Broken Pot [Ivy]

[Jeremiah Arkham - Black Mask]

Jeremiah yawned as he stared into the mirror of his in-office bathroom. He rinsed out his coffee mug and set on the sink before grabbing a paper towel and drying his hands. He threw his into the wastepaper bin by his desk and grabbed his suitcoat from its resting place on a tall lamp in the corner.

Another day at Arkham and it was time for Jeremiah Arkham to go home. He’d phoned ahead to let Melina know to expect him early that night and was now just putting his office together for himself to return to the next day. He folded his coat over his arm and grabbed his suitcase from atop the desk. After this he gave his office a final glance to be sure that nothing whatsoever was out of place or that he’d missed packing anything that he’d need at home.

His chairs had been returned to facing his desk and his couch was neat and tidy. The table before it was littered with nonsensical magazines in an attractive fashion for any that entered before their scheduled appointment. His desk was neat. His name plaque was turned to display his name, the same as was embossed on his door, “Dr. Jeremiah Arkham.” The only thing lying on his desk was his business calendar with days filled in with appointments and reminders. His paperweight and pen cup set to the side as well a stack of documents to peruse the next day. Jeremiah’s computer was off.

Everything seemed in order. The doctor went to the door and with a flip of a switch his office was cast into darkness. He only set his briefcase down outside to lock up before it was in his hand again and he was walking down the hall towards the back exit of the Mansion. He had taken to parking there on his first day as Administrator and in the following decades hadn’t deviated from that behavior. It was strange that he hadn’t seen the nightguardsman for the building yet, but not so out of character that he felt something was wrong. So the guard was being held up or running late. Maybe he’d run into as he left.

He’d find that would be a certainty.

His feet had just hit the hall that lead to the rear exit when he was suddenly grabbed from behind. His coat and briefcase smashed to the floor. Jeremiah kicked and tried to use his arms, but the man had pinned those to his side and knew well enough how to endure being kicked. Jeremiah would have shouted, but it that would have been no use. The nightguard was the man who had him.

[Pamela Isley - Poison Ivy]

It's the nightguard all right, but not the normal one. Marcus traded his regular shift with one of the guards who usually works earlier in the day in the Penitentiary. The name of the man holding him now is Ray, who came up with some excuse for why he couldn't work his earlier shift and talked Marcus into trading with him. Which wasn't hard - Ray and Marcus became rather good friends recently, not long after Ray made the acquaintanceship of a patient by the name of Poison Ivy. But if Dr. Arkham ever has the opportunity to investigate exactly what happened this evening, he'll discover a large web of such connections, all carefully put into place within days of Poison Ivy's arrival, and though the web required the occasional bit of mending as time passed, it was always ready and waiting for the moment when she wanted it.

Not that it's all going off without a hitch. It wasn't a part of the plan to go after Dr. Arkham originally, but when it turned out that Jeremy - a rather key part of the plan thanks to his very high level of security clearance - had been sent home sick so they're having to improvise. Fortunately, a contingency plan or two can save a plan that may otherwise be ruined by something unforeseen.

Perhaps it should flatter Dr. Arkham that Poison Ivy had deemed it necessary for Ray to have backup for this task in spite of the fact that the guard is quite bulky and knows how to use that to his advantage - moments after Dr. Arkham is grabbed from behind, an orderly called Marv appears in front of him to secure his legs with one arm, and speaks into a cellphone held in his other hand. "We've got him," he reports into the phone.

"Hey, what do you mean we've got him? I'm doing most of the work," Ray grunts, rather annoyed.

"I'm helping!" Marv protests, pressing the end of the phone into his shirt so that the person on the other hand can't hear. But when that doesn't seem to satisfy his companion, he adds, "You want me to make us both sound dumb by correcting myself? You know how she is about that..."

At that Ray simply gives another annoyed grunt that expresses both his acceptance of that line of thought and his dissatisfaction with it. He supposes that the important thing here is that they're getting the job done successfully and not who gets credit for it, but he really should be getting more of the credit...

Back on the phone, Marv makes a sound of acknowledgment before putting the phone away. "We're meeting them downstairs," he states as he pulls out a set of restraints of the type they use on patients - both handcuffs and shackles with a chain connecting the two. The two men work together to get them in place, well used to doing so with patients and knowing that their job will be a lot easier when they're done as they'll severely limit the man's ability to either fight them or try to run.

