“Happy!” AJ screams at the guards, “ARE YOU HAPPY? ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?”

Nick looks at AJ and then back down at the floor of the cell.

Brian had his forehead pressed up against the bars staring at them all with wide eyes.

Kevin had an emotionless face on though staring out at all of them with bright green eyes taking everything in.

“WELL!” AJ yells before slamming his fist onto the bars of the cell creating a large bang that echoed down the hall.

“Get him out of here,” Cicero says to another guard motioning to the guard that AJ had the confrontation with, “Open the cell,” he says as another guard opens AJ’s cell for him, “C’mon AJ,” Cicero says as AJ steps out of the cell before they lock it again, “Follow me…”

“I know the routine ok,” AJ says as Cicero nods and they both start to walk back down the hall.

“What?” AJ snaps at Cicero as he sits down into a chair in his office.

“What happened to you?”

“What happened to you? That’s as creative as you can get?” AJ says, “I know the drill. Just ask me the questions.”

“Did your father do this to you?” Cicero asks sitting on the edge of his desk.

“Yeah,” AJ says, “My old man never stopped. Pain in the ass though he could own me.”

“That’s why you ran away?”

“Yeah,” AJ says, “I told him if he ever touched me again he would be sorry.”

“What do you mean sorry?”

“I don’t know ok,” AJ says.

“AJ listen to me,” Cicero says, “You need to talk to the psychiatrist ok.”

“NO!”

“AJ…”

“No, you don’t understand I’m fine when I’m not in this cage. I’m fine on the outside when I’m with my boys. It’s when I’m in here that I get like this. I…I can’t take it in here.”

“AJ you really need to get help for whatever problem you have.”

“Why? I know you’re type. I know you’re only trying to get into my head to find out if I killed my father.”

“AJ, I’m not doing that…”

“Bullshit,” AJ snaps, “Do you have a son? Would you ever do this to him? Would you ever make him into me? Would you ever force him onto the street at the age of sixteen? Would you ever make him sleep on the street? Would you ever make him choose between shelter and food with the few dollars he has? You have no idea what is going on in my head, so don’t act like you understand me ok. You don’t understand me and you never will!”

“Ok AJ calm down,” Cicero says calmly, “I’m just trying to help.”

“You’re going to put me into some kind of psychiatric ward aren’t you?” AJ asks him, “For those people who hear TV cartoons talk to them.”

“AJ you need to calm down please.”

“No…no,” AJ says.

“AJ please.”

“No, you know what they did to me last time I was here? They shut me up in that solitary confinement. They left me in there all night. You know what that’s like? What it’s like to just be stuck in a hole in the wall with your thoughts?”

“AJ stop playing mind games. I know your type I have seen them before. You try so hard to put on this persona that you’re a hard person, but you’re not. Listen to me right now this has nothing to do with your father’s murder. We’ll deal with that later ok. Right now we need to get you some help.”

“I don’t need help,” AJ says, “I need to get out of here…now.”

“Ok…ok…calm down.”

“For now though. I just need you to calm down. We’ll get you a new shirt and then we have to put you back with Nick. I’ll make sure that no one comes near you ok? When I need you I’ll come get you and I promise no solitary confinement. Alright? AJ?”

“Ok,” AJ says calmly.

“I just need you to calm down that’s all.”

“Ok,” AJ says.

“Alright, let’s go back now ok,” Cicero says and walks over to the door and opens it beginning to walk down the hall back to the cells.

AJ follows close behind him and with his eyes facing forward and half of a smirk across his face.

Nick stares at the wall and runs a hand over it. His head was racing with thoughts. He closes his eyes and touches his forehead to the cell wall. All he wanted was to get out. He wanted to get out. He looks out of the corner of his eye and sees AJ sitting on the floor in a corner with his knees pressed against his chest. What kind of fucked up society did he live in, Nick wondered. The guards would walk by their cells every once and a while and glance in. They didn’t like AJ and he knew it. For what reason though he didn’t know.

