If he managed to survive it.

Friedrich fisted his cuffed hands against the hem of his shirt and craned his head up at the convicts leering out at him between rough, steel bars. They looked flimsy and weak and Friedrich didn’t really trust them to hold if those rather…large and burly looking men found a good reason to try and get out of them. Christ all mighty, they were thick as bloody tree trunks!

An awkward sort of groan peeled itself from his lips, earning him a smack across the back from the nearest guard. The bar left a cold sting against his back and he gritted his teeth, shuffling onward just a little faster. He kept his head carefully level with his shoulders, not high, not low. He had his pride, dammit! As much pride as a freezing, soaked, and just-been-stripped man could have. But Friedrich had never been much of a pessimist.

It wasn’t as if Friedrich was a small man, or a weak one. He peaked easily above six feet and he had a hard face. A nose that was a little too big and certainly a little too crooked – too many fist fights and play dates in the boxing ring. Corded arms and legs were tucked against his body like slender steel bars. Ones that moved and bent and struck back if someone tried to break or bend them. His knuckles were calloused and red, they’d been split too many times to be pretty. But they were hard, and that’s what he needed them to be. Tough enough to protect his all too slender fingers from being snap-snap-snapped.

Friedrich could hold his own, he just didn’t like having a reason to do so.

Hopefully he wouldn’t.

“In here,” the guard on his left jerked him to a stop, rattling the cuffs until they came free. Friedrich stirred but made no move to bolt. He really couldn’t afford to make enemies here, inside the bars or out.

The guard on his right swerved around him and let a set of keys jingle against his wrist. The piece of metal was shoved into the lock and the doors were slid backwards with a noisy, agitated rumble. Friedrich was nonchalantly pushed forward after that. He took the hint and moved on in, his eyes flicked back over his shoulder. Another disgruntled rumble of steel and the door was back in place.

A click of the lock and he was stuck here.

A few years behind bars couldn’t be all that bad.

There was noise behind him, nothing more than the steady drip-drip of water that his own body was causing, but there was quite obviously someone else in there with him. Friedrich stiffened at the realization before carefully turning himself about and leaning back against the bars. His wrists were red raw and sore, and he rubbed them, one by one, with long, deft fingers.

A kid. He didn’t really look like much. Certainly the sort of fellow that would get picked off and turned into some sort of doll for the other prisoners soon enough.

Don’t drop the soap.

Friedrich assumed he was in there for something petty. Drugs, perhaps. Kids did drugs and awful lot. This one didn’t look like he was capable of having done anything else. Unless he was crazy. Friedrich really hoped that wasn’t the case, because he’d had enough insanity to last him a lifetime.

There was really only one way to find out, though.

Friedrich stepped forward, his ears pricked for the familiar resonating click of his boots…but he was greeting nothing more than soft-wet slap of prison issued slippers. Biting back his disgust he shuffled onward toward the bow and carefully stuck out his hand.

“I suppose we’re cellmates, then. I’m Erin Friedrich.” Used to be detective, but that’s not a smart thing to confess in place like this, is it?

What’a you in for, kid?

“You don’t look so good…” and he didn’t, the kid was wet and probably cold, but there was little Friedrich could do about that. Unless he was willing to get their meager blankets wet and cold as well.

“…first time jitters?”

Not that it wasn’t Friedrich’s first time in jail either, but he’d been expecting it. The kid…the kid didn’t look like he’d last more than a day in here. If that. Those inmates were going to eat him up.

And Friedrich might just end up finding himself in the role of resident body guard once again.