Gotta Get Outta This Prison Cell (etc.)

OoC: Finally, I got at least something worked out, yay. And if you knew the process I had to take to get this from my laptop to my old family computer, you'd probably laugh a bit. Well, here it is then. Enjoy.

Reserved for et cetera!

ACT OO:

The window was wide open, but there was not a fresh burst of air to awaken the distilled air, and the perspiration gathered in beads around Julia's collarbone and the ring of hair around her head. She sighed in discomfort, but had grown untiringly used to the feeling of being stuck in a scratchy snow white straight jacket - her arms being immobile for at least three quarters of her life. Her back was rested against the metal bars of a steel chair, that grew disheveled by build up of grime and dirt; her old pair of faded Chuck Taylor's resting atop another.

There was a rapture of silence, and a loud clash of metal echoed through the halls of the asylum, a body coming to a clumsy thud on the ground, followed by hissed curses, and exclamations of pain - someone had lost their footing and found themselves in a mess of steel and aluminum, "For the love of all!"

A smile crawled across Julia's face and she let her head fall back, her eyes falling upon the boring white ceiling of her holding cell. She laughed quietly to herself: her friend had arrived, and with style at that, "Oi, Julia? You awake, mate?"

Julia lifted her head as the Australian manly accent flowed into her room, unable to settle on the padded walls, so the question lingered, "Yes. Come in."

There was muffled conversation behind the door, followed by a jangle of keys, and then the click and bangs of the door lock coming undone; the door squeaked open, and a man wearing brown leather shoes stepped in, a brown business suit falling over his lanky body parts. His elbows were positioned awkwardly and Julia noticed the faded fabric that teased where the man's knees would stick out whenever he sat down. The suit was a few inches to small for the young man. The man patted his torso, fixed his sleeves and looked up at her with a dazzling smile of pearl teeth - which contrasted awfully with the man's worn down tie and suit, "How's she going?"

"Lovely, thank you." Julia nodded, softly, "And how are you, dear friend?"

"Oi, I tell you." the man sighed, looking around the room for a place to comfortably sit. His eyes settled on a wooden chair of sorts, and he sat hastily, his chest resting against the back, "I'm still trying to work on the case, Ju. It hasn't gotten any better, but I say it hasn't gotten any worse, either. You're lucky you got som' one like me workin' on yer case."

"Yes, yes, I appreciate your efforts, Sir." Julia nodded again, averting her gaze outside the window once more.

"Though, I just got in touch with someone that may be able to pull a little tingle here; and if it all works out to sorts, then you're a free women." Sir spoke, quite proud of himself.

"Yes, yes, of course." Julia, absentmindedly, nodded again. She didn't think it was a good idea that she be granted the right to leave this place. She knew that she wasn't out of her mind crazy, but she did have something about her that wouldn't mix good if she were placed in the outside world. However, since Sir had come into the picture, she'd been having reoccurring feelings that maybe there was something out there that she was met to be mixed with.

Julia continued her adventure in her thought land, as Sir was sited a few feet away from her, spurring into another tsunami of self praise and worship about just how ace he was at being a case worker. The same thing during every visit he paid her - rarely would they achieve something that would benefit either of them; but Sir was working his magic (or so he liked to say), and something was being done. By the way things were looking, Julia was once step closer to leaving this place, if not forever, at least awhile.

OoC: Now, now, et cetera.. you can come however you'd like.. It's a Crossroads, so maybe you might have to do some thinking as well.

Jennifer tightened the laces on her shoes, thinking over her assignment. CORE had assigned her with something that didn't quite fit her job description, but it was an easy task, and she was apparently the only unit available and in the right position to complete it. Instead of her usual armor, she was wearing a nice black business suit. She was sitting in the passenger seat of an unmarked CORE black transport van. Driving the vehicle was a silent man in a typical unmarked CORE black guard uniform.

