On lockdown, like a penitentiary

CHAPTER TWO —
doin' time

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷

HARRY COULDN'T HELP BUT to be annoyed and a bit worried right now. He was supposed to be sitting at home, enjoying a nice and quiet night perhaps with some dinner. Instead, he was lurking outside a police station waiting for his time to go in. Merlin informed him that there was a blip of information on one Ilena Speirs from a police station. They hadn't charged her with anything just yet, but there was an investigation for aggravated assault and vandalism in process which didn't seem like it would be cleared any time soon.

So, of course he had to go to the police station, he couldn't do anything just yet but watch. Mere moments passed, just like the officers and visitors that entered and emptied the building in front of him, before he finally took a step forward and opened the door to a potential future. He moved with ease and confidence, navigating himself around without any assistance for he needed none, he had Merlin notify him the location as to where Ilena was currently residing.

And there she was, sitting in a cold interrogation room with her hands cuffed in front of her as some smelly middle aged smoker blew his puff in her face. Harry stood to the side, watching from behind the double-sided window, with his head tilted in wonder. He hadn't heard anything from Ilena in years, she practically went off the grid but they always knew where she was. He watched in fascination at the way she refused to flinch away from the smell of the smoke, she held herself with strength and determination.

"So, why'd you do it?" The police officer from the room asked, his face didn't betray any other emotion other than boredom.

"Do...?" She dragged the 'o' out in curiosity as if she had no idea what he meant. The police, John McMann was his name, sighed in annoyance.

"You know what I'm talking about Ms. Speirs," when she didn't say anything in reply, he merely continued, "We have you on charges of vandalism, aggravated assault, and destruction of public property." To Harry, the notification of the last charge was a surprise due to the fact that it wasn't there when they'd been informed of her predicament.

It also appeared to be a surprise to Ilena as well, but she covered it with a scoff. Officer McMann smiled cruelly, "You see, we have three charges against you, the odds aren't looking in your favor even if you plead no guilty; I'd say that could be a year plus a hefty fine."

When her silence continued, he put out his cigarette. "Look Ms. Speirs, if you ask me, your best bet would be to just plead guilty. I mean, think about it, the judge will take one look at what you do and they'll know what to do. Maybe, when you're out on probation you could give me a little dance or two."

Ilena slammed her hands on the table in front of her and jerked forward towards officer McMann as he lept back. Harry had seen enough, he opened the door to the interrogation room and walked in. Officer McMann looked at him in confusion, "Who are you?"

"Harold Isenhower, I'm here to represent my client, so if you'd please step out of the room and leave us be for now, that would be lovely." Although his words were kind and suggestable, they held no room for disagreement and the officer left grumbling.

He sat himself down in the chair in front of her and she stared at him in evaluation. "I haven't called for any representative." Her voice was composed but her body was on edge.

"How are you doing today, Ms. Speirs?" Harry ignored her statement and placed his hands in front of him.

Ilena gave a slight scoff, almost mockingly, before she answered, "Oh, I'm doing wonderful, thanks for asking."

Barely phased at her sarcasm, he moved on. "Well it seems as if you're in quite the predicament here; you've racked up quite the list of charges-"

"For things I didn't even do," she interrupted. Harry raised his eyebrows, encouraging an explanation, to which she obliged.

"I haven't done anything wrong; I was just walking home from the pub, I got to my stoop, and then I was apprehended. They told me that I was being taken in for questioning but honestly, I never understood why." She slumped back into her chair and looked dully in his direction.

"And it never occurred to you to inquire as to why?"

"Eh, I guess I should've, but this isn't the first time I've been harassed by a couple of officers and it probably won't be the last," She shrugged with a false bravado.

Harry rubbed his hands thoughtfully, "But this is the first time they've ever brought you in?" At her nod, he continued, "And you aren't sure about these charges either, correct?" Again, she nodded.

He stayed silent for a second, observing her with carefulness, there was nothing in her body language and words that showed she could have been lying. Standing up, he pushed back his chair and re-buttoned his suit jacket, "One moment Ms. Speirs."

He stepped out of the room and picked up his phone as a cover, connecting to Merlin through his glasses, "I need the information on her arrest. Who's pressing charges and why."

Merlin moved with precision and speed, "It appears it was the vandalism and aggravated assault of a vehicle belonging to R. Fletcher. Weapon found at the scene was a crowbar."

"And how exactly does this tie to Ilena?" He inquired.

"An item of hers was also found at the scene, it had her fingerprints on them, which were the only ones found so far."

"Hm, thank you Merlin, that'll be all." Harry proceeded to 'end the call' and return to the room, where he found Ilena sitting but this time, fiddling with a pin in her hand. His eyes zeroed in on the golden K residing upon it.

