alice_wilkins (alice_wilkins) wrote in rrinitiative, @ 2013-08-27 20:37:00 |
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Entry tags: | alice, alice and hayden, day twenty-two, hayden |
Venturing Out Into the Great Wide World
Characters: Alice and Hayden
Setting: Kitchen
Alice made it until almost lunch time before her hunger got the better of her and she forced herself to venture out of the safety of her room. She wished it was like the first day she had gotten here, when they had given them food in their rooms, but that clearly wasn't happening again.
Reaching the kitchen, she was immediately grateful that no one else was there. Just because things had ended up going... surprisingly well the other day with Rusty, didn't mean that she was going to relax. She wasn't foolish enough to dare to hope everyone here would be like that. Once she actually focused on the kitchen though, she stopped, momentarily surprised, amazed at what they had been given. This was... She had been expecting maybe a microwave and a toaster, plus some things in the refrigerator, not... this. This made her wish she was a better cook, just so she could really take advantage of this place.
Despite her lack of cooking prowess, Alice decided then that she was going to make something a little better than a sandwich. Opening the refrigerator, she checked the contents before deciding on some macaroni and cheese with hot dogs. It was simple enough that even she could manage that, and it reminded her of home. After putting a pot of water on the stove to boil, she set out a pair of hot dogs - she'd wait until the macaroni was almost done to heat those up - went to get a soda while she waited. Grabbing a can, she was quickly distracted by the knives sitting out. She supposed a kitchen wouldn't be much good without knives, but still, she was amazed that they were just... available to anyone. Her surprise didn't stop her from taking one, however, wrapping it in a small hand towel she found and tucking it into the pocket of her hoodie. The police had taken her taser, obviously, when she was arrested, and she had been feeling vulnerable - even more so than usual - ever since. Now, while she didn't intend to use it unless she had to, she did feel better just knowing that she had some way to defend herself. Taking her soda back over to the stove, she leaned against the counter, sipping appreciatively at her drink, watching the pot and waiting for the water to boil.
Now that he had some clothes, Hayden was willing to venture into the kitchen in the middle of the day. He wasn’t crazy about the room-switch, mostly because he didn’t see the point of it. If they wanted to move people around, couldn’t they have let them pack up first? Hayden thought he was pretty good at dealing with things as they were thrown at him, but it was rare that he had to deal with them in his underwear. He’d been stuck in his room all day yesterday because of it, and then they had the nerve to complain that people hadn’t gotten out and socialized!
He still wasn’t used to having a kitchen to cook in, complete with utensils. Hayden wandered into the kitchen, not sure what he was going to fix, but intending to fix something. Running into someone new gave him pause, but only for a second. He smiled and continued towards the refrigerator. “What ‘cha making?” he asked as he opened the fridge to examine the contents.
Jumping slightly at the sound of another person, Alice spun to face the man, hands moving towards the pocket of her hoodie before she caught herself. He wasn't actually paying too much attention to her, seemed more interested in the refrigerator than anything else. Swallowing, she grabbed her soda off the counter, taking a long sip to give herself a moment to gather herself. Taking a deep breath, she stared at the pot of water, trying to will it to boil before she answered him. "Macaroni and cheese and hotdogs," she said, forcing herself to speak up rather than mumble. Well, she had managed to do well enough yesterday with Rusty. Maybe she could manage to not panic and look completely stupid.
“Jumpy?” he asked, taking note of the way she spun to face him. He supposed it was natural to be on the defensive, considering where they were, but since his arrival the only person that seemed like a threat was Cassandra. She was more of an emotional threat than a physical one. “Sounds good,” he said, flashing her a smile before pulling a soda out of the fridge. “I’m Hayden,” he said, offering his hand. If the administration wanted him to get out and socialize, then he’d get out and socialize.
