A Short Fuse (Pilot)

A young red headed woman looked up to the clanking sound of her cell door opening. A grin spread across her face as she set her book down, watching the guard push someone who looked about her age in before slamming it shut once again,"Hi!" she greeted cheerfully, tossing her book aside then sitting crisscross on her thin cot of a bed,"I'm Jesseye, what's your name?" she asked excitedly. Him being here would make this already tiny space cramped, but she didn't mind. She hadn't seen anyone her age in months. The young man looked her up and down then ignored her question, laying down on his springy cot. She smiled at him and shrugged as she just figured he was shy. "Mmk, well. I guess I'll let you rest," she said with a small chuckle as if she had a choice in the matter.

She'd been here for three months already so she was used to this place. She knew how to cope and defend herself against the other inmates, but she remembered how scary her first day had been. So many new, menacing faces. It had been such a gift to be given an empty cell. Course it was filled a couple days later, but the few days alone were much appreciated.

His dark brown hair hung in his eyes as he sighed deeply. He stared at the brick ceiling, completely dead to the world now that he was in here. He was nothing without the gang. Nobody trusted him, nobody cared about him, nobody cowered at his sight. He glanced to the girl and scoffed as she had returned to her book. What had she done? Stolen some candy? She had the demeanor of an excited nine year old. He shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest. It had to be something stupid if her book cover was so colorful. He'd been in before, but only overnight since his dad always bailed him. This time though, he had a feeling there wouldn't be a rescuer.

Jesseye gave him an hour or so of silence as a welcome gift, but just as she was gonna talk again, the guard stormed down the halls with the order of escorting them to the dining hall. He refused to sit with her, so she chatted with some of the older friends at a table the entire time. She seemed pretty ditzy and oblivious, but the other prisoners seemed to respect her for some reason.

The bubbly young woman hated the awkward atmosphere of their empty cell after everyone was forced to return for the night, so she thought to fill it with words,"So whatcha in for?" she asked curiously, leaning her head on her elbow as her boredom was obvious.

Her new cellmate glanced to her and sighed, shaking his head. He didn't have to talk, but he thought, at this point she'd keep going till he caved. He sat up and bit his nails. He could be in for multiple things, but he figured he'd lead with the most obvious. "I was a member of Ironclads." He chuckled as her eyes widened. His father's gang was well known in their city.

"Yeah?" she tried to encourage as she ignored the tension building in her body. He sighed and looked to the iron door that kept them at bay. She tapped her fingers on her knee as her question hadn't exactly sparked a conversation like she'd hoped,"Anything specifically?" she asked, her smile slightly sly.

He picked his nails and tapped his foot nervously on the concrete floor. Clearly, he didn't want to talk. Didn't take long for his furrow in annoyance though. His father had known that job was idiotic. He had warned the crime boss, but the jerk had made him do it anyway! "C'mon, you scared to tell me?" she challenged, his stubborn silent only making more impatient, "Scared I'll faint or something?" she arched a brow then scoffed.

He glared at her a sec then flipped her off, flashing a smug grin. She rolled her eyes, "I um." He sighed as he ran his hands through his hair then hung them on his neck. He groaned and looked to her with his golden brown eyes. "I tried to break into one of the big end houses over in Richmond." He explained with a bounce of his leg.

She gasped. Her eyes sparkled with excitement and hope,"Oh yeah?" she said, the air about her haughty as she thought 'Maybe this one has promise.' "How far ya get?" she asked curiously.

"Far, and stopped the alarm. But..." she nodded to encourage him and set her book aside, "There was someone home." He shook his head. She winced for him,"We didn't know. T-the guy..." He cleared his throat.

Her scarlet brow raised in interest as she leaned on her side, holding her head up with her elbow. "The guy?"

He shook his head at both her and the memory, "The guy who lived there went out with his wife for the night, but his son.. He was around 14. He was home." The young man gulped and wiped his eyes, just in case.

"What? You kill him or something?" she mocked with a small snicker. He'd definitely be crossed off the list if he had.

All color drained from his face. He took up his pillow and strangled it, but kept going, "I was... Upstairs looking through stuff when he snuck up on me," he blinked back guilt, shaking his freshly shaved head, "Grabbed me from behind. Flipped him over my shoulder and j-just cus of instincts.." He tossed his pillow aside and leaned down into his hands, pulling at his hair. He didn't know why he was telling this stranger all of this. "I'm in for murder. T-the kid died with my knife in his chest." He choked into his palms, tears now streaking down his face and onto the cold floor.

"Snap!" She laughed nervously then grew quiet as she bit her lip. She almost felt guilty for her joke now. But, it comforted her that he obviously wasn't a hardened criminal if he was crying like this.

He wiped his eyes and laid down with his back facing her, "You happy?" He snapped at her over his shoulder, curling up into a ball on his cot.

She didn't answer, disappointed that he'd probably be in for life. It was difficult to be cleared of a charge like that. Even if it was an accident, he couldn't use that card since he'd done it while breaking into the house. "Sorry," She laid on her side with a sigh and read for comfort. She needed a plan, a team to accomplish the dream she had after prison. At least she had Jazzy, her sister from the streets, but she needed to find someone else before she was released in a four months.

*&^%$*&^%$*&^%$*

"Yeah," the dart whistled as it's owner came near,"She's in again." Jazzebella sighed despite the nearly effortless bullseye. "Been for awhile."

Tony nodded and plucked the winged instrument from its board for her, "How long this time?"

Jazza swiped her large, mahogany curls away and aimed once more, "Verdict's slow as eva but I'm guessing least six."

