CHAPTER TWO: ESCAPE

As always, Norman found himself here. He had no idea why this was the environment which built itself around him, but it was constantly the same, like some bad dream. On the surface of it, it seemed normal - the sleek modernism of the bar; the soft yellow light; the clinking of the glasses. But the longer he stayed, and the deeper he looked, the more wrong it all looked. The walls at the far end were half-built and in the gaps were pockets of bleak darkness. That rich illumination was from gaudy slabs of gold which resembled disassembled pixels in a malfunctioning simulation. The sound of the glasses was the work of just one bartender. The rest of the bar was empty. It always was.

Inevitably, the bartender came over to Norman. Norman's fingers slipped off the keys of the piano, jarring an incorrect note. He slumped forward and disturbed the sheet music. "What will it be, sir?" the man asked.

"How about the identity of the Origami Killer?"

The tender - who Norman had started referring to as Lloyd - gave a sympathetic smile. "Trouble with the case?"

"You could say that." Norman pushed himself up and started the piano piece again. It was the only thing which held him together when he found himself here. C'mon, no wrong notes this time. "Blake thinks Ethan Mars is the culprit."

"And you don't?"

"No. It just - it doesn't make sense. The killer is methodical, cold-blooded. Ethan doesn't fit that psychological profile. He loves his son more than anything. I can't see him murdering eight boys and then kidnapping Shaun. There's no way."

Lloyd, wiping down a glass which would never be clean, tilted his head at him. "You're relying on your instincts, sir?"

"Yeah. But not just that. The evidence doesn't match up. The geo-localisation would be way off if Ethan was the killer. Not that Blake gives a damn. Somewhere out there, he's probably still trying to beat a confession outta him."

"You tried to stop him?"

Norman huffed. "It's like standing between a bull and a red flag. And Captain Perry is up in the crowd, cheering that bastard on."

"Well, sir, maybe it's best to review the evidence again."

"Yeah, I know, I know." He didn't mention how sore his eyes were after sifting through it for so long, or how mixed his mind felt, like that far wall slowly becoming unbuilt. But Lloyd must know already. He was in his head, wasn't he? This bar wasn't real. None of this fucking charade was. It was a messed-up projection, here to give Norman someone to talk to. A goddamn virtual shrink session.

He sighed, scrubbing his hands over his face in the vain hope that all this might go away. How the hell had he let this get so far?

"Sir, if you don't mind, may I ask you a question?"

"Sure." Norman had given up on the piano now. Too many wrong notes, even when he hit the right keys. This part of the ARI was starting to fracture already.

"How far are you willing to go to prove Ethan Mars' innocence?"

Damn, Lloyd, that's a good one. "I'd stake my life on it," he said without thinking.

Lloyd accepted the answer without even a change of expression. He nodded in that studious way of his and carried on cleaning his glass. "Maybe you do know what to do then, sir. Review the evidence and prove your man is not guilty. Just..." He paused, glancing around as if someone might hear them. There was still no one else in the bar. "Try not to overindulge in - you-know-what."

The warning didn't even touch Norman. He had heard it from Lloyd too many times, and from himself too (or was that the same thing?). Either way, he wasn't very good at listening. "I'm trying," he said lamely. "But it gets more and more difficult. Every time."

As if to prove his point, the bar began to melt around him. The piano was the first to go, fragmenting into little black glass shards. They carved a path across the floor, cracking it open and sucking the rest of the room into the gap. It was like shaking the inside of a kaleidoscope and suddenly realising that the pieces didn't actually make any sense. It hurt Norman's head. He closed his eyes behind the ARI glasses and lifted his hands. Only when they touched solid wood did he dare look again.

He was back at his desk. He knew that he was sitting in his office at the station, but the ARI constructed the surface of Mars around him. Mars. Christ, experimental reality software had a sick sense of humour.

Norman didn't bother to change the preset environment. He had gotten used to the hot colours and the dust. In front of him, the planets were slowly rotating around the stark sky. Norman ignored them and opened up the virtual cube containing the evidence. Something new popped up. CCTV from the park the day Shaun Mars went missing. He circled it and watched the grainy images of a car creeping along the road. Seen heading South 16.02 and North-West 16.37, matching the times Ethan had said Shaun had disappeared. Orange writing started to appear alongside the footage. A blue 1983 Chevrolet Malibu, reported stolen 2005. It might be the Origami Killer's car.

