WELCOME TO MAX SEC

[Eamon O'Leary]

A Christmas Party! How jolly wonderful... not. For the first time in his life Eamon was not looking forward to Christmas. It would be his first away from family and he knew he'd missed them. He would have preferred to stay in his cell but apparently that wasn't acceptable. Only the real hard cases were allowed in their cells and only if they were locked in, they couldn't come and go. Of course Eamon was as far from a 'hard case' as they came and besides, he didn't want to chance risking staying in his cell with Brandon.

The kid... as much as Eamon tried his best to warm to Brandon he just couldn't and that was saying a lot because Eamon was the sort of person who was generally liked by most of the younger (teenaged) prisoners because he talked to them, he was honest with them and he didn't hit on them at all. He did his best to look out for them when he could even though he was hardly intimidating to other prisoners. Far from it but that didn't stop him telling a prisoner to back off and for some reason the guards backed him up... well, some of them did probably because it was more hassle to deal with fighting prisoners than it was to keep them apart. Of course Eamon knew he'd get back up from COs Roth; Jefferson and Nick Clark.

He found himself looking for that particular CO now... Nick Clark and realised he was an idiot for doing so. The guard had helped him out with some stuff, got messages to his family and delivered messages back and yet there was something there. No, no, Eamon knew he was deluding himself. He was lonely, that was a given. He had a lover back in Pen Hell and he'd been separated from him. There was nobody here he felt drawn to; well that wasn't true... he'd met and made friends with Dusty Alviirez and had felt an attraction there but it was just because Dusty was incredibly hot and unfortunately straight. Eamon had kept his thoughts in check in that regard. He wasn't the type to hit on a straight guy; hell, in here he didn't hit on anybody. There was Danny too, he liked Danny but he carried the slightest sense of guilt that he had prevented Danny killing himself once and wished that he hadn't. At the time it seemed like the right thing to do but after coming here and finding out Danny was here and seeing him. He sometimes felt Danny would have been better off dead and the only thing he knew was that Danny didn't hold it against him as far as Eamon knew. Danny wasn't the type. Danny might hold grudges for other things but not against somebody who honestly was trying to help him.

Eamon stopped himself thinking about how this was supposed to be a joyful occasion because he wasn't with family and he was alone and lonely. Sure, he had friends in here but they couldn't fill that emptiness that had been left when he'd been transferred out of Pen Hell without even a chance to say goodbye to Seb or anybody else for that matter. People who'd been important to him, close to him; people he'd been intimate with... and he'd never had the chance to say goodbye. He watched the proceedings going on around him with a measure of distaste in his mouth. It was all a farce and he was part of it, smiling when he had to, saying sir or ma'am when he had to, with a smile of course and a 'merry Christmas' but never really with his heart in it. 'Tis the season to be jolly but not inside prison.

[Danny Austin]

Danny could barely contain his excitement as he threaded his way through the crowd with Zac hot on his heels, closely followed by a dark-haired latino inmate.

“There he is!” he exclaimed, making a beeline for Eamon who was hovering on his own in a far corner of the room, his handsome features strained and wan. “He’s gonna be so stoked when he sees you man! Hang back so Zac and me can spring you on him!” Danny called over his shoulder to his two friends before almost knocking Eamon over as he greeted him with a hearty bear-hug and wide grin of anticipation.

“Eamon! Dude you are never gonna guess who just got off the boat! It’s better than Santa! I can’t wait to see the look on your face! Zac, cover his eyes!” Danny babbled like a kid the night before Christmas, hopping from one foot to the other waiting impatiently for Zac to get behind Eamon and put his hands over the perplexed looking inmate’s eyes. “No peeking til I tell you!”

Taking Eamon’s hand he motioned at the Latino to come forward and placing Eamon’s hand on the guy’s cheek blurted out. “Guess whooo??”

Unable to stand the suspense a moment longer Danny signaled at Zac to take his hands away and waited with baited breath to see Eamon’s reaction as soon as he saw who was standing right in front of him.

[Eamon O'Leary]

Eamon had drifted off into his own little world. Not completely though, well aware of where other prisoners were; he didn't want to be jumped even though it was a Christmas party and there were guards everywhere, so he blinked when he saw Danny and Zac striding towards him and Danny had a smile on his face like nothing Eamon had ever seen before. The guy was positively beaming and then... hugged him, a real bear hug that left Eamon breathless. He was surprised and stood there, staring at the other man with wide eyes. What was going on? Was Danny high or something? He glanced towards Zac who seemed to have a sheepish grin on his face, like he was hiding a secret.

