WELCOME TO MAX SEC

[Liam Connors]

Saturday 30th June – 3.15pm

Liam had been in Manfried two weeks now and every passing day was worse than the one before. Everything he'd seen only confirmed Ciara's stark warning the place, along with the guards who ran it, was evil to the core. Some of the abuses he’d had the misfortune to witness were horrific enough to cause him to be physically sick and his nocturnal screams merged with those of other inmates plagued by wakened nightmares. He kept himself to himself afraid to trust a soul, even those few who showed a crumb of kindness and sought to befriend him. Ciara was the only person he spoke to and he trailed behind her like a stray puppy dog whenever he caught sight of her. Usually she was with Danny or another male inmate whom he got the distinct impression Danny didn’t like one bit, backing up his theory Ciara and Danny were boyfriend girlfriend. Meanwhile although still civil to him Danny had given up trying to coax him to be his ‘homie’ having taken the hint he wouldn't be swayed.

Liam concluded he had to get out of Manfried. There was no way he’d survive much longer, in fact the only way he’d made it relatively unscathed thus far was down to sheer dumb luck there had always been a ‘good’ guard around to pluck him from harm’s way. Luck however had a tendency to run out and that coupled with a growing sense of desperation had been what prompted him to shadow the teacher guy at a discreet distance for the past three days while trying to work up the courage to approach him. Based on observation, the man was quiet and minded his own business whenever he wasn’t keeping an eye on the tall lanky blond boy and his bible-reading friend. Liam had quickly revised the first conclusion he’d jumped to when it became clear the two boys, far from minding him hovering nearby appeared to be completely at ease and interacted fondly with him. The three were often to be found in the library which as it happened had also become a regular haunt of Liam’s. Louder scarier inmates didn't tend to frequent the place which was incentive enough for Liam to spend his time there as opposed to the yard or elsewhere.

The blond boy and his friend were huddled close to the librarian, an older woman who struck Liam as being overly affectionate towards them even if it was in a motherly way. Today she was sharing her lunch with them and the delicious aroma of home-baking made Liam's mouth water. Taking a deep breath he got up from the table where he’d been pretending to read whilst awaiting the chance to go speak to the teacher guy on his own. Slowly he limped between the stacks hugging a book protectively to his chest as he approached the man.

Swallowing hard, he met the man’s curious gaze and prayed his voice wouldn’t fail him.

“Uh…Eamon? I heard you’re a teacher? That is…uhm…Ciara’s boyfriend said you used to be a teacher and that you're cool about helping people with stuff. I…uhm…I need some advice…but if you’re busy it doesn’t matter. I don’t want to bug you or anything. My name’s Liam, I’m kinda new…and I’m not sure who else to ask for help.” he blurted out in a nervous rush.

[Eamon O'Leary]

Eamon was spending more and more time in the library. A consequence more than likely that every time he did try to teach a class of prisoners something would be raised and the classes would be suspended while they ‘checked’ everything was above board and met rules and regulations. Eamon knew the truth. Nobody liked prisoners getting any more of an education than absolutely necessary, preferably none at all and to have a prisoner who was a teacher and could actually teach them properly without costing them much money… well, they still couldn’t figure out if the minimal amount of money they paid Eamon to use in the Commissary was worth the savings they made by not getting somebody in from the outside. Somebody from the outside always had an attitude that they were somehow better than the prisoners. It was rare that anybody willing to come into the prison to teach earned the prisoners’ respect… whereas Eamon was one of them. He knew and understood what they were dealing with and he used their circumstances as a basis for his classes. None of this stupid outside world stuff about bus leaving bus-stop one and arriving at bus-stop to at this time and how long did the trip take. No, Eamon used ‘real-world’ tactics to teach his classes and for the prisoners the ‘real world’ for them was Manfried Correctional.

