Bang Up: Prison walls don't just keep criminals in, the keep the outside world at bay (33 page)

Potter stirred in his bed, he must have heard him moving about and opened his eyes slowly. His voice was low as he rubbed his knuckles into the corners of his eye. “Do you want me to make us both a drink? I know you’re upset, you’re bound to be. Talking sometimes helps you know.” Mikey screwed his face up. If he had a pound for every time some know-it-all had told him it was good to talk about his problems, he would have been a rich man. They were all nosey fuckers trying to get inside his head, mess it up and stop him thinking for himself. “I don’t need to do fuck all. Just get your head back down and get some shut-eye. I’ll be over it soon. It’s just been a bit of a shock that’s all. My main concern is the big bastard who’s landed in the nick. I told you about Davo didn’t I and the beef I had with him on the outside?” 

Potter nodded his head. “Yeah, he seems like a right head the ball. I’m glad I’ve never met him.” 

Mikey gave a sarcastic laugh and sat back down on his bed. “Well. Hold that thought, he’s been shipped here to this jail. He’s a bad arse and I know he’ll have something up his sleeve for me.” 

“Just front him, just ask him what the crack is and if he wants a one-on-one, a straightener to sort it out?”Potter suggested.

Mikey swallowed hard and lifted his eyes over to his pad mate. “Get a grip lad, the guy is a maniac. You don’t know about him, he would eat me up for breakfast and shit me out of his arsehole.” 

Potter was wide awake now and he was unable to get back to sleep. He walked over to the small table with the kettle on it. “I’ll do us a drink. If what you’re saying is right then we have to be prepared for whatever he throws at us. You know I’ve got your back don’t you?” Mikey sat chewing on the side of his thumb. He knew he could fight, swing a punch, so why was he crapping his pants? If this man wanted a fight then he may stand a chance. But Davo didn’t work like that, he was a crafty bastard, he liked his victims to suffer. There were so many tales about this guy and some of the things he’d done to other gang members were off the scale. He liked to humiliate them, piss on them, shove his dick up their arse. Potter stirred the sugar around in the cup and drained the teabag. “I don’t know what to suggest for the best. It might be a case of you get to him before he gets to you. I’ve seen you scrap Mikey you’re hard as fuck. I’ll tell you something for nothing, I wouldn’t like a belt off you.” 

“You might be right, I’ll take the cunt down, stick a blade in him. I’ll let him know I’m game too.” 

Potter passed Mikey his drink and sat down facing him, he rubbed at his arms as a cold chill rippled over his skin. “Trouble just follows you doesn’t it? It’s like you’re cursed or something. I mean, some of the shit you’ve disclosed to me is horrendous. I don’t know how you’ve survived for as long as you have. Anyway, on a positive note, your dad is back in your life now and you can both start to move on. How does it feel after seeing him again after all this time? I know I’ve not mentioned anything about it before but it would be good to hear how you feel.” Potter was staring at him waiting on a reply. Usually, Mikey would have kept this information to himself but he was vulnerable and needed to open up, release all the anxiety he had rushing through his veins. He took a mouthful of the hot, sweet tea. Four sugars he had in each brew. Mikey had always had a sweet tooth and even though he knew it was no good for him he still craved the sugary drink. 

“It was weird Potter. Do you know when you look at someone and even though you know someone, you don’t really. His face has aged so much and I couldn’t stop looking at him. My mam always told me I looked like him and I couldn’t see it until I was face to face with him.” 

“How did you feel inside, was there still a father and son bond, did you feel it?” 

Mikey thought about the question and took his time to answer it. “It felt strange, I suppose I just wanted him to hug me and tell me everything was going to be alright. As a kid growing up he always cuddled me and put the effort in to be a good father. It was the beer and the drugs that ruined him though. I remember him being in some right states, fucked in the head he was when he’d been on a bender.” 

Potter sighed and picked at his nose. “My family is pretty boring compared with yours. Nothing really happens at our house at all. My parents are straight members, they get up go to work and come home and go to bed. I don’t know how they live like that really. Meeting you has already given me a different outlook on life. I need excitement, to challenge myself, not to be a boring prick anymore. No wonder I can’t get a leg-over. I’m boring as fuck; a geek, a proper dickhead.” 

