Chapter 7: Visiting hours
"Hello Ms. Michelson. I see you brought a friend." The prison guard greeted us the next afternoon.
"Hi, Henry. This is Jamie Grayson, my best friend." Anni introduced me. I waved.
"Are you related to Detective Richard Grayson by chance?" Henry asked me.
"He's my dad."
"I would keep my last name quiet around here if I were you. You dad is the reason a lot of the guys are in here." Henry warned.
"I'll remember that." I told him. I got that warning every time I came with Anni.
We proceeded to the visitor's room where Mr. Michelson was sitting at the far end of the room on the other side of the glass wall. He looked different. It was in his eyes, they seemed darker, almost soulless. This was not the man I remembered as a kid. Anni was right when she said something had happened to him. He didn't look this bad when I had been here a few months ago.
I sat next to Anni and she picked up the phone. Her father reluctantly did the same.
"Hi Daddy." Anni greeted timidly. I had been here with Anni before, and she never sounded so scared.
"I thought I told you not to come back." He gruffly told her. He didn't even sound like I remembered. Anni looked hurt.
"I know, but I thought you might have changed your mind this week." Anni said quietly.
"If I had changed my mind, I woulda told ya. Now get out of here and don't come back." He shouted. I grabbed the phone from Anni.
"Listen you piece of shit," I growled. "Your daughter is the only person in the world who gives a damn about what happens to you, so I would show her a bit more decency than you seem to have for the rest of humanity." I said threateningly. That must have done something, because I saw his eyes go wide with fear for a moment and the darkness left.
"I'm so sorry Anni!" He looked and sounded like himself now. "I don't know what came over me. How are you sweetie?" He asked her. Her smile could've warmed even Bruce's heart.
They chatted for about ten minutes. I watched him closely the whole time. His eyes grew dark again. And that's when he told Anni to get lost and stop coming to see him. The guards finally had forcefully remove him. We sat there and watch him be escorted out.
"Do you see what I mean?" Anni asked once we got into her car.
"I believed you, but yeah I see it."
"What are they doing to him? They must be mistreating him or something! Could you get your Dad to investigate?" She looked desperate. I didn't have the heart to tell her what I thought. Which was that he father was starting to have a hard time staying the man she remembered him as during their visits. Dad told me that weaklings don't last long in prison. I believed Mr. Michelson had to become a hardened man to survive as long as he had. And now the line between who he was with Anni and he he had become in prison was fading, making it hard to pretend he was still good.
"The state already has surprise inspections to avoid prisoner mistreatment. I think he's changed. I'm sorry Anni."
She sighed "I thought as much. I used to believe that there was good in everyone. But now I don't think that's true. No one at school talks to me at school besides Ko and Jonah. I'm just the scholarship kid with bad blood because of my dad. I get called all sorts of names. No one is afraid to say things now that you're gone. Ko isn't nearly as confrontational as she pretends, and I'm just too damn timid to fight. I hate that you got expelled because of me. I'm sorry for that. Its not fair!" She punched the steering wheel, which gave a short beep. She rested her head against it. I started to rub her back to help calm her down. I didn't dare say anything, because she might clam up like she always did.
After a few minutes, she picked her head up and took a deep breath. She looked over to me.
"You're a good friend Jay. Don't ever change who you are." Her voice was hoarse. I knew she was trying not to cry until she was by herself. Anni held all her emotions in, while I never seemed to have control.
"Do you want me to drive?" I asked. She looked ready to fall apart any second.
"No. I'm fine. What time does your train leave?" She asked, sounding more like herself.
"Not for another six hours. Do you want to come over until I leave?" I asked. Her mom never approved of her going to see her dad, and that often lead to fights between them.
"Yeah. I would. Do you think your dad would mind if I stayed in your room tonight?"
"You're his unofficial second daughter. He won't care. Besides, its not like I'm using it." I told her. She gave a slight smile.
We rode most of the hour drive back in silence.
When we got back to the apartment, Dad had left a not saying he was called to the station for a few minutes, which meant he'd actually be gone for a few hours. We decided to watch more of Dad's old vids and order a pizza.
"Um, should we start heading to the train station?" Anni asked an hour before my train was supposed to leave. Dad still wasn't back yet. Something big must have happened.
"We got time, but we should leave now if I want to see Dad before I leave."
I shoved my stuff into my bag, did one last check to make sure I hadn't forgotten any homework (it's happened) and we were out the door.
