Oziversary Post - Quote #15 - "As of today, I run Oz"
Title: Long Live the King
Author: cmk418
Prompt: #15 - “As of today, I run Oz”
Characters: Alonzo Torquemada, Miguel Alvarez
Summary: They’re going back
A/N: Happy Oziversary! Thank you for being part of the last twenty years!
Miguel's voice was quiet in the darkness. "Everything set with Garza?"
"Yes. He'll take over as soon as we leave."
"You sure about him?"
"No. But he's our best option. Did you want to stay behind and keep an eye on him?"
Miguel said nothing for so long that Alonzo finally prompted, "Miguelito?"
"My father was in Oz and my grandfather was too. There's something nice about being here- a place where there ain't no history. I liked it here. Yeah, it's still prison, the food's shitty, and none of the doctors are as pretty as Doctor Nathan, but bad shit followed me around once I got to Oz- getting shanked, losing my baby, the riot, getting sent to solitary- more than once, all that shit with El Cid, not to mention losing my parole hearing. All that shit is still there, just waiting for me to come back and step into it. It's not just me either. Beecher gave me enough cash for a month's supply of D-tabs today."
"Shame to see a man like that go off the wagon."
Miguel barked out a laugh. “He knows what he’s gonna face tomorrow.”
Alonzo got out of bed and stood facing Miguel. "Move over." Miguel slid closer to the wall and Alonzo hoisted himself onto the upper bunk. It took a moment to arrange things to his liking, but soon he had his arms around his bunkmate. "Tomorrow will be different," Alonzo said, carding his fingers through Miguel's hair. "While we've been here, there's been a team of people going through Oz, through every single inch of it, making it ready, cleansing it. All of the shit that was there, it's gone now. We can start fresh. You and I and Oz."
"But what if-?" started Miguel.
"Shh. Sleep now."
The next morning, they collected their personal effects from processing and boarded the bus. Miguel and Alonzo were chained together and made their way into a seat near the back of the bus. They rode together in silence. Miguel stared out the window until the landscape became too familiar and he turned to rest his head against Alonzo's chest. The bus came to a stop and they walked to Em City and waited for their cell assignments. There were some new faces in the unit, just enough to fill in some of the empty spaces, but not so many as to make a real difference.
Alonzo and Miguel were assigned together to a pod on the lower level. It wouldn't have been Alonzo's first choice of location, but Miguel seemed to like it. "I was on this level when I first got here," he pointed to a cell. "I stayed there with Donald Groves."
"Should I check you for teethmarks?"
"Nah, he was cool. Had these postage stamps, you know what I mean?"
Alonzo nodded.
"Yeah. He was okay. Then he got the fucked up idea that he had to kill the Warden and shit just went downhill fast."
"This time is different."
"Yeah, you haven't eaten anybody. Have you?"
"No. Miguel, listen. When I first got here, I thought small. I saw this little unit, this jewel in Oswald's crown and I thought, ‘I intend to run all of Em City’. But Lardner has taught me, there's so much more. We did a lot of business there, got beyond our cushy confines and now there are inmates all over Oz who are relying on us to supply their fix. And to top it off, we have no interference- McManus is out and Querns doesn't mind the drugs as long as nobody gets killed."
"So you want to be King of Oz?"
Alonzo slung an arm around Miguel’s shoulders and grinned. "I already am, baby. I already am."
"Long live the king."
Author: cmk418
Prompt: #15 - “As of today, I run Oz”
Characters: Alonzo Torquemada, Miguel Alvarez
Summary: They’re going back
A/N: Happy Oziversary! Thank you for being part of the last twenty years!
Miguel's voice was quiet in the darkness. "Everything set with Garza?"
"Yes. He'll take over as soon as we leave."
"You sure about him?"
"No. But he's our best option. Did you want to stay behind and keep an eye on him?"
Miguel said nothing for so long that Alonzo finally prompted, "Miguelito?"
"My father was in Oz and my grandfather was too. There's something nice about being here- a place where there ain't no history. I liked it here. Yeah, it's still prison, the food's shitty, and none of the doctors are as pretty as Doctor Nathan, but bad shit followed me around once I got to Oz- getting shanked, losing my baby, the riot, getting sent to solitary- more than once, all that shit with El Cid, not to mention losing my parole hearing. All that shit is still there, just waiting for me to come back and step into it. It's not just me either. Beecher gave me enough cash for a month's supply of D-tabs today."
"Shame to see a man like that go off the wagon."
Miguel barked out a laugh. “He knows what he’s gonna face tomorrow.”
Alonzo got out of bed and stood facing Miguel. "Move over." Miguel slid closer to the wall and Alonzo hoisted himself onto the upper bunk. It took a moment to arrange things to his liking, but soon he had his arms around his bunkmate. "Tomorrow will be different," Alonzo said, carding his fingers through Miguel's hair. "While we've been here, there's been a team of people going through Oz, through every single inch of it, making it ready, cleansing it. All of the shit that was there, it's gone now. We can start fresh. You and I and Oz."
"But what if-?" started Miguel.
"Shh. Sleep now."
The next morning, they collected their personal effects from processing and boarded the bus. Miguel and Alonzo were chained together and made their way into a seat near the back of the bus. They rode together in silence. Miguel stared out the window until the landscape became too familiar and he turned to rest his head against Alonzo's chest. The bus came to a stop and they walked to Em City and waited for their cell assignments. There were some new faces in the unit, just enough to fill in some of the empty spaces, but not so many as to make a real difference.
Alonzo and Miguel were assigned together to a pod on the lower level. It wouldn't have been Alonzo's first choice of location, but Miguel seemed to like it. "I was on this level when I first got here," he pointed to a cell. "I stayed there with Donald Groves."
"Should I check you for teethmarks?"
"Nah, he was cool. Had these postage stamps, you know what I mean?"
Alonzo nodded.
"Yeah. He was okay. Then he got the fucked up idea that he had to kill the Warden and shit just went downhill fast."
"This time is different."
"Yeah, you haven't eaten anybody. Have you?"
"No. Miguel, listen. When I first got here, I thought small. I saw this little unit, this jewel in Oswald's crown and I thought, ‘I intend to run all of Em City’. But Lardner has taught me, there's so much more. We did a lot of business there, got beyond our cushy confines and now there are inmates all over Oz who are relying on us to supply their fix. And to top it off, we have no interference- McManus is out and Querns doesn't mind the drugs as long as nobody gets killed."
"So you want to be King of Oz?"
Alonzo slung an arm around Miguel’s shoulders and grinned. "I already am, baby. I already am."
"Long live the king."