Mikey chuckled and nodded his head. “Yeah, you are a bit wet behind the ears. It is like you lived in a bubble and not experienced anything in life. I still can’t believe you’re still a virgin. Pussy is mint.” 

Potter licked at his lips and just the mention of girls made his temperature rise. “How do you know where to put it?” 

Mikey opened his eyes wide and he smirked. “What, your cock?” 

“Yeah, how do you know where it goes?” 

“For fucks’s sake, you just bang it in. You’ll know when you're there, just give her a good fingering first, explore and you’ll find it.” 

Potter looked worried and you could see the idea of sex with a woman scared the life out of him. “My dad told tell me about the birds and the bees a while back but he never explained it like you just have. He went around the houses and told me when two people love each other that’s what they do to show each other they care.” 

Mikey’s mood was lifting and he couldn’t help but giggle. He just took it for granted that all men had the natural instinct to know what to do in the bedroom. His own father had never told him shit, he just picked it up as he went along. Mikey lay down on his bed and let out a laboured breath. “Oh well, fuck it. If I’m single then I’m single. A couple of hours on Fuck-book and I’ll be back in the game again. You can’t keep a good man down can you? It looks like I’m back in the mix then.” 

Potter smirked as he went back to bed. “Nope, I knew you would bounce back. It’s just that Davo who needs sorting out now. I’m right behind you, don’t forget that.” The room was silent and all you could hear was Mikey’s breathing. His nose was blocked and he sounded like a sleeping pig. “Night Mikey, “Potter whispered. 

“Get to fucking sleep you wuss,” Mikey sniggered back.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Rachel sat at the kitchen table munching on some hot toast, butter dripping from the sides of it. The radio was on and she was singing along to it. The money from Gerry was safe now and she’d completed her task of splitting her son and Sarah up. Today she was going to the jail to see her son and she was already planning in her head what she was going to tell him. As far as she knew Sarah was in London now ready to start her new job, there was no coming back. Her quest had been completed. Mikey had shattered her heart into a million pieces and she would never forgive him for his infidelity. Gerry had been worried about her at one point and he was sure she was going to run away but as time went on, he could see she was ready to move on. Rachel ran her fingers through her hair and sat staring into space, the lack of sleep lately was showing on her tired skin and every day she woke up tired. The letterbox rapped and Rachel headed to the front door. As she held her toast in her hand she lifted the catch. Rachel’s body was twisted up in minutes, screaming, shouting, blood spraying about the hallway. What the hell was going on, somebody must have heard her screams? Why was nobody coming to help her? This woman was getting beaten within an inch of her life.

*

Mikey made his way onto the landing. There was a group of prisoners gathered nearby chatting and playing cards. He looked fresh this morning and the session at the gym had really cleared his head. The rage inside him was curbed for now and he seemed to have his temper under control. Mikey sat down and picked up a newspaper to scan the local news. “Fancy seeing you here,” a voice from the side of him chirped. Mikey lifted his head and his jaw dropped low. Brendan Mellor was at Davo’s side and he was smirking too. “Me and you need a chat don’t we?” Mikey’s nostrils flared and his breathing became rapid. Should he steam into him now?

What the hell was he waiting for? Kick his fucking head in before he makes the first move. He scanned the room for a weapon to whack over Davo over the head with but there was nothing in sight. Everybody’s eyes were on him now, waiting on a comeback. 

Mikey sat forward in his seat and kept his eyes on the newspaper. He couldn’t show fear, he had to see it through. “Ready when you are Davo, just say where and when and I’ll be there.” 

Davo was a snapper and he was trying his best to keep his cool. “Listen, you cocky prick, don’t even think you can chat shit to me. I’ll break your fucking nose in front of everyone if you carry on.” 

Mikey raised his eyes and growled over at him. Brendan was licking arse and he caught his eye. “See you’ve got yourself a new bitch then Davo? You better watch him though he’s a shady fucker, he’ll sell you out at the drop of a hat.” 

Brendan was cocky and now he had the back-up he was more than willing to voice his opinion. “I hope Davo fucks you up. It’s about time someone knocked you down a peg or two. I for one will be laughing my cock off when he does too.” 

