[When Jaqueline arrives at work, Max is waiting in her office.
She doesn't necessarily mind, but she is surprised, eyeing him briefly before striding past him to her desk. She knows Max well enough to know that this isn't going to be a pleasant conversation, based just on the way he's sitting, but she doesn't want to draw attention to that quite yet.]
( Max doesn't like not knowing where he stands. He stands with the other heirs because he has no choice. He doesn't like that ancient witches have kept in control of their coven for generations and have most recently taken his parents from him. Everything they do, everything they say, it's all called into question. He's the wisecracking golden boy that takes his seat at the table seriously.
It's not that he would ever think his sister would unseat him. Though, he does know his family even before their ascension into becoming the inner circle, and every one of them have a ruthless streak. But that's how they were raised.
Max, to be charming and Jaq, to terrifying. Both were expected to be cunning and diplomatic, of course. Of the four heirs, Max tows the shortest line. He's the face.
And now their best course of action is to betray everything he's ever known. It's not easy and it's crazy that his sister is so good at it. At strategizing. It's not the deaths that bother him. Or the collateral damage.
At the end of all of this, if the heirs are left standing, what next. Where does he fit in? )
I thought making an appointment was far too formal. You and I should talk. ( He studies her. ) How long have you and Sierra --
( He doesn't know how to put it into words, to define it. How long has she been aware of Sierra's whereabouts. When did it become Sierra and Jaqueline vs. Should he be watching his back now? Should David and Ezra? )
[There's a question there that he's looking to answer, but given the way it cuts off, she's not sure which he's referring to. How long have they been together? How long have they been plotting against the Colony in order to put themselves in power? How long as Jacqueline known where she was?
There's a lot of clauses that could fit at the end of that question. So she settles for the vaguest answer:]
A while.
[That covers most of the options.]
She's always been my best friend. Even though she was gone, after David came back and everything fell apart, she was there for me.
( A while only stings because he thought he and his sister were on the same page. He didn't know how to feel about her separate agenda, about her deeper connection even the sanctimonious Ezra clocked. He's sat with it. Maybe he would feel different had he been included. He doesn't need the star-crossed romance, he only needs loyalty. He knew his parents were always wildcards, but he didn't think his sister was. )
[She pauses because she knows she needs to be careful about how she responds to this. Because contrary to what other members of their group believe, she is aware that she can be alienating, and she doesn't want to do that with Max.
But building bridges is not one of her stronger skills, so she's still very aware that she could fuck things up.]
Why didn't I tell you I had a girlfriend? Because I didn't think you'd care.
[It wasn't important, until it was. And it wasn't something he needed to know until it was.]
And I didn't want our parents to assume that I knew where Sierra was, because most of the time I didn't. I was worried about things like this, and them using me as leverage to get to her.
[She then pauses again, because the bigger plans are likely what he's more concerned with - not who she was fucking.]
But the plans weren't really mine. They were Sierra's, and I helped sometimes, but that's all it was. I was support, I wasn't a co-conspirator. And I told her at dinner that there wasn't going to be any secrets between you and me anymore.
[She's not sure if it's enough, but she hopes it is. She hopes that her secrets haven't fucked this up for them already.]
( It stings. He loves his sister, trusts her. Does he care she has a girlfriend? Maybe if he was given the choice. But, this is not just about her having a girlfriend. )
Were you worried about what I would do?
( It's bigger than just keeping it from their parents. )
Jaq, we found out about our parents five minutes ago. I thought we were both in this family. All you're telling me is we weren't the team I thought we were.
[This is one of those moments where Jaqueline wishes she were actually good at hiding her feelings, because she's not (7). Conflict stretches across her face as she tries to figure out how to respond.
Her jaw shifts, before shrugging.]
You're really good at telling people what they want to hear, Max. You put on a good show.
[Which isn't a yes, but it isn't a no either.]
