Corruption

For several seconds Jenny wondered why she didn't think this wasn't some sort of scam, but she didn't doubt what Maria had said. Suddenly, Jenny felt like the air was being sucked out of her lungs, and at the same time that her whole body was being compressed in some sort giant vacuum bag. This was all her fault; she hadn't even had a chance to make love to him. He'd never said anything about her threat, and it was a poetic justice that she would have to use what she'd denied him to protect him. She didn't understand how Maria could make a difference in what she'd done with these men and what she did with her husband, but that gave Jenny an excuse to smother some of her last reservations.

"When would I need to do this...?"

"There's no time like the present. Today the shift starts at two and is over at eleven, that will put you home a little late, but you can spend the night here if you want. I know that I always spend the night after, or before if I'm going to have to do an early shift. The early shift starts at six and is over at two. Don't looked shocked at the times, the guards work twelve-hour shifts from six to six and they like to have fun at the end of their day. Besides, it gets us home at a decent hour too. They have a three-bedroom trailer out in the country and we use two of those rooms for what we do; the third one is where we can sleep, there are single beds in there. If you need to call someone who might be worried about when you get home, you can call and say you're having some minor car trouble and will have to spend the night. Next time you have to bring your own sheets if you use one of those single beds, but I brought extra for you just in case. Later you can use the excuse to anyone who might ask that you met a friend from here who lets you spend the night so you don't have to drive up and down on the same day. There's a phone there you can give people if they need get in touch with you.

"You knew that I'd agree?"

"What woman wouldn't? I mean I thought I'd feel bad about making the offer; I've never done it before, but I don't. I'm not trying solicit you; I'm just giving you an option to help your husband. If I knew another way to do it, I'd take it myself. There's another woman who is scheduled to have your shift, now she'll get a break. We're always looking for someone suitable because it means fewer shifts for all of us."

"How often do you... do you have to take a shift?"

"Basically twice a month right now. If you join and another woman we'll talk to tomorrow joins we might be able to drop down to once a month. You'll have to take a shift the next time you come anyway, all the guys will want to dance with you; that's what we call a session, a dance, by the way. I think you should spend the night; you probably shouldn't drive home alone after your first shift. If you do stay, I will be here with you, if you'd like. You'll probably need someone to talk to."

Jenny felt her whole body cringe; this was just so casual, she was in the process of doing something that she never in her wildest imagination thought about doing and she felt like things were spinning out of her control. The idea of driving home after what was going to be done to her was beyond her.

"I don't think I could drive home alone after a... shift."

"Okay, there are some things we'll need to get for you; I'll buy them for you, the guys are really sweet about covering all our costs for this sort of thing. They'll even pay for your birth control. Are you on the pill or do you use a diaphragm?"

"I'm still on the pill, I got the type to help my complexion, but I thought I'd stop after this month."

"They have a doctor up here, one you'll get to know later, who'll write a prescription and who'll do exams and handle anything that you might need that's related to what you do here. I'm an RN and I'm going to take a blood sample now to drop off to have it tested to make sure that you don't have anything that anyone needs to worry about. Everyone has that done at least once a month, especially the guys, but I've been doing this for four years and no one has ever failed a test. The women all love their guys in prison or they wouldn't be doing this. Everyone is getting all the sex they could want so there's really no reason to go looking for something outside the setup."

She pulled over to the side of road, reached into the glove box, and pulled out a kit that had the needles to take her blood. Jenny held out her arm; Maria put that rubber hose thing on her and in a few seconds, Jenny felt a little prick and looked to see a little tube filling with her blood. The next second she removed it, and put a little Band-Aid on the stick place. Jenny had no doubt that Maria was a very good nurse.

"Okay let's drop this off and we'll go by and get some of the other stuff you need. I have a cell phone if you need to call someone about why you won't be home tonight."

Jenny shuddered, "Can I call them later?"

