Three Faces of West (2013) (8 page)

As soon as they were approaching the door from the outside, they were seen by the duty receptionist so upon entering the element of surprise had completely dissipated. West approached the large reception desk with Hudson in tow. The clerk on duty acknowledged them as they stood in front of him,

“Can I help you? Have you got a visiting order?” He asked, sitting behind the large glass screen covering the desk like some kind of grandiose bank counter, John intervened,

“Who we work for means we don’t need a visiting order.”

“My name is Jack West; this is John Hudson, counter intelligence. We would like to see your governor; there’s one of your inmates that we would like to interview. Is there somebody we can speak to?”

He produced his special ID as did John to prove their claim. The receptionist, while sceptical, was prepared to accept the request,

“Can you wait there?” He ordered while disappearing through a back door into an adjoining corridor.

Taking the time to look around the room they noticed chairs around the edges, upholstered to the same taste as the carpet. They had no time to comment as the receptionist very quickly returned from the back with a superior and both West and Hudson both introduced themselves again this time to the senior warden. Like his junior counterpart he appeared to accept them as he gestured for them to follow him around the side. Opening up a door to the rear of the reception by keypad the heavy entrance swung open as the warden stood aside for the West and Hudson to enter,

“If you’d like to follow me sirs, I take you to the administrative block.” He said,

“Thank you.” Replied Jack.

He led them out of the rear of the reception down a corridor. Brick lines and painted white, the decor was somewhat lighter than the reception as the carpet had changed from brown to blue. The corridors of the prison seemed like a maze, corridor after corridor, passing office after office, the admin block seemed like miles away.

Eventually they arrived at a white iron bar security gate. Fitted with a time lock, both West and Hudson tried not to be tempted and take a peek at the code imputed by the senior warden. The whole area was laced with security cameras so even if they did have a look, the strong chances were that they would be seen by unknown prying eyes. Passing through the gate was not problem as it pivoted open to allow access for the three men. Jack noticed that this area seemed different in its feel, there were definitely more office workers and wardens here than before. Jack knew they were in the administrative block so the governor’s office could not be far away now. Continually they followed the warden, up a flight of stairs and into yet another office,

“In here sir,” He said to both men, “This is the governor’s reception area. I’ll just let them know who you are”.

“That’s fine.” Said Jack. By now they were a little apprehensive. Hopefully the governor should be a reasonable person, and cooperative in letting them interview one of their terrorist prisoners. Standing in the doorway, the two men could clearly see the warden have a quiet word with the secretary who was clearly pre occupied with her computer at her desk. Seemed like she was having problems with the computer system at her workstation directly in front of them. Jack watched as she glanced over to them, obviously checking them out, seeing her nod her head told Jack that they were clear to proceed,

“Over here sirs.” Said the warden gesturing them to advance. John and Jack advanced forward to the secretary’s desk,

“I’ll leave you to it. I have to get back on duty.” Said the warden. He left the two men with the secretary as Jack began the introductions,

“My name is Jack West and this is John Hudson-‘

The secretary politely interrupted, “That’s OK, I’ve been informed who you are. You wish to speak with the governor.”

“That’s correct. Is he available right now?” Replied Jack.

The secretary got up from her seat and moved around the desk,

“I’ll just see if he’s free. If you would like to wait here please I’ll be just a moment.”

She knocked on an adjoining door, disappearing into the next room,

“I hope she doesn’t find him dead.” Thought Jack cynically.

They did not have to wait long, looking around the room; it was a typical office, notice boards, filing cabinets, desks, office equipment, nothing unusual. Their instinctive scan of the office was only interrupted by the opening of the door. Both West and Hudson turned to face whoever was coming out. The secretary came out first followed by a grey haired man in a light grey suit, early fifties and slightly shorter than John and Jack. He greeted the two men cordially,

“Hello my name is Stephen Jones, I’m the governor here.” He said while shaking the two men’s hands,

“I have been told who you are; I understand you require access to one of our inmates here.”

