Post conversation he goes back in his office and closes the door, as he exclaims, "Fuck!" He thinks to himself, for someone who doesn't want to live in the limelight, his son is sure as hell putting himself there quite easily. And probably doesn't even realize the potential blow back, which convinces him even further, neither him or Olivia had anything to do with that picture being posted.
Moving on to setting up his defensive plan, he then picks up his private line and makes a call. When the person answers he asks. "Can you look up a picture on Instagram of my son and Olivia Pope, and tell me about the person who posted it?" The male voice replies, "Yes, hold on." There's a pause and then he replies, "Looks like the poster is Monica Walters, but her page is now private. Looks like the photo is viewable, but the comments have been turned off and no other part of her profile is viewable." Gerry asks, "What does that mean?" He replies, "It means she likely shut down the page because someone got to her. And she doesn't want them to be able to contact her anymore. So it's unlikely she'll post anything else. She may even end up deleting this picture, but it's a little late now to do that since it's already gone viral."
He agrees as he responds, "Makes sense. How'd she get the picture?" He replies, "It appears she took it. The caption says about last night. So she was likely there in person." Gerry says, "So she was with them, snapped the picture and posted it?"
The male voice replies, "Yes. But it was just posted earlier today." Just as he thought it was likely something going on between Olivia, Fitz and Monica and she posted the photo after the fact, because otherwise she would've posted it when it was taken, or sent to Olivia and Fitz for them to post it. Understanding more of what's going on, but still wanting more information about another situation. He replies, "Okay. Sounds like that situation is going to play itself out, but do me a favor and keep an eye on her account, and let me know if anything changes." He agrees as he says, "Okay will do."
Gerry responds, "Great, and I also need to know what can you tell me about Edison Davis and Jake Ballard?" He replies, "I can tell you by their long standing phone communications they're friends, and recently Edison secured an attorney for him after he was arrested this weekend for drunk and disorderly conduct, assault, and a level 2 invasion of privacy statute."
This perks up his ears as he asks, "I wonder what he recorded, or whom?" The voice replies, "I don't know that yet, but Edison retained an attorney from Waltman and Reiss on his behalf, they're set to appear in court tomorrow."
Gerry is intrigued and says, "I need to know what this guy has on Edison. It could be valuable." The voice responds, "Consider it done. You'll have a full breakdown by tomorrow." He nods as he responds, "Given the urgency of the situation, we need to move tonight. He will likely be arraigned by tomorrow." The voice replies, "I'll have something in place tonight." Gerry responds, "Good. I'll be waiting for an update."
When he hangs up the phone he pours himself a scotch and walks over to his desk once again, and calls his sister back to fill her in on what he's learned. He thinks to himself, she's not going to believe this, he barely does himself.
Meanwhile, it's late Sunday afternoon and getting later, but Jake has no idea what time it is, because he hasn't seen a clock since before he arrived. With his phone smashed to a thousand pieces and no watch on his wrist, he's feeling really nervous and lost. His thoughts are broken as he hears, "Time to move on up the chain Ballard." He looks over at the cell door to see an officer standing in front of him with the door open, waiting for him to comply.
It's at that time he realizes he's the only one in the cell. And that's suddenly he could hear himself think. But at the same time he wonders where everybody went and why he didn't notice them leaving? He again hears the pressing voice say, "Ballard, let's go!" He promptly gets up and walks over to the guard who puts him in cuffs again, as he asks, "What time is it? And why aren't there any clocks on the walls?" The officer replies, "Why? You've got nothing but time anyway. So the day and time doesn't matter/" Realizing he's barking up the wrong tree if he was looking for any reassurance of any kind, he asks, where are you taking me? Is my attorney here?"
The guard notices the attitude change and replies, "I'm taking you to the holding tank with everybody else who has been processed. You were held last due to your injuries, for precaution, but your swelling is going down so you're ready to be in the general population until arraignment."
He appreciates the direct answer to his initial question, but still persists as he asks, "When do I get to see my attorney?" The guard responds, "Not until tomorrow bub, like everybody else." He's still confused and asks, "Why tomorrow? I made a call today."
Realizing he's new to this process, the officer exercises some added patience as he responds, "You won't see anybody, not even your attorney till your arraignment because that's how the process works. Which will likely be Monday or Tuesday."
This news floors him, as he walks along the corridor with the officer he's in shock, and then he panics. Suddenly his body and mouth betray him as his mind as he pulls away from the guard while screaming, "Tuesday! I'm not staying here until Tuesday. I don't understand what's happening! I want my attorney!"
Reacting to his sudden movement, the officer is done being cordial and abruptly tightens his grip on his arm, and pushes him up against the wall to reassert his positioning ensuring it's understood who is in control. Jake feels the pressure and pain of the grip on his arm and is thankful he turned his head before his face slammed against the wall, when the officer grabbed him, avoiding further injury to his already bruised and broken nose.
