Spratt was forced to sit between the Puerto Rican cops who were both, by that time, on the phone with their superiors. The people in charge who were not available earlier when Spratt wanted to speak with someone about his prison placement were, now, all of a sudden, on the line. Spratt spoke directly with the head of the Puerto Rico Dept. of Justice’s Extradition Division who assured him that he would be placed in Protective Custody instead of the original prison and that he would be able to visit with his family if he would board the flight to Puerto Rico . Spratt already knew that there was not another flight to Puerto Rico until the next day and wanted to appear cooperative so that he could move on to the next chapter. His thought was that he would be placed in a holding cell with the local police dept. (that is standard procedure in extraditions) until the next flight and he would be able to contest his extradition from that facility. The Director told him point blank that he would be going to Puerto Rico on her terms and not on Spratt’s. Spratt decided that he would be best suited if he appeared cooperative because he was unsure what legal standing he had at the moment and agreed to board the next flight.
The trio then walked to the reservations desk and it was confirmed that there were no other flights to Puerto Rico until the next day. A flurry of phone calls by the agents ensued and it was decided to make reservations on the first flight. Spratt was asked to interpret as the cops were so flustered that they couldn’t even speak the little bit of English that they did know. Spratt was now the spokesperson for the trio and approached the reservations desk which was a high counter and obscured any view below waist level. The agent took the tickets and checked on changing the flight. She looked at her computer with a twist on her face and asked, “The reservation states that there are two police officers and one prisoner, is that correct?” “That’s right,” replied Spratt. “Well which one is the prisoner?” “I am”, Spratt replied and lifted his waist so that she could see the chains and handcuffs. Bewildered she asked if the cops knew that Spratt was making a change in the reservations and Spratt replied, “They are right here, the idiots just don’t speak enough English to make their own reservations.” Reservations were changed for a flight out the next morning and the reservationist gave them a discount coupon for a partner hotel close to the airport.
The cops asked Spratt to make a reservation at the hotel and handed him their phone. Spratt thought how wonderful it was to stay at a hotel instead of prison but realized that this meant that he would not be able to attract attention to delay his extradition. He decided to go with the flow…enjoy the night and protest again tomorrow before boarding the next flight. Spratt made the reservation and was told that a shuttle bus would be there shortly to pick them up. Before leaving the airport, the cops needed to buy chargers for their cell phones and asked Spratt to translate this to the man at the kiosk. Once the chargers were paid for, the cops took Spratt’s heavy box off of their suitcase and ordered him to carry it.
While waiting for the shuttle bus, talk turned to the disruption that Spratt had caused. Both cops were steaming mad as each had made plans for the night in Puerto Rico that were now disrupted. The Sergeant had family plans and Hector had a date with his girlfriend. “Too bad”, thought Spratt, “I’m a prisoner and my BEST day is worse than your worst day!” The Sergeant went on to say how he should beat Spratt’s ass tonight for causing the disruption and embarrassment but that he would wait until they were in Puerto Rico to do so.
The shuttle bus came and all of them boarded it. Spratt carried his heavy box of belongings while the cops allowed the driver to load their suitcases. Arriving at the hotel, Spratt exited the bus still handcuffed to a chain around his waist and shackles on his ankles and carrying his box. The cops waited for the driver to unload their suitcases and ushered Spratt towards the lobby. “Aren’t you going to tip the driver?” Spratt asked. “Fuck you!” replied the Sergeant.
Upon entering the Ramada Plaza Hotel, Spratt was prodded to the front desk to assist in the check in process. The clerk was bewildered by the sight that he saw but began performing his duties perfunctorily. He asked if they wanted smoking or non-smoking and Spratt told him to assign them to a smoking room. The Sergeant interjected immediately and said to assign them to a non-smoking room. “Aren’t we going to smoke tonight?” asked Spratt. The Sergeant replied, “You will never smoke again while you are in my custody motherfucker!”
The clerk assigned the trio to a ground floor room (#112) and they prodded Spratt down the hallway. Spratt was unsure as to what might happen inside the room and out of view of other people, especially handcuffed, but kept his mouth shut. Inside the room, the cops made phone calls and used the bathroom while making Spratt sit in a chair facing the wall. Spratt did his best to convince them that the trouble was over; that he had decided to do whatever they wanted; that he was going to Puerto Rico in the morning with no problems; that they had nothing to worry about with him whatsoever. The Sergeant told Spratt to shut the fuck up before he slapped him.
Spratt asked about being able to take a shower. “Shut the fuck up…you deserve a slap in the face, not a shower!” said the Sergeant. After speaking with their families, it appeared that the cops had calmed down some and jet lag may have had something to do with their being a bit weary. The Sergeant stated that he was going to go smoke a cigarette and left Spratt in Hector’s custody. Spratt was able to make small talk with Hector and get him to allow Spratt to turn around and watch TV. The Sergeant returned about a half hour later and smelled of alcohol. He leaned down to Hector and whispered something to him. Hector stood up and stated that he was going to have a cigarette as well and left the room. “Hector doesn’t even smoke”, thought Spratt. Strange.
Hector returned in about 15 minutes and the Sergeant left to “smoke” again. They took turns doing this for the next hour and a half and it became obvious that they were ‘smoking’ at the lobby bar. Hector said that the Sergeant had met a good looking girl at the Mexican restaurant off of the lobby and that both were trying to hit on her. After a while, it was painfully obvious to Spratt that these two were almost drunk. Spratt asked for a shower again.
The Sergeant jovially told Spratt that he would be allowed to take a shower but that he would be handcuffed to the handicap railing in the bathroom. Spratt didn’t care and they took off his restraints so that he could undress. Spratt went to the bathroom expecting to be handcuffed to the shower but the Sergeant came in and said, “Look, Spratt. We got off to a bad start today but now we need to move on. I’m going to let you take a shower without restraints if you promise me that you won’t try to escape.” “I promise, man, I just want a shower.” The Sergeant left while Spratt began his shower but returned in a minute with a bottle of Smirnoff that he had hidden in his suitcase and said, “Spratt, if you behave all night, I will let you smoke as many cigarettes as you want AND I will serve you a cocktail!” Spratt was amazed…coffee, pizza, cigarettes, and alcohol all in one day!!! This was almost a perfect dream for an inmate! “Of course, you can’t tell anybody if we give you a drink.” “I won’t tell anybody!” Spratt finished his shower in record time but found that half of the bottle was gone already by the time he returned to the room. The three of them spent the next hour or so drinking, smoking (except for Hector), and talking about their respective lines of work. It was a very jovial atmosphere until Spratt stated that he was hungry.
“What do you mean you’re hungry?” demanded the Sergeant, “Didn’t you eat Pizza!?” “Fuck man, that was eight hours ago!” Hector, half drunk, stated that he was hungry too. Spratt had been extradited before and knew that they had to feed him but was expecting that they would order a pizza or Chinese food, or anything that could be delivered to the room. Hector, still infatuated with the Mexican girl asked if they could eat in the restaurant. The Sergeant said, “Are you crazy!? We can’t take a handcuffed prisoner to a public restaurant!” Hector turned to Spratt and asked, “If we take you to the restaurant without any handcuffs, are you going to cause any problems?” “Nope,” replied Spratt. “See”, Hector said to the Sergeant, “Problem solved.” The Sergeant thought about this for a moment but Hector was already standing Spratt up and admonishing him on how to act in public. The Sergeant only said, “If you fuck around, Spratt, I will shoot you!” Spratt nodded in recognition of this threat and they walked out the door of the room towards the lobby.
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