Behind Lock and Key

Chapter 12: A Bout of Bad News


"Is that new?" Serah asked, leaning on the doorframe.

From the mirror's reflection, Lightning watched as Serah's eyes dropped from head to toe, examining her. She smoothed down the pencil skirt, turning slightly to admire her profile.

It was indeed part a new suit that she'd bought the day after visiting Fang. Amodar had obviously been notified of her arrival at Edenfell, because she found him standing at her car, arms folded but smiling.

"You don't expect me to start my new job and wear something they've all seen, do you?" Lightning asked playfully.

Serah's eyebrows drew together in a small frown as she continued to stare at Lightning's legs. "Is a prison full of sexually frustrated women going to listen to a word you say when you've got your legs on show like that?"

"If anything," Lightning began, turning to face Serah properly. She knew her sister's worries were aimed at the one person Lightning was going back for. In truth, the ex-governor only wanted to return to ensure Fang kept up her good behaviour. "They might then listen to me more. Besides, they're not all like that, Serah. Some are married and have kids."

What she failed to mention was that most were young, Serah's age.

Lightning had indulged a bit too much in her appearance, leaving herself just minutes to get out the house and en route to work. Picking her coat up off the bed, she threw it on as she hurried downstairs.

"Your lunch, sis!"

Still upstairs, Serah reminded her just in time, shouting down like she already predicted Lightning would forget. Like a train on a looped track, Lightning turned back on herself.

"Thanks!"

Lightning was already ducking into her car when Serah appeared at the bedroom window and waved. Suddenly overwhelmed with guilt, Lightning sounded the horn and reversed off the drive; in her haste she'd forgotten to say goodbye to her own little sister.

Her start to the day didn't pick up either, as her normal route to work left her greeting hundreds of red tail lights on the motorway. Maybe if she hadn't forgotten her lunch for the day either, she wouldn't have been late. She tapped the wheel impatiently as her car rolled down the road; her foot was off the accelerator completely.

When the traffic hit standstill she called ahead to Amodar, the governing governor, apologising profusely.

"Understood, Farron. Thanks for the heads up."

Lightning couldn't help but sigh, sliding into her seat. "Thank you sir, I shouldn't be long."

"Just get yourself to Wing Nine, as soon as possible."

Almost dropping her phone, Lightning prayed that she heard wrong. "Wing Nine? Not Thirteen?"

"Yes, yes. Wing Nine, that's what I said. There's plenty of time to say hello to your colleagues on the other wing, but Nine takes priority."

A large van that was half a dozen cars away began to creep forward, as did the cars in front of her. "Okay." There was no hiding the disappointment in her voice. "I've got to go, traffic seems to be moving."

Throwing her phone onto the passenger seat only made things worse as it bounced and hit the glove compartment, not only disappearing under the seat but also sending the battery flying elsewhere.

"Fuck," she hissed, unable to reach the phone, the back cover, or the battery.

She didn't take into consideration that Wing Thirteen wouldn't be her first assignment. With each curse she slammed the heel of her hand into the steering wheel.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck."


"Good morning everyone," Quistis greeted. The staff room was full of eagerly awaiting faces for once. She hadn't even finished her last syllable when Adelbert tried to open his big mouth, but she quickly silenced him. "Before you all bombard me, yes I have news on Officer Rosch."

The oxygen levels in the room suddenly felt like it had dropped as everyone inhaled and held their breath. Her own lips were still dry from the phone call.

"Well?'" Officer Steiner huffed.

Unaware she'd even paused Quistis finally said, "He's stable."

Some of the room had audible reactions, but most sank into their chairs with relief. Quistis didn't know whether Yaag would ever be fit enough to return, but at least the unfortunate man was alive.

"As for Jihl," she continued, "she's going to be mentally assessed once she'd returned from the medical wing. Seems Yaag gave almost as good as he got."

Setting his mug down with a hint of too much force, Cloud looked pale. "I'm not one to think this about any of the inmates, but we should just lock that one up and throw away the key. Yaag… whatever he was doing in there he should've known better."

Quistis paused, only half happy with Cloud's statement. "Yes well, that's probably going to be the reality, it's not looking good for Nabaat. She might even be shipped out."

Officer Elena suddenly threw some money on the coffee table. "Now we know he's stable we can buy Yaag some flowers, at least."

Her actions finally brought life into the otherwise comatose room. Quistis was surprised at how little some of her officers were reacting to the news about Yaag. He wasn't the most liked, but surely her officers had a sense of unity?

Quistis had left her purse back in her office, and had no loose change in her pockets for security reasons. She held off on the lecture for Elena, as there was still time before her shift for her to go back into her locker.

"Also, regarding Yaag's missing keys… they've not been found on Jihl or in her cell, so the decision to change cell locks – though costly, was imperative."

Amodar had gone wild upon hearing about it, leaving Quistis with a ringing in her ears for hours on the day after the attack. Still, rather one set of missing keys than a whole set of missing prisoners. With the lock change a good portion of the wing's budget was shot, her bonus might as well have had a bullet hole through the document to go with it. Quistis now envied Lightning's timely departure more than anything.