She didn't want to make the decision so final. Jenny was very aware that she'd never said she'd agreed to do this, but there didn't seem any point in resisting at this point, but none of the dread and near terror had left her, she told herself that she could always back out before she did anything, but it didn't hurt anything to see how things went.

Maria took her car and told her to meet her at the local Wal-Mart. Jenny drove and waited for Maria to appear. She knew she'd taken the blood sample, and wondered who would do the checking. Once in the store they went to the drug section where she got two little hot water bottles, some douche mix, two tubes of K-Y jelly, some disposable razors and shaving cream. Jenny was afraid to ask what any of this was for, and as Maria continued to buy odds and ends, the only question she asked was what kind of mouthwash and toothpaste Jenny used. Later, she also asked Jenny's size and giving her a hundred dollar bill and her keys to the truck, sent her to the check out line while she then went over to a different part of the store. When Jenny paid for the items and headed for the truck, she felt a wave of great fear. She was standing numbly in front of the passenger door when Maria returned with a bag that had something in it but Jenny couldn't tell what it was. It was now almost 1:20 and Jenny was getting very nervous. This was still not real, she couldn't believe that she was about to get into truck and go to some sort of love nest where she'd 'entertain' eight men doing things she'd never done before.

Her sense of dread and nerves that was like nothing she'd ever felt in her whole life. Her hand was shaking so hard that she couldn't get the keys into the truck door. As she stood looking at the door of the truck Maria took the keys from her hand and opened it for her. Jenny had decided not to go, to turn around and get in her car and drive off, but instead she felt like she was being sucked into the truck. It was as if her energy was exhausted and her only choice was to accept the help Maria was giving her.

When she got in Maria handed her one of those sleep masks and said, "Jenny, put this on and lie down on the seat, these guys have to be very careful and until they trust you and that won't be until after your next shift when they've all been able to dance with you. Come one we need to hurry just a little bit to have time to get ready."

Jenny put the mask on and lay down on the seat. She bit her lip and wanted to cry, but couldn't. It seemed like a few minutes before they were driving at highway speed. There were a couple of turns, then she slowed down to a crawl, and Jenny felt them go over a cattle guard. The road if it was a road was now rough.

There were a lot of twists and turns but she slowed and Jenny heard her say, "You can sit up now and take the mask off we're here."

Jenny saw that they were in front of a perfectly normal looking mobile home. They were down in a little hollow surrounded by trees. The only thing that looked out of place was a large carport. It was large enough to hold four cars and there were two cars and a truck in it. She couldn't see a public road as trees blocked the view. As she looked back at the mobile home, she was horrified to see a fenced area full of children's play equipment and toys that looked used. She whipped around to look at Maria; the idea of doing this while your children played in the front yard was so inappropriate that she was outraged.

Maria, saw the look and said, "The kids who come are all very young. They have no idea what is going on and we make certain that they never see anything they shouldn't, but some of us can't always find someone to take care of our kids when we have a shift, or want our kids to see their dad. If someone has to bring her kids, there's always someone here to take care of them. They don't see their mom dancing or anything like that; they don't even know their mom is here. They think it's a day care place. I've had to bring mine when they were younger and they had a blast. The only downside is that it can be weird to hear your kids playing while you're dancing, but I've found that it helps remind me why I doing this. Come on in, I'll introduce you to Liz, she's the one who's shift you'll be taking."

Again, Jenny allowed herself to be led but her mind was screaming, "I've never agreed to do this!" but another part was saying, "You owe Jerry this! If these women can do it so can you, besides it won't hurt anything to just see what the set up looks like."

