Dirty White Boys Read Online Free Page A

huwwy,” he said, then made a half smile that increased momentarily the terrible gap in his skull. He tucked the cat in his shirt—Richard wanted to gag—and sped off. The masses parted to let him by. Nobody would dis Odell or stand against him. And in the blessed safety of his wake, Richard hurried after, feeling almost heroic.
    They didn’t even reach the cell but instead were intercepted by Lamar just inside the D block door.
    “Okay, boys, time to go,” said Lamar.
    “Lamar, I—” began the very nervous Richard.
    “Now you just shut up, Richard, and be a good boy. Odell, if Richard talks, you make him no-talk.”
    “No-talk, Mar,” said Odell, love blooming in his eyes, and he turned toward Richard as if to crush his skull.
    “No-talk, Wi-chud,” he said.
    “No-talk,” said Richard.
    They headed to the lieutenant’s office, which was empty:the lieutenant would be in the guard’s lounge having a cup of coffee. Inside, a nervous old Harry Funt waited.
    “Lamar, I got the forms, but I don’t know if this is going to work. You boys have to put on irons and chains.”
    “We’ll put them on, goddamn it, Harry.”
    “You’re going to conk me good?”
    “Real good.”
    “You want to mess up the office? This’d be where you jump me.”
    “You can tell ’em we did it clean. We don’t got time for the office.”
    “Okay, Lamar, if you say so. And you won’t say nothing about my participation if it doesn’t work?”
    “It’s gonna work, Harry. This is Lamar talking. You believe it, Harry. Now here, you take this.”
    He handed over the shank, a short, evilly sharpened blade embedded in a plastic haft.
    “You don’t need no weapons, Lamar,” said Harry. “You ain’t going to hurt nobody, are you?”
    “No sir, I am not,” said Lamar. “But I may have to face somebody down and a goddamn shank gets a man to thinking about what it’d feel like to get cut up bad, it surely does. Now you take it, because nobody’s going to throw the metal detector on you, Harry. Hurry now. We got to get moving.”
    Harry took the blade with a shudder, sliding it into his hip pocket as if he didn’t know what it was for.
    Quickly the three prisoners put on leg irons, waist chains, and handcuffs. They were not allowed to move out of the cellblock area without the bondage—it was McAlester’s oldest and strictest security arrangement.
    “Now Lamar, s’pose I get asked how come I’m bringing all three you boys? Regs say only move one at a time through the chokepoint into the desecure zone.”
    “You just wink, like you got three fish on a goddamn line. You caught three big-uns. We’re gonna give something up the warden hisself has got to hear. You gonna be a hero, Harry.”
    “He-wo,” said Odell.
    Now Richard was really scared.
    Harry sullenly pushed his chained trio down the corridor.
    “Take out your club, Harry,” said Lamar. “It’ll look more serious.”
    Harry swallowed and did just that, and in a second they came across two hacks heading down to supervise lockdown.
    “Harry, what the fuck is this?”
    “Uh, you know. Lamar’s got a beef with somebody and he wants to sing to the lieutenant. Won’t talk to nobody less.”
    “You wanna sing to me, Lamar?”
    “Bubba, you ain’t got the heat to get me no deal. I’m gonna give the warden some names, but I need protection for me and mine and only the warden has the clout.”
    “Watch him, Harry. Lamar’s too fucking smart to go on the snitch. He’s playing some fucking angle, I swear to you.”
    “Lamar’s a good boy, ain’t you, Lamar,” said Harry, through dry lips.
    “Lamar’s inmate scum, Harry, don’t you put your trust in him. It’ll come to grief, I swear.”
    But the guards slid on down the corridor, heading to the cellblock and to their duties.
    The little party reached the stairway that lead up to the cellblock exit, and Harry took out his walkie-talkie.
    “Ah, Control, this is Mike-Five, ah, coming throughwith three