Chapter Text
"I'm being sent to Fengsel?!" Percy raised an eyebrow at Ramsey's sudden outburst, glancing over to his slouched form in the passenger seat before returning her focus to the road. "You've gotta be kidding me."
"I assure you I'm not, unfortunately." She responded. "However, if you would like me to put a positive spin on your situation-"
"I'm good thanks-"
"-this is one of the better outcomes, all things considered." Ramsey let out a short, sarcastic bark of a laugh despite himself.
"Really? Me being locked up in a max security prison for fifteen years is one of the better outcomes." He wiggled in the seat, attempting to get into a more comfortable position- as comfortable as he could get when handcuffed to the armrest.
"Your sentence could've been much longer, for starters." Her radio crackled to life and she immediately switched it off. "I know this isn't ideal for you, Ramsey, but it was the best I could negotiate. With good behavior, I'm sure you'll be out in ten years rather than your designated fifteen."
"Either way I'll get to have my mid-life crisis while stuck in a cell!"
"I was under the impression you were in your early thirties."
"When I first got into this business, I realized I didn't know when the middle of my life was gonna be. I had the world's most feared bounty hunter on my tail for a while there, and a couple others besides. So… I just sort of decided to have an ongoing crisis."
Percy frowned. "If you want me to, I'd be glad to visit and help ward off the existential dread."
"Heh. Thanks." They rode in silence for a few minutes before Ramsey spoke again. "Here's a million dollar question for you, Officer: why?"
"... I'm afraid you'll have to elaborate."
"Why bother trying to get me less jail time? Hell, you could've just forgotten about the whole thing after you turned in the Amulet, left me to rot." He shrugged. "Wouldn't've blamed you if you had." Percy gripped the steering wheel a bit tighter as he continued to ramble. "Even could've tacked making false statements onto my list since I lied to you when we met. So… why'd you try to defend me? Why offer to visit?"
"You saved my life." She said simply. "It wouldn't have been right to just ignore that. And while you are a criminal of fairly high caliber, I believe you can change." She glanced over at him again, though a small smile decorated her face now. "I wasn't lying when I said your appraisal skills would be helpful on the right side of the law."
"Yeah? Well... good luck getting me to use 'em behind two feet of solid concrete and a three-story wall." He grumbled.
"Ah, I see you've done your research on this place."
"A little bit. Mostly just have eyes- er, eye." He pointed out the side window to the Fengsel Maximum Security Correctional Facility, in clear view thanks to the wide open field surrounding the building. The silence seemed to weigh down on them both when Percy suddenly pulled over to the side of the dirt road.
"...You need to get in the back." She unbuckled and got out of the car, walking around to the passenger side.
"What?" He frowned as she opened the door and unlocked the cuff on the armrest.
"It's not common practice to let criminals sit up front in the cars we have a cage in. If you were sitting up with me when we arrived, I'm sure they would assume you coerced or threatened me." Ramsey was pulled out of the car, and before he could even think about escaping, his hands were cuffed behind his back.
"Oh come on Percy, you know they won't. Really now, does this face look threatening to you?" He offered a weak smile, but she didn't even glance up at him. "No, no I get it. Wouldn't want you to lose your job for fraternizing with the filth."
"... I'm glad you understand." He sat down in the backseat and she buckled him in before walking back around to the front and starting the car.
The last few minutes until they reached the security station just outside the walls were spent in silence. Percy repeated her promise to visit him, and then handed him off to the guards.
Ramsey didn't particularly care anyway, or at least that's what he told himself. He'd probably be able to escape in a month or two anyway. Just had to lay low for a bit, and before he knew it he'd be far away in one of the other regions. Tundra perhaps, that was always nice in the summer.
So maybe he'd been in here six months without any progress towards getting out. It was fine. He'd never spent longer than a year in a prison… he'd never spent longer than six months in prison but it was fine! He just had to keep a lookout for any opportunities.
Right now might just be one of those opportunities.
He'd been woken up from what was admittedly a not-so restful nap and was currently being led to the visitation center. It was probably a mistake- Lord knows he didn't have anyone who would want to visit- but he could at least get a look. Nobody reasonable would try to escape from someplace with that many witnesses, which meant it probably had much lower security than the rest of the building. It wasn't his best plan, but it would have to do.
"Keep moving, Murdoch." The guard behind him shoved Ramsey forward, startling him out of his thoughts. "Wouldn't want to keep a lady waiting."
"Hang on, a lady?"
He laughed. "Yep. Seemed real eager to see you, said something about 'unfinished business'." Ramsey felt a shiver run up his spine as the puzzle pieces quickly clicked into place. Unfinished business was never good, and as far as he could remember there was only one person who would take the effort to track him here and settle a score.
Zora had come to finish the job.
"You- Y'know, I think I'm ok without my visit." He managed to stutter out, stopping in his tracks. The guard shoved him forward again, chuckling.
"I know how you feel bud, I'd hate to see my ex too."
"No, you don't understand. If she sees me, she will kill me." Ramsey tried to turn around but he was stopped by a hand on his eraser cuffs. "She will literally kill me, I can't go in there!"
The guard snorted and began to drag him along. "Not my problem Murdoch. We're just supposed to keep folks like you in here." They got to the door, and with one final push Ramsey stumbled into the room. "I'll be back in ten. Enjoy your talk!"
"Waitwaitwait-" The door shut and Ramsey squeezed his eyes closed before turning around. Maybe it would be better if he didn't see this one coming- hadn't he been able to do something last time that made him immune to Zora's attacks? He couldn't this time though, not with eraser cuffs. The room was silent for a good thirty seconds before he spoke, eyes still shut tight. "... If you're gonna kill me, can you just get it over with?"
"Why would I be here to kill you?" Came a surprised answer. "That would be detrimental to the point of my visit."