Norman swept it away and cycled through the rest of the clues he had already gone over extensively. The orchid that was found on the chest of every victim. The pollen trail leading to it. The blood on the most recent corpse's leg at the railroad tracks. And, of course, the eponymous Origami figure. It summed up the modus operandi of the killer - calm, collected, able to twist and fold the case into whatever he wanted. Norman already felt like he had been bent about all over the place. If he was an Origami figure, he'd be a crumpled reject on the floor.

An unmarked, extra clue was flashing. The Citizen ID card of a Jackson Neville, the man suspecting of involvement in the theft of the Chevy. Norman pulled it up to examine it closer. Jackson - or Mad Jack, as the ARI flagged up - grimaced out from his photograph. He had been tangled in a string of crimes, and considered very dangerous. Who wasn't in this damn case? Even the cops were. Norman flicked through the available info on Jack. It seemed he owned a junkyard and auto-body shop out on the city limits. If he remembered who he supplied the Chevy to, Norman would have a new lead.

And he would take anything right now. Anything but Ethan Mars.

He was done here. With some relief, Norman exited ARI. The hot vista of the red planet faded around him, back into the dull, dusty tones of his office. He took off his glasses and stashed them into his jacket pocket. He was glad to see his hands weren't shaking, and there was no sick feeling in his throat. It was always a risk coming out of ARI. The thing was still an extremely new FBI experiment. Sometimes, Norman doubted that he should even have it. The Triptocaine that he constantly kept on him was a glaring red sign of that. It was meant to deal with the side-effects of the added reality software, but...

Well. He couldn't dwell on that now.

He rose to his feet, lurched a little (damn it) and went for the door. He had Mad Jack to go pay a little visit to. But before that, there was something else. His mind was made up.

Out in the lobby, Perry was standing over Blake's desk. They ignored Norman as he passed. "Has Ethan Mars confessed yet?" Norman overheard Perry ask.

"Not yet. The guy lost consciousness," Blake said, unable to keep the smugness from his voice. "But I'll get more outta him later."

"He's tougher than he looks," Perry commented. "You've done an excellent job so far, Lieutenant. I'm holding a press conference in a couple of hours. I'll be sure to mention your name."

Not mine, Norman thought. He didn't care. He didn't give a damn about getting his name out, or using any old suspect to wrap this case up just for the publicity of it. He was here to do it right, and fair.

"How far are you willing go to prove Ethan Mars' innocence?" Lloyd said in his head.

Norman opened the door to the office adjoining the interrogation room. Through the one-way mirror, he could see the warden standing over Ethan, who was still slumped on the floor, arm twisted up to link with the handcuff bar on the table. The camera looking through the glass was blinking red again. Before he could change his mind, he turned it off. Now, he noticed, his hands were shaking.

The warden gave him a sidelong glance as he went to the interrogation room next. Norman kept his eyes off Ethan. "Leave us alone," he said firmly.

The officer cleared his throat awkwardly. "Lieutenant Blake gave specific orders to watch the prisoner."

"I'll keep an eye on him. I just want a few words."

He shifted a little, caught between the brash lieutenant and this young outsider. As if Norman needed any more signals that protocol was being broken and his authority wasn't acknowledged here. He thought the cop might disobey him for a moment, but then, begrudgingly, he exited the room. Norman went straight for Ethan.

"Christ, Ethan, are you alright?" He hooked his hands under Ethan's arms, and slowly started to pull him up. Ethan groaned, halfway between out of it and conscious. He slumped against Norman and Norman tried to ignore how weak he felt beneath his sweater. He helped him back into the chair which had been thrown into the corner. "Shit. Oh, shit, Ethan."

Blake had done a number on the poor man. His right eye was fused closed, an ugly bruise starting to form around it. Blood spilled from his nose and over a split lip. He was panting harshly now he was up. "That son of a bitch," Norman heard himself hiss.

"I've gotta save Shaun," Ethan managed. Of course his first waking thoughts were about his son.

