Them

Officer Gilbert turned at the sound of feet running up behind her. She was just about to leave the hospital after giving statements to the media and gleefully discussing the Stone situation with fellow employees. Officers Cole and Walker came up to her, and Cole asked, “Did you hear the news?” Lauren frowned. “What news?” “Crazy bitch escaped,” Walker piped up. “What?!” asked Lauren, dumbfounded. “When? How?” “They’re not sure yet if the signal got jammed deliberately or by accident, but as soon as she landed on the rooftop, she took off again.” “Oh, no. No, no, no, no,” Lauren said, dismayed.“Where the hell did she end up?” “They watched from the rooftop as long as they could, and while they got the general direction, it took them some time to find out exactly where it landed. By the time it did, it was too far for them to see clearly.” “And?” Lauren asked with growing interest and concern. “They’re still gathering information from a call they got and interviewing witnesses, but the drone landed in the middle of a residential street.” “No one was hurt, I hope,” said Lauren. Cole shook his head. “Doesn’t look that way, but we’re still waiting on the details of exactly what happened and how.” “So no idea yet if there was a malfunction or somebody deliberately interfered?” asked Lauren. Cole shook his head again. “No, but the guess is that someone probably connected to the hospital helped her escape.” “Oh, shit,” said Lauren. “Any idea who it could be if that’s the case?” asked Walker. Lauren thought back to all the staff who had dealt with Janelle during the month she was hospitalized. She knew that a few pitied her, while most resented her, but she couldn’t think of anyone off the top of her head who would actually go so far as to help the woman escape. Cops and docs often clashed over Stone’s care. The doctors were there to cure, while the police wanted to punish. There were numerous complaints from Janelle and even patients in neighboring rooms about the officers getting too loud when talking amongst each other in the corridor, and disturbing patients’ rest. Janelle also felt stressed by the constant hovering of the officers. She felt smothered and like she had no privacy at all or room to breathe. They watched her while she sat there. They watched her while she ate. They watched her while she showered. The doctors insisted they back off to a degree so she could get better faster, but the cops didn’t want to give Janelle what she wanted. Not only that, but they knew how dangerous the woman was, sick or not. If she could shove a man bigger and heavier than her off a ward, there was no saying who she might harm. So they had to remain close by to protect the staff. That was why they always rose and hovered near her bedside whenever a nurse or a doctor would enter the room, something that annoyed Stone and also made her suspicious of their “deal.” It was a precarious balance to keep Stone placated while keeping the staff safe. “I haven’t got a clue,” Cole went on. “I mean, some of them were warmer to her than others, but I don’t know if that means they would actually help her escape. Who would put their life and freedom on the line like that?” “That’s what they’re trying to figure out, chimed in Walker.” Cole’s phone buzzed, and he answered it. A few minutes later, he hung up and filled Gilbert and Walker in. “It was an escape,” he said. Lauren’s eyebrows shot up with surprise as Walker uttered an expletive. “It was?” Cole nodded and proceeded to explain. “A witness in a nearby home said he heard strange sounds and looked out the window to see what it was when the drone landed. He could see Stone raising her head and glancing around as much as she could, being strapped to the gurney, and then a white van screeched to a stop in front of the drone, blocking his view. Less than a minute later, the van zoomed off, leaving the drone sitting with its hatch open.” “Oh, damn,” said Lauren. “That’s horrible. Anyone manage to get a plate?” “Unfortunately, not. The guy did say that Stone looked very confused when she landed, looking around as if to say, ‘What the hell is going on?’” “No description of the guy in the van?” asked Walker. “Nope,” said Cole. “He got out on the side of the van that wasn’t facing the witness.” “So now I suppose there’s one of the biggest manhunts—even though it’s a woman in this case—in U.S. history going on right now,” said Gilbert. “That’s the rest of the bad news.” “Oh, no,” moaned Gilbert. “How much worse can it get?” “Try five million dollars worse.” “What?” Both Gilbert and Walker said in unison, shocked and confused. It was then that Cole explained all the technicalities she had gotten off on, as well as being rewarded for the misconduct on law enforcement's part. “But the sicko literally escaped custody!” Gilbert said, her voice now rising. “Actually, she didn’t. That’s another piece of technical bullshit, and believe me, it pisses the shit out of me too, even if a tiny part of me did feel bad for the madwoman at times just because of how crazy and delusional she was.” “Well, I don’t feel the least bit of sympathy for her,” said Gilbert, while Walker nodded in agreement. “What technicalities are we talking about here?” “The one that says the decision was made right before the escape.”