Most of the gangsters Danny knew and hung around feared prison. Some feared it more than death itself. The feeling of losing their freedom, their creature comforts, their lifestyles, and many other reasons why they feared this place so much. Danny was of a different mindset. In here there were no protectors, you protected yourself, or you bought protection. If your protection beat you here, then you were simply foolish enough to get tricked into picking or paying for the right kind.

Danny felt all those people afraid of this place were weak, too caught up in their own lifestyles and other things to  make adjustments. Too pampered, too comfortable. This place was nothing compared to the literal hell he grew up in. His father, his source of protection was their own jailer, he was also their punisher. Their crime, merely existing. With thoughts like that in his mind, even while going under trial and facing a possible life sentence, he showed no fear facing down and judge and a jury. 

The play was made all behind the scenes by Derrick and the legal defense team that Derrick personally hired for Danny. It was a group of top defense attorneys that the organization used mostly to get big fish off on lighter sentences, or to beat cases all together. The fact that Derrick went to such lengths, showed just how much he believed in Danny, and valued him.

To the prosecution, it was clear to help them later try to tie him to organized crime. An organized crime charge wasn’t what he was facing at the moment though. It was instead aggravated assault and murder in the first degree. Danny had entered a not guilty verdict on the advice of his defense. The angle they would try to play up in court, was that Danny had beaten the man to death in self defense. The defense would try to paint the picture as Danny not knowing the irate man, who was upset with the outcome of the fight, who charged into his locker room and began berating and insulting him. It would even be said the intruder got physical with Danny, which at that point, Danny just reacted and defended himself.

Danny feared for his life, and due to his difficult childhood and reports of violence at home while growing up, and the adrenaline still flowing through his body post fight, caused him to lose control of himself and take his defense a little bit too far. The prosecution fired back with their own exaggerated story. They did their best to paint the Italian mobster as a legitimate businessman who was a VIP for the fight, and just so happened to take his privileges a bit too far. He rushed to the back and confronted Danny verbally, to which, Danny then began making threats. The mobster then apparently verbally defended himself against the threats, to which Danny responded with extreme force. The prosecution tried to make this case by showing the pictures of the man’s disfigured face after the beating, that this could in no way be considered self defense. 

After the stories were created and battled back and forth it came down to the witnesses. The defense called people to try to validate Danny’s backstory, and his past of an abusive home life when he was young. His mother testified to him and herself being abused by her husband and her children’s father. The prosecution tried to make his mother out to be an enabler of that kind of behavior, questioning why she never went to the police or left. This greatly angered Danny to the point where he had tried to get physical with the prosecution at one point. That did him no favors in the eyes of the jury, even though the story and vivid tales of abuse did seem to draw some sympathy over from the jury. Danny’s younger sister however, refused to testify.

The next one to be called was Danny’s trainer Gary. Gary testified to teaching Danny how to fight, and told the court about his ability to withstand a lot of physical punishment, which Gary believed was instilled in him from receiving a lot of physical punishment. Gary then was asked to recount the tales of the night in question, in which he did not lie. He stated the gameplan was to go out and win the fight like any other time, but there were those in attendance that had wanted his fighter to take a fall, or lose on purpose. Gary explained how he didn’t train any floppers and was proud of his fighter for not being one, even on this night. He then went on to say that Danny left quickly to protect himself and anything else he did that night he did in his own defense. He didn’t see anything but the body of the man once all was said and done, but he’d taught Danny from the beginning to only do what he taught him to do in his defense. So he swore that’s what Danny did, but it would be the last time that he would teach him anything. 

Gary announced his retirement right there on the stand for anyone that cared to hear it. The guards working for Derrick were called to tell their version of the events. Of course they would tell stories in favor of Danny and the defense’s point of self defense. While all this was going on, Derrick was making more moves behind the scenes to ensure a victory.

He pulled connections he had inside the police and some who had people in the courts, in order to find someone on the jury of the case they could bribe. Derrick wasn’t one to leave something so important as someone’s life he cared about up to chance. He wanted assurances. As the trial dragged on and made noise in both the streets and the news, Derrick was finally able to prove successful. They were able to intimidate a juror who wouldn’t vote for a guilty verdict on the murder charge. 

