Sanders Sides One Shots

The Wrong Things for the Right Reasons (Analogical)

I'm as surprised as you are.

Logan stared at the cement wall across from him in his cell. He should've taken the tertiary backup security walls into account when he tried to breach it all at once. He should've covered his tracks better. He should've done his job better. Looking back, there were so many things he could've done to ensure that he wouldn't end up in jail.

In the next cell over, Virgil sat in the corner, staring at the cracks in the wall and wondering how many times criminals had escaped from this very cell. He shouldn't have stolen as much as he did. He should've only done it once and left it at that. But the reputation he'd managed to wrack up over the years... it was unreal. Almost as unreal as his possibility of escaping. What was real was the cell and it's cold isolation.

But Virgil could see the other man in the next cell over through iron bars, with his glasses and his necktie, looking much more composed than he was. He couldn't see anyone in the other cells. Those were solid concrete walls.

Why could he see the other man when nobody else was in his field of vision?

The thought crossed his mind briefly. He waved it away without a second thought and went back to staring into the darkness. A particle of dust floated into his cell through one of the only windows, making Virgil sneeze quietly.

The man's head turned over towards him. "Bless you." He said.

"Thank you." Virgil replied. "I-I'm Virgil, if you wanted to know."

"My name is Logan." Logan smiled bitterly. "You seem a bit fragile to be sitting in a place like this."

"You mean jail?" Virgil snorted.

"No, of course not. Even the most frail people can go to jail for the wrong reasons." Logan shook his head. "I mean the top level of DCE Prison."

"I'm in the Dangerous Criminal Encasement Prison?" Virgil raised an eyebrow. "I suppose that makes sense. Ever heard of the Liquid Darkness?"

"The thief notorious for never being caught?" Logan recalled. "I've heard of them."

"That's me." Virgil looked at the ground hatefully. "I was starving on the streets, Logan. On the East side."

"In that horrible neighborhood?" Logan raised his eyebrows and adjusted his necktie. "It's no wonder you went to such extreme lengths, then. Anyone would've done the same thing if they were so young."

"Yeah, well, the police didn't think so." Virgil winced and rubbed the back of his head. "They didn't hesitate to knock me out. I didn't even get a trial."

"That's unconstitutional." Logan remarked softly.

"A lot of things are these days." Virgil muttered. "What'd you say your last name was?"

"I didn't." Logan crossed his arms. "But it's Sanders. Logan Sanders."

"Were you Valedictorian?" The name sparked a memory in Virgil's mind.

"I... yes, I was." Logan replied. Virgil got up and walked toward the iron bars that separated the two cells, then held his left hand through the bars.

"Virgil Black, nice to meet you." He introduced himself. "I wouldn't expect to meet you here."

"I was a secret agent. The best computer hacker in my division." Logan got up and shook his cell mate's hand.

They were both surprised to feel an infinitesimal electric shock travel through their hands. Virgil's eyes slowly traveled from their interlocked hands up to Logan's eyes, which he was delighted to find were staring back into his.