Nowhere to Hide

Never Safe

Manny stands frozen in the shadows of Elizabeth's hospital room as the door continues to open. The bright fluorescent light from the hallway cascades across the darkened room. A deep, raspy voice snaps him out of his paralyzed state.

Beads of sweat pop out across his forehead. His heart pounds in his chest. He scans the sparsely furnished room, looking for a way to escape. He soon discovers his only retreat is the restroom. I'll have to run past them to get there. The barrier opens a little more. It's the only chance I have.

He's halfway across the room when the door flies open. Manny slides to a stop. His body begins to tremble. His heart pounds furiously in his chest. He stands motionless a few inches from the light. His lifeless victim is a few feet away. The only way out of this is to run.

"I'll be right there," the nurse pulls the door too.

Manny sighs with relief. I better get out of here while I still can. He presses his ear against the door and waits. Hearing the footsteps fade down the hall, he throws the barrier open and darts the opposite way.

***

Harry Long, an officer with the Tulsa PD, is busy logging Antonio's arrest report into the system. He hopes he'll be able to finish in time to see the big game. He bet half his paycheck on what he thought was a sure thing, but after hearing a few commentators' opinions, he wasn't so sure.

His partner, Bill Madison, is at his desk chatting away. Unlike Harry's neat, lanky stature, Bill is a short, rounded oaf of a man whose uniform has more wrinkles than a hundred-year-old man.

"The arrest could've gone south on us, Harry. With the airport being so crowded and all. That stupid rent-a-cop charging at him didn't help the situation none." He takes a bite of his burger and says, "We're just lucky the suspect's mother stepped in when she did." He remembers Antonio's face right before he went down. "The poor bloke didn't know what hit him." He laughs.

I was hoping the food would shut him up. Bill has been talking nonstop for the better part of an hour, making it hard to get anything done. Harry glances at the report, and then he taps a few more keys.

Taking another bite, he says, "The whole mess could've been prevented if you'd taken your shot."

"I didn't want to risk hitting a civilian, alright?" Anger surges through him; he pecks the keys harder than before.

Bill crams the last bite into his mouth. Ketchup dribbles on his clothes; he wipes the mess away. "There's no way you could've missed."

Harry slams his hands on the keyboard and then turns towards Bill. His forehead creases, his nostrils flare. A dagger expression crosses his face. "I decided not to, alright."

Bill throws his hands up as he leans back in his chair. "Whoa, what's gotten into you all of a sudden?"

"I want to get home in time for the game, but it's not going to happen because you won't shut your damn pie hole long enough for me to finish." He slams his hands on the desk. "I need a break." He gets to his feet.

"I'll type the report for you."

Harry rolls his eyes. "You'll just screw it up the way you did the last one."

A wounded expression plagues Bill's face. "No, I won't."

Harry glances at his watch. I'll make it home in time for the kick-off if I hurry. Besides, his screw-up will be on him and not me. "Alright, but take your time and do it right this time." He grabs his coat off the chair.

"I will; you'll see."

"The captain will have your ass if you don't," Harry warns.

Bill replays his and the captain's last conversation in his mind. "Cap ain't going to demote me to no traffic cop," he states, plopping down in his partner's chair.

Finished with the report, Bill decides to visit their prisoner, give him the news. "Hey, Gonzales, Berryville Police Department just called, said they're on their way."

"Do you know what they're charging me with?" He had a pretty good idea but wanted to know for sure.

"They're faxing the paperwork now. Yep, there it is. Don't go anywhere." Bill laughs. He's always enjoyed his joke. Antonio gives him a dagger stare. The officer laughs again.

He returns a few minutes later with a stack of papers in hand. Only one pertains to his case, but Bill figures Antonio will intimidate easier if he sees a large pile. "You've been a busy man, Gonzales." Bill pretends to scan through them. "It looks like you'll be serving a lot of time upstate."

"What does it say?"

"They're charging you with extortion, money laundering, racketeering, conspiracy, fraud, and tampering with evidence." Bill turns towards the suspect. "That's just the first page." He flips to the next.

"You're full of shit," Antonio growls.

"Look for yourself." He holds up a piece of paper.

Antonio glances towards it but discovers the print is too little to read. He moves closer but still can't make out the fine print."

"You'll probably be spending the rest of your life behind bars. I'd try to work out a plea agreement if I were you. Maybe then you'll have a few years of freedom before you croak."

"I'm not a snitch," he snarls.

"I bet a pretty boy like you will have lots of friends upstate if you know what I mean." Bill winks.

He slams his fist against the bars. "No one will touch me like that."

"That's what everyone says. Then big Bubba comes along shows you what's up, and the next thing you know, you're his property."

He puffs out his chest. "Well, it ain't happening to me."

"You're probably better off if he does because Dominicans don't do well in prison."

"I can handle my own," he growls.

"The others thought so too until they were carried out in a body bag. I hope you sleep tight because this is probably the last restful night you'll get for a very long time."

Antonio's upper lip curls. "You don't scare me, pig."

"I'm not trying to scare you. I'm just telling you like it is."

"Fresh meat like you, you'll be lucky to last a day," another prisoner adds.

Antonio turns to find a burly, tattooed man beside him. His long jet-black hair is tied into a ponytail at the nape of his neck. His ashen face is wrinkled and scarred.

"I've seen it happen too many times," the inmate finishes, shaking his head.

"Bruno has spent most of his life behind bars. Ain't that right?"

"It's my home away from home."

Antonio glances at the detective and then his cellmate.

"Sleep well." Bill chuckles, walking away. I bet he'll be singing like a little canary soon.