The van pulled up to the locked gates of the mental institution and stopped. The driver rolled down his window to speak with the booth outside. He simply pulled out an identification card, and the man pushed a button to open the gates, waving them through. The guard drove the van into the parking lot, but instead of parking in one of the spaces, he pulled it up to the curb beside the front doors. They had some stuff in the back they needed to unload, and the closer they were to the building, the easier it would be.

The driver left the car idling, and Jennifer stepped out to the sidewalk outside. The driver wouldn't leave the vehicle unless he had to, and Jennifer didn't expect he would have to. She walked around to the back of the van, which was already opened. A pair of CORE guards, who had been inside the back with the cargo, were waiting for her. She pulled out a small key from her pocket, and handed it to one of the guards. He went into the back of the van, and used it to unchain the cargo from the van, where it had been chained up for security.

Both guards then stepped out of the van. The first guard wasn't carrying anything, and instead reached for his electro-baton at his belt. He turned it on, and it hummed as it charged. The baton would administer an incapacitating electric shock to anyone he hit with it. The other guard led the cargo out, carefully. The cargo happened to be a person, whose arms were handcuffed behind their back. The person was dressed in a black jumpsuit, and even their head was covered by it. If Jennifer hadn't already known, she wouldn't have been able to tell if it was a man or woman.

One guard led the woman toward the doors, and the other one followed closely behind, his baton ready. Both of them followed Jennifer, who led them all into the lobby of the mental institution. The person at the front desk looked up as they entered, and then asked them their business. Jennifer walked up to the desk, pulling out an identification card. "We have another patient for the institution. High security, level 7 risk," Frost said. The lady at the desk raised her eyebrows. It wasn't often that the institution got a level 7 patient. The last one had escaped, killing at least ten employees in the process. She hastily waved them through, opening the security doors for them.

The guards made their way towards level 7, but Frost stayed in the lobby. She had another task to complete. Jennifer told the front desk where she needed to go, and the lady there pointed her in the right direction. Jennifer entered the door into level 4, making her way down the hall. Soon she entered the cell block, passing by many cell doors. The people here weren't as out of their minds as the ones in level 6, the hopeless ones, but they weren't exactly mentally stable either. Some of them were banging on their cell doors, begging to be set free. They were worse than the level 1 patients, who were the conveniently "legally insane" ones, who managed to avoid a jail sentence by pleading insanity.

Frost thought over the number in her head, and read the numbers on the various solitary confinement doors she passed. It was a while before she found the door she was looking for. An institution guard was standing outside, a ring of keys in his hand. He asked Jennifer what her business was, informing her that the patient beyond this door already had a visitor. Frost handed him her identification, and he picked it up to look at it closer. He raised an eyebrow suspiciously, but handed it back and turned towards the door. He rapped on it a couple times, getting the attention of whoever was inside. "Got another visitor. An important one." He then started unlocking the door.

ooc: sorry it took so long. wasn't sure how to get Jennifer into an asylum.

OoC: Sorry for taking so bloody long. Had a dead period of nonwriting there for a while. <3

Julia's head turned instantly to the sounds of the doors becoming unlocked, the various clicks and clangs rubbing her suddenly aroused nerves, turning them raw. What was going on? Julia knew about her visitors, and there was only one, and that was the bony man sitting in front of her right now, who also turned in skeleton head towards the unexpected arrival of a stranger. Julia had even felt it coming, and this scared her. Even know she couldn't feel anything - which ironically sent chills of fear down her spine. Julia was normally good at reading people and situations and calling out the blows that were to come, and most of the time getting them right. However, at this moment, she was getting nothing.. but was it really so bad?

"Aye!" Sir exclaimed, getting up from his chair quickly, "Now, you be knowin' how Julia don't get no other visitor 'cept me!" He started towards the door as it slowly creaked open, revealing a rally of people Julia was unfamiliar with, "Now, how can I be helpin' you good people?"

Before anyone could answer, Julia's eyes fell upon the first person she had seen, and the young woman who exchanged glances with her gave Julia a unreassuring feeling in the pit of her stomach. A series of images shot through her mind and Julia was unable to catch any of them. Something was going to happen between the two, but Julia had a hard time figuring it out.

