Dignan lowered his eyes as he entered the Wasco State Penitentiary. Maybe it was just that he had to spend the next year or so in a jail that upset him. No, he told himself looking back at his two friends that had just visited him, Bob and Anthony, it's that I'm all alone with my dreams. The weather was cold that day; it even seemed almost to threaten to snow. But that was self-explainable. After all, it was December.

Dignan didn't feel like entering the cement walls of the prison. Once in there he would have to go back to his cell. And in his cell was Carl, a tractor thief. Dignan felt more depressed just by thinking of the redneck. Of course, nobody on his cellblock liked Carl. He was an obnoxious loud mouth who would constantly think up stories of his life "back on the farm". Even the officer managing their block would get tired of him. He was like the thing that wouldn't go away. Dignan smiled at the joke. But it was true; there was no escape from that man.

But for some strange reason that day, Dignan didn't go to his cellblock where Carl awaited. Instead, an officer greeted him at the door and pulled him away from the line of men in their white uniforms. Dignan looked at him strangely. "Cell exchange," He told him. That was all he told him. And even after these events have occurred, Dignan still sometimes wonders what gave the policemen the bright idea to move him into that other cell. And to bring him to his new cellmate; who would change his life forever.

The officer stayed quiet as he stiffly pulled Dignan along the solemn and somber halls. The confused expression still covering his face. He looked over at the signs indicating where to go in the large penitentiary. Elevator, a sign read. Dignan gulped, a rather silent one at that. He didn't want the officer to see his fear. If he noticed he might change his mind and send Dignan back to Carl. And that was the last thing he wanted. Well, he thought optimistically to himself, at least I'll be good and rid of Carl. The thing about Wasco State Penitentiary was, there were different levels of criminals. And, you guessed it, the higher you got the worse the crowd was.

They entered the elevator and Dignan watched as his destination was punched in. Level 3: the middle level. With that the mechanical doors closed and they rose higher into the atmosphere. Dignan rocked back and forth on his feet, sometimes looking over at the officer. What a stiff! He thought to himself. The officer kept the same expression, the same posture, the same everything. Pretty much a boring person in Dignan's case. "So"-Dignan peered at the officer's nametag-"Cowley, exactly where are you taking me?"

Cowley turned his stone cold face over at him, "You'll find out soon enough."

Dignan considered it as a mock, or at least an attempt at one. The officer hadn't really even given a mocking tone. He shrugged his shoulders.

"Sorry man, just trying to strike up a conversation. Y'know, with this place you never know what you might get into. Am I right?" He smiled.

Cowley looked over at him as he did before, obviously he didn't have a sense of humor either.

"Ok…y'see, I was trying to make a joke…" Dignan's voice trailed off.

They had reached his new cellblock with a ring of a bell from the elevator. The doors opened and there was a long hall lying before them. "Come on," Cowley told him, his grasp tightened on his arm. "Hey! Watch you grip! I doubt I'll try to escape right now!" Dignan whiningly announced. At the end of the hall they reached a door with the black printed letters on it: C block.

There was a creak as the door opened and Dignan noticed how this cellblock was smaller, less crowded, as his last one. It stayed quiet for the most part. It was the first cell to the left in that wide and long hall that the officer stopped at. Dignan was shocked at the looks of his new cellmate as he peered into the small and dull cell. Surprising most of all was that it was a girl! In the few weeks he had been here he had never seen a girl in all the levels of Wasco. She was around his age with long blonde-brown hair with the tips dyed a light blue. Her head was lowered and rested on her palms.

She looked up at the sound of the jingling keys fumbling in the officer's hands. Her angelic face studying Dignan. And her eyes, he didn't think he had ever seen such hypnotizing eyes. They were a sky blue, the color of her hair tips, and filled with such pain, such intelligence, such cunningness. It made Dignan wonder if she even committed the crime that she did, she looked too innocent for something like this.