He opened his mouth to say something in response to Danny talking about somebody getting off the boat and then Zac was being told to cover Eamon's eyes, which Eamon allowed because it was Zac. He trusted the kid well enough and new Danny wouldn't try anything on. He'd have refused to let that happen had it been other prisoners he didn't know too well, or prisoners he just didn't trust.

Danny grabbed his hand then and put it against... somebody's cheek. Guess who? Again, Eamon had started to open his mouth to respond when Zac took his hands away and Eamon blinked, found himself staring at... at... "Jaime?" He swallowed. Suddenly he was glancing around, eyes darting, looking for Nick and then cursing himself for thinking of the guard when Jaime was right here but... it was... he pulled his hand away and swallowed. "I think I need to sit down," he mumbled and he looked at Jaime again and suddenly stepped forward, not caring who saw or heard or what as his arms wrapped around the man, clinging tightly as if he was afraid this was all a dream and Jaime would go up in a wisp of smoke at any moment. "God, I missed you," he whispered.

[Jaime Romero]

Jaime had worried his eagerness to be reunited with Eamon might not be reciprocated but one look at the expression on the other man's face was enough to reassure him his fears had been groundless. Relishing the warmth and fervor of Eamon’s embrace whilst Danny looked on with an idiotic grin plastered from one ear to the other Jaime felt happier than he had in so long he couldn't remember.

“I missed you too, amigo” he said, with heartfelt sincerity.

Danny and his friend slipped away, swallowed up by the crowds and Jaime nodded toward a couple of recently vacated seats. “Let’s sit. We have much to catch up on.” Noting a drastic change in Eamon from when he’d seen him last, Jaime sighed, his overjoyed expression replaced with that of abject weariness, “I’ve got something to tell you.” he said in a subdued tone. “Seb…he…he’s dead. Murdered by a guard. I’m so sorry…”

Jaime’s dark eyes reflected the pain of Eamon’s sorrow. “There’s more,” he reluctantly went on, “The same guard who murdered Seb tried to kill me too. He has some kind of obsession with you, he works here and the minute he sees me he’ll drag me down to the Killing Floor and finish me off but I had to warn you before he convinces you he genuinely cares for you. He’s loco…and very very dangerous.”

Jaime scanned the room, his attention momentarily snagged by the sight of Brad Clark dragging a terrified youngster out the door. Turning his attention back on Eamon he reached for his hand and said with a tremor in his voice, “His name is Nick Clark, Brad’s son.”

[Eamon O'Leary]

There was a tinge of guilt that Eamon tamped down on when he was hugging Jaime. His relationship with the man had only been a friendship and then one night, when he gave Jaime what the man desired most, rather than letting him have his first experience be at the hands of a Pen Hell predator, be that prisoner or guard. He'd been with Seb at the time but even then, he'd always known that prison 'romance' was never going to last and he'd been right. He'd been dragged away from the Pen without ever having a chance to say goodbye to Seb or Jaime or anybody else. Seeing Jaime filled him with confused emotions, not least of which was that he was grateful the man still lived.

Danny and Zac drifted away, unnoticed by Eamon who was still caught up in trying to believe this was really happening, that Jaime was here. He nodded when Jaime tugged him over to sit down and the man was right, Eamon had so many questions to ask but Jaime started first and his expression put Eamon on guard, then the man broke the news.

It was like being doused with ice water. Eamon felt something flip in the pit of his stomach and he felt cold with shock. Seb was dead? Killed by a guard. It was bound to happen sooner or later, things were like that at the Pen but it didn't make it any easier to accept. He was still digesting the news when Jaime filled him in with more. He stared at Jaime; a guard was obsessed with Eamon? The guard tried to kill Jaime too? Who would be obsessed with him? Eamon found the story a little too hard to believe.

Jaime had paused and his eyes flickered around the room, Eamon followed and saw Brad Clark with Jon. Shit! He started to rise from his chair, God knows why, there was nothing he could have done about it but he started anyway and then Jaime clutched his hand and told him the guard's name. Eamon sat down with a thud on the chair, the blood draining from his face. Nick? No, not Nick, the man had been nothing but kind and helpful; had got messages to his parents for him and brought messages back. Eamon felt positively ill. He wanted to believe Jaime but it was so hard. Not Nick. He liked Nick!

