After Dirk waited for almost the entire hour alone in the booth, telephone unanswered on the other side without Jake, Roxy or Jane looking back at him; he finally came to terms that they weren't coming. He fought an inner struggle that he had told Jake to keep them away, but didn't think any of them would listen. Nor did he realize just how lonely it was without a connection to the outside world- even if it was to keep his friends safe from… exactly what he still didn't know. Part of him told him that they had realized that he was going insane and belonged here. The other part quietly told him that they were on their way or something had come up that was completely unavoidable. Dirk wasn't sure if he should risk thinking about the reasons that could keep them from not coming… He ended up standing after so long, just ready to get out from underneath the guard's mocking gaze.
He passed Kar talking to Thaddeus and Nadine, letting his orange gaze flicker around to find the taller inmate that usually accompanied them. He didn't see him and wondered if the other had decided against seeing Nadine after their last conversation. Dirk didn't doubt it, Evert seemed like the person who if it were possible, would avoid confrontation when it didn't warrant it. The blond walked past the guards who chuckled at him seeing no one had shown up. "Not so tough now." One whispered in his ear and Dirk looked down still. He liked to imagine there was a machine in his mind, almost like a Geiger Counter, that ticked whenever he felt anger flare up inside his body. In this case, it had ticked for almost a moment before it died. A rational thought crossed his mind and he let out a slow breath through his nose. There were better reasons to go to solitary than for beating the shit out of a snot nosed guard.
Dirk was unaware of himself as he started to wonder the prison block to look for Evert. He never had that much connection to the once hulking troll because of the way they had met in the game- which revolved around the word 'brief'… but he supposed that they had more of a connection to him now than before. He passed the room that had the chairs facing the old television jutting from the wall on a platform. Dirk glanced at it, only to pause mid-step. The judge who had preceded over his case was getting bombarded by the media with microphones so far into her face she probably could smell the wiring inside their casings. "Judge ReClaire, what do you have to say about your recent disbarment? Did it have something to do with the Morris case- or the LaLonde vs. the State of Texas?" The judge pushed a few people out of her way, eyes narrowed and lips tightly closed before speaking to one of the reporters that had managed to break the line of escorts to plant themselves right in front of her. Nina ReClaire fixed a gaze on the women so keenly it near burnt the woman in front of her. "Ms. Tishnell, I will not reveal what I'm feeling towards my state, nor the actions of the cases it sees. I seek justice and I no longer found it from where I was. If someone should look for what truly is justice, they should ignore the Morris case altogether. There were forces from behind closed doors that had more power to will that case then the balances of justice did." Before she could add anything, there were gunshots and muffled screaming before the scene zoomed out to have another reporter discussing it. Dirk swallowed, still standing with one leg slightly outstretched to keep walking. There were several inmates that were playing cards on the seats that hardly noticed him.
He kept going before they noticed him and tried to think about what happened. His thoughts were running rampant trying to put that information all together in his mind. Someone had been acting behind closed doors? Did that mean that there were higher powers invested in his case? Why? Why would anyone be interested in a serial rapist and murderer who'd captured one too many more than he could handle? Dirk ran his fingers through his hair before turning the corner and nearly smacking into Evert. "Shit-" He muttered, rather startled by his sudden appearance. "I've had nicer greetings." Evert replied before walking past him and Dirk blinked before following. "You weren't at the visitation hour." Dirk pointed out, catching up with him. He didn't know really why he was pestering the one person he knew in the prison that could easily snap him like a twig.
"I wasn't." Evert agreed and kept walking back towards his cell that wasn't too far away from Dirk's own. His eyes flickered back to Dirk before choosing to let him follow. There wasn't any harm in it and Dirk frowned, "There was a girl there." Evert slowed his steps, "Why are you telling me this?" Dirk shrugged from behind him, "Thought you might want to know." The taller didn't acknowledge him though his head turned to the open door on their left, which they could clearly see the guards chowing down on fresh meats and bread. Evert's eyes narrowed and Dirk's head turned to look at them as well. They didn't say a word for a few moments before Dirk muttered softly, "What would happen if the guards lost their keys for the food storage?" Evert's voice was even lower, "They do a cell toss until they found them. Or get them remade." Dirk narrowed his eyes, "And if someone stole all the food before they could get their hands on it?" The dark haired man turned his jaw slightly toward him, "Don't. It's foolishness." Evert told him without answering his question at all. Dirk looked up at him, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Don't tell me you like the slop you get fed."
Evert worked his mouth and Dirk stared him down, "And you and I both know the guards could be knocked down a few paces." He gestured at them with his chin, they were all too busy to look back them. The Native American paused before sighing, "You will get caught, and they will put you in solitary. There is no way you can steal keys, keep them hidden and not get the Warden to take revenge." Dirk glanced between him and the others for a few moments before nodding. "Alright. How about this then…." It took almost ten minutes to convince Evert to join him on an ill-fated and downright stupid idea to get the food back to the prisoners and out of the guard's hands… if only temporarily just to prove the inmates were more than just comatose punching bags. Evert agreed more out of annoyance of having to listen to Dirk after a long period of time than actually wanting to par take in the plan.
