Marco (themarcos) wrote in neogenesisrpg, @ 2009-01-12 02:19:00 |
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Entry tags: | marco medina, teja jansen |
Who: Marco Medina & Teja Jansen
What: Changes in treatment. Notice of release.
When: Sunday, Jan 11
Where: Seattle Adjustment Center, Level 3
Rating: PG-13
Status: Complete
The restraints had come off about a week before but his wrists still felt the leather bite into the skin. It hadn't left a mark, but then these places were designed not to leave visible signs. They were supposed to get you adjusted to the world outside, not brand you for life.
Marco rolled over onto his side, eyes fixed on the gray of the wall. He counted the pops in the pipes that ran the length of the ceiling. Thought about hanging himself - "with what, my underwear?" - and groaned.
It had to be time for the usual rounds. He couldn't afford to think they'd leave him in isolation another 24 hours. He might go crazy.
There was no need for the reproductive endocrinologist to attend to the rounds for that day. Especially for level three residents about to transition out into the rest of the population. With a guard following close behind, she stopped at room 309 and knocked.
"You can stay here." Teja told the guard before stepping inside, certain that 348 would not risk harming her, not this close to release. "Good morning, how are you today?"
Marco's heart gave a sharp stutter, like his lungs used to do when he got pneumonia as a kid once. He paused, hands clenched in the bedding before sitting up at the sound of a female voice. He couldn't say if it was familiar. He wasn't sure. Everything here was a death rattle.
"I'm fine," he answered tightly, tongue turning and turning over the words he really wanted to say.
"Dr. Jansen, just to clarify." Teja opened his file and scanned the page. "You have made excellent progress in the program, and your mandatory sentence issued by the state of Washington has been served. We are ready to transition you out of here."
Transition. Like a package with a postal stamp and a delivery date and a-- "Dr Jansen. Right." Marco lowered his feet to the floor, tasting the sharp edge of his teeth. What do you taste like? "What does that mean?" They couldn't really think they were going to let him go. I'll kill her. Them. You. I'll kill you.
"It means, you will be moved to a halfway house outside of here and assigned a probation officer." she explained. "You will find work and we will monitor your interactions outside to see if there are any relapses."
Bug my house, my shoes, my car, that's the plan, isn't it? Lock me up in a different kind of prison. "There won't be any relapses," he countered, self-assured thanks to the lie. "When can I leave?" Sounds too eager.
"As soon as you fill out the standard paperwork..." Teja set the chart down and placed her hands behind her back. "...and I talk to your friend. Is he free or am I talking to him right now?"
Marco swallowed thickly, fists curling into the mattress. She's good. "My... friend." She's really good. Are you going to pretend I'm not here? "He can hear you just fine." But you're not gonna let me talk to her? Clever boy.
The corners of Teja's lips turned up into a small smile. "You're not going to let him take over, right?"
She pushed away from the desk and stepped closer to the bed. "It is in both of your best interests that it stays that way. Should I tell you what your other half went through while you were away or do you remember that well enough on your own?"
Marco fought not to flinch at her approach. Part of him wanted to back himself into a corner, while the other... The other wanted to back her up into the wall and break her neck.
"I am never away," he protested, voice as valm as it could be, given the circumstances. He was in her power. He knew that much. Is she going to tell us a scary story now? Will there be ghosts? I'll get the popcorn.
"Then there will be no need to remind you of the room with no sound, no lights or the electroshock? The various medication combinations and the unfortunate side effects?" Teja detailed, stopping short of sitting on the bed with the man. She was provoking him, but she was not that stupid. "The latter will still continue until more control is asserted over your other, but both of you seem to want to behave enough to resume living with the rest of the world."
"Can you blame us?" he retorted. "Accommodation is somewhat lacking in here. I'd ask to speak to the manager, but you're it, aren't you? In all your... pristine white glory." Marco bit his tongue. He hadn't spoken, but someone had. He remembered the terror they'd both experienced and hated her a bit harder for it. "I'm ready to go back to the real world," he added, lowering his voice to something a little more pliant. Fighting them didn't work.
"We want you back in the real world as well." she said, smiling. Returning to the desk, she retrieved the clipboard underneath the man's file and handed the man three brochures.
"Read these over. These are the conditions of your probation and the rules of living in the safehouse. It may seem restrictive, but every week of good behavior brings even more freedom. The exception being if you are paired, then we will work with you closely to ensure that we will not have a repeat of your last marriage. Understood?"
No more bleeding women. No more open wounds. Where's the fun in that? "Understood," Marco nodded, taking the brochures with a steady hand. They were too bright, too prettily colored for the topic at hand. "I didn't know... Will I be considered for pairing after what happened?" It sounds like a good idea, don't you think? This time at least you know what you're doing.
"As long as you can be treated and as far as we can tell your condition is not genetic." Teja started to fill out her portion of the paperwork, glancing up over at the man occasionally. "Any questions?"
Your condition. Marco leafed through the brochures half-heartedly. Did she just call us a disease? "Who will be my probation officer?" Maybe she'll stick around. I wonder what Dr Jansen looks like under that lab coat. Think she's a lace kind of girl?
"You will meet him at the halfway house." Teja answered, leaving out the part that she did not have that portion of his file yet. The probation assignments were made only after she presented them with the signed forms.
Nah. Whips and leather and handcuffs. "Alright..." The brochure showed a happy couple holding hands in some generic scene in a generic world that had nothing to do with this one. Marco moved to the next. "Am I allowed to have contact with my family?"
"Gradually, but you will not be forbidden to see them at all." she nodded, holding out the forms for him to sign. "You will have to abide by the restraining order your ex-wife has on you."
"Why would I want to see her?" Marco snorted, taking the forms and signing without reading. They could - and probably had - tricked him into worse. If he had learnt anything in six months at the Adjustment Center, it was that he had no rights. He had no control. He was their pawn. Something moved behind his eyes as he handed back the form but kept the pen. It was a nice pen.
"It was just a reminder." Teja held her hand out for the pen. If it was a standard issue pen, she'd just as well let him have it, but she handed him one of her own. "The pen, please."
Keep it, keep it, keep it. "I don't need reminders," he answered, soft and quiet and his hand shook just a little as he obeyed. Like a trained dog. Are you going to sit if she tells you, too?
"Thank you." she said, her voice slightly patronizing as she tucked the pen back into her lab coat. Glancing over the forms to see he signed them correctly, she smiled. "Very well. Rest for now, the shuttle will not be here for another three hours."
Dangle that carrot, Ms Jansen. You're good at it. Marco dropped his hand, the pause strangely long, almost as though he didn't know what to do with the limb, and tried not to suspect that this was another lie. Another game. Think she's a Miss or a Mrs? Wouldn't want to be married to that one....
Teja picked up his chart from the desk and made her way out of the room, pausing only to grin at the man as she stood by the door. "Behave yourself out there, we'll see you in a week."
I look forward to it, Doctor. Marco stayed put and quiet as the door closed behind her. Gone were the days where he'd try to rush his way out of here. Gone the attempts, but not the instinct. You still want to make them pay.