Jailhouse Blues

Court stared moodily at the cuffs on his wrist. They weren't the new ones that law enforcement was so fond of lately. Those were magnetic and slightly computerized—designed to foil those to whom the regular cuffs were easy to unlock. Court wasn't one of those people. The new cuffs would have made it easy to disengage and swap places with the nervous intern who'd dropped off a dry sandwich and bottled water.

Court looked at the wall where a large mirror was placed. Interrogation rooms hadn't changed much in the last hundred years. He'd always wondered just how they made one-way mirrors. He made a mental note to add it to his list of research when he got out of here.

He hadn't been thinking when he'd gotten nabbed. The plainclothes cop had been lurking nearby, his earpiece a vague hiss of background noise in Court's ear. Court had been more interested in San and who San was talking to than paying attention to local law enforcement. He'd been taken completely by surprise when he'd been tackled to the ground with hot, nasty breath reading him the Miranda.

Court remembered San looking stricken before taking off. He hadn't blamed him. If there was anyone the authorities would like to talk to more than the current him, it was San. San had gone off grid shortly after being 'liberated.' None of the other children had blamed him. Court had always wondered just how San survived by himself.

Court looked up as the door opened and two detectives walked in. One slapped a folder on the table while the other pulled out a chair. He switched from the female to the male and back again. Court wondered if he was in for a round of good cop-bad cop. It was all so tiring.

"I'm Detective Daniels and this is Detective Sanchez," the male cop said. He was built big, like an aging linebacker with tired lines around his eyes.

"Want to tell us who you were with there, boy?" Detective Sanchez asked, slipping into a chair.

Court looked up at them and then at the mirror. The whole little section he was in was so old-school. There wasn't even wi-fi for the surveillance camera in the corner of the room. It had clicked on when the detectives entered, showing that it had a simple kill-switch.

The whole setup made him uneasy. He should have just been a regular little hacker kid who made some people's lives miserable for a few days. His juvy stint wasn't even that long; it was just that Lucy considered any length of time far too long. He wasn't going to get into a fight with Lucy over something so trivial.

Court regretted that he hadn't changed his records. It wouldn't have taken him long. He'd just been so caught up in trying to find and rescue Ella that it had slipped his mind.

"We're asking you questions," Detective Daniels said in a tired voice.

"I want a lawyer," Court said, summoning up the small bit of knowledge he'd acquired during his last encounter with law enforcement. It had been the question his public defender had asked almost incredulously when they'd arrived. "I'm not speaking without one."

"That's a change," Detective Sanchez drawled. "Getting smart in your old age?"

"Shut it, Sanchez. The kid wants a lawyer," Detective Daniels said, running a hand over his face. "We've got bigger fish to fry anyways."

Court watched warily as they both stood up. For some reason, his heartbeat was accelerating. He shifted uneasily in his seat.

Detective Sanchez lingered just a little longer after Detective Daniels left.

"I know it was Superboy you were with, right? What's a good kid like that doing hanging around with scum like you?" She asked before pausing as the door swung back open.

"You coming?" Detective Daniels asked.

"Yeah, just telling him when his next meal is coming," Detective Sanchez said.

Court stared at the door as it swung shut. He could tell from the feel that there were no electronics anywhere in a twenty feet radius from him. Even the detectives hadn't brought their phones with them.

No one called San 'Superboy' these days. It was how he was listed in the overlords' files. He'd reacted so violently to the name that the entire identity had been redacted. That'd probably helped when San bolted from wherever it was he'd landed.

*****

"From what I can make out, some plainsclothes caught him." Dawnie glanced at Lucy with confusion. "Why would a plainsclothes be interested in Court? Even if it was just a few chips, it's not enough for possession. The chips haven't even been classified yet."

"It's because I broke him out of juvy," Lucy said, nibbling on her thumbnail. "I'd totally forgot about that."

"You forgot that you broke someone out of jail?" Aarti blinked at her in surprise. "How do you forget something like that?"

"I was most concerned about Ella." Lucy scratched her head. "You know, now that I think about it, someone sketchy was the one who gave me the hint about Ella."

"Do you think it's all a trap of some sort?" Dawnie asked. She pulled out a pack of cookies and cracked them open. "Want one?" She asked as she shared them around.

They sat on one of the sofas in the center of the hideout. The original square had been enlarged in the last few days, especially since Aarti's arrival. Now instead of three sofas facing different directions with media equipment, there was an inner square of sofas facing a smaller square of televisions. There were a couple more sofas backing two sides, facing outwards. One faced Court's rig in one corner while the other faced a gigantic television on the other side.

There was a breakfast bar set up on one of the other open sides, complete with barstools and the last side was left open. They hadn't decided what would go there yet.

"I'm still wondering just how you're paying for this warehouse," Aarti asked as she polished off her cookie.

"I've learned to not ask," Dawnie answered. "I'm fairly sure we're not going to like the answer, and plausible deniability is the best defense."

"That's not a defense," Don called over from where he was keeping an eye on a sleeping San.

"It is in my book," Dawnie sang back. She glanced at her friends. "So, are you going to tell us about this jailbreak that you did?"

"It wasn't serious," Lucy said. They looked up at the local news. A story about Court's recapture was blaring. "Oh, that's not right! I didn't kill anyone…I think…"

"You think?" Aarti sighed. She stood up, brushing off her new shirt. "No matter. Let's go do another one and get Court back."

"Besides, it's so boring without Court. Half the games stopped working," Don complained.

Lucy rolled her eyes and stood up. It was time to see what was going on.