"I know."

"I'm the only one who can save him. I've gotta get out of here."

Norman swallowed. He saw his future suddenly playing out before him, like an ARI simulation creeping into reality. He would lose his badge for this. A ten-year stretch for aiding a suspect. His career, and life, summarily over. But Ethan was looking up at him with his one good eye, and he was desperate and injured far deeper than these flesh wounds, and Christ, Norman knew he was innocent. He had to be.

Norman nodded, and said, "I'll see what I can do."

The deal was sealed.

His heart was strangling him as he left Ethan. The warden lingered outside the door, and Norman put on a stern face for him. Now, it was just the rest of the station he had to convince. Great plan, Jayden. What the fuck are you thinking? What the fuck are you doing?

He had to keep his head. He pushed down his anxiety and faced the lobby. A small sliver of luck had been given to him. Blake and Perry were gone, and many of the desks had started to clear as some of the officers dispersed for their breaks. The keys, Norman thought. Got to find the keys for the handcuffs. The last time he had seen them, they'd been on Blake's belt. He hoped they weren't still there. He didn't fancy facing Blake down in the canteen and doing some sleight-of-hand David Blaine shit to get them.

He checked Blake's desk as subtly as he could in the cramped space. He should have guessed that the keys would be there in the top drawer. What the hell was security in this station anyway? But, for once, their crappy adherence to protocol had benefited Norman. He slipped the ring into his pocket. No one had even blinked at him.

Next, a disguise. There had been a police jacket in the camera room. He went in, grabbed it, almost swore when he saw the warden had returned to Ethan's side. Trying to keep his voice level again, he spoke into the microphone. "Lieutenant Blake's looking for you. Have a breather, I'll take over here."

Way to be subtle, Norman, he thought. But after a beat, the cop gave him a 'message understood' signal and left. Better not keep Blake waiting.

Ethan looked up blearily when he entered again. Without a word, Norman reached down and unlocked the handcuffs. As soon as he was free, Ethan wrenched his wrist away sharply. Bruises had started to form on his pale skin. There was no use hanging around. "Come on, up," Norman said. "You need to get moving. Before I change my mind."

He gripped Ethan's arm and pulled him to his feet. He lurched unsteadily. "Here, put this on. Go straight to the exit. Don't stop, don't make eye contact, don't speak... Just go."

Ethan stared at him mutely for a moment, then pulled the police jacket over his head. It hung ridiculously on him. He looked like a kid in his father's clothes. Shit. That was probably not the best comparison.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked.

Norman moved out the way, urging him towards the door. "Get outta here, Ethan."

He could feel his heart drumming in his throat as Ethan reached for the handle. He knew Ethan should be the terrified one - about to break police custody and go on the run once again. But he was facing it with that same blank expression. Norman's own adrenaline was about to soar through the rooftop. "I don't know what to say," Ethan murmured.

"Just save your son."

Then he was gone. Norman fought with himself not to watch him leave. He stayed, braced against the interrogation table, stomach curling. The emptiness of the room suddenly pressed down on him, the loose handcuffs the symbol of what he had just done. He might as well strap them on his own wrists now. They were going to find out. They were going to uncover what a fuck-up he was. He had visions of him and Ethan going down together, the bars slamming shut behind them. It wouldn't be assholes like Blake and Perry ruining his career. It would be himself.

He had to calm down. The coming hours would depend on how he acted. He slowly moved away from the table, glad when his knees didn't buckle completely. Mad Jack. He had to get to Mad Jack. That could be the lead he was so desperately looking for.

The case went on. Norman picked himself up from the crumpled heap he was threatening to become, and followed Ethan out of the station.


a/n: So for those of you who got Ethan arrested in the game (I did) and had Norman break him out, you'll probably notice that the escape plays out a ~little~ differently in this chapter. I had to adjust some things to make them fit (like the keys and the order of things) and to make it more plausible that no one would see Ethan escape or Norman bust him out. I always wondered how the hell no one saw in the game haha.

Anyway, thanks for all the reviews and faves/follows so far. The next chapters will start to stray from the canon. Oh, and bonus points in this chapter for spotting the Shining reference!