"You... Jaime..." He dragged a hand through his hair, looking close to passing out with all this news. "You must be mistaken," he murmured, his voice shaking and unable to hold any volume. "You must have the wrong name. Nick's not like that." He hadn't even realised he used Nick's first name and didn't say CO Clark; it was a measure of how much his feelings towards the guard had started to develop. He clutched Jaime's hand, shaking his head. "You don't know what he's done for me, Jaime... it can't be the same man."

[Nick Clark]

Everything was going awry for Nick. Despite making his interest in Eamon plainly obvious the guy continued to fight feelings Nick was certain were simmering just below the surface. Then as if that weren’t frustrating enough, Eamon’s family all of a sudden no longer wanted anything to do with him. His father had tried to be as diplomatic as possible, thanking Nick for all he’d done before citing some bullshit about the dangers for all concerned if the powers that be, alias the VV, ever found out what was going on. Liam had been a little more direct and told him in no uncertain terms to stay the hell away from his brother and go check himself in to the nearest psych ward. Of course there were no prizes for guessing who was behind this major glitch in his plans. Tanya. God, how he hated his sister! A chip off the old block, the sick twisted bitch took a perverse delight in sticking her nose in his business at every turn.

Tonight however, he was determined to cast his worries aside and make this a Christmas eve to remember for Eamon and him. He’d spent the past couple of hours transforming one of the rooms in the bones suite into a romantic love nest complete with scented candles, champagne on ice and rose petals scattered over silken sheets. He couldn’t wait to show Eamon just how deep his feelings ran and nothing was going to get in his way, including Tanya if she knew what was good for her.

By the time he arrived, the party was in full swing and flashing a smile in Leeann Cleary’s direction he almost collided with Danny Austin and Zac Morris cavorting around like a couple of hyperactive school-kids. Grabbing Austin lightly by the arm Nick asked if he happened to know where Eamon was.

”Sure, he’s over there with Jaime.”

Nick stared back at the inmate, tempted to slap the idiotic grin right off his face. “Jaime who?” he demanded.

”Jaime Romero, one of his homies, just been transpacked up from Pen Hell.”

Ignoring the odd look Austin gave him, Nick took off at a run, shouldering his way through the crowd until he saw them. A red mist descended at the sight of Eamon clutching the greasy spic’s hand as though his life depended on it. Nick stood and stared, fists curled by his sides. He should have finished the spic off while he’d had the chance but he thought he’d made it clear the prisoner was to remain at Pen Hell until his dying day. Obviously Tanya had done what she did best and whored herself out to the warden in order to secure Romero’s transfer to Manfried. Bitch!

The two inmates were so immersed in one another they never even noticed his approach until he was right in front of them. Yanking the wetback out his seat Nick threw him to the floor.

“What the fuck are you doing here you piece of shit!” he had to yell to make himself heard above the caterwauling of the stupid blonde bitch on stage. Face contorted with rage he rounded on Eamon. “What lies has he been telling you?”

Jaime clawed at his leg in an attempt to pull him away from Eamon but a savage kick to the head sent him reeling back.

“Whatever he said, none of it’s true!” Nick seethed.

A green behind the ears rookie guard who tried to intervene was given short shrift but not before Nick wrestled his gun from him.

“Should’ve stayed where you were Romero instead of disobeying my orders but it's too late now!” he screamed, aiming the gun at Jaime’s chest.

[Eamon O'Leary]

Eamon had tried to explain to Jaime how Nick had been the one person who'd put him in touch with his parents again. Nobody else had done that; nobody else had even tried; hell, nobody else even cared enough to bother trying but Nick had. Nick had done so much for Eamon; shown him kindness and more and Eamon had planned on telling him tonight about how he felt and now Jaime had turned up. It confused things a hell of a lot. Eamon knew he'd been developing feelings for Jaime back in Pen Hell but he was with Seb so he'd clamped down on them because it was all too much drama for all of them if he'd confessed those sorts of feelings. Not necessarily love but it might have developed into that, if Eamon had let it, but Eamon was with Seb and Jaime had been confused a lot in those days, unsure of himself. Even now, Eamon wasn't sure if Jaime truly was what he'd said back on the night of the lockdown. Jaime had just needed somebody; somebody who wouldn't hurt him and Eamon had shown him what 'making love' could be rather than being subjected to the degraded perversions of prison guards. It had been a wondrous night, Eamon had to admit that, but he was with Seb. Sooner or later, he'd have confessed to Seb what had happened, knowing then he'd have to protect Jaime from the man... he didn't know he was going to be separated from both so soon afterwards and now... now Seb was dead; Jaime was here; and the one man Eamon thought he could begin to trust and believe in completely wasn't what he appeared to be, according to Jaime.

