[Jesse disposes of corpses in hydrofluoric acid. He's fine with the morbid talk - although he's thinking of how she never would have escaped a real encounter with his partner.
I guess not. [It seems to attract the worst of the worst, at least as far as supervillains go. Though she'd rather go toe-to-toe with Zsasz rather than Luthor.] Can't say I ever got out of the city much, she's hard to leave.
She's home. [She's never going to stop talking about Gotham like it's a person.] I mean, it can be awful, and part of it's duty - I tried to leave, sort of, but I couldn't stay away - but I don't think there's anywhere in the world like Gotham.
[And feeling a little sheepish again.]
I dunno, maybe it's kinda stupid, but I know I wouldn't be the person I am without her.
The way people miss prison, I guess. You know, like you don't really know what to do when you're out? I coulda left, I shoulda left, but I didn't. 'til all of this.
[Jesse snorts at the question. He finds it funny, he really does, the insanity of it all. Disconnected from it, in a way, now that so much has happened since.]
My old boss - not Mr. White, but the guy we used to work for - he sold me to a cartel down there. You know, like slavery? Just... smuggled me across the border and - yeah. So that was fun.
[For a second, he looks like he's about to launch into an exciting adventure story. And then he remembers who he's talking to and squirms awkwardly, dropping his gaze to his hands.]
[He hesitates for a second or two, but then - what the hell, right? It's not like any of it was even his fault, this time.]
So I get there and they force me to cook a batch of meth, you know, to test and see if I was as good as Mr. White. AKs on me the whole time, I mean like seriously scary shit. Then afterwards, they test the stuff and yeah, it's pure, so great. I got the job and they decide not to waste me right there.
So after that, they take me to meet the guy who - I guess the guy who owns me now, right? Don Eladio. We're waiting at his house and I'm pissed. I mean, obviously, right? I didn't sign up to go be a slave in fucking Mexico. But when it's just me and Mike sitting there waiting - Mike was like my partner, back then - I'm like, "Yo, Mike, what the hell?" And he tells me to shut up and sit there, 'cause either we're all going home or none of us are. And I believe him, 'cause... well, 'cause it was him.
So Don Eladio comes out and talks in Mexican with Gus - my boss - and I guess they're negotiating or whatever, and then Gus busts out this present. Tequila. Everybody has a drink, you know, except Mike - 'cause he's Gus's bodyguard - and Don Eladio's bodyguard and... And Don Eladio hands me a drink, right, but Gus stops him and says something. I dunno what, but it works and he takes the drink away. Anyway, they all toast and put on the music and bring out the honeys. It's a party all in my honor, I guess, 'cause hooray for them getting their brand new cook and ending their whole turf war or whatever. I'm just sitting there pissed the whole time.
Anyway, halfway through the party, people just start falling over. Like, dropping like flies. And Mike comes up behind Don Eladio's bodyguard and strangles him. And I jump outta my chair like holy shit. And Don Eladio, he's over there trying to walk but he's going all woozy, and Gus walks up to him and stares him down while he's dying and - I mean, you figured it out, right? The tequila was poisoned. The whole selling me out thing was just a trick to get us down there. He poisoned the whole damn cartel.
Uh, and himself. So me and Mike had to rush him outta there, and then Mike got shot, so it was all up to me to get us back to the rendezvous. But Gus had it all set up with a hospital tent and doctors, like, ready for us. So we were all okay, at the end.
[She listens with interest, giving him a slightly arch look at honeys, because really, Jesse? And she nods when he asked if she figured out, since yeah, she picked that up when the bodyguard stopped Jesse from drinking. That name is filed away, too, next to Saul's cat? but she's assuming that's not a coincidence.
It's hard to feel too bad about a bunch of the cartel dying (and she knows this is why Bruce doesn't trust her), so she even seems a little impressed by the story.]
You haven't lived a boring life, have you?
[It's said lightly, but she sombers up after a second, setting her fork down, since she finished eating somewhere in the middle of the story.]
I'm glad they weren't selling you out, even if it's kinda shitty to have kept you outta the loop.
[She can guess why, of course, but that's still a dick move.]
[He's about finished with his meal, too, just pushing bits of beef around his plate at this point.]
Yeah. Yeah, I dunno. I probably woulda blown it the second he handed me the drink. I was scared enough already. But it's good Mike said what he did, 'cause no way was I gonna sit pretty and let those assholes buy me like I'm a cow or something. I was ready to fuck shit up.
[All of it. All of it is talk. Jesse would have cried for a while and eventually learned Spanish and become Don Eladio's new best friend because that's what he does, lovable and loyal and hopelessly stupid puppy that he is.
But at the mention of the cat, Jesse actually smiles.]
The ear. Part of Mike's ear got blown off once, so...
She assumes that look is because Jesse misses Mike, wishes he were here. If he's someone that Jesse trusted, she can understand it, especially with all the shit going on. Especially when the only other person he's got from home is Saul and that's.... Saul.
When she speaks, it's gentler than it was a moment ago.]
If he ever shows up, let me know and I'll grab us some popcorn to watch that go down.
[But if Jesse entertains the idea of Mike showing up, he's going to start crying again, so he fidgets and idly twirls his fork like a drumstick before deciding he's done with dinner.]
So, hey, thanks for, um, cooking and everything. It was - It was really good.
[She really does mean that, as much as she keeps trying to reminds herself that caring about Jesse is dangerous.
But she knows a dismissal when she hears one, and since they're both finished their meals, she stands, picking up her plate and holding her hand out for his, just to double check that he is done.]
You want any help washing up?