Dirk's plan, despite its idiosyncrasies, could actually work- which greatly surprised Evert. The larger hadn't stop berating himself since he agreed, but did his part none the less. Dirk's plan started with stealing the keys from the guards. Which as it turned out, was much easier done than said. The blond was talented with slight of hand so well that Evert had voiced his surprised after Dirk had bumped very purposefully into the guard and then acted like every other lunatic in the cell block. Mostly by screaming about the guard to watch where he was going before being threatened with the tazer that made Dirk flee immediately. The other guards were just as easy- one had been sleeping and the other was using the restroom when Dirk reached into the pocket underneath the privacy wall and snatched the last key. Evert had explained that three keys belonged to the storage room- which had been normal for most cell blocks. In reality, four keys existed, but the fourth was never used and stayed on the Warden's keyring.
Dirk smirked down at the three keys in his hand before looking up at Evert who was tense beside him. They now stood in front of the food storage that the guards used to stash the good food in. The door to their break room had easily been picked with a paper clip that Dirk had gotten off an inmate in exchange for a lock of his blond hair. Which wasn't surprising since some of the inmates were more mentally distressed than the state was lead to believe. Dirk gave a side long look at Evert. "Would you like to do the honors?" He asked, offering one of the three keys to him. Evert looked down at it, "Why would I do that?" Dirk shrugged, his usual calm and reserved nature somehow disrupted by this. He didn't get a 'hard-on' as Roxy would have called it from adventure like Jake did… but it didn't mean he didn't like mischief at a rare time- not to mention, each of the assholes he had robbed had definitely deserved it.
Dirk nodded toward it, "Go on, you deserve a bit of the spoil being a look out. Hell, you're helping me carry all this shit back mind you." Evert grumbled and took one of the keys. They had made sure the path to the kitchen in their cell block was clear. The guards almost always stuck to their same routes rather stupidly, so they had another fifteen minutes before Officer 'Snoreton' decided to come stumbling down the way. Dirk watched as his partner in crime opened the door and softly gasped at the food storage that was literally filled to the hilt. "We may need more time than fifteen minutes!" He whispered quickly and Dirk shook his head, "Not a chance. Come on, shut the thing and lock it. See that roller chair? I need you to break it." Evert frowned at him before locking it back and breaking the roller chair off the bottom piece without almost any effort at all. With some careful balancing, they stood the cabinet- thankfully it was similar to ones that were used in metal shops that could be moved- and rolled it down to the inmate kitchen. They hurriedly schooled it with several other matching shelves to make it look at least semi-natural and then clean up their remnants of the broken chair. Mainly that meant putting it haphazardly back together and waited for some poor son of a bitch to sit in it.
"As much as I'm surprised this actually got this far… now how are we going to hide the evidence that it was us?" Evert whispered to him as they walked down the hall together, most inmates had left the visitation area and had gone about their day in the different recreational sections of the prison. Dirk glanced at him, "Guards don't know a thing, I can't do a thing about the cameras, and I've got a plan for the keys." The taller did a double take, "The cameras have been off for a while. They don't want evidence to what they do to some prisoners here." He offered and Dirk grinned, "Perfect. Give me your key back." Evert immediately handed it over, not wanting the incriminating piece on him. "Where's the metal shop?" The Native American grimaced, "Rec yard, all the way on the left before you go into the next cell block."
"Wait here then." Dirk told him and sprinted off. The door Evert watched him out of was clear, so he could see the retreating blond perfectly through the glass. The said man disappeared and Evert felt anxiety build up in his chest for the near twenty minutes he waited. When the other came out, there was a look on his face that told him that he had done something… dastardly good. Dirk walked in and Evert raised an eyebrow, "What did you do?" He didn't think he wanted to know the answer, but yet, he was asking anyway. "You'll see later." Dirk whispered and walked slightly ahead of him. Evert sighed, watching as Dirk pulled a roll of double stick tape and proceeded to put three square metal blocks with keys wielded into them on the wall for all to see in the cafeteria. How the tape was strong enough to hold up metal pieces, he would never know. Evert kept watch, near panic in his throat. Dirk tossed the tape away before admiring his handy work; a second later, he brandished a black marker and wrote in large letters a phrase. "Terrorism will never cease in a [prison] where the so-called leaders are terrorists in disguise. -Michael Bassey Johnson"
Evert read over the quote before looking at Dirk, who tossed the marker away as well. "Not let's blow this popsicle stand before someone finds us." He told him softly and Evert nodded, looking at the other with a steady frown. When they made it back to their designated cells, Dirk finally asked him why he was staring at him. The other shrugged, "No one has had the guts to do that to the guards before now." Dirk shrugged, "And?" Evert frowned before shrugging as well, "You're either very brave, or very stupid." For a moment Dirk didn't change expression before he had a half smile on his face. "Let's say both and call it even." The brief exchange brought a flicker of a grin onto his face that was interrupted by Kar screaming their names- only their names were replaced with one joint word of 'ASSHOLES!'.