It was in the midst of that explanation that Nick appeared so suddenly out of the crowd with an expression on his face that Eamon had never seen before. Jaime was hauled from the chair and thrown to the floor. He was screaming at Jaime and as Eamon started to rise, slow because he'd been so stunned by the onslaught, Nick turned on him and Eamon flinched at the man's rage. He'd never seen Nick like this. He glanced down at Jaime trying to grab at Nick but then Nick turned and kicked him.

"Nick, no..." and the guard was growling at him, telling him none of what Jaime said was true, and Eamon wanted to believe that; he did but this side of Nick was foreign to him, terrifying, and Eamon was starting to believe the opposite, that Jaime had no reason to lie to Eamon... Jaime had told the truth and then that stupid guard intervened. It was a shock to suddenly see Nick with a gun in his hand, aiming it at Jaime with murderous intent.

"NO!" Eamon flung himself down over Jaime, protecting him and looking back at Nick, shaking his head. "Don't shoot him... I'll... whatever you want, Nick, I'll give you, just don't shoot him... please," he finished softly, inaudible with the noise around them but it was clear on his face. It never once occurred to Eamon that his actions would only make the situation worse... that Nick might feel betrayed and just shoot him and then shoot Jaime.

[Curtis Jefferson]

Scanning the room with a practiced eye CJ inwardly groaned. Aside from Dia, whose number one priority was keeping Alviirez and son safe there wasn’t a single person he could depend on for back up. Brad was off doing god knows what to Jon Sheridan in the bones suite and there was still no signal on his cell phone to alert Churchill as to what was happening. Cade Tarulo was eying up Alviirez ready to pounce at any moment. Leeann Cleary’s security detail were getting antsy about some guy who kept getting too close and as if all that weren’t enough Nick Clark had decided now would be a good time to completely lose the plot. CJ only had himself to blame for that particular snafu. Briana had tried to warn him the guy was about to blow and should be committed to a psych hospital asap before he ended up hurting himself or someone else but CJ had been too busy putting out all the other fires set by the VV to keep tabs on Brad’s deeply disturbed son. Now the shit had hit the fan and the only thing the guards present in the room could do was snicker and gawk like Clark Jr on the rampage with a gun was part and parcel of the evening's entertainment. Wonderful. It was all down to him and he approached slowly from behind, seeking eye contact with O’Leary to try to reassure him everything would be okay. He knew Kane Davis would be armed but Davis was currently so engrossed in his cellie a stick of dynamite could go off beside him and he probably wouldn’t notice.

“Nick, put the gun down bud, c’mon you really don’t want to do this.” CJ’s tone was firm but reasonable. He’d done some negotiation training but just the basics and he was used to having the luxury of back-up on the outside so he was well and truly winging it, crossing his fingers and hoping for the best.

Nick glanced up at him wild-eyed. “I warned him! I said I’d kill him if he ever came near O’Leary! I fucking told him but he didn’t listen!”

Suddenly CJ had an idea. If he could get Nick to focus on something else he might be able to talk him down off the proverbial ledge. It was worth a try. Hands raised, palm upward, he edged as close as he dared. “Nick, listen to me carefully. Twenty minutes ago your father came and took Jon Sheridan to the bones suite.” His eyes bored into Clark’s with burning intensity, “You know what he’ll be doing to the kid. I need your help….Jon needs your help. This thing with Eamon and the new fish can wait. It can be sorted out later. I’ll transfer him back to Pen Hell if you don’t want him here, problem solved. But if your father hurts Jon…well you and I both know that’s not gonna be so easily fixed.” he paused long enough to let the implication of his words sink in before urging Nick to come with him to the bones suite to talk Brad into letting Jon go. If it wasn’t already too late.

Nick hesitated for a moment and blinked as though just waking up from a dream.

“We should hurry.” CJ said evenly.

Nick looked back at Eamon and gave a small bewildered shake of his head. “I’m sorry. I don’t…I don’t know what came over me. I’m…sorry.”

CJ held out his hand for the gun and hitched his head toward the door. “C'mon man, let’s go.”

To his relief Nick appeared to have snapped out of the psychotic episode for the moment. It was a big risk asking someone as unstable as Nick was right now to try and persuade Brad to give up Jon but CJ had no choice. He couldn’t leave him here to run amok and he had to get to the bones suite as fast as possible; like it or not Nick Clark was the only back up he had.