He was between the stacks for now, browsing books, looking for titles that might suit the vast differences in reading levels that he did have in the classes… just in case they were reinstated again. He needed reading material that was challenging but not impossible for some of the men and women but he didn’t want them to be insulted by the simpleness of some texts. Plus, they had such a vast range of interests, it was pointless giving a romance novel to somebody who was only interested in computers… especially in this place where romance was a hard thing to discover and hold on to. No, Eamon tried to find material that, while it met the needs and wants of his class students, might also help them expand a little beyond their normal choices.

When a shadow darkened the end of the aisle Eamon looked away from the spines of books towards the young man approaching him. Eamon was watchful but everything about the man’s manner spoke nothing of danger or aggressiveness. This wasn’t an attack of any sort so Eamon offered a careful smile to show he was approachable. As soon as the young man spoke Eamon knew this man was nervous, afraid his approach might be rebuffed.

So Eamon listened, wondered who the hell Ciara’s boyfriend was because most of the times he’d seen Ciara she’d been with Danny and he knew Danny wouldn’t be Ciara’s boyfriend. Unless he was bi… interesting, Eamon hadn’t thought of that. He studied the young man a moment longer after he’d finished speaking.

”Liam. Good name. My brother’s called Liam.” Eamon hoped that would put Liam at ease although it did make Eamon long to see his older brother once more. He wondered how the wedding plans were going and wished he’d been able to convince Nick to pass on his whereabouts to his family before the guy went insane. ”So, you’re new and you didn’t know who else to ask for help?” That was an odd one. Eamon thought he’d be the last person anybody would ask for help in this place but Eamon wasn’t one to turn people away. ”I don’t know if I can help you… but I’ll do my best. Or at least find out who can if it’s possible,” he promised. He didn’t know why but he always felt some sense of protectiveness of the younger prisoners when they first came into this place. He’d done little to help the likes of Jon and Isaiah and Zach… but he did what he could all the same. ”Come on,” he said, tucking a couple of books into his arm. ”We’ll sit at a table so nobody gets suspicious we’re cooking up a riot or something,” he joked. Eamon would be the last person to cook up a riot in this place.

[Liam Connors]

Liam’s skittish gaze took in the expression on the teacher guy’s face, the fact it was verging on approachable didn’t make him any less afraid, he knew better than to take anyone at face value no matter how genuine they appeared to be. The man studied him back and Liam shifted awkwardly under his scrutiny though god knows he should be used to being stared at like a circus freak by now instead of wanting to curl up into an invisible ball. The silence was finally broken when Eamon commented on his name, claiming to have a brother called Liam. Liam fidgeted nervously. Bullshit or the truth, he had no way of knowing so he said nothing while a familiar pang shot through him at the mention of family. Somewhere out there he had siblings who’d been lost to him when he’d been swallowed up by a system too overstretched and underfunded to be concerned with maintaining familial ties. In the dark recesses of his brain he vaguely recalled an older brother and younger sister but other than their names, Finn and Maireah, they could be dead for all he knew. He was snapped back to the present by Eamon repeating what he’d just said a few seconds ago about being new and not knowing who to turn to for advice. Liam nodded and attempted to explain.

“Yes sir, I…I…was going to request a meeting with the warden cause I thought…uhm…she’d be the go to person, being in charge and all but…” His brow furrowed and he lowered his voice, “…Ciara and her boyfriend said…uh…they said not to.”

Without knowing how much this teacher guy could be trusted Liam thought it best not to elaborate. For all he knew Eamon might run straight to the warden or one of the guards and grass Ciara and Danny up for badmouthing warden Lawrence. To his relief Eamon chose to leave it at that and went on to say he’d do his best to help.

"Thank you.” Liam replied with obvious relief before anxiety once again crept back into his voice, “I…uhm…can’t pay you. Danny said you don’t charge for giving out advice.”

It was important to be clear on the terms and conditions right from the outset in order to avoid any nasty surprises later on. He just hoped Danny had been speaking the truth about Eamon not expecting any recompense. Moving as quickly as his leg would permit he followed the teacher to an unoccupied table, still within sight of the librarian and the two boys but far enough away for their conversation to remain private. Liam took his cue from Eamon and opened a book in front of him just in case the bored looking guard by the door were to tear his attention away from his phone to check on what the inmates might be up to.