The juror stuck true to his word and did not agree to a guilty verdict on the murder. The result ended up being a hung jury on that charge. With that being the case the defense worked out a deal to have Danny plead guilty to aggravated assault and work out a 15 year sentence, with chance of parole in half that time. Feeling that there was more at work here than just a regular legal battle, the prosecution accepted the terms and agreed to give Danny the requested deal.

A small victory for them but a huge victory for Derrick and the organization. They had gotten one of their own off of a murder charge and only serving a lesser charge. Some may have complained that a potential 7 years out of 15 was too long or too torturous of a time to be spent in prison, but not Danny. 

To Danny, the hardest part of prison was how good he was instructed to be. The point of working a parole hearing in 7 years in his deal was, good behavior would be the big thing to make sure he got off early. That meant he wasn’t able to get into any fights or any kind of trouble that would go on his record, or result in any additional punishment. He had to be a model prisoner in order for him to get released early. This was very difficult for him to do, considering he was a fighter by nature. If there was ever a problem or a threat to him, he would quickly go and deal with the threat himself. That wasn’t the case however in prison. 

Derrick had arranged for any of his people in Rikers Island Penitentiary to protect Danny like he was one of their own. Danny had problems at first just blending in, but the senior members would forcibly keep him back and away from any confrontations, and Danny knew better than to raise a hand against one of their own, especially in here. Danny’s adjustment to the life was hard, he wasn’t comfortable with letting people protect him, or handle his problems for him. He was the type to go and get things done himself. He liked being that way. Sitting back and relying on others to fight his battles, and defends his name and his actual person wasn’t something he could ever see himself getting comfortable with. 

Many different groups of people wanted to line up and take a shot at the newest tough guy to enter the prison. The fact that he was so protected seemed to draw him more attention and cause him more problems, than if he was not. Others heard the tales, or actually knew about him and his fighting records and abilities, either from fights in the streets, rumors and news stories about his exploits in the ring, or just through also being around in the underworld and hearing about the kid.

Then of course, there was the Italian mobsters who were locked up in here as well.   Outside of these walls, a war was taking place between the Italian mob and the Irish one. The Italians were irate that one of their own had gotten killed and there was no way for those out on the street to deal with the one who committed the deed. To them, Danny had to answer for killing one of their own, so they responded by hitting the Irish and pushing into their territory hard.  On the inside, there was a contract on Danny’s head. Even though the Italians would much rather do it themselves, they would gladly settle for having the kid dead period. 

Due to how well insulated the Irish thugs kept Danny, he was very hard to get to, but being noted for having a temper and caring for those who manage to get close to him or represent him, the Italians settled for beating the ones protecting Danny instead. This infuriated the young man but he was unable to do anything about it without breaking orders. In order to try to prepare some kind of defense for his people, he began teaching the Irish inmates how to fight and defend themselves properly and formally like he could. In the meantime he began reading books on strategy and tactics. The Art of War was among his favorite reads. He didn’t understand half the shit he was reading, but what he could understand and what he did feel like he could apply he did. 

He began to notice that for the Italians, this war both outside and inside was personal. Outside they applied the pressure themselves and inside they did too. The thing about the inside was all of the Italians weren’t united like the Irish were. There were many different crews of Italian mobsters split apart by the family’s they served or worked for. Sure, for some of them they put aside differences and helped out the group as a whole, but for the majority of them, they let the family that had the beef with the Irish handle their own problem. In addition to that, the Italians after Danny also didn’t try to include or enlist help from any of the other factions in the prison. A fact that Danny soon began to exploit. 

In exchange for future payoffs, favors, and other services, Danny enlisted the help from other groups inside the prison, to help take on the Italian mobsters. Many of the other factions had problems with the Italians for one reason or another themselves, so it wasn’t that hard to sway them, and Danny owing them one later ended up being the sweetener in the deal. With the numbers advantage in their favor and strategies in the head of Danny, the tide of the war quickly turned. Soon it was the mobsters that were being beaten relentlessly. Once it was established that they would in no way be able to achieve their goal of killing Danny, the mobsters backed off and negotiated for the fighting to stop. Danny dictated the terms that they would give up any place at the top they felt they had and stick to their own ends of the prison, and he would call off all the violence. The mobsters with no choice at the moment, and not much support from the outside, agreed.

