move your little finger and you can change the world

[enjoythe_ride]

Comments

[positiveinfluence]

[There's something about that that doesn't hit right (14). He's not sure which part of it, and part of him just wants to chalk it up to his current stage of heightened paranoia, but he does his best to try and keep calm.]

Yeah, it was a mess. Not really sure if it was better or worse than London, but we lost a lot of good people.

[pumping]

( Mickey has his orders and those orders trump fond feelings from when he was a human hunter getting to know his new barracks buddy. )

Yeah. Real bloodbath without the blood. Mass heart-attacks. ( It's all very witchly, from what he's heard. ) Were you - heading somewhere?

[positiveinfluence]

[He shakes his head.]

Nah, just feeling a little reckless. Killing time until we get our orders.

[Trying not to do anything to look too suspicious.]

[pumping]

( There are many meanings and interpretations to "take care of it," but, they won't happen here at headquarters. Not if he can help it. And fuck if there's not much he can help. )

Want to go for a drive?

[positiveinfluence]

[That was absolutely supposed to be "restless," whoops. Also that nagging feeling that something is wrong isn't getting any better (17). But he swallows, nodding, not wanting to make a fuss.

His eyes glance to the other faces in the room, the ones clearly watching.]

Yeah, sure. Let's go for a drive.

[pumping]

It'll be good to get you out from these walls. I just got back, but you've been with this outfit for... longer than me.

( And he should be more loyal. Mickey ignores the faces around them leading Cooper out of the barracks, grabbing keys off the hook. He unlocks one of the cars the hunters share, gesturing.

Well, get in. )

[positiveinfluence]

[Coop tries to time it right, tries to be sly about it, but the paranoia is creeping in and he's a little too obvious. As he opens the door and slides into the back seat, he fishes his ear piece out of his pocket, sliding it into his ear (7).

He keeps it casual, and hopes Mickey didn't see it, coming back online.

He's sorry, William. He's so sorry. But he knows that Monroe can make people disappear just as easily as she can make examples of them.]

So where are we heading?

[pumping]

( Fighting what he should do, his rewiring and the guilt enmeshed Mickey misses Cooper's anything but subtle earwig pop (3). It looks to him like Cooper scratched his own ear.

He starts the ignition. )

You feel restless, I just got back and I'm crawling up the walls. Who cares.

( Just for a drive, BFF.

Meanwhile, William perks up, right to be suspicious because Cooper did not use his usual greeting. And you can bet William pulls up the coordinates on his computer.

"Away from the compound..." )

[positiveinfluence]

[He shrugs, settling into the passenger seat.]

Guess I just don't want to miss the big show. Whatever grand plan Monroe's been working on for so long.

[He doesn't address William directly, keeping his eyes focused between his friend and the road.]

[pumping]

If we were in endgame, you think those keys would be on the hook? Our superiors would have been on our asses for even leaving. We trust them so they trust us.

( Except, every shade of not. He doesn't drive out far, considering the compound is already in the middle of an industrial neighborhood, but he does stop the car to far from the edge of the water, the view of the French Quarter ahead of them.

It seems they're on Marcel's side of the river.

He parks.

Not being there live gives William very little to go on. (4) so he stays silent. Is this information he needs, or is this a threat to his long distance boyfriend.

"Turn on the radio if I should be worried," he says, hoping they haven't gotten out of the car. )

[positiveinfluence]

[Cooper isn't sure they're staying in the car. So he's doing his best to keep his eyes on the water in front of them, trying not to focus on the dread that he might wind up in it.]

Mind if I put on some tunes?

[So yes, William, you should probably be worried.

Also, listen check, Mickey.]

[pumping]

Thought we might spread our legs.

( The flow of the river below probably drowns out whatever he should hear as he gets a (10), meanwhile, Cooper make a spot check

William quickly pulls up a chat window to Isaac

Do you know anyone in or around New Orleans )

[positiveinfluence]

[Cooper? is the message that comes back. Isaac assumes he knows what it's for, but who he gives him is going to depend on what the work is that needs doing.

