Following the sound of a shutting door, Natasha gave a hard tug at her restraints.
She did the same every time she was put in the interview room, and it never worked. A force of habit, perhaps. Her eyes trailed down to the IV that stuck out of her wrist behind the restraint, keeping her tied to the table and unable to cause trouble. As much as she didn’t like to use her power, the guards at the institution insisted on keeping her drugged so that she couldn’t use it. A part of her knew it was unfair, but she knew better than to resist.
The advocate for her case was supposedly here, and Natasha could only hope that she had good news. Though, from the months of little progress, it was getting difficult to remain optimistic.
As if on cue, the door across from her opened and her caseworker stepped in.
Addison Smith. She was a tall woman with long brown hair, casually dressed but she had an air of seriousness that had Natasha knowing better than to expect idle chit-chat from her. In a way, she was grateful for that. She wanted out of this place, away from the cold doctors and wardens and, most importantly, away from the drugs. Addison was the only bit of hope she had in this whole mess. However, she usually came in with an exhausted sigh, saying that she couldn’t appeal the charges and she was going to have to wait some more.
It was the same conversation, over and over again.
This time, Natasha couldn’t tell if something was different, but the file Addison carried under her arm caught her interest. When the other woman arrived empty-handed, Natasha knew she would be sent back to her room with little hope.
“How are you doing today, Natasha?” Addison asked, placing said file down on the table as she sat down across from her.
“Fine,” Natasha answered, feeling the strain of the restraints against her wrists and ankles as she tried to shift into a more comfortable position.
“Just fine?”
“As long as they keep pumping me with this stuff, I can’t be any other way,” Natasha replied, lightly lifting her hand that had the IV in it.
Addison didn’t say anything for a few moments, a look of sympathy crossing her face as she stared at her. Natasha knew she was quite the sight; they barely let her use the bathroom without an escort, she had to wear the hospital gown they gave her, and the stress kept her up for multiple nights. Naturally, she let her looks go a bit over the last couple of months.
“Well,” Addison said around a small sigh, the same tone she used when she was moving on from the small talk and more onto ‘business.’ “There have been some developments. I can’t promise anything too good, but it’s something. You have been given an ultimatum.”
With that, she flipped open the folder. It had everything from the last couple months–the letters and addresses, Natasha’s government profile, her health records. The photos. A knot forming in her stomach, she glanced away for a moment, looking into the camera mounted on the far wall. She pressed her lips together, working her jaw side to side for a moment before looking back at the other woman.
“Please tell me you’re getting me out of here at least.”
“That’s your decision. As you know, your case has been made public. I tried to avoid it for as long as possible, but…well, it’s hard to ignore something like this. However–a silver lining. You’ve caught the attention of an advocacy group with some guardians trained to handle high-risk charges.”
“I am not going to willingly accept another guardian,” Natasha snapped, the anger in her voice hard to miss but she could feel her heart beating hard in her chest. Despite them being bound, she could also feel her hands shaking.
There was a light surge in her, making her arms tingle but it fizzled out as the IV continued to drip into her. Still, the anxiety flared hard, Natasha holding a hard stare with Addison until the other woman leaned forward, clasping her hands in front of her.
“...What happened to you,” Addison started after a brief pause, her tone taking on a softer quality, “what happened with your old guardian; that was completely against regulations and never should have happened. Most of the people in the enhanced human community agree that you never should have been charged for what you did, but–”
“Spare me, please,” Natasha snapped, “I know what the community thinks and it’s done shit for me.”
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
“Natasha…”
“You said I have an ultimatum?” She just wanted to get off this topic.
The silence that followed her question was heavy, Natasha staring down at the overly clean table in front of her as she tried to push aside the memories of her old guardian, her old house. There was a faint pain in her arm, sharp like a–
It’s phantom pain. She’s not here anymore, I made sure of that.
“The courts have decided on two options,” Addison continued, pulling Natasha’s gaze back to her as she spoke, “The first is that you stay here until they find a prison for you that is willing to admit you. With you having your powers and your case...I’ve told you a couple times about how long it can take to find you a place. It’s a risk to have you off the medication.”
