Jacqueline paced her small cell as she waited for word that the verdict was in. She hardly noticed the cold floor beneath her bare feet, having lost her boots because the guards feared that she might attempt suicide. She had become despondent earlier in the day when she had heard that both Dominique and Gabrielle had been convicted, and had agreed to five years in the I.D.F. Supermax, rather than facing Federal charges. Having lost her pay off to Amanda, she was almost certain that she would share their fate, although the judge would probably throw the book at her considering that she had been in charge of the entire operation. Her contemplation was interrupted by a male voice forcing her back to reality.
"Verdict's in," Ken said, "Come on over to the door Jacqueline. You know the drill."
Jacqueline walked over to the bars, knelt down, and stuck her hands through the meal slot. Within seconds the guard had expertly secured the cuffs around her slender wrists and unlocked the cell door. She did not even chance a glance over her shoulder as the guard entered her cage, her ass and cunt still ached from Amanda's lesson in obeying orders.
She winced at the cold touch of the shackles that Ken locked tightly around her bare ankles, but she did not struggle as he took her arm and hauled her to her feet. He was careful, almost gentle as he slid the belly chain over her hips and secured the cuffs with it. "I'm sorry Jacqui," he began, "I had hoped that things might go better for you."
Jacqui and Ken had been lovers a lifetime ago, and she knew that he still cared for her. Looking levelly into his eyes the mistress smiled, "I have heard that you will be working at the new facility."
"Yes, I will."
"Well then, perhaps things will not be so bad, even though it seems that this time our roles will be reversed."
With that she leaned forward brushing his lips with her own. Ken took her arm in a firm, but gentle grip, guiding her out toward the courtroom.
**********
Jacqueline surveyed the room from the small prisoner's cell between the council's desks. The I.D.F. courtroom looked exactly as one would expect any court to look. Two desks stood before the gallery, one for the prosecution and one for the defence. Three judges, one male and two females, presided over the room from their raised seats. All of the judges looked quite old, as was to be expected as working one's way through the I.D.F. beureaucracy was a slow and tedious process, and these three people were very nearly at the top of that organization.
As she looked up at the three judges, mistress Jacqueline was reminded of her first trip to the principal's office as a little girl. All three looked at her sternly from their seats on the raised dais. Her council had not awaited the verdict, the prisoner stood alone to receive sentence or acquital, as was the custom in the I.D.F. court. For the first time since adolesence she felt tiny as she stood alone in the prisoner's dock awaiting their pronouncement. Breaking protocol, she turned to look at Ken, who was standing guard behind her. He gave her a small, encouraging smile, and she felt as though everything might still be alright.
The male judge cleared his throat, indicating that he had noticed her breach of protocol. Jacqueline instantly turned back to face her arbiters. She knew that any sign of disrespect would likely be reflected in her sentence when they found her guilty. As she looked at the trio, she hoped that it was her imagination when she noticed that mistress Arya, the woman that she had smuggled the drugs for, looked nearly furious.
The male judge, Gregory Whelan, spoke for the tribunal. "In the matter of withholding dues from the I.D.F. we, the tribunal of justice, find you, Jacqueline Smythe, guilty."
Jacqui was impassive, the verdict was what she suspected given the way that events had unfolded today. She knew that she would now be given the choice. She knew also knew that the choice was really not a choice at all, a U.S. federal penitentiary was not really any sort of alternative. Besides, prisoners at the I.D.F. supermax were allowed to make money by servicing the wealthy clients that came to the island seeking liasons with the prison's population. Indeed, a great deal of money could be made by the prisoners in this fashion.
"Before I sentence you, I will give you a choice Jacqui. You may agree to abide by the decision of this court, or you may opt not to do so. Not doing so will mean that we will turn over all of our evidence to the district attorney, who may or may not decide to indict you for tax fraud. If convicted of the charges that he will likely file you could face up to twenty years in prison."
"I will abide by the verdict sir," Jacqui replied.
"Bailiff, take her the contract."
Ken brought Jacqui a pen and a contract, sliding it though the bars. She signed the contract without reading it and slid it back to him. As he took the paper back, Ken squeezed her hand and whispered, "I'll be there for you Jacqui."