The Green Mile and The Reporter

Meeting the Mile

The heavy door swung open and I stepped into E block, relieved to find that it was at least a few degrees cooler inside.

A large man walked up to us and looked down at me in confusion. "Warden Moores?"

"Mr. Howell this is Miss Argonne Flick from the Daily Times. She's gonna be here everyday covering the Green Mile." Warden Moores introduced me while I shifted from foot to foot.

As he finished I stuck my hand out and the man's almost totally covered mine. His mouth twitched at an almost smile. "A pleasure Miss Flick, the name's Brutus Howell, but please call me Brutal."

I cocked my head at him, smiling in spite of myself. Warden Moores excused himself and Brutal motioned for me to follow him. I could have sighed in relief when he shortened his stride to accommodate me. "Are you the big bad boss man?"

Brutal chuckled and shook his head. "Nope and I'm glad not to be. Paul has his hands full keeping the peace."

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, fingers suddenly itching to grab my notepad.

Brutal shrugged, pausing by the duty desk. "The inmates make trouble and then there's... well you'll probably see soon enough."

I looked down the corridor. "Mind giving me a tour in the mean time?"

"Certainly." Brutal started leading across the green tile in a lazy saunter. "While we're at it I should probably tell you that whenever you're walking down the mile, always walk down the center." He stopped to look me in the eye, though he had to stoop to do it. "I'll tell you the most important lesson there is to know about the mile. You can only fry a man once. There's nothing that they can do or not do to change that. They know it. So should we or someone could get hurt."

I felt my blood cool a little despite the heat. "Understood."

"Good."

"Can I quote you on that?"

He straightened with a laugh. "You reporters," he shook his head. "yes you may."

I smiled and turned around to find a man, watching me from behind the bars of the cell my back had been facing. He was an older Native American man with zombie like eyes. Brutal laid a hand on my thin shoulder. "Miss Flick, this is Arlen Bitterbuck aka the Chief. Chief this is Miss Argonne Flick, she works for a newspaper that's gonna be covering the Mile."

He nodded to me before walking to his bunk and laying down.

"Newspaper eh?"

I jumped and looked down the mile to find the only other inmate looking at me. His accent was Cajun French and he was a small balding man. I walked forward without Brutal. "Yes Mr...?"

"Eduard Delacroix. You said your names Argonne?"

"Yes Mr. Delacroix, Argonne Flick."

"That's a nice name. A real nice name. Call me Del, Miss Flick."

I walked a little closer, careful to stay away from the bars. "If I get to call you Del then please, no Miss Flick just Argonne. That goes for you too, Brutal."

Brutal nodded with with a small smile as he walked past me and unlocked the door at the end of the corridor. "This here is the restraining room."

I peered inside to find a padded cell that was filled to the brim with cluttered furniture and various other items. "Looks like you haven't needed it in a while."

He closed back up. "Fortunately we've had quite a few mild inmates in a row."

The phone at the duty desk rang and Brutal jogged back to pick it up. I hurried after him just as another guard stepped onto the mile from the office. He was tall and thin, and his face twisted in surprise when he saw me. I quickly introduced myself to Dean Stanton as Brutal finished up on the phone.

Brutal nodded at me as he walked past to knock on the bathroom door. There was a groan from inside and Brutal asked something in a low voice. After a moment the big man marched past me to peer out the slot in the door.

The man who stepped out of the bathroom was almost, but not quite, as tall as Brutal and not nearly as wide or barrel chested. He took one unsurprised look at me and held out his hand. "Miss Argonne Flick, I presume."

I nodded and cleared my throat. "Correct, Paul Edgecomb is it?"

"The one and only." He seemed uncomfortable and kept shifting from foot to foot. When he walked to the cell door Dean had just unlocked minutes before, there was a slight hitch to his walk. Not prominent enough to warrant the title limp, but his gait was not smooth or natural.

Brutal squinted out into the bright afternoon sunshine and remarked to no one in particular. "They're riding on the axle. What'd they do? Bust the springs?"

There was some loud yelling and it continued to get steadily louder. Though I couldn't make out the words I could tell it was the same phrase repeated and coming from the same person.

Brutal positioned himself so he could look down the mile at Paul. "You might want to reconsider getting in the cell with this guy. He's enormous."

Paul smirked. "Can't be bigger than you."

Brutal blew out a disbelieving sigh and the confidence on Paul's face faltered for the first time.

I wondered, Just how big is this guy?