Visiting one’s ex can be awkward at even the best times, but for Roy Harper, this could not have been a bigger understatement!
“Next!” The guard called, motioning for Roy and Lian to step forward and through the metal detector at the visitors center of Stryker’s Island Penitentiary on the outskirts of Metropolis. Lian went first, followed by her father, who allowed the guard to pat him down when his prosthesis inevitably set off the detector. He was fairly used to the ordeal at this point, being a frequent visitor at this location.
Jade Nguyen, Roy’s ex, and Lian’s mother, was better known to most as the internationally infamous assassin and mercenary, Cheshire. Such a lifestyle made it difficult for Lian to be able to see her mother, and things had only gotten more complicated about two years prior, when Jade had gotten herself thrown in prison for a multitude of severe charges.
“This way, dad!” Lian called, a little excited and running a bit in front of her father, almost forgetting that they were technically inside a maximum-security facility. Lian wasn’t the type of girl to usually be bothered by that sort of thing. She was too excited by the prospect of seeing her mom.
Despite regretting a great number of things in his past, Roy couldn’t bring himself to entirely regret his time with Cheshire. After all, it was thanks to Jade that Roy now had Lian in his life. Regardless of her past and many, many crimes, he owed Jade for her. As such, they came to visit her in prison as often as they could.
In the visitors’ room, four security officers stood against the walls, with two guarding each door. Once Roy and Lian had taken their seats behind the plexiglass dividing wall, there was the familiar buzz of the opening lock. Lian sat up taller as her mother was led in, managing to still look beautiful and in control, despite the orange jumpsuit and the cheap hair tie that pulled back her long, full black hair.
“Hi mom!” The young archer called and waved before Jade had even gotten to her seat.
“Hello my little Lotus Flower!” Jade said with just as much enthusiasm as her daughter. “How are you dear? Has your father been feeding you enough?”
“Jade.” Roy warned half-heartedly. He honestly didn’t mind the questions, but their time was limited.
“What?” Jade said with a devilish grin. “You know better than anyone, Roy. If I hear any hint that our girl isn’t happy, I’m breaking out and coming for you.” She pointed a warning finger at her ex, putting her hand down when the guard on her side of the glass cleared her throat as a subtle warning to stay away from certain topics.
“Mom, what happened to your nails?!” Lian said, not taking the threat seriously for a moment, and looking in shock at her mother’s freshly cut short, unpainted fingernails.
Jade sighed, looking at both of her hands, “New policy they started last week. Warden wants nails kept short, so no one claws each other. I think it was because of something Cheetah did…”
“That stinks! They were so pretty!” Lian cried out at the outrage.
“And they were functional too,” Jade said with a smirk. “But they’ll grow back in time. I’m more annoyed that the guards confiscated my favorite nail polish too.”
Roy felt the need to speak up at that. “That’s because most of your polishes are venomous, Jade!”
“Just a minor detail!” The assassin smirked, waving the comment off. “I had a lovely shade of red with Copperhead venom in it that was so bright and vibrant!”
“When you say Copperhead, do you mean the reptile or the evil snake woman?” Roy asked curiously.
Jade shrugged and smiled, not meeting her ex’s eyes, “Hey, I don’t ask about your dork in the silly helmet, Roy! I don’t need to tell you about anyone I may or may not be spending time with…”
“Mom, be nice to Jason! He’s cool!” Lian scolded her gently.
Jade only smiled; happy her child was doing so well. “I’m sure he is. Oh, just for the record Roy, my remark from earlier about Lian’s happiness, pass it on to him too.”
“Miss Nguyen…” The guard warned her a second time. One more and they’d end the session early.
“I know, I know…” Jade sighed, not that she really meant the threat this time. She would never admit it out loud, but for what Jason had done on that fateful day in Star City, Jade knew that she owed him the world.
“You shouldn’t need us to remind you about the conditions of this visit, Nguyen.” said one of the other guards on Roy’s side of the glass. This one was male, and both Roy and Lian recognized him, but it was best for them both not to address that in their current location.
“I’m aware! Tell Amanda not to get her panties in a bunch.” Jade grumbled, looking up straight into a security camera on the wall behind Roy.