Only then does Ray address Dr. Arkham directly, having been too focused on securing the man to worry about much else. He didn't need to anyways - unless there's been an unexpected mishap, there shouldn't be anyone left in the mansion that isn't in this with him so there isn't much else for him to be worrying about. "Sorry about this boss - you weren't in the plan," he says as Marv collects both the dropped coat and briefcase. And, perhaps surprisingly, he does sound like he's actually regretful about it. But not enough for it to stop him, apparently, as his next words are spoken with a rather firm, no-nonsense tone. "So, are you going to walk with us to the elevator, or are you going to make me carry you?" he asks. If how easily he held Dr. Arkham before is any indication, Ray could carry him quite easily - but he's lazy enough to give the man the option of walking.

[Jeremiah Arkham - Black Mask]

Jeremiah recognized Ray, the usual dayguardsman and while he’s unsure at first why he’s being held and wrestled with—Jeremiah isn’t going down without some struggle—he’s fighting. He hasn’t looked into connections. He doesn’t have to. He’d been watching from the beginning, watching the web be spun and it should have been a sign to Poison Ivy that his lack of interference revealed just how little he cared to stop her and how much more interested in just watching the manipulation happen he was, but no, he knows. He realizes that Ivy just thinks it was plain ignorance on his part. That Dr. Arkham was just so high and mighty that he was foolish enough to let something like this slip under his nose. He has several incidents to thank for his change of surveillance on some inmates. Especially ones he knows to be dangerous. Like that of Ivy.

He’d been watching.

So he’s not really surprised he’s being in some way detained. It’s not the first time he’d been used in some sort of plan concocted by an inmate and he doubts it’ll be the last. Of course, he’d not thought himself that important, but it doesn’t matter. He actually not flattered by the choice and certainly not feeling special when back up arrives for Ray.

He’s fighting back in vain, but he does manage to land several well-aimed kicks at Marv before his legs are completely secure. His eyes narrow when he speaks into a phone, but only rolls his eyes at the infantile argument they get into. You know, these guards hadn’t been so juvenile before. He’ll thank Ivy for that later.

Maybe that’s why he stops fighting as much and lets the restraints be placed on him. In all this time, however, he’d not really tried to get away. He doubts either of them noticed. They’re too set on “impressing” Ivy. He just gives a roll of his eyes.

The eye roll repeats when he’s finally spoken to and he just stares coldly at both Ray and Marv and doesn’t even respond to their apology. He simply regards them with a deadly stare and then turns his gaze away. They aren’t worth his time. They’re the help. The muscle. Easily disposed of and stupid. It doesn’t matter whether the apology is real or not.

“Oh, I’m all for being cooperative after all, where am I going to go? How am I going to run? You’ve done such a wonderful job of restraining me. I imagine she’ll be so proud of you,” despite his previous glares his voice is conversational. “I highly doubt I’ll have much of a choice either way so I might as just go along, hm?”

He’s furious, but not stupid.

[Pamela Isley - Poison Ivy]

The essential point of importance to Poison Ivy isn't necessarily whether or not Dr. Arkham was aware of her network, but that it exists. Whether that's because of his ignorance of it, his inability to stop it from forming, or because he for some reason was allowing it doesn't really matter to her. In fact, of those three possibilities she's actually giving him some credit by assuming it's the first - it merely indicates stupidity while the others indicate stupidity, ineptness, and recklessness.

Ray is very large well-used to manhandling struggling patients, having needed only to get the drop on Dr. Arkham to get the advantage. When he decided to become a guard at the asylum he was merely acknowledging his strengths for what they are. Though he catches a few blows from the struggling doctor, he knows how to keep any serious knocks from hitting him and the weaker ones he's able to take with only a grunt or two of complaint. Marv, on the other hand, is more used to dealing with more docile patients, so he actually gets hit pretty hard by a kick or two, though it's not enough to stop him. He'd surely lose his status as Ivy's favorite if he backed out over a couple of bruises.