"Sorry!" The apology was almost instinctual, a response to his observation of her skittishness. It wasn't anything personal, after all. "I just... This is my first time venturing out and... You startled me," she finished, even as she mentally chastised herself for the lame explanation. She stared at the hand he offered her for a moment, wary, but she didn't want to offend him - not to mention, her mental voice was telling her how rude it would be to refuse to shake his hand - so she slowly reached out and shook hands with Hayden. "I'm Alice," she said, quietly.
“It’s okay,” Hayden said with a half smile. “This place is weird. I’m used to being on my guard, too.” He was slowly getting back to his usual self, but knowing that he was locked up with a bunch of criminals didn’t exactly insight trust. It didn’t matter that he was a criminal himself. Hayden didn’t think what he’d done was all that bad compared to others. “Nice to meet you, Alice,” he said, shaking her hand, then taking a step back, since she really did seem a little jumpy. “Did you just get here, or have you been hiding out inside your room?”
Unwilling to turn her back to the man to keep an eye on the water, she moved sideways a little so she could see both of them, tucking her hands into the pockets of her jeans as she did so. She was grateful for the fact that he had clearly tried to give her space though, so she made a point to try and smile at him. "This is my third day here," Alice told him after a brief pause to mentally count the days. "I got here the day we were locked in our rooms. But this is my first time out since yesterday when they made us change rooms." She really didn't understand that. What was the point of giving her a room, giving her clothes, and then making her change rooms the next day, only to lose what few things they had given her? So really, she had to agree with him. "This place is weird." She had sort of thought so before, but it was really just now hitting her.
“Yeah, I don’t get the whole room change thing. I came from Block A, so I can’t even get my stuff back.” He was lucky to have found someone generous enough to give him clothes to wear, since most of his were in his old room. He supposed that’s what he deserved for stepping out in his boxers. “And have you see the camera feed?” he asked, going back to the fridge and pulling out the fixings for a sandwich. “I feel like they’re setting us up.” Why else would they give them access to what was happening on Block A? It wasn’t just weird, it was creepy.
Alice nodded, even as she turned back to her pot as the water finally started boiling. Pouring in some noodles, she briefly stirred the pot with her spoon, before turning back to Hayden. "It's creepy," she agreed, moving her hands back to her pockets and hunching slightly into herself. That whole thing had made her very uncomfortable. If she could see other people, did that mean they could see her? That was a terrifying thought. Even though she had known it probably wouldn't help, she had taken one of the sheets off the bed and thrown it over her computer, just in case that was where the camera was. And even if it wasn't, having done that made her feel a little better about the whole thing. Not much, but right now, she would take anything. Just thinking about all of it made her uneasy again. "Setting us up for what?" she asked warily, not sure if she wanted to know what exactly he was thinking.
“I don’t know,” Hayden shrugged. “It feels kind of like an us against them scenario, but that could be paranoia kicking in.” Being in prison had made him far more suspicious of everyone’s motives, especially since realizing that even someone he trusted might have set him up. Cassandra had argued the opposite, but he found he couldn’t quite believe her, even if he wanted to. He had to choose between her and Hunter, and that was a contest Hunter would win. “How long were you in before you got here?”
Nervously tapping her spoon against her palm, Alice couldn't help but wonder out loud, "Why would they want that? Wouldn't it make more sense to turn us against each other?" Either way, neither were ideas that she really liked. She turned back to the pot, stirring the macaroni. "Two years," she answered him quietly. She never really knew what the others in prison were going to think, if they would think she was a target. It was why she generally tried to stay in the background, where people wouldn't notice her, much less ask questions. After a moment, she belatedly asked, "What about you?"
“No, that’s what I meant. Us, in block B, against them, in block A. Though I think we’re all against the administration, at least when they put us in awkward situations that leave us without clothes,” Hayden said. He didn’t understand it and he didn’t trust it. While he enjoyed the freedom they were giving him, this wasn’t the way prison was supposed to work. It made him uncomfortable. “Two years and three months,” he answered. “Some days it feels like forever and some it feels like I just got in.” Time passed weirdly fast when he’d been in the normal prison. He figured it was the structure, that keeping to a schedule made the days blend together with no variation to separate them out.