Once the war inside the prison cooled down it was clear to see, due to Danny’s leadership and strategic ability, he rose to become a de facto leader of the Irish gang inside the prison. His allies in the other factions had also developed a working respect for him, thanks to witnessing him stand up to the mobsters that way, and come up with ways to beat them back when they were on the attack. This even translated into a few of the guards who heard the stories about a young man who entered the prison with a price on his head, and not only managed to survive, but climb the ranks of the prison and become one of the most respected figures in the establishment. 

Danny didn’t have a moment to rest however, his mind quickly turned to figuring out just how he was going to pay back the favors and other things he owed the factions who helped him fight the Italians. Just because they now respected him didn’t mean they would forego their compensation. Luckily, an opportunity presented itself one late night when a guard came his cell late one night. Danny wasn’t the paranoid type, but to be taken outside of his cell at an odd time of night, and led to a room, worried even him. Times he’d seen this happen before, said person who was taken away didn’t usually comeback. The guard could easily tell that Danny was tense, and could feel his anxiety in the air. The guard smiled. 

“Hey relax kid, apparently you’re even more untouchable than you think. Not only do your goons have your back but apparently someone else is in your corner.” The guard teased knowingly. 

Danny didn’t have any idea what the man was talking about. As far as he knew the only one looking out for him was Derrick. The Irish gangsters on the inside were looking out for him on Derrick’s orders. He’d won their respect and loyalty on his own. Danny made no move to hide his confusion, which only seemed to further amuse the guard. 

“That’s right. Let’s just say someone with a lot of resources out the country tells us you’re to be taken care of. Only thing with that is it comes with a price.” The guard explained. 

Danny rolled his eyes. Though money wasn’t a big focal point to him, he had been around long enough by now to know that everything had a price. 

“How much is it gonna cost me, or what are you gonna take from me?” Danny asked in a bored tone of voice. 

This caused the guard to chuckle. 

“Nothing so much like that my boy. Just need you to take care of something. See our friend has a problem, and if your benefactor is in trouble then what better way for you to repay her then to be her knight in shining armor.” The guard joked. 

“Her?” Danny asked. 

“Her. From what I know, she seems to be a drug princess, much bigger back home than she is here, yet she’s got enough reach in here to make us serve your ass. Drugs, booze, women, hell maybe even canteen money if you handle this. So whaddya say Danny boy? Sound like a good deal or not?” The guard asked. 

Danny took a moment to consider. He didn’t like not having as much details as possible. Especially if he was agreeing to do work for someone, but thinking about things logically, he needed to please this person in order to make the payoffs he agreed to. This was why he hated having to handle the business side of things. It would’ve been much easier to beat the Italians into submission himself, instead of owing all these people and having to make more deals. 

“Fine.” He uttered. “But one condition. I want you to set a meeting. If I’m gonna be taking care of something for this mysterious benefactor and she seems to be taking care of me, then I should at least be able to meet her right?” 

The guards grin increased. 

“I don’t think she’s that easy, but I’ll mention it to her. Although I don’t know entirely why she singled you out, if you take care of this, or WHEN you take care of this I’ll pass along the desire to see her. She should be grateful that her problem is no longer a problem anymore.” The guard said. 

Danny just nodded. The guard then informed him of who it was that was supposed to be taken out and informed of the man’s schedule. Danny was then led back to his cell so he could sleep and mull over the opportunity he’d just been given. He was also thinking about who this woman could be that would want to take care of him. He could think of no one and his mother and sister definitely did not fit the bill. He shrugged it off in order to get a few hours of sleep. 

The next day out in the yard during recreation time, he was sitting next to Kyle, a man who had become something of a right hand to him. The two were seated on a bench opposite the basketball court. Danny nodded his head in the direction of a Hispanic man. 