But her smile erased all those thoughts in his mind. "So…this is my new victim?" She asked giving this impish smile, a hint of a Chicagoan accent. A smile showing that her intelligence was put to other uses. Cowley looked at her degradingly; as if he heard the comment constantly, "Grow up Gillis! I'm not in the mood!" Dignan worriedly glanced from the girl to Cowley and back. But before he could protest he could feel the strong hand of Cowley pushing him forward and he tumbled into the cell.

The girl's mystifying eyes followed the officer to his desk. "My name's not Gillis! It's Nelson! Get it straight!" With that she lowered her head again and let her strands of hair fall in front of her face. She remained silent for a while, seemingly thinking about what she had done.

As for Dignan, once he regained his balance he walked over to his side of the room, or, I guess it would be more appropriate to say, cell. He kept his attention onto the girl though, despite the fact that she kept the silence between them and didn't even acknowledge his presence. It stayed like that for a while. Then, after what had seemed an hour, she looked over at him, her blue eyes almost staring right through him. She had a rather distant look, almost like she wasn't all there.

She blinked thoroughly and following that seemed to see him for the first time. "Hey," She began, "Sorry for ignoring you, I didn't mean to."

"That's alright. There's a lot to think about in here."

She looked around the metal cage and brought her focus back on Dignan, her impish smile growing on her lips. She held out a hand, "I'm Vicki Nelson. And you…" Dignan outstretched his hand and told her his name. Nelson? He though shaking her hand, a rather odd gesture in a jail, where have I heard that before? "Dignan," She repeated thoughtfully," Dignan…what a strange name."

Dignan ignored the comment, "So, do you know why I'm here? I mean, what happened to your old cellmate?"

"He died." Her face was dead serious, though with her accent it sounded almost comical.

Dignan froze, a worried look on his face. At that moment her face broke and she threw back her head laughing, a crazy yet jolly laugh. Everything about this girl, or should I say Vicki, was unique. "Sorry," She calmly said, "I couldn't help but make a joke." Her laughter echoed in the silent C block. It suddenly dawned onto Dignan where the name Nelson came from. "Are you…do you…?"

"Spit it out boy!"

"Are you related to Baby-Face Nelson?"

She looked at him in disgust and disappointment. "His name wasn't Baby-Face! It was George Nelson! And yes I am!"

Dignan had totally forgotten about Cowley sitting at his desk. Also that he could hear their conversation. "Don't you mean Lester Gillis? Like your last name?" He mockingly said. She cringed at his words, but for the most part ignored him. She removed her disappointment with her vampire grin. "Yea, I am proud to say I am related to Big George. Though, I guess some others aren't as proud as me."-She paused-"But…well, never mind. I doubt you'd know the feeling."

"What?"

"Like you're all alone in the world. That no one else sees your point of view."

Dignan looked down. "Yea…"

"But you probably don't want hear about my problems. How'd you get in here? You don't seem like the criminal type."

"You first."

"Well, it was when I was robbing Charlington Bank, you know? The one they say no person could break into? Well, me and my gang did. Only the coppers came in too fast and I sacrificed myself to save the others. Turns out they didn't even want to be in my gang in the first place."

Dignan liked how she said the word Charlington, it sounded like Sharlenton. "Yea, that's kinda like me. Only we were at the McConnigan Bank," he lied.

"McConnigan? Isn't that the one that has top security and automatic tracking? That one there truly was no way to break in I thought."

"Yeah, well we found a way." Dignan could feel the nervous fluttering in his stomach. He couldn't let Vicki know that he wasn't a good criminal.

"Oh? How? I'd love to take notes for when I get outta here."

"When's that?" He asked quickly trying to change subjects.

"Eighteen more years. I've already survived through my first five."

Dignan raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"I robbed the bank when I was fifteen."

He sadly lowered his head.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"I did almost the same thing as you. I wonder how come I didn't get sentenced to that long of a time."

"Boy," she sadly told him, "You did nothing nowhere near what I did."

