The two of them were on the road again. Claire looked at herself in the mirror, as she realized that she had bags under her eyes. She definitely hadn't slept. Not well at least since that day. She looked over at Owen, as he was driving once again, radio off, no distractions except where he was going- and who was next to him. "How sure are you that this is going to work," she said, really still mind reeling from all of it. Honestly, she was the person who had come up with this idea- and he'd been the one to put it together. Still, she had her doubts.
She would lean back as she watched the traffic go by, sighing as she settled into the ride. Looking back in the mirror, she looked like a changed woman. Instead of the more formal outfit she'd worn up to now. Green tank top and pants, with an unbuttoned green jacket, her hair was now lightly tied up in a ponytail, even as she'd feel like a part of herself was freer. What was free exactly? She didn't know- but it seemed that the moment Jessica had fired her, the scales had come off her eyes.
Then she'd got to sit down with Malcolm and Levine, and they'd exchanged more information. "I feel this is going to work. It has to," Owen said, vocalizing what she believed, as he gripped the steering wheel tighter. Indeed, the both of them knew that this was going to be a gamble. Maybe it was always going to have been a gamble, but they could not let this one slide by without trying.
He turned on the blinker, and the car turned, and she could see the sign…'State Penitentiary'…. That was when Claire turned on the radio. She was just curious…very curious what if how this was being covered. "This is Amber Riley in a special breaking news announcement. It was recently announced by authorities that the man behind Masrani's death has been identified. Suspected dino-trafficker, Eli Mills…he was arrested two days ago under suspicion of murder."
Claire ticked the radio off. She shook her head again. "Don't know how long they've been repeating it, but we only just found out about it the other day." She looked at Owen, her jaw set as they both knew then that speed must be of the utmost importance in dealing with this. What Levine had told them both about his dealings with Mills, she had known they had to talk to him. Because he was the key.
Still, they had to act fast. Claire and Owen both knew it, as they turned, and they got off the freeway. The road seemed to narrow, and they were on a single track road, one way going, one way back. Claire took a deep breath, as she saw the sign coming forward 'State Penitentiary One- Mile'. Looking around them, she could see the land was clear. It had to be, most people had taken to forcibly clearing the land of brush or trees if they could. It was easier to spot things that way.
Not that too many animals had ever been seen up this way, still no sense in taking chances, Claire thought as she would suck in her breath as they came to a checkpoint. Just a single toll booth, but she could see the guard was armed, he had a gun, but she wasn't too nervous. Owen looked at her, as he took her ID and showed it to the guard. He seemed to waffle for a brief moment, before he would nod, their IDs checking out.
As the guard passed them through, Owen looked at her. "Last chance to back out…" he said, his voice trying to be comforting, but Claire sighed. Knowing that there was really nothing she could do. She kept silent until they reached the parking lot, as she unbuckled her seatbelt.
"No. We need the answers. This is the only way."The only way that we will get them" , she thought, as she knew that the guard would have called ahead to let the station know that they were here. They had one shot at this, as she would decided to go through with it, as the both of them entered the processing area, and going through security. It did feel strange being patted down, but neither of them really had anything on their person that they needed to hide.
They had called ahead, for all that it did them, given that they still had to fill out a form to see him. Hesitant, Claire signed her name to it, as she sucked in a breath. Not sure if that would be the smartest thing to do, but neither of them was really in a good position right now. It had to be the pair of them as well. Zia sure couldn't do it, and Levine and Malcolm had claimed they were both too old to be in the action anymore. So Claire had to do it, she thought. Rule breaking…was this how it started? She thought wryly, as she signed her name to it.
The pair followed the guard through the hallways, as they could see the visitor area, just as she'd pictured it would be from the movies. Complete with the glass divider between the chairs and the telephone on each side. Owen and Claire took their seats, and the guard would return to the back of the room, on his guard. Claire leaned back in her seat, as she would see the door on the other side of the room open. Eli Mills was led in handcuffs. The last time she'd seen him was when Levine had given them the file, showing a well dressed man in a suit.
Mills didn't resemble that at all, as he was now dressed in an orange jumpsuit, and he looked like he hadn't slept, and a line of stubble crossing his face completed that disheveled appearance. He took his seat opposite from the pair of them, and looked confused, which Claire got. She'd never interacted with him before, but she had at one time been a public facing person. He broke the silence first, as he picked up the phone, and chuckled. "You don't look like my lawyers."
Owen looked at Claire, and she knew that she had to be the one to do the talking. Not that she didn't trust Owen, it was more that she knew that talking wasn't exactly his strong suit, especially when it came to something like this. She sighed again, as she found her words, picking up the phone on her end as well. "We'd like to talk about what happened. How you know Jessica King." She saw him freeze up, as she could see his hand wavering on the phone. There, she had him, she thought.
"Before you leave- I just want you to think about this. You were arrested very fast after what happened with Masrani. I'm sure that is no coincidence, and I think you know that too." Claire was gambling on his lingering doubt, as she knew that he might still be calculating on being able to wriggle out of this situation somehow. However, she was aware that probably was not going to happen. The look in his eyes…
"Fine. But just so you know, I really should have my lawyer present-" He seemed to be on the verge of calling the guard. Claire knew that she couldn't let that happen, otherwise this conversation would be over before it really began. She had come too far to let that happen. So she played her ace a bit early, just because she felt that it needed to be done.
She gambled it on a play, as she would know that whatever she said here would have to sell it to him. "Mr. Mills. I know for a fact that she considers you a liability." She saw him pause again, brain processing. Yes, she was instilling doubt in there which was good, bringing up the possibility. "You are being charged with murder, manslaughter, whatever. The point is, You get convicted now, you were arrested for that and not the dino-trafficking." She saw his eyebrows rise as she mentioned that.
"She's right, I have it on good authority that there will be people from your little get togethers at the trial." Owen was speaking now, and she could see Mills eyes dart to hers, as he was really unsure what to do. He was thinking… thinking again, as he was trying to really work things in his mind. Sure he could walk away now, but that would be leaving things to chance.
Mills paused again, his fingers tapping on the glass. They had him thinking now, she realized. Still, it would not be smart to overplay her hand. As the man's eyes turned left and right, he finally made up his mind. "I have to speak with my lawyer. But you are positive that there will be these witnesses at the trial?" It seemed he was in disbelief, like a kid getting his hand caught in the cookie jar. But he had to have known, these people would not owe him anything.
This time, both Claire and Owen nodded in unison. "That's right. They will be. But you can have witnesses of your own, in fact, you can even testify. Say that you were under duress." This time she could see the light of something enter his mind, as it was clear what she was saying. That he had not been doing it of his own free will. That was something that they could go for in this time.
Mills stared back at them, and for a second Claire was afraid he was going to say now. However, after he took a breath, he seemed to have made up his mind. "My lawyers will arrange something. You better be right about this." There was a click, as he hung up the telephone, and the guard stepped up to him. Claire and Owen stood up too on the other side as they watched him be escorted out, as he stared back at them briefly as he was being led out.
"Do you think this will work?" Claire asked, mostly to hear herself talk, and also she wouldn't deny that she had doubt of her own. Owen just stared at the man as he left, shrugging. It was a gamble, and they both knew it.