Authors: Derek Blass
“
It's a problem.”
“
No kidding. I'm headed into work. Was that Martinez with you?”
“
Yep.”
“
How's he doing?”
“
Martinez is fine. I don't think seeing someone killed has much effect on him. Especially when it's someone like Tyler.”
“
So, it was Tyler,” Mason said, reconfirming the negative. Cruz didn't need to respond. “I can't bring the extra charges for those other murders without Tyler. My case against Shaver for killing that old man rests on a video that we may not be able to introduce and the testimony of people that may easily be discredited. This is turning south.”
Cruz waited to answer. His thoughts were forming at a snail's pace. “Every case has peaks and valleys, Mason. You just hope it has another peak, preferably near its end.”
* * * *
Shaver sat in his cell watching the television. It was one of the perks the guards gave him. Extra time on the yard. Extra food at meals. He knew it may piss the other inmates off, so he kept them to a minimum.
He did take the time to enjoy this moment though. Tyler's car was smashed and laying upside down. He could imagine Tyler's shock. Completely disoriented, gasping for air. Cold chills running up and down his body. A sense of weakness and no ability to fight back. Shaver rubbed the remnant of his left eye. It was a squishy mess since the accident.
Dealing a remote knockout to Tyler made Shaver feel like a god. He had decided to take Tyler out because the cops were getting too close, and Tyler wasn't reporting any results from their earlier conversation. He picked up the cell phone he had finagled from the guards and dialed Sphinx. That one-call-a week crap wasn't going to work.
“
You like that?”
“
Shaver?” a bewildered Sphinx answered.
“
Damn straight. You like that little accident?”
“
Man, what the hell are you doing? Are you saying you had a part in that?”
“
Just like you did, Sphinx.”
A long pause. “It's three in the morning, what the fuck are you talking about?”
“
How could I have coordinated something like that without the help of my top-notch lawyer?”
“
You fuck, are you trying to blackmail me? You crazy shit, I'll just withdraw as your counsel.”
“
Nah, I've been reading up. Ain't that easy to get out,” Shaver said as he moved from his chair to the bed. A small package with a string attached to it was sitting outside of his cell.
“
Shaver...Shaver,” someone called from down the cell row.
“
Listen. You can't withdraw this close to trial. The prejudice you'd do me would be huge. No, you're gonna represent me. And if you don't win, I've got all sorts of shit up my sleeves for you. I gotta go.” Shaver hung up the phone and tentatively moved toward his cell door. The package moved away from his cell in jerks. He stood there and watched as the package slid down the cell row again, stopping right in front of his cell.
“
Shaver...take the package,” a voice told him with some urgency.
“
Who the fuck...?” Shaver said as he stuck his head in the thick steel bars of his cell door. He didn't know there were any other inmates housed here with him.
“
It's Pick. Take th' goddamn package before th' guards come 'round 'gin.”
“
Forget that, Pick. I've sold four batches for you guys. That's a debt repaid in my mind. I need a two-way street.”
“
Every day you alive in here id our side of the street muddafucka. Take the package.”
Shaver grabbed the package angrily. Just as he did the shadow of a figure passed on the far side of the cell block.
He heard a female voice say, “Hi Pick.”
Pick responded, “Fuck you, bitch.” The person's steps coincided with rapping on cell doors, then scraping on the walls between the cells. She was clearly coming toward him.
“
Whatcha got Shaver?” It was the female cop from the yard. She had lost some of her plainness. Maybe it was makeup, a little spritz from life, whatever. Shaver couldn't tell exactly but she looked somewhat more attractive than the last time he had seen her.
“
What do you want?” he said as he turned his back to her and went to sit down in front of the television.
“
Already asked you that, tough guy. What'd Pick pass you?”
“
Not a fucking thing. Now fuck off!” Shaver yelled.
“
Oh, Shaver. I think you're confusing me for some weak bitch. Stay still right there.” Shaver turned around and saw her pointing a tazer at him. It was too late to do anything. His body became stiff as a board, jaws clenched and head pushed back until his chair tipped over backwards.
“
Yowch!” she exclaimed.
“
Yous a crazy bitch, Melinda!” Shaver heard Pick yell. Sound was still a hundred percent there. Smell, check. He couldn't move anything though. Then his body slackened and he started convulsing on the ground. He heard the cell door open.
“
Stop moving Shaver! Stop moving!” she mocked him. She had the tazer in her right hand, a baton in her left. She stood over him and put her foot on Shaver's shoulder to flatten him out against the concrete floor. Then she lowered herself onto him. Her hips were right over his neck. Her legs pinned down his arms. “One wrong move and I'll crack the side of your face open. Not that you'll be moving much in the next few minutes, but just a warnie-warning, Shaver.” She set the tazer down and grabbed the ends of the baton. Then she put the baton up against his neck.
“
What did he pass you, Shaver? I see everything,” she said with a smile. Then she started searching his body. “Ah ha! Knew you had a package.” She put the baton under her left arm and opened it. “That's a bunch of coke Shaver! My, my.” Shaver could feel his finger regain mobility. “Why'd you lie to me, Shaver? I've been trying to help you out around here,” she said as she swiped the package across his face. He coughed and almost choked on vomit that came up. “Thought I told ya to steer clear of the Brothers, Shaver.”
She went to put the package down and Shaver made his move. He ripped one of the tazer's prongs from his neck and jabbed it into her arm. He simultaneously grabbed the tazer and activated the electric current. This time both of their bodies stiffened. Her crotch pushed down on his jaw and her knees slammed into the sides of his head. Her face was locked in a grimace. A row of white teeth about to burst from her jaw's own pressure. She collapsed to his side, both of them bouncing on the ground. Some horrific, above-ground synchronized swimming. Shaver felt an acidic foam form in his mouth and then spill out onto the floor. He was completely paralyzed.