Oh. Well, that made more sense. It didn't make her feel any better, but she understood what he had been trying to say. "I hope not," she said quietly. She wouldn't do well if things turned ugly here, and she put one of her hands back in the pocket of her hoodie, curling her fingers around the knife she had stashed there. It probably wouldn't help much, but it made her feel better. So did hearing that Hayden had been in pretty much the same amount of time she had been incarcerated. It made her feel a little less uncomfortable about the topic. Nodding in response to his comment about the passage of time - something she completely agreed with - she glanced back at him for a second before focusing back on her macaroni. Not because it really needed the attention, but because it felt safer than admitting that she was curious. "What are you in for?" she asked, hoping she sounded casual, and not like some weirdo.
“Robbery,” he answered easily as he began to make the sandwich. He appreciated the ability to choose what he was having for lunch. He’d missed little things like choices, but he understood his own were the reason he’d gotten put in jail in the first place. Bad choices. “Me and my brother helped this girl we were dating steal from her family. It’s all pretty fucked up when I look back on it.” It was never something he would have come up with on his own, nor Hunter. The plan was all Cassandra. He just couldn’t believe how easily he and Hunter had bought into it. “What about you?”
Cocking her head to the side, Alice tried to decide if Hayden had been dating the girl, or his brother. Either way, it didn't really matter. Even without knowing anything else or understanding why, exactly, he thought the whole thing was fucked up, she could see where they had made one very big mistake. "Never get involved with someone on your team. Or start a team with someone you're involved with. That's pretty much the first step to getting yourself caught," she said, stirring the macaroni before turning around to lean against the counter and watch him. "Burglary," she answered, grinning and unashamed. She didn't mention the whole assault of a law enforcement officer part, because as far as she was concerned, that wasn't what was important. "I stole animals from people. Mostly people who were abusing them, but sometimes just because I wanted them." She supposed most people would feel bad about what she had done, but she wasn't. She was proud of her skills.
“I don’t think we’d have done it if we weren’t involved with her. I know I wouldn’t have,” Hayden said. “It was her idea and we thought we were helping her, and maybe helping ourselves out, too. It really wasn’t worth it.” Not for the money and not for the girl. He knew that now, but he hadn’t known that then. Hayden still had a soft spot for her that would probably never go away, but right now he was still pissed with her. “That doesn’t seem that bad,” he said, looking up at her when she explained what she’d done. She was definitely proud of it, considering her smile. “I’d have thought that the fact that some of the animals were being abused might help your case. What kind of animals are we talking?” He assumed dogs and cats, but if she’d stolen something like a tiger, then he could better understand being in prison.
Oh. So he wasn't one of those who made a living off of it. Alice supposed that helped what he had said before make more sense. "Sounds like a crappy way to get into things," she commented. "How long did it last before you got caught?" She doubted it was very long. It sounded like an arrangement that couldn't last too long before things backfired on them. "What kind of animals did I steal? Let's see... A ferret, a bearded dragon, a cockatoo, two dogs, three cats, two gerbils, and a Burmese python," Alice rattled off, ticking them off on her fingers as she did so. She couldn't help but smile as she mentioned Bernie; it wasn't a story she really shared much, but most people would find it hard to believe someone like her had managed to steal a snake that was fifteen feet long and weighed as much - or more - than she did. "I also had another ferret and some fish, so I guess they assumed those were stolen too. But anyway, the fact that they were abused before didn't really come up. I had had most of them for a while when I was arrested, so they were all in really good health then."
“We lasted about six weeks and most of that we were running.” It was stupid, now that he looked back on it. He and Hunter would have always gotten caught, since they were the ones on cameras. Cassandra might have gotten away with it if she hadn’t been with him when they’d been arrested. “A python?” he asked, grinning. “How do you steal a python? Don’t they weigh, like, a hundred pounds or something?” He wouldn’t know the first thing about stealing an animal of that size, let alone what to do with it once he had it. “Two years seems like a long time for stealing animals. I know it’s theft, but how long are you in for total?”