"Where the fuck have you been! I've been looking all over for your sorry asses." Dirk looked up at Evert and gave a tiny shake of his head, who responded with crossing his arms in front of him defensively. Kar got closer, arms crossed and glanced over Dirk briefly, "You look like you ate a damn bird." The other smiled at him, "What makes you say that?" Kar rolled his eyes, "Oh I don't know, the fact that your face actually cracked when you smiled then. So why are the guards running around looking for shit on the ground?" Dirk snickered and Evert nearly cracked a smile before Kar glanced between them. "And you got him in on it? Holy shit." Kar went from being annoyed to impressed and Dirk gestured with his head back the way they had come. "You'll see what's up at dinner tonight."
Kar finally nodded before starting in on Evert for not being at visitation and Dirk glanced at an inmate that walked by. He saw the holes in his ears and cocked his head to the side while Evert asked how Nadine and Thaddeus were doing. He tuned out their conversation for a moment as he left the side of the tallest of their tiny group to follow the other. "Hey!" Dirk called out and the inmate stopped, "What's up, Prince?" He asked and Dirk momentarily paused, unaware the nickname had taken hold that well. "Where'd you get your gauges done, man? They look new." The man had several other piercings that were still red from the initial puncture. "Cell Block C's got a guy who used to be a tattoo artist. He does piercings too in exchange for favors." Dirk shifted a bit awkwardly, "What sort of favors?" The man shrugged, "Up to him, I hear anywhere from sucking dick to stealing a fork. I just had to get him a book from the library. He's a big reader- that one." Dirk nodded, telling him his thanks before walking back to Kar and Evert. The bell rung for the dinner hour. At the same time the sound warped and the lights flickered off and on before shutting down as something exploded. He guessed it was the power box or the building had been hit by lightning since a storm had been going outside for the last hour.
Dirk removed his sunglasses and saw clear as day in the low light setting. People were running through the halls and guards were screaming, hitting whatever came close in a blind panic. The alarms got louder and warped more. As Dirk looked down the hallway he could see something there, walking toward him that caused the lights that lined the cells to explode in a supposed power surge. It was a shadow of a tall shape that walked slowly and purposefully toward him. Wild hair and bright pink eyes, heels and a trident. He let out a low breath, seeing her perfectly walking toward them like he was in his nightmare- he managed to look away to see Kar squinting in the darkness while Evert nearly got bowled over from the inmates that were running from the guards who were shouting and chasing them. The figure moved forward still, and out of the dark outline came the Warden who looked like he was possessed with rage as he stepped out of the black smoke like substance. Like he was sent by her to do her bidding. The figure disappeared when replaced by the Warden and Dirk marked it off for hopefully a very horrifying hallucination. Dirk grabbed Kar and Evert, pulling them into the cell they were beside as the Warden rushed past, not seeing them in the darkness. In seconds the lights came back on with the generator.
"What the fuck was that?" Kar asked, his voice soft after all the noise had died down from screaming guards. Dirk winced, putting his sunglasses back on. "Storm?" He muttered and Evert nodded, though all three were shaken. Dirk wasn't sure how much they saw, so he stayed blissfully quiet. "How did you see with lights out? You pulled us inside the cell." Evert asked Dirk but it was Kar who answered, "Photophobia." Dirk frowned and turned his head toward him, "How do you know about that anyway? You never told me how." Kar glanced at him, before shrugging. "You expect any of these stupid shits to do paperwork around here? Of course not, so they let the prisoner's do most of it. Files and stuff- nothing that would get us released of course. I read some of them now I know who not to fuck with." Dirk paused turning his head to look at him, "You read my file."
Kar turned his head, "Yeah… what, you think you have something to hide in there?" Evert cleared his throat, knowing this was on a fast track to an argument. "We should vacate before the guards come back. They all are in a fool mood." Kar nodded before walking past Dirk. But since it was now time to come clean about some things, he called to Kar from where he was still beside the cell. "Who's the clown that roams around in the vents?" He asked because part of him was angry that Kar had the ability to read his life without his permission… and thus a knee-jerk reaction was immediately to tell Kar that he wasn't the only one with information that could hurt the other. If his assumption was correct, this 'Gabriel' person Nadine had mentioned was Gamzee. Kar turned back toward him so quick that Dirk nearly regretted asking. Kar's face was a mix of emotion; fear, hatred and pain all into one expression. The blond expected him to start yelling when Kar swallowed, "You know what I said about knowing who to stay the fuck away from?"
Dirk barely nodded, "Stay the fuck away from him." And just like that, Kar had turned on his heel and walked away. Evert remained there for a moment, looking at Dirk with a similar expression but one of quiet understanding as well. If Evert had been in Dirk's position, he would have probably done the same thing he had just done. Dirk looked after the smaller inmate and crossed his arms as he heard a noise in the vents above them that sounded so vaguely like a toy horn and the smelt faintly of burnt wires.