Ta dah! Here is an extra long chapter for you all (well, I think it's pretty long, at least). Enjoy :D
Elena had no intention of telling Crane anything the next day. She knew as soon as he got what he wanted from her, she would cease of being use to him and would be once again at the mercy of Red and Falcone. Fiddling with the lighter she had stolen from Red, she stood up and began to pace back and forth across her cell like a caged animal. She had to escape Arkham, for more reasons than one now. But how?
Ever since the last successful escape from the infamous mental institution, the outcry from Gotham citizens had forced the city to devote major resources into making the place a state of the art prison. They neglected the medical needs of the facility, and instead focused on improving the surveillance system, running lock down drills, and hiring more guards. That much was public knowledge. However, Elena had observed that while there were more guards on staff, they were paid poorly by the state, and as a result, had gotten lax on security. Supposedly, staff would count the patients every hour, but they would often start 30-45 minutes late.
But an extra 45 minutes would do her no good if she had no escape route.
"Time for Social!" shouted an orderly.
Elena dumped the lighter in her pocket and waited impatiently for the cell doors to buzz open. She stepped into line outside, and could feel cold unfriendly eyes watching her once again. True to his word, since her deal with Crane she had been allowed to eat, but she knew Red would never truly leave her alone. Dealing with him would be easy. Breaking out on the other hand…
Standing behind Ivy, they trudged along the corridor until they arrived at the break room. They filed inside, and the orderly locked the doors behind them. The break room was a place for patients to socially interact with one another, and contained a few ratty packs of cards, a small black and white television, and a few board games. She had known dental offices that were more fun.
She saw in the back corner table an overly friendly blonde waving her over, and Elena walked over and took a seat.
"Feeling better, honie?" Harley asked, and without waiting for a response continued, "See, I told ya he'd lay off eventually."
Elena made a noncommittal grunt. Harley was currently unaware of her bargain with Crane.
"Wanna play cards?" she asked brightly, pulling out a tattered pack of cards.
"Sure," Elena replied.
Harley began to deal the cards, but when she reached the joker of the set, she kissed it lovingly and tucked it into her dress pocket. Elena did her best to act as though nothing strange had just occurred.
Clearing her throat uncomfortably, Elena inquired, "So how long have you stayed here anyways?"
"Well, including the time I spent here as an intern-"
"You worked here?" Elena interrupted, stunned.
"Oh sure. I was going to be a doctor, 'til Mistah J saved me."
"What do you remember from working here?"
"What do you mean, missy?"
"I mean…" Elena lowered her voice considerably, and made sure no one was listening in before saying, "Could you break out of here?"
Harley let out a girly laugh, but before she could speak Ivy interrupted her. "Are you really so ignorant as to think we don't already have a plan to escape?"
The intensity of Ivy's glare was meant to cow her, but Elena didn't flinch. "If you don't mind my asking, what is it?"
Ivy rolled her eyes, and replied pretentiously, "Why would I tell you?"
"Oh, be nice Ivy," said Harley, and turning to Elena explained, "When we get the chance, we'll knock out a guard, take his key card and get the heck out of here."
Ivy pursed her lips, but said nothing.
Elena made her disappointment with their plan clear on her face. "Oh."
"Gotta problem?" Ivy asked, voice full of hostility.
"Well, it's just that…" Elena paused, looking for the right words. "It seems a little… brutal. I mean," she said quickly, upon seeing the look on Ivy's face, "Don't get me wrong, I'm sure you're more than capable of getting out of here, but with the new cameras and alert systems, you'd get out only to be thrown right back in. There are just so many things that could go wrong."
"We never asked for your opinion, Elena, so why don't you keep your nose out of it."
"Let's hear her out, Ivy, I mean it can't hurt," Harley pleaded.
"No," the redhead replied firmly. "She'd only get in our way." And on that note, she stormed off to the other side of the room to stare out the barred window.
"Sorry E," said Harley. "The doc's say she has trust issues."
"No kidding."