With that she rolled over in her cot and closed her eyes. "Night…Dignan." Her voice sounded weak and didn't have the same pride to it. "Night Vicki." He told her. Exactly what did she do that was so bad? Dignan wondered situating in his bed, she just robbed a bank. He didn't think too much of it though. As soon as his head hit the pillow he was fast asleep.

Dignan woke up early that morning to a vigorous shaking. "Rise and shine! Time to eat some slime!" A voice said. He opened his eyes and noticed Vicki looking down at him. "What? Huh?" He asked sleepily. "Man, you sleep like a log! Don't you know that each block has a different breakfast time?" Dignan sat up and realized he was almost at her eye level like that. She was only five four; the same height as Baby-Face.

"No not really." He told her. She sat down next to him. "How ya like my grub call?"

"Uhhh…"

"I made it up myself. It's the truth really. That cafeteria food is crap. I'm sure of it."

"It don't seem that bad to me."

"You don't know what they put in that food."

"And you do?"

"Yes! I looked at their recipe book one time when I tried to escape through the kitchen."

"Escape?"

"Come on. Don't tell me you haven't considered it some time or another."

"Well, yeah I have." he had really. Only his friends didn't seem to want to be a part of it.

Suddenly their conversation was interrupted by the opening of cells. A line of white suites began to slowly walk past them. Cowley stopped in front of their door. The jingling of his keys echoed in the cellblock. "Come on Chase, and you too Gillis." At the sound of his last name Vicki looked over at Dignan excitedly. "You're name's Chase?" He nodded slightly and said, "Yeah. Dignan Chase."

Her eyes grew big and her evil smile fell across her face. She seemed to try to find the words to speak but they didn't come. Dignan looked from her to Officer Cowley, "What?" Cowley ignored him and reached in and pulled him out of the cell. "Yeah I bet you're excited Gillis. It's a match made in hell you might say."

"I still don't know what you're talking about," Dignan told Vicki carrying both their trays over to a cafeteria table. He didn't exactly know how he ended up carrying it. It just seemed to end up there. Vicki sure had a way with words. "Did you ever listen in your History class?" She replied. "Hey, last time I checked, learning about Gangsters wasn't part of the school criteria."

"Watch you lip! I don't like gangster jokes." (With her accent it sounded more like gangsta.)

They soon sat down and Vicki began to explain again, "Ok, Big George had a best friend or an accomplice named John Paul Chase. He idolized George and was loyal to him. Don't you see? We were meant to be together!" Dignan confusingly looked at her. "You even look like Chase!" she told him, "With the good looks, blond hair, and not being too bright. You're a little slimmer built than Chase. And a little taller." He smiled at the comment, or what much of a comment it was.

"You're what I've been looking for to help me with my next escape plan," She whispered leaning forward and secretly stealing his apple. She took a bite and began talking with a full mouth, "I can't say much about it right here though. There's too much security. But with someone like you, I know I can pull it off."

A large black man walked over and sat in front of them at their table. "How's it going Vicki?" He asked in a deep and strong voice. "Fine." She replied. He chuckled recognizing the mischievous look on her face. "Don't tell me your planning another escape?"

"Shhh! Not so loud!" She glanced around the room to make sure no one was listening, she leaned forward and continued to whisper, "Nobody's escaped from Wasco and I wanna be the first! One of my plans will work someday!"

"Good luck Blondie," The Negro said to Dignan, "She's gone through a lot cellmates. You're the what? Sixteenth? Yeah that's right, the sixteenth."

"Shut-up Steel!" She told him.

"Grow up Vicki!"

Dignan looked strangely over at him. "Your name's Steel? What gave your parents the idea of that name?" Steel looked slightly miffed as Dignan glanced over at Vicki chuckling. "How long have you been on the wrong side of the law?" Vicki asked him incredulously, "Don't you know that a lot of times criminals give themselves nicknames?"

Dignan worriedly looked at her and shook his head no. Steel angrily got up and walked over next to him. "Wanna know how I got that name?" Dignan looked up and meekly replied, "T-That's ok, I think I got the idea. If you don't mind I think I'll go and throw away my plate." But as he got up Steel reached out and pulled him back by his uniform collar.