When glares are sent in their respective directions, Marv pointedly avoids the look by keeping his own gaze away from Dr. Arkham - occupying himself with the items he's carrying. As Ray actually needs to keep an eye on his boss, he doesn't have that option, and in fact he has the decency to look a bit guilty. Still, once again that's not enough to get him to change his mind at all. In fact he responds to his boss's words by with a half-hearted smile and saying, "I'm glad you understand." He really has no choice but to do as he's doing either, after all. ...Well, perhaps he does have a choice, but the other options are clearly worse.

Marv leads the way, carrying Dr. Arkham's things over to the elevator and pressing the button, while Ray sticks close to Dr. Arkham - allowing him to walk freely but alert for any funny business. Once they're in the elevator, Marv pushes the button for the ground floor. An awkward silence prevails, as neither of them really want to be so blatantly breaking so many... wait are there any actual rules against this, or does it fall under 'too obvious to write down'? In any event, both are uncomfortable with it and it reduces the amount of potential chatter to practically nothing.

Though that discomfort diminishes quite a bit when the doors of the elevator opens to reveal Poison Ivy and yet another party to this scheme. John probably isn't a very big surprise as he's normally the evening guard for the high security wing of the penitentiary where Poison Ivy's cell is, making him one of the staff members that she's had the most access to. Which may explain why he's also the one who is holding the high-powered rifle of the kind normally only in the possession of those who guard the asylum's outer walls. He's holding it quite casually, however, safely pointed away from everyone and yet simply having it reminds everyone that you don't want to cross him, and the protective way he's looming next to Poison Ivy indicates what sort of behavior would cross him.

Poison Ivy herself doesn't look any better now than she did when Dr. Arkham last attempted to ask about her health - if anything, she looks a bit worse, and yet at the moment she appears to be quite lively and energetic thanks to the excitement of this occasion. "How good of you to join us, Dr. Arkham!" she greets him with a smile, before turning her attention to the men with him, "Excellent work, both of you!" And that simple praise is enough to change that discomfort they were feeling into one of pride - yes they, did do a fine job securing the man she wanted.

Not wanting to waste any more time, she immediately turns, and heads toward the back part of the building. "Come!" she commands the entire group, who immediately respond to her word by doing just that, just as responsive to the word as any soldier to their drill sergeant. Dr. Arkham may be quick to recognize that she's leading them straight toward the secured room where they keep the personal effects that were confiscated from the patients at the time they were admitted.

[Jeremiah Arkham - Black Mask]

Jeremiah isn’t stupid, though foolish at times could be argued. Foolish because he’s an observer, a master of a game of his own design and he wants to see what happens. He is also reckless so if he had known about the network and did nothing, it was because he wanted to see what would happen and in that he was both foolish, reckless, and sure that when it came to him he would not be drawn in.

And that was where he was wrong, even if he wasn’t the first choice to be taken, he was wrong in assuming that while not safe he was would be unimportant enough to Ivy to be a target at all.

Jeremiah isn’t focused on those shortcomings, however. Instead he’s angry at these two, despite their obvious guilt. He’s also curious as to just how she’s doing this. Controlling them so that while they feel bad about what they’re doing, they’re more concerned about pleasing Ivy than the fact that at this very moment, they are most definitely fired. He’s grasping onto that anger because that’s all he can do not to admit that he’s absolutely terrified. He has no idea why he’s needed or what Ivy wants with him. He doesn’t reply anymore. He just scowls at the ground and decides to follow. He’d promised cooperation and now is not the time to be uncooperative. He’d hired both Marv and Ray, and he knows Ray’s aptitude for dealing with the unruly. He’s not stupid. He shouldn’t fight any more for the time being. And he isn’t.

The walk isn’t a long one and he’s not paying attention to whether his things are following with him. His paperwork and other such valuables as he carries in the suitcase and on his person are unimportant to well, his person. He doesn’t care that it’s selfish. He’s more worried about himself than anything else, including his asylum. It’ll be fine. Himself? He’s not so sure about that as he steps into the elevator and takes note of everything. That Ray is close and alert for him to try anything, that they’re going to the ground floor, and that both men are more than uneasy in this whole situation.

That makes three of them, and while their discomfort disappears as the doors reveal the mastermind of the situation, Jeremiah’s doesn’t and he simply refuses to meet her gaze. The only thing he takes in is the guard with the rifle. That’s all that matters to him. Not her words and praises to the now preening two at his side. Not even where she moves despite that he’s going there too.

