The Shock of the New

Chapter 31: In the Clink

Ian spent what seemed like an eternity in the back of the van. All W.E.R. police vans were deliberately deprived of back windows to make it harder for apprehended criminals to work out where they were or where they were going.

As he sat in the van, Ian thought over how he'd ended up like this. He cursed Neave and her friends for getting him in this situation and shivered as he thought about the sort of punishment he could expect for his crimes. Although he wanted to stand up and scream that he was innocent and the whole thing was a misunderstanding, Ian didn't have the energy to do so. He knew deep down that protesting would be a complete waste of time and they'd already decided he was guilty anyway.

Eventually the van came to a stop and a second later, the doors swung open revealing two officers who angrily scowled at Ian

"Out!" one of them ordered. Ian did as he was told only for the two officers to restrain him, the moment he left the van.

The two of them then dragged Ian through the doors of the station they'd arrived at which was one that Ian had never been two and pulled him through to a small room where they produced a large plastic tray

"Empty your pockets!" one of the officers ordered. Ian did so although the only things he had in his pockets were his wallet, his phone and the keys to his flat.

"Now remove your all your clothes except for your underwear!" the officer barked. Normally Ian would have been too embarrassed to do so, but now he was genuinely fearing for his life, so he proceeded to do just that.

Once he'd done so, the officers grabbed hold of Ian by his arms and began marching him through another door which lead to a bunch of jail cells. They lead him up to an empty cell, opened the door and threw him inside before locking the door. At this point, Ian broke down in tears and simply huddled up in the corner waiting for it to end.

Ian had been huddled up in the cell for what could have been hours or mere minutes when a voice called out "First time?"

Looking around, Ian asked "Who said that?"

"Only me" said the voice again "The guy next door"
"Who are you?" Ian asked "Before you ended up here anyway?"

"My name is George Hamisi" the voice replied. Listening to it, Ian realised that it belonged to a man with an accent like one of the black African dialects. Ian was even more surprised that he recognised it as he spent very little time working with non-whites

"What they get you for?" Ian asked George "Were you working with dissidents or something?"

"No no" George gently laughed "I got put in here because I made the fatal mistake of daring to ask somebody in power something I wasn't supposed to. So I got put in here to make sure no other blacks had the same idea and started asking the same questions. How about you?"

"My name's Ian Clarkson" Ian explained "I did a favour for somebody who turned out to be working for dissident groups. So I'm pretty much here on a treason charge"
"Dear oh dear" George's voice gently chided "That's a really bad thing to do. You know what they always tell you about crimes against the state"
"Don't remind me" Ian groaned "I'm scared shitless here."
"I don't blame you" George laughed "W.E.R. prisons fully live up to their brutal reputations, you know?"
"Do you mind!" Ian snapped "You're not helping!"

"Sorry" George's voice laughed again "I just figured it's best to be honest in a difficult situation such as this. Don't you agree?"
Ian closed his eyes and took a deep breath "So what sorts of delightful things can I expect to look forward to while I'm here?"
"The usual" George's voice replied "Lengthy interrogations, beatings and torture if you don't comply."
Ian groaned and shrunk down onto the floor. As he held his head in his hands, he wondered what he'd done in a past life to end up in a situation like this. He then spoke to himself