Natasha knew. She was constantly being drugged here to keep her as safe and docile around the non-enhanced humans.
“The second option,” her caseworker said, shifting up a little straighter, “is that you agree to take on this high-risk guardian and the court has assured that you won’t see jail time if you go under their care. Also…you can’t remain on American soil. The Canadian government has agreed to take you across the border, but you will be living in isolation with the chance for reassessment if you work with this guardian for a couple years.”
“Isolation?”
“Your guardian would take care of everything, you’ll be allowed in the community but not without them present and you can’t be out for longer than 24 hours.”
“I might as well just stay here! I can’t even make a phone call without supervision.”
“Perhaps, but they would allow you off the drugs you are on,” Addison said, “Not off medication completely, but you won’t be as heavily medicated.”
…That was a little appealing. Natasha could function with the IV, but it certainly put a damper on her emotions and it kept her weak. It felt like she was dragging herself along some days, her legs wobbly and she couldn’t get up from her bed to the bathroom without getting winded. She knew with a criminal record now, nobody was going to let her not take some sort of medication to put some restraints on her powers but she hated this. As much as the idea of having another guardian made her skin crawl, the idea of being allowed some freedom was tempting.
“Where in Canada am I getting shipped off to?”
“That’ll be something your new guardian will have to discuss with you. That decision is out of my hands.”
“Will they meet me here?” Natasha asked, “With the cameras?”
“Yes, in this room. I can be present if you want me to be,” Addison said with a nod, “I have met him. I would not have agreed to appeal to this course of action if I felt like he would harm you.”
Natasha held the other woman’s gaze for a few moments, turning that over in her head. The idea of being under the care of a guardian again made her stomach twist, she had wanted to avoid that at all costs. Yet, she knew going to a prison would be worse. There were few special prisons that took in people like her, yet they were overcrowded and, often, unregulated. She knew what might await her there. Plus, she didn’t know how much longer she could take being in her current institution. Months? Years? Addison wasn’t lying when she said she had no time estimates on when she would be transferred.
The lesser of two evils seemed pretty clear.
“I want to meet this guardian before I agree to anything,” Natasha said after letting out a breath, “I won’t blindly agree to go with him. I can’t.”
“I wouldn’t force you to do that,” Addison said, reaching across the table to place a hand on Natasha’s bound ones.
“Okay,” Natasha said with a small nod, resigned.
“I will call him as soon as I have signed out from here,” Addison said, digging through her file a moment before placing a piece of paper down on the table, “That’s his name and experience. He is familiar with your case and wanted me to pass that information on.”
Natasha leaned forward somewhat as Addison pushed the paper closer to her so she could read it better.
“Andrei Cojocaru…” she read off the paper with some difficulty, “That’s a mouthful.”
“He’s from Romania,” Addison explained, causing Natasha to glance up at her with a quick huff of a chuckle.
“Why are they sending me to Canada? Romania is much further away.”
“It was an option, but considering you can’t speak Romanian…”
Despite the exhaustion and dread that sat in her about the current situation, Natasha couldn’t help a small smile at the light teasing. She looked over the information some more. He seemed experienced, combat training and previous charges…
“I guess I’ll meet him,” Natasha said around a sigh, leaning back in her seat again, “I’d like you to be there, though.”
She was the only person she had been able to trust over the last couple of months.
“Of course,” Addison said, “I will arrange a visit with him at the end of the week. Is there anything else you need me to do?”
“Not that I can think of,” Natasha replied, ready to get back to her room and try not to overthink everything.
Addison stood from her chair, giving an affirmative nod toward the camera in the room before she turned to leave. Natasha sat back in her chair–or as far back as the restraints would let her. She heard the door to her left open, an orderly walking in to release her from the table. Looking at his dead-eyed stare and the overly sterile hallway behind him, she already knew that getting out of the institution was something she needed to do. No matter the method.