After a brief moment of hesitation while he tried to figure out how best to word what was on his mind Liam went on in a quiet tremulous voice.

“There’s been a mistake. I don’t think I’m meant to be here. I wasn’t arrested or charged with anything. A cop picked me up and accused me of stuff I didn’t do then he made a call to someone called…Tori…or something like that. Next thing I knew I was on a ferry bound for this place and even though I tried telling the guards who processed me there must be some mistake they just laughed and told me to shut up, and I was here for good.” Biting down on his lower lip Liam drew in a steadying breath determined not to break down in front of Eamon. “I need a lawyer but I can’t afford one and I don’t know how to go about getting a court-appointed attorney who’ll get this all sorted out. No one gets tossed in prison without being charged or going to trial first so it’s got to be a mix-up, right?”

Fixing Eamon with a beseeching look Liam waited for the guy to agree this was all a huge mistake and by this time tomorrow a friendly lawyer would have cut through all the red tape and he'd be sprung, free to go on his way.

[Eamon O'Leary]

A request with the warden. Eamon shook his head then nodded it at the decision Liam had come to. ”They’re right,” he said quietly. ”Chances are, making a request to the warden… it’s not conducive to what you want. If anything, it would probably make things worse for you,” he said as gently as possible. ”Much worse.”

He found himself chuckling a little when Liam said he couldn’t pay. He shook his head. ”Danny’s right, I don’t charge for advice mainly because that’s all it is, advice. It’s up to the person I’m giving it to whether or not they want to use it. It might not be advice they want to hear and besides, it’s hard enough to get along in this place without having to pay for everything all the time. I’m… I guess I’m a sucker in some ways,” he conceded, offering the young prisoner a wry smile. ”I like to think I’m making a difference. I may not be, but it helps me survive this place. I’d go insane if I didn’t.”

Once they were settled at the table and Eamon had tried to slow down a bit once he’d realised the other man had a bad leg, Liam started to explain his predicament. Eamon gazed back at the young man looking so earnestly at him for an answer that would help him and Eamon knew he couldn’t give it. He wished he could because if he could give Liam the answers, he could answer his own and so many others as well… there just weren’t any answers.

”Liam…” How could he approach this? Nothing he was going to say was going to help the kid at all. He sighed heavily. ”Manfried isn’t like other prisons. I don’t know how you came to the attention of the cops or why. What you encountered with the guards… that’s normal here.” He shook his head. ”I’m sorry, I can’t help you. I was transferred from Penant Hills Penitentiary for no reason, or none that I was given. I spent months writing letters to my parents and brother… none of them left the prison.” He nodded towards the two young boys sitting with the librarian. ”Those two boys aren’t even eighteen and are in an adult prison. The fairer of the two, he was in juvie and had two weeks or something left before he returned home to his family. There was a riot at the juvenile place… he found himself here and the guards told him that he basically didn’t exist. Apparently somebody died in the riot, beaten beyond recognition and they claimed the body was his. His parents think he’s dead. And Jon, the other boy… that’s his mother with them. She got a job here because it was about the only way she could get to see him.” He reached out and gripped Liam’s shoulder gently, offering sympathy and support and hoped that the man wasn’t offended. ”There’s been no mistake. In this place, there are no mix-ups. I don’t know why you’re here but you are and there’s nothing any of us can do about it.” He released the man’s shoulder and sat back, unable to give any more information than that but hoped that the man would see that he was being truthful and honest.

[Liam Connors]

Liam’s grip on the cover of the book in front of him became white-knuckled as he listened to what Eamon was telling him.

“But…but…” he floundered, not from an inability to articulate what he wanted to say but because it was slowly beginning to sink in how futile his protests were. Eamon had summed it up in one when he said Manfried was like no other prison. The DOC had no jurisdiction here therefore normal rules didn't apply. What Ciara had tried so hard to make him understand Eamon spelled out in such a way it was impossible to refute when the evidence screamed out in silent despair all around them.

