My knees buckled and I started down.

One of them caught me, lifted me back up, and then punched me hard under the chin.

Head ringing. Room spinning.

I held up my hands in an attempt to block some of the blows, but it did little good.

The next time my legs gave, no one caught me.

I hit the bare, rough concrete floor hard and they started kicking me.

My vision was blurred as I covered my head with my arms and pulled my legs up into a fetal position for protection.

“Inmates,” I heard someone yell. “Inmates, face the wall with your hands behind your head. NOW. Captain, I’ll have you and the chaplain secure in just a moment,” the officer said.

I looked up. Skipper punched one of the inmates in the face and began to yell. “Get against the fucking wall, motherfuckers. Do it. Now. Or I kill every last one of you sons of bitches.”

I was in Medical being treated by Sandy Strickland, Anna next to her watching her work.

I felt like I had just been fifteen rounds with Foreman. In actuality, I only had a cut under my chin and a small abrasion on my right cheek. I had no idea where the captain was, but I found myself periodically looking over my shoulder.

“Funny how the captain didn’t sustain any injuries at all, isn’t it?” Anna said.

“Funny ha ha or not funny at all?” I said.

“You must be feeling okay if you can make jokes,” Anna said.

“I feel okay. How do I look?”

“Still the best-looking man in the institution,” Anna said.

“Best looking maybe, most beat-up certainly,” Sandy said.

31

When I arrived at the warden’s office, he was seated behind his desk, Tom Daniels and Pete Fortner, the institutional inspector, in front of it.

“Have a—” Stone began. “What happened to you? You been fighting?”

I sat down between Daniels and Fortner and told them I was attacked in Confinement.

“Pattern of behavior,” Daniels said.

Stone nodded.

“What’s that?”

Stone looked at Daniels.

Daniels said, “Chaplain Jordan, we’ve received some very serious allegations concerning your conduct while an employee of the Department of Corrections. We’ve made the decision to suspend you without pay until a thorough investigation can be conducted.”

“What?” I asked, finding it difficult to speak or even swallow. “Are you serious?”

“We’re taking this very seriously.”

“Like you did the allegations against Shutt and Skipper?” I said.

“Unlike them, there’s actual evidence against you, not just allegations and speculation.”

“Evidence of what?”

Daniels flipped through a few papers in an open file folder on his lap.

“An inmate’s wife has accused you of assault and rape in the chapel and having her husband locked up and threatened in order to keep her quiet.”

“I told you who she said did that. I had you process the crime scene.”