That’s all he’s doing at the moment. Shutting up and following.

[Pamela Isley - Poison Ivy]

Poison Ivy isn't put off by Dr. Arkham's silence in the least. After all, she can't recall a single moment of time when she's ever wanted to interact with the man for any reason other than to accomplish some goal that he had to be a part of. And right now is certainly no exception - if she had a better alternative right now she'd have used it.

But she's the only one who isn't completely dispassionate about his participation in this. Ray and Marv have already hinted as much in their mannerisms, but Marv decides to take that further as they walk - he speeds up to catch up with Poison Ivy and walks by her side as he hesitatingly says, "...You said only friends would be involved - nobody talks, nobody gets caught, nobody knows what happened. Dr. Arkham isn't with us."

"I know," Poison Ivy replies with a sigh, "It's not my fault that Tom isn't here, so we're having to improvise around that."

"But Dr. Arkham will talk, we'll all get fired if not worse," Marv worries out loud.

"I know," she replies, sounding a little annoyed. But her voice is calm and even soothing as she continues, "Let me worry about that. Of course I don't want any of you to get into trouble for this - that wouldn't be right. I'm not sure at the moment how to solve it, but I'm figure out something. You trust me don't you, Marvin?" Her eyes shift from him to take in the other two with her, "You all trust me?"

"Yes, of course!" Marv answers for the group, practically stumbling over himself to reassure her on that point.

"Then there's nothing to worry about," Poison Ivy concludes with a smile, and there's indeed a lightening in the atmosphere around the group - everything will be fine! As they reach the door to the storage area, she shifts her attention to Marv and says, "Find his key card. And Ray, get his finger on the scanner." Given the nature of the things confiscated from some of the more interesting patients at the asylum, naturally this particular room has far more security protection than most. But as far as Poison Ivy is concerned, that simply means a slightly more complicated plan.

[Jeremiah Arkham - Black Mask]

If Jeremiah could find some ironic humor in this situation, or if he was of the mind to really try—he isn’t at the moment—he’d have found it amusing that while Ivy could have cared less about speaking to him unless it accomplished some point in a plot, he had actually been trying to help. But that’s how the saying goes isn’t it? You can’t help someone who doesn’t want to be helped, or in Ivy’s case thinks she’s got everything under control. She has, he supposes. Not that this couldn’t have been easier.

And without his involvement thanks very much. There had been an alternative. Too bad it wasn’t seen. This could have gone so much smoother. He’d helped a duo escape his asylum after all, nothing would have stopped him from helping Poison Ivy either, save her attitude and this right here as he’s being lead, this is why he’d not offered any assistance. Ungrateful bitch.

He doesn’t even seem to take notice of Marv’s discomfort, but that’s a lie. He’s very honed in on it even if his face is absolutely passionless. He rolls his eyes at his worry, but that’s more because now he does find this amusing. They’d not get fired. No, no…how could he blame them for being under a siren’s spell?

They’re getting worse. Much worse.

That thought calms him even if it’s small and momentary. He can’t really forget what’s happening to and around him, after all. He doesn’t trust this lot. He doesn’t trust Ivy and he’s tempted to drily inform the rest of the group that, but really? Where would the fun be in that? Maybe she’ll do away with them after their usefulness runs out and he’ll take enjoyment in that.

No, you shouldn’t trust her. No one should.

He lets himself enjoy a smirk. It’s momentary because then they’re coming to the storage area.

“Hey,” Jeremiah finally barks, “No need to manhandle. I said I’d cooperate and I will. I’ll give you my keycard and I’ll put my finger on the scanner. Just ask.”

[Pamela Isley - Poison Ivy]

Oddly enough, it doesn't really matter to Poison Ivy whether or not Dr. Arkham would have helped her escape if she'd asked him. The idea that he might have been willing to do so didn't occur to her, but an even deeper issue is that it would require her to actually ask a man for assistance. And she does not do that.

True, some may question that idea given the fact that she has three men helping her now, but she's not asking for their help - she's demanding it. Yes, if you were to ask them they'd say that their participation in this is voluntary and that they're simply doing what they think is best in this situation, but that's merely an illusion. The truth of the matter is that these men are practically slaves, and her word is their command in spite of the signs here and there of uncertainty on their part. Their worries are far too easy to appease, and if not it's the one that she's most firmly hooked that's holding the rifle.

