The Pickle Jar

Mickey Gets on the Bus

"Quiet, prisoners," Officer Locke droned, more interested in whatever was on her computer screen than either Mickey or Keisha.

"But I didn't say anything," Keisha complained.

Mickey blushed guiltily.

"You growled. That counts, and Baby-Girl in there is a regular chatterbox. You're supposed to sit quietly in the holding cell."

"She called you Baby-Girl. That's totally going to be your jail nickname," Keisha chided, elbowing Mickey in the ribs."

"Could the two of you just shut up already? There'll be plenty of time for get-acquainted games down at the detention center."

"Really?" Mickey asked.

"No, not really. Do your time quietly, Baby-Girl, starting now; and don't get mixed up with anybody there, especially this one."

"Hey, I resemble that remark," Keisha chimed.

"Both of you, just shut up. I'm trying to focus on my game."

"What are you playing?" Mickey couldn't keep herself from asking.

"Solitaire," Officer Locke sighed, exasperated by the two talkative prisoners in her charge.

"Oh, I love Solitaire," Mickey beamed, happy to have found common ground with her guard.

"Great, just great. Once they get you processed, I'm sure you'll be able to pass most of your sentence in the jail computer lab playing it and other fun games."

"Really?"

Keisha shook her head.

"No, not really. There is no jail computer lab. The next year is going to be one of work, abuse, and crappy sleep."

"Oh." Mickey looked a little green.

The following few seconds of blissful quiet were shattered by Officer Locke's walkie-talkie. Mickey couldn't understand what was said through the static, but it soon became clear enough.

"Alright girls, your ride is here." Officer Lock grudgingly closed her game of Solitaire and sprang into action, producing yet another bag of shackles.

"More chains?" Mickey enquired.

Keisha shook her head again.

"You and your mouth are going to be really popular down at the detention center, Baby-Girl. I however am glad to almost be done with you." With a stroke of the keyboard, the door to the holding cell slip open. "Alright prisoners, on your feet."

Standing while shackled hand and foot, Mickey discovered, was awkward, but not impossible by any means.

Quickly and efficiently, Officer Locke connected a length of chain from Mickey's waist chain to Keisha's, then released the D-rings tethering them both to the floor.

"Alright girls, move it."

Walking in shackles had been difficult. Walking in shackles while connected to someone else proved more difficult still. Mickey almost pitched over with her first step. Officer Locke grabbed and steadied her. She was not nearly so gentle as Sergeant Russ had been.

"Baby steps, Baby-Girl," Keisha advised from just behind her.

Making their way through a series of winding halls and secure doors, Mickey and Keisha's steps fell into a crude rhythm. "We're like a couple of neurons," Mickey observed, proud of that accomplishment.

Officer Locke and Keisha shook their heads.

An unmarked white van was waiting for them in a secure section of the parking garage. Two guards— one woman, one man— stood beside it.

"Officer Driver," Officer Locke greeted the woman. "Officer Dewey," she greeted the man.

"Officer Locke," they greeted her in return.

"Alright prisoners, all aboard," Officer Driver instructed.

Mickey's mom had warned her countless times, as a child, never to get into a strange van. She wished that advice applied even now, but it did not. Like some sad beast of burden, Mickey and Keisha shuffled toward the van's open side door.

"Middle seat, both of you."

Mickey lifted her right foot to step into the van, but the shackles prohibited her from stepping high enough.

"I can't do it."

"What?" Officer Driver barked, instantly getting in Mickey's face.

"These two are real jokers," Officer Locke explained, "especially Baby-Girl there."

"No, I can only take baby steps in these shackles. The van is literally too high for me to get into."

"Damn it, Dewey," Officer Driver sighed.

Dewey immediately sprang into action, producing a wooden block from the floorboard of the van's front passenger seat. "I knew I forgot something," he apologized laying the block in front of Mickey.

"There you go, Princess."

"Princess, that's another good jail nickname for her," Keisha observed, following Mickey into the van. "I still think I like Baby-Girl better though."

Officers Driver and Locke shared a look and shook their heads. Officer Dewey closed the van's sliding door behind the prisoners.