Coop catches sight of the hand on Mickey's gun (14), and he lingers on the passenger side of the truck, keeping the bulk of his body behind the engine block. He turns his attention back out to the water, trying to figure out what the next play is.

He weighs the pros and cons, but from what he can see, the longer he lingers, the more likely he is to be dead sooner rather than later.]

She's testing you, isn't she?

[pumping]

( William types as fasr

Not Cooper. Cooper's in trouble. He and someone or someone's parked across the river. )

It's not a test if she's right, Coop. ( He grips the handle of his gun. ) What happened with the other soldiers in Prague.

[positiveinfluence]

[That's what he meant, but William got him the information anyway: Call Bela.

Cooper, on the other hand, is keeping focused on Mickey in front of him, doing his best to be persuasive (16).]

I don't know! I wasn't in there. All I know is that it was some kind of spell, and I wasn't the one fucking with witches. But higher ups in the outfit definitely were.

[pumping]

( Mickey's (6) means that his friendship is still deep rooted. His compulsion has nothing to do with Cooper, so it's the first time he's able to separate the two. If only he could voice that.

He lets up on his grip. )

What do you mean, higher ups in the outfit? They went after the witches and that's why people died?

[positiveinfluence]

No. They had a witch working with them, on the inside, and then people died. They were talking about her before the job, and after everything went down they never mentioned her again.

[He thinks he might be getting somewhere, so he keeps pushing.]

Look, yes did I fuck up keeping a hold on Isaac Lahey and Bonnie Bennett? Maybe. But I wasn't in that tower. I was outside if it, with them, helping bring them in again.

[pumping]

( He's only heard whispers. That Cooper failed, got his ass kicked and lost a witch and Isaac Lahey. )

It's not maybe, Coop. Everyone thinks you failed with Isaac Lahey and that witch, Bonnie. And, what, we've been working with witches all along?

[positiveinfluence]

I'm one guy and there were two of them. I did the best I could. Bonnie may not have had magic, but she's lived without magic before.

[Now he's full out lying, but he's doing his best to cover (16). At least about the top part. The second half is the truth, as far as he's aware.]

Yeah, man. They were shooting for recruitment with Knightsbridge before things went sideways. They've always played it fast and loose with witches, and it bit them in the ass, so now they're trying to pin it on me.

[pumping]

( His walls break down further (8) believing the words underneath Cooper's words, and the logic swimming under the surface. )

I thought Isaac was lying. That fight broke out because of one of the witches. On the stage. ( His resolve crumbles to pieces but he has to ask. ) Are you working against us?

[positiveinfluence]

[How to answer that question? It's complicated to say the least, but he does his best to use as much truth as possible. It might be the only thing that saves him.]

I'm trying to keep us alive.

[pumping]

( A (19) has him let go of his gun completely, looking out to the water. He processing slower than others. Combining his usual process, it takes longer to work its way through his compelled system. He shakes his head trying to sort his thoughts. )

She wanted me to take care of you.

[positiveinfluence]

Okay.

[He figured as much. Now he just needs to figure a way out of it. He doesn't want Mickey to get further in trouble, but he also doesn't want to die. He needs Monroe to think things are playing out according to plan so that she doesn't divert and make a bigger mess.]

What did she want you to do with me?

[Because Monroe, like Gerard, is all about the show of it all.]

[pumping]

Nothing's off the table. In the least, tying you up and dropping you off the back of the truck. Making the example. She wouldn't have cared if I left you for dead. Coop, whatever you're doing, you're not just on her radar, you're in her crosshairs.

( He runs his fingers along the steering wheel before flinging himself out of the car, slamming it behind him. He approaches the water, shoving his hands in his pockets. )

[positiveinfluence]

[He grits his teeth, before shaking his head.]

Okay. Okay, then ... let's do it. Let's make an example of me.

[He can take the beating. Maybe this is an instance where he'll be more effective on the outside, rather than in.]

But you don't have to kill me to do that, do you?