Pelican Bay Riot (11 page)

He folded up the note into an incredibly tiny size and wrapped it with plastic wrap in a way that sealed it a certain way and then wrapped thread around it in an organized way. It looked like he wrapped it 13 times one way and 13 times another way. It was like a puzzle and was meant to keep us, the smugglers, out of it. That only tempted us more. We called on our resident mechanic of all things wrapped, Blockhead, in the building with Damon and I, to peel the wrapped messages apart and put them back together exactly the same way they started. We found out that Stranger had the skills to run the yard.

He was collecting his homeboys from West LA who were spread out in each building and was pushing them to feed him information on who was running things for the Mexicans, and pushing them to step up and fill any voids to take leadership roles where they could as far as controlling the buildings, Stranger wanted the yard, and a third of Termite’s dope flow. Damon and I watched him get escorted to medical a couple of times, he went once a week. He walked like he was bullet proof and always had his blue denim jacket on buttoned to the chin even though it was 115 degrees out. At 5’7 and 200 lbs he walked with the confidence that conveyed that he was ready at any level and had already faced everything. His face went from stoic soldier to angry soldier with nothing in between.

The other Mexican went by Cyclone. He was from San Bernardino and in building 1. Word on him was he was a straight gang banging killer. He was doing a life sentence for 3 murders on rival gang bangers but was only a youngster at 25 years old and didn’t have the management skills or experience to pull the Mexican line up together to delegate authority beneath him, but he was all heart and already getting a percentage of Termite’s dope. I had the opportunity to see him on his way to medical every other day. He was a light colored Mexican born and bred on the streets and his gang affiliation was blasted in ink on his bald head, neck, arms and hands and probably everywhere else the state outfit covered.

Chapter 16

The Mexicans and Blacks were de-escalating and coming off lockdown. The Prison Administration was allowing a couple of Mexicans and Blacks out in each building to let them go to each cell in their race to explain the next phase. They were testing the waters to see if the war was really over in a controlled setting.

Next, the Prison Administration allowed a small number of Mexican and Black inmates to go to work as janitors in the buildings, and also in the chow hall and on the yard as landscapers and trash men.

The next phase was the crucial one. The Prison Administration was allowing 100 Mexican and Black inmates to the yard in a controlled setting with double the amount of prison guards watching nearby with block guns and all the other prison guards on the other 3 yards aware of the situation and ready. My earlier imaginings of the Mexicans squatting on the curbs right next to each other like a row of sardines was underway.

The yard was quickly filling up and it kept getting worse. We had more than 200 Mexicans and 200 Blacks out. Damon and I had just finished working out in the back corner of the yard with an eye on our table. As soon as the Whites left it to go work out; those Mexicans squatting on the curb got up and sat on our table. They immediately started up a pinochle card game. One of those card games can last up to an hour and would surely promote another game and probably turn into a gambling deal which would make it that much harder to pry them off.

Damon said, “Looks like we have to keep that table occupied to keep it.” I grunted and said, “Or…We could just let them have it and have our race meet in the middle of the yard everyday to sit in a circle, hold hands and sing Cumbaya my Lord and see if the Mexicans respect that enough to give us the table back.”

Chapter 17

Lying on his bunk in his cell Jason’s head nodded and his chin rested on his chest. His hands continually scratched his stomach. He moaned, “That’s some good heroin.”

Jason’s cell mate, Blockhead shook his head and knew the yard was in trouble. While Jason was fixing the heroin in a spoon he got from Termite a few minutes ago, he explained that Lefty in the cell next door owed Termite $550. Blockhead knew Jason was partly responsible. He was the one who ran the dope for Termite. The way he was staying high and developing a habit was by finding Termite buyers. Jason knew Lefty couldn’t afford the dope; he had long ago burnt out his family and didn’t have any bridges left to play with. But that didn’t stop him or Jason from feeding it to him to get a cut.