So when the good doctor speaks up to protest his treatment, his offer of willing participation is surprisingly unwelcome. Turning her attention to him as if displeased by his interruption, she pauses to frown at him, staring at him in the eyes for a moment before she repeats, "Ray, get his finger on the scanner." Ask for his help? Really? She doesn't need to, and so she's not going to. If he doesn't like being manhandled, that's just tough. He can offer no resistance and make it easier for himself, but it's going to happen.

Taking their cue from her on how to respond to the offer, Ray and Marv ignore it and instead do as she instructed: Marv searches his pockets until he locates the card, and then Ray puts Dr. Arkham's finger on the scanner whether Poison Ivy ruined his cooperative mood or not. The instant it's unlocked she's going in, but instructs the others to, "Wait here." So all of what she's doing in there remains a mystery, though it involves the distinctive sound of a set of keys being picked up, so that's a slight hint of one of the things. When she comes back out a few minutes later she's wearing her rogue outfit - so that's another thing - as that's what she was wearing when she'd be arrested. And that also explains why she didn't want any of the four men to go in there with her.

Sighing happily as she exits, she simply comments, "I feel so much more like myself now."

Eager to make up for voicing his doubts a moment ago, Marv is quick to compliment, "You look good!" Which then causes both Ray and John to stumble over each other in making it clear that they agree.

But she only responds to that with a smile, as her thoughts are already on the next step. "John, you know the safe route to the front gate?" she asks, indicating their next move. The man grunts in acknowledgment, now taking the lead as he heads toward one of the mansion's side entrances. That's normally locked at this time of night, but since Ray is substituting for the regular night guard, naturally he has the key to fix that problem.

[Jeremiah Arkham - Black Mask]

This woman has issues. And Jeremiah doesn’t care one iota what they are, where they came from, or how to fix them. In fact he’s imagining wrapping his hands around her throat while Things One through Three are occupied elsewhere or don’t exist. His willingness isn’t the issue, the fact is he would have done it. She’s already basically twisting his wrist anyway.

The moment she’d had him manhandled by his guards he was demanding her attention. So he offers? You know why? Because if this can go any simpler that would be great for all of them, he imagines, especially himself. So excuse him, really please excuse him for trying to make this smoother.

That sentiment is what makes him just glower at Ivy. He’s not apologizing and if she wants to get her panties in a twist because of his phrasing she can go to hell. He stares right back at her, into her pale face to her green eyes and he lifts his lips in a snarl. He’s already offering no resistance. Is he fighting? No. Is he attempting to stumble and be uncooperative? No. What does she think he is? Absolutely stupid? He’s more than aware of how she sees him, but he’s not a Neanderthal. And despite his visible displeasure he continues to offer no resistance. He just closes off his face, doesn’t look at anyone anymore and lets what happens, happen. He then just lets his limbs fall.

He hopes she gets lost in there or finds something nasty. Of course, his wish won’t come true.

He drowns out noise, not caring what she’s up to. He’s forcibly along for this ride. He doesn’t look at her when she steps out in her costume. He doesn’t pay a bit of attention to her. She got what she wanted, that’s all that matters to anyone—anyone being the three who took him by surprise.

He doesn’t voice any compliment and without a single word, he just turns to let himself be lead out. He already knows it’s going to happen.

[Pamela Isley - Poison Ivy]

If anything, the angry look on Dr. Arkham's face amuses Poison Ivy, and she doesn't hide the entertained smirk that comes to her face. But it's very fleeting, gone in an instant as her attention goes to far more important things.

Most patients at the asylum, especially those under his personal care, have a particular opinion one way or the other about Dr. Arkham. The options range from actually liking him to outright hating him. But to Poison Ivy he isn't even on that scale. To her he is nothing more or less than a man. And that alone is enough for her to dislike him, but she doesn't hate him any more than a person hates one particular mosquito in the swarm. He's one pest among many, not really worth his own particular consideration. So no, she hasn't paid any particular thought to how he thinks and feels about all this - she doesn't have to. The only thing she has to have any concern about is whether or not he's too much for Ray to handle.

