It was eight a.m. when a nightstick banged on Jasper’s bars, “Connor. Get your ass up. You’re being moved.”
Jasper rolled over to see a guard he didn’t recognize at the bars, “Oh yeah? Where am I being moved to?” He didn’t bother to get up off the cot.
“On your feet. Got orders here. Warden wants you moved to Baker's County. Your transport is already waiting. Get your shit. Let’s go.”
The guard didn’t show any facial expression whatsoever. In fact, if anything, he looked like a mean sonofabitch. Jasper kept his eyes on him as he put on a change of prison clothes.
“What’s the weather like, boss? Am I gonna need a coat?” Jasper grinned and stood near the bars ready to go. He didn’t need anything in this cell, not even his toothbrush. Better to leave everything behind and travel light. He had a thermal and his orange jail scrubs over it, plus his sneakers, a wool hat, and his coat that was draped over his arm.
“Coat on. Now. Turn around at the bars and put your hands behind your back.” The guard rapped the bars again with his stick, then holstered it to get his cuffs. Once Jasper turned as ordered, the guard reached through the bars and cuffed him. There was another guard standing off to the side. Jasper only saw him when he started to turn. He didn’t know this guard either.
“Where’s Georgie?”
“Off today. What’s the matter? We’re not pretty enough?”
Jasper laughed then turned again to face the bars as they opened. The guard took one of his arms while the other guard took the other. Together, they escorted Jasper Connor out of his jail cell. A few of the inmates catcalled as Jasper was escorted off the block and toward transportation holding. There was a cell there where he would wait while they processed his transport paperwork.
A female CO looked over the documents, “And the warden signed off on this? This guy is going to get the chair, like any day now.” She looked from the papers she was examining up to the lead guard that removed Jasper from his cell.
“What do you want me to tell you? They got better chairs up in Baker's County.” He pointed to the warden’s signature twice and smirked at her. “Now, can we get on with it? This rain is going to make the roads shit and I want to get moving.”
The female CO sighed and signed reluctantly. Something seemed fishy to her, but she couldn’t deny the signatures were right there. “Fine, but he better be checked into Baker's within 6 hours or it’s your ass. No funny business.”
The guard smirked as he took his copy of the transport papers, “What could go wrong in 6 hours?” Turning to the other guard, he winked, “Let’s roll.”
They removed Jasper and headed toward a prison van that they stuffed him into. Two other guards that had been waiting by the van got in and sat on either side of Jasper. The two guards that removed him from the cell took the driver’s seat and the passenger seat. The driver turned and smiled to Jasper, “Fasten your seatbelts. It’s gonna be a bumpy ride.”
***
The burner phone buzzed in Georgie’s hand. It shouldn’t have surprised him, but it did, and he nearly dropped it. The phone bounced from hand to hand, like a slippery fish trying to free himself from a fisherman’s grasp. He finally he got a hold of it and answered it. “Yeah. Talk to me.” He sounded remarkably cool for someone who could barely hold the phone a moment ago.
The voice on the other end of the phone confirmed what Georgie was waiting for, Jasper was on the move. It wouldn’t be long now. He hung up fast, and then dialed another number quickly. “Yeah, they just left. Get rolling. You got about two hours before they are in position.”
Georgie fist pumped the air. So far so good. They just needed to get past the next two hours and Jasper would be home free, at least to accomplish the next phase. If all went well, Jasper would be taking down Whitey in the next 48 hours, and then Georgie was going to do everything he could to help Jasper get out of the country. In the very worst case scenario, Jasper would die. Whether it would be by chair or Whitey, Jasper was set to die, and as cold-hearted as it seemed, Georgie wasn’t worried about that part. If it was supposed to happen, it would, but he damn well had every intention of helping Jasper live.
***
“What do you mean they moved my client? To where? And why wasn’t I notified immediately?” Darla was speaking into her office phone with an exasperated tone. “You have got to be kidding me. No, this is not acceptable. I want to know where my client is right now, and I want to know who authorized the transfer.” She waited a few moments while the voice on the other end of the phone tried to explain the transfer, but Darla was growing impatient by the millisecond, and the voice on the other end of the phone clearly belonged to a moron. “Get me the warden, now. Tell him Darla Lovell is about to eat his soul for lunch.”
Her phone beeped. Her assistant was trying to buzz in. Darla frowned, “She knows I’m on the phone. Idiot.” She muttered to herself, shook her head, and ignored the intercom buzz. Impatiently, she looked at her watch. “This bitch has me on hold 3 minutes already.” By bitch she meant the warden. A moment later, her assistant barged into the office.
Placing her hand over the receiver, Darla glared at the assistant, “You can see I’m on the phone, can’t you? You do have two eyes? 20/20 vision, yes?”
A nervous noise escaped from the girl, not unlike a squeak. She wasn’t Darla’s executive assistant. This assistant was specifically in charge of the phone and right now, she was in Darla’s eyes, fired. “What is it? What do you want?” She slammed the phone down, as now Darla refused to wait a second more for the warden to wake up and get on the phone. Her anger was also multiplying.
“I’m so sorry to disturb your call, Ms. Lovell.” The girl was stammering as she tried to get the words out, “Bu-but there’s a Lauren Holden on the phone for you. She said you are going to want to speak to her regarding Whitey Smith and Lucas Jackson. She said something about needing to show you something important.”
The girl stood quietly now waiting for Darla’s response. She was standing with half her body in the room and the other half outside of it, the wood door resting down the center of her body.
For a moment, Darla imagined slamming the door so hard that it would cut the girl in half lengthwise. Her long red nails drummed the desk slowly.
“I’ll take the call. Put it through.” Darla waited for the girl to leave and her top phone line to start blinking. As she took a seat, she stared at the steady flash of light.
“Yes, Ms. Holden. I see you feel the need to waste my time now that you’ve abandoned your job. Such a shame. You had promise!” Darla’s voice was both sweet, yet cutting. This was a special kind of sarcasm that could only be mastered by the supremely devious of minds and Disney villains.
To Darla’s horror, Lauren didn’t speak into the phone. Instead she heard Whitey’s voice. Actually, it was Whitey and another man talking.
“Is it all here?”
“Yes, Whitey. I counted it myself. You want to sit here and count it?”
“Nah, I know you’re good for it. Plus, I know where you live. If there’s a dime missing, I’ll just come cut you up into little pieces and bury you behind the bar.”
“Whitey, I need the deeds. Did you bring them?”
“Nah, I’ll have one of the guys run them over tomorrow. You know I’m good for it. I’m living right on the land, Lucas.”
“Yeah, but Whitey, I need the deed. I can’t give you the money with no deed. My client will … well, he’ll kill me.”
“You’re already dead. You know that.” Whitey laughed hard. He laughed as if he just told the best joke ever. “Ok, calm down, calm down. I’m just kidding. I’m going to take this money and tomorrow you’ll have the deed. I promise. Cross my heart. You just tell your client that we didn’t make the exchange yet. I’ll back you up.”
“Whitey, no. I can’t give you this money without the deed. That’s the deal, and I’m supposed to bring him the deed tonight, once I have it. You were supposed to bring the deed!” Now the other voice was escalating, “I did my part! Where’s the fucking deed, Whitey?”
Darla’s mouth dropped open and Lauren spoke now, “Your boyfriend’s going down, Darla. And that’s only a small sampling of what’s on this footage, which by the way, is NOT just audio! I’ve got video, complete with Whitey taking a briefcase of two million dollars in cold hard cash from Lucas Jackson two days before Lucas died. Want the whole thing? Get Jasper out of fucking jail now!”
The line went dead.