Chapter 18

The yard was at full capacity, the war was over, and Damon and I had worked out a program where the White men who didn’t work out stayed at the White table in shifts to hold on to the only real estate that would keep us organized enough to survive. We were just finishing up our workout routine in our usual spot by our buried swords in the back corner when Blockhead walked up looking serious. “Hey brothers, I have some bad news.”

Chapter 19

Termite walked the track with Stranger and Cyclone and Stranger said, “I got the yard for the Mexicans now and I want you to be my mouth piece Cyclone.”

Cyclone was out of his element. A murderous rage flowed through his blood and his instincts were on edge. He didn’t say anything because he couldn’t. He’d already told all his homeboys that the yard was his. All of San Bernardino would think he was a joke if he became Stranger’s puppet. The whole inland empire and every other Mexican with a 13 tattooed on their body would laugh at him. He thought about it, nobody has ever disrespected me and lived!

Termite knew he was outgunned and felt the tension radiating off Cyclone and Stranger. Stranger knew that Cyclone had asserted that he had the keys to the yard and was calling shots. He also knew that Cyclone had squeezed in on Termite for a cut of his dope. Having more experience, he knew that it was put up or shut up time and stopped walking. Both Termite and Cyclone were caught off guard and kept walking a few paces then stopped, both with confused looks on their faces, they turned to look at Stranger. Stranger said, “Termite from this point on a third of the dope you bring in goes to the house.” Termite nodded his head he was fine with that and thought about it, Stranger just left the biggest mobsters in southern California at Palm Hall in Chino prison where they’re waiting for a bus ride to the Pelican Bay SHU. I don't want to get on their bad side. Cyclone stared at Stranger with so much uncomfortable energy flooding through his veins he felt himself shaking, on the edge of aiming that force against Stranger just to get it over with.

Chapter 20

I told Blockhead, "Thanks for telling us, go get Jason." Stranger, Termite and Cyclone stopped on the track right in front of us.

I got up and walked just close enough to the 3 Mexicans and stood 10 feet away and felt their energy and zeroed in on Cyclone. His hands were balled up in fist and they were shaking. I watched Stranger's eyes drop and notice just after I did and he avoided the fight by cutting the tension with me as the distraction. He said, "What's up B.J?"

I realized if I hadn't gotten up they would have been going at it in a fight over their internal power struggle, but it was too late, maybe not, I answered, "You guys look busy. Let me talk to you when you’re done."

It was in that moment I picked Stranger to fight if diplomacy broke down and peace wasn't possible. The energy vibrating off Cyclone was familiar to me, it said, my childhood was so wrong that I would rather die than not live up to my own expectations. Cyclone finally looked at me. His dark brown eyes were void but there was an internal dialogue going through his brain that could change them back into rage in a nanosecond. Stranger knew he'd just avoided a trip to the hole, temporarily, and played another move to distract Cyclone. "Cyclone do you want to talk to B.J?"

Cyclone's mind flooded with impulses unsure of what to do..."No."

Stranger knew the best move was to get into action before the tension hit a crescendo again so he waved at B.J to have the talk with him. Stranger’s eyes never left Cyclone and he tried to continue to command the situation. He nodded at Cyclone and said, “I’ll get at you when I’m done.”

I watched Stranger take a few steps into the yard for privacy leaving Cyclone and Termite on the track. He’d been doing this all his life and it showed but it was all posturing. He wasn’t a made guy yet. I positioned myself so I was facing the gun tower with Stranger in between and with Damon sitting on the curb to the right. To keep my vantage point the way I wanted there was a gap of 10 feet between Stranger and me.

Stranger was still waiting for Cyclone and Termite to leave and walk the track but they were still standing there like they didn’t know what to do. I broke through Stranger’s lack of attention on me by saying loud enough for Damon, Cyclone and Termite to hear, “Stranger are you who I talk to for the Mexicans? I want to make sure you know what has already been established between our 2 races as to our drug policy.”

Stranger’s face flashed toward me. All the tension from his power struggle with Cyclone was now facing me head on. His dark brown eyes creased into a frown, angry soldier. He took a step toward me to close the gap, postured and asked in a quiet voice meant for us, “Do you always talk so loud?”

