Ollie Savage

Chapter 6

The day of the much-anticipated appointment is upon him. Ollie is on the train to Croydon again. He has his BlackBerry, wallet and train ticket. Back at home, Deena is asleep as she has come from a night shift and is going back again tonight. Ollie checks through security and awaits his interview. No one attends to him until around half past three when three street looking immigration officers come to get him.

They take him to a far corner and ask him to confirm his details. They show him his Zambanian passport and asks him to confirm it's his. He confirms. They ask him to confirm he is aware of the visa / stickers in his passport. He confirms. They read him his rights and place him under arrest for possession of forged identity documents. He is taken to the local police station where he is kept overnight awaiting trial the next day at Croydon's magistrate court.

He is numb. He had anticipated for the worst; worst is here now. He is feeling cold from a combination of the cold holding cells and nerves. He does not get a phone call to Deena, as the police are busy processing other customers. The next morning, he is given his belongings and taken to the magistrate's court.

He is held up in the cold basement cells where he gets a visit from a government lawyer, who informs that he may not get seen today as the courts are so busy. She also advises him that he is being charged with 'possession of a falsely acquired identity document with intent to deceive. If he is found guilty, he may be looking at ten years imprisonment.

The level of calmness he feels can only be reached by a Yoga Sensei. No amount of scaremongering is going to fuck up his calmness now. Towards the end of the day, he is escorted into the courtroom where the panel tells him the magistrate court is not competent with his level of crime. His crime falls under the Identity Card Act, some Antiterror Act that only the crown court are able to pass judgement on.

Due to the intricacies of his situation and the nature of his crime, they fear he may reoffend again if they let him back into the community. Based on those facts, they recommend police custody until he gets a court date arranged. He no longer qualifies for the local police station, so he sits on the small bus with tinted windows, en route to HMP High Down.

He is processed, assigned a prisoner number and a shared cell at High Down. He is in with two African men in their mid-forties who help him get his phone call with Deena. She is left distraught at the confirmation of her worst nightmare. He apologises that he never intended for this to happen, and that he never wanted her dragged into this mess. He gives her his new address and contact procedures. They cry together but the call is short.

His cell mates seem calm. One is still in here indefinitely even though he finished serving his six-year sentence. They will keep him until he is proven safe for release back into the community. He was caught at Gatwick with just over two kilos of snow, while returning from Colombia. The other man is coming to the end of his twenty-three-year sentence for his hand in a double manslaughter. When they ask Ollie what he is in for, he has to really impress, so he tells them he is in for armed robbery which he is very knowledgeable about. Here, you need to earn respect, and fast. There are just way too many youths carrying shanks in here, looking to prove they are gangster, and make a name for themselves.

Now at his fully grown size of 6 ft 6", Ollie is not really a small guy. He is not worried about the youths as he can and loves a good scrap. It's not long before the youths start referring to him as 'Big Man'. When they see him in the lounge, they bring him gifts of the gold dust that is salt and pepper. In return, all they ask for is protection in the showers, and in the exercise area where they are most vulnerable. The food here is tasteless, so the salt and pepper really are a good deal.

There are no chefs here, all labour is covered by the prisoners themselves. The prison stewards are prisoners who offer information to first timers like him. He speaks to one, who is serving indefinitely. His fifteen-year sentence finished two years ago, but he is being held until proven safe for rehabilitation back into the community.