Catch me if you can

Things get weird

A/N: I made some minor adjustments to the last sections of the previous chapter to line up with a character change. ALso bish... blackbears everything means nothing is my life

----

Lauren was relaxing in her cell with her bunkmate, an energetic, mildly manic girl who went by Halsey, when everything suddenly went to shit.

They could hear a commotion coming from the halls, shouting and screaming bouncing off the walls. Lauren pushed herself up onto her elbows and raised an eyebrow as she saw a group of guards jogging past the door.

Halsey went up to the bars and clutched at them, trying to peer down the hall.

"Oi Eilish." She hissed. A hand appeared through the cell door next to them and flipped a middle finger at her. "Come on, what's going on?"

"Riot in the yard apparently." Eilish reluctantly replied.

"Really? Ya hear that Laur? A riot." Halsey said and Lauren just sighed, letting herself back onto her pillow.

"What for?" Lauren drawled. Halsey relayed it through the door and Lauren heard a muffled reply.

"Protesting. Against police brutality, remember that news story from the other week?" Halsey said, her eyes lighting up.

"Good for them. If I wasn't in here I'd be doing something." Lauren muttered, closing her eyes and tucking her hands under her head. "No wonder my lawyer's busy at the moment."

Halsey stumbled back from the door with a yelp that made Lauren look up again.

"Oh hey Beckett, whatcha need?" Lauren said with a grin at the guard standing at the door.

"Got word from Hansen, apparently the protests are keeping you in business for now." Beckett said, brushing a loose hair out of her face, glancing down towards the yelling every few seconds. "They're after orders on what to do next."

"They need to keep an eye on Healy for me. I wanna know what he's up to during these protests. Oh and tell 'em to visit me soon." Lauren said quietly. Beckett nodded and stepped away from the bars when there was a loud yell from the end of the hallway.

"I've gotta go. But keep safe yeah? This might get rough." Beckett said before jogging towards the yard.

"Can't believe you've already got a guard on your payroll. Took Eilish months."

"Yeah well she's barely legal and doesn't have the mind for business." Lauren waved Halsey off with a scoff.

"You're like five years older than her." Halsey laughed.

"And at least I didn't get busted before I'd hit puberty."

"I can hear you, ya know!" Lauren winced and mumbled an apology that earned another middle finger that had Halsey snickering.

"You really think you can keep your business alive from in here?" Halsey asked, lying down on the bunk below Lauren.

"I built up quite a following before I got busted. And a reputation for being firm but fair." Lauren mused. "My people can handle themselves."

"Against Matt Healy? Really? He's ruthless." Halsey muttered, concern coming off her in waves as Lauren leaned over the edge to look at her.

"No. His father was ruthless. Matt is just a wannabe mafia boy with daddy issues and anger issues." Lauren said with a grin.

"Careful, he might hear you."

"Like he can hold a conversation with a girl long enough to get any informants in here." Lauren snorted. Halsey didn't seem to find it as funny.