“First, the magistrate judge will come on, then Courtney. She’ll be asked if she read the charge against her, has a lawyer, and wants to waive her preliminary hearing, to which she’ll say no. The judge will set a date for the preliminary hearing, which will be within fourteen days.” Bennie smiled in a reassuring way. “This is all routine. It will take five minutes. Remember, I’m hoping to get her out at the preliminary hearing.”
“That would be great.” Alex brightened, and Julia realized that he hadn’t been privy to the previous conversation.
Bennie raised a warning finger. “Keep that to yourself, friend.”
“I will.” Alex glanced at the screen, which was still black.
Bennie shifted her chair closer to the screen. “I emailed them when we arrived, so we should start any minute.”
Suddenly a siren sounded an earsplitting alarm. The announcement system blared a mechanical voice: “We are in lockdown! Repeat, we are in lockdown!”
“Oh shit.” Bennie rose, looking around.
“What’s happening?” Julia jumped to her feet, trying not to panic.
“Oh no!” Paul got up.
Meanwhile a SWAT team carrying long guns and curved body shields poured into the hallway and thundered past. C.O.s hurried this way and that, shouting into walkie-talkies. Shouting and radio chatter echoed throughout the prison, drowned out by sirens and the lockdown announcement.
“There’s Curtis!” Alex bolted to the door and banged on it as his C.O. friend hustled by. “Curtis! Curtis!”
Curtis hurried over, unlocked the door quickly, and talked through the opening. “Alex, get back! I can’t let you guys out!”
“Why the lockdown? What’s going on?”
“Somebody got shanked, a female!”
Oh my God.Julia felt a bolt of fear for Courtney.
Alex gasped. “Curtis, who? It’s not Horan, is it? Courtney Horan?”
“I don’t know, I gotta go!” Curtis turned away, letting the door begin to close behind him and running down the hallway.
Alex caught the door at the last minute and darted from the room. Paul ran after him into the melee.
“No!” Bennie followed, with Julia on her heels.
40
Stop! Hold it right there!” A cadre of C.O.s caught Paul and swarmed Julia and Bennie, then pushed them toward the security center. “You’re civilians, you can’t be here!”
“My wife is back there! Let me go!” Paul struggled to free himself, and Julia turned to see Alex escaping down the hall. Her heart lurched, knowing he was going after Courtney.
“Get into security!” the C.O. shouted. “Get in! Now!” The C.O.s muscled Paul, Julia, and Bennie into the security center, slammed the door closed, and locked them inside. The room was empty, the guards gone. It was dark, the only light emanating from the grayish glow of small black-and-white monitors, thirty of them covering one wall. Each screen had a digital timeclock at the bottom next to a location caption.
“Let me out!” Paul banged on the door, and Bennie picked up a black security phone from the desk.
“Hello, I represent inmate Courtney Horan and I need to knowhow she is. We’re in the security center. We were here for her hearing. Yes, I know we’re in lockdown but we heard there was a female inmate knifed. I’m entitled to know the status of my client. Okay, okay, I’ll hold.”
Julia’s panicky gaze flitted across the array of monitors, showing views of the cafeteria, the laundry room, and hallways. Suddenly she spotted a screen showing C.O.s and a SWAT team running down a hall with long guns and body shields. Standing out from the dark helmets and black caps was a blond ponytail and a jean jacket. “Oh my God, there’s Alex!”
Bennie looked over, phone in hand. “Oh no!”
“Where?” Paul turned, Julia pointed to the screen, and the three of them watched as Alex ran with the SWAT team and C.O.s past a row of cells. Male inmates appeared at the bars. The screen went abruptly empty and still, then the screen next to it came to life as Alex and the SWAT team and C.O.s blew through a set of double doors and ran down another hall past cells of female inmates.
Suddenly a group of male inmates brandishing homemade knives, metal rails, and sharpened chair legs raced toward the SWAT team, the C.O.s, and Alex. The scene exploded into violent chaos. The inmates attacked the guards, who beat them back with tactical batons and body shields. Flash-bangs exploded, releasing chalky smoke that obscured the action.
“Jesus Christ!” Bennie gasped.