She had to admit she was curious to see what a setup like this looked like. Someplace in the back of her mind, she expected to see red velvet curtains or perhaps Playboy pictures plastered all over the place. What she saw was perfectly normal looking place. The furniture was probably what came with the mobile home; it was coordinated and didn't look too cheap. She could see into the kitchen and it was clean and appeared to be fully furnished. It looked like nothing other than an upper end mobile home that many of Jenny's students lived in and that she'd visited several times. She knew that she'd hoped that the setup would be so offensive that she'd find the will to flee. Instead, there was nothing to indicate that it was what it was. There was a woman Jenny guessed to be in her late twenties or early thirties sitting on the couch. She was dressed in the same type of clothes that Jenny was wearing. The kind of clothes you'd wear to a job interview where you wanted to look good. It shouldn't have surprised Jenny; it was what the prison guidelines said you should wear. She'd been warned not to wear anything that anyone might consider provocative since she would not be allow in if she did. She'd worn a nice pants suit as had Maria. Liz was wearing a very stylish dress one that would have looked appropriate in any boardroom. Jenny couldn't imagine either of the women doing what Maria said they did.

Liz said, "I'm glad to meet you Jenny, we're always glad to have someone new. I was hoping you'd join today. No one minds doing our shift but I don't think there are any of us who look forward to one. If I hurry, I can make my daughter's volleyball game. I didn't want to miss it, but I couldn't find anyone who could trade with me. I'm so glad you decided to join us. Let me fix you a pre-shift drink, what will you have? They have every kind of booze here you can think of."

Jenny desperately wanted to say that she hadn't agreed to stay or decided to do this, but she couldn't seem to make the word get out, instead, she said, "Could you fix me a Rum and Coke with a lime?"

She didn't drink much and this was one that Jerry had fixed for her several times that wasn't bad. It might calm her nerves. She watched Liz go into the kitchen and in just a minute returned with her drink.

She drank about most of it in one long sip and then it hit her, "How did you know that I would be here, that Jerry would get beaten up? How do I know this isn't some sort of scam?"

Maria replied, "I wondered if you'd think of any of that. I told you that these guys are in a position to help you, they are what are called rank. There are two of them here right now; you'll be able to meet them when... if you go in there, and they will give you the assurance you'll need. Your husband has been on the edge trouble almost from the day he hit the system. He's been able to buy his way out of trouble but it was clear that he was getting to the end of his rope. They ran a check on you and did a full check on your resources. Remember these men have access to all the stuff that police have. You were checked very carefully because they don't want to take any chances. Normally they'd wait a couple of months, but your husband is balanced in a razor's edge. They don't want him to either get involved in gangs, or to become a bitch. These are good guys and they do hate to see an inmate get messed up. You know that's true or you would have asked earlier. I've been told that your husband only has a few days left before they move on him, if you don't agree I'll take you back to your car and you can see the changes in him the next time you come. You have a choice Jenny, you can leave or you can let Liz go to her kid's game and come back to the bathroom with me and get read for your shift."

Jenny felt her stomach twist into a very tight knot; she didn't have any doubt that the women were telling her the truth. Both women were looking at her intently, but it was neutral expression they weren't putting pressure on her, they just wanted to know what she was going to do. She started to ask Maria what she would do when she realized how redundant that question would be, Maria was here to 'work a shift'. It was possible that this was some sort of scam, but if it was, she was a victim not a perpetrator.

"Has it protected your husbands?"

They both nodded and Liz said, "I know that every woman who comes here feels guilty about some of the things we did that resulted in our men being in prison, but I feel good about what I do here to help him, even if he'll never know. Just the fact that I want to leave right now is a pretty good indicator that I'd rather not do it, but I also have to say that I'd do a lot more than this to keep Jim safe and it has kept him safe. He'd been here about three months when I joined, he was being beaten and there had been two attempts to rape him. I didn't know all of that at the time, he thinks that he was just lucky that he was transferred to library job and made friends with a guard. He thinks he's getting special help because of that friendship, but he's being protected by a lot more than that one man, and I'm the reason. At first I was afraid that it might be hard when he talked about people helping him, that it might be hard not to let him know what I know, or that I know the men he talks about better than he does. It was also hard to learn that there are things I can't help him with. When he breaks a rule I can't shield him, and he's gotten in trouble a couple of times. It's hard not to warn him when I know he's messing up, but that hasn't happened too often. He's a good man who messed up. That place is a hell hole, and I can't change that, but I can keep the monsters off him and if that means doing what I do, I can tell you I'm proud to do it!"

