Chapter 4
Dorian shuffled back and forth on his feet nervously, causing the MX at the door to give him a confused look. Dorian smiled at him, but that just seemed to confuse the MX further as its thought processes tried to work out why an android would be nervous, or felt the need to smile. Then the door opened and Dorian and the other visitors were guided into a room that was dotted with round tables and chairs, all bolted to the floor. Dorian found a spare table that was in the sunlight from the windows that were at ceiling height. He'd seen the dark conditions of the inner prison and thought John might appreciate the light and warmth. There was a metal door at the far end of the room and everyone there watched with baited breath for their loved ones.
When the door did open, Dorian was horrified by what he saw. The inmates were all dressed in their orange jumpsuits and had their hands cuffed. The MXs lead them one by one to their respective family members and them clipped the handcuffs into a strong locking clasp on the table. Dorian had just enough time to realise how much he didn't want to see John like this, and then he saw him.
John was towards the back of the line and shuffling forward with the rest of them. He had his head down, as though he was embarrassed to be seen like this, had a full beard that was starting to look a little unruly, and a large fading bruise over his left eye. Dorian waited until the MX had clipped John into the table before enveloping him in a bear hug that due to his restraints, John was unable to return.
"No touching." The MX ordered and Dorian pulled away.
"I'm sorry." He said sincerely, they'd told them the rules before they went in but in his dismay at seeing John so downtrodden, he'd forgotten.
The pair of them sat down and only then did John look up at Dorian, although his gaze was quickly drawn back down to study his hands on the table. "You shouldn't have come." He said quietly.
"Of course I was going to come." Dorian insisted. "I was going to come last week but they said you weren't allowed visitors." He reached to touch the bruise on John's face but remembered to refrain just in time.
"Solitary." John mumbled. "Caught fighting."
"Fighting? What about? John it's not safe for you in here. You should be in protected custody." Dorian whispered.
John shook his head and looked at him. His eyes were tired and bloodshot but determined. "I'm alright," he said, "I'm holding my own."
Dorian rolled his eyes. "Yeah, looks it."
"How's the case coming on? No details." John said, glancing round to see who else might be listening.
"I'm more concerned about finding out who set you up and to get you out of here. Detective Stahl is working on it with me, but everything is classified. I was hoping you'd be able to tell me."
John shook his head. "Have you spoken to Sandra?"
Dorian looked furious at the mention of their Captain's name.
"She told you to drop it, right?"
"Yeah. She wants me to continue with the case, but I don't understand, she's always fought for you before. She should be marching to city hall and demanding your release." He said bitterly. "I'm sure she's trying but it doesn't feel like she's trying very hard." He said bitterly. "I thought she'd be here today but she told me she couldn't."
"I want you to stop, okay?" John tried to reach out for Dorian's hand, but the chain on the cuffs just clinked and stopped him short. "Please. And lay off Sandra, she'd doing her best in a difficult job."
"But, I…" Dorian stared at the man in front of him. He'd never known him not to fight tooth and nail to get something, and this new him where he just gave up and let it happen scared Dorian. Dorian was furious, how could John not be as well? "Look at your face John! You're going to get killed!" He hissed, realising that some of the others were looking over at them.
John shook his head. "Don't worry about me, just keep working the case."
"The case?" Dorian continued. "I can't even think about the case while you're in here."
"Please let's not fight." John pleaded. The tone of his voice was heartbreaking and it stopped Dorian short.
"I don't want to fight. I just… I really need…" He struggled to find the words, but John's voice was soothing.
"I know Dorian, I know."
"Hey, Kennex!" One of the other inmates shouted across the room. "You'll have to introduce me to your bang bot sometime!"
Dorian stood up to retaliate, but John just rolled his eyes. "Sit down." He told the android. "Just ignore him."
"Is he the one that hit you?" Dorian asked.
John pulled a face, "Nah, I don't even know who that guy is. I'm not some bullied schoolchild Dorian."
Dorian gave him a look of pity that suggested that was exactly how he saw him, John just groaned in response.
"Hey Kennex," The other inmate tried again to get a rise out of him, "When's your next conjugal? If you're into getting fucked by a machine I could help you out with that."
Dorian felt the anger rise in him again it was only John's commanding gaze that kept him in his seat. He did a quick scan of the belligerent man, his name was Alexis Hannity and he'd been convinced for numerous armed robberies. "He's really dangerous John." He warned.
"Listen," John whispered through gritted teeth, "having you fight my battles for me is the last thing I need in here." He said.
On the other side of the room an MX had stepped in and was telling the other inmate to stop. "Hannity, refrain from speaking to other inmates or your visit will be cancelled."
But Hannity had an audience and was clearly loving it. "Bet I can make you squeal little piggy!" He crowed with a cackle.
Then a voice sounded over the tannoy, "Visitation has been cut short for all. MXs, please escort the prisoners back to their cells. You can all blame Hannity and Kennex for the punishment."
"What?" Dorian said in indignation. "But you didn't do anything!"
John just shrugged and stood as an MX approached and unlocked his cuffs from the table. "Don't worry about me Dorian. And stop trying to clear my name, you may not like what you find."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Dorian asked, but he doubted that John would've answered even if he hadn't been ushered away. The android was left staring at the door that all the inmates had been herded out of, lost in thought until an MX approached him and made him realise that he was the last one in the room.
"DRN, visitation is over. You may schedule another for two weeks time."
