<strong>Prisoner, Ella Thompson<br/>Cellblock CD17</strong><br/><br/>The young woman didn't think she would find a silver lining anytime soon, still she was able to smile drawing from the other woman's seeming confidence.  It had been a while since anyone apart from the state appointed lawyer even spoke to her outside of grunts and commands so this conversation was a pleasure of sorts.  "My Dad sure didn't either."  The smile faltered with a quick sting of tears, the memory of her broken hearted father in the courtroom still raw.  Swallowing a hard lump, Ella brought her attention back to Kate.  "Yeah, a hell of a day..."<br/><br/>Loosening a hand from the bar, she wondered about delayed reactions as her fingers slipped under her hair to touch the still tender spot at the back of her neck .  "... and she didn't say a word that i got to hear...  and Anzhahh... Anzhahhleeka didn't ever say our names."  Helpless, Ella felt a strange twinge of guilt at being unable to name the girl and unsure if she'd even be seen again.  Though there was no envy over Kate's peculiar cellmate, the prospect of being alone wasn't so appealing either.  Always well loved and cared for, even Rich had kept her in a pampered cocoon, she had never been on her own.  Suddenly the short distance between their cells felt like a saving grace, a sliver of silver.<br/><br/>"I wound up here...  by mistake."  She was sure all prisoners said that, but in Ella's case, everyone knew the truth of it; her lawyer, the police, the judge.  Expecting to see doubt in the woman's eyes, she sighed remembering that she couldn't turn on Rich if she had wanted to.  She was kept in the dark about his dealings and knew nothing more than that they smoked a little weed and had a few parties over the two years she'd been with him.<br/><br/>"I mean the drugs were there .. in my car..  but they weren't mine.  I know it sounds lame...  "  The prosecution had hoped to press him into some sort of confession to 'lighten' her sentence.  With the gun coming into evidence the stakes got higher and at the last minute Rich backed out of the deal claiming the gun was a plant.  Unbeknown to Ella the physical she received recording and reporting her perfect health was not standard practice and soon after her trial was rushed to completion, her sentence to a corporation owned prison a shock to everyone.<br/><br/>"The police said they were my boyfriend's and he could save me, but i don't know... "  Chewing at her lip Ella's blue eyes clouded with the memory of his forelorn apology in the courtroom as they took her away after the sentencing.  "It all happened so fast...   "  Pausing to take a deep breath, she looked directly into the others eyes, "I can believe the drugs were his, but the gun... I don't know.  There was an evidence mix up so it came late into the trial and...  Rich..  he was loving and... fun loving."  The memory of her lover and the life they shared softend her expression only briefly; reality wasn't allowing for sentimentality.  "i know he lied about the drug dealing stuff, but... i just can't believe he used a gun.  ever."<br/><br/>Unknown to Ella and the police Rich did have a gun secreted away in his home, he dealt with some serious players in the drug world after all and some of them knew where he lived, but the gun 'found' in her car was not his at all.  He wondered why they bothered planting a gun when there was a 'no tolerance' drug law already in place.  When Ella was taken into police custody one guard took particular note of her youth and health and made a call.  The girl would do time regardless how deep her involvement was so the spotter was more than willing to make a bit of money off her tragic circumstances.  The gun was to ensure a long enough sentence to qualify her for corporate prison.  Hello Gen-Tech.