Ya one in a million cause you got that shotgun shine

[out_of_time]

WHO: Jack Bauer and OPEN
WHERE: NoHOPE
WHEN: Visiting hours, Saturday 10th through the week.
WARNINGS: Should be none.
SUMMARY: Jack has been incarcerated in the Import asylum after being apprehended by Wonder Woman. Visiting hours are open.
FORMAT: Whatever works.

Suicidal tendencies. Violent behaviour. Paranoid traits. Anger issues. Possible PTSD.

Jack had been caught again, but this time he wasn't going back to the Superjail as a convict. This time, it had been decided that he was sick, that he needed help. He was a psychiatric patient now. They were going to treat him.

Despite not having superpowers to speak of, Jack was kept under careful and delicate watch in his room. They had his file, they knew what he was capable of. Even his plastic utensils were scrutinized and accounted for after every meal. After Harvey Dent's suicide, even his clothing was treated with suspicion, in case his shirt became a makeshift noose or garrote. His room was locked, his window was bulletproof glass, and everything, everywhere was so damn white.

He cooperated with them, within reason. As far as he was concerned he wasn't sick- his behaviour in Venezuela had been the result of Vulcanus' damn virus. But these people were just doing their jobs, and he understood. He answered their questions. They talked a lot about his past, about his career, his experiences. He didn't let them get too close though. His family was off-limits, especially his wife.

He was anxious throughout though, tense, on-edge, and it was hard to hide. Always watching, looking for openings or threats. As far as Jack was concerned, he was running out of time. His capture and institutionalization couldn't have been kept secret, not for someone with as many warrants as Jack had. Soon the world would know that Jack Bauer was captive in NoHOPE. And there would be those who weren't content to leave him that way. Sooner or later, they would come.

The hospital had at least one advantage over Superjail, from Jack's perspective. It would be a little easier to escape.

Comments

A Visit- Callie and Julian

[maggotbone]

As Callie learned more about the nature of his incarceration, she began thinking that they might have a chance to get him out of there. They just needed to find someone to stand in as his out-of-house therapist. She just needed to prove that he had to get out of there- that the environment wasn't rehabilitating him or helping him get control of his "sickness".

Callie arrived at NoHope, bringing Julian along as he requested. As far as Callie could tell, Jack was the only one with the fire to actually try to get things happening. They needed him.

After checking in, going through the security scan, they were led to the visitation room.

Re: A Visit- Callie and Julian

[out_of_time]

"Callie." He came to the window quickly when they were led in. He was surprised to see Julian there- but the kid was a D.O.I. agent, wasn't he? And he'd been actually supporting Jack waving guns at defenseless people...

"I didn't know you were bringing anyone."

[hellionated]

Julian had always liked Callie's attitude, but even given that, he'd been surprised when she seemed to agree that people weren't doing enough about what had happened. He'd expected any so-called authority figures to tell him to shut up, since in all fairness that was what they usually did. But Callie hadn't. She thought they needed Jack.

So did Julian, after seeing his determination to stop Vulcanus during the virus. That attitude was what people needed now. Vulcanus had to be cut away. Those ends would justify whatever means they had to use to make it happen.

"I wanted to come." And she'd let him. God, Jack shouldn't be behind bars. They had to get him out. "You made a hell of an impression out there."

[maggotbone]

Callie nodded. "I hope you don't mind, Jack. You... need all the people on your side as you can get. He's the head of security in the D.O.I, so Julian definitely needs to be a part of this."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Our situation here, in this City, our place in this world, and the status of Vulcanus.... you're the only man so far that's taken action with anything that might've been worth something. We need you out of here. We need to fight back."

[out_of_time]

"Fair enough. In that case, I'm glad you're both here. Because you're right, we do need a way to fight back and right now that's not happening."

He looked at both of them in turn, making eye contact. "The first thing we need to get straight is that what I did in Venezuela was a disaster. I got no information out of those people because they didn't know anything. I attacked innocent people and handed Vulcanus a media victory for nothing. If we do this, none of us are going to stoop that low again. We clear?"