Feeling that he has him subdued, the officer aggressively says, "Sudden moves like that will get you a matching black eye for the other side of your face if you're not careful, do you understand?" He hurriedly replies, "Yes. Yes I understand. I'm sor.." The officer interrupts, "I don't need an apology. In fact I don't need to hear you speak anymore. If you can't do the time, don't do the crime buddy, especially on a weekend. You got it?"
Jake nods in agreement for fear his voice may piss off the guard. The officer takes his silence is golden and pulls him away from the wall, back to walking posture. But still with a firm grasp on his forearm, in case he tries again to break loose.
They walk in silence for a few feet until Jake hears the commotion coming from around the bend. And as they make it to the straightaway, he can see his fate. There's a large cell at the end of the hall caging hundreds of ment. The guard feels his posture tighten and warns, "relax. If they see you're scared, they're going to feast on you." He makes note of his posture change, he didn't realize his thoughts were manifesting themselves in his demeanor. And he quickly relaxes his stance as he is ushered into the cell and the cuffs are removed.
When he enters the cell the noise is unreal, and he feels like all eyes are on him. As the cell door closes behind him, he feels his stomach begin to rumble, so he makes his way to the bathroom area on the other side of the cell.
As he walks hurriedly, but still trying to avoid anyone knowing he's got to use the facilities, he notices there are bodies everywhere. People are having conversations standing, sitting, walking around, some are doing pushups, some are watching television, and some are sitting quietly in the corner observing.
Upon making his way to the open bathroom area, an odor he's never smelled before smacks him in the face. He almost gags as he opens the stall door and sees what can only be the most disgusting sight of an unflushed toilet, and human excrement on the toilet seat. He's so grossed out, he cannot relieve himself and he quickly closes the door to the stall and walks back into the open area to look for a place to sit.
He finds a space to lay claim in a corner, at the end of a bench with his back to the wall, hoping for a miracle that will soon change his circumstances . He's not religious, but his current surroundings have him rethinking things.
Immediately he's shaken from his thoughts as three fights break out, one after the other for a running half hour period. And two people are whisked away by medics due to drug overdoses. Add the fact that a group of guys in the opposite corner are now staring at him, and it's a given his anxiety level is through the roof. He's thinking, this is fucking insane.
As his mind continues to sort through what he's experiencing; he's wondering if his call to Edison will ever produce results sooner than later regardless of what the officer said about booking protocol. He knows money talks, so if there's any way he has a hope of circumventing normal protocol, it will be with the help of a high powered attorney.
Abruptly a pungent odor invades his nostrils, breaking his concentration. it's the kind of smell that could easily wake the dead. He then hears "Goddamn man, you're fucking dead inside!" With everyone moving away from the accused person making the limited space around Jake quickly disappear to his dismay.
With the air quality being more compromised, and now having people in his immediate space, he's about a minute and a half from completely losing it. He's trying to remain calm, as the guard suggested, but his stomach troubles have returned, but when he thinks of the condition of the bathroom, the idea of hugging the toilet or sitting on one in this place causes him to again refocus his mind so that he doesn't have to use it anymore. .
As time rolls by he's getting deeper in his head as he contemplates how he got here, and what his back up plan is in the event Edison somehow doesn't come through. But he's got nothing, so he knows it's got to work, he thinks to himself.
He's again shaken from his thoughts by the sound of two men in front of him talking. He soon realizes it's two of the men who were staring at him a moment ago, and the one man is talking to him. He says, "Hey, what are you in for?" Seeing enough Law and Order episodes, he knows copping to anything isn't in his best interest.
So he casually says, "wrong place, wrong time. Just waiting for them to sort out everything or my attorney arrives to get me out of here." Before the other party replies, the sound of the heavy cell door opening catches their attention, and a group of guards come in with a card, handing out food. They are all told to line up for meal time, and Jake begrudgingly follows suit. He takes the brown sack he's handed and opts to return to where he was sitting, but the area is now occupied. So he searches for another corner, and finds space.
He opens the bag and peers inside, he finds a dry bologna sandwich on white, a bag of pretzels, a bruised apple, and a small carton of milk. Despite being famished, he can't bring himself to eat what's in front of him. But he notices everyone around him tearing into the food without pause. He opts to give his food away, and he slips back into the corner taking in his surroundings, and being on guard.
He settles in on the bench after everyone has eaten, and slowly but surely people start quieting down. He's now leaning back against the wall and he's starting to rest his eyes.
How he is managing to find some type of peace, long enough to get rest he's not sure. But at this point he will take what he can get. As more time passes he begins to see everyone around him settling down and going to sleep. He's not sure how he's going to sleep here, but he's certain the sooner he goes to sleep the faster tomorrow arrives.