Chapter Text
“I am aware that you are already well informed of the system I have put into place. But I will warn you again, Dr. Wilson. These people are not your allies. If they see a chance to take the upper hand, they will take it, even at the cost of your life. I hope you keep that in mind if you are to get the chance of working for A.R.G.U.S. on the field. As you know, if you are to get that chance you will be working with Colnel Rick Flag, but right now I need you here in Arkham.“ Amanda Waller's everlastingly stern voice rang out trough the speakers. Rose looked at the screen, directly into the woman's cold eyes.
“Yes, ma'am. Of course.“ Unwavering calm ran though her own voice, a skill she obtained with years of communicating with people in power.
“Good. You have been granted access to inmate 117-12-60. Direct contact isn't allowed.“ As if she'd want to be in any kind of direct contact with a dangerous convict.
“Copy that, ma'am.“ The woman disappreared from the screen and Rose leaned back from the table where the laptop sat. She turned her head to her side, looking at Aaron Cash, one of the main guards around here. He offered her a derisive smile, nodding his head once.
“Ready to swim with the sharks?“
“From what I heard there's only one shark in here.“
Cash let out a short chuckle, crossing his arms in a way that seemed to convey his superior knowledge on the matter, but Rose wasn't sold on that just yet.
“Oh he ain't the deadliest fish in this sea.“
_____
For the rather unimpressive amount of time she worked in the facility, Rose Wilson had seen with her own eyes a good portion of prisoners be admitted into the so called shithole named Elizabeth Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane. And if she was honest, she had to partially agree with the nickname – it definitely was a shithole, just more so for the inmates than it was for her.
One of the prisoners she witnessed being brought in was George 'Digger' Harkness himself, alias 'Captain Boomerang'. Whatever the case was, in this place he went by 'inmate 117-12-60' as stated in the official reports.
She distinctly remembers the man, restrained with metal clasps around his ankles and hands on something resembling a box cart that the guards used to manouver him around. He was unsuccessfully trying to set himself free, cursing at the guards the whole time.
“Piss off ya' fucken' mongrel!“ Colorful, she thought as she watched from a distance.
“Now that's some fresh meat. Had a bit of trouble finding this guy.“ Cash stood next to her with a smug expression on his face as he spoke.
“Get a dog up ya', ya' wristy-“ One of the guards grabbed him and the clasps opened, nearly sending him to the ground, „Ah, 'coff ya cunt!“
Rose had a hard time understanding what he was saying from this distance. She frowned as she watched the scene unfold. Once inside the cell, a beep of the comms on the guard's chest could be heard, followed by a few words exchanged, and the laser beams on each side of the cell's entrance lit up, finally imprisoning Captain Boomerang.
She watched the convict with curious eyes the whole time she was leaving, and the last thing she remembers is him turning his head and looking directly at her before she fully turned around.
The memory ended then, and she was back in the present, listening to her and Cash's boots echo on the ground as they walked the halls. Once in front of the big metal doors, they opened with a loud clang and she squeezed her clipboard as they entered the penitentiary, spotting her targeted cell in the corner.
She took a deep breath and reminded herself of her task, glancing at her clipboard. Go in, talk to the inmate, see if he has potential for Waller's plan, get out.
“I think I'll be okay from now on.“ She told Cash with a turn on her head.
“You sure?“
“Yeah.“ She looked ahead at the cell. She needed to do this alone. With a shrug and a mutter of 'okays' and 'fines' Dixen left for the door, leaving her to walk alone towards the guard standing in front of the cell.
While walking she remembered that at this hour, most of the prisoners were sent out for yard time, so nearly every cell in the block was empty. But not Boomerang's. Rose wasn't sure why he wasn't also outside, and she questioned if the rumors the guards were passing around were actually true. Apparently, a fight breaking out in the yard a couple of days ago resulted in three guards being dropped unconcious and Boomerang being sentanced to lockdown for the rest of the week. Given the place they were in, Rose considered that an almost merciful punishment. She wondered if that really happened, or if her request for privacy had been granted so they held him back for her arrival.
The entrance to the cell was seethrough thanks to only the lasers acting as doors, but from her angle it didn't show Harkness yet. She approached the guard standing next to the entrance.
“You can go.“ An all access security card was already in her hand, hovering in front of his face.
