Fourth lnstalment

It was all quiet when we arrived but still we hurried to reach the safety of Paula's flat, I stayed the night as I could catch the first tram back to base the following morning and also I didn't want to go back but I had to if only to tell Ernie I wanted a transfer, so it would be better if I left all my clothes and Paula's as it would give her a chance to wash them and also I would have some of my clothes in a place away from the base. The following morning I awoke, dressed and left after kissing her softly so as not to wake her, we had both slept well and I didn't want to spoil her restful slumber, after all I would see her later on that day or that's what I thought. It was almost six when I arrived back at the school, I was right on time and there was nothing anybody could say, while I waited for everyone to wake up I talked to the guards who told me what had been going on, there were quite a few shocks that I had not anticipated, Ernie had put one of the girls in charge of the guards and she had been swapping her affections between Kevin and Alan, she was playing a stupid game, I always knew that it was wrong to allow her and the other women to stay on and now I had been proved right. The men also told me that Ernie was going to send me to jail for five days and after asking why they told me that I was supposed to be back the day before but I knew that was wrong and it was not the only reason to have me sent to jail, there must've been something else. Almost in shock I went to see Kevin, he was awake and he told me that the other reason was that I had left a loaded RPG in the armory, I told him that he had put all those weapons in and he had locked up after himself so technically it was his responsibility but because I was in charge I was to blame, Ernie had found a way to get rid of me once and for all and I really didn't care. One holiday had just finished and another was about to start even if it was in jail, a little problem that I could handle, I went to the office to find Ernie awake and drinking coffee, I asked him why I was being sent to jail, he told me exactly what I had already been told, I tried to explain but he was not interested and the girls had gone to command to get the papers signed so that I could be taken to jail and I was to wait for them to get back, I went into the next room and I was feeling sick and looking at Ernie was only aggravating the situation. As I walked into the room I found all the officers eating breakfast and as soon as I entered they all started to laugh, that was only to be expected as it was normally me that took people to jail and now the shoe was on the other foot, I was going to jail. Whilst waiting I found out that Ernie had also jailed three others, nobody knew why but as I was about to visit them as well I would find out what I already knew, Ernie felt threatened again so he put them in jail out of the way. The girls arrived with the papers, they said they were sorry but they had nothing to do with it, they also said that they had read my article and had liked it and was I going to write anymore, I told them yes and also that they were only doing their jobs and I didn't blame them at all, these were my friends, Croatian friends and they were to remain so for as long as I was to remain in the country. Without saying a word Ernie took the papers and went to find Kevin who was to take me to jail, he was ready and we left,when we arrived in Osijek I asked Kevin for ten minutes to tell Paula what had happened, he said yes and that he would go to the shop to buy something and that he would wait for me in the car. We stopped the car on the central square and I went straight down to the press center where I knew I would find Paula I that I only had a few minutes and that I was going to jail on Ernies orders and that I would tell her about the reasons when I got out, I kissed her and left to find Kevin waiting in the car. We went straight to the jail where he dropped me off, I knew all the guards and I would have a easy time in jail but of course it was still jail. The guards gave me a prison uniform and after changing I was taken to a sort of jail cell, there I found the others who started to laugh as soon as I walked in, after I told them why I was in jail they told me why they were there and after listening it was obvious that Ernie was jailing anyone even if there was no valid reason for it, he was power crazy and somehow he had to be brought down off his throne so I decided to see Peter as soon as I was out of prison, the others said that they would see him as well and ask for a transfer, I knew deep down that they were just saying this and they would not carry it out but I would, I was determined to try and put an end to Ernie and his life style but for now I had to serve my five days in prison. That day I found out that I would only have to stay three days as it was easy to manipulate the system. The room was probably the dirtiest room that I had ever been in, we only had three cushions to sleep on and two blankets both which were smelling of damp and dirt. The three nights I slept fully clothed hoping that I didn't contact any diseases, I felt sorry for anybody that had to spend more than three days here, no one deserved this no matter what their crime was. On the second day the guards showed me the paper as my article was in it, they also said that they agreed with everything that I had written but the commander's would not see it that way and later on that afternoon I was told that Ernie and some officers had asked for me to be kept in prison for a further five days because I was constantly writing for the press and this article had upset them but the commander of the prison had told them that they could not increase my sentence and that I would be released on time, there was at least some justice here.