Liam’s dull-eyed gaze settled on the two boys as Eamon described how they were wrongfully incarcerated in an adult facility. He struggled to take it in and an audible gasp escaped him at the bit about the parents of one of the boys being told he was dead. The librarian glanced up and Liam saw beyond her gentle smile to the haunted air of someone carrying a burden too terrible to bear. Grasping the blond boy’s hand tightly in her own, in any other setting a mother clinging to her teenage son would have been odd. In this hellhole it made perfect sense, more so if the damaged look the boy had about him was anything to go by.

“Why doesn’t she tell someone what’s going on? If she went to the police surely they’d have to investigate.” The words were no sooner out his mouth than he shook his head despondently and answered his own question. “She can’t go to the authorities or the guards would hurt her son.”

Eamon reached out and gently squeezed his shoulder in a gesture of sympathy and support and Liam struggled to maintain composure, unable to recall the last time anyone had shown him a crumb of kindness.

He dropped his gaze to the book on which his trembling fingers rested and quietly thanked Eamon for telling him the way things were. No matter that it was far from what he wanted to hear. Better the cold hard truth than a sugar-coated version of it.

“But why would they want me? I don’t understand. I’m not like them.” he cast a somewhat wistful glance in the direction of the two boys and shook his head. “I mean…I’m not strong and…uh...healthy like them.” A long helpless sigh escaped him and his miserable expression became tinged with alarm. “Ciara mentioned something about branding. I’ve seen what the guards do to female inmates but…male…inmates…” his eyes swept back to the two boys and his hand found its way to his mouth. “No…”

Liam was no innocent when it came to such things. Living on the streets of course he knew what went on and had even witnessed male rape with his own eyes in various homeless places he’d stayed at but he didn’t consider himself in the least bit attractive and therefore believed it wasn't a problem he need worry about. The fact rape had little to do sexual attraction and everything to do with exerting power was out with his sphere of understanding.

“I feel sick.” he uttered, swallowing back the bile that flooded his mouth. “I don’t have someone like you watching out for me and I’m no good at knowing who to trust. Ciara’s the only friend I’ve got and Danny’s already getting pissed off at me hanging around her all the time.”

He looked back at Eamon like a drowning man.

“It took me three days to work up the courage to speak to you. No way I’ll survive in here…no way.”

[Eamon O'Leary]

The disbelief and objections were already showing on Liam’s face and his response, the ‘buts’ were only proof that he was going to find it hard to accept even though it showed on his face that he knew Eamon was telling him the truth. Eamon wished he could have given this young man some better news. At least the younger man didn’t flinch from his touch although Eamon wondered if it had been different had he known Eamon was gay. A lot of prisoners were funny about that. As soon as they heard ‘gay’ they thought he would want to hit on them… and that was the last thing Eamon would ever do in here. He was only interested in those whose feelings were mutually the same as his. If somebody wasn’t gay, he wasn’t interested. In this place though, it was mostly the straight guys who perpetrated the worst predatory behaviours.

Eamon could only shake his head when Liam asked about why they’d want him. He didn’t know. That was something only Liam could discover either by asking around or simply listening to rumours because sometimes rumours had substance. Working out what was fact and what was fiction would eventually lead him to the truth as to why he was in Manfried; at least one would hope so… that or somebody, likely one of the prison staff, would eventually gloat to Liam about why he was there. They usually found the opportunity to gloat irresistible. Liam would find out the truth eventually… unfortunately it wouldn’t do him any good. Not in this place.

”Hey, hey, listen to me,” he said firmly but still gently. ”Look at me, in the eye. Make alliances, make friends like Ciara… and me and Danny. If Danny’s getting pissed at you, I don’t think it’s because you’re hanging around with Ciara. There’s probably other reason but listen to me… everybody you make friends with, Liam, will look out for you when they can. I try to look out for the boys, I’m not always able to but I try. I’ll do the same for you. It works both ways… we watch each other’s backs; that’s all we can do and sometimes… sometimes it makes no difference but we can’t give up. We can’t stop everything but we can reduce it a little… and we survive. You’ll survive! There’s no other way in this place but you won’t survive on your own. So you’ve got a friend in Ciara, a friend in Danny if you give him a chance and trust him… and you’ve got a friend in me. Never forget that.”