“You see him over there?” Danny asked.

“That guy?” Kyle indicated jerking his head in the same direction. 

The man that they were indicating seemed a bit jumpy and jitterish. He looked like he was in horrible shape, like a drug addict that had been off drugs if his rocking back and forth was anything to go by. He seemed like he should be in the infirmary more than anything else. Danny nodded to Kyle to inform him that he’d picked out the correct person. 

“What about him?” Kyle followed up. 

“He’s gotta go.” Danny answered. 

“The fuck did he do?” Kyle asked. 

Kyle was the kinda guy who needed reasons for the reason things needed to be done. Danny both respected and didn’t like it at the same time. Danny was the type to be told something had to happen and he would make it happen more times than not. He might ask why after, but usually never before, that’s just how he was. Kyle on the other hand would need explanations, guidance, instructions, and everything to get something done. He thought too much for his own good, is what Danny thought about him. He was capable, he just needed a good reason to be. Danny bit back a sigh before answering him. 

“Cuz, remember all those favors we own all the other groups of people in this place? They gotta be paid. If we don’t get that sorted then we’ll be worse off than the Italians. So guard pulls me outta bed last night, tells me, I got some mysterious woman lookin’ out for me. Guard says she’ll make all our problems go away I take care of this thing for her. That’s the thing.” Danny said motinioning his chin to point at the man they were talking about. 

Kyle took a minute to process everything that was being said. 

“And you believe them? Some chick is gonna come and give us everything we need to take care of all this. Just for taking some guy out?” He asked. 

“Keep your fuckin’ voice down.” Danny scolded. “I don’t know what the fuck is goin’ on, but if removing some bum from the equation is gonna make my life in this piece of shit easier then the bum can go. And if my life is easier, then YOUR life is easier. Besides look at the fuckin’ guy. Seems like we’d be doin’ him a favor.” Danny added. 

“So if that’s the case, why don’t YOU take care of it?” Kyle asked. 

Danny stared at the man flatly. 

“Kyle, you’re not this fuckin’ stupid. If you are then I’m really glad to have not finished school. The whole point of everything that’s been done up to this point is because my hands can’t get dirty. That’s the ORDERS remember.” Danny reminded, emphasizing the last part with disgust.  

Kyle nodded in response. 

“So that means someone else gotta do it. Now I been thinking. Know how they have the card games tonight usually? I’ll go talk to our friend over there, make it seem like I got him a spot inside. I think I know what would catch his interest over there. I’ll have one of the guards pick him up,and bring him to one of the laundry rooms where it goes down. You have a couple guys waiting for him there, and throw him a party, if you catch my drift.” Danny instructed. 

Kyle again, sat in silence processing everything that was being told to him. He needed to go over it and figure out which, if any, parts he was gonna complain about or question. While he did that, Danny mentally prepared himself to explain and justify his plan and reasonings to the other man. If ever there was a rule that Danny hated right now, it was the fact that he couldn’t touch one of his own people. 

Surprisingly, Kyle had no objections to the plan. He only asked who should be used, to which Danny told him he could pick. So he did. When recreation time was over and Danny was being escorted back to his cell, he quietly whispered to the guard his part in the plan. The guard demanded to be paid for his service and his silence, but Danny already knew the man was dirty in the first place, so he was expecting no less. He had half a mind to tell him to get it from their “benefactor” but he stayed his tongue at the moment. He really needed this plan to go off without a hitch. 

When it was time the guard came to pick up Danny first. He let him out of his cell quietly and again escorted him until they reached the cell of the man whos’ name was Manuel or something like that. When they arrived the guard opened the cell. The man was conveniently alone in his cell this evening. Danny greeted him with a slight smile, the goal here was not to be too friendly. Just enough to put the man at ease, if he was overly friendly, the man would or should smell a rat. Danny wasn’t entirely sure this man was up to the task, but better to overestimate than to underestimate, Derrick always said. 

“Manuel! How’s it going?” Danny greeted. 