Brian was across the hallway sitting up on his bunk staring over at them while Kevin was asleep on his bunk below Brian’s. There was something weird about both of them, but Nick didn’t know what it was yet. Brian was ok, but something didn’t seem right about him. Kevin on the other hand Nick just didn’t like. He would talk to Brian, but he chose to stay far away form Kevin and Howie. Howie who seemed to have a strange obsession with the Locks from what he over heard before. He hadn’t told AJ yet though. That’s all he needed to do was send AJ over the edge again.

Nick’s whole body hurt for some reason. He was guessing it was because his whole body was tensed up for some reason or another. Of course the situation he was in at the present time wasn’t the best one to be in if you had a stress problem. Nick had a weird feeling about being here. Like almost everyone in the place had some kind of mask on. The whole place was just a parade of glittering masks smiling at you. It freaked him out to tell you the truth. Kevin wore a mask of being one of those straight-laced business lawyers. Brian wore one that portrayed him as being the perfect son. Howie’s was one about being the perfect cop in the wrong place at the wrong time. AJ’s…AJ’s was a mask on top of a mask. Nick had known AJ long enough to know that AJ had different ways to deal with different situations. He was probably the most cunning person Nick had ever met. He was a sneaky little shit, but he had a good heart most of the time. He always did kind of make Nick wonder though.

Nick stares outside the bars into the hallway again and sighs. So it was all coming back to him again now. All the times that he had gotten angry when he was younger and taken it out on someone. They would be thinking that he had an anger problem soon enough. So what if he did anyway? Just because he had an anger problem didn’t mean that he was going to take it out on some girls. Well he didn’t think he would take it out on defenseless girls. Of course whenever Nick got mad everything did seem to go by in a blur. He did remember talking to that girl, whatever, her name was at the club. He forgot what he asked though and what she answered.

The doctors when he was younger said he had tunnel vision and that it caused him to just focus on one thing…his anger and ending it. Actually now that he thought about it he never did remember beating up any of those other kids when he was younger. He just remembered waking up with bruises and cuts on him the next day. Now that he though about it they actually could pin him with the crime after all he really didn’t have an alibi.

Brian stares at the empty space above him on his top bunk and sighs. He puts his hands behind his head and tries to relax. He couldn’t though. Every muscle in his body was tight from stress and tension. He closes his eyes and tries to make the world around him go away as AJ sings softly from across the hallway.

“Buried deep as you can dig inside yourself, and covered with a perfect shell, such a charming beautiful exterior. This is one time, this is one time, that you can't fake it hard enough to please everyone or anyone at all. Or anyone at all. And the grave that you refuse to leave the refuge that you've built to flee the places you have come to fear the most. Is the places you have come to fear the most. Buried deep as you can dig inside yourself, and hidden in the public eye. Such a stellar monument to loneliness. Laced with brilliant smiles and shining eyes and perfect makeup but you're barely scraping by. But you’re barely scraping by. This is one time, this is one time, that you can't fake it hard enough to please everyone or anyone at all. Or anyone at all. And the grave that you refuse to leave the refuge that you've built to flee the places you have come to fear the most. Is the places you have come to fear the most…” AJ sings softly.

Brian shuts his eyes trying to block out AJ’s words as he begins to sing louder, “And you can't fake it hard enough to please everyone or anyone at all. Or anyone at all. And the grave that you refuse to leave the refuge that you've built to flee the places that you have come to fear the most. Is the places you have come to fear the most. Is the place that you have come to fear the most.”

Brian puts his hands over his ears as AJ finally stops singing and words begin to swirl around in his head over and over again. “And you can't fake it hard enough to please everyone or anyone at all. Or anyone at all.” Brian covers his ears harder squeezing out the words before closing his eyes tightly also. “Is the place you have come to fear the most. Is the place that you have come to fear the most.”