“But-„
“I said go.“
He turned with hesitation, but didn't say anything as he walked away. When the guard was out of range, she looked at the cell, but still couldn't see Harkness. She had seen him before, though, even if only once. She stepped to the side, now facing the cell entrance, and Captain Boomerang himself.
Boomerang's back was turned to her, but when he heard the boots outside his cell finally walk up to him he turned around. She instinctively took note of his issued white t-shirt and orange sweats. His hands were in his pockets. He didn't say anything, just stared at her, which made her heart race and created an uncomfortable pit in her stomach that she hoped she hid well enough with her neutral gaze. He started walking right up to her and Rose realised with every step she wasn't prepared as well as she'd thought. He was huge up close. Not only taller but much bulkier than she remembered. He was so close his body was nearly touching the lasers, and she started to wonder what would happen if he did touch them. She realized then she was staring at his torso, and quickly looked up at his eyes.
Even with his surprising proximity she didn't move, and she wasn't sure why. Maybe she was caught off guard and frozen, or she didn't want to seem intimidated by stepping back. He stared down at her with his eyebrows drawn in an almost captivating frown and his head cocked to the side in intrigue. Rose quickly realized he was checking her out, comparing and assesing how much of a threat she was. Should she be offended if he didn't see her as one?
“George Harkness?“ She finally broke what felt like a minute long silence.
“Who's askin'?“ He spoke in a low tone, never breaking eye contact.
“My name is Rosemary Wilson, I'm a licenced psychologist.“
“Yeah, I remember you. You were the sheila staring at me when I came in here.“
Her eyebrows raised, but she hid the slight embarassment she felt, “Yes. I was sent here to… evaluate some inmates by the request of the warden.“
“Ah, what? I send a couple assholes to medical and all of a sudden I'm qualified for a drongo?“ He scoffed.
“So you did cause a fight in the yard?“ It was true after all, and Rose realised she could use it to her advantage.
“Oh, I'm not confessin' anythin' to ya, missy, but you're in the wrong spot. See, I ain't got a 'roo loose in the top paddock like some of these nutcases.“
“I don't think you're crazy. But I was sent here to prove it. If you want to be let out of lockdown you'll have to answer some of my questions.“
He leaned back and glanced around for a moment, “Then shouldn't these therapeutic sessions be done in uh… I don't know, not in the middle of a cell block?“
“Well, I'm afraid it's hard to provide a seaside view lounge on such short notice. We'll have to make due with what we have.“
“Aw, killer. I'm best relaxed when out of handcuffs. Well, most times, that is.“ He sneered. She tried her best to ignore his comment.
“My first question-“
“So they let you in this shithole with no security jus' for a questionaire?“, he squinted at her.
“I asked for a private conversation.“
“That's why you ordered ol' guard here to fuck off like you're his boss?“ Her eyes widened slightly at his words. Did he just figure out she wasn't here for that kind of evaluation? Maybe doing this without Cash by her side wasn't such a good idea.
Harkness saw the way she was caught off guard and chuckled low and taunting, “You aren't just some psychiatrist, are ya, love?“
“Psychologist.“
“Yeah, yeah, but what else?“
She sighed, “It doesn't matter what I am. What matters is if you want to-„
“I'll tell you what I want.“, he lowered his head to match her height, “I want out of here. And not just out this cell, out the whole place. An' if you can't do squat about that, then your questions won't be much help to ya', doc'.“
“You're right. I can't do that.“
Rose was quiet for a moment.
“Well then, I guess we're done here.“ She spoke quietly.
“Yeah, we are.“ He nearly whispered.
Both of them were quiet for a few seconds, still looking at each other, but when she caught herself observing the loose strands of hair on his forehead she abruptly broke the silence.
“Thank you for your cooperation, George Harkness.“, her proffessional tone cleary got on his nerves, but he stayed quiet. He backed away from the lasers then, and she turned around to leave.
When the big doors opened again, Cash was waiting on the other side. He shot her a questioning look. She started walking down the hall.
“I need to make a report.“
____
“All in all, you have the upper hand. He is motivated to get out of here, by any cost, and if you grant him that hope I don't see how he wouldn't be willing to do your bitting.“
The woman on her laptop screen nodded approvingly, “Good work, Dr. Wilson. Your next evaluation will be with inmate 00-10-94, so called King Shark. He is the newest added member to our little circus.“ Waller went over some details about the shark, and as she was explaining Rose looked over to the folder next to her. Captain Boomerang's records.
