Bang Up: Prison walls don't just keep criminals in, the keep the outside world at bay by Karen Woods Page A

that happened on the induction wing. Smithy had seen even the strongest of men fold once the door was locked behind them at night, so he was used to it. He was about to stand up to go and give Brendan a bit of comfort when Mark grabbed his arm to sit back down. “I was just going to see if he was alright. For fucks sake Mark, he’s only a young kid. Have a bit of heart will you?”
    Mark let go of his arm and sneered. He shouted behind his workmate as he approached the cell door. “This is a prison, not a fucking nursery, remember that. Leave the tosser to it.”
    Smithy shook his head and started to open the cell door. He couldn’t be arsed with the drama anymore. He was telling him straight, he was doing his head in. He shouted back to him. “Stop being an inconsiderate prick. This image you’re trying to portray of yourself isn’t working anymore. What the hell has got into you? You’re like a raging bull.”
    The cell door was opened now and Brendan fell to his knees gasping for breath. “I want to go home, please let me go home. I want my mam, please just get my mam.”
     

CHAPTER FOUR
    Rachel was rolling a cigarette at her kitchen table. The tobacco smelt like camel shit, it was cheap, nasty stuff that she’d picked up cheap down the local market. You could always get a bargain on Conran Street if you were in the know: dodgy CDs, snide trainers - they were all up for grabs if you knew who to ask. Rachel was edgy and had something on her mind, she stood up and then sat back down – she was on pins. She began sucking in large mouthfuls of air and stood biting her fingernails. “Gary, we need to book a visit and get a parcel sorted out for our Mikey as soon as possible. And,” she stressed, “I mean quick, he’s got fuck all in that place and he needs to get back on his feet.”
    Gary turned his head slowly and yawned with his hands over his head. All of a sudden this kid of hers was God and she was running around like a headless chicken after him. Usually, she was cursing him and wishing that he never came home. Now Gary had to tread on eggshells. He knew one wrong word against the Holy child and he would have been binned. He’d bad mouthed Mikey in the past and to this day she was still reminding him about how much he hurt her feelings. Rachel never forgot anything, ‘you forgive but you don’t forget’ she always said.
    “Sort him out with what? We’re skint, love. Fuck all is happening in terms of graft so I don’t know what you expect me to do. Money doesn’t grow on trees you know?”
    “I know we’re on our arse but we need to do something. We can’t just leave him to rot in there can we?” Rachel folded her arms tightly across her chest and continued. “He’s bunged us enough times in the past and it’s down to us to make sure he’s sorted while he’s in the slammer,” she smiled and tried to make light of the matter. “He only needs a few bags of spice to get started. A bit of white and brown and he’ll make his money back in weeks. You know what it’s like to have fuck all in jail so instead of being negative you need to start coming up with some ideas.”
    This woman was actually talking about her own flesh and blood dealing in heroin and cocaine, did she have no shame? What kind of mother would ever be involved in anything like this? Gary sat tickling the end of his chin, thinking. He’d been in the big house before and knew more than anybody how it all worked but money was short and like he’d already said, they were both on their arses.
    Rachel and Gary lived from hand to mouth every day and they’d already spent their jobseekers allowance. He looked over at Rachel and reached over to touch her hand. He licked his lips slowly and held a cunning look in his eyes. “What about his stash?” before he could finish his sentence Rachel jumped down the back of his throat and rammed a finger into the side of his head.
    “Don’t you dare mention that money again! That’s