Prison Blues

12 - Prisoner of War

"Let go of me!"

"Shut the fuck up, Levine!"

"No, let me go!" Adam had been an unwilling participant in the running battle between the Death Squad and the Kings. Turner had been dragging him along, forcing him to move as his gang retreated in the face of a violent thrust into their territory by the Kings. Adam knew what they wanted - him. The Kings were screaming for Turner and his men to give them Adam. But Turner refused.

The result had been the worst violence Adam had witnessed in his life. Screaming, fanatical men attacked each other with abandon, using anything they could get their hands on or their bare hands, feet, and, more than once, teeth. There seemed no humanity in their eyes. The things they did to each other defied belief. Rabid dogs wouldn't tear into each other like these men were doing. The path Turner traveled was covered with blood and gore. Yet still, it continued.

Adam couldn't understand it. Intellectually, he understood that these men believed Adam was their best leverage against his father, but why couldn't they understand the obvious truths? First, Warden Levine would not be running the operation outside. That was Daly. That meant Adam was of no more value as a hostage than any other prisoner. Second, harming Adam or any other guard would only make things so much worse for the inmates. Corrections officers tended to be harsh, perhaps overly so, on inmates who'd attacked one of their own. Third, the violence between the two gangs as they fought over him was just as likely to kill Adam as anyone else. And finally, the most confusing thing in Adam's mind. Why did they fight? What was it about being in a gang that these men believed was worth fighting and dying for, worth watching their friends be literally torn to pieces for, worth throwing everything away to follow the orders of a leader who was obviously completely irrational?

He'd known Turner was violent, arrogant, and had little regard for human life. But Adam hadn't known until now just how completely delusional the man was. His alpha male personality simply made it impossible for him to admit even the possibility of defeat. Here he was, with his gang being chipped away, a trail of bodies following him, and he was still refusing to give Adam up. His hand was like a steel clamp on Adam's arm, dragging Adam after him while he used his other hand to fire back at the attacking Kings.

Once again, Turner ran out of bullets. He handed the weapon to one of his men to reload and seized Adam's hair. "This is the last time I am going to tell you this, Levine," he snarled. "Stop! Fucking! Struggling!"

"Just let me go!" Adam yelled, wincing. "You can't win this, and you're going to get yourself and all the rest of your people killed if you keep this up! Just let them have me, and..."

The hand in his hair jerked his head painfully back. "They're not getting you!" he hissed. "The fucking Kings will have to drag you out of my dying grasp before that happens!"

"It's gonna happen!" Adam managed. "Don't be stupid! Just let them have me!"

Turner didn't listen. Of course he didn't listen. He let go of Adam's hair. Adam enjoyed the welcome relief for only a short period of time before the gang leader had his gun again, once more firing back at the Kings as he continued to drag Adam down the hall.

"Give him up, Turner!" one of the Kings yelled.

"Not a chance in hell!" Turner yelled back. "Shelton had the right idea! I'm not giving this bitch up, and if you fuckers try to take him from me?" He pressed the barrel of his weapon against Adam's temple. "I will splatter his brains all over the fucking wall!"

"You stupid motherfucker! You kill him, and no one gets him!"

"Precisely my point! Now back the fuck up!" The hand on his arm jerked Adam brutally forward. "Move it, Levine!"