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."
The guard returned the contract to the judge who quickly perused it. Seeming satisfied that all was in order he returned his attention to the prisoner. "Jacueline Smythe, having found you guilty of cheating the I.D.F. of millions, I hereby sentence you to ten to fifteen years imprisonment at Hansford Reformatory-- the new I.D.F. supermax. You will be transported there tomorrow morning to begin serving your sentence."
The rush of blood to Jacqui's ears was deafening. She had to grasp the bars of the cell to keep from falling. Ten to fifteen! She had expected a harsh sentence, but this was too much. She hardly noticed as Ken entered her cell and guided her out of the courtroom.
**********
Jacqui was awakened when the harsh flourescent light went on in her cell. Pushing the heavy cotton blanket back she noticed that she had slept in her clothing, she was not terribly worried about it though, she assumed that she would not wear the leather dress again for a while. Smoothing her clothing as she got up, she walked over to the small mirror above her sink, and did not like the face that stared back at her. Her hair was disheveled, and her face looked weary. Her sleep had been fitful, and when she had managed to nod off, she had dreamed of the judge's impassive faces as they had delivered the verdict. Splashing cold water on her face made her feel somewhat more awake.
Before she could even relieve herself, she heard the sound of a nightstick reverberating against metal bars, and heard Alexis's voice, "Up and at 'em ladies. We have a long ride today."
Sitting in the last cell on the block she had several moments as the guards entered the other cells, preparing the other inmates for transport. Within moments, however, Ken appeared at her cell door hefting a folded inmate uniform, handcuffs, and leg irons. Silently, Jacqui gave thanks to the fact that it was not Amanda or her little bitch; at least Ken would treat her with some of the respect that she deserved. As she met his gaze, however, she could see compassion etched in his expression. Suddenly she felt nearly overcome with shame and she silently cursed him. She was used to awe, respect, and a certain measure of fear from most men-- pity was not something that she wanted.
"I need to take you to the strip cell Jacqui, every new convict has to have a mandatory cavity search," the guard said, "and then you have to shower and get provisioned. You have to hurry because we don't have a lot of time. Come on here, turn around, and put your hands through the meal slot."
The former mistress did as she was directed. Before she knew it, steel bands encircled her wrists, locking her hands in front of her. The guard then asked her to step back. Wordlessly, he entered her cell, moved behind her, and slid the belly chain around waist. She could feel the sexual tension as his fingers moved across her belly and under her breasts, and hoped that he would take advantage of her helplessness. Suddenly, he pushed gently down on her shoulders, "Kneel Jacqui," he commanded, "I need to shackle your ankles."
She complied without any cross words, and helped her to her feet after he chained her up. He then locked a heavy metal collar around her neck, which was attached to a three foot lead chain. She felt a pang of disappointment as he took her leash and guided her toward the cell door, she had hoped that he might satisfy some of her bottled up cravings, but that did not seem likely to be the case. Just before he reached the hallway, however, he spun her to face him and kissed her long and deeply. Her hands strained against their bonds as his tongue explored her mouth. She was so turned on that she could feel the wetness between her legs. Hoping for more she pressed her body against his and rutted against his leg like a bitch in heat.
The sound of a woman clearing her throat and some giggling interrupted what seemed like a promising beginning, and Ken pushed her away. He turned her to face the cell door where Alexis stood at the end of a line of five gorgeous women, all of whom had been members of Jacqui's group and all of whom were now on their way to the I.D.F. supermax. The women were restrained in the same fashion as Jacqui and their heavy, locked collars tethered them together. The three women at the front of the line wore the horizontally striped latex dresses that were standard issue in the I.D.F. women's jail, while the two at the end, Dominique and Gabrielle still wore their sexy civies. Ken guided his charge to the end of the line and locked her collar in place.