“Yes,” Replied Jack, “We wish to see one of your long term prisoners, someone called Maxwell Grey.”

The governor replied somewhat audaciously,

“Mr West, we have many prisoners here, all of them serving lengthy terms. We house some of the most dangerous men in the country.”

“I’m only interested in just one, Maxwell Grey.” Jack fired back.

The governor paused for a second before turning to his secretary,

“Jill, can you access the prisoner register, call up the file for a prisoner called Grey.”

“I would, but we’ve been having these stupid computer glitches all morning. The system is completely down. The technicians are trying to fix a workaround but until then…”

Stephen knew what she was talking about; he was suffering the same glitches himself,

“Can we get a hard copy of the physical file then; the records should be in the admin block.”

The secretary promptly obeyed as she turned to exit the room. The admin block was just round the corner so it shouldn’t take long to locate the correct file,

“She won’t be long gentlemen; we have an excellent filing system here. Can I offer you some refreshments perhaps; would either of you like a cup of tea?”

“No thank you.” Said Jack sounding as polite as he could,

“I’m fine as well thanks.” Added John.

The sound of thudding outside told the three men that someone was approaching the office, perhaps it was the secretary. The wait was momentary as it was indeed the secretary walking in through the door carrying a brown paper folder. Opening it she positioned herself beside her boss to allow him to examine it,

“File number 654/989, for prisoner number 384788/C name Grey, Maxwell.” She pronounced. This instantly grabbed the attention of both John and Jack as they knew their man was here,

“Ah yes Grey.” Said the governor as he looked inside, “First admitted here 24 months ago after being convicted for terrorist offences. Currently serving a 15 year term.”

West needed to find him, “We need to talk to him in relation to a possible secondary incident. Can you tell me where he is, it’s imperative that we speak to him.”

The governor respected the wishes of West, in charge of a category A prison he knew full well the calibre of men incarcerated within its walls. Twelve foot high barriers are not going to stop the most hardened criminal,

“Well he was on C wing but it says here in the prisoner log that he was moved last Thursday to the seg unit.”

“What’s the ‘seg unit’?” Asked John,

The secretary filled him in. She was used to the jargon and abbreviations used by prisoners and wardens alike,

“It means segregation unit.”

“So he’s in solitary confinement.” Queried Jack,

The governor butted in, “Yes that’s correct. Prisoners are usually transferred there on a temporary basis when they step out of line. Additionally they get part or all of their privileges removed as a result. This being a maximum security prison you cannot underestimate the type of criminals we have here. We’re not talking about petty thieves; these are dangerous men, murders, rapists and terrorists. I’m afraid not even barbed wire and iron bars can deter the criminal minds of the mindless filth that we have in here.”

Jack totally understood the rhetoric of the governor, even though it was a little bit unorthodox for a man in his position. Still he needed to speak to Grey,

“Can you arrange for us to set up an interview with our friend?”

“I’m afraid that may be a little difficult, for normal prisoners we could, but those in the segregation wing are in there for a reason. The only times they are moved from their cells are during transfer, a medical emergency or exercise.” The governor replied,

John stepped in to the polite little standoff, “We do need to speak to him today though.”

The governor back down slightly. He was not unreasonable and was prepared for compromise,

“Alright what I can do is arrange for you to be escorted to the isolation wing, but I can only limit access to Grey himself. I’m not prepared to compromise the security of the wing so I’m afraid you will have talk to him through the door. That’s the best I can do I’m afraid.”

“That’s fine.” Replied Jack,

“One more thing though Mr West, I’ll call ahead to the segregation wing and let them know you are coming down, but I’ll have to issue you both with security passes, Jill can you get some out of the draw just there.”