When the prison guard had finally disengaged the last of the locks, he opened up the door. Inside the prison cell was two people. One of them was the patient, a young female sitting in a chair and restrained inside a straitjacket. Typically, mental institutions didn't use straitjackets anymore, due to them being considered inhumane, but there was the occasional exception to that rule. Also in the room was a visitor, a lanky man in a brown business suit that was at least one size too small. Before the door was even opened all the way, the man got up from the chair he was sitting in and began to speak in a thick Australian accent.

"Aye! Now, you be knowin' how Julia don't get no other visitor 'cept me! Now, how can I be helpin' you good people?" the man asked. Jennifer looked over him, examining him, gauging his strengths and weaknesses. It was something she did mostly out of habit due to her training. This was Sir, who was the caseworker of the patient, Julia Anne. With few exceptions, Sir was the only visitor allowed in Julia's cell, perhaps justifying his heated reaction to the prison guard allowing Jennifer to enter.

"You must be Sir," Frost said, indicating the man. "And you must be Julia Anne, yes?" she said, glancing at the girl. Neither one objected, and before they could answer Jennifer continued. "Now, no need to get all worked up, Sir. I'm here on official business." She briefly pulled out her badge and held it up, before putting it back into her pocket. They probably wouldn't recognize the CORE logo or understand what it meant, but it hardly mattered. "My name is Jennifer Frost, and I've been sent by an official government organization to immediately release mental patient Julia Anne from the institution." She didn't specify which organization of the government she worked for, and hoped that Sir wouldn't ask. Technically, she didn't really work for the government at all.

"I have the papers here," Jennifer said, pulling a manila folder out from inside her black business suit. The folder contained all the necessary papers, signed by all the necessary people, for making Julia Anne a free person. All she had to do to be released from the mental hospital now was to sign one of the papers, something Jennifer realized now would be somewhat difficult with a straitjacket on. Even if the straitjacket were to be removed, depending on how long the jacket had been on, her arms were probably in no state to be used.

That shouldn't be a problem though. As Julia Anne's caseworker, Sir could sign the papers in her place. Jennifer opened up the folder and removed the appropriate paper. "Now, if you'd just sign here, Julia can be on her way to freedom," Jennifer said, holding the paper out to Sir.

It happened rather quickly, the whole motion of Jennifer Frost entering the prison cell to the point where Sir was being offered an outstretched hand, which would evidently end to a quick and painless release for Julia; all Sir had to do was outstretch his hand as well, and scribble his authority across a dotted line. He didn't though, and the hesitant look on Sir's face told Julia that he had no intentions to do so.

"Jennifer Frost," Julia Anne spoke calmly, in an inquiring voice, "I do believe we're entitled to know more about why exactly you're here, and what exactly caused such an immediate and easy release on my part."

Julia Anne scuffled her feet, repositioning herself on the rusty steel chair, then she spoke again, "Don't get me wrong. Such a quicken move, though entirely sketchy, is slightly appreciated, as it saves Sir here some time and stress."

"Aye now, Julia." Sir spoke coming in between the conversation, "I sure ain't appreciating anything this here badge flapping lass is bringing. This 'ere is my client, and I'm as hell ain't giving 'er to you so easily, 'specially since I ain't had no word from my supervisor about you."

Julia Anne rose to her feet, a deep sigh escaping the folds of her straight jacket, and met a glance with Sir, "Excuse me, Sir, but just allow for Miss Frost to speak with us a little bit more, and then I will decide who releases me."

Sir's face turned several different shades of red as he tried to retain his anger. He bit his tongue hard and forced himself back unto the chair he had so abruptly arose from only moments ago.

Sir sat back down in his chair, his face changing into a wrathful burning red. Jennifer shifted her weight and frowned a slight bit. This might be a bit more difficult than she had hoped, and she had been put into an uncomfortable situation. She slowly returned the pale yellow sheet of paper into the manila folder, and then put the entire folder back inside her suit. She took a deep breath, and looked Sir in the eyes, addressing him first.