In fact, she doesn't even notice or care whether or not he chimes in with compliments to her costume - she got them from from the other three, and that's enough ego-stroking to satisfy her. Besides, she already knows that he finds her quite attractive - especially in this outfit - and the only reason why he wouldn't say so is if he's simply sore at her. And if he's going to sulk like a child, that's his business.

When they step into the cool night air, she takes a deep breath and appears to be quite content while she follows behind John, with Marv and Ray with their 'guest' bringing up the rear. Their path toward the front gate is somewhat of a meandering one, based on where they can walk without being spotted by this or that guard who isn't in on this. In fact if Dr. Arkham is paying close attention and knows the details of the security system well enough, he could probably guess who most of the other conspirators are besides the ones in this little group because there's a few areas that they brazenly walk right through where they ought to have been seen.

The most obvious of these areas is the front gate, which is currently being watched by a single guard who reacts to their arrival with a smile and a wave at Poison Ivy while they're still in the distance. She responds by blowing him a kiss, but now that they've reached the parking lot her attention turns to the next problem. "I need a car," she comments, which prompts all three men to start to try to find where they put their keys, but before anyone can offer their own car, she's turned to Marv and asks, "Did you find Dr. Arkham's keys while you were looking for his card?" She does like nice things, after all, and while she suspects that the man's car does not live up to her standards, it probably comes much closer than whatever vehicle any of these other fools happens to drive.

"Uh, yeah!" Marv answers, quickly locating them again before handing them to Poison Ivy.

As she's looking through them to determine which belongs to the car parked in the man's spot, John suddenly gestures toward his boss as he asks, "So, what are we doing with him?" It looks like she'll be leaving within a matter of moments now, and he certainly doesn't know how to deal with that loose end.

And this causes Poison Ivy to look up from the keys and direct her gaze at the man that they belong to. What should she do with him? He's past the point of usefulness and if she just lets him go then he'll tell the authorities about who helped her escape. Which isn't that big of a deal to her, but on the other hand the other option would be to kill him. And then they'd have to dispose of the body somehow... Or... "Do you have any additional restraints? I'll take him with me - I'll be in need of a test subject soon." Which is pretty much the same thing as deciding to kill him - it just means that he'll be put to good use first and she'll be able to dispose of his body at her own convenience when she's done.

[Jeremiah Arkham - Black Mask]

Just as quickly as Ivy’s amusement fades so does Jeremiah’s expression of anger. At least visibly. Within he’s a churning cauldron, but he too has more things to focus on—worrying things. Ivy’s amusement can continue or not, he goes stoic and his face blank.

There’s no fight in that one can see. He takes a deep breath and allows it to go because as much as he can hate what Poison Ivy is doing, all he is is a means to an end to her. Of course this causes him much thought so that he does go quiet not just because he’s giving no satisfaction to anyone in this operation but because his own mind is alive with thoughts. He’s not going to be able to escape like this, not with these bewitched thugs. And of course he has to think of the worst? He’s not getting away. Of course there are people who would come to his aid: his family. But by then would it be too late? He was expendable. How could that not be obvious? It has been from the beginning since she killed that doctor. But fighting now would gain nothing but more trouble for him.

But there is one thing he does not agree with and never will. That Poison Ivy is attractive. He has not and will never moon over her. Pretty picture? Sure, but her personality made her look vile. He is more than sulking. He doesn’t find her attractive at all. She’d ruined that from moment one.

His own expression is grim as they exit into the outer grounds of Arkham. He keeps his footing, but just barely with the way he’s being led by Ray, but as suspected it doesn’t take him much to realize just what’s going on and why their path is so curving. He’s been paying attention because not trying to come up with insults or screaming allows one to pay attention to surroundings. That makes his realizations instantaneous and he knows just who is involved in this plot.

The next time she’s caught, he’s keeping away from anyone. She’s the one who deserves solitary confinement and probably to deal with only women staff.

He wanted to scoff and glare, but he pushes the urge away. It won’t help, but honestly not much really would.

He doesn’t even offer argument at his keys being given to Poison Ivy, other than to think that his car was a gift from his wife and now he’ll probably not be getting that back. He has now fallen into hopelessness at that he’s getting out in anyway so he doesn’t look distressed when John raises any concerns. He just sighs. “You know exactly what’s going to happen.”