Jill removed from a nearby drawer two swipe cards as security passes. Jack and John both took theirs taking the opportunity to have a peek at the design. Meanwhile the secretary fleeted out of the room to catch a warden to act as escort. Re-entering the room with a rather tall and bulky dark haired man, this was the chaperone to West and Hudson,

“Warden Giles here will take you both down to the segregation unit. As I said I’ll phone through and let them know you are coming. If there’s anything else, don’t hesitate to ask.” The governor stated while trying to be as cooperative as possible. Jack returned the courtesy in his reply,

“Thanks for the help. I’m sure we will need your assistance again.”

He turned to the Giles the warden in a non-communicative gesture to get on their way. Giles responded like for like,

“Follow me, I’ll take you there. Don’t be scared about what you’ll see or hear in this place. Full of nutcases, but don’t show any fear. Just stick close to me and you’ll be fine; anybody tries anything I’ll tell them where to go.”

West and Hudson looked at each other as they proceed to follow Giles out of the office and down the corridor which they came. Despite the obvious brusque attitude of the hardened warden, Jack wanted to find out more about Grey. It was likely that Giles had come across Grey before so he may prove a useful point of information on the suspect before they were to meet him face to face,

“So what type of inmates do you get in here?” He asked,

“All sorts, usually terrorists.” Giles replied.

They came out of the office block and onto the wings. Suddenly the doors turned to barred gates that needed to be unlocked and re-locked on at a time in line with security protocols which delayed their journey down somewhat. Jack pressed further on the subject or Grey,

“So have you had many dealings with Grey before?”

“Oh yes, I’ve come up against him. Right little character.”

West continued to probe, “So what is he like then?”

“A bit of a Jekyll and Hyde character really. One minute he is OK the next minute, he flies into a rage.”

West knew what that meant. Now having a bit more insight into Grey he felt a little more confident in tackling him personally. Moving through the wings on the way to segregation block meant passing through gate after gate full of security checkpoints. Luckily the isolation wind was only just down the corridor as the noise of the prison became ever more apparent with each step taken. Shouting and commotion in the most colourful terms permeated the air like a bad television programme,

“SHUT IT!!!!” Shouted Giles to one of the prisoners as they passed through another security gate into an adjoining office. Approaching the heavy door covered by a rather ominous CCTV camera recorded every movement in and out of the specialised wing. Stopping at the door the warden punched in a code at the keypad located at the side. Initiating a buzzer the thick heavy door opened allowing the three men to enter. Inside was a small admittance office, three desks with the usual paperwork on them, notice boards and posters decorated the walls. It was staffed by what appeared to be three wardens on duty at the time. Giles introduced West and Hudson to the senior one,

“Hi, we’ve been told you were coming down to see us. I’m Davison the senior warden on duty here. I understand you want to talk with one of the inmates, Grey was it?”

“Yes that’s correct. My name is Jack and this is John, we need to speak to him regarding a sensitive matter.”

The warden piped up slightly, “I’m afraid I’ll have to see some form of ID or security pass. Protocol you see.”

The two men displayed the ID cards given to them by the governor which was acceptable and this prompted Davison to act in accordance with their wishes,

“Is that where the cells are?” Asked Jack while looking beyond Davison. Noticing a large barred access door with a large timer keypad lock on the handle,

“Yes that’s the way to the unit. It’s time locked because this is the most secure part of the prison.” Replied the warden.

Jack also noticed some metal detectors behind, so no one was able to escape the scrutiny going in and out,

“The door is time locked.” Proclaimed West,

“Yes sir, but I’m afraid we are having a few problems at the moment. This morning we have been hit by some kind of computer glitch, so we’re having a bit of trouble with the door locks.”

“You mean your security is at risk?” Asked John concerned,

“Oh no, don’t worry about that, the locks are automatic. The problem is with the access codes required to automatically be changed daily. But because of this stupid glitch we can’t get the updated code.”

“So you can’t gain entry at the moment.”

“Yes we can, there is another entrance in the adjacent D Wing. You see each wing has its own set of codes. The thing is the normal shift patterns around here coincide with the changing of the codes. No new codes, no shift rotation.”