Children of Hope by Michael Fine

Author:Michael Fine [Fine, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: womb, artificial, right to life, Politics, abortion, roe, pro choice, choice, Medicine, roe v. wade, Supreme Court, reproductive rights
Publisher: Per Se Press
Published: 2020-11-17T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Tuesday, February 27 (later the same day)

Pelican Bay State Prison

Del Norte County, California

Early in his career, Senator Carrington realized that being successful as a United States Senator involved more than “thinking big thoughts” and crafting effective public policy; he needed to be plugged into the zeitgeist and daily happenings around the country so that he could pepper his legal arguments and public speeches with the kind of color commentary that won over hearts and minds far better than raw data ever could. Decades earlier, as a first-term Senator, he committed to nurturing a network of friendly scouts around the country who brought him newsworthy tidbits and local stories of interest.

He’d flown on a pre-dawn flight from New York to Seattle and then down to the Del Norte County Regional Airport. After a fifteen-minute drive past Lake Earl, Carrington arrived at his destination: Pelican Bay State Prison. Situated at the far northwest corner of California, along the Pacific Ocean and adjacent to the Oregon border, Pelican State is one of the supermax prisons in the country, home to over three thousand of the most violent male criminals known to mankind.

Carrington sat in his rental car in the prison’s parking lot with one of his scouts, a young man named Charlie Wilson, who he’d met at a law enforcement conference two years earlier.

“I only have a few minutes,” Wilson said, nervously looking at the prison entrance. He didn’t like meeting here, but Carrington’s travel logistics—the Senator was returning to the airport immediately after their conversation—made it necessary. He hoped he could grab lunch before he went back on duty.

“Thanks for taking the time to meet,” Carrington said. Tell me what’s going on.”

Charlie Wilson, a twenty-eight-year-old former wide receiver at Florida State, hit the gym daily to keep his body fit and trim. He’d also finished in the top five percent in his class at the police academy. Yet the man somehow looked frail and scared to Carrington.

Wilson hesitated, unsure how to begin. Finally, he said, “There’s been a lot of weird shit goin’ down here the past few months.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, we get our fair share of depression and anxiety, uncontrollable anger, that kind of thing. The occasional suicide, too. Hell, most of the inmates claim to have hallucinations half the time.” Carrington knew that inmates in cell blocks C and D at the prison were kept in solitary confinement over twenty-two hours a day, seven days a week, and that inmates, their lawyers, and prisoner advocacy groups had argued over the years that this treatment constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. “But we’re talking all kinds of crazy shit. Next level crazy shit.”

“Why don’t you start at the beginning?” Carrington suggested gently.

“Okay, sure. Well… We have a new prisoner, Crow Jeffries, who’s been stirring up trouble ever since he got here a few months ago. Dude’s a psycho. Killed two dozen kids and carved ’em up something bad.”

Carrington winced, but Wilson didn’t notice.

“Guy says he’s a wiccan.”

“A witch?”

“I guess. I don’t know.

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