“Waller?! Is she here?” Roy mouthed the question, not wanting to say it out loud. If Amanda Waller was watching, she was definitely listening.
Jade wasn’t as concerned with staying on her de facto boss’s good side. Good manners were pretty worthless in Waller’s books. She only cared about skills and results. “Even if she isn’t here, she’s still definitely watching. Last I heard, she wanted me for the latest assignment of the… “Task force”.”
She mimed quotation marks around those last two words, and Roy immediately knew what she was referring to. Amanda Waller was the mastermind behind the infamous Task Force X, AKA the Suicide Squad; a government-funded black-ops team, consisting largely of convicted supervillains. The Squad’s missions often involved a great deal of danger, peril, moral ambiguity and, above all else, secrecy. So of course, they were pretty well known among both the superhero, and supervillain, communities.
Roy had personally crossed paths with the team a few times in his career and knew enough to know that the dangerous missions were no joke. The team’s name wasn’t just for show, and quite a few big names had met a grisly demise working for Amanda Waller for the chance at a reduced sentence.
“It’s been good work so far, not that different from my normal jobs.” Jade continued. “Just more risk and less satisfaction, but I get the impression she’s trying to warm me up for something bigger.”
“Are you saying you’ve done work for her recently?” Roy asked in a hushed tone.
“How do you think I got moved out of Belle Reve?” Cheshire said with a grin worthy of her namesake. “Little perk for a job well done. I wanted to be closer to Lian, so I asked to be moved to Blackgate. Sadly, they knew I’d broken out of there before, so they sent me here instead. But hey, it’s still closer than Belle Reve. Cleaner too.”
“That last place was gross!” Lian agreed. The infamous maximum-security prison of Belle Reve might have been a nicer facility than, say Arkham Asylum, but that was like comparing an open sewer to a pit of poisonous snakes. Even Lian hated it from the few times she had visited. Stryker’s, on the other hand, was the perfect middle ground. A little more comfortable, a lot cleaner, and much easier for Jade’s family to make more frequent visits. Sure, it would be harder to break out of when all the security systems worked and the guards were less corrupt, but nothing was perfect.
“Hey, that reminds me!” Lian reached into her pocket and pulled out a large piece of folded paper. “I decided on my Halloween costume for this year! I wanted to show it to you!”
“Going as Speedy again are you, hun? Or maybe Black Canary this year?” Jade asked, smirking at her ex as she watched her child upfold and undo the creases of the paper before flipping it over and holding it to the glass. On the page was a rough sketch… of Cheshire herself.
The assassin was almost too stunned to speak. “You’re going as me?” She hoped she didn’t sound too choked up. She had a reputation to uphold!
“Yep! Your mask is so cool and scary! It’s perfect!” Lian was beaming proudly. “I still have time to work out all the details, but I wanted your opinion, mom.”
It took all of Jade’s training as a ruthless assassin to not start shedding tears of pride in that moment. She forced herself to remain calm, promising herself she would allow time to cry when she got back to her cell, before answering Lian.
“Of course, darling!” Jade said, briefly hiding her face from Lian’s sight behind the paper so she had time to recover her poise. “Hmm… Coloring should be mostly green with gold accents if you are going for one of my flashier looks. Maybe even give it the long flowing sleeves that you can hide your hands in! Costumes can be a little more fun if you know what you’re doing. Doesn’t all have to be practical…”
Roy and Jade shared a smile as Lian went on, talking about how she was going to wear long fake nails to finish the costume. How she had wanted to be armed with metal claws, or maybe even a pair of sai, but her school wouldn’t allow them. Jade knew it was moments like these that she was missing out on every day from the moment she had left Lian with Roy. But she also knew that nothing in the world was more important to her than her daughter’s health and happiness. Which is why she had entrusted her to Roy. Jade knew that Lian would always be much safer and happier in Roy’s world than hers…
“Time’s up, Nguyen.” The female guard said eventually, approaching Jade on her side of the plexiglass.
“Hey, can’t you give them another moment?” asked the male guard from earlier. He actually sounded slightly indignant, even though the visit had reached its scheduled time limit.
