Free The Four Stages of Cruelty by Keith Hollihan Page B

fireman-type gloves, a helmet with a visor like some outer-space welder’s, a spool of extra zips, a spare fuckstick, but no guns, no Tasers, no shield, nothing fun. All dress-up and no party.
    In a full-scale riot I would have been on the front lines from the get-go, but this business was contained to one range, and there were plenty of URF COs on hand, so Keeper Pollack asked me to do normal rounds and check on the calm ranges. This was thankless shit. The inmates were on full lockdown, probably glad to be out of harm’s way, though acting feistier than normal, especially when I was in the vicinity. I withstood more than the usual laughs and calls of abuse.
    By midnight it was my turn to join the activity on D block and pretend to be in control of the situation behind the gates. An assistant warden stood halfway down the tunnel,talking on his cell phone. Of course, no one reminded him that he couldn’t have a cell phone inside. Three administrative cronies hovered near him. I didn’t glance at them as I passed. Six COs huddled at the front line, including Keeper Wallace, the officer in charge. He looked plumper than normal in his vest, his eyes dark with the usual exhaustion. My arrival got Keon, another URF CO, a free pass to the lockers. He looked at me gratefully. “Hope nobody’s sleeping on my bench.”
    Wallace asked me how things were in the other blocks. I had nothing outlandish to report. Everything was restless but under control.
    Ray MacKay was there, too. He lifted his visor and grinned at me like a kid out for Halloween. We backed off the cellblock entry so he could brief me, meaning fill me in on all the fuckups and hilarious shit encountered thus far.
    “D-one refused to comply when we ordered all ranges into lockdown. Or Hadley and Vargas refused, and the rest of their tier mates followed suit. Couple hours back, Hadley took a nap right in the middle of the floor and asked for a bedtime lullaby. Said it felt like he was camping outside and looking up at the stars.”
    From the range, Hadley yelled out, “Yo, Lieutenant Wallace, you got yourself an improved situation there. I wholeheartedly appreciate you bringing in cheerleader Williams.”
    Even in a helmet and body armor.
    A few laughs from other inmates. “Send
her
in for negotiation. Promise we won’t bite.”
    “Much!”
    I’d once caught Hadley with Vargas’s dick in his mouth. I wanted to remind him of that fact right now, but not in front of Wallace.
    “How did those two ever end up on the same tier?” I asked. “Didn’t they transfer in here together?” I spoke quietly. I did not want the assistant warden or any of his people to hear my complaining.
    “For the same crap as this,” MacKay said without any discretion. “We’re just full of forgiveness.”
    Wallace shook his head. “They’ll get tired eventually.” He raised his voice. “You just let us know when we can get treatment for those men in there, Hadley. Every minute that goes by is making it worse for you.”
    “Fuck you, you fat fucking pig!” Vargas yelled out.
    “That’s a write-up, Vargas,” Wallace said. “I’m taking note of everything.”
    Vargas and Hadley laughed like orangutans inside a cage at the idea of being written up for bad language.
    “Don’t think I won’t,” Wallace said, as much to himself as anyone else.
    An hour and a half later, at two-twelve in the a.m., Hadley agreed to let Felix Rose be taken to the hospital. “I am
tired
of this sorry motherfucker whining and crying all the
goddamn time
,” Hadley said. “You think it’s so tough losing your precious kidney? That ain’t the worst way you can piss blood, you hair-icle cocksucker.”
    I looked to MacKay. “What does hair-icle mean?”
    “Don’t ask me,” MacKay said. “I thought Felix Rose was bald.”
    I tried not to laugh.
    “He’s saying heretical,” Wallace explained, impatient with our joking. “He keeps calling him heretical.”
    “Jesus Christ,” MacKay