She knew they were all convicts, guilty of all kinds of crimes. She aimed her attention back to the screen, trying not to think about the conversation she had with Boomerang. It was all just standard procedure she had to follow to work with Rick Flag and the task force Waller wanted so damn much. Still, gathering information to find out whether they would risk suicide for freedom made her stomach turn a little. She knew about Waller's contingency plan, but she didn't know how exactly she planned to make the criminals do anything she wanted. It wouldn't be good enough if she just promised them shortened sentances, they would all escape the moment they stepped foot outside. Rose could imagine just how far Waller would go to ensure that doesn't happen.
____
Less than a week later Harkness was let out of lockdown. Rose spotted him outside during yard time when she was making her way from the north wing to the penitentiary. It was pretty cold out and there was a slight fog in the distance, thouh he was playing basketball. In shorts. He palyed with three other inmates, laughing at them whenever they missed their shot.
She looked to the fence, where an inmate was arguing with a security officer. Rose approached the fence and a guard opened the entrance for her, letting her into the yard.
“Doctor.“
“Hey, Gary. What's with the First Amendment over there?“ she watched the argument between the officer and the inmate get more heated.
“Oh, that guy? We call him Rango. Just got him in a couple weeks ago.“
“Hard time adjusting to prison, it seems.“
Before she could reach the door to the building Rango punched the guard he was yelling at across the face, sending him stumbling backwards and nearly bumping into Rose. It was as Rango went to take another punch which would've hit Rose that Digger Harkness socked him across the jaw. Where did he come from? Digger landed another uppercut before Rango hit a right hook to his temple.
“Get him, Boomerang!“ she heard an inmate yell before a majority of them started cheering.
Rose watched in disbelief as they went crashing into a table. Guards quickly ran up to pull Harknss off of the guy, yeling at both of the convicts in the process.
“Really, Harkness!? After you just got out?“
“Give him a break, man, he just really misses his cell!“
Rose's eyes were on him the whole time as they dragged him away. Did he really just save her? He didn't have to. They both knew he was on thin ice since he fought those guards, now he was definitely up for lockdown again just because he saved her. Holy shit, she thought, he's up for lockdown because he saved her. She had to stop the guards.
After a short time she made her way over to the medical facility. There were a couple of officers standing in front of it and before she could go in one of them spoke up.
“Wilson!“
She turned to him, “Gary!“
“You okay?“
“Yes, I'm- Where's officer Ryan? I need to talk to him.“
“Uh, broken nose, he's in there. But be careful-“
“Thanks, I know.“ She was already opening the door to the building. When she found the room officer Ryan is supposed to be in she stepped in and walked past Boomerang. He was sat up in the adjustale hospital bed, tied to it with leather restraints around his ankles and wrists, and when he looked up at her surprise spread trough his features, but she didn't have time for that as she walked right by him.
Boomerang couldn't hear any voices coming from the other rooms, so he imagined she already left, but after some time she walked back into the room.
“Well, fuck me dead, if it it isn't Rosie the pretend doctor?“
She rolled her eyes, stopping at the foot of the bed. She could look at him up close now and notice his black eye, along with a slight bruise on his jaw. He had a couple of stitches on his shoulder, and she could only guess there was more on his back.
“You look like shit.“
“Hah, then you clearly didn't see the other poor bastard. Oh, and you're welcome, love.“
“No, you're welcome. I talked to the guards, they should… shorten your lockdown.“
“Hey, fair suck of the sav, doc'.“
“What?“
“I saved you from a nasty bruise, but I did the paw patrol a favor too, ya know. That wanker Rango's been up their asses two weeks now. And all I get is a fifty percent isolation discount?“
“You broke a table. And I never said it was fifty percent.“
He groaned, his head falling back on the pillow. He looked at her, not moving his head, and to Rose he looked like he was resting on a deckchair on a nice remote beach rather than recovering from a fight in a prison yard.
“Betcha wouldn't even untie me if I asked.“ He wriggled his hands around in his cuffs to emphasize his point.
“You're right.“
He looked at the ceiling in defeat, but his eyes found her again when she spoke up.
“But.. I did want to thank you.“
“Well, let's hear it, then.“
“You just did.“ she said as she walked out of the room.