Chapter Text
Chapter 1 - First day
The world went silent when the verdict sounded across the court room.
Guilty.
On all charges. She felt her legs go out and her body hit the chair beneath her.
Guilty.
She failed.
Guilty.
She should’ve left when she had the chance. Why did she listen to Holt, she would’ve been on a flight to Argentina by now. She would be a free woman, as free a fugitive could get anyway. But no, back to prison and this time it wasn’t juvie it was full-out prison; full of hardened criminals a few she has no doubt put away just waiting to get their hands on her.
Rosa didn’t notice the court moving around her. Her frien- former colleagues shouting in upset and the tears now flowing form their eyes. Nor did she feel the sharp metal of the handcuffs slapped on her wrists and the tug from the bailiffs pulling her to the jail cells of the court house. She didn’t feel Holts’ hand on her shoulder as she stood.
She doesn’t remember being striped of her court clothes and being given jailers ones in return.
She doesn’t remember how long she sat in the cell before being put on a transport truck and arriving at the prison.
She doesn’t remember being strip searched again and being given a new uniform, one of a prisoner.
===
Her next lucid moments is when she starts her walk down the catwalk between the cells in protective custody cells of the prison. The floor was grey cement, the kind of grey that looks as if all the life was sucked out and nothing remains. Large metals bars lined the walls, giving way to rows of cells. Rosa’s eyes jumped form cell to cell looking for her fellow inmates, hoping to size them up and find out who she was spending the next 15 years with. Only cold damp air greeted her, all the cells were empty. The guard pulled her to a stop, yanking her wrists towards a cell door. The cold metal of the cuffs dug into her skin as he unlocked them. She didn’t like this guard, that she knew. He had cold hard eyes and his breath stunk to high hell. He pushed her into the cell with a grunt.
"Behave cop and maybe they’ll let you live" His gruff grating voice made her hate him more. He left leaving her standing in the cell, the only noise being thudding of his boots and jingle of his keys as he walked away. The was no reason to cuff her, she wasn’t dangerous, was she?
Diaz decided there was no use to wallowing in her thoughts and made use of the lack of inmates to check out her new home. The cell was simple with a grey metal bunk against one wall, a small half wall jutted out at the end of the room with two locker like shelves attached, a small steel sink stood opposite the wall. The toilet was just hidden, no privacy in prison Diaz, don’t be stupid. Her thoughts were nothing new she had seen the inside of a prison before but never thought it would be her behind the bars, sharing a cell and pissing in full view of onlookers. She scowled at the thought.
She sat down on the lover bunk, the grey scratchy blanket creasing underneath. The wall opposite her was grey, the floor was dirty grey. Everything was grey, even the light seemed to be grey in colour. It looked how she felt, grey. Numb. Maybe they were right to put her away, at least it couldn’t get worse. Right?
===
Buzzzz. A door clanged open and loud chattering followed. The inmates filed though the corridor talking amongst themselves. Great, people, not just any people hardened criminals. She thought, her eyes shifting to cell bars watching the brown jumpsuit clad bodies walking past, she didn’t recognise anyone, at least something was going in her favour.
“Ehem” She was jolted from her thoughts at the sound. “I said move bitch. That’s my bunk” Her eyes focused again landing the voices origin. It came from a small round woman with thin greying hair.
“I’m not asking. GET OFF.” The last words were spoken with such scorn and demand rosa found herself almost leaping off the bunk and pressing her back against the wall. She watched at the older woman glared before lying down on the bunk.
"Dont sit on my bunk again or ya’l find yaself missing digits.” Her voice was gravelly, one of a long-time smoker.
Rosa just nodded slowly at the statement studying the women. Her skin was wrinkled and blotted with various moles and marks; a large, jagged scar ran up her left forearm though a tattoo rosa was unable to make out in the lighting. The woman had short hair, greying roots gave way to muddy brown hair which framed her face poorly, causing the womans harsh feature to stand out. Rosa deicided she probably looked quite pretty in her youth but prison had aged her poorly as the woman reminded her of her great-abuela who was a natural beauty in her 20s but looked like a mean witch to rosa in her 80s. The memory of her great-abuela made her smile, she was always had a soft spot for rosa over all her other grand-children. Whenever rosa visited her as a child, abuela would be sure give her an extra candy; a pink one, rosa’s secret favourite.
“Oi, Airhead im talkin to ya” The woman had sat up with her back to the wall staring rosa down. “Name?” she questioned looking rosa in the eye.
“Diaz, Rosa” Her voice was hoarse “Yours?”
“Pat” Pat looked rosa up and down for what felt like the hundredth time “what ya been done for?”
Rosa paused at that, she didn’t trust pat, she didn’t want them to know she was a cop. The target on her back would be inescapable. “Robbed a few banks” She shrugged, Pat didn’t need to know everything. Pat eyed her before speaking again as if she didn’t quite believe her.
“I donna believe that, they aint put a sucker like you in PC for robbing a few banks.” Her voice was stern. “Ya better hope it donna come out ya be a chomo, thatll get u shipped out in a bag.” Quite fell over the room before Pat spoke up again. “Ya up top, me knees aren’t what they used ta be.”
Rosa nodded curtly before moving the place her new belongings on the top: an off white pillow case; blanket; sheet; toothbrush; 3 off white undershirts; 4 set of underwear; Spare brown shirt and pants set. She refolded all her clothes before storing them in the empty locker.
Jumping up onto the bed she laid down atop her blanket staring up at the ceiling. For the first time all day she felt oddly calm, then her stomach rumbled. She swore quietly, the last time she ate was a small energy bar the evening before the sentencing on the bus. The hunger pains were hidden in the adrenalin high she had been on for the last day. Pat must of heard as she spoke up.
“Ya just missed dinner ‘friad, breakfasts at 0700.”
Rosa grimaced before answering Pat. “Great, Thanks.”
She didn’t mean for it to come out so quipped, but the last 24 hours weighed heavy on her mind. Rosa’s mind began to wonder to her colleagues wondering how they were and if they were even sad she was gone. She knew they would be mourning the lose of Jake from the precinct, he was Jake after all, everyone loved him. But Rosa, she mean and spiteful, always quick to insult them all and hide everything from them, she knew it were Jake was not involved the squad wouldn’t have fought for her freedom. God, Jake was in prison too. She prayed he was ok and that his cellmate was nice. Her mind started to wonder allowing her exhausted body to sleep.
Rosa didn’t know that she had started to cry silently as she thought of the squad and Jake.
Rosa didn’t know that Pat heard her, before the little sniffs turned to slowed breathing.
Rosa didn’t know that she had just found a potential ally.