Janice crouched down against the wall of her cell, far from her belongings. She looked to the other side of the room with stark determination, took a quick breath, and sprinted to the other side. Once she reached the far wall, she tagged it with her hand and ran back.

She touched the wall where she began. “Eight,” she said aloud between rapid breaths. “Eight.”

There was little to do while waiting around for time to pass.

It was around 4am last time she checked. She was tempted to have a nap to catch up on some of the sleep she missed out on, but her mind was far too restless for that.

Should I tell Carson? Janice kept asking herself. He talked to Damien about stuff... maybe he knows more than he lets on? No... he wouldn't be dishonest with me, would he? Maybe he just needs a reminder.

She touched the ground with her fingertips, crouching down again before breaking out into another sprint. She touched the far wall, ran back to where she began, and stopped again.

“Nine.”

She didn't have any solid idea of when Carson began work, as she was usually still asleep by the time he arrived. So, she crouched down again before breaking out into another sprint.

Janice rolled around, trying to find a comfortable position on her bed (to no avail).

It had to have been at least two hours since she last checked the time. 6am? He had to have been here by now. She'd seen him around as early as 7am before, so 6am wasn't too much of a stretch.

She rolled off her bed, clambering to her (sore) feet. After making her way over to the door, she slid her keycard through the slot and walked out into the hall.

Ascending to the floor above, a nearby wall clock confirmed that it was about 6:20am. She spotted someone far off in the distance down the hallway. A good sign – perhaps Carson would be around too.

She wondered how exactly she was going to bring it up to him.

“So... Damien had something of questionable legality...”

Maybe. Sounded too formal.

“Damien had an archive of Maroon e-mails, and I looked through them...”

That wouldn't work. It just made her sound bad.

“I saw your name in a couple of archived e-mails between you and Damien...”

Not too bad. It sounded somewhat less shady than the other options.

The two armoured guards were stationed just outside Carson's door. Did that mean he'd be there? Janice continued up to the door, hesitantly slowing her pace. She still had to address yesterday, as well...

Largely ignoring the guards, she knocked on the door twice and waited for a response. A pair of footsteps approached from inside the room, and a moment later, the door opened.

“Hey, Carson.”

“Morning, Jan.” Coffee cup in hand, he opened the door further to let Janice in.

She shuffled into the room rather sheepishly.

“I'm... sorry about yesterday,” Janice apologized before Carson had even shut the door behind her.

“Oh, nonsense. If it weren't for you, I don't think I'd standing here right now.” He met up with Janice in the middle of the room, next to a pair of countertops.

“I... I know, but...” She crossed her arms, hardly able maintain eye contact with Carson. “I knew better than to bring up Zev's past. I didn't mean to, but... I was panicked, I wanted to keep him distracted...”

“Now, now. Don't go beating yourself up, Jan. While, yes, it was rather... distressing, the bottom line is we are both unharmed, which I am more than thankful for.” He took a sip of his coffee.

“I... ahh...”

“You did your best! And we're both okay, Jan. Don't go worrying your head off, now.”

“I guess you're right. Thanks, Cars. I'm just sorry it got that close.”

“Jan, Jan... if it helps at all, I accept your apology.” Carson smiled.

“Thank you.” Janice returned the grin.

“Besides that, are you well this morning?”

“I've been better. I didn't get much sleep last night.”

Carson hummed, taking another sip.

“I actually wanted to talk to you about something else that happened last night. After we handled Zev.”

“Yes?”

“Well.” Janice recalled the lines she'd been rehearsing in her head. “I did some investigating last night, and I found a few archived e-mails involving Damien.”

“Did you, now?”

“Yeah, and I saw a couple between you and him, too.”

“Janice... that's private business. You know that.”

“I-I know! I'm sorry; I didn't mean to snoop through your e-mails specifically. I'm... more interested in Damien, 'cause, well... you know.”

Carson grumbled. “I shouldn't have expected much in the way of privacy at this place to begin with. Though it's... to my disdain, did you find anything of note about him?”

“Well... uh, do you know what “TDV” means?”

With a hand on his chin, Carson tilted his head down. “Not that I can recall. Other than one crude e-mail Damien sent me two weeks ago. TDV was the subject; I'm... assuming you saw that exchange?”

Janice nodded.

“Right.” Carson sighed. “I still don't know what he was talking about.”

“I'm guessing it's a name or initials, since he was clearly, uh... horny.”

“Not much in the way of tact, that one.” Carson shook his head. “I apologize. I shouldn't speak ill of him. Your guess is as good as mine; he did seem to have someone on his mind.”

“Damn. It's the only lead I have...”

“Perhaps you could ask your other coworkers about TDV? Maybe it's someone who works here that he had the hots for.”

“I don't know who I could ask. I'm... not really on goody-friendly-pal terms with anyone else here. The only other person I could think to ask is Anders, and... we...”

“No need to explain that one – I fully understand.”

“And I'd need to schedule an appointment just to ask a question.”

“Right.” Carson walked over to the far end of the room, picking up a few papers. “Much to my regret, Jan, I don't think I can be of much assistance in this matter.” He looked back over to Janice with a disappointed expression. “I'll keep my ears open, but I can't promise anything.”

“That's okay. I'll figure out a way to get to the bottom of this.”

“...And, even more to my regret, I have to boot you out of here for the time being – I have a psyche exam to conduct half an hour from now.”

“Oh! Sorry about that.”

“Not to worry! I just need to organize myself before then.”

“All right. I'll keep up my investigation.” Janice enthusiastically clenched her fist in front of her chest.

“Do keep me updated.”

“Sure thing!” She headed over to the door, waving back at Carson. “Bye for now.”

“Be well.”

As soon as Janice closed the door behind her, her face drooped. She honestly didn't know where to go next; Anders was the only option she could think of, but she definitely wouldn't be around this early in the morning. Even then, Janice wasn't sure if it was a good idea to consult her about this to begin with.

Not only that, but she had no research assignments to assist with in the meantime. She'd done some exercises. She'd talked to Carson. Her lack of sleep was quickly catching up with her, and she found it prudent to sleep on the decision to talk to Anders or not, seeing as she was still unsure if it was a good idea.

On her way back to cell 33, she made an impromptu detour to the cafeteria to get one of those premade subs from the vending machine before napping. Early in the morning was the perfect time to avoid strange looks from unfamiliar coworkers.

Deciding which flavour to get was always one of the highlights of her day. Before she even reached the sandwich machine, she'd already made her choice. Imitation honey ham with mustard and sweet onion sauce...

She eagerly stuck her tongue out just a little bit as the sandwich was dispensed.

Janice power-walked back to her cell, unwrapping her meal as she went, and she found herself back in her room before long.

Her bed was more inviting than ever. Before lying down, she positioned her standing umbrella above the bed so the lights wouldn't be shining straight down on her.

She stretched her body, then flopped down onto the comforter, back first.

Damien. TDV. It was still all she could think about. Maybe I just can't solve this mystery, she wondered, still munching on her sandwich. What if I just don't have enough clearance to figure it out? Or... what if I'm wrong about all it?

She groaned out of frustration. Damn, I hate this place.

After finishing her meal, she curled up on her side, underneath the blanket. Tossing the plastic wrap onto the floor, Janice shut her eyes, fondly remembering her time in the forests, hardly connected to any civilization except for remote gravel roads that seldom led anywhere.

I'll go back someday, she vowed, slowly drifting off to sleep.