[There's visible relief in her expression, at that, because it will hopefully be simpler if Jesse isn't completely a) in the dark and b) against the idea.]
I'm good with keeping it between us.
[She hasn't met Jesse and doesn't really need to.
Hopping down from the bench, she goes for a quick walk from one side of the room to the other. She wouldn't call it pacing, necessarily, she just needs to move for a bit.
This really isn't her area of expertise. She's great at punching things, at thinking on the fly to solve whatever problems the world throws at her, at sneaking into things and sticking her nose in places it doesn't belong. But all the complicated plans, that's more for people like Tim, like Babs or Bruce.
She hates admitting a weakness but with all this, she feels she should be honest with Saul.]
Look, I'm not-- [smart] I'm the brawn, not the brains, usually, and I want to help, I will help, but I'm gonna have to think about the best way not to fuck this up.
[Because fucking it up is something she's good at, unfortunately.]
[He watches her go, half-tempted to get up and move around, too. It's what he does when he needs to think.
Instead, he settles for restlessly bouncing one of his feet.
It's nice that she's being honest. No — wrong word. Straightforward. Saul's not used to that from people who aren't Mike, but that's a comparison he doesn't want to make.
The situation is more than a little analogous, though. There's no denying that.
He turns to fully face her, suddenly all confidence and smiles.]
And I'm usually the brains, so there you go. We'll figure something out. New people only show up on the first of the month, right? So we have time.
[For some reason, that smile isn't reassuring, but maybe it's just because she's feeling kind of wretched. She hates not being good enough, that she can't just figure this out by herself. Someone's coming to her for help, she should be able to help.]
The first, yeah. [She misses Babs so much that it hurts.]
Don't-- [She stops, hands sort of - twitching at her sides, like she wants to curl them into fists but halted the gesture and when she finishes the sentence her voice is raw.] Don't ask me to kill him.
[She doesn't know, if Saul would even ask that of her and she feels like it might be cruel of her to assume he would, but she had to say it.]
[That's the thing, though. He'd considered that. If he can recruit enough people to his side and convince them Walter White is better off dead than alive, they can all take turns offing him. Jesse, too, since he's finally seen the light — but Saul knows better. If Walt shows up and if he and Jesse are reunited, that's it. That's the end. So much for any careful planning.
And if anyone kills Walter after that happens? Saul can kiss the month and a half of work he's done so long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, good night.
But worse than the way this whole thing makes him feel is the fact that he's now dragged Steph into it. He can see the way her body language is changing and can all but feel the tension radiating off of her, and he shouldn't have —
[If he sounds frustrated, that's because he is. He hates not knowing. He hates admitting he doesn't know even more.
It's then that he stands and moves to the desk, leaning against it.]
I won't know until he shows up. If it's the Walter I saw just before I wound up here... let's put it this way: I don't think anything scares him anymore. Prior Walter isn't such a problem. Anyway, if there's threatening to be done, leave it up to me.
[More silence, as she walks back over to her desk, grabbing a vial of something and twirling it idly in her fingers, looking anywhere but at Saul.
It's the fear gas antidote, she's been experimenting with the objects her suit supplies.]
There's a man in my world, Jonathan Crane, calls himself the Scarecrow. He made a toxin that induces hallucinations of your worst fears. Then there's Sinestro and his Corps, they wield power rings that can create anything you can think of, and it's all based on instilling fear.
And that's not even touching on Batman, everything about the Bat is made to scare people. [She shrugs, setting the vial back down.] Fear is kind of the business I'm in.
That's cheating. Useful, but cheating. Where's the subtlety?
[And the skill. If Saul or any of his associates had something like that at their disposal — hell, he could hire anyone with enough hand-eye coordination to stab someone with a syringe and be done with it.]
[As a.. concept. There's never such thing as a fair fight, and she's not going to lose because she thinks she should 'play fair' or whatever all that nonsense is.]