I glanced at the gun tower, he was watching, then I smiled to break the tension and said in a quiet voice, “I had something worked out with L’il Bird before he left and I need you to get at him to verify it but take my word for it now and implement it, 180 dollar of the shelf dope policy. I heard Lefty owes Termite 550 dollars.”

Stranger looked confused, like I was speaking a foreign language.

I didn’t hesitate to help him understand.  “Come on Stranger, you’ve been around, drug debts get out of hand without a policy, 180 off the shelf max. That way dope feigns can’t cause our 2 races problems.”

Cyclone and Termite finally walked away. Stranger’s eyes followed their path along the track until they were under the gun tower and then he looked back at me.  “I know what you mean but I have to get at L’il Bird in the hole first.”

That was going to take too long. I needed Stranger to run the yard with an iron fist for the Mexicans to keep this problem with drug debts from delivering chaos before it was too late. All my instincts were screaming it’s already too late! I only saw a few options that would work. Stranger would have to back up the drug debt policy so all the Mexicans understood it and respected it, which would help Stranger also, in that it would organize it so he was in charge of all the drug transactions and be able to get his third of all Mexican dope smuggled in, and the second part of the problem would be having Blockhead and Jason deal with Lefty. In all of California’s 33 state prisons, there was an unwritten rule that blood paid a drug debt clear if it was through a stabbing.

It didn’t look like Stranger was up to the challenge. I urged him in the right direction, “Come on hommie, you know what’s up. We have to handle our business faster than that. Why don’t you take my word for it while you get at L’il Bird to confirm it and I’ll deal with it on my end by getting as much of the 180 dollars from Lefty before he gets dealt with?”

By now, Cyclone and Termite were all the way down the track by 5 building and circling it past our White table. I noticed Damon was watching them. Stranger nodded his head as if he agreed with me but said, “Nope, I need that 550 dollars lefty owes and if you had that 180 dollar policy worked out with L’il Bird I will consider implementing that policy then, when I find that out. It’s my yard for the Mexicans now, L’il Bird is gone.”

Chapter 21

Our afternoon got worse after Stranger walked away. Damon and I watched Cyclone pass our White table on the other side of the yard,  then walk the distance to the Mexican table about 40 feet away where he had an intense conversation with his San Bernardino homeboys, who all became much more vigilant. A stack of 4 of their bodies sat together on top of the table staring at the yard and watching everything, while Termite walked into the grass toward the handball court where he unburied a weapon.

Damon asked, “Do you think he’ll stab Stranger?” “Nope, I think his homeboys will talk him out of it. It isn’t often there is a Termite on the yard who can get this much dope. Even if he isn’t the shot caller, he still has Termite under the wing.”

Blockhead walked up with Jason. Lefty was nowhere to be seen. I let Damon handle the conversation but stood next to him. “What the fuck Jason?” Jason looked at the ground. There was nothing he could do or anything he could say. He was smart enough not to bullshit.  “I fucked up, what do you want me to do?”

Before we went back into the building for yard Damon and I put our heads together and decided on a strategy. We both knew that to give in to the Mexicans and pay the 550 dollars would set the wrong precedence and enable more of the same. Lefty didn’t have the money and our best plan was to seize all of his belongings that included a TV, walkman and clothes, total worth in prison currency, 150 dollars. The rest of the plan was complicated but I simplified it in a written message Jason was to pass out to every White cell.

Chapter 22

The next morning was a scorcher, and it was our turn for yard. Now that the yard was off lockdown the walk through the building and vestibule to get to the yard was crowded. Bodies of every skin color rushed their way out to get to desired locations on the yard, almost everyone had a plan, including me.

When we made it out the vestibule I noticed that our building was opening first and Damon and I were the only ones wearing denim jackets buttoned up tight over denim jeans over boots. Every other inmate was in casual clothes from their packages like shorts and tank tops and tennis shoes. If the guards and gun tower were paying attention, this was the first sign. Damon went toward 1 building just to the right and I walked to our White table in front of 5 building.