Elena stared at Ivy's back thoughtfully. She knew she couldn't get out without both of the girl's help, but she needed to gain their trust.
She stood up suddenly. "I need to go to the bathroom."
Harley raised her eyebrows skeptically. "Can't ya wait? It ain't a good idea to go alone with Red-"
"I'll be fine," she said confidently, strolling to the door and knocking on it loudly.
"What do you want?!" shouted an orderly from the other side.
"May I please visit the ladies room?" she called through the keyhole of the metal door.
She heard muted grumbling, and the door was yanked open.
"Williams, take her," the guard ordered, and Red appeared to escort her to the restroom. He grinned when he saw who she was.
"Come on," he said, grabbing her arm as they walked around the corner. They halted in front of the staff restrooms.
"Alone at last," he said quietly, with an iron grip on her arm.
"I couldn't agree more," she whispered. Astonishment crossed Red's face upon hearing her words. She suspected that he had never in his life encountered a girl that encouraged his advancements.
"I've been thinking," she continued, using her free hand to grab his white jacket and pull him closer, "About your offer. As long as no one finds out, it won't be a problem, right?" She could see disbelief still written on his face, so she leaned forward and whispered in his ear, "It'll be our little secret." A revolting smile appeared on his face, but she continued the façade and smiled seductively back. He smelled strongly of smoke and she resisted the urge to push him away and gasp for clean air.
Red opened his mouth and leaned forward, prepared to shove his tongue down her throat but she covered his mouth and hissed, "Wait!"
"What now?" he replied angrily.
"They're watching," she said, pointing at the video cameras in the hallway. "I know," she exclaimed, "Why don't we wait? Come to my cell tonight, after count. That way we'll have more… privacy." And by "privacy" she meant, "it's never going to happen asshole."
He considered what she said, and for a heart stopping moment she thought he wouldn't agree, but then he muttered, "Alright."
"Brilliant." She let go of his jacket, lifting one of his cigarettes, which she stowed in her pocket. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go to the bathroom."
If Red hadn't been preoccupied with other thoughts, he might have noticed that Elena walked into the Men's Room instead of the Ladies'. But thankfully, he didn't.
The bathroom was small, with only two stalls and a tiny rusty sink. Wasting no time, she pulled out the smoke she had stolen from Red, and lit it with his lighter. She then held the cigarette high up above her head and waited.
Suddenly a piercing screech echoed throughout the halls of Arkham. She dropped the distinctive Camel brand cigarette on the floor right where it could be seen and calmly walked out of the bathroom.
Red was drenched in water from the smoke alarms and livid. He marched her back to the break room, and then stormed off to find out what was going on.
Walking back to the table where Harley was seated, Elena couldn't help but smile. Red had no clue that she had just set him up.
Jonathan Crane was more than a little annoyed today. Thanks to the new alarm system, the fire department had been automatically called to Arkham. What's worse- there had been no fire. Determined to find who to blame, he had traced the alarm back to a smoke detector in the Men's Staff Washroom. And he had found on the floor none other than a Camel cigarette, the brand of cigarettes smoked exclusively by Mr. Jared Williams.
"Honest boss, I got no clue how that got there," he stammered, pointing at the cigarette butt on Crane's desk.
"Really?" he replied coldly. "Tell me, Mr. Williams, have you ever smoked within the walls of Arkham before?"
"No, boss, never-"
"I would suggest, for your own sake, not to waste my time with lies." His eyes flashed dangerously with an icy glint, and Red took a step back. Crane could feel the fear radiating off the man, and Scarecrow whispered his approval.
"Alright, maybe a couple of times, but-"
"Mr. Williams, you are fired, effective immediately. Clear out your locker, and if I ever see you on this property again... well, there is always room for you in the basement."
Red's face paled and beads of sweat arose on his forehead. He was one of the few orderlies that knew of his experiments, and was rightfully frightened.
Do it, hissed Scarecrow, audible only to Jonathan. Dose him, we need another subject for the toxin.
