would hit him square in the back to take him to the floor. Mark closed his eyes and listened. Tuning out the screaming inmates. The radio chatter and the guard screaming. He focused on the slap of the guy’s shoe hitting concrete.
One slap, the guy began to raise his arms to grab him as he hit him in the back. Two slaps of shoe to concrete, he was now lowering his shoulder for the impact. Mark ducked down as fast and low as he could. The guy still hit him, but most of his upper body where the strength was, was blowing right over Mark’s head. The guy’s arms closed just over Mark’s head, expecting a body to be there to grab.
As Mark felt the guy’s legs hit his back, he pushed off the ground with everything he had left. The guy somersaulted over and hit the wall literally upside down. Mark took one step forward and kicked the guy square in the face. He folded up like a pile of dirty clothes.
Mark turned to the two guys holding the guard. They looked at him and pulled the guy up by his hair. “We’ll kill him if you come closer.”
Mark smiled again and kept coming. “What the fuck do I care what you do to him. I’m gonna kill both of you no matter what.”
They dropped the guard and looked at each other. The bigger of the two spoke up. “You can’t take us both.”
Mark never blinked. “You wanna bet?”
Mark didn’t see the elbow coming when it hit him. It was on the side with the swollen eye. The lights went out immediately.
The guy that hit him still had the shiv sticking out of his hand. He pulled it out with a scream as he stepped over Mark lying on the floor unconscious.
Just as he was about to drive the shiv into Mark’s throat, the wave of guards hit the guy hard. Mark remained unconscious and was taken to the infirmary.
Mark woke in a hospital bed with no memory of what happened. The warden came in shortly after he woke, with the doctor that did the initial exam. His broken ribs were wrapped and the cuts on his face sewn up.
The doctor looked at the warden and stepped aside. “He needs to rest right now. He has at least two broken ribs and multiple contusions. Most certainly a concussion since the last thing he remembers is the lunch bell ringing.”
The warden smiled at the doctor. “Got it. Can you give us a minute?”
The doctor closed his chart and stuck it in the pocket at the end of the bed. “Sure.”
The warden pulled the chair over and sat down next to Mark. Mark looked at him. “How can I help you, Warden. I appreciate you coming to see me in the hospital. I would love to tell you what happened, but I have no idea. Apparently, some guys jumped me in the lunch line.”
The warden smiled. “Don’t worry. You’ll see the entire video of the men you killed after being told absolutely not to engage these guys. The two charges of voluntary manslaughter each carry a ten- to twenty-year sentence. Oh, and there was the shiv you produced from your sock stabbing another inmate in the hand. Who, by the way, will lose the use of those fingers permanently. Still waiting to see what exactly we will charge you with for that.”
Mark put his free hand behind his head. “Sounds like self-defense to me.”
“You were told to stay out of these fights. You were told to get along. One day out of solitary and you kill two guys and badly injure another. I can’t wait to get you out of my prison.”
“Don’t worry, Warden, somebody will kill me eventually. They obviously got to me today and I got lucky. The odds are, one of these times I’ll lose. You obviously can’t control the inmates in this place.”
The warden stood furiously. “You transfer in a week. You will remain in solitary until that happens. Your trial for these other two murders will happen in Florida. I’m done with you causing chaos in my prison.”
Mark smiled. “Maybe you should read your dad’s book again. He talks about separating gangs from time to time to break up the power struggles on the prison yard.”
The warden walked away and slammed the prison door behind him. Mark looked over at the head guard still standing there.
“What do you want? You knew this shit was gonna happen. You nodded at me across the cell knowing those two assholes came to my cell door to threaten me. Your nod was telling me that you weren’t going to do a damn thing to stop it. In fact, you wanted it, didn’t you?”
The guard stuck out his hand to shake hands. Mark looked at his hand and took it with the cuffed hand and shook it.
“Thanks for saving my guard in there. You may not remember it, but they probably would have killed him if you hadn’t stepped towards them. Sorry my guys didn’t get in there before you got hit so hard. Hope you heal up quick.”
“No problem, I guess. I don’t remember that at all.”
“He’s pretty grateful. He will probably come by and see you. Try to be nice to the guy, he thought he was a dead man.”
Mark held up his hand to shake again. “Did I kill the guy you wanted?”
The guard took his hand and shook it. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He turned and walked out of the hospital. Mark closed his eyes and slept. It was the second day in there that he got a new visitor.
Chapter 3
The Visitor
Mark woke up to a nurse setting a breakfast tray in front of him. He smiled and thanked her as she walked away. The swelling in his eye had gone down, and now it was becoming a nasty black eye and bruised cheek. His teeth still hurt from being kicked. Every breath he took felt like knives in his side.
He ate the eggs and hard biscuit. Mark laughed as he picked up the half piece of bacon. He took a bite and regretted it. The bacon was cold and tasted like it was made mostly of cardboard that maybe the real bacon was shipped in. He spit the piece into his hand and dropped it on the plate.
Mark heard the door click and open. A tall guy in a suit came into the area, showing the guard credentials. The guard pointed at Mark. The man turned and looked straight at him. He turned back and thanked the guard.
Mark pushed the food tray away and drank the last of his watered-down orange juice. The man was now walking his way. Mark thought, this guy must be his court-appointed attorney. He couldn’t believe the warden was seriously going to push the manslaughter charges. Mark was serving a life sentence, so it really didn’t matter. He knew he would never serve the entire sentence anyway. Eventually somebody would get lucky. Eventually he knew, he would feel the sharp end of a shiv or the repeated heel hitting his face as he lost consciousness. It was the life he was living in prison.
The man walked up and stuck out his hand. “I’m Troy Place. How are you feeling today, Mr. Farmer?”
Mark’s right hand was still handcuffed to the bed, but he reached up and shook the man’s hand. “I’m better than I was yesterday. Who are you, my attorney?”
The man smiled and pulled over the chair and sat down. “No, I’m no attorney. I work for the government.”
Mark shook