Maria looked deeply into Jenny's eyes, "I know this is hard, I know how you're feeling, I remember my contact and my first shift. I don't know anything about your sex life, but I can tell you it's going to be expanded beyond anything you've ever imagined. You've made up your mind even if you wish there was some other way. Why don't you tell Liz she can leave and see her kid play?"

Jenny was terrified, she could feel the edges of panic seeping in. Both women looked sympathetic but Liz also looked hopeful, not eager, just the way a woman would look who wanted to see her kids play and wanted some time off. Jenny took a long pull of her drink, she couldn't form words, she nodded yes. Liz looked very grateful, grabbed her purse, and went out the door.

Maria handed her a little pill.

"This is a very mild tranquilizer the doctor gave me. We have your medical history, it won't knock you out, that would defeat the purpose, but it will take a bit of the edge off later. Take it."

Jenny didn't even think about it as she swallowed with the last of her drink.

Maria then said, "Jenny let me tell you how this is going to work, because it's going to be a little different from what you might have thought. Normally we don't spend all our time in the bedroom. These are good guys and we're not prostitutes. Normally we spend some time out here visiting and just catching up on what's happened since the last time we saw each other. We don't always end up in the sack, although it is always sexual too. This is an anything goes place, it's a place where we role-play and we will do anything the man wants us to do as long as it doesn't leave a mark on us. Is that clear? If he wants you anally, you get it ready with K-Y and bend over. Almost all of them will want you that way from time to time; if it bothers you just remember that it's a hell of lot easier on you than it is on you husband.

"Second what happens here stays here we don't know these men if we see them on the street or at the prison. If you get in trouble or need help don't call them is that clear?"

Jenny, fighting panic, nodded.

"Today there won't be much beyond sex and some talk, but because you're new the men will be in the room when you get there. When you walk in, they are going to ask you if you are there because you want to be. Of course, you'll say you are, because it's the truth. Later when you're not so nervous, we'll make a video tape that isn't the full truth for their protection. They have enough protection and rank that they wouldn't be fired if this little setup came to light but it would hurt their chanced for promotion. The men each have us for forty-five minutes, although they don't have to use the whole time and most don't. You'll be dancing in that room over there. Each of the dance floors has a backdoor to the outside that the men will used to come and go. When you hear that big clock chime the hour you will go into the room, and you will be ready! Then some guys will want you to come right back out here, and talk and get to know you, and some might have it at attention and want you to come right over and take it in you. You will let them be in charge, and you will do what they want. Now, that clock chimes every fifteen minutes and the man will be out of the door at the third chime, you will have fifteen minutes to get ready for your next dance. You will get clean and fresh so that if a man wants to go down on you he doesn't get an indication that you might have been dancing with someone else. You will use douche like you've never douched before. You are also going to shave your pubic hair off. Guys like us better that way. Don't worry you'll have plenty of time to grow it back before your husband comes home, you'll have several months warning even if he gets early parole. That's about it, let's go to the bathroom and I'll help you shave; I could tell from your expression you've never done it before."

Jenny had never had a panic attack, but she didn't see how it could be any worse than what she was feeling right now, as she let herself be led to the bathroom. It was much larger than she would have thought. It had also been modified, there were two sinks and a long counter where two women could apply their make-up side by side, but there wasn't anywhere to sit. There was a large shower and Jenny could see that it was setup with two showerheads on hoses so that two people could take separate showers at the same time. There was also a linen closet that Maria opened to show that it had a place to hang clothes as well as a huge stack of towels and washrags.