MASK OR MENACE - contact.

[hostage]

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[coppelganger]

wait what the fuck
are you serious?

[hostage]

Yeah

[coppelganger]

oh shit jesse
should i call you?

[hostage]

If you want

[coppelganger]

[ A couple minutes go by, and just when it seems like she's not going to go through with the call, his phone rings. ]

[hostage]

[Jesse picks up immediately. There hasn't been much to do except sit by the phone. His voice sounds hoarse when he answers:]

Hey.

[coppelganger]

Hey.

[ She sounds hesitant. ]

Jesse... what the hell happened?

[hostage]

My partner got sick of me, so he poisoned me.

[He delivers that news nonchalantly, like it happened to someone he doesn't know.]

He killed a bunch of my people, too. I'm glad you're okay.

[That part sounds like it's hitting him more deeply. Since Sarah's asking, it sounds like she wasn't one of those massacred, and Jesse's so relieved about that.]

[coppelganger]

[ Oh, fuck, oh, fuck, oh, fuck. ]

Who was it?

[hostage]

Walter White.

[Does she know him?]

He had a whole Unabomber look going on the last time I saw him.

[coppelganger]

[ There's a long pause. Did he say what she thinks he just said? No. That makes no sense. ]

Sorry, did you say Walter White?

[hostage]

Yeah.

[...Ah.]

Did the helpless old schoolteacher thing fool you?

[coppelganger]

No, he—

[ —just threw a couple weird tantrums in front of her which led her to believe he was weird as hell, but ultimately harmless. Shit. ]

God, I'm so fucking stupid.

[hostage]

No - Hey, you're not stupid.

[coppelganger]

[ She sighs loudly. ]

No, I know. Sorry. I just got taken in by—we talked about our kids, and I thought... I dunno what I thought.

[hostage]

You thought he might be a half-decent person? That's because he's a lying fucking snake. I knew him for years and I bought it.

[coppelganger]

[ She goes quiet for a few seconds again. ]

You could've told me, you know. You didn't have to just disappear.

[hostage]

I didn't mean to disappear. I just got back yesterday.

[coppelganger]

Oh. That's something, I guess.

[hostage]

It's something, yeah.

I was back home, actually. I guess dying kinda kicked me back there for a while. For a year.

[coppelganger]

... How are things at home?

[ She doesn't really have any idea of the scope of what's going on back there for him, but she's still hesitant about asking. ]

[hostage]

Not so great.

[coppelganger]

[ She feels her heart sink. ]

Is your son alright?

[hostage]

I...

[That's the feeling of a knife twisting. Of course Sarah would ask about Brock, though.]

I don't, um... I don't know.

[coppelganger]

I'm sorry.