When we arrived at the police station, it was in complete chaos. People were rushing around everywhere. We managed to slip past the chaos and got to Dad's office. He was speaking angrily to someone on the phone when we stepped in. He hung up, and looked to see who had come in. When he realized it was us, he looked at the clock.
"I'm sorry Jamie. I not sure if I can come with you to the train station. We've got a prison break and we're trying to get a count on how many have escaped." He explained. Anni and me shared a look.
"What prison?" Anni asked. We were both wondering if her dad was a possible escapee.
"The State prison. They caught most of them before they left the prison grounds, but some have gotten away. I'm sorry, Anni, I don't know about your father." Dad answered her unasked question.
"That's okay. I'm not sure I care anymore." Anni replied. Dad gave me a questioning look.
"Long story," I mouthed. He nodded, knowing I would tell him later. I glanced at the clock.
"Are you sure you can't slip away for like a half hour?" I questioned. I really didn't like the idea of leaving Anni to walk anywhere by herself while she was an emotional time bomb. The day was going catch up to her eventually and someone might take advantage of that. I gave him a pleading look and slightly nodded towards Anni. He got why I really wanted him to come and sighed.
"I guess I can manage a half hour. Come on ladies." He said opening the door for us.
"Bye Jay. Thanks for everything. I'm gonna miss you." Anni said, giving me a hug. She was trying so hard to be cheerful, but I could tell it was forced.
"Anytime. If you even need to talk, just call. And it'll be Thanksgiving soon. I'll seen you then." I hugged her again.
"Well Little Bird, sorry I didn't spend more time with you this weekend. But I promise no interruptions the next time ." He gave me a hug.
"It's fine Dad. I understand. You made this weekend special anyways." I smiled at him.
"Call me when you get your present. I want to know what you think."
"I will. And you should go grocery shopping. Take-out and cereal are not good meals" I poked his arm.
"Alright Mom. Good bye Little Bird." He gave me one last hug and kissed my forehead. I hugged Anni again and got on the train. I waved to them until the train pulled away from the platform. I settled in for the ride back to Gotham.
"Breaking news! The director of New York State prison just had released this statement" The news caster on the train's TV announced about half way through the ride. They changed to a scene of a press conference where the prison's director was speaking.
"We had a lapse in security this afternoon which lead to 56 inmates leaving their cells. All but two have been returned. Arron Johnson and Eric Michelson managed to evade capture. We have alerted the NYCPD. These men are to be considered dangerous." They cut to the pictures of the two. The one of Mr. Michelson must have been recent because he had that same dark look to him that he did when I saw him earlier. The other guy didn't look too nice either.
"Director Perez advises the public to call local authorities if you spot one of the convicts. The police department is on high alert. " The news caster stated. I stopped paying attention after that. I pulled out my phone and called Anni.
"Jamie?" She answered. I knew things were bad. She never called me Jamie.
"Anni, I just heard. I'm so sorry. Did you make it home? Are you okay?" I asked.
"I'm fine. Your dad walked me back to your place. He got a call while we were walking and he told me. He said he would feel better if I stayed here for a day or two." She explained.
"That makes sense. How do you feel about all this?" I asked.
"I wish I could say I'm surprised that he got away, but I'm not. He's a very smart man. He's avoided the police before, he can do it again." Anni sounded so hopeless.
"But hey, my Dad will probably work on the case and he's the best detective in New York." I tried to reassure her.
"Yeah, but my dad is just as good at hiding. Listen Jamie, I don't really feel like talking right now. I'll call you later. Have a nice trip. Bye." And she hung up before I could respond.
I spent the rest of the ride thinking of anything I could do to help. I didn't come up with much. By the time the train pulled into Gotham station, I was beyond frustrated with the fact that I couldn't do anything. It didn't help that it was midnight and I had had a very long day.
I looked around the parking garage in disdain for the car Bruce said he would leave for me. I don't think he fully understood my hatred for driving cars. Especially super expensive cars like his. I thankfully managed to make it back to the manor without incident.
Even though I was exhausted, I was even more hungry. It had been hours since I last ate, since I didn't bother to eat the train food. I set my stuff in my room and headed to the kitchen. I stopped when I saw the fridge door opened. Bruce didn't strike me as a midnight snack person.
"Bruce?" I asked, just in case I was wrong. The person went still. Okay, so definitely not Bruce.
The person lifted their head up so I could see. I let out a gasp.
"Batman?!" I asked in complete shock.
I could not wait for you to read this chapter! So now the plot really takes off.
Fun Fact: Jamie is really protective of her friends. Especially Anni, because Jamie views Anni as the sister she never had.