Six weeks was better than Alice had expected, especially from someone who, by the sounds of it, had gotten in way over their head their first time out. "Six weeks isn't bad," she said, not exactly impressed, but willing to respect it. "Especially for your first time. Most people do something stupid and get caught within twenty-four hours." At his question, Alice forgot for her nervousness for a moment and she just grinned, proud and almost a little wild. "Bernie was fifteen feet long and a hundred and twelve pounds," she told him, sounding a little smug. "But he was a sweetie, had been hand raised and everything. So I just walked out, wearing him like a really heavy belt." It had been risky, but she had gone to the zoo several times, researching how the handlers dealt with other snakes that size and had seen how they simply let the snakes wrap around their bodies - only when they weren't in need of a feeding, of course - so that had really been the only thing she had known to do. "The hard part was actually getting him to let go of me after we had gotten out of there."
Her confidence quickly drained away at his last question though, and Alice had the grace to at least look embarrassed this time, fidgeting uncomfortably. Maybe she shouldn't have said anything. He probably thought she was some sort of hardened criminal or something. Which, she supposed, compared to him, she had at least made something of a living out of what she did. She still didn't like admitting to the rest of her sentence though. "I... I sort of tasered the officer when they tried to take my ferret," she stammered, wringing her hands together. To be fair, it had been Puck, and he had been one of the only animals she had actually bought. She just hadn't been able to prove that she hadn't stolen him. She continued, voice quiet, "So... I got ten years. Mostly for the assault, but they were mad about that, so they gave me a heavier sentence than normal for the thefts too."
“I think we had a good plan, so it took them awhile to figure it out, but it wasn’t perfect,” Hayden said. The involvement of twins was something different, something that fooled the cameras until the investigation went further and they realized what was going on. Then they’d come for them. “I can’t believe you walked out with a fifteen foot python and no one noticed!” he laughed. “That’s incredible.” It was something to be proud of, in his opinion, even if it was a theft. It was too bad she’d gotten caught. When she explained why she’d gotten the sentence she did, he visibly cringed. “Damn. That’s rough. I still don’t think it’s worth ten years. What’re the chances of getting on earlier for good behavior?” Hayden didn’t really understand how the court decided on sentencing. It felt like people who’d done relatively minor things were getting sentences just as long as people who’d shot someone.
For a moment, Alice studied Hayden, quiet and serious looking for something that even she couldn't put a name on. Finally she nodded, smiling a little. "You probably could have been a damn good thief then, given the right team." She might have - generally - preferred to work alone, but if his first time had been with a team, that was probably what he would prefer. Of course, she realized belatedly that he might think she was implying that he was a criminal. Which, well, he was, considering he was here, but he wasn't like her. It wasn't something he had done regularly. Eyes widening, she stammered slightly, trying to back track. "Uh, I didn't mean... I don't... I don't think you're a criminal, or anything! I just... I meant you could have been, if you wanted to!" She was pretty sure that still sounded bad. She needed to stop now, instead of digging that hole any deeper. Laughing a little nervously, Alice pulled her pot of macaroni off the stove and began looking for the lid of the pot so she could drain it, using that as an excuse to do anything but look at him.
Still not looking at Hayden, Alice laughed again, although it wasn't such a nervous laugh this time. "Despite what some people might actually think about me, I'm not crazy. There wasn't anyone around to see me modeling the latest in python fashion. Most everyone was out of the house, and the ones that were there were on the other side of the house and watching football. They had no clue I was there." Which was really how she had managed things on her own. As for the rest of it... She shrugged uncertainly as she finally found a lid and drained the water into the sink. "I don't know. Maybe if they're feeling nice? I mean, as far as they know, those were my only crimes. I didn't have a record or anything, so I guess it's possible. I just... assumed that wasn't going to happen. Minimum sentence for tasing a law enforcement officer is five years. So maybe after that time is up?" She was rambling a little and she knew it, but she was still a little nervous he would get mad about her accidentally, maybe implying that he was a criminal.
