In Too Deep

15

"See if this thing between us is going to work, I'm going to need you to open up to me" I say to Jack and he leans back in his seat.

"What do you want from me doc? I've already told you, my dad was abusive" he says to me and I nod.

"What about your mother?" I ask him and at that he tenses, i can see it clearly even from here.

"What about her? She was a coward. She stayed with him while he beat the shit out of her. While he beat the shit out of me. She stayed and watched him do it. That's why I burned them and that house straight into the ground" he growls and my eyebrows furrow.

"Roughly what age was this?" I ask him. He stares at something on the table, I can tell he's in his mind somewhere by the look in his eyes.

"Let's say i was ten years old" I jot everything down in bullet points to keep my thoughts concise.

"Okay so let me get this straight, at the ripe age of ten you managed to burn your parents without them realizing and burn your house down without a second thought?" he nods and interlaced his fingers together on top of the table.

"You don't believe me" I put my hands up in defence as I finish up the sentence.

"I'm not allowed to call your bluff on a memory i would have no recollection of. I just wanted to know if i understood what you were saying clearly" I explain to him.

"Maybe one of these days you'll let me out of these cuffs huh doc?" he asks and I look up at him. He wears a small smirk on his lips.

"Why would I do that? You seem to know how to get out of them quite easily" i say, referring to our session from yesterday when he pressed me up against the wall.

"That is true. But for you to willingly take these cuffs off it means i've earned your trust" he says and I interlace my fingers.

"And that's something you want? To gain my trust?" I ask and he shrugs.

"It would be nice to have a friend on the inside" my head tilts without being conscious of it.

"You do have friends on the inside. I've seen the people you spend your lunch with from time to time" i inform him and he shakes his head with a chuckle.

"Not this inside doc. I meant in the inner circle" i shake my head.

"I don't know how much of an asset i could be to you. I just got here, remember?" he leans forward, matching my same position.

"You're more inside than you're aware of"

"How so?" i ask. He looks down at his fingers.

"Haven't you ever asked yourself, why you? Why did Strange hire you right out of school, with little to probably no experience? Why did he assign you to me. one of his most complex nut cases? What makes you so important Ms. Quinzel?" his questions do spark something in my mind but i chose not to delve in deeper. We'd be here for quite some time.

"My intelligence maybe? My high GPA? Maybe he thinks i'm responsible enough for-"

"Do you hear yourself? Responsible? Harley, baby, no offence but you have no experience. This is your first job right out of university. What makes you think you were his first option to hire, not to mention on my case?" he asks and i bite the inside of my cheek.

"Oh come on sweet cheeks" he purrs and the metal chains of his cuffs restricted to the table rattle as he reaches over the table. They stop him just as he reaches my hands. I watch as carefully they close around my hands. It sends a shiver down the sides of my body. His hands are cold. Almost as if he was dead.

I look up at his touch and his eyes connect with mine. I'll never get tired of their colour.

"You were meant to help me" he tries to convince me and I nod, following this little game of cat and mouse.

"How do I help you?" I ask him.

"Frost will be in contact with you soon enough. He'll handle most of the operation but he will need your help" I nod. Frost...who the fuck is Frost?

"And then what?" I ask.

"You ask too many questions cupcake" the nickname makes my heart flutter and I want to punch myself in the face.

"Why are you in here J?" I ask and I feel
his fingers tense against mine. At this I grab onto his hand, causing him to fall closer to me accidentally.

"You must have done something sick to go from Blackgate to this asylum" I add.

"Funny story..I don't actually remember much before entering Blackgate" he chuckles.

"Strange just didn't let you go did he?" I ask and he smirks.

"You ever heard of the bat? Real perv. Guy just walks around at night in a full on latex costume looking for....criminals" he sneers. I can sense the toxicity in his tone.

"Self righteous asshole if you ask me" his hands still remain in mine.

"He'd be interesting to speak to" I say and he looks at me.

"Good luck finding him" he says and in walks Tommy. My eyes glance at the door and quickly I push away from the table, retreating my hands from his.

"Home time" he says as he uncuffs Jack from the table.

"See you Monday doc" Jack says to me with a small smile. Tommy grabs his elbow and leads him out of the room but not before giving me a small nod.

"See you Monday.."