[b]Brown![/b]

"It's tea, actually," said Brown, looking at the stain on her suit. 

She is thinking about botany. The hydroponics bays in Gaia where the cascading tea leaves fall in waterfalls, the yellow and white flowers in full bloom making them look like rivers of honey cream. She's thinking about the sound the water makes as it runs through them. She thinks about these things in the face of the ugly inhumanity of these cells, not because she's untouched - quite the opposite. In the face of horror, beauty. Beauty in the smallest things, even in the scent of tea from her stained shirt. Beauty was stability, was sanity. 

"Can you open the door please?" Brown said to Cheadle. "Are we free to go, or does the state intend to press charges?"

It would be interesting to hear a 'yes'. The inhumane conditions alone would undercut any prosecution's case and attract media attention, so the fact that she'd been let in at all meant that they'd likely decided to wipe their hands of the case. Failing that, she'd at least have the next stage of the conversation in a private room.

[b]Orange and Blue![/b]

"I can do something about that surveillance," said Blue immediately. "Whoever's at the other end, if they've got that many assets pointed at you I can trace it back. I can -"
Orange held up a hand. "Blue, no."
"Why not?" she snapped. "Like he said, we can -"
"[i]Stop[/i]," said Orange. "Okay. Before going full psycho mode, answer his question first."
Blue glowered darkly, folding her arms. "Because - Green had it right. Imagine being on the Supreme Court - being the [i]Queen of Justice[/i] - and being this fucking [i]mid[/i]. Do you understand what a powerful idea justice is? How hot it burns? It's -" she took off her glove.

The hand beneath was mechanical. Monstrous. Fusion cutter talons, shaped like the claws of an industrial beast. She rested it on the desk, tracing it back and forth. Not carving grooves into the wood took visible self control.

"That day in front of the courthouse, do you know what I was looking at?" said Blue. "The Goddess of Justice. Sword in hand. Something greater and more pure than mortal politics. But her blindfold stopped her seeing she was ankle deep in blood and her high priestesses were rotten to the core. I wanted to see the scales fall from her eyes. To turn [i]towards [/i]the courthouse rather than facing away from it. I want her to break with the system that claims to speak for her."