It's a gas. He wouldn't even know he inhaled it, and the dose can be altered to vary the type of hallucinations.
[but - a shrug, because she's not being entirely serious, just tossing ideas around.]
What, you want an ace up your sleeve?
[Sort of... teasing, but her tone is still too terse for it to really work.]
[Saul looks skeptical, but not because he doesn't believe her. He looks skeptical because he sometimes forgets that she's from a world he — up until his arrival here — only knew as fiction.
And then moments like this one turn up.
It freaks him out, a little.]
I always have an ace up my sleeve.
[Even now. There's no plan for it, but it's there.]
If it's a gas, wouldn't we run the risk of screwing with more than just one person? Unless we isolate him. That's doable.
[She raises an eyebrow at the comment about having an ace up his sleeve, but leaves it be for now, figuring he's probably just talking shit.]
He'd have to be isolated, I wouldn't risk hurting anyone else.
[Are they actually considering this as a possibility? She doesn't even know what Bruce or Babs would say to this, and the thought makes her scrub her hands over her face.]
God, I feel like my father.
[More generally she feels like some supervillain, but the comparison works.]
He almost asks about the dad comment, but thankfully has the good sense not to. Something tells him that would open up a whole can of worms he'd rather not open, let alone have to talk about.
...unless she wants to. And people, he's found, generally don't mention things unless they want to talk about them. So instead of asking, he'll leave it up to her to elaborate or not.]
So let's suppose we scare the shit out of him. Then what? Where do we go from there? I don't know what that gas does, and I'd rather not find out firsthand, but...
[He trails off, thinking. Scared Walter is just as bad as Not-Scared Heisenberg.
After all, one led to the other.]
I think we can come up with something better. Or we can just, you know, clasp our hands together and pray that he doesn't show up at all.
Last time I got hit with it I was fighting with Crane, but instead of seeing him kicking the shit out of me, I thought it was my ex, then me. It wasn't fun.
[Sometimes she worries about her subconscious.
But she sighs, scrubbing her hands over her face again, because this is just one more thing piled on top of everything and she wishes she had someone to turn to. It's just her, though, and Saul, and they need to figure this shit out.
After a steadying breath, she forces herself to stop angsting and just think like a Bat.]
You're a lawyer, right? Your good with files? 'Cause I want everything you have on this guy, even if you might not think some details are important, I need everything you can tell me. The more I know, the more I can do.
[He glances over at his laptop. Of course there's nothing incriminating on there — those files are all back in his office, in the safe in the wall, for the most part — but he's still hesitant. She'll probably have questions.
And then there's all the information on Jesse. He could take some time, move things around...
If only that weren't impossible. There's no way to separate the two.]
If he shows up. I'll give you the files if he shows up. Whatever action we take doesn't have to be immediate — as long as I know he's here before Jesse does and can intercept him before the two make contact. That's all I want you to focus on for the time being, okay? Just be my eyes.
[For a moment, it seems like she might argue that, demand to see the files, but eventually she just nods.
From the way he's acting, she guesses those files already exist and are on that laptop, which won't be too hard to hack into if she needs to.]
You know that's not gonna be easy with Jesse doing the whole cookie thing. [She might not have actually partaken in any of the free cookies, but she pays attention.]
[Somehow, he'd forgotten about that. He buries his face in his hands for a moment, pressing the heels of his palms against his eyes. There's no way Jesse would stop, and Saul wouldn't ask him to just because of a possibility.
When he moves his hands away, he sees spots.]
Okay. Okay. That's — I can stick with Jesse at the tent. All the new Transports come from the same place, right? The Hold. I'd need you stationed right outside.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
controlledvariable) wrote2014-02-02 07:59 pm
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[He studies her for a moment.]
I owe him. I need to figure out a way — the best way — to keep him safe.
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I'm good with keeping it between us.
[She hasn't met Jesse and doesn't really need to.