“No. Warden’s orders.” The female guard said firmly as she moved to pull Jade up from her seat.
“Wait, can I just make one request first?” Jade asked as politely as she could.
“We can’t promise you anything, but we’ll hear you out.” Said the male guard, before his fellow officer could respond. “What is it Nguyen?”
“Please, may I be allowed to give my daughter a hug?”
The guards seemed a little surprised by the request. “I don’t know about that…” The female guard said with a brief hesitation. The rules were very strict about physical contact between certain inmates and visitors…
“Waller!!!” Jade yelled, glaring up directly into the nearest security camera. “Let me hug my daughter and you have me for the Santa Prisca job! Deal?” It was a bold move. Any topics related to Task Force X and its boss weren’t normally meant to be discussed openly… and yet…
There was a buzz and a door between the plexiglass barrier unlocked. “Ten seconds. Don’t try anything cute.” A familiar stern voice spoke over the intercom. Staring at it in disbelief, Roy gently guided Lian to the door. The female guard put her hand on her stun gun in case Jade tried anything as Lian made her way to the divide.
Mother and daughter stared at each other for a few precious seconds before embracing as tight and long as they could. Both of them often worked hard to look tough. But at this moment, they gave each other permission to cry.
“Time’s up.” The voice over the speaker said again. Roy was surprised, as Waller had actually given the pair 20 seconds. It certainly wasn’t like her to be generous. He silently hoped this wasn’t part of some twisted chess game that Waller was playing, but anything was possible when she was involved.
“Now Lian,” Jade spoke quickly as she was led back to the other side of the plexiglass wall, “I might not be here for your visit next month. It all depends on how long this next job takes. But don’t worry about me, Lotus flower, I’ll be back before you know it.”
“Ok mom… I love you.” Lian said, gripping her father’s hand tight as her mother was cuffed and escorted to the door.
“I love you too Lian! Be a good girl and behave for your father! And Roy, you behave for Lian!” With that last comment, Jade had reached the end of the guard’s patience. She was roughly pushed through to the cell block, the door closing and sealing loudly behind them.
The remaining security officer who had stood up for Jade stepped forward. He allowed Roy and Lian to have a moment of silence together before picking up Lian’s drawing from the table and gently handing it back to her. “Hey kid…” said Rick Flagg, slowly. “Look… If I can do anything to help your mom in the field, I promise I will.” He spoke softly, earning a smile from the young girl.
“Thanks Mr. Flagg.” Lian said, feeling safer to acknowledge him now that no other guards were present. Colonel Rick Flagg Jr. was the tough battle-hardened commanding officer who oversaw the Suicide Squad on many of their missions. While he was known by many as a rough no-nonsense soldier, Flagg had against all odds developed some compassion for some of the convicts he worked with, especially those with families.
When he wasn’t on a mission, Flagg could often be found hanging around facilities such as these, keeping a watchful eye on any inmates that his bosses were considering for the Task Force. It wasn't much of a surprise that Roy and Lian had encountered him here acting as a prison guard.
Flagg walked Lian and Roy to the door. “Cheshire’s not gonna have a good time tonight though,” he said at a volume he hoped only Roy could hear, the secrecy not as vital now they were alone, “Waller will want to know how she knew about Santa Prisca.”
“Not that hard to figure out.” Roy shrugged. “Supergirl probably did Waller a favor back when she took out Bane. With him locked up, I bet all kinds of shifty folks have got their sights set on that island.”
When they reached the exit, Roy extended his metal hand to shake the colonel’s. “Take care of her, and yourself, Flagg.” He said, and the two men gave a quick nod of mutual respect. Roy then made his way out with Lian’s hand in his, out through the visitors entrance and down the path to the ferry.
While both Harpers knew that Jade had just signed herself up for more danger, they both couldn’t help feeling a little jealous. Whatever mission she was given was bound to be an exciting adventure, and a desire for such things clearly ran in the family. Shrugging it off, Roy smiled at his daughter as they rode the ferry back across the bay. He already had the greatest adventure of his life sitting right beside him, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Come on, Squirt!” Roy said with a grin. “I reckon we deserve the best ice cream in Metropolis!”