Mark was watching everything from the corridor. He was biting his fingernails, intrigued by Mikey’s courage, he’d underestimated him. Davo made sure Mikey was listening and spoke in a loud voice to the rest of the inmates. “Did you all know about Dennis Milne getting kicked to fuck. He’s in a bad way. I wonder who done him in?” Mikey was white and his fists curled into tight balls at the side of his legs as Davo continued. “You all know Mikey’s dad is a nonce right?”

There was whispering among the prisoners, they were nudging each other, their eyes wide open. 

Mikey sucked hard on his gums and stood to his feet. There was no way he was letting this go... “My dad’s no nonce. So, don’t start rumours you prick.” 

Davo marched over to Mikey and, leaning into his ear, whispered,  “Your old man got what he deserved and I loved watching his face squirm when I kicked his fucking head in. You know he raped a young lad don’t you, stuck his cock right up his arse.” Mikey closed his eyes for a split second and without thinking he twatted Davo. Smithy was on his way down the corridor, he could see the fight starting. He sprinted towards them and raised the alarm. It was too late, these two prisoners were at loggerheads, fighting like gladiators. 

Brendan was ranting and you could see the evil in his eyes. “Do him in Davo, put him in a body bag, kick the shit out of him.” 

Mikey was fast and he got a few digs in before Smithy and the rest of the officers got between them. Davo was trying to break free and he was shrieking at the top of his voice. “His dad’s a fucking paedo, get Milne off the wing. He’s probably a kiddy-fiddler just like his old man.” 

The other inmates shot a look over at Mikey and you could tell now that his card was marked. No matter what he said after this, he wouldn’t be able to sleep tight anymore. They would get him, it might not be now but he was marked for life. “Come on, you cunt. You want some do you? I’ll show you what I’m all about,” Mikey yelled. 

Mark secured him and brought him to the ground with a loud thud. The handcuffs were on and he rammed his knee in the middle of his back. “Just calm down, keep fucking still.” Mikey was dragged to his feet, his body bent in half as they rushed him from the wing. 

Davo was twisted up too and he was up in arms. “This is far from over. I’ll kill him, I’ll end his life,” he ranted.

*

Mark stood talking to Smithy. Mikey was down the block now and he was going nowhere. Smithy was agitated and he had something to get off his chest. “What do you know about Dennis Milne being twisted up? Come on Mark, you know more than you’re saying. How did Davo know what he was in for? I’m not green, so don’t insult my intelligence. You set it up didn’t you?” 

Mark stood with his back held firmly against the wall and his nostrils flared. “I had to do something Smithy. It’s all just gone tits up. I was in bad debt and I just got involved, I had no other choice.” Smithy took a few seconds to digest what he’d just told him and dragged him by the arm to a quieter place. Mark was in bits and sank to his knees. “He was going to grass me up. He knows too much. I’ll lose it all; my wife, the house, the fucking lot.” 

Smithy let out a laboured breath and ragged his fingers through his hair. “What the fuck have you got yourself into? Please tell me you’ve not been bringing any shit in for this lot?” 

Mark choked up and lifted his eyes to the ceiling. “I was on my arse, I needed to do something. I know it’s a mess but what else could I have done?” 

“For fuck’s sake, are you right in the head? You could have spoken to me! I would have helped,” Smithy blurted out. 

Mark held his head in his hands and his body shuddered. “You’ve done enough for me. I even fucked that up and gambled the money you gave me. I always fuck everything up, everything I touch, I ruin.” 

Smithy watched his pal crying and tried his best to comfort him. “We can sort this. We can get Mikey moved from the jail. No one will believe him anyway, he’s a criminal, you’re an officer, are you forgetting that?” 

Mark wiped his snotty nose on his black jumper. “I’m in too deep Smithy. He will make sure he stitches me up. He said so himself.” 

“So let’s set him up, plant something in his cell, get him starred up. He’ll soon see when he keeps getting spun. We hold all the cards here not him.” 

Mark realised how serious this was, he could have landed in the slammer too for his actions. There was a banging noise in the distance. Mikey was booting at his door and screaming at the top of his voice. “I want to see my dad, take me to see him now. I’ll kill some fucker if you don’t. Please tell me where he is, please. I just need to make sure he’s alright.” 

Mark cringed and squeezed at his fingers. “Look at what I’ve done. It’s all my fault. I should never have let it get this far. Look what I’ve done to Mikey. His head was fucked enough without me adding to it all. Please, don’t bubble me. If I lose my job then I don’t know what I would do.”