. In order to make his plan work, he needs his father-in-law involved. It won’t work without him.
This has to be done quickly, but if it’s too quick, he’ll get suspicious. I’ll have to take my chances. Who knows how long Shannon can survive on her own otherwise.
Tony returns as Brock forces himself to eat half of the now-cold mystery meal. “Got hungry enough to eat?”
“It’s amazing what you can eat when you’re hungry enough, but I still couldn’t finish it.”
Reaching out for the notepad and pencil, he looks confused as Brock pulls it back and holds it against his chest. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m trusting you,” Brock says.
“And I’m trusting you.”
“If you double cross me, I’ll take you out before the warden or Bill has a chance to carry out their plan for me.”
He smirks. “I got it. Here’s where I stand, Bradshaw. I’ll take a standup crook over a corrupt leader of the law any day. Cop, judge, warden… We have to toe the line—sometimes blurring it—but we’re not supposed to cross it. Not like this.”
“What do you consider blurring it to be? Because you did kind of just ask me to take out two guys for you.”
“Killing bad people who pretend to be the good guys is justifiable in my book. I don’t give a shit that they’re fucking.
Whatever makes them happy, but they abuse their power.
And I’ll be the first to admit I don’t always stop someone killing a rapist, especially when their victims are vulnerable individuals. ”
Kill the worst of the worst. Not a bad mentality for someone in charge.
“You ever fancy yourself the warden?” Brock asks. “Sounds like you’re already preparing for it.”
“Got beat out thanks to Ramsey. He doesn’t own me, but my dad was in charge here once upon a time. Should’ve been me, but Ramsey has shit on the men making the decisions.”
Maybe they’ll get Tony in the position of power if this all goes according to plan. He hands him the notepad, which is placed under the tray, and Tony leaves Brock alone.
Laying on the floor, he stares around the bright light above him. If this works, he’s going to be out in time to see his wife give birth. He hopes to get out in time to see her belly growing, but it all depends on how long it takes to get everything else in motion.