Thanks to mozzi-girl and Things in Ink for reviewing! Okay, so the things is…I may not update as often as I have been. I have exams coming up, several projects due, and ontop of all that I just found out my friend's just been diagnosed with leukemia. And anyone who knows me knows I've already lost people to cancer before. She's also my partner for one of my projects, so right now I just feel like I'm trapped. So I apologize if my updates are shorter and not as often, because I'm really stuck right now.
The next thing I know I'm in a cell, wearing the infamous bright orange prison uniform. I sit on the single bed that's in the room, looking at my feet. I hate the number that's on my back, it makes me feel like cattle. Like I've been branded. I am more than the number they stamp on my back, and first of all, I'm innocent. From the moment I arrived I've heard voices jeering at me. Some congratulate me, saying I have nerve, others only chide at me. It's a women's prison, so it's not as large as most, but it still seems like everyone here knows who I am. Or, more accurately, know what I am. I can only imagine what they're thinking. How the tables are turned, how now I get to see everything from their perspective. I'd been to several prisons before, but I'd never seen them in this way. I feel like I'm trapped in a cage, like something feral and rabid, like a wild animal. I look up when I heard footsteps, and see a guard unlocking my cell.
"You have a visitor".
I can help the slight smile that tugs at my lips. I know who it is before I'm handcuffed and led through the labyrinth of cell-lined walls. They take me through a door, leading me into a long narrow room. Seats are pushed up to desk-like tables, which are cut short by glass on the end of it. Small holes are in the glass, presumably so you can hear someone talking on the other side. They don't have to direct me where to go after this, there's only one person here, and I can see him on the other side if the glass. I walk over and sit, happy to see Mal's reassuring smile.
"Glad to see you're still in one piece" he says casually, but I can tell it holds some implication.
"What do you mean?" I asked, leaning in closer to the glass and reducing my voice to a whisper.
Mal looked on either side if him, making sure he's the only one here. The room on his side is empty, presumably because everyone is supposed to be at work. "Think about it, you're a cop—".
"—Technically I'm—".
"—In there eyes" he nods to the area behind me, and I know he means the other prisoners "You're a cop. You're in danger, if they get the opportunity, they will kill you. Don't give them that chance, being proven innocent won't do any good if you're torn to shreds. You might be able to take one or two of them, but if there's a prison riot or fight, it all depends on chance".
I don't ask him how he knows all this, but I have my suspicions. Still, that doesn't really matter now. "So pretty much you're saying to keep my head down and play nice?".
"Exactly, and make sure you have a plan should anything happen. Some way you can get out".
I look behind me at the guard, who is checking his phone, before I say "You're not suggesting I escape, are you?".
"Only if it comes down to your life. Right now it wouldn't look good if you did, especially for your trial".
"When is it? My trial?".
"Ten days"
"Ten days!"
"I know" he says "it's not enough time, and we have a lot to do. The public just wants this over, and they want it to be big so everyone gets the idea if what happens when you kill people who are so young. They just want a show, that's all they want. An example. No one really cares what happens to you, they just want to instill the message that killers won't get off easy".
I bite my lip, never feeling so betrayed before. All the things I've done for this city, and what did it get me? Nothing! I'm just something disposable, something that's put away when it doesn't work anymore. I've taken who knows how many killer off these streets, and this is the thanks I get?
"Mal?" I say quietly "you don't think I did it, do you?".
I can see it in his face, even before he answers. "I don't think you're a murderer, you didn't do it on purpose".
I can feel my anger boil beneath me cheeks. Yet another betrayal, when will they stop? "I didn't kill him!" I yell suddenly, slamming my hands down on the table.
"Settle down over there, or I'll have you both removed!" the guard on the other side of the room yells back. I wasn't aware I had stood up, but when I do I sit back down.
"I want to believe you" Mal says quietly "I really do, but Amy's getting nothing from ballistics in your favor. It's not looking good".
He stands up, and for a moment I almost beg him to stay. But I know the more time he spends here, the less time he'll have trying to prove I'm innocent. Before he goes, he looks me straight in the eye and says "I promise, I'll get to the bottom of this. I'll be back tomorrow with updates, I'll try and keep you in the loop. See what you can come up with while you're here, and I'll be back as soon as I can".
I keep sitting as he leaves, long enough that the guard comes and grabs my upper arm to lead me away. But I take my arm out of his grasp, and he doesn't try and lead me again.