Hopping down from the bench, she goes for a quick walk from one side of the room to the other. She wouldn't call it pacing, necessarily, she just needs to move for a bit.
This really isn't her area of expertise. She's great at punching things, at thinking on the fly to solve whatever problems the world throws at her, at sneaking into things and sticking her nose in places it doesn't belong. But all the complicated plans, that's more for people like Tim, like Babs or Bruce.
She hates admitting a weakness but with all this, she feels she should be honest with Saul.]
Look, I'm not-- [smart] I'm the brawn, not the brains, usually, and I want to help, I will help, but I'm gonna have to think about the best way not to fuck this up.
[Because fucking it up is something she's good at, unfortunately.]
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Instead, he settles for restlessly bouncing one of his feet.
It's nice that she's being honest. No — wrong word. Straightforward. Saul's not used to that from people who aren't Mike, but that's a comparison he doesn't want to make.
The situation is more than a little analogous, though. There's no denying that.
He turns to fully face her, suddenly all confidence and smiles.]
And I'm usually the brains, so there you go. We'll figure something out. New people only show up on the first of the month, right? So we have time.
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The first, yeah. [She misses Babs so much that it hurts.]
Don't-- [She stops, hands sort of - twitching at her sides, like she wants to curl them into fists but halted the gesture and when she finishes the sentence her voice is raw.] Don't ask me to kill him.
[She doesn't know, if Saul would even ask that of her and she feels like it might be cruel of her to assume he would, but she had to say it.]
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[Said in a way that suggests he would ask someone, if he had to, but not her.
Since they're being so honest with each other.]
There's no point, anyway. He'd just come back, and then we'd all be fucked.
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Breathe, really.
For all that she wishes Babs was here, it's so lucky that she's not. Babs would know what she did to the compound.]
You never know. Kill someone enough times, maybe the Initiative will get sick of bringing them back.
[Still so raw, trying at humour but failing completely.]
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And if anyone kills Walter after that happens? Saul can kiss the month and a half of work he's done so long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, good night.
But worse than the way this whole thing makes him feel is the fact that he's now dragged Steph into it. He can see the way her body language is changing and can all but feel the tension radiating off of her, and he shouldn't have —
It's a little late for that thought.]
Maybe we can kidnap him and sell him to the UE.
[Also a poor attempt at humor.]
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[Saying that actually makes her feel sick, but she ignores it.
She isn't even sure if she's joking, though, and that's maybe the worst part.]
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Or maybe it's just that he didn't expect something like that from her.]
Let's keep the drugs out of it.
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Probably for the best.
[She still doesn't know if she's joking.]
How do you think he'd respond to threats?
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[If he sounds frustrated, that's because he is. He hates not knowing. He hates admitting he doesn't know even more.
It's then that he stands and moves to the desk, leaning against it.]
I won't know until he shows up. If it's the Walter I saw just before I wound up here... let's put it this way: I don't think anything scares him anymore. Prior Walter isn't such a problem. Anyway, if there's threatening to be done, leave it up to me.
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Everyone's scared of something.
[And she just - gives him a look about leaving things up to him, because really, Saul.]
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And I know him better than you do. What's your go-to threat? Death? Torture? It won't work. I know what buttons to push. Don't underestimate me.
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It's the fear gas antidote, she's been experimenting with the objects her suit supplies.]
There's a man in my world, Jonathan Crane, calls himself the Scarecrow. He made a toxin that induces hallucinations of your worst fears. Then there's Sinestro and his Corps, they wield power rings that can create anything you can think of, and it's all based on instilling fear.
And that's not even touching on Batman, everything about the Bat is made to scare people. [She shrugs, setting the vial back down.] Fear is kind of the business I'm in.
[Don't underestimate her.]
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That's cheating. Useful, but cheating. Where's the subtlety?
[And the skill. If Saul or any of his associates had something like that at their disposal — hell, he could hire anyone with enough hand-eye coordination to stab someone with a syringe and be done with it.]