[Liam Connors]

Despondency and helplessness threatened to overwhelm Liam and Eamon quickly sought to draw him out of his introspection and focus instead on the advice he was about to impart. Maintaining eye-contact wasn’t something Liam was good at for two main reasons, one he had no desire to see the pity or contempt with which people invariably viewed him and two, keeping his eyes glued to the floor meant there was less chance of him falling flat on his face. Thus it was with a good deal of hesitation that he heeded Eamon’s gentle yet firm demand he look him in the eye. To Liam’s surprise there was nothing but empathy and concern visible on the man’s face which along with the compassion in his tone gave the young inmate exactly the glimmer of hope he needed right then to keep from going under.

“Thank you.” he replied with deep sincerity. Inwardly however he had serious doubts he was equipped to be anyone’s friend and failed to understand why in the world anyone would want him to be in the first place. “I…I don’t want to bug you so just tell me to get lost if you want rid of me, it’s ok, I’m used to it.”

He was so caught up in their conversation he didn’t notice the blond boy approach their table until a couple of saran wrapped fudge brownies suddenly appeared in front of him. He glanced up with a startled look of confusion as the boy shyly introduced himself and invited him to hang out with him and his friend – Isaiah – later during socialization time. Rendered speechless, Liam hadn’t a clue how to respond and threw a disconcerted look in Eamon’s direction.

“Uhm…” Swallowing thickly he finally found his voice, “Thanks…yeah, I’d like that…if you’re sure.”

Seemingly oblivious to his social ineptitude Jon arranged to meet up with him outside the mess-hall at six-thirty. After exchanging pleasantries with Eamon Jon gravitated back to his mom and Isaiah and Liam’s gaze fell on the brownie in front of him. He couldn't quite believe it was actually meant for him but Eamon was already secreting the other one away in the folds of his jumpsuit and as there was nobody else at the table it had to be for him.

“I’m so used to being treated like an outcast it feels kinda weird to have people be nice to me.”

He didn't think for one minute Eamon would have any insight into how that felt but he felt compelled to share it anyway.

[Eamon O'Leary]

((ooc: sorry for delay, been very busy and trying to catch up everywhere today.))

When Liam looked at Eamon he saw a lot in that expression. The vulnerability spoke volumes but he expected that. Jon and Isaiah and so many others showed that. It was the fear of rejection or ridicule that he hadn’t expected and he wondered what sort of life Liam had lived on the outside before he’d been thrown in here for apparently no accountable reason. Eamon wasn’t sure how things were going to turn out for Liam… or any of them for that matter but Liam mostly because it appeared he’d been somehow randomly selected for this place and hadn’t done a damn thing wrong.

He offered Liam a smile and shook his head. ”I don’t mind being bugged, honestly. I’d be more worried if you needed somebody to talk to and didn’t bug me.” It was about then that Jon came up to them bearing gifts and asked Liam to join him and Isaiah later. Eamon nodded encouragingly towards Liam and the young man responded a little hesitantly but he did well. Eamon looked at Jon and asked him to thank his mother for the brownie for him but he didn’t ask how Jon was doing. Everybody knew how Jon and Isaiah were doing, nobody had to ask unless they were being bastards and there were quite a few of those in here. He tucked the brownie away for later, where he could eat it without fear of reprisals… and wishing he could have shared it with Jaime.

Eamon tilted his head at Liam’s words. ”Hey,” he said gently. ”We’re all outcasts in here for different reasons. We may not understand exactly what you’re dealing with, but we understand… we can relate, okay? You’re not alone.” Again he reached over and gave Liam a gentle squeeze to reassure him. ”Don’t ever thing you’re alone in here, Liam. You’re not. Make the right friends and we’ll watch your back when we can… none of us are perfect, we can’t stop all the bad stuff but when we can’t, at least you can rely on us to help pick up the pieces,” he promised.