“Stop it!” Brian yells loudly as Kevin opens his eyes in the bunk below him and stares up at him, “STOP IT! STOP IT! SHUTUP!”

Nick stands up and walks over to the bars of his cell locking in at Brian as AJ sits up in his bunk and looks over.

“Stop it Brian,” Kevin says standing up and looking down at Brian who was now curled in a small ball covering his ears, “Brian stop it!” Kevin yells pulling his arms away from his head, “Knock it off!” he yells as Brian’s eyes pop open widely.

“What?” Brian asks relaxing and sitting up breathing heavily, “What’s wrong?”

Kevin stares at him oddly before letting go of his arms.

Nick and AJ stare over at the two of them from their cell and look at each other.

“Are you ok Brian?” Nick asks.

“Yeah…yeah fine,” Brian says, “Why?”

Nick looks up at AJ who only shrugs in reply.

Kevin looks at Brian hard before shaking his head and sitting back down on his bunk.

Brian looks around at them all before breathing deeply and lying back down on his bunk.

What was wrong with all of them?

Kevin shakes his head as he stares up at the bottom of Brian’s bunk. Something was seriously wrong with that kid. He looked at Kevin like he had two heads when he finally snapped out of his screaming fit. He didn’t even know what was going on. Maybe he needs medication or something. Him and AJ both needed medication. There was something wrong with AJ too. Nick was the only one out of them that seemed normal to Kevin. Howie…he got a bad vibe off Howie and Kevin had never trusted cops anyway. He was just trying to decide who was going to a breakdown first AJ or Brian. Kevin wasn’t totally convinced yet that AJ’s problems were real or he was just playing along with the label that everyone had branded him with. Personally he frightened Kevin.

Kevin still didn’t understand why he was still here though. His lawyer should have gotten him out of here by this time now. He had to remember to fire his ass once he got out. His business was probably going under as he thought about it. Of course that would just be Kevin’s luck for it to happen like that. He never did have good luck when it came to being charged with things if his lawyer didn’t get him out of it after three days or less.

The only proof they had on him though was the video of him walking out back, some drug allegations and a hunch that the psychiatrist offered. None of them would hold up in court though when faced with his lawyer, his lawyer who was not doing his job as he sat here in this cold cell. Yeah the cops had nothing on him that the other four didn’t have any worse. Who was going to blame Kevin when they had people like Brian and AJ in the same category? Nick though, Nick might be a problem. Kevin was almost positive that Nick had seen him talking to her, the girl that is. Of course if he did he hadn’t said anything about it. No one had asked Kevin about it as of yet.

No they didn’t have any evidence on him. Nothing. He should be out of here in two days tops. That was if his damned lawyer got up off his ass and did his job.

Howie stares down the hall and shakes his head before pulling his forehead away from the bars and going back to his bunk. Well it had been an interesting day to say the least. AJ had had some sort of explosion earlier in the day with the guard for whatever reason. The Brian had had some sort of breakdown in his cell. God compared to all of them Howie looked boring. He was probably the most sane out of all of them.

It was very interesting when you took it all in though. Brian the perfect son. Nick the kid down on his like. Kevin the aristocrat. AJ the gang member. Then you add Howie in the cop. None of them fit together in the same serial killer profile. It was probably driving all of the investigators insane by now. There was almost no logical reason that all of them would be placed in the same category under normal circumstances, but when you add in the videotape evidence all hell breaks loose. Howie found it all very interesting though.

He had always found murder cases interesting. To tell you the truth he had wanted to be a serial killer profiler early in his training, but they said he didn’t have what it took. AJ though. AJ frightened him though. Howie had known AJ from profiling the locks gang and he was someone Howie did not like to be around. Yeah he seemed like a complete basket case, but he was the type of person that could look at you and be able to read you like a book. Howie had seen him do it before and that simple fact put Howie in a bad situation…a very bad situation.