AN: I have a sick mind. I had "Things you see in a Graveyard" stuck in my head, then "Cell Block Tango." The fusion of the two gave way to this.
Don't own Repo! The Genetic Opera (I highly encourage for you to see it just once if you haven't already) or Chicago (same here).
*****Warning! Contains possible spoilers for Repo!*****
Rotti Largo took a quick look around the Crucifixus County Jail before continuing to the interior courtyard. There was supposed to be a press conference today to celebrate the five-year anniversary of the Murderess' Row, a newer section of the jail built especially for women who had been accused of murder. Since the building of the jail, crime rate in both Crucifixus and Sanitarium Square had dropped by two-point-five percent, a number Rotti had memorized especially for this occasion.
No one in the papers were exactly sure how a jail with only seven inhabitants could decrease crime by that somewhat impressive amount. Things that the press considered included facilities, utilities, and overall treatment of the women while in jail, but every investigation found that the jail excelled in providing all three. ("Innocent until proven guilty," one warden had pointed out during an interview for Warped Weekly.) But today, the exclusive, appointment-only interview with the owner of the jail, GeneCo, and three-fourths of the human population would, hopefully, reveal the exact reason why the facility had made such an impact that it had.
Of course, to prepare for such an interview, Rotti had to know the information to give, first off. And truthfully, no one was really sure the exact reason why a state-of-the-art penitarium would cause a drop in crime. If anything, they were expecting crime to increase so people would have the access to the jail.
Vermin killing vermin, Rottisimo had thought at the time. Kill the weak, so that the strong may thrive. Although, the organ epidemic of recent decades had already done a great deal of that. But this, this would lead to a whole new era! Not only would they have to be strong enough to survive this, they would also have to have the brains to make it through the trial. A rather intricate, grotesquely beautiful take on Natural Selection was all it was, really. No harm. Only good, for the population as a whole.
He proceded to the courtyard, where the seven girls, all accused of first-degree murder, were being watched over by Matron Morton. Rotti knew the stories of only a few of them. The first one, Elizabeth Littler, better known as Liz, killed her "roommate" mainly out of temper. A fine match for Luigi, he had thought when he originally searched through Liz's file. The only question would be, which one would kill the other first? He had files on the other girls, of course; Annabella "Annie" Whittle; June Cameron; an immigrant only known as "The Hunyack;" Mona Lipschitz; Velma Leona Kelly; and Roxanne "Roxie" Hart. It was only that he never got around to reading their files was all.
The paternal Largo made his way to wear their chairs were set up on the (fake) patch of green grass set in the dead center of Crucifixus County Jail. If the jail itself wasn't the reason crime went down, he thought to himself, then perhaps these ladies would know the true reason why. He admired almost all of them for their strength in taking down at least one man-the Hunyack he exactly wasn't sure of, though-but he couldn't let his small flame of pride show. A thought fluttered into his mind; you're more proud of a murderer than your own children; but he swatted it away as soon as it came. Besides, he had to install fear in these people! Wasn't that how the court system is supposed to work? And you can't exactly make a murderer cower down with the fear of God in them by letting them know you have pride in their actions. So Rotti pulled down his sternest, roughest, and lowest voice when it came to addressing the seven criminals and their matron.
However, as he came closer, he caught a face to face glimpse of one of the women. Brunnette, bob-cutted hair, eyes that he couldn't tell were brown or hazel, and a smirk on her face almost as if she were satisfied by being imprisoned. He made a note to talk to her, especially, before the interview. There were a couple others he wanted to talk to as well; one that looked Hispanic, with wavy brown hair, and one that was African-American. They seemed like strong people as well. But there was still something about that one, the one who was smiling...
"Mr. Largo?" The matron's question almost sounded like a friendly greeting. Almost. "Did you want to talk to the girls?" At first he was surprised by the question; but then he remembered that Morton had talked to him briefly about the interview about a week prior.
"Of course, of course," he said, plastering a smile onto his face. Truth be told, it had not been a good week since he last talked to "Mama" Morton, and he didn't really feel like talking to her right then. He was just focused on talking to that one brunnette, still with a smirk on her face.
"Ms. Morton, I would prefer it if you left me and the girls alone for just a few minutes. I'm sure that they would feel more comfortable without a warden watching over their shoulders." She left the courtyard, and he could swear he heard her mumble a few choice words under her breath. No time to deal with her now, though; he had a murderess to interview. He was fairly sure it was the Kelly girl,but he wasn't exactly sure. Nethertheless, the name seemed to be correct, so he tried it.
"Ms. Kelly?" Right name, right face. She turned quickly, with a look of mock innocence on her face.
"Mr. Largo? Are you sure you're asking for the right person? And it's Velma, if you care to use that instead of 'Ms. Kelly.'" He smiled a bit, internally. This one was hell on wheels for sure. But he couldn't break the near-military bearing; it would spoil the look of near-terror on the others. Especially that blonde on the end. He never really cared for blondes, anyway.
"Yes, Ms. Ke-Velma. I do wish to speak to you." He came closer to her, standing just in front of her chair. "You are aware that in a few weeks, you are to be put on trial for two first-degree murders?" He tried to make his tone as dark as he could without being too intimadating. Not that she really seemed the type to be intimidated.
"Yes, Mr. Largo. I am aware of the charges." Hazel, he realises. Her eyes aren't brown, after all. But that smirk, that grim little grin, was still etched onto her face as if she were born that way. A murderous Chesire Cat.
"Then, Velma, if you are aware that you may possibly hang in a few weeks, why do you smile like that?" He crossed his arms and looked down at her; a favourite pose of his. But despite the sudden increase of intimidation that he could practically feel beaming off of himself, that damned smile was still there.
"Mr. Largo, I assure you, if it is a problem then I suppose I will stop smiling. But, Mr. Largo, can you keep a secret?" Secret? So there was a real reason she was smiling! He felt like jumping, but remained cemented in place.
"I guess I can, Velma." She motioned for him to lean down a bit before whispering,
"But this has to be a secret. If Charlie's mom's lawyer finds out, I'm dead."
"Of course, of course." Forget near-military bearing. This was the most casual that he's been in months.
"The reason I'm smiling, Mr. Largo, is because my husband was cheating on me." Rotti was a bit taken aback by this statement; from his recent occurances with lovers, this one was one that he knew from first hand experiance didn't lead to eterneal smiles. Velma seemed to understand this, and continued.
"Of course, that's not the entire reason. It's mostly because he's not able to cheat on me anymore." She leaned back, the grin wider than ever. It took Rotti a second to realize that she had just admitted being guilty to the murder of her husband, but without admitting it, he realized. He suddenly realized why he liked this one so much. This one interview was a gift, he was sure of it. For it was only a few weeks ago that his own lover had left him for another. Rotti had been trying to figure out a way to get back at her, to make Marni pay for what she had done. And here the answer had all but fallen into his hands.
If you'd have been there, if you'd have seen it, I betcha you would have done the same!
AN: Yes, I do realize that it's slightly OOC for Velma to admit to being guilty, especially to someone as powerful as Rotti. But, as he said, she never really came out and said "I'm guilty, you SOB!" so I suppose she's justified.
Well I hope you enjoyed this! Please review if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions! Thank you!