A Prison First

Hordes Vale Penitentiary

Simon shuffled the files around his desk, stacking them neatly to one side. He hated sloppiness and untidiness at the best of times. Besides, he wanted to give his latest candidate a good impression.



He wasn't happy with all these new changes and laws that had been issued by the Mayor, but what could he do? He could throw a fit and get himself thrown off the boards as governor of this here prison.

Up until now, things had run along smoothly. The prison budget had yet to be reviewed, and there were some key areas that needed to be looked at a little more closely. One of them being the mental welfare of the prisoners.

In Simon's mind, they were here to serve their sentences, learn new skills and keep out of trouble. He was a fair governor, but strict too, and that's what gained him the respect he had in this place.

However, it came to light, during one visit, that one prisoner was undergoing a lot of stress and was suffering from severe depression. That he'd refused to eat and to come out of his cell. A plea had reached the ears of the Mayor himself, along with a strong campaign... forcing the Mayor to pass a new law allowing all prisons to include a trained psychologist into the system.

It was against Simon's better judgement, but laws were laws, and to keep the paperwork in order and to a bare minimum, he had to adhere to them. Whether he liked it or not.



Glancing at the desktop clock for the umpteenth time, he felt a wave of apprehension.
He'd read through the candidates notes, his past history.... career changes etc. It intrigued him that the guy spent a considerable time running an asylum. And it piqued his interest. Dealing with insane patients was completely different from working with hard-ass prisoners.

It wasn't something that he wanted to introduce into the prison. All the inmates here, at some point, were volatile. The last thing he wanted, was to either have a riot, or a major meltdown.

But, he decided to give this candidate the benefit of the doubt. Besides, from all the applicants, his profile stood out the most.

"You okay there boss?" asked the desk clerk.




It was common prison procedure to be accompanied everywhere, as you never knew what might happen. Even when conducting job interviews. Besides, it made common sense to have a third party involved, for screening purposes. Admittedly, his office was one of the safest places to be, but you could never be too sure.

Although it was against prison policies and rules, the walls were decorated with a few sporting mementos along with the usual pinboards full of notices and schedules. It wasn't decorated to please the eye, just something to break the monotony of the four walls. Especially when the only two windows in the place.... faced out onto a very narrow gap between his office and the next building.... the infirmary.

Besides, it was frowned upon to have personal belongings littering the place, but this was one rule that Simon was happy to ignore. And he never had any complaints about it in the seven years he'd been governor.

Outside, in the waiting room, the candidate paced restlessly, pausing to glance up at the harsh fluorescent light, and pat his forehead periodically from time to time. His cheek stung like the devil, and he hoped that the swelling had gone down considerably and the stitches were healing up.

The devious little swine..... he's going to pay for this......




After all, he wanted so badly to impress and looking as though he'd been through a meat tenderizer.....

... wasn't helping the situation at all.

He sat back down and waited.....




Inside the office, Simon briefly ran through the files for the fourth time running, making sure he didn't leave anything out. He was nervous enough, the last thing he needed was a caffeine hit that would send him hyper.

"I'm good, thanks Kevin," he replied nodding.

"Sure you don't want a coffee? You're looking mighty tense there."

Simon chuckled.

"I don't think I need my caffeine fix right now, but you can get some if you want."

The espresso machine - one of the little luxuries that he'd allowed into his shared office, was situated at the back of the spacious office. Conveniently placed there so that the governor would never be alone in the room. Dotted about the office, and throughout the whole prison, were closed circuit cameras, trained on all angles.

Yes, it was an invasion of privacy, but it was necessary for the safety and security of the prisoners, the guards and visitors.

"Only if you're sure there."

"Yep, I'm good."

The chair creaked along the well worn parquet floor, as Kevin made his way to the coffee machine, mug in hand.




The door creaked open slightly and a guard popped his head around the corner.

"Your 2 o'clock is here, shall I let him in?"

Another glance at the clock, and Simon smiled.




Hmm, early.... this guy's keen.




The clerk in the corner spluttered as the hot coffee burned his mouth. He turned around and his eyebrows shot up as the door opened.




Accompanied by yet another guard, was a tall slightly built man walked into the room, and the first thing Simon noticed, was his arresting eyes. They were piercing and intelligent. Appearing as if he was completely aware of his surroundings.




They were overshadowed, however, by the cuts and grazes on the guy's handsome face. It looked as though he'd just been in a fight. The last thing he needed here in the prison.

The other guard, named Trevor, mainly out of habit, and the intense training they all went through, decided to hang back..... just in case they needed another 'heavy'.






Simon stood up and walked around the heavy desk, stretching out his hand.

"Simon Fewliss, governor of this here prison," he said, a hint of pride in his voice.

"Doctor Kato," came the curt reply, his grip was firm and polite, but his gaze was unnerving as he scrutinized Simon's face.




"Do you mind if I called you by your surname... doctor?"

"I prefer not to, thank you."

"Please, take a seat."





They sat facing one another, whilst the two guards kept a close eye out.





"What's with the ...." Simon gestured towards Kato's face.

Kato grimaced slightly, tenderly brushing his fingers against the abrasions.

"Just a little foray," he explained smoothly, "nothing to write home about. The situation was dealt with swiftly and the offender suitably punished."

"I'm just wondering," Simon mused, "if you understand what you'll be getting yourself into, should you get the post here. After all, you'll be dealing with very dangerous prisoners .... accompanied.... of course."




"I can assure you, it's nothing I can't handle. I've had more than my fair share of aggressive and dangerous patients in my time. Some of my techniques, although controversial, have had a major impact on diffusing some particularly nasty incidents. Not that I'm bragging of course. It's just a given fact."

"You'll have more than your fair share of aggressive inmates here, I can tell you. And meeting violence with violence .... isn't going to achieve anything. Besides, it's not the way we work here."

"Just to let you know, I regard myself as a 'passive aggressor'."




"I apologise for sounding sanctimonious and patronizing here..."

"You have children?"

"What?"

Simon was slightly taken aback at this sudden change of topic.

"Sure... yeah.... but... but.."

"It's natural for you to be so protective. So..... 'sanctimonious and patronizing' as you put it."

He smiled, then laughed softly.
It broke the stiff atmosphere in the whole room.




"Guess I'd better get back on duty boss," said Trevor, the guard who'd accompanied Dr Kato into the office.




"Sure, okay."





The interview, after that, went very smoothly, and Dr Kato was given the job.
However, deep down, Simon was already having misgivings and wondered if he'd made a bad choice.

At least there was the standard 3 months probationary period to make his judgement. If Dr Kato fitted in well, that would be fine. If not, he could let him go without any recriminations whatsoever.