Jana-
Stepping out of his cell, Jana moved aside and leaned against the steel bars. His wrists were already cuffed and a straight jacket hugged his body like a second skin. Once Tommy had finished cuffing him with a second pair, to the metal bars, the guard stepped back and sighed.
"Jana, what happened this time?" he asked as they removed the guy he'd previously knocked out from the cell behind him.
Instead of answering the question, Jana rolled his shoulders and flicked his head to the side, trying to get his blood-red hair out of his eyes. The prison's barber had refused to see him any longer after he'd managed to snag his scissors and stab him in the hand. The idiot had cut his ear and he was just showing that it wasn't appreciated. The memory made him grin, though his attention refocused when Tommy crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes.
"He attacked me first. Look at my neck."
As he spoke, Jana tilted his head back slightly, showing just enough skin so that the mark was visible. He knew it would be there, too. The asshole had a strong grip. He'd give him that much. Too bad his mouth had no filter and he thought he was the shit. I've taken dumps with more skill than he possesses.
Tommy wisely knew better than to lean in, and just observed the mark from where he stood. Not even the medic that remained behind once they took the other guy away dared to get closer. He stopped next to the guard and eyed the bruise, then nodded and turned his head to look at Tommy.
"I think he's telling the truth. We need to check the camera on his cell, but the other two times it clearly showed he wasn't the initial aggressor." The medic said. He didn't sound happy about it, but that wasn't Jana's problem. He'd hit the guy because he'd choked him. Sure he'd wanted to teach him a lesson when he started spewing shit from his mouth, but he knew better.
Tommy sighed, shaking his head as he stepped forward and began undoing the straps for the straight jacket. After they were all undone, Jana was uncuffed from the bars, then his wrists were freed. Extremely slowly, as to not spook the medic or guard, both of whom had taisers, Jana very carefully removed the unfastened straight jacket and let it drop to the floor.
"It's almost lunch time. Do you want to take it in your cell or be escorted to the cafeteria?" Tommy asked calmly. He might have sounded at ease, but his body was tense and his eyes narrowed.
Calm down, little guard. The tiger's already gotten to use his claws today.
Licking his lower lip slowly, Jana turned and wiggled his fingers where his hands were pressed together behind his back. "Cafeteria."
Tommy grumbled something under his breath and the sound of one set of footsteps walking away met his ears. Jana figured it was the medic, considering the guard's duty and the fact that his wrists were being cuffed back together. Instead of his arm being taken and the guard leading him down the hall, Jana began walking when Tommy finished handcuffing him.
"What started that fight, Jana?" He asked after they went down a small flight of stairs and entered a long white hallway. Normally they'd interrogate each inmate about a specific fight in private rooms, but considering he preferred the isolation that came with not answering their questions during his first two times getting in trouble, Tommy took to asking him questions about the issues at completely random times and places.
Sure he could ignore them, but he hadn't been allowed to eat in the cafeteria since his last fight in it two weeks ago. He loved having his isolated cell, but there was only so much he could take before it went to his head. And he had enough things running through his head to deal with, no need to add more.
"He was shooting his mouth off and tried to choke me."
Of course there was more to the story than that, but Tommy was used to only getting the shortest version. Hell, he was lucky he got anything. The guard was the only one who had managed to get him to talk to him on a regular basis. The others thought their taisers meant that they would have his respect. Bullshit. He barely felt those taisers anymore. Sure they locked up his body, but he hardly ever went down when they'd used them on him recently. All of the electricity did wear on his body, however, which lead them to change his personal guard to Tommy or risk getting reprimanded for causing serious bodily injury to an inmate.
"Okay. We'll check the video and then ask him what happened when he wakes up. Thank you for getting our attention after it happened. It's appreciated."
That was another thing he liked about the guard. He actually looked at him as if he was a person, not just a prisoner. He thanked him when Jana made his job even the slightest bit easier and hadn't taisered him once.
When they finally reached the cafeteria Tommy's hand gently grasped his elbow. Jana's eyes narrowed at the touch, but he knew that Tommy couldn't play favorites in front of others. Not that he was the man's favorite. Tommy probably just wanted to minimize his aggressive outbursts and caught onto the small triggers with his observation skills.