And that’s all he says, but he’s dealt with what happens. Even when she says she’ll need a test subject, he merely meets her eyes and then looks at John. Yeah, he’s going to die either way, isn’t he?

Suddenly he’s just tired.

Whatever will be will be. Maybe it’ll be better for everyone this way. He’s really gotten tired of fighting lately anyway.

[Pamela Isley - Poison Ivy]

No, actually John doesn't know what's going to happen to Dr. Arkham, at least not until the words leave Poison Ivy's lips. Oh, he suspected that it would be something like that, but he's not so far under her spell that he has absolute blind faith. Dr. Arkham hadn't been a part of the original plan, and there was still the possibility that she'd decide to throw the men who helped her under the bus in order to use the plan without all the pieces in place.

But here she is, finding a way to repair the problem just like she promised - he really shouldn't have doubted her. He doesn't actually want his soon-to-be-former boss to get killed, but there probably isn't any other way to fix the fact that this scheme will be fully revealed otherwise. And it's better that one man should die than for everyone involved to lose their jobs and possibly face criminal charges. That Poison Ivy is taking him is so much the better - nobody knows what happens to the people she takes, but they're never found again.

So he grunts an affirmation about the extra restraints, resting the rifle on his shoulder to free up his other hand so that he can pull out another set of cuffs and chains, identical to the ones that Dr. Arkham is already wearing. A good plan has a lot of backup options, after all, and for all they knew they'd run into more trouble than just Tom being absent.

Seeing them, Poison Ivy nods and says, "Good - make sure that he can't move and put him in the back. We can't have him trying to escape before we get there, can we?" The moment she gets him to her hideout, on the other hand, is the moment that she can rest easy. Though her abrupt departure no doubt let many things in her hideout fall into ruin because of their neglect, she could probably sedate an elephant with what's salvageable.

Allowing the men to figure out how to carry out that order - the restraints were designed to be worn one at a time and allow some freedom of movement, after all, but the three of them working together manage to figure out a way to twist the chains to pin his arms to his sides and his legs together - she unlocks the car and opens the back so that it's ready to receive him once he's trussed up like a turkey.

Having done that, she idly turns to look at her new test subject - really looks at him, perhaps for the first time this evening. In her mind he's abruptly changed from being a tool to be used to a specimen for study, after all. "There's no need to look so upset, Dr. Arkham. You're to be given the very rare honor of seeing my inner sanctuary. And I always treat my guests quite well. In fact, you'll finally get what you tried so hard to find during our sessions - a window into my true psyche. No doubt we'll get to know each other very intimately," she says with a smile that has a rather sadistic edge to it - quite similar to the sort of smile a young boy with a magnifying glass might give to an ant on a sunny day.

And yet a glance at the three men who walked with her here would reveal expressions indicating that they may be just a tiny bit jealous. Because though they have some idea what the woman intends for Dr. Arkham, when she puts it that way it doesn't sound as bad... But she interrupts whatever thoughts are going through their heads by talking to them. "Thank you for your help, boys. You should return to your work as if nothing happened and claim to be as ignorant as anyone when my absence is noticed. Unfortunately, I must bid you farewell and leave you now - you know that I can't stay, and you can't go with me. But perhaps we will meet again," she says, looking at each of them in turn with a regretful expression.

As they somewhat reluctantly turn back toward the asylum, Poison Ivy secures the back of the car and then takes the driver's seat, where she takes her time in making sure that it's adjusted just right for her. Unlike he supposes, she's not planning on keeping the car or doing anything with it that would stop him from having it again. It will be found in just a handful of hours, in fact, parked just outside of the impound lot where they've been keeping her red convertible sportscar - a vehicle actually fit for her to drive. Which will be missing, naturally, as each and every person who attempts to stop her from liberating it will be killed. Once the police tire of attempting to find evidence on Dr. Arkham's car, they'll probably let him have it back. But it's going to be a long time before he'll know about all this - it's a bit difficult to catch the news when you're drugged into unconsciousness, after all. Yet the upcoming exchange of vehicles is exactly what's on her mind as she starts the car and frowns at pretty much everything the dashboard has to offer. Why on earth does the man drive such a vehicle? Surely on his salary he can afford better! Oh well, beggars can't be choosers. She sighs as she throws it into gear and starts heading toward the place that she calls home.