Tony's eyes snapped open suddenly as he woke up. He didn't remember anything after being led into the building, so they must have put him to sleep. He took stock of his surroundings and quickly noticed a second bed identical to his own on the other side of the room. He relaxed slightly when he saw that it was empty. The plain brick walls had been painted a cool mint cream in an obvious attempt to calm the patients. The one window in the room sat high up on the wall and was covered by thick steel bars. Tony felt like he'd just stepped into a scene from One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.
"I must be crazy to be in a loony bin like this," he muttered the quote from one of his favourite films.
He sat up and pushed the blanket off him. Looking down, he noticed someone had placed him in a pair of plain pajamas. He climbed out of the bed and hissed as his bare feet touched ice cold linoleum. He quickly found a pair of slippers under the bed and slipped them on. He took a few steps forward and found the main door ajar. The door was easily three inches thick. Hanging on the back of the door was a dressing gown. He shrugged it on and then opened the door with a large creak. He peered out into the long corridor before stepping out. The floor squeaked underneath his slippers and he breathed through his mouth to avoid smelling the easily distinguishable hospital smell that he despised. Further down the corridor was a nurses' station and a small sitting area where most of the patients seemed to be.
"Ah, Mr Gordon, I see that you are awake at last." Tony turned towards the voice with a glare. He still had to keep up the act of being nuts. "Don't bother trying anything, every nurse has a panic alarm with them at all times, this whole ward is covered with security cameras and is completely locked up. This is one of the securest wards in the hospital, you're not going anywhere." Tony's glare lessened and he stayed quiet, letting the nurse continue. "I'm Nurse Windsor, I will be administering all your medicine and I'm in charge around here." She pointed to the sitting area.
"You can sit there or you can sit in your room, your choice but that's the only choice you got around here. You will eat all your meals when told so, you will see the psychiatrist when told so and you will go to sleep when told so, no debates, no arguments, no compromise. Do you understand?" Tony nodded. "Good, you have a preliminary meeting with Dr Phillips, the resident psychiatrist in two hours. I suggest you use this time to get to know your fellow inmates." She nodded in the direction of the sitting area.
Tony walked into the open sitting area and sat down in one of the chairs facing the nurses' station. From there he had a better look at Nurse Windsor. The young woman leant against a work top, writing on a clip board. If Tony wasn't undercover he would be seriously pursuing the woman. Her blonde hair fell to her shoulders in 40's style curls, matching her ruby red lips and thick black lashes. Her standard nurse's uniform did nothing to hide a perfectly proportioned body that Tony spent his time admiring. His eyes fell to her slender legs and he whistled to himself. A little older than he normally liked, but he wasn't one to discriminate. When this was all over he was definitely coming back here. Tony turned and surveyed the room. Several of the men sat alone talking to themselves while others played board games together in total silence. His eyes froze as he saw a lone figure hunched up and staring out of another barred window. His dark shoulder length hair hid most of his face but Tony knew who it was.
"Kevin," he whispered. He checked the room once more, before standing up and moving towards Kevin. He reached for a nearby chair and dragged it closer so he could sit near the other man. Kevin made no movement to greet Tony in anyway or even recognise his presence, so Tony decided to break the ice.
"Hey," he spoke. "Couldn't help but notice you sitting on your own." Kevin said nothing. "Name's Tony, Tony Gordon, what's yours?" After a pause, Kevin answered, keeping his eyes firmly on the window.
"Kevin, Kevin rhymes with seven and heaven."
Tony sighed in relief at the break through. "Yes, yes it does."
"You're strange."
"Lots of people seem to think that, yes."
Kevin's head snapped towards Tony and his eyes narrowed. "I don't know you, you're strange."
"I'm just like you, Kevin, just another crazy guy."
"The world of madness is a lot bigger than the world of sane," Kevin spoke. "A lot bigger, bigger than this room, there's lots of crazy people in crazy places, you think they're sane but they're not."
"Why do you say that, Kevin?"
"You sound like her!"
"Who do I sound like, Kevin?"
"Her!"
"Who's her?"
"Her her her! You don't believe me? Cos I did it."
"Did what, Kevin?"
"Stop saying my name, you say it like them!"
"Who's them?"
"The ones in suits and they ask so many questions but I'm not allowed to answer, shhhhhh got to stay quiet," Kevin finished in a whisper.
"What did you do?" Tony whispered back.
Kevin never got a chance to answer as a chair was slammed down on Tony's back. Tony fell from the chair and rolled over. He jumped up and put himself into a defensive position. The unknown patient waved the chair at Tony and screamed. He threw the chair but Tony easily dodged out of the way. He charged at the larger man and brought him to the floor. The man fought back, punching Tony in the stomach. Tony grabbed the man's wrists and held them to the floor, using all his body weight to pacify the angry man.
Suddenly, he was grabbed from behind. The two male nurses from before grabbed an arm each and pulled Tony off the other man. Tony struggled to get free but the two men were too strong for him. He fought against them as they dragged him down another corridor and into a room. His eyes widened as he saw what was in the room and he fought harder, kicking out to stop them. They pushed Tony onto the bed and held him down while a third nurse tied restraints to each arm and each leg. The final restraint went around his neck.
"No, you got it all wrong!" he shouted at them, but they didn't listen. His eyes widened again as Nurse Windsor appeared in the doorway. She walked up to the bed with a large needle in her hand.
"Please listen," he pleaded with her, but she also ignored him. Nurse Windsor flicked the needle, pushed it to get rid of any air bubbles and slid it into Tony's arm. Seconds later Tony was asleep.