“
Hey, yous, whud th' fuck id goin' on down ther'?” Pick started to shake the bars of his cell. “Hey, hey...guards!! Guuuuuarrrds!” Red lights began to flash in the cell block. A group of five guards in helmets with plastic visors, Kevlar body vests and various weapons moved in unison towards Shaver's cell. Shaver was close to losing consciousness. He heard one of the guards mutter, “What the fuck?”
They pulled Melinda out of the cell and one of the guards screamed for medical personnel. Shaver still had the occasional convulsion as his muscles tensed and then released. His jaw felt like it had been repeatedly punched. Mobility stated to return. One of the guards grabbed the tazer and pulled the prong out of Shaver's neck. Two of the other guards secured his hands and legs with plastic ties.
Shaver managed to mutter, “She did it.”
“
Sure, sure, guy. I'm sure she did all of this to you for no reason. You're never gonna leave here after this.”
“
That bitch is crazy!” Pick screamed. “She shot his ass from outsid' the cell!”
“
You'll be able to tell your story to the Warden, Pick.”
“
Oh, hell no!” Pick pushed away from the cell door and kicked his bed. The Warden was a damn nightmare. “Look, can'cha jus' take my statement down here?”
“
Nope. Warden visit for you, Pick. I appreciate you opening that flap and letting us know you are a witness though.”
“
Wouldn'a fuckin' mattered. I was gonna see him anyways.” Pick sat down on his bed, dejected. He watched as they wheeled Shaver by him on a gurney. “Damn Warden. Damn yous, Shaver.”
T H I R T Y-N I N E
__________________________________________________
C
armen?” Raul opened his eyes and looked at the room around him. It was a hospital room, pock-marked bricks painted glossy white. The room had a single window with a view out to the
campo
. Raul turned back to Carmen, who radiated a warm smile. She rubbed his forehead and adjusted the covers.
“
Where am I?”
“
In the hospital, brother.”
“
You came from the United States to see me?”
“
Of course. When the doctors contacted me and let me know you were recovering, of course I came.”
“
Recovering from what, Carmen?” He looked down at his arms which were covered with bandages. His left arm ached and he saw a PICC line. His chest was sore and he found it difficult to breath deeply.
“
You don't remember anything?”
He shook his head, dismayed. “I feel like I've lost so much weight. Look at my
brazos
hermana
.”
“
Raul, what do you remember?”
“
Honestly, the last thing I remember clearly is being at Shaver's house. Things go dark there. I thought I was dead. Stuck somewhere.”
She shook her head and wondered what he could take at this point. Then, she recalled how strong he always was, never fearful, always confident. “You've been in a coma for five weeks, Raul. About a week ago you started showing signs of coming out. I've been here since then.”
He tried to move his legs but they wouldn't respond. “I can't feel my legs, Carmen. Am I on some sort of medication that does that to me?” She walked to a little cart by the side of his bed and poured him a glass of water. He took the glass with an appreciative smile. Tears began to run down her face and she quickly turned away. Raul started to lift his blanket but Carmen spun back around and held his hand.
“
Don't look now, Raul.”
“
What are you talking about, Carmen?
De que hablas?!”
“
They couldn't do anything else, Raul. The doctors...they had no choice. They called me and told me that one leg was irrecoverable from the damage it took...”
“
Irrecoverable?”
“
...and the other got too infected to keep. They couldn't do anything.”
Raul pushed her hand away and lifted the cover. There was nothing below his waist.
He scrutinized the emptiness for a moment. Then he put the cover down and squinted at Carmen. “It is the strangest thing, because I swore they were there a minute ago. I figured I just couldn't move them. But...they're gone. My legs are gone.” He started to break down. He wept on Carmen's arm while she rubbed his back. “
Que voy a hacer
?”
“
The doctors have been talking about prosthetics. They didn't want to do anything until they knew how this was going to turn out.”
“
I go to sleep a man and wake up a cripple. What am I going to do Carmen? They won't let a cripple on television.”
“
You don't know that, Raul. Let's worry about other things first, like getting you healthy again.”
“
Healthy?! You mean getting my torso healthy?” He tried to roll over but couldn't. “I can't even move, Carmen!
Chingado
!”
A doctor and nurse came into the room. “
Hola, cómo están
?”
Carmen flashed a fake smile and greeted the doctor. “Mister Solis, it's fantastic to see you are awake. Do you feel alert?”
“
Yes doctor, I feel
very
alert. I feel like I've awoken from siesta to a damn nightmare.”
“
Your legs. There was nothing we could do,
Señor
.”
Raul moaned and threw his head back onto the stiff, hospital pillow.
The doctor went around Raul's body checking measurements, levels, temperatures. Analyzing beats, sounds, and pressing cold medical instruments onto Raul's brown skin. Methodical. The doctor put his clipboard down onto Raul's bed and clasped his hands together. “Rehabilitation, Mr. Solis. That will be our goal here. You can start...”
“
Mira
, fucking doctor. I don't care about rehabilitation,” Raul growled, mocking the doctor's stiffness. “I only want one thing,” he said while directing his gaze at Carmen. “Find me Shaver.”
* * * *
Shaver sat in the cafeteria pushing orange and green bits of vegetables around a corner of his tray. The food depressed him. He looked up and saw Mills staring at him. Then Mills beckoned. He pushed his tray aside and walked over to the group. It was always a group.
“
You can't shun us, Shaver,” Mills said. “Everyone's always watchin'”.
“
I know that, but I've met my end of the bargain.” Shaver looked around and caught glances from the nearby rival gangs. “If I need help again, then we'll talk.”