capeandcowllogs | Dirty basements, dirty noise, Dirty places coming through

WHO: Jack Bauer and OPEN
WHERE: Superjail
WHEN: From Saturday evening through the week.
WARNINGS: Probably none.
SUMMARY: Jack Bauer has been arrested. Come visit him.
FORMAT: Paragraph.

The 'Superjail' had been opened specifically to hold prisoners too dangerous or resourceful for containment in ordinary facilities. Its past residents had included alien symbiotes, superhuman sociopaths, vampires. Jack Bauer's abilities hardly put him in the same category, but he was an Import and he was extremely dangerous in his own way. So once he was arrested by Nicholas Angel, the former police Captain and current shame of the force was incarcerated in the police's own facility under heavy guard, pending trial.

Jack had a lot of time alone with his thoughts. Those thoughts were mainly sad, weary, and frustrated. It was fitting in a way: his cell was only a few floors up from the lobby where he and Seras had confronted a Skrull imposter. That encounter had ended in the deaths of two officers sent by Jack's orders into a situation they couldn't handle. Like everything else he'd done, he stood by that decision. Like everything else he'd done, it still weighed on him. Here, the memories of his sins and failures were kept close to him in more ways than one.

The thought of escape hadn't been seriously considered yet. The jail didn't have the greatest track record, but it was still a world-class facility, more than adequate for holding a powerless and downcast former federal agent. Jack knew that if he was going to leave, it would have to be through outside help, and that step would have consequences he wasn't ready to invoke yet. He chafed at the inactivity of his cell, aching with the knowledge of everything he had left unfinished out there, threats looming on the horizon: Vulcanus, Skrull infiltration of the government, killers at large, attacks being planned. He was unable to do anything in here, and that was something he couldn't take even though he knew the City had many defenders- in many ways better defenders- still working outside.

Another reason escape wasn't an option was because on some level Jack knew he belonged here, that this was what he had earned. He had broken his word, set himself above ordinary accountability, hurt a hell of a lot of people. He had changed so far and so fast, since he was Ported in retired and unwilling to return to a life of secrets and bloodshed. The happy life he'd left behind was a thing of the past by now, abandoned bit by bit in the name of necessity. Worst of all for him, more often than not his measures had failed to stem the danger and death the City was so often afflicted by. These were the things Jack brooded over alone in his cell, a busted ex-cop awaiting trial.

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"Very important," Geddoe nodded. "For most, at least." He glanced over his shoulder toward the door at the far end, his lips twitching briefly. "They didn't have to raise such a stink over my gloves, though. I'm not planning anything either."

He really did not blame or judge Jack for what had happened, it was unfortunate that it had caught up to him but Geddoe was not the sort to care about a few bent laws. The picture being painted in the news media of Jack Bauer was competely different than the man Geddoe had fought beside. What he decided to ask, he asked more for Jack's sake than his own. "The only thing I care to know is, do you regret it? Did you ever tell yourself you shouldn't and yet went ahead and did it anyway?"

Jack had to think about that, but not much at all. "No," he said with certainty. "I knew what the consequences were, and why those consequences had to exist. I wouldn't be here now if I wasn't willing to face them at some point."

He looked meaningfully at Geddoe. "I know why people think I shouldn't have, and in a lot of ways they're not wrong. But my actions saved innocent people from being killed and mutilated." Our actions. "That counts for something. It has to."

Geddoe nodded once. "That's all I needed to hear. Your convictions honor you."

He breathed a soft sigh, lowering his head. "I have nothing against the rule of law. But in every society I've ever known, there has always been someone who must act outside it, to do what others can't. I understand the situation. But I don't expect that saying so, publicly, would be a good idea." His good eye raised to Jack's face. "Is it enough that you yourself know that I support you, even if no one else does?"

"It's more than enough, Geddoe." He considered adding that the mercenary wasn't alone in that, that other people were stepping up to the plate for Jack, but that could cause problems. "You're right, though. Speaking out about how you feel isn't a good idea right now. The investigation's still ongoing." And there was always appetite for another scandal.

"And I have no interest in revealing the extent of how we got to know each other." Geddoe's good eye twitched, his expression hovering somewhere between humor and dread sarcasm. "I don't care what people think of me, but I value my freedom. I don't know how much protection my new employer would offer should unfriendly eyes be cast my way."

"You should. Trust me, this isn't as fun as it looks." Jack managed a wry grimace.

"You're working for Rossum now, right?" He asked. "How's that going?"

Geddoe smirked back. "I don't doubt it. Even if they care about your human rights here and won't torture you."

He idly scratched the back of his neck. "It's work," he admitted. "I'm not entirely thrilled with the men on my team, they make me miss the 12th more than I expected. But so far I haven't been asked to do anything too distasteful. To be honest, I didn't actually need the money. I was just bored."

"Bored, huh." Jack would never be able to relate to that- fighting was a thing he had tried to get away from, only to be dragged back- but he understood. For a lot of people combat was an addiction, soldiering a way of life. It led them to both good places and dark ones. He trusted that Geddoe's experience would guide him well.

"Well, at least you're free. I'm sure I'll be able to tell you a few things about boredom after a while in here." Technically the Superjail was fairly well-provided with constructive prisoner activities, but Jack was still a prisoner there.

"Mm. I don't envy you that," Geddoe admitted. "If there was something I could do to alleviate the suffering, I would."

There wasn't much he could do either way, but this show of moral support was important. There was no telling where all of this might lead, or whether there would be future opportunities.

"Well, I wouldn't say no to a book," Jack joked. He knew that security protocols would reject all books except the flimsiest and hardest to weaponize, and that every page would be perused for hidden items and messages.

"Seriously though, you don't need to worry about me," he said. "I can handle this. I'm just worried about not being able to do anything out there."

"Hm." Books, huh? Geddoe was still very behind on what constituted good literature around here. He would consider the request, though. "Your people on the police force are capable. I'm sure they'll manage to stumble through somehow. I'll stay on the informant line, though, just in case." His good eye narrowed in a sly smirk. "After all, situations still arise in which someone less bound to a code of conduct would better serve to handle it."

The police would suffer for the loss of Jack, though. Geddoe could only privately hope that someone, import or not, was as intelligent and tactical as the man they would have to replace. Then again, a few major bungles might prove to the world just what they lost when they chose to get rid of Jack Bauer.

"The Department's people are a lot more than capable. But you're right, those situations come up pretty often." Jack nodded at the smirk. "Here's hoping there are always people able and willing to take care of them."

Hint, hint, merc buddy.

The hint was definitely understood. Geddoe smiled vaguely, glad that they spoke the same language. "Yes, let's hope indeed," he said wryly.

Dirty basements, dirty noise, Dirty places coming through

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