The voice was booming out of the speakers with extreme authority.
“Lock down. Lock down. All inmates are to report to their cells for a standing count. Lock down in five minutes.”
Inmate #3734166 was shuffling down the cell hall corridor, his face wrinkled in both thought and frustration. He had been down trying to make a phone call to his attorney but the son of a bitch wasn’t answering his calls and then a inmate had tried to throw a cup of urine at him as he passed by his cell. Heathens!!
Five minutes! How do they expect me to get to my cell in five minutes at my age? Especially in the winter. This cold is playing hell on my arthritis. How could they think that sending me to a prison in Kansas wouldn’t effect my health. I imagine that Portsmouth wouldn’t have been much better. And these other convicts! All these young punks pushing and shoving me, giving me no respect at all. Don’t they know who I am? I know it won’t be much longer though. My sweet wife will do anything to get me out of here. I couldn’t survive this if I didn’t know she was out there waiting for me. She is truly my rock.
The old inmate finally made it to his cell. He couldn’t believe his eyes. There was another inmate sitting on his bunk. Going through his property. He was even eating one of his Bit o’ Honeys. A Hershey bar wrapper was laying on the floor. That was the last straw.
“What in the hell do you think you are doing, son.”
Glaring at the old man was a pimply faced young man, about twenty years old. He was tall but very lean, his forearms covered with poor quality naked lady tattoos. His body odor was overpowering.
“What’s it look like, fuckstick? I’m having a snack. They didn’t feed me on the bus.” The old man was stunned.
“So you think you can just walk into my cell and steal my property.”
The younger man laughed uproariously with his mouth wide open. A disgusting display of of chocolate covered, cigarette yellowed teeth.
“Fuck, Pops. We’re cellies now.”
“Cellies?”
“Roommates you dumb shit.” The young inmate shook his head in disgust.
“That’s impossible. I’ll have to speak to the officers about this.”
“Oh, and you’re a snitch on top of everything else.” Yellow teeth waved one of the old mans letter’s that he had been reading.
“That’s from my wife! Why you no good bastard!”
“I know. Not a bad looking old broad for her age. And she still calls you admiral. How sweet.”
Yellow teeth stood up and walked over to the old man. Backed him up into a corner of the cell.
“I’m a enlisted man myself. Army. Infantry. Least I was until they busted me and sent me here. They said I raped and killed this little girl on Ft. Campbell. But you better never tell anyone in this shit box that I said that. Got that? I wasn’t even suppose to be in this cell anyway. Suppose to be with the enlisted guys, but some honcho in a suit said I was suppose to be in this cell all special like.”
Yellow teeth backed up and stood by his bunk as he heard the guard doing the count approach. He grinned at the admiral.
“But I been in the stockade and I been in county before, so I know my way around. And I tell you one thing there, Mr. Admiral. Tonight your scrawny old ass is gonna be in the barrel.”