EXSILIUM - contact.

[hostage]

UNIT№409



_“ Hey, it's me. Wait for the thing. _”

Comments

[hostage]

She said they're gonna torture me.

[controlledvariable]

[Jesus fucking christ]

No one's gonna torture you, Jesse. I swear. If anyone lays a hand on you I'll break every fucking bone in their body.

[Well.]

[hostage]

Shouldn't talk like that. They're listening.

[controlledvariable]

[She takes a breath, her sharp anger replaced by something a little more steadier, more determined, more Batgirl.]

Good, then they'll know I'm watching them. I don't care if we don't have a real legal system or courts or any of that shit, we're not barbarians, and we don't torture people. If any of the police force here step out of line, I'll make sure they answer for it.

[Whether that means publically dragging them out for everyone to deal with, or handling it herself.]

We're gonna sort this out, promise.

[hostage]

She said they're gonna starve me 'til I do what they want. Maybe they will, you know? Like, what else can they do? I mean, I'm not - I'm not gonna listen. They can do whatever they want, but I'm not giving 'em the power to do that again, what Tempest did to you.

[He laughs bitterly.]

They're gonna starve me, and they're just gonna let all those traitors go. Just let 'em go, like nothing.

[controlledvariable]

You will not be mistreated.

[It's a reassurance for him and an order for anyone who might be listening.

Her voice softens:]

You think me and Saul and Mike would let them do that to you? We'll make sure they treat you right.

[Even if Saul seems so angry; she knows he still cares about Jesse, that he won't let the cops hurt him.]

I don't know what they're gonna do with everyone else, but - Jesse, if this is about me, it's okay. Tempest couldn't have known I'd react like that, it's just.... it's on me, not her.

[She doesn't want him to get in trouble because of the fact she lost her cool.]

[hostage]

[He ignores that. Steph feels guilty he's doing this, but she shouldn't. Saul and Mike, though... He laughs again, only this time it sounds like he's choking back a sob.]

...They're gonna leave me here.

[controlledvariable]

They're not, Jesse.

[She won't let them, even if she knows Jesse kind of fucked up.

Abandoning him will only make things worse.]

Everything's gonna be fine, we just have to figure it all out.

[hostage]

You don't know him, Steph.

And Mike, he's... He's just smart. He knows when it's over, when to get out.

[controlledvariable]

[That stings, and she wonders if that's what Jesse's trying to do, but that seems unfair.]

I do.

[Saul might not have been a good person back in their world, and he might have done some really, really awful things, but she knows he's trying to be better. He wouldn't just abandon Jesse.]

It's not over, things are screwed up right now, but it's something we can fix.

[hostage]

[As far as Jesse knows, he's just being honest. Saul and Mike were both already pissed at him for screwing up something way smaller than this. Now...]

I know how it's gonna play. Saul's got his thing going and he's not gonna wanna lose it. But he will lose it, if he sides with me. Right? 'cause nobody cares I was on the right side. Nobody cares I did this for the Initiative. All they're gonna hear is Jesse's stealing powers. Saul's gonna do what makes him look good, Steph.

That bitch wouldn't let him represent me even before I did this. She said I had to choose between Sonya and Edgeworth. Sonya and fucking Edgeworth, Steph, to defend me. But maybe Saul woulda fought that before.

Now? He ain't gonna touch it. It's too dirty for him. He's gonna let Roslyn assign a goddamn prosecutor to defend me, and he gets to wash his hands and go back to playing king while Sonya and Edgeworth take turns fucking me.

[controlledvariable]

[She lets him talk, glad that he can't see how her expression twists up in uncertainty, because she doesn't want to worry him.]

He's not like that anymore, he's not just gonna throw you under the bus to save himself.

[She has to believe that, just like she had to believe that Saul was sorry for poisoning Brock. She doesn't know what she'll do if he hasn't change, if he was lying to her.

When she finally breathes out, it's shaky.]

There's another defense attorney here.

[hostage]

[If it'd been just the once, maybe, Jesse could believe Saul might stay on his side. But how many times was it that Saul turned on him the second Mr. White was back in power? Not just with Brock. That was the worst time, but it wasn't the first time. And Jesse wants to believe, too. It's killing him, that this is happening again. But he expected Saul to be here hours ago. And he never came. Because it'd look bad.

He takes a deep breath, trying to steady the wavering in his voice:]

Who?

[controlledvariable]

Barbara Gordon.

[She can't... not tell him, she can't listen to him like that and not let him know there's someone that can help even if Saul lets them down.]

I think you're wrong about Saul, but if you're not... she'll help.

[hostage]

You sure about that?

[His friends won't even save him. Why would a stranger?]

[controlledvariable]

You have a right to an attorney.

[And Babs might be a vigilante, but she'll do what's right.]

[hostage]

Not if Roslyn's got anything to say about it.

[controlledvariable]

[She can understand that Rosyln's in a difficult position right now, that she probably didn't ask for this responsibility, but if what Jesse's saying is true:]

Cops are fucking assholes, but there's a hell of a lot of us from Earth, and we know how this shit is supposed to go. You'll have your attorney.

[hostage]

We ain't on Earth anymore, and it's easier to hang one guy everybody hates than ten guys who still got a lotta friends running free out there.

I ain't stupid. They're gonna make an example of me. And then they're gonna get their nice little peace talks going and feel real good about themselves.

[controlledvariable]

Jesse.

[There's something a little sharp in it, trying to get him to focus.]

Everybody doesn't hate you. Hell, pretty sure most of the Transports adore you, so cut this shit out.

[She remembers their conversation in the clinic, about him not being good, and that's fine, but it doesn't mean he hasn't to aint himself as the villain while the jury's still out.]

No one's gonna try to hang you, the focus is on the mutineers, just-- [she sighs] What would it take for you to be willing to give Tempest her powers back?

[hostage]

[No one adores him. They don't even like him. They just want to control him, and they tell him how sweet he is and how hard-working he is and how far he's come, but they don't trust him. They have no faith in him. And here it comes now, Steph doing it, too.]



...I won't.

whoops ACTION

[controlledvariable]

[She can't do this over the phone.]

Hold on.

[And then she's there, in the middle of the room he's being held in. She looks tired, worn out, but mostly she just looks worried.]

Jesse.

[She doesn't know how to fix all this, and she hates that it's all her fault.]

[hostage]

[Jesse lets out a quiet giggle when she appears. He tosses his tablet aside, settling back against the wall where he's perched atop a pile of mattresses.]

Go ahead. Say it.

[controlledvariable]

[And she just frowns, confused by both the giggle and the request.]

Say what?

[hostage]

The thing you came here to say. Your speech. Let's hear it.