"No really, I'd like to." With that Steel began to reel back for a punch. Vicki quickly jumped up and got in front of Dignan. "Stop it!" She sternly said, "We don't want to cause any problems, right? So let's put Dignan down and leave or I swear I will steal one of them officers' guns and see you again." Steel's anger seemed to fade away after that statement. He softly put him down and began to walk off. "Just kiddin' with ya, buddy!" Dignan called out and forced another chuckle, "That guy, he's got some sense of humor!"

"You're welcome," Vicki said to him.

"Oh, yeah. Thanks."

"Hey, what can I say? I like you. Without you I wouldn't be able to pull off this whole plan."

Well, Dignan thought disappointingly, we don't want to ruin your escape plans now do we?

Dignan watched Vicki as she took a chipped rock from the wall and flipped her cot over. She then began to draw a blueprint of their escape on the metal bottom. "I like the enthusiasm but I don't quite understand," He told her. "Shhh!" She looked up and placed a finger to her mouth, then pointed out towards where Cowley lounged back in his office desk. We can't let them hear, she mouthed. Dignan nodded as if the light had just turned on in his brain.

He then moved off his cot and sat down next to her on the cold concrete floor. He made sure to keep his voice low, "Ok, explain this all to me again." She looked up at him and he could see the excitement in those mystic blue eyes. With that she quietly whispered their whole escape route pointing at the blue print showing where they should be. "Got it?" She asked.

"Well-"

"It's okay, just wait for my instructions."

"And when's this all again?"

"February 27. The day that George broke him self out of a penitentiary twenty miles southwest of Chicago."

"But that's not till next year!"

"Shhh! How many times do I need to tell you to be quiet? We need to take deeper research if you want to escape and not end up back here. I mean, you can't just come up with a plan in a few minutes and expect to do it that afternoon!"

Dignan looked away down at the ground.

"See? That's probably why your plan didn't work." She told him.

"It's not that it didn't work. It's just that my friends didn't want to do it. Just like the rest of my criminal life. They never wanted to do it. So I was left all alone."

"It's okay."-She patted him on the shoulder-"Like I told you before, out of my gang I was the only one excited about our new jobs and how it would be like the new generation of gangsters. I went out and found all the other descendents of people like Al Capone, Bonnie and Clyde, John Dillinger, Machine Kelly, the whole caboodle. But they just really didn't care."

Dignan looked down and thoughtfully nodded.

"But look on the bright side!" She told him beamingly, "Because of that we met each other! And when we break outta this joint we'll be just like the old Nelson and Chase and we'll rank the number one most wanted!"

He smiled, "Yeah you're right. So, what's the first thing we need to do?"

"Well, I've kinda made one of the officers my friends and so he let me send a letter to my cousin in Chicago. He came down here and took some pictures of the computer room, which is their main source of files, backgrounds, and agendas. All we gotta do is wait for the pictures to arrive, and then when I break into the room I'll paste the pictures on every window and camera so no one will ever know I'm there!"

"Brilliant!" Dignan quickly lowered his voice again, "I like your thinking!"

"I'll tap into the jail schedules and I can place a date where an officer will take me out of Wasco and drive me to the courtroom where they'll continue my trial."

"That date being February 27. Where do I come in?"

"You don't have much to do till the day of our escape. Most of the time, just try to distract the officers from me so I can make this escape possible. But, the day we put this into action you will be the copper that takes me away from jail. I can forge you a badge and I.D. where no one would ever guess you were a prisoner but just a newby to the whole jail mess."

Just as Vicki began to go into further explanation she heard the sound of Cowley opening his office door. She quickly flipped over the cot and threw her writing pebble into a corner of their cell. As they moved to their usual places in their confinement, Cowley stepped in front of their bars. His body so close to them that if she wanted, Vicki could have reached out and stole his weapon, even worse, killed him. If Cowley had ever read the rules and regulations he should know that each block's hall was made wide enough where if the officer walked right along the middle of it no prisoner would be able to reach him.