"Would you happen to know an R. Fletcher by any chance?" Harry sat back down in front of Ilena and she thought for a moment before giving denial. He pulled out a tablet from his briefcase and opened it, a few swipes led him to the information forwarded to him by Merlin. He slid the tablet across the table and after a moment of hesitation, she started to look through the electronic file.

Ilena's face was a range of emotions, it started with blankness and eventually led to confusion as she looked at the car and evidence the scene had found; anger was the final emotion as she came across the picture of R. Fletcher.

Harry saw the emotions on her face and noticed the way her body language changed, it seems she did know R. Fletcher after all. She took a breath before choosing to explain, "People call him Rottweiler, he's the nitwit follower of Dean Baker's little wannabe gang."

"Can you think of any reason he'd want to blame you for something like this?" He inquired.

She shrugged, "It could be a lot of things, if I'm honest. He's crazy, for one. We've only talked a handful of times and well...we did go out once." At the raise of his brows, she continued, "It wasn't an actual date, I was at a pub with a few friends and he bought me a drink or two. Everyone left that night and I couldn't catch a cab, he offered me a ride and I said okay. He got handsy on the way there, telling me shit about how I 'owed him'. Told him to piss off, he got upset and kicked me out so I walked the rest of the way to my flat."

"And this would be the only reason why he might frame you for something like this? Forgive me, but it seems a bit extreme." Ilena took no offense, she knew that this wasn't the biggest of deals and she chose to mention a few other incidents that lead to the most recent.

"He showed up to my job once, not that he knew I worked there, but when he found out he made a big scene. It got worse when I refused to see him. He made a big deal, said a few unnecessary things and he was livid when I had security escort him out."

"Security?"

She nodded, "Yeah, I'm a dancer so security's around to keep creeps like him out. Safe to say that he's not allowed back."

"And how long ago did these incidents happen?"

She thought back and then answered, "The car thing was maybe a month ago at most and the thing at my job was about a week ago, I haven't seen him since then."

Harry hummed as he grabbed the tablet, he swiped through the pictures until he found the one he was looking for. "I assume this is yours?" It was an earring, one from a pair that she wore pretty often although they weren't anything special.

Ilena didn't answer, merely quirked a brow in question. Seeing her look, he chose to elaborate, "This was found at the scene when officers arrived."

"Okay?" She drawled, giving off the appearance that she was bored, but he knew better.

"Your fingerprints were on it, that's why they pulled you here." Sighing, she looked away, and he continued. "You know he has some type of power, Fletcher enjoys flaunting it around. Ilena, he has a 'history' with you as well. Couple that with your earring and fingerprints at the scene, you're looking at a bit of repercussions and they aren't in your favor. We could go down this route or..." He trailed off, hoping she'd take the bait.

And take-the-bait she did, she stopped fiddling with her fingers and took a look at him. "Or what?" She questioned.

"I can make you a deal. I have my own, 'special type of power' if you will, and I can erase all of this. Records of your arrest, any hint of charges against you, et cetera, et cetera."

"But what would I owe you? Nothing ever comes without a price."

"I'd need you to make a decision, a mere yes or no."

Ilena gave a small chuckle, "That's nice, but I'm not stupid. I'm not making a decision without every bit of information."

Harry couldn't help but twitch his lips, of course she wasn't stupid. "I work with a...unique...group of individuals. You can come with me, work for us, make something different out of your life."

Ilena didn't say anything, she didn't know what to say. This lawyer was ominous; he was offering her a chance she should take, but at what cost? He wasn't giving her the full picture, she could be signing away her life with a simple yes.

Seeing her heistance, he leaned forward and handed her a card. There wasn't anything on it, just a phone number and the name Galahad underneath it. Before she could open her mouth to inquire, he spoke, "I don't need an answer now, take your time to think about it. Make a decision and call the number, figure your things out and we'll go from there."

He didn't wait for a response, just stepped out of the room and left her sitting there.

"Hey! So what now? You're just gonna leave me here?" She called out after him but he didn't come back, "Some lawyer you are!"

Not a moment later, the door opened and an officer stepped in. He walked towards her and uncuffed her hands, "Ms. Speirs, you're free to go."

She blinked, uncertain she had heard correctly. "What?"

"You're free to go darling, charges have been dropped." The officer was different from the one before, he was kind and walked her out of the room.

Stepping out of the precinct, Ilena shrugged on her coat and walked away a bit hesitant. Had that really just happened? She looked at the card still in her hand and looked it over. The card itself was white and the black ink of the name and number stood prominently. Flipping it over, she glanced at it, hoping to see something more and she froze.

Sitting there was a golden letter K that matched the one she was already familiar with and suddenly, she didn't know how to breathe.

EDITED : may 2023
A/N : really the only thing i had to edit was
the fact that i managed to spell my own oc's last
name wrong the entire chapter 💀