Two weeks? Dorian's heart sank, this was just so unfair. There was no way that John belonged here and another couple of weeks was a long time to survive somewhere as hostile as this. He allowed the MX to lead him out of the room but as the soulless android locked the door behind them Dorian asked him, "Where is the warden's office?"
"On the second floor up the stairs over there." The MX answered, unable to give the request much thought.
"Thank you." He replied and strode in that direction.
"You are not permitted up there." The MX cut him off and blocked his way, but Dorian shoved him aside. He was half way up the stairs when a fat man in a prison guards uniform rushed out of an office door and raced up the stairs after him.
"Fucking brainless piece of junk." The guard cursed, glaring at the MX, before shouting out to Dorian, "And you? Are you defective or what? He said you're not permitted up there."
"I need to speak to the warden about John Kennex."
The guard looked apoplectic, his face going bright red. "The warden will not see you. Besides, he's at a meeting with the Mayor this morning. Any issues you can discuss with me DRN."
Dorian could tell that this man would not listen to a word he said, he'd already been dismissed as being no more than a machine. "I want to know why John Kennex is in general population. He's at risk in there."
The guard laughed. "You need to worry less about him and more about which people you decide to show loyalty to. He's here because he's a bent cop and in here he's done nothing but cause trouble…"
"Well I find that hard to believe!" Dorian argued.
"Bet you found out he was stealing from the lock up hard to believe too. You need to stop worrying about him DRN! They'll switch you off if you don't." He warned.
Dorian knew that the man had a point. Regardless, he certainly wasn't going to win this argument. He'd have to get Maldonado to intervene if he had any hope of protecting John from the outside. With nothing else to say he headed back down the stairs and stormed towards the exit, trying to ignore the guard's laughter echoing down the hall.
He caught the bus back to the precinct, working out what he was going to say to the Captain. The more he thought about the situation, the angrier he got, until he found himself running diagnostics to make sure there wasn't fault with his charge.
He was angry at everyone; the man who had been taunting John and had caused their visit to get cut short, angry at the guard for dismissing his safety concerns, the Internal Affairs investigators for not believing that John had to be innocent, and at Captain Maldonado for not fighting for him. He even found himself angry at John, who had just seemed to have given up. When he analysed it, that was what angered him the most, John might have his moments when he was angry and depressed, there had been times when he was downright miserable and struggled to drag himself into work in the mornings, but he'd never allowed injustices to slide, how was it he could just roll over and take a punishment that wasn't his to take?
As he entered the bullpen, his thoughts were interrupted by Valerie Stahl who grabbed his arm, "Come with me." She said conspiratorially.
Dorian followed her as she lead him out into the corridor and towards the stairs that lead up to smaller offices.
"I've been speaking to IA again and Captain Lin has agreed to speak to us."
Dorian's anger lessened as his systems were flooded with a feeling of gratefulness. In all this, Valerie had been one of the few on his side. Sure, Rudy would listen to him sympathetically as he ranted about another dead end, but it was Valerie that believed in John just as much as he did, and was prepared to risk her reputation in order to do something about it.
They reached Lin's door and Valerie knocked, "Come in!" was shouted from within.
Valerie opened the door and they entered the small office. There was a middle-aged Asian man behind the desk, which was strewn with empty coffee cups and labelled up data sticks. He looked like someone who was drowning in paperwork, but Dorian found he couldn't summon up the usual sympathy he had for work-swamped detectives. He wondered how many of this man's cases were genuine and how many were malicious accusations like John's.
Lin had a gentle smile but it fell when he saw Dorian. "Stahl, I agreed to speak to you because I thought it might help you to come to terms with what happened. It should be between us, I didn't expect the DRN to show up."
"Dorian is John's partner. If anyone deserves to know then it's him."
Lin looked like he was about to protest further, but instead he sighed and placed a data stick into his computer monitor and spun it round so they could see the screen. "Take a seat," he offered them both. "Stahl, would you like some coffee?"
"No thank you Sir." Valerie was perched on the edge of her seat as he brought up a video recording and clicked play, making himself some coffee while they watched.
The recording was the camera footage from the lock up. It showed John arriving at the front desk and seeming to have a friendly chat with the aging officer at the desk. After he handed a data tablet for the guy to look at, he was allowed into the vast storehouse. The screen switched to a view of the inside, and as he moved purposefully down the rows of exhibits, the motion sensor cameras tracked him. Eventually, he seemed to find what he was looking for and pulled a duffel bag off the shelf. It was still sealed in a plastic evidence bag, but he casually tucked it under his arm and walked out, he even waved at the officer on the desk as he left.
"That bag contained all the cash seized from the home of Captain Barros in the 'Bishop' drug case." Lin explained. "Three hundred thousand dollars"
"Why would Barros have all that cash?" Valerie asked, "he'd never be able to spend it, not since all payments became electronic."
"We don't take cash payments here, but other countries still value the American dollar in note form." Dorian pointed out.
"Your DRN is right on the money, if you'll pardon the expression." Lin said, "also in the bag were three passports with different aliases and an unregistered firearm. It looks like the bag was packed in case a quick getaway was needed."
"But I still don't understand why John would do such a thing? What did he say in his defence?"
"Kennex hasn't said a damn thing to anybody since the moment he was arrested. The only time he even responded to a question was when the judge at his first hearing asked him how he pled."
"And what did he say?"
"He told him he was guilty."