Dignan looked over at Vicki who placed the same innocent look on her angelic face as the first time they had met. Vicki would never kill someone like that, he decided, she's too smart for something like that. It was true too. Vicki liked to invent plans that were complicated where the officers would never be able to figure out what happened to them. That was one thing that was different from her and her great-grandfather. Baby-Face liked to kill, Vicki liked to confuse.

"Alright you sad sacks of bones, time to go to bed!" Cowley yelled to no one unparticular while brushing his baton against the bars of each occupied cell causing that click-click-click sound. As he finished up his call he retreated back into his office to where he could monitor the criminals from a camera. With his back turned Vicki flashed a deadly smile. Dignan didn't realize it then, but there was something more to Vicki than what he knew…

"Good night." He told her then followed, "I'm glad there's someone else who sees things as I do."

"Yea, night to you too." She smiled though in the dark it wasn't noticeable, "Sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite. And if they do, blow them up with dynamite!"

Dignan chuckled as he laid his head down on his pillow. Vicki really did need to grow up. But if only he knew that he needed to too.

It wasn't until a week later that the photos came in. Vicki stood there silently clasping her hands around their cold cell bars, never breaking focus on the small door with the glass window saying: C block. The block was quiet, considering that everyone else was asleep, even Dignan. Then, a blurred figure appeared at that door she was staring at. He quietly opened it and crept in. Vicki hid her excitement as he walked over. He handed her her envelope and keeping quiet she mouthed, thank you. He nodded and left.

That was about the time Dignan woke up. He watched her excitedly walk over and sit down on her cot and open her letter. She looked up and smiled, "Merry Christmas!" He sleepily rubbed his eyes and looked around, "What? Today's Christmas?"

"You bet! And this'll be your first Christmas in jail! Lucky you!"

"What's so different from jail Christmases?"

"Your only present is a special Christmas dinner that really ain't all that special."

"Oh…I see."

"Ya'll do get some fun time. Everybody goes outside and like plays a game or something. I usually don't though. But see, that's how I can break into the computer room and how you can distract them."

"Ok yeah, but how are you gonna get in there?"

She let her impish grin shine on her face.

"If I told you, I'd have to kill you."

Dignan wanted to tell her to grow up but decided not to.

"But really," She told him seriously, "What I do is what I worry about, what you do is what you worry about. That's a criminal rule."

"Oh well, I knew that." He lied.

At that moment Cowley walked into C block, he'd just gotten to work. Lucky for him, Cowley didn't have any night shifts in Wasco. He'd always leave around midnight and come in about seven. It wasn't much time at home for him but he was always glad to get away from the penitentiary and its prisoners. "Merry Christmas everyone!" He shouted in a jolly yet mocking tone, "But it sure doesn't look like Santa's brought you anything! Not even a piece of coal. Aw."

"You're a riot Cowley," One of the prisoners said. Cowley ignored him.

"Time for breakfast." He told them as he began walking over to each cell and unlocking it.

Slyly Vicki shoved her Christmas present under her mattress. And with that, they went to the cafeteria for breakfast.

After breakfast the prisoners were sent back to their cells with Christmas mail from their friends and family. They couldn't reply but it was the only way they could share Christmas with their family. Dignan felt sorry for Vicki as the officers were giving out mail. Everyone got something except for her. Of course, you can't forget she did get those pictures from her cousin but still. She had to feel lonely.

Vicki told Dignan it was normal though. After she became a gangster and followed in her great-grandfather (great-grandgangster is what she called him) steps, her family disowned her and never spoke to her again. Especially after she got arrested. But as Dignan began to open up his letter from his parents he looked over and noticed that even though she hid it, Vicki was wishing her parents would've sent her something.

"Here, why don't you read my parents letter?" Dignan asked handing it to her, "Just so you can have something to do."

"Ok."

