The Birdcage

Locksmith

Clack, clack, clack, clack. Doctor Hannan's high heels echoed throughout the hallway as Nyx, Perry and Jayson trailed her. "We can't fall too far behind." Perry said, jogging along with Nyx's arm hooked through theirs. "If we fall out of earshot, I'll lose it." Her friend winced. "Her shoes aren't helping though."

"Aw." Nyx rubbed Perry's arm soothingly. "You're doing great, Perry."

"You two realise you're stalking a doctor, right?" Jayson said. "Invisible monsters aside, that's what it looks like."

"If you're uncomfortable, you're welcome to go back." Nyx replied sweetly. He didn't respond to that; but he didn't leave either.
They followed Doctor Hannan down a further couple of hallways, recognising the way back to her office. At times, she could make the faint whispers of the creature for herself, at others it became unclear; either through proximity or whatever strange circumstance made it speak so.
And so they trailed her, and it, throughout the halls. When suddenly... "It's broken away."

"What?" Nyx asked, clinging to Perry's arm with wide eyes. "Where's it gone?"

"That way!" Perry pointed, and on swift feet they persued it, splitting away from Doctor Hannan to follow Perry's direction.
They ran down the corridor, not really caring about being sly about it anymore. "That way!" Perry cried again, and suddenly they were at the bottom of the flight of stairs leading up to solitary. "It's up there." Perry whispered. "It went through the door."

Tentatively, Nyx raised her foot and stepped forwards onto the first stair; almost expectant of some kind of supernatural retaliation or ghoulish apparition to appear at her presence. When the ghostly woman from before did not appear or anything of the sort, she slowly began to proceed up the stairs towards the door.
"You can't go up there." Jayson commented.

"What's stopping me?" She shot back, hurrying up the steps to stop with her hands on the door. There was no obvious handle; feeling along the smooth surface, she slammed her hands against the door in frustration.

"Yes, master locksmith, that's going to work."

"Jayson, stop being a pessimist and shut up. You said there was a code to get in. How do we do that?" Stepping back, she saw that the door was actually painted; the whole surface taken up with a portrait of a classically pretty blonde woman looking back at them with a kindly expression, holding in her arms a basket full of a range of coloured flowers. The door itself was smooth against the surrounding wall, no obvious locks or hinges, just a thin crack all the way around the rectangle.

"Is there a secret compartment or something?" Perry asked. "A hidden panel maybe?"

"I can't tell. It just seems to be a normal painting." Tilting her head, Nyx looked at it curiously; there definitely was something about it, she just couldn't make out what it was.
And then it twigged.
The woman's face was familiar- but where had Nyx seen her before? Why, in Nyx's vision, falling to her death.
Nyx gasped in shock at the realisation, hands flying to her mouth and unconsciously stepped back in horror, nearly falling down the stairs as she did so. The woman's painted smile almost seemed to confirm her thoughts. "It's her."

"It's who?" Jayson asked.

Nyx blinked, shaking her head slightly. "It's...  complicated. But even more now, we need to get inside." Her eyes were almost automatically scanning the painting, cataloguing every element; when her gaze came to rest on the basket of flowers. Struck by a thought, she pulled the piece of paper out of her shirt, carefully unfolding it. Tulip, Pansy, Daisy, Rose...
The only place in the hospital with flowers was the garden- But that wasn't true. There were flowers here.

Quickly, she searched the bunch of flowers- bingo. Reaching out, she pressed her fingers against the painted red tulip. It lit up at her touch, and something deep in the door clicked.
Found it.
Hurriedly, she tapped in the rest of the code, finding the relevant blooms with ease; until with a mechanical sound, the door swung open.

Shocked it actually worked, she peered inside; the door opened into a long and empty hallway obscured by low lighting. Along each side she could see the shapes of closed doors, behind which lay who knows what.
Before she could see any further however, they were disturbed by a familiar clack, clack, clack coming back down the hall.

"Shoot, she's coming back!" Perry hissed.

Darting up the stairs, Jayson yanked the door shut. "Scram!" Grabbing Nyx's arm, he legged it down the hall- Nyx struggling to keep up with his long-legged stride as she was towed along. Perry had taken off on Jayson's word and they'd quickly scattered, running off in opposite directions.
Swiftly Jayson and Nyx raced down the hall, away from the scene of the crime, turning a corner - and suddenly he slowed, Nyx nearly colliding into his back with the momentum as he adopted a casual pace. Fingers digging into her wrist, he directed her attention with a nod of his head. "Act natural."

Up ahead of them stood Doctor Montgomery, paused to look through some papers on his clipboard. He side-eyed them as they passed; false innocence painted across both of their faces. "What are you two up to?"

"... Nothing."

"Keep it that way." He responded, eyes full of disbelief.