"Years?" She scoffed at the question.

"No," the dark skinned woman took her darts from his hand with a creeping smirk, "Months." Their eyes met for a moment. Though she didn't speak, her molasses eyes flirted for her. They locked onto his iris color with such intensity that a shiver shot through his spine, and spoke words neither of them dared to convey outwardly.. Then left and returned to the board, as if she didn't care for him at all.

"Shame." Tony knew how deeply she felt about family. They had known each other for long enough. "Can't sub for Jess, but I could take you someplace nice."

She snorted and the dart missed all together, bouncing off the wall onto the floor,"Tones," she placed a hand on her hip and shook her head, "You work in a restaurant. Course I'm not letting you do that." She said though she seemed flattered.

He wondered while returning to work, was she here just to throw darts or for him? He trusted she'd let him know when she was ready.

*&^%$*&^%$*&^%$*&^%$*

The young man sighed and wiped his eyes. He could've done something else, anything else. But no, the instincts that had been instilled in him by his father from birth took over. If he had a choice, he wouldn't have been in the gang to begin with. He looked over his shoulder as he heard footsteps and the jangle of keys. "Shane," the guard called him. He nodded and stood up, not sure where he was going.

"Good luck," Jesseye whispered, smirking lightly as she now knew his name. Shane shook his head and flipped her off again as he walked away.

He was gone for hours with no signs of returning, so Jesseye slept to relieve her boredom. He stared at the floor as he walked to his cot. He didn't know what to feel. He assumed he should feel happy, but for some reason, he didn't.

The girl jolted awake at the sound of the guards banging at their iron doors with their black batons,"Showers! Showers!" They shouted which meant they needed to get ready for the day ahead. Her eyes opened with a grin. She hated the solitude of the cell.

Shane groaned, "Aghhh fuck." rubbed his eyes, and covered his head.

They only let them shower in groups of ten, meaning that she had a while to wait. To wake herself up she journaled about her day before and her new cellmate. After showers they all filed in the food court for breakfast. This was one of her favorite parts of the day. The food wasn't great, but she'd earned enough goodie-two-shoes-points or whatever to afford some ingredients to spice it up. "So you ready for yard time, Shane?" She asked, salting her oatmeal then adding a little something something. 'Enrichment' was what they called it; but since it was basically time to hang in the yard, so she liked her name better.

He shrugged and looked at her with his brows knit together. "Why the fuck are you putting salt on your oatmeal?" He asked in utter confusion as he chewed his toast. Asking her how she knew his name was fruitless. The guard had said it. He was kinda surprised she remembered it though.

She scoffed at him,"Because I want to? Salt's not the only thing I put in, but it helps as a foundation." She told him with a nod and a smile. What she did to her oatmeal was small scale compared to what she wanted to do in the future.

He shook his head and took a sig of his water. "Something's wrong with you." He said with a shake of his head. He still wasn't sure what to think. The news he'd received.."Oh, um. You won't have to put up with me forever." Freedom, to him, also meant danger. And he'd have Hell to pay when he got out, if he got out.

Jesseye glanced up to him in intrigue as well as several others. "What'd ya mean?" She asked, swallowing some of her breakfast.

"Depending on how long you're in for." he paused to chew some bland oatmeal, "It uh..turns out the kid survived somehow.. And," he continue with a shrug of his shoulders, "He attacked me first, so I'm in mainly for breaking in now. Just a few months." He wasn't sure what he was gonna do when he got out. He sure as hell wasn't going back to the Ironclad. But how could he really stay out if his daddy ran the damn thing?

Her eyes lit up with hope, "Oh that's great! Me too! Stole some diamonds from the rich woman so they could only get me for six months," she explained excitedly, practically bouncing in her seat now. Maybe he wasn't off the list after all! "Whatcha gonna do after?!" she asked excitedly.

He leaned on his hand as he bit off some toast. She really wanted to ask if he would consider helping her with some jobs, but she wasn't dumb enough to do it with all the guard watching them. He shrugged and moved the oats around with his spoon. "I don't know. Find my van? My dad probably stole it. Gonna get that back. But, not sure after that." He admitted apathetically, hoping she shut up soon.

Jesseye nodded, scooping some of the cinnamon oatmeal into her mouth,"Maybe I could help?" She offered with a soft smile.

He shook his head, causing his dark brown hair to fall into his face. "And how could you do that?" he asked with a scoff.

She ignored at his look of disbelief and shrugged, "I've got a friend who could probably track it down easy," her giggle didn't seem as full as the times before.

He raised an eyebrow at her. He looked down at the table and thought her offer over.

How the hell was she gonna find that van? She knew Jazza was good, but..? 'Lord, if this is the right guy, please help me find that van.' She prayed silently.

"What's in it for you?" He asked, knowing someone of her nature wouldn't do something for nothing. Her green eyes glanced up in confusion. He scratched his neck and sighed. "What do I gotta do for you in return if you do find it?"

She gave him a wry smile,"Weelll," she stirred the oatmeal around a bit,"Wanna be my friend?" She snickered at his surprised expression. She could talk business later, when they were both closer to release. For now, maybe she could get him to trust her a bit?

He laughed derisively. Shaking his head, the handsome brunet scooped another spoonful of oats. "I don't do friends really." he felt he should warn her, "And I know you'd want more than that." He said, pointing at her with his silverware before eating some more.

Jesseye shrugged,"Maybe." She admitted with a wry grin. She *did* want a friend that was her age. She cherished the older women who had become her mentors over the last few months, but someone her age was so different.