USP Nightingale ADMAX. The only supermaximum prison facility in North America that houses women. Nestled in a deep, isolated part of Wyoming, it would seem at first glance, to be a rather normal-looking compound. See, the government doesn't bother investing in a state-of-the-art system or a security force rivaling that of a private army. During its construction, the government had decided that the greatest defense of the prison was its natural surroundings. It was located deep in the mountains and the nearest gas station was nearly two hundred miles away. With the precarious winds and weather, any attempts of escape through helicopters or small aircraft were pointless. The single road leading to a roughly constructed highway was surrounded on both sides by ravines that made high-speed escapes impossible. Even the temperatures were disastrous, with it reaching a typical low of minus ten degrees during the night. And so the prison was actually made to be quite open. Whenever the conditions permitted, the inmates were allowed to have breaks outside or take their food there. The actual security force was abysmally small. For the nearly two hundred inmates, there was a whopping ten security guards.

ADX Nightingale isn't a normal prison. It's a prison that houses some of the most dangerous women on the planet. Arms dealers, gang leaders, terrorists, serial killers, spies. All of the enemies or threats to the nation that happened to have two X chromosomes were holed up in a single location. All of its guards were composed of females only as a result of all of the men having been driven out or killed.

Nightingale is unique for another reason. The group of women that are incarcerated happened to be some of the most beautiful on the planet. Each of the two hundred inmates could easily win beauty pageants or become successful models. It just so happened that all the guards were beauties themselves. Regular women never applied out of inferiority complexes or jealousy.

There are two types of men who apply for a guard position. The first is the occasional man who joins the force in hopes of getting sexual favors in return for better treatment. The women don't take too kindly to these types of men. Within the first week, they usually leave the prison in a body bag. The other type is the men with hero complexes who believe in "changing the lives of these women." They come preaching bullshit or about how they can live their lives to the fullest in their cells. These guys tend to be on the receiving end of countless mental barrages and venomous insults. Most don't even last a day. They tend to leave the prison in a stretcher and straightjacket.

After the last occurrence of a mental breakdown, the government ordered that no more men were allowed to join. That is, until a certain protagonist showed up.

––––––––

Simon was extremely fidgety. He was sitting on a cold chair in a white room. He glanced at one of the fake potted plants and took out his flip phone. In this day and age, a flip phone was about as ancient as you could get. As the cracked screen lit up, he took note of the time. There were still five minutes left before his appointment.

A lady dressed in a suit was sitting behind a receptionist's desk and she occasionally lifted the horned glasses she was wearing while sighing. She was wondering how in the hell this man got an exception to the no-man rule. Surely he at least knew about the inevitable outcomes every man had faced? But she didn't dare question the orders. They had come from someone very high up in the bureaucracy and it was far above her paygrade. She only fidgeted with the papers on her desk. In reality, she wasn't busy at all. She just didn't want to bother making small talk with the man sitting on the couch.

When it was time for the appointment, Simon stood up and placed his phone in the back pocket of his pants. The secretary motioned for him to go on to the blurred glass door. He thanked her and walked over. He knocked on the door and a sharp voice responded. "Come in."

He slowly opened the door and found himself before an office. It was pretty standard. A desk with a monitor. Several bookcases. A set of couches and a table. A fan in the corner. Several portraits of family members. The woman sitting behind the desk was tall and strict-looking. Her auburn hair was done in a tight bun and the wrinkles on her face weren't from smiles. She pointed towards one of the deep blue chairs. "Sit."

He didn't bother protesting the curt responses. He felt the cushion squirm under his bottom and sat up straight with his hands on his knees. The woman began rummaging through the various papers on her desk. She picked out a manilla folder and glanced up. "Simon Worchester?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Applying for a correctional officer position at ADX Nightingale?"

It was a rather standard interview. The woman asked some basic questions that he answered readily. However, Simon noticed that she seemed to be barely paying attention to his questions. She had even cut him off once and immediately asked the next one. By the time it was over, he was feeling a little bit fatigued.

The truth is, the woman wasn't paying attention at all. She was just following the procedure. In fact, Simon had already been approved for hire ages ago. Simon was a once in a lifetime opportunity for the government to reintroduce men into the correctional system at Nightingale. With several of the remaining guards quitting for various reasons, there was a dire need for new hires. After getting no new hires for over a month, the government considered lifting the ban on male guards temporarily. However, a perfect solution presented itself. Simon Worchester.

Unlike the other male applicants, Simon wasn't joining out of delusions of love or change. He just needed some money. After some background checks, it turned out that Simon had a mother sick with an unknown disease. The doctors were charging exorbitant fees that he couldn't pay. However, he couldn't just leave his mother to her fate and began actively job-seeking. His old one was giving him terrible rates for extreme hours. He was on his fifth interview when the opportunity of a lifetime came to him.

One day, several men in well-dressed suits knocked on the door to his shabby apartment. They all wore dark sunglasses and held briefcases. They introduced themselves as agents of the state. Then they gave him an offer. In return for working as a prison guard, the government would take care of his mother. He didn't even need time to think about it.

Now Simon wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed. He had barely attended classes since he was too busy taking care of his sick mother. He ended up dropping out of high school when she was finally admitted to a hospital. He was in need of a job and focused on working rather than his education. And so promises from the government made him think that his troubles had finally reached to an end. All he had to do was guard over some people. Surely it wouldn't be that bad.