Now that he was in his right mind, the memories of terrorizing people and believing they deserved it, seeing them as political objects or subjects for punishment, made him sick in his stomach. In those moments, he'd been more like the people he fought against than he'd ever wanted to be.

[hellionated]

Julian didn't much care how much of a media win Vulcanus had taken out of what Jack did. What did it matter? That was one more win on a whole pile of victories. ImPort PR had been suffering since the public fight with the Skrulls, and he didn't see a lot of point in trying to fix that. He didn't think people's minds would be changed anyway, not when ImPorts were caught up in dangerous fights all the time here. That was always going to make them look bad.

What he did care about was Jack's apparent refusal to go after lower level workers. He'd liked that plan. He'd thought they could get to the top that way, like working up a hierarchy. Obviously that wasn't on the cards, but he bit back any protest. Jack still sounded like he had things to say.

"What you did wasn't different from what they did. If that made people turn on us, all that does is prove their double standard." Which, from Julian's point of view, didn't need proving anyway. "But I don't care. Either way, Callie's right. You stood up and fought them when it mattered. You're the only one who tried, so I'll do this your way. You got my word."

[maggotbone]

Callie nodded. "Anything that we can do that will be rational will be best. Attacking on impulse without knowing for sure who's in front of us wont fly with me." She glanced at Julian and back at Jack. "Any leads we have, we need to start paying attention to them and following through. If it means recruiting more support without certain authority figures knowing, so be it."

[onetouch]

Ned tapped on the door frame with his free hand, a covered pie in the other. "Jack?" he hazarded softly into the empty corridor. This place was a little creepy, no surprise there.

He moved into the room, setting the pie on the small table at Jack's bedside. "I couldn't remember which was your favorite, so I made you a little of everything."

[out_of_time]

Jack actually chuckled. "You shouldn't have."

He lifted up the covering, looked at the pie. "I'm surprised you got this through. They've been pretty strict about what I've got access to." He grimaced, looked down. "Apparently I'm dangerous. Who knew, huh?"

[onetouch]

He just tilted his head, a smile in his eyes though it didn't reflect elsewhere. "I can be... persuasive when I need to be."

[out_of_time]

"I'm glad. The pie here stinks."

Jack sighed, then put on his serious face for Ned.

"I owe you an apology. Earlier, I... said a lot of things I shouldn't have. Things you didn't deserve. You were just trying to help, I get that now."

[onetouch]

Pulling up a chair with a loud scraping sound, he cleared his throat and pushed his hair back while he awkwardly sat himself down.

"You weren't yourself." Ned still didn't really understand what had happened over there, but he had gleaned that much.

[out_of_time]

Jack rubbed his hands, looked down at them. "It's not that simple. The virus didn't make me do anything I haven't done before. And a lot of what I was feeling was real, I just- I lose control of it."

He wanted to make Ned understand. He deserved to.

Monday

[wild_roar]

How Kotetsu found out that the guy he had let free a couple weeks ago had gotten himself in the looney bin, it didn't matter. But after pondering it, he decided to go and see him, to figure out what was going on. And, perhaps, to let him know that he'd survived that night after all.

Smartly-dressed in a threadbare tweed suitcoat and with mask firmly in place, he went through the security to be admitted as a visitor and soon found himself face to face with the man who had unwittingly served to save his life.

[out_of_time]

"Wild Tiger?" This was one visitor Jack had not been expecting. But it was definitely good to see that yes, Jack had not in fact abandoned him to his death on All Soul's Night.

"What are you doing here?" Jack hoped he wasn't here for questioning him or anything like that. He wasn't in the mood.

[wild_roar]

"Yeah - hi." Kotetsu raised a hand in a lame little wave. "I hope you don't mind. I, uh...heard this happened, which is kind of ironic considering I let you go." He had a glance around, instantly pitying the guy for having to put up with the stigma of being in a mental hospital of sorts. "Can't say I like the decor, though."

Right, his purpose. "Well, you know...I didn't get to meet you properly, things were kind of weird at the time. I figured it was a good way to introduce myself."

As usual, he was covering more serious matters with a silly bluff. He wasn't there on official business, no, but he did have questions. He would get to them in a bit.