"Now, Sir, let me assure you, you are not giving your client over to anyone. The papers are simply to release her from the medical institution, as I do believe you have been trying to do for quite some time now. All you have to do is sign the sheet and neither of you ever sees me again. Julia can go home, a free woman." Jennifer began. She could tell they were still both confused about who she was and wondering why she was releasing Julia Anne. She could explain everything, but she could only hope that they would be satisfied with her explanations. In the end, though, all it really came down to was how much Julia wanted to be released. Certainly she couldn't deny the opportunity she had been waiting for so long?

Jennifer looked around the room for a moment. Despite the wide open window on the back wall (a convenience she was sure few mental patients were granted) the air was stuffy and humid. She couldn't wait to get out of this prison cell. Frost looked back at the now shut and locked door behind her, and then into the eyes of Julia Anne, who was now standing. "Now, I am here solely because my employer has sent me here. They have heard about your situation and for their own reasons have decided to give you a hand." She took another deep breath, keeping her voice calm. CORE didn't usually send her on these kind of missions, and she wasn't used to directly dealing with people like this. Obviously it was just another way that CORE was trying to train her and make her a better agent. "I can't tell you entirely what their reasons are, as they haven't told me that information. All I know is that I am here to release Julia Anne, and I have all the proper documents and authority to do so. That should be all you need to know too."

Reaching into her suit pocket again, Frost pulled out the pale tan cardstock folder. "Now, I do suppose you can stay in this stuffy cell if you really want to." She once again pulled out the important yellow sheet of paper that needed to be signed. "Sir seems to be doing a well enough job on your case, I'm sure he can have you out of here on his own in time." She kept the verbal irony of that last statement as subtle as possible, while still getting her point across. Pulling a black ballpoint pen from her pocket, she continued. "On the other hand, you can simply sign this paper and be out of here today. Think of it as your 'get out of jail free card.' Read every piece of paper if you feel you have to, go ahead and read the fine print if you'd like, there's nothing insincere about it. These papers are all as official as it gets, and they're right here ready to be signed." She held the piece of paper and the pen out towards Sir, who was still sitting down, though not fuming as furiously as before.

Jennifer's eyes wandered between Julia and Sir as she waited for them to respond. She hoped they would just go along with it already so she could go home and get her paycheck. Frost wasn't planning on leaving until Julia Anne was released from the mental institution, no matter what it took. Even if she had to pull out her other manila folder, the slightly less sincere one. The one with the court order in it. The one with the arrest warrant in it. The one with the gun in it.

They could take the easy route, or the hard route, either way was fine with her. In the end, CORE paid her the same.

Julia felt Sir tense up in his chair, his body hesitate to reach out and grab the pen that led to an easy release for Julia. An easier one than he was able to provide for her. However, Sir had been hoping for a long, winding break of freedom for Julia. He needed time. Time to put things together. To make sure that everything was in place before she was released. His mind reeled around the insignificant amount of things he was able to accomplish with her still in this place. He had so many more things to do. But what could he say now? In this situation? Sir could lie, but Julia was too smart for that, and her eyes would instantly flare up at the thought of him hiding anything away from her. Sir had come to know Julia quite well in these past few years of working with her, and he could only slightly comprehend what she was capable of.

Sir swallowed hard. He had panicked, and caused a scene. Surely Julia would wonder why he was being so touchy about letting her go with such an easy release. Maybe he could play it off? He could act offended that he was unable to release Julia on his own attempt. That he cared so much about her, that he wanted to be the link that connected her to freedom. He had that covered; but there was no way that he could make something up so quickly. To give Julia and this lady a valid reason on why he needed her to stay here longer. Afterall, if he told Julia that he only acted in rage because he cared for her, then wouldn't something like this be an ultimate gesture of kindess?