Manuelo was on guard at first. He knew the man in front of him. He was the one the woman he worked for took a seeming interest in the other day. There would either be something very good about his visit or something very bad. Manuelo wasn’t sure which way it would go yet. 

“What are you doing here? Why are you here so late? What the hell is this?!” Manuelo asked quickly. 

Danny could see that the man was very unsettled. He had to get control of this before he lost him completely.  He put his hands up in a calming fashion. 

“Whoa, easy there amigo. I’m here to offer you something in fact, on behalf of our mutual friend. You know, the drug queen?” Danny baited. 

He was taking a big risk. If this didn’t work and the man shut down and refused to buy into what Danny was selling, they would have to get forceful. It was regrettable but Danny had come this far so he was fully committed to seeing this through. Manuelo’s eyes widened seemingly going for it. 

“You know Catalina?!” He asked equally excitedly and curiously. 

He didn’t, but he did know. The smirk on Danny’s face widened. 

“Of course, who do you think sent me?” Danny replied. “She got in touch and needed a strapping person such as myself to take care of her friend while she was in here. She regrets that it took so long for me to get to you, let us fix this right away.” Danny poured it on. 

Manuelo looked so relieved and bought into the story so much that Danny almost felt bad for the lad. Almost. But such was life, there was a sucker born every minute, and this man just made himself one of those statistics. Danny moved forward to throw his arm around the man to which he could feel the man tense at the contact. 

“Don’t worry, we got it at the card game, you heard about the card games they secretly throw on Friday nights in here right. The warden goes home for the weekend and leaves his second in charge. The guys get together, the guards get taken care of on our dime, and we get together and actually get to enjoy ourselves a bit.” Danny lied. 

Though there was something like that going on, that was not where Danny was taking the older man. Hearing about it though, seemed to ease the man so Danny continued on. Danny escorted him to the laundry room, that was already occupied by his guys. When they got to the door Danny stepped back. He looked to the guard to unlock the door, to which he did. Once he did Danny shot the man another smile. 

“Head on in and get started with the rest of the boys, I gotta go round up the rest of the players, and Louis here’s my escort. We’ll be back to join you in a little bit.” Danny said. 

Manuelo hesitated, but then decided to head on in anyway. He had a pretty one track mind once Danny told him he was going to get taken care of by the lady who’s name he dropped. Whatever she had promised that man, he definitely wasn’t expecting what he was about to get. Danny shook his head as the guard escorted him back to his cell. This would be their alibi if ever they were questioned. Danny would be escorted back to his cell by the guard which would cover his ass and the guard would be escorting Danny which would keep the two of them clear. The boys inside the laundry room would keep the man occupied for about 10 to 15 minutes so it didn’t look like it was set up. They were also instructed to make it look like suicide. 
Somehow the man would have gotten ahold of a sharp object and jam it into his own eye trying for the brain. If he was an addict it would be believed that he killed himself to put himself out of the misery of withdrawal. The prison, trying to avoid a major murder investigation, would also buy into the idea that it was a suicide. There would be inspections of cells, there would be a temporary lockdown while the prison ran its own investigation, but the deed would be done. Danny was sure his people would stand tall. All the necessary people would have been forewarned about cleaning up their cells of anything incriminating for the future raids sure to come down, and Danny would get what he wanted most of all. 

“It’s done Louie, set up that meeting. Put Ms. Catalina on my visitors list, and when all this shit is over set it up as soon as you can.” He ordered, right before he was put back into his cell. 

That night he went to bed, preparing for the upcoming shit storm to head their way, but he wasn’t worried. He’d make it through. He’d make it through because he was much more interested in meeting that woman that looked very similar to the one he saw in the crowd at the fight. If it was the same woman, he knew there was something interesting about her. It could be she was even more interesting than he thought. 

“Drug queen Catalina huh?” He muttered to himself.

He frowned and shook his head. It didn’t have the ring to it it should have. He looked up at the ceiling of his cell thinking for a moment. Then like a lightbulb it hit him. He smiled as he muttered. 

“Cocaine Catalina.” 

AvardT!

Taradiddle_ looks around to find his crewmate..

AvardT! We need you over here!