“It’s okay,” Hayden smiled as she began to backpedal. “I take that as a compliment, even if it was never my intent to be a regular lawbreaker. I think there has to be trust and honesty on all three sides for anything to work and that was something we were lacking. That and none of us are career criminals. I don’t know if I have the brains for it, to be honest.” Sometimes he didn’t know if he had the brains for anything. Hayden drifted from job to job, and being a prisoner was close to becoming his longest run yet.
He began to eat his sandwich as she spoke, just listening and watching her. Hayden was decently good at reading people and she still seemed a little nervous, though not as much as she’d been before. “I don’t think you’re crazy,” he said when she was done. “And I think you’ve gotta have an awful lot of balls to do what you did. You walked into a house that wasn’t even empty and stole a hundred pound snake. If you can do that, you can do anything. And maybe I shouldn’t be impressed, since it’s a crime, but I am.”
Taken aback, Alice was grateful that she wasn't facing Hayden then. His comment about not thinking she was crazy took her off-guard enough as it was. The rest of it though... She didn't really know how to deal with that. It wasn't something she was used to hearing. Sure, she got compliments about her skills at lockpicking, and her parents had always told her they were proud of her - though not of the lockpicking, they didn't know about that - but even they didn't really tell her that she could do anything. They saw her anxiety and her nervousness, and saw them as things holding her back. "Thank you," she mumbled as she headed towards the refrigerator, trying to fight her embarrassment but not about to be rude. "You obviously don't know me very well, but... It's still nice to hear."
Grabbing the milk and butter, she added them to her bowl, mixing them together with the cheese, trying to think of a way to change the subject, still embarrassed, uncomfortable, and honestly, a little pleased by his compliment. As she thought about it, she remembered what he had said before she had gotten distracted by what he had said about her. Furrowing her brow, Alice turned to face him despite the nervousness that lingered. She looked at him, confused. "Why wouldn't you have the brains for it? You seem plenty smart to me." She certainly wasn't a genius or anything (was only average, if anything), but he had seemed to think she was a pretty good thief, which she was. So she didn't understand how he could think that he wouldn't be smart enough for it. "Maybe not the best at judging potential or anything. But more than smart enough for what we do."
“Welcome,” Hayden said easily, picking up on her discomfort. He wasn’t sure why she was bothered by the compliment, so he thought better than to continue down that path. Hayden had to remind himself that she was as much a criminal as he was and in there for a reason, even if it was hard to see her as one. Even with the story. He had taken a bite when she asked her question, which gave him time to think before answering. “I don’t know. Because if it had been a perfect heist, we wouldn’t have even been suspected, right? I don’t like the idea of hurting anyone. I don’t want to carry a gun and make threats. That’s how people get hurt. But I also don’t know who I can justify stealing from. This last time, it was from Cassandra’s family. It was her own money we were stealing back.” Or that’s what he’d been lead to believe.
Still confused, Alice watched Hayden for several seconds, trying to sort through what he said. She wasn't entirely sure how all of it tied into whether or not he was smart enough for the life of crime, but she did her best to address his concerns. "If you don't want to carry a gun or threaten people, then don't. Personally, if it ever comes to that, you're screwed anyway. It's better to not be seen in the first place; if it comes down to violence, you're already screwed. But as far as who to steal from... I can't really help you with that." From what he was saying, she would have assumed that he had felt justified stealing from Cassandra's family - whoever she was - before, but his tone of voice suggested that maybe he didn't think so anymore. "I wasn't really saying it was something you should do, or that you might want to get into that life. I was just saying that... You could. If you wanted to. You're smart enough to make it work if you really want to." Smiling slightly, mostly to try and get him to smile, Alice leaned towards him, feeling bold, and lowering her voice slightly. "But let me tell you a secret. The perfect heist? It's pretty much a myth. Something is pretty much always going to go wrong. Part of what makes a good thief is not being too attached to the plan, and being able to adapt on the run."