No, it's too risky, he argued. Someone will notice he's missing.
So? Scarecrow had never been one for caution.
We can't have lawyers like Rachel Dawes sniffing around, can we? "Staff member goes missing" would surely attract her attention.
We can take her as well. Scarecrow had also never liked to listen to reason.
"Uh..." Red was standing there, watching Crane as he sat at his desk, silently arguing with his other half.
"You may go," Jonathan said curtly, dismissing Red before Scarecrow could convince him to change his mind.
As Red walked out, the Moretti girl walked in. Her dark grey eyes lit up when she saw a terrified Red leaving the office, and she beamed at him as she sat down on his couch without waiting for an invitation.
"Staffing problems?" she queried, putting her feet up on his glass coffee table as she spoke.
"It has been resolved." As if he would share anything with her.
"Did you fire him?"
"Perhaps."
"You should listen to me more, Crane." Her grin widened when he regarded her skeptically.
"Why is that, Miss Moretti?"
"Didn't I tell ya on Monday you should let him go? Remember? Looks like I was right. What a shame." She clucked her tongue sympathetically.
His eyes narrowed in suspicion. Why was she so interested?
"Maybe I should re-hire him, if this upsets you so much."
"Don't trouble yourself."
"Oh really," he replied, "It'd be no trouble."
The smile fell from her face, and she replied haughtily, "I'm afraid that would break our bargain, Crane. You guaranteed me protection, ring a bell?"
"Vaguely."
"And speaking of our bargain, I need something."
This girl was certainly demanding. And tiresome.
"I'll see what I can do. What do you need?"
"Nail polish remover."
She curled her hands into fists before he could get a good look at her nails. "They're chipping, it's really embarrassing."
He gave an irritated sighed.
"Answer my questions and perhaps."
That was clearly not the answer she wanted, but she simply said, "What do you want to know?"
"Falcone. Who are his rivals?"
She laughed. "No one. Everyone works for him. Nothing happens in this city that he doesn't approve of." She could not keep the bitterness out of her voice as she spoke. "No one leaves this city unless she says so." She knew. She had tried.
"How does he run his business then?"
"You mean 'The Roman Empire'?" That was the idiotic name her uncle had given his business. "Family, that's how."
"Do they all love him as much as you?" he asked.
"No," she said shortly.
Crane could tell that his questions were upsetting her, and this interested him. "What can you tell me about them?" he asked.
She clenched her jaw, and looked as though she would rather jump off the roof of the asylum.
"Well, he's training his kids Mario and Sofia so that one day they'll be able to run the business. Alberto on the other hand went to Harvard."
"How well do you know his children?"
"Not. Well."
She was clenching her hands so tightly now that he could see her knuckles were white. "And why is that?"
"Because I don't want to know them, that's why."
"Miss Moretti, are these questions making you uncomfortable?"
"We agreed you'd ask me about Falcone, not myself."
"No, we agreed you'd answer any questions I have, no matter how aggravating. That was the deal."
She stood up, and said furiously, "Why do you have to be so awful? I'm trying to help!"
He stood as well, and replied heatedly, "And you, Miss Moretti, should show me some respect."
"Respect is earned, doctor," she retorted.
"If you can't respect me, you will fear me," he whispered menacingly.
"Fear you?" she repeated with derision.
"Yes."
But this time it was not Crane who spoke.
Scarecrow, we agreed I would handle the interviews! Jonathan shouted, a prisoner in his own mind. He could do nothing now, having no control over even his own body. All he could do was watch.
Sorry, I couldn't resist, his alter ego replied. She was just too... delicious.
I order you to-
You don't order me around, Johnny boy. I am you, remember? Now I can't have you distracting me. Toodles.
Scarecrow, I mean it-
But then Scarecrow took his vision from him as well, and his world went black. He was shoved back to into the recesses of his very mind, forced to wait impatiently until Scarecrow let him back in. He felt a twinge of remorse. Crane hoped that Scarecrow would leave the girl's mind intact after he had finished terrifying her.