It's been quite awhile since I've felt the need to kill someone, though.
Grinning at the thought, Jana stepped into the cafeteria, allowing Tommy to walk beside him and up to the serving line. The food was never good, but there were a few things that weren't cooked that tended to be edible. When he felt his cuffs unlock and slip from his wrists, Jana strode forward and carefully began selecting a green apple from the tray beneath the awning that blocked the kitchen crew from view. After spending two minutes picking it out, even though there was a line building behind him, he calmly walked down the line and began sorting through the bags of chips until he found the last salt and vinegar one.
He glanced down the line, finding nothing else of interest in terms of food. Walking down it, he stopped at the very end where the drink coolers were standing and opened one of the doors to withdraw a carton of whole milk. Once the items were rung up, for inventory purposes only, Jana made his way through the suddenly-quiet crowd in the large room and settled into a seat in the far back corner. The four men that had been sitting there eating jumped up and moved as soon as they noticed him walking their way.
Stretching out his long legs, Jana began nibbling at his apple. His gaze traveled around the room, but no one appeared to be paying him any mind. At least, not visibly. It was clear by the whispers that met his ears that every single discussion had turned their subject to him. It wasn't a surprise. He'd lived with a good dozen of the fifty or so people in the room at the moment. More than half of them had scars or healed broken bones from confrontations with him, too.
The sound of a tray being set down across from him at the large round table took Jana by surprise. Turning his attention to the man, his eyes widened slightly. Tommy never usually sat down with him. He always stood near the entrance or off to the side against one of the walls. He was only with him to guard other inmates and watch for sudden emotional changes.
Jana technically would be in the psychological ward if the doctors had been able to find something wrong with him. Boy had they tried. Especially after he put a guard in the hospital and nearly killed two of his previous cellmates, but he failed every single mental disorder exam. He did, however, realize that he had to learn to keep himself in check. He never got blinded by rage, but he did care very little for other people and wa. Growing up in a broken home had quickly hardened what little heart he'd had at the time.
"You're getting stressed."
Blinking, Jana let an easy grin slide across his lips before he bit into his apple. Chewing slowly, he observed the guard sitting across from him as he picked at his own small tray of food. Considering the amount of time Jana had to spend with the guard, he knew very little about him. Granted, that much was expected. None of the officers dared mention their family or friends among the people they guarded society from.
Yet he caught my stress levels rising even though I know that my features are schooled.
It honestly bothered him. A lot. If the guard could tell when he was stressed, he could tell the doctors the signs. If he reacted when Tommy knew he was already getting worked up, he could find himself in isolation again. He liked it, but after being there for awhile already, he had no interest in returning anytime soon.
"I am fine." He eventually replied after finishing chewing, then swallowing his bite of apple.
Tommy dropped the subject right away. Another thing Jana liked about the man. He never pushed him to talk about shit he didn't want to. Talking in general wasn't something he was a fan of. He liked quiet when he wasn't intentionally interacting with someone. Which was rare.
"Would you like to go to the weight room?" Tommy asked after a minute of silence.
Looking down at his barely-touched apple and unopened chips and milk, Jana grunted his approval and stood. Grabbing the milk, he left the apple and chips and followed Tommy as he stood up and after grabbing his own tray, headed for the tray return area. He set it down on the conveyor, taking just the apple from it before grabbing Jana's elbow and leading him out. As soon as they were away from prying eyes Jana tugged his arm free and opened the paper spigot of his milk carton. He easily drank as they walked, finishing the small amount just in time to toss the carton into the garbage as they walked into the weight room.
Tommy wasn't quite done with his apple, but knowing that Jana expected him to spot, he tossed it in the garbage can anyways. Jana stalked toward the weightlifting benches ahead of him. Two were occupied, but as he got closer both men hurriedly left the area.
Ignoring them, he calmly grabbed several of the heavier weights and began adding them to either side of the weight bar. Tommy grabbed several of the slightly lighter ones, capping each side after Jana had added the heavier weights. When they were finished there was about two hundred and fifty pounds. He could do more, but he wasn't in the mood to go all out.
