the cart back in the cell and they continued on
towards the next complaint. "How long have you been a Guard?" asked
Bullet.
89 "Since I left high school," the woman answered, "a good many years
ago. A Recruiter visited from the prison and a
friend of mine dared me to put in the application. I said
I would if she would. Our parents nearly fainted when we got
accepted. You know the stories; women prison Guards all a little crazy,
taking advantage of the men prisoners. But they couldn't talk us out of
it, and here I am, a good many years later."
90 "And what happened to your friend?" asked Bullet.
91 "She died of a heart attack while on duty," the Guard told him, "two
seasons ago. That's when I took over as Chief Guard. That man you asked
me about earlier? That was her mate. They raised their children here.
One's a Law Speaker, the other one is The Chief Surgeon in the woman's
section. He also does outside work. He's one of the best nerve men in
the business!"
92 They were passing into another block and the Guard stopped. "Look,"
she warned, "this next prisoner....don't let what you see deceive you.
He IS a man. His lover was a Surgeon and made him what he is now. But they had a falling out, The
man brought home five of his friends one night, and they took turns on
him. While they were all asleep in the morning, he tried to escape.
They followed him into the hall and he got hold of a fire axe.
93 By the time The Guardian got there, there wasn't much left of them.
But two of them lived long enough to verify his story. The Speaker
hearing the case ruled justification, and sent him to a hospital for
the mentally disturbed. But he refused any kind of treatment, and for
some unknown reason they sent him here."
94 She knocked on the cell door, and a sweet, very feminine voice
answered. "You've got company" announced the Guard.