Tyree calmly kept going. "Please keep in mind that at Blue Spruce, unlike other correctional institutions, warnings to inmates of any kind are not required and typically will not be given. Unauthorized action on the part of any inmate will be met with immediate consequences." Tyree paused to let Stone be wrenched back to his feet, still heaving and gasping for air.
Continuing, Tyree said, "If a prisoner in any way verbally abuses a guard, this level of force can and will be utilized."
Tyree slammed into the still dazed Knox, knocking him to the floor. He pushed the billy club against his throat until the man turned blue and his body started to spasm from lack of oxygen.
Tyree got up, tossed the club to one of the guards and a gagging Knox was heaved back to his feet.
Dusting off his pants, Tyree went on. "If a prisoner in any way threatens bodily harm to and/or physically attacks a guard, deadly force can and will be utilized without prior warning."
Tyree nodded at one of his guards, who pulled out his pistol and handed it to the warden. He checked to make sure there was a round in the chamber, popped off the safety, lifted the gun up and aimed at Stone's head.
"For Chrissakes! Don't!" screamed Knox through his busted mouth.
The door opened and a tall black man was hauled in, his face bloody and swollen, and his hands and legs chained together, forcing him into a prisoner shuffle. The guards slammed him up against a section of wall that was paneled in a rubbery material covered in pockmarks and then moved away.
Tyree explained, "This man attacked a guard barely five minutes ago. He felt it violated his civil rights to be beaten for extending his middle finger to one of my men because he'd made a silly little joke about this fellow's mama."
Tyree swung the pistol around and fired a round into the black man's head. He slumped to the floor, an exit crater blown into the back of his head. A part of his brain along with the slug was embedded into the rubber wall behind, leaving another large pockmark.
"And he was shot while trying to escape after taking a hostage, all of which we have duly documented for regulatory review."
Tyree handed the gun back and resumed his pacing. "Those are basically the rules here. We keep them short and simple so that you will have no trouble remembering and thus following them. Please also keep in mind that here you have no privacy, no rights, no dignity and no reasonable expectation of anything except what we say you can have. At the moment you walked into this facility you ceased to be human beings. Indeed, because of the crimes that you have committed against humanity you have forfeited all rights to be considered human beings. No guard at this prison will have any compunction about ending your life at any moment and for any reason. You now will be officially processed into this prison's inmate population. If you give us no trouble, I can reasonably assure that you will live out your lives here in relative peace and security, though I cannot say how long that life will be. Supermax facilities are by their very nature dangerous places. We of course will make all reasonable attempts to ensure your safety, but there are no guarantees." He paused and faced them. "Welcome to Dead Rock, gentlemen. I can guarantee that you will not enjoy your stay with us."
CHAPTER 62
ANNABELLE WALKED INTO RITA'S, pausing at the door to survey the landscape. Half the tables were filled, as were all the stools at the counter.
"Can I help you?" A man came around the bar and was looking at her.
"I was looking for Abby Riker?"
"She's not here. She's at home."
"Midsummer's Farm?"
"Who are you?"
"Sheriff Tyree told me to come and see her."
"Oh, well I guess that's okay then. You might want to call out to the house and talk to her."
"Do you have her number?"
Annabelle made the call. When Abby answered it was clear that she had been crying. She didn't want to talk to Annabelle until she mentioned the man Abby knew as Ben.
"He's my father." Annabelle quickly told her the same story she'd told Tyree.
"He told me his daughter and his wife were dead," Abby said coldly.
"My mother is dead. Has been for decades. He told you I was dead because that's how he protects me."
"Government spy type? I knew there was something about him. Just different, you know?"
"Yep, that's my dad. Different. Do you have any idea where he might be?"
"He was at the hospital yesterday. Along with my son, Danny. Now they've both disappeared. I'm worried sick for a lot of reasons."
"Sheriff Tyree told me about what's been happening around here. I guess you have good reason to worry. Can I come out to see you?"
"Why?"
"Right now you're the closest lead I have to my dad."
"I told you I don't know where he is. Or my son either."
"But you might remember something if we keep talking about it. Please, it's my only shot."
"All right." Abby told her how to get to the place and a little while later Annabelle was seated across from Abby in her living room. Caleb had parked the van well back and had stayed there with Reuben. Annabelle tried various lines of questioning and Abby answered each of them, but nothing she learned helped her.
"Had you two become friends?"
Choosing her words carefully, Abby said, "He's a good listener. Not judgmental. I find that a rare combination. I hope he's all right." A tear slid down her cheek. "He had a way about him too. Just made you feel good about yourself."
"Do you think he and your son might have left the hospital together?"
"I don't know. Danny was pretty beat up. If it wasn't for Ben." She stopped and looked at Annabelle. "What's his real name?"
Annabelle hesitated, but Abby appeared to be genuinely concerned about Stone. "Oliver."
"If it hadn't been for Oliver I wouldn't have my son at all, so whatever I can do to help you I will."
"If you think of anything that might be helpful you can reach me at this number." She handed Abby a card, gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and left.
Back in the van, she sat lost in thought in the passenger seat.
"What do we do now, Annabelle?" asked Caleb, while Reuben stared at her curiously.
"You okay?" he asked.
She started and looked at him. "What? Yeah, I'm good."
"Boy, Abby Riker has some big bucks," said Reuben as he glanced back at the enormous house.
"Yeah, only thing it cost her was her husband."
"What do we do now, Annabelle?" Caleb asked again.
Annabelle didn't say anything, because she didn't have an answer.
Where the hell are you, Oliver?
CHAPTER 63
BEING PROCESSED into Dead Rock included standing bent over naked with your butt cheeks spread as painfully as possible while a group of men and one woman looked on. The woman was also videotaping the proceedings, which added considerably to the dignity of the event. The body cavity search completed, their heads were then shaved.
Suspicion of lice, Stone heard one guard say, while another chuckled about a weapon perhaps being concealed in their hair roots.
They sat crouched in a corner naked while men scrubbed them raw with stiff brushes that felt steel-tipped. After this a fire hose blasted them with such force that they were pinned against the wall like ants at the mercy of a berserk garden hose.
Dressed in orange jumpsuits, cuffed and shackled, they were led down a stone hall to a cell. Guards held stun guns an inch from their prisoners' sides, seemingly just praying for a reason to hit them with a 50,000-volt tickle. The cell door was solid two-inch steel with a food and cuffing slot cut into the bottom half and a small viewing window in the upper half. They were pushed in, the shackles removed, the jagged links stripping at their skin, and then the door slammed shut and was loudly bolted behind them.