10May

{teaser} Inside Man Chapter 42

• Saved in: Inside Man, Teasers
• by ooza
• with 5 Comments

From the inside of a cell, King County Jail didn’t seem all that different from Waterview State Correctional Facility. It consisted of three steel walls and a barred door, a toilet, and a bed. There was no window.

Despite it being the middle of the night, Edward couldn’t sleep. He sat with his head in his hands, contemplating what would become of his future. He would return to a six by eight cell at Waterview, about that he had no doubt. Entering the bar was a direct violation of his parole, more than enough reason to send him back to serve his remaining sentence at the prison, with added time for assaulting an officer, and perhaps for the man he beat up as well.

He had been so close—a mere three years away from being completely free. Edward had never felt so hopeless, or helpless, in his entire life.

At some point, Edward drifted into an uneasy sleep, unaware he had until a loud bang awoke him with a start. He was immediately on his feet, confused and disoriented. The memories of the night before came crashing back. There was a painful twisting in his stomach; nerves and hunger had gotten the best of him. But when his brain registered the scene before him, his stomach dropped, and his knees felt weak.

On the opposite side of the cell door, uniformed and stone-faced, stood Officer Charles Swan. He was flanked by two officers, who were equally expressionless yet seemed to radiate an air of hostility.

Edward didn’t imagine an assault on an officer, whether it be intended or not, would be taken lightly.