[He sits back in the chair and sighs, setting his hands on his knees. That's the question that's been on his mind ever since the possibility occurred to him. He told Jesse he had a plan. Surprise: he lied.
There's no plan. Aside from this, there isn't even an inkling of a plan.]
Not long term, I've grabbed people to interrogate, but that's not quite the same thing.
[Usually she was the one being kidnapped, but there's really no need to mention that to Saul.
Instead, she looks thoughtful, trying to think of ways to deal with this.]
The easiest option might be to get the Tranport run police force involved, but Walter would have to commit a crime here before they'd intervene. [a beat] Or we could just threaten him, I can be pretty convincing when I need to be.
[Much more convincing than her joking around with Saul.]
[Whether that's a comment on police in general or the force here will remain a mystery forever.
She hates that this has her thinking about other people that might turn up here, even if she never really stops worrying about that, but-- at least at home she knew Sionis was dead. That doesn't matter, here.]
Why don't you give me the full story? I tend to work better if I have all the information.
[Instead of having half of it, which leads to things like gang wars and jesus her thoughts are not being kind to her, right now.]
[Not that he thinks he has to say that, but one can never be too careful.]
He was a chemistry teacher. Real family man, you know? The kind that would do anything for them, so when his doctor slammed him with a lung cancer diagnosis, that's exactly what happened. Jesse was an old student of his, pretty notorious for being involved with the drug scene in town — nothing big, though. Not meth. But Walt got it in his head that Jesse was his only hope.
[It's still that way, he thinks.]
I dunno how Walt came to the decision he did, but I bet his DEA brother-in-law had a lot to do with it. He probably had a light bulb moment when he found out how much money meth cooks rake in. So it all sounds innocuous enough, right? Illegality aside.
[There's the briefest of nods, because it really should be implied that she can keep a secret. It's possible she might decide to fill Ellie in on this, or Dick, but... after everything that happened in the UE, she's more likely to work solo.
So she just listens, filing everything away. She doesn't have the memory Babs or Tim do, which means she might have to write some notes down, but that can happen later.]
He started cooking and selling meth to cover medical costs?
[She's seen a lot of desperate people do a lot of desperate things, but that's definitely up there.]
And to make sure his family would have some money after the inevitable. The diagnosis wasn't good.
[He leans forward, fidgeting for a moment before picking the story back up.]
But he got lucky. Someone decided he should have more time, so he spent that time cooking, learning the trade, getting involved. Then he got a little too involved, and... I've been in this business a long time. I've never seen things spiral out of control as quickly as they did with Walter and Jesse. And I want to make this crystal clear right now: Jesse's not the one you have to worry about. Not at the moment, anyway. If Walter shows up, maybe, but I don't want you to take what I'm saying to you here and go off sneaking around Jesse when we're done. Okay?
Jesse's friends with people I care about, I was already keeping an eye on him.
[It's not that she thinks Ellie and Collette can't look after themselves, but.... she kind of thinks Ellie and Collette can't look after themselves.
She hasn't devoted a lot of effort to it, but basically she's telling Saul that she'll go sneaking around whoever she wants, thank you very much. Though it... does give her a bit of a clue to what this is about.]
The main aim here is to keep him away from Jesse, isn't it?
[There it is. His bargaining chip. If Steph says no, if Steph says yes and changes her mind, if Saul ever needs her to be more than a passive observer — that's all it'll take, he suspects. If your friends are Jesse's friends, they're in danger, too.
Which is true. Or would be.
He has to keep reminding himself that this is an if scenario, not a when.
...though it might as well be the latter, at this point.
[That changes things a little, because it's different to need to keep Walter away from one person, rather than trying to keep him from being a criminal all together.
She exhales slowly, considering everything.
God, she misses Babs.]
Have you talked to Jesse about this?
[Because that'll also have an impact on how things could go.]
[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.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
controlledvariable) wrote2014-02-02 07:59 pm
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There's no plan. Aside from this, there isn't even an inkling of a plan.]
I have no idea. You ever kidnap someone?
[HA HA JUST JOKING...
not really though]
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[Usually she was the one being kidnapped, but there's really no need to mention that to Saul.
Instead, she looks thoughtful, trying to think of ways to deal with this.]
The easiest option might be to get the Tranport run police force involved, but Walter would have to commit a crime here before they'd intervene. [a beat] Or we could just threaten him, I can be pretty convincing when I need to be.
[Much more convincing than her joking around with Saul.]
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[He trails off and frowns.
That wouldn't be his first option. Then again, his first option wouldn't work, either. Not here.]
It depends. On when he comes from, if he does. I'm really hoping I'm taking all this precaution for nothing.
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[Whether that's a comment on police in general or the force here will remain a mystery forever.
She hates that this has her thinking about other people that might turn up here, even if she never really stops worrying about that, but-- at least at home she knew Sionis was dead. That doesn't matter, here.]
Why don't you give me the full story? I tend to work better if I have all the information.
[Instead of having half of it, which leads to things like gang wars and jesus her thoughts are not being kind to her, right now.]
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[Not that he thinks he has to say that, but one can never be too careful.]
He was a chemistry teacher. Real family man, you know? The kind that would do anything for them, so when his doctor slammed him with a lung cancer diagnosis, that's exactly what happened. Jesse was an old student of his, pretty notorious for being involved with the drug scene in town — nothing big, though. Not meth. But Walt got it in his head that Jesse was his only hope.
[It's still that way, he thinks.]
I dunno how Walt came to the decision he did, but I bet his DEA brother-in-law had a lot to do with it. He probably had a light bulb moment when he found out how much money meth cooks rake in. So it all sounds innocuous enough, right? Illegality aside.
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So she just listens, filing everything away. She doesn't have the memory Babs or Tim do, which means she might have to write some notes down, but that can happen later.]
He started cooking and selling meth to cover medical costs?
[She's seen a lot of desperate people do a lot of desperate things, but that's definitely up there.]
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[He leans forward, fidgeting for a moment before picking the story back up.]
But he got lucky. Someone decided he should have more time, so he spent that time cooking, learning the trade, getting involved. Then he got a little too involved, and... I've been in this business a long time. I've never seen things spiral out of control as quickly as they did with Walter and Jesse. And I want to make this crystal clear right now: Jesse's not the one you have to worry about. Not at the moment, anyway. If Walter shows up, maybe, but I don't want you to take what I'm saying to you here and go off sneaking around Jesse when we're done. Okay?
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[It's not that she thinks Ellie and Collette can't look after themselves, but.... she kind of thinks Ellie and Collette can't look after themselves.
She hasn't devoted a lot of effort to it, but basically she's telling Saul that she'll go sneaking around whoever she wants, thank you very much. Though it... does give her a bit of a clue to what this is about.]
The main aim here is to keep him away from Jesse, isn't it?
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Which is true. Or would be.
He has to keep reminding himself that this is an if scenario, not a when.
...though it might as well be the latter, at this point.
The question makes him hesitate.]
It is.
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She exhales slowly, considering everything.
God, she misses Babs.]
Have you talked to Jesse about this?
[Because that'll also have an impact on how things could go.]
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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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