[out_of_time]

"You're just here to say hi?" That wasn't what he was expecting either. Jack eyed him.

"Jack Bauer. Wonder Woman found me after you let me go." He grimaced. "She wasn't as understanding as you."

[wild_roar]

"Nice to meet you, Jack." Kotetsu made a bit of a face. "Wonder Woman? Sounds, uh, interesting." He shook his head, then, and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Don't get me wrong, I didn't let you go out of some sense of justice. I would have brought you in if we hadn't been in trouble. But I couldn't let you fight my fight, not if it was going to end badly."

[out_of_time]

Jack snorted and suppressed a smile. "When you put it like that, it sounds like a sense of justice is exactly why you let me go."

He remembered how things had been going when he'd fled. "Since you're still here, I'm guessing you beat that thing. Do you know what changed? Why it started taking damage?"

Monday or Tuesday

[incywincyhero]

Spider-Man has snuck into this institution many times in the almost two years since his arrival in the City, but this may well be the first time he's here in costume during visiting hours. His neck itches with the knowledge that he's being watched, by cameras and guards both. He's so very tempted to walk back out again and come back under cover of darkness, but he's held by the notion that a public show of support is the least he owes Bauer at this point.

It's funny; they've only ever worked together in passing, and even though Jack Bauer's been in the City the entire time Peter's been here, he barely knows the guy except for three things. One, Bauer hates Osborn almost as much as he does. Two, unlike Spider-Man, Bauer's willing to kill Osborn if he has to. That alone should put them at odds, out of principle if nothing else, if not for the third thing -- that Bauer had been a friendly ear when Peter hadn't even realized he'd needed one. That he'd heard Spider-Man spill his guts on one of his most shameful secrets, and not only not judged him for it but responded with compassion. Whatever their differences, if Spidey can offer that kind of solace in turn, it's worth putting up with a few minutes in the panopticon.

The situation still feels a little weird, though, and when Spider-Man feels weird, he deflects with humor. Which might be why he's brought Jack the gift of a "Hang in there!" mini-poster.

"I thought you could stick this up on your wall, if they let you."

[out_of_time]

This had to be the first secure containment facility Jack had ever heard of that allowed masked men in as official visitors. Well, other than Superjail of course. In the City, it just made sense to have all branches of law enforcement able to visit prisoners, including the 'unofficial' contributors.

Spider-Man had proven himself to be one of the most reliable of those contributors several times, at least as far as Jack was concerned. More than that, he'd become something of a friend in their encounters, despite clearly having a less open view of certain moral issues than Jack. So he wasn't surprised to see Spider-Man visiting.

The gift, on the other hand...

Jack's face was unreadable as he studied his new kitty 'roommate.' "They're not going to give me any pins for it. Maybe they'll let me use something sticky."

[incywincyhero]

"I'd offer to help," Spidey said, waggling one of his wrists, "but this stuff only sticks around for an hour."

A pause, while he visibly looks the other man up and down. "How are you doing, Jack? That was a real doozy, what went down in Venezuela." Understatement of the week.

[out_of_time]

That got a snort out of Jack. "Well, thanks anyway."

He paused before replying. He didn't look well-suited to the institutional outfit he was wearing- it seemed awkward, ill-fitting. The effect of confinement on someone with this much energy showed in his body language.

"I'm fine," he sighed. "'Doozy' isn't exactly the word I'd use, though." He shook his head. "I almost did something unforgivable. I realize that now. I guess I'm going to have a lot of time to think about it."

[incywincyhero]

"It wasn't your fault," Spider-Man said quietly. "You do know that, right? You were sick, you weren't responsible for your actions. Heck, I'm really not even sure you should be here -- well," he snorts, crossing his arms, "not for that, anyway."

[out_of_time]

"I know what Vulcanus did." He clenched his jaw. "I also know what I've done in the past, what I'm capable of, virus or no virus. I've got to take responsibility."

Jack paused a moment, then shrugged. "Anyway, what's done is done. They're not going to let me out of here anytime soon, unless it's to transfer me to a penitentiary." If he was lucky, it might even be an American jail instead of in Mexico or Venezuela.