Luckily for the government, Simon was rather easy to trick. He wasn't aware of the repercussions of working at ADX Nightingale. He had no idea about the casualty rates amongst male guards in that death trap. He was a little skeptical to see how close it was to the prison, but the men assured him that she would be taken care of by the best the government had to offer. So he didn't bother questioning why a prison hospital has the resources to treat a patient with an unknown illness that even regular, better-funded hospitals can't. The moment he heard that she would be transferred to a "better" hospital, he immediately took the offer even if he had to work as a prison guard in the infamous ADX Nightingale. He still had to pass the interview but he was confident in his own skills.

To play their part, the government had added a hidden clause in the contract that didn't require them to actively take care of Simon's mother. It was written in a way that made it sound as if they would, but in reality, they were fully legally allowed to neglect that term. It was written as a choice after all. But to keep up deceptions and prevent a bailout, the government decided to manipulate the prison infirmary into looking better than it really was. And so the government basically got free labor that wouldn't quit nor had to be paid.

Not knowing that he was the laughingstock of the whole Bureau of Prisons, Simon got a call on his ancient phone a couple of days later. It stated that he had been accepted into his position and that his mother had already been transferred and he had watched them take her away the other day. For his own security, he was told that she would be quarantined to prevent possible contamination from her sickness. He thought it didn't make much sense. After all, she hadn't given anyone else this disease even though there had been quite a bit of contact between himself and the doctors and nurses. But he didn't dare question the government. After getting the phone call, he packed his bags and boarded the next train to the nearest town to the prison. From there, the government would be sending transportation to shuttle him from the train station to the prison.

He stepped out into the cold country air and saw there was a prison bus awaiting him, belching dark smoke into the air. The doors opened automatically with a whoosh and a driver was sitting inside with a cap on her head. She blew a bubble with the gum in her mouth and motioned for him to take a seat. For the next five hours, he only looked out the window as the bus bounced over the rough roads. The bus stopped several times for gas and the driver got out to refill the tanks with some cans that were found in the storage compartment.

The sun was setting by the time he saw the outline of a medium-sized stone compound. The bus entered through a thin gate and parked itself outside a small building. Simon stretched and took a look around. He wanted to set up his dorm room but also see his mother. As he was about to ask the driver, he realized she had disappeared. The silence was interrupted by the stomping of several pairs of boots.

He looked the way of the noise and winced at the sudden sight of several flashlights pointed at him. There were three people dressed in uniforms and wielding flashlights and weapons. They had masks on and their baggy uniforms prevented him from seeing anything about their forms. They were all holding a walkie-talkie to their ear.

"We have the new guy outside. Do we bring him in?"

A muffled woman's voice came out from behind one of the masks. After a bit of silence, they immediately took Simon by the arm and marched him into the darkened building. He entered and was immediately shoved at a metal detector.

"Hey wait! My luggage is still outside!" he tried to protest. Sure his valuables amounted to around a hundred dollars but they were still his belongings. His cries were to no avail. The masks came off and Simon's shouts came to a still when he saw their faces. They were undeniably beauties and their cold eyes matched their looks.

The first one, a woman with long, silver hair activated a metal detector that he was then pushed into. He was then taken to another room where he proceeded to get stripped naked.

Simon was a little embarrassed. He didn't have much experience with women, having only focused on taking care of his mother for the longest time. He wasn't ugly but compared to these women he might as well be a stain on the floor. So he was feeling a little self-conscious. When he got over his embarrassment, he began to feel confused. What was happening finally broke through his dense mind. He was being treated like a prisoner, not a guard! What was going on? Did they really think he would be bringing weapons into a supermax prison?

One of the guards manhandling him noticed his look and smirked. "This is standard for every new guard. You do know that the people we're supposed to be watching over are some of the most dangerous on this planet? If they got their hands on a legitimate weapon who knows what'd happen. Anyways it's not like I enjoy doing this."

Is what she said, but the sadistic grin that she failed to hide was saying otherwise. After being given a full-body search, Simon was thrown into a final room where he sat for nearly an hour, counting the seconds on the wall-mounted clock. The room was bare asides from a bench and the clock. Someone finally came in, a woman dressed similarly to the previous three but with a yellow stripe across her cap. "Welcome to ADX Nightingale! Sorry about the rough treatment but we can't afford to loosen security. I'm Tasha Lawrence, Chief of Security here. I'll be your direct commander from now on."

She reached out her gloved hand and Simon shakily shook it. He was still reeling from the effects of his induction. Tasha then proceeded to explain some of the rules and general procedures that the guards had to follow. It was all rather simple and when she asked if he had any questions, Simon timidly raised his hand.

"This doesn't have to do with the prison, but I was told that my mother would be brought to the hospital here. Is it possible to see her?"

Tasha gave him a small smile and shook her head. "Afraid not. She'll be quarantined for a while. We don't want the prisoners or staff to get infected. Don't worry she's in good hands."

She clapped Simon's shoulder. With a last bit of advice, she told him where the guard dormitories were and left the room. Simon was left alone and he sat quietly processing all the information he had received. He eventually got up and left the room, oblivious of the cameras watching his every movement.