Blank Slate

Chapter 169 - Liam Harris

Rage boiled within me.

I was so fucking angry that I was having trouble staying where I was instead of ripping someone's head off. We all watched the security feeds of Payton's intake into the prison with bated breath. I had been afraid that someone was going to notice the forged paperwork and her fake last name. I had been afraid they would turn her away. I didn't think I was going to have to watch as the guards exposed her and did their best to humiliate her.

Why the fuck couldn't people seem to show that woman a fucking modicum of respect?

I keep thinking that her outlook on the world and her beliefs that people were awful would change now that she was away from The Family. That she would get to experience that people were inherently good and her experience as a child was an exception, not the rule. But time just kept proving me wrong again and again.

When Payton went into the prison it was technically day shift. But that shift was ending soon so Pax couldn't go in with her. New hires didn't just show up an hour before their shift was going to be over and doing so would have sent up red flags. So we all had to wait and sit on our hands as we watched her on the security cameras. Now it was just after eight pm, and I was trying to think through my rage so that I could do my part.

"You're a huge motherfucker, aren't you," the shift manager commented as we walked side-by-side. His name was Ronald Mikos and he had a disgusting beer gut. He was a head shorter than me and practically had to waddle as he walked. "I can tell, just by looking at you, that you can handle your own in a fight. But honestly, we don't get too much trouble here. The girls aren't much for brawling. They are sneaker than that. But they usually target each other. They won't give you any trouble."

He paused to key us into a secure break room area and introduced me to the guards lingering there. I took note of their faces but none of them was that fucker Fields. He was on day shift, meaning that Pax was going to get the pleasure of dealing with him. We walked back out and Mikos continued to explain the security setup. It was fairly standard and had enough redundancies that it would be easy to lock down and damn near impossible to escape.

After he finished telling me about the riot doors, Mikos admitted, "Not that we will ever use them. The boys over on the men's side see all of the action. Nothing ever happens here. Especially on the night shift. The girls are locked up tight for the night. All we have to do is do bed checks and then handle breakfast. Six-thirty in the morning is too early for anyone to make trouble. So as I said, this is a pretty cushy gig. All we really have to do is watch a bunch of girls sleep. Which is a job benefit, if you get my meaning."

I fisted my hands and held onto my rage with every ounce of self-restraint I had within me. I didn't trust myself to respond to that disgusting innuendo and just grunted to show that I was listening.

"Not much of a talker, either," Milos observed but didn't seem bothered by it. "I will show you the protocol for bed checks and then we can go watch the game in security room B. I have a couple of bills on the Broncos for tonight and I want to check their progress."

Mikos was a lazy pig, but I didn't think he was on the take. He had worked here for over two decades and while he did gamble, he wasn't in any debt. He had a small house on the outskirts of town and spent most of his days sleeping. Especially after meeting him, I didn't think that Payton and Sabrina had to worry about an attack from him. He was too lazy and slow to be considered a threat.

"Do guards ever take inmates from their cells at night?" I questioned because I had originally thought that any attack would come at night. It was why I had insisted on taking the night shift.