And as she read that note, Dignan opened up the other one. It was from Anthony. This is what it said:



Hey Dignan,

How's it going? I hope you're doing fine. Grace says hi too. I think she's starting to like you, now that I'm around the house more often. Maybe she also is hoping that jail will change you wanting to be a criminal. She's constantly telling me that crime doesn't pay and that you're a good example of it.

I saw Inés today also. You should see her! Her English has gotten so good. She's sorry about you having to be in jail. We all miss you. I'm thinking about sometime in January coming over and seeing you again. Grace says she wants to too. She's reading over my shoulder as I'm writing incase your wondering. I'll bring Inés too. Well, I better end this letter now. I have to go to soccer practice; I coach a little league team. They remind me of you in a way, they never give up.

Hope to see you soon,

Anthony



Dignan smiled as he read the letter. He missed everyone also. Wasco State Penitentiary was placed in such a remote spot. It was like, in the middle of nowhere! He looked up and noticed Vicki was chuckling. It was a sad chuckle and he was sure she missed her family even more. She handed him back the letter smiling. It was an odd smile. She couldn't hide its vampire look but it looked depressed for a change.

"They're mad but they still love you," She told him sadly.

"That sounds like them." He read the letter himself.

"George's parents were like that. They didn't care that he was a mad killer or a criminal. They still loved him."

Dignan looked up at her. He wished that he could say something but he knew it wouldn't be the right time. Or maybe it would've, he just was too shy to say it. "Well, you did get those pictures from your cousin. And not to mention we're getting closer to…well, you know."

She smiled, "Yeah."

They both became silent for a moment. Just staring at each other. It was like he was under a spell from her magical blue eyes. It didn't last long though because the next moment Cowley walked out of his office and shouted, "It's time for some Christmas play time!" Vicki's emotions changed as soon as he appeared. When Dignan looked over at her he could've sworn that she looked like she was about to throw-up. Her face was green and pale and she clutched her stomach. He hurried over to her and placed his hand on her back. "Are you ok?" He asked.

"No, not really."

Cowley walked over as she replied. "What's going on in there?" They both looked up and she said, "I'm not feeling too well."

"This ain't one of those sick prisoner routines is it?"

As in reply her cheeks puffed out and she made a muffled gagging noise.

"I think I've got a stomach virus. I haven't been feeling good since breakfast."

"Hold on, I'll go get an officer to take you to the bathroom," He told her then yelled out to the rest of the prisoners, "Hold on everybody, I'll be right back!" Dignan looked closer at Vicki's face thinking that he'd be able to see if she's faking or not but instead to his surprise he saw tiny beads of sweat, "You really are sick!" She looked over at him and maybe wanted to agree or disagree but she seemed too sick to say anything.

"Don't forget to distract them," She managed out before Cowley returned with another officer. As he unlocked the gates and led the prisoners out, the other officer walked over and got Vicki out and led her down another hall. As Dignan began to leave C block, he worriedly looked back at her, I hope she's all right…

Vicki looked down at the ground and pretended like she was about to throw-up right then and there. She hated to worry Dignan like that, but sometimes a real reaction is better than acting. The officer tightened his grip on her arms and walked faster. She could soon see the bathroom in sight. The officer continued walking to where he almost went into the bathroom with her. She quickly stopped him. She looked up at him sickly and smirked, "You can accompany me, but I'd like a little privacy to vomit." She smiled inside. That was a quote from Baby-Face when he feigned sickness.

The officer frowned as she told him this. He knew she could be a tricky one and as Officer Cowley was bringing him to her he told him not to make any false moves.

"Alright Gillis. But not for long so cut the wisecracking and grow up."

She sickly nodded. Nothing new I've heard before, she thought to herself. But as she walked into the bathroom she didn't go into any of the stalls. Instead, she straightened up and let her face grow a normal color. She looked around the room and happily found an air vent on the ceiling. She climbed up on top of one of the stone stall walls and opened it up. She took a deep sigh as she looked up at the metal vent. "Well, here goes nothing." She then quickly climbed in and began looking for the computer room.