It was too late now. Sir had to sign these papers. Let her go, and find some other way to go about his plans. So, he did that. His throat tightened as he scrawled his name across the dotted line. He dropped the pen from his hand and shot up from his chair so fast, that both Julia and Jennifer Frost jumped in surprise. He folded his arms, his fists clenched and glared at Jennifer, "There."

Julia didn't say anything. She just looked at Sir. Examining his face. He had done something he hadn't planned on, and it hindered him. He was obviously angry, but also looked to be thinking about something. Julia became a bit baffled at this.

Jennifer cleared her throat and soundlessly took the signed paper. She nodded at Julia and Sir.

"Now." Julia spoke, "What next?"

Finally, after a long and tense moment, Sir reached out to take the pen and paper from Jennifer Frost. Jennifer couldn't help but think that something wasn't right. Sir seemed to be too uneasy about the whole situation, and his unease was in turn making Jennifer rather uneasy herself. Sir appeared to be altogether quite hesitant to sign the papers, and Frost couldn't quite figure out why that might be. CORE had informed her before her mission started that she should keep an eye on him, and now she was beginning to understand why. He seemed too suspicious, like he was hiding something, some sort of secret motive.

Holding the papers, Sir hesitated for a moment. His eyes ran back and forth across the paper, looking at the text and supposedly reading it all to make sure it was legit. Frost wasn't sure if he was actually reading the text, however, of if he was just stalling for time, trying to think of some way out or some method to fulfill whatever his hidden motives were. A long period of uneasy silence passed before Sir finally put pen to paper. He quickly scrawled his name across the appropriately marked dotted line on the bottom of the pale yellow sheet. From the tightness of his neck, the tenseness of his clenched jaw, and the slick and shiny sheen of sweat forming on his forehead, Jennifer could tell that he was quite reluctant to put his name on that form.

After finishing his haphazardly drawn signature, Sir dropped the ballpoint to the ground and shot up so suddenly from his chair that Jennifer took a surprised step back out of shock. Quickly regaining her composure, Frost tried to loosen the tense muscles in her back and shoulders, trying not to betray her own nervousness. The social worker folded his arms over one another, clenched his fists closed, and glared at Jennifer. "There," he uttered through closed teeth.

For a moment, Jennifer just stared at him, not sure what to think. Uncomfortable under Sir's incessant gaze, she broke eye contact with him to take a quick glance at Julia. She was studying Sir's unusual behavior as well, and seemed to be just as confused as Jennifer about his attitude. Finally, to clear the unsettling silence that had fallen thick upon the room, Frost cleared her throat and reached out to accept the signed paper. Quickly she returned the paper to the manila folder it had originated from, scrawling both her signature and the word "approved" on the outside of the folder with a felt pen she had removed from her jacket. Putting the folder back into her suit jacket, she nodded at the two individuals, as if to confirm that her work was done.

A second passed, and it seemed no one was quite sure what to do. Putting words to this question, Julia spoke up. "Now. What next?"

"Well," Jennifer began, "now you're free. Technically," she said, directly addressing the former patient. "You have several options now. Your first option is to take these papers to the front desk, escorted either by me or by the guard standing outside of this door if that would make you more comfortable." She exchanged a suspicious glare with Sir, who seemed to be as untrusting of her as she was of him.

"From there, someone will remove your restraints and you can walk out the front door yourself," Frost continued. "Your second option is to have someone, either myself or the guard, or Sir," she added on the last option with a hint of contempt, "take the papers to the front desk while you stay put here. Once the papers have been registered, someone will be sent back here to retrieve you and remove your restraints, and you can go free.

"Either way, these papers must be registered and confirmed at the front desk before the hospital can consider them official. If it would be easiest for you, I can just take them myself and one of the hospital guards will be sent back here shortly to free you. Or, I can give Sir the papers and he can take them. Whatever you wish, Julia Anne." Jennifer finished her speech with a short smile, hoping to lighten the heavy mood some. Her job was almost over, and the hard part had passed. It would only be a short matter of time now before the papers were handed over and she could go home, several thousand dollars richer.

Nothing could go wrong now, not after so much had gone according to plan.