"Ready?" Tommy asked as he stood next to Jana, drawing the man's attention up to him.
The guard kept showing his smarts, or, at least his good memory. Jana hated having people behind him, especially if they moved their intentionally. Of course, he knew Tommy wasn't going to attack him without provocation, but still. It was one of his triggers after he'd been attacked by one of the bigger inmates he'd asked to spot him during his first week there. The man himself hadn't hit him, but he had shoved the two hundred pound weight abruptly off the bar. Looking down, Jana reached up and slowly brushed his thumb over the fabric of his shirt where his two previously broken ribs were.
"Everyone left." Tommy said, snapping Jana out of his memories. Instead of looking up or acknowledging the man's words, he just tugged his dull grey shirt up and over his head and dropped it to the side on the floor. He laid back and reached up, grabbing the heavy bar and removing it from its resting place. Only then did Tommy take his place to spot.
He never counted his reps, preferring to go until he felt like he needed to stop for a moment. It had thrown Tommy off the only other time they'd gone to the gym since he'd been assigned to Jana, but the man never showed his frustration. Yet his face is never quite expressionless. Jana thought as he easily hefted the weight up and down, loving the feeling of his tight muscles flexing. An ache grew in them, the burn bringing a pleased grin to his face.
Refocusing, he looked up at Tommy's face. The man was extremely focused on their task, clearly being as careful as he could in his job as spotter. His slightly crooked nose was wrinkled, eyes narrowed, and knuckles white from his tight grip on the bar. As Jana continued his reps, he found himself watching the guard's face. He lost track of time and didn't set the bar down until he felt an uncomfortable layer of sweat coating his body.
When the bar clanked into place, Jana licked the salty flavor of sweat from his lips. He noticed Tommy panting above him, using the heavy bar as support. I must have been letting it drop a little if he's tired. He was a bit miffed that the man hadn't pointed out his strength draining, forcing him to take on part of the weight he hadn't been responsible for. He was only there to catch him if the bar dropped, not make up for his tiring muscles and stubborn refusal to take a break.
He's not afraid to talk to me. Why didn't he warn me to stop? Jana thought silently as they continued to stare at each other. Well, Tommy wasn't really focused on him as much as he was trying to catch his breath. For some reason, not having the man's full attention irked him. A wave of aggression rose in his chest, making his muscles tense. Instead of attacking, he gripped the edge of the bench on either side and tried to calm his own growing, heavy breathing.
Pay attention. He warned in his mind. Tommy needed to hear the words, but Jana refused to speak them. His eyes narrowed to slits as he right hand slowly released its vice-like grip on the bench seat. In a blur, his right arm shot up. Realization snapped into Tommy's eyes, but there was no time for him to react before Jana's fingers snagged in his chocolate brown hair and yanked, hard. The guard yelled when he was suddenly pulled over the bar, his middle likely smarting from the sudden impact. Jana held the man balanced on the steel by his belly as he slowly rose partway up, using his well-muscled abs to easily hold Tommy in the awkward position.
The surprised look in the guys eyes fed Jana's anger. You should have seen it coming. He thought, frustrated as he leaned in closer, their noses barely brushing. When the man's face paled, then his cheeks turned the faintest shade of pink, Jana understood. And he didn't like it one bit.
"Don't you dare think about fucking someone else while you're on duty."
He'd meant to say someone in general, but he figured the words were clear, either way. He didn't care if the guy had a significant other or was just looking forward to a free screw after work. Jana wanted absolutely no indication of it. And it sure as hell shouldn't make the guy lose his focus. While he wanted to teach him a lesson above the current one the guy was going through, balancing on his belly on a painful steel bar with some strands of his hair being ripped from their roots, he knew that they were on camera. Grudgingly, Jana released the guard's hair and forced a stressed breath from his parted lips as Tommy righted himself with a few strained grunts.
When the man was back on his feet, panting quietly with his taiser in hand, Jana allowed himself to slowly stand from the padded bench. As Tommy cautiously lifted his radio with his other hand to his lips and called for two backup officers, Jana squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them, focus turning to the locker room type area against the wall. Without a word, he paced toward the entrance of the room and disappeared behind the tall, painted brick walls.