[There's not much of a mess, she was careful about that, but she doesn't mind helping out.]
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[Steph you're not funny.]
I dunno, really. We only got a chance to work together once, but I was the only one who ended up in hospital, so I was counting it was a win.
[gurl]
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I live in Gotham, if we all walk away with our limbs intact it's a win.
[Someone should tell her to tone down the morbid humour.]
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He takes another bite of meat.]
Mm... It's not just Gotham.
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[And feeling a little sheepish again.]
I dunno, maybe it's kinda stupid, but I know I wouldn't be the person I am without her.
[Most days, she likes who that is.]
Do you miss Albuquerque?
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Still better than Mexico. Fuck Mexico.
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I've never been to Mexico. I'm guessing you were there for less than legal reasons?
[There's no judgement in her tone, surprisingly.]
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My old boss - not Mr. White, but the guy we used to work for - he sold me to a cartel down there. You know, like slavery? Just... smuggled me across the border and - yeah. So that was fun.
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[She realizes she's staring a bit, so she drops her gaze back to the plate.]
Did you get home okay?
[Somehow she doubts it was an easy process.]
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Yeah. Yeah, I got away fine.
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She can't imagine it's a story he'd want to tell a vigilante. Still:]
You can talk about it if you want, I'm not gonna judge.
[It's not like it's going to ruin some good impression she has of him.]
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So I get there and they force me to cook a batch of meth, you know, to test and see if I was as good as Mr. White. AKs on me the whole time, I mean like seriously scary shit. Then afterwards, they test the stuff and yeah, it's pure, so great. I got the job and they decide not to waste me right there.
So after that, they take me to meet the guy who - I guess the guy who owns me now, right? Don Eladio. We're waiting at his house and I'm pissed. I mean, obviously, right? I didn't sign up to go be a slave in fucking Mexico. But when it's just me and Mike sitting there waiting - Mike was like my partner, back then - I'm like, "Yo, Mike, what the hell?" And he tells me to shut up and sit there, 'cause either we're all going home or none of us are. And I believe him, 'cause... well, 'cause it was him.
So Don Eladio comes out and talks in Mexican with Gus - my boss - and I guess they're negotiating or whatever, and then Gus busts out this present. Tequila. Everybody has a drink, you know, except Mike - 'cause he's Gus's bodyguard - and Don Eladio's bodyguard and... And Don Eladio hands me a drink, right, but Gus stops him and says something. I dunno what, but it works and he takes the drink away. Anyway, they all toast and put on the music and bring out the honeys. It's a party all in my honor, I guess, 'cause hooray for them getting their brand new cook and ending their whole turf war or whatever. I'm just sitting there pissed the whole time.
Anyway, halfway through the party, people just start falling over. Like, dropping like flies. And Mike comes up behind Don Eladio's bodyguard and strangles him. And I jump outta my chair like holy shit. And Don Eladio, he's over there trying to walk but he's going all woozy, and Gus walks up to him and stares him down while he's dying and - I mean, you figured it out, right? The tequila was poisoned. The whole selling me out thing was just a trick to get us down there. He poisoned the whole damn cartel.
Uh, and himself. So me and Mike had to rush him outta there, and then Mike got shot, so it was all up to me to get us back to the rendezvous. But Gus had it all set up with a hospital tent and doctors, like, ready for us. So we were all okay, at the end.
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It's hard to feel too bad about a bunch of the cartel dying (and she knows this is why Bruce doesn't trust her), so she even seems a little impressed by the story.]
You haven't lived a boring life, have you?
[It's said lightly, but she sombers up after a second, setting her fork down, since she finished eating somewhere in the middle of the story.]
I'm glad they weren't selling you out, even if it's kinda shitty to have kept you outta the loop.
[She can guess why, of course, but that's still a dick move.]
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Yeah. Yeah, I dunno. I probably woulda blown it the second he handed me the drink. I was scared enough already. But it's good Mike said what he did, 'cause no way was I gonna sit pretty and let those assholes buy me like I'm a cow or something. I was ready to fuck shit up.
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How come Saul named his cat after some bodyguard?
[Look okay she just
wants to know.]
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But at the mention of the cat, Jesse actually smiles.]
The ear. Part of Mike's ear got blown off once, so...
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Still, she laughs.]
He's such an asshole.
[But she sounds exasperated and fond, rather than annoyed.]
Saul's gonna get his ass kicked if Mike ever shows up here, isn't he?
[She can't imagine a drug dealer's boydguard taking well to a kitten being named after him.]
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It's something else: sadness, wistfulness, hope.]
Probably. Saul would piss his pants about it, too.
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She assumes that look is because Jesse misses Mike, wishes he were here. If he's someone that Jesse trusted, she can understand it, especially with all the shit going on. Especially when the only other person he's got from home is Saul and that's.... Saul.
When she speaks, it's gentler than it was a moment ago.]
If he ever shows up, let me know and I'll grab us some popcorn to watch that go down.
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[But if Jesse entertains the idea of Mike showing up, he's going to start crying again, so he fidgets and idly twirls his fork like a drumstick before deciding he's done with dinner.]
So, hey, thanks for, um, cooking and everything. It was - It was really good.
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[She really does mean that, as much as she keeps trying to reminds herself that caring about Jesse is dangerous.
But she knows a dismissal when she hears one, and since they're both finished their meals, she stands, picking up her plate and holding her hand out for his, just to double check that he is done.]
You want any help washing up?
[There's not much of a mess, she was careful about that, but she doesn't mind helping out.]
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No, no - Here, I can do it. Seriously, you did... a lot already.
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