“Thanks,” Hayden grinned, pleased that she seemed to think he had the brains to pull something off if he really wanted to. He wasn’t all that sure he was fit for a life of crime, but he appreciated the compliment, especially since Hayden wasn’t sure what he was good at. Partying, for one thing, but he’d yet to find a way to make that a profession. When she leaned in to tell him her secret, he leaned in as well, still smiling. “Do you think it’s possible for a good thief to be part of a team? Or do they always have to work solo?” he asked. That was his one hangup. He liked working with people and the idea that someone would have his back.
"Of course. It's not that we can't. It's just that... Most of us don't want to. You have to remember, most people in the business aren't what you would call normal." Alice grinned, a little embarrassed as she gestured to herself to make her point. "But if you can find a decent team, one that knows what they're doing and is willing to work with you..." She shrugged, struggling to find a way to explain herself. "It's a pretty great set-up." She might not have been thrilled when she had originally agreed to work on a team, and she may not have gotten along all that well with most of them, but simply knowing even one of them had her back... It had been worth it.
“I suppose it’s something to consider if I ever get out of here and want to go that direction,” Hayden laughed. How ridiculous was he, thinking about starting a life of crime while he was still in prison? It hadn’t worked out for him the first time around, so that should probably be a clue not to go for it again. But he’d never really found anything that worked for him, which was really the bigger problem. “I just like working with people, I think. I still don’t know what I want to do with my life, but I know it needs to be with people.” Finding and keeping a job, that was the hard part.
Leaning back against the counter, Alice hesitated before adding, "It's... It's not necessarily a career path I would suggest, but... You could. If you wanted to." She wasn't embarrassed of what she was - or at least, not the fact that she was a thief - or what she had done, but... She wasn't sure it was something she could, in good conscience, suggest. Turning back to her lunch, she grabbed a pair of hot dogs and stuck them in the microwave. "I wouldn't worry about it too much though. I mean, we all have time to think about it since we're in here, right?" Not that she really thought that she'd do too much thinking about it herself. "It can't be too hard to find something you enjoy doing."
“I think the fact that I’m considering it shows that I haven’t put any real hard thought into what I want to do,” he said, which was true. Hayden generally just rolled with whatever came his way, but he might want to have a game plan should he ever get released, and he wasn’t sure that a life of crime was what they intended with this program. “I guess it’s something I need to think about,” he said, finishing up his sandwich. “Not much else to do around here but think.” That was the point of prison, wasn’t it? Being forced to reflect on his crimes and serve his time.
As the microwave beeped, Alice took the hotdogs out and cut them into pieces before putting them into her macaroni and cheese. Picking up the bowl, she shrugged. "Exactly. You have plenty of time to think about it. So I wouldn't stress. You seem like a pretty smart guy. You'll find something you want to do." Or at least, she was pretty sure he would. She had managed to find a legitimate job that she had enjoyed, so she had no doubt that Hayden could manage it.
“Definitely not stressing,” Hayden smiled. He did stress, but not over that. Of all the things he had on his mind, what he’d do when he got out of there was pretty low on the list. He’d figure it out eventually. “I’m gonna let you get back to your lunch, but I’ll see you around?” he said as he cleaned up what little mess he’d made from putting together a sandwich.
Uncertain again, Alice hesitated before nodding. "Yeah. Okay," she said, nervously tapping her fingers against the side of her bowl. Smiling uncertainly, she added, "It was nice to meet you, Hayden." That part, at least, was true. She still wasn't comfortable around him - that would take time, and quite a bit of it - but the idea of running into him again wasn't a completely terrifying one. But even if this particular encounter had been a positive one, she didn't feel like waiting around the kitchen for someone else to show up. Shifting her bowl of macaroni to one hand and picking up her can of soda with the other, she hurried out the door to her room. That was enough human interaction for one day.