It's better if he doesn't see you at all.
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[As a.. concept. There's never such thing as a fair fight, and she's not going to lose because she thinks she should 'play fair' or whatever all that nonsense is.]
It's a gas. He wouldn't even know he inhaled it, and the dose can be altered to vary the type of hallucinations.
[but - a shrug, because she's not being entirely serious, just tossing ideas around.]
What, you want an ace up your sleeve?
[Sort of... teasing, but her tone is still too terse for it to really work.]
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And then moments like this one turn up.
It freaks him out, a little.]
I always have an ace up my sleeve.
[Even now. There's no plan for it, but it's there.]
If it's a gas, wouldn't we run the risk of screwing with more than just one person? Unless we isolate him. That's doable.
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He'd have to be isolated, I wouldn't risk hurting anyone else.
[Are they actually considering this as a possibility? She doesn't even know what Bruce or Babs would say to this, and the thought makes her scrub her hands over her face.]
God, I feel like my father.
[More generally she feels like some supervillain, but the comparison works.]
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He almost asks about the dad comment, but thankfully has the good sense not to. Something tells him that would open up a whole can of worms he'd rather not open, let alone have to talk about.
...unless she wants to. And people, he's found, generally don't mention things unless they want to talk about them. So instead of asking, he'll leave it up to her to elaborate or not.]
So let's suppose we scare the shit out of him. Then what? Where do we go from there? I don't know what that gas does, and I'd rather not find out firsthand, but...
[He trails off, thinking. Scared Walter is just as bad as Not-Scared Heisenberg.
After all, one led to the other.]
I think we can come up with something better. Or we can just, you know, clasp our hands together and pray that he doesn't show up at all.
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Last time I got hit with it I was fighting with Crane, but instead of seeing him kicking the shit out of me, I thought it was my ex, then me. It wasn't fun.
[Sometimes she worries about her subconscious.
But she sighs, scrubbing her hands over her face again, because this is just one more thing piled on top of everything and she wishes she had someone to turn to. It's just her, though, and Saul, and they need to figure this shit out.
After a steadying breath, she forces herself to stop angsting and just think like a Bat.]
You're a lawyer, right? Your good with files? 'Cause I want everything you have on this guy, even if you might not think some details are important, I need everything you can tell me. The more I know, the more I can do.
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And then there's all the information on Jesse. He could take some time, move things around...
If only that weren't impossible. There's no way to separate the two.]
If he shows up. I'll give you the files if he shows up. Whatever action we take doesn't have to be immediate — as long as I know he's here before Jesse does and can intercept him before the two make contact. That's all I want you to focus on for the time being, okay? Just be my eyes.
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From the way he's acting, she guesses those files already exist and are on that laptop, which won't be too hard to hack into if she needs to.]
You know that's not gonna be easy with Jesse doing the whole cookie thing. [She might not have actually partaken in any of the free cookies, but she pays attention.]
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[Somehow, he'd forgotten about that. He buries his face in his hands for a moment, pressing the heels of his palms against his eyes. There's no way Jesse would stop, and Saul wouldn't ask him to just because of a possibility.
When he moves his hands away, he sees spots.]
Okay. Okay. That's — I can stick with Jesse at the tent. All the new Transports come from the same place, right? The Hold. I'd need you stationed right outside.
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I can be inside the Hold.
[A thought occurs to her, then, and it's kind of obvious by the way her expression sours and then hardens.]
You said he's got a family, how devoted is he to his wife?
[It's--
She hates that she even has to make that suggestion, but if they need a distraction, nede a way to lure Walter away from Jesse, well.
Batgirl isn't really useful, there, but Steph could be.]
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Absolutely not. No. Are you crazy?
[No, really. She's kidding, right?
He rubs his eyes again.
This is too much. Never mind the fact that it wouldn't work, he just — Stephanie. No.]
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