It felt as though a builder was piling bricks on her shoulders; her hair was the first telltale sign of the stress and its toll, it'd lost the sheen it once had.

When the time came for the prisoners to be let out, Quistis watched from the top floor along with the lifers, leaning on crossed arms. It gained some funny looks from the prisoners, but none saw fit to approach her for a friendly chat.

Where were those damned keys? It was one thing to replace a cell door, but there were all the main gates within the prison that were now compromised. Quistis was beginning to stare long enough that she fantasised the culprit glowing, like in some sort of video game. And when they didn't, she began visualising lasers shooting from her eyes, disintegrating the lot of them below her.

She could start her prison afresh then…

If only.


Fang could've sworn that, exactly eight days since Lightning's visit, she'd seen her car at least twice. Yet where was she? It wasn't exactly a car for the common commuter; no one here would have her expensive tastes. Either the car wasn't here today or Fang had just missed its arrival.

A chorus of booing and jeering threw her back into the present; Fang stepped down from window in time to see a fellow inmate chuck their plastic food tray, bowl, and mug down a flight of stairs towards the officers on ground floor.

"What the fuck is going on?" she exclaimed.

The girl next to her shook her head in disdain. "That prick Jihl tried to off has only went and pulled through, hasn't he?"

Fang's shoulders couldn't have sunk any lower today. If there was but one justice needed in on this wing it was the silver-haired bastard's bloody death.

It took two officers to subdue the tray thrower, pulling her so hard down the stairs she was nearly stripped of her t-shirt in the fray. The sight would've pleased her once, but after everything had happened, and the added news of Rosch's survival dampened her mood.

So when her meeting with Sazh finally came around, she was praying for good news.

The door had barely closed behind her when Sazh shot her a stern look. "That statement you gave the police on the night of attack? Big mistake."

The words hit her like a brick wall. She hadn't even sat down. Was this day going to get any shitter?

"What?"

Twirling one of his cufflinks, Mr Katzroy's face twisted. "Your statement. The part where you said 'and not one drop of blood was wasted on the floor', Fang, the judge made special comments to say it would be at least seven years before they considered your case again."

The same anger from that night threatened to surface again. She leaned forward, lacing her fingers tightly together so that she didn't lash out on something. "Surely they can't take my statement into consideration?"

"Well why wouldn't they?"

Her fingers paled from the tension. "I… I was angry. They forced me to write it almost a second after they banged me up in a holding cell, hell, I was still drunk."

A piece of paper – her statement – sat between Fang and Sazh. He rotated it, letting her read her bloodthirsty words over and over again. Couldn't they let her write another statement? Her memory of the fateful event was burned to vividly at the forefront of her mind; it was impossible to forget any detail. Now though, now she wasn't blinded by rage.

Her voice trembled. "What now? Is there still a chance? Does Lightning…" Cutting her sentence short she suddenly remembered Sazh's promise that in a month's time she'd be a free woman. "You said I'd be free soon, how can this statement change everything?"

Speaking softer this time, Sazh said, "I only meant I'd have built up a strong enough case to ensure you were free, Fang. Seeing this… getting you to court could take a lot longer."

"Then do something! You'd have me rot in here any longer than I have? The bastard was trying to rape my girlfriend – I only attacked him to get him off of her."

If Lightning wasn't back at Edenfell, and Fang was wrong about the car she'd seen, then there was nothing to live for as she waited out her time within these walls. Even Vanille would be out sooner before her, as would Yuffie and Rikku. Fang would be left miserable and friendless.

Tapping his temple in thought, Sazh hummed. He was looking at her, but not really at her as he withdrew inside his mind to think. Fang silently waited for the humming to stop, willing the man to come up with an idea quickly, as it was cutting into their allocated time.

"If I recall," he said flicking through his briefcase, "no one, not even you testified in the witness box, am I right?"

"I was warned off it at the time… I was pretty much full of the same sympathy as my statement."

Sazh shook his head. "Your defence team were idiots. It always makes a person look guilty if they don't take the stand."

"So, we ask the big guys to let me talk then?"

"They wouldn't waste their time just to hear you out again, Fang. No, we need something else. If P.C. Almasy was attempting to rape your girlfriend, it says a lot about his character..." There were some invisible cogs turning in Mr Katzroy's head, his eyes were wider, brighter. "We need witnesses to his character, Fang, and I think… I think I'll start with his colleagues. Yes… see if he fits the rapist title he inevitably died with."

So he wanted to ask the colleagues of P.C. Pig for character reference? Was he fucking crazy? If a group of people ever looked after their own, then it was certainly police officers. The guy's friends at work would surely paint him in a golden light and close the case of Fang within moments.

And cold emptiness washed over her as she half listened to Sazh, and half listened to her own worries of being alone in prison within a few years.


A/N: How dare I return after so long?! This has been on my mind a fair bit so despite having this chapter written for ages (years), I thought I'd size up the interest left in the story now. I've finally come to terms that I'm not GRRM (though my hiatus is about as long), and that knitting storylines together is difficult. (Time for me to re-read my own story methinks!)

As always, enjoy! And feel free to PM me.