And as much as you could make me feel like we were a team when we were alone, it didn't always follow through when Mom and Dad were around. And it's not like you were asking me about my life in the interim either.
[Maybe she should have volunteered it, but again. She didn't think he would have cared.]
( He knows his sister better than everything and everyone (19). He reads her like a book. )
You don't tell anyone anything you don't want them knowing. The way you disseminate information is pathological.
( And she thinks he tells people what they want to hear? )
You work the system, just as much as me. Maybe even more. When your life is about dismantling a system you know we both fundamentally disagree with, you can include me in the conversation. You really think I would've run to mom and dad? You think I would want to bring them down on you, because we all know what would happen if they knew you were helping here and there.
( They both know their parents aren't above torturing their kin. Killing probably isn't off the table, either. They know what they were born into. She can't pretend that he has to play this part, they both do to an extent, to survive this family. )
[Because she's had to. Because it's the coping mechanisms she's been given.]
Sierra's only plan was to get the Knightsbridge power. To cause a destabilization and show her parents that we could compete. But the Gauntlet complicated everything. Plans changed. And the second you needed to be involved, I told you.
I may not have been plotting with you, Max. But I wasn't plotting against you.
[To her, there is a difference between the two, but she doesn't think he's feeling so discerning.]
But, you are plotting against our family and you said it yourself, I go to bat for our family.
( He smiles, laughing to himself bitterly. )
It doesn't sound like you trust me, Jaq.
( When was he lumped in with his parents who aren't even his parents, anymore. He has complicated feelings toward them, of course, doesn't everyone, but they don't rate higher than his sister. )
I tell you everything.
( Everything relevant, everything she needs to hear. Fuck his personal life, like he has one, anyway. )
And I wouldn't sell you out to our parents. There is no you or me, or at least I thought there wasn't.
Why do you think I wanted to take your place in the Gauntlet in the first place? Before we knew what it was really about?
[She's trying to see if she needs to be worried about him, so might as well lay all her cards on the table.]
Because I knew that if this was going to play out, it was going to be you, David and Sierra, and fuck David, but I was going to have to sit there and watch either you kill her or her kill you and I would rather have her slit my throat than have to live with either of those scenarios.
[Better to die by the hand of someone who cared enough to make it quick. Better to know that her brother could use this to get out rather than live with half of herself gone. It doesn't matter which half it is, either one would break her.]
They've been using us against each other since we were kids, Max. Plausible deniability protects you.
( That death wish she sported as a teenager rears its ugly head. She was always the volatile sibling, the ruthless sibling, the one that would get her hands dirtiest, especially if she could spare her brother the same. This makes sense, this has him back on his heels, because the last thing he wants is either him or his sister dead. )
Fuck.
( His frustration rolls through his entire body. )
This is what they want. They want us at each other's throats. They expect us to have contingency plans. They expect you to betray them. Or, me. They're fucking ready for it. You should have given me a choice.
( But, now he's just as implicated.
She has Sierra. David has Ezra. Who does he have in his pocket? )
If Sierra does anything to you, I don't fucking care if she had to, even if it was written and baked into some God damn prophecy, I will kill her.
[What does she care if he kills Sierra after she's gone? She's already dead. Not like she's going to see it.
But that's not the point. She takes the threat for what it is, and doesn't feel the need to reciprocate because obviously she feels the same. But she leans back in her desk, crossing one leg over the other and raises an eyebrow.]
[Jaqueline's nose wrinkles because she doesn't want to work with Hallewell - he's gross - but desperate times, desperate measures. Her objection is mostly to Hallewell getting what he wants, more so than the dark nature of what Max may have to do.]
If you think you can convince him, I say it's worth a shot.
[And honestly, Max might do better on his own. Ezra was driving a lot of the conversation last time, and as effective as he can be at times, he's a transplant. Max was trained by their parents, and he'll figure out the buttons to push.]
But don't forget - he doesn't get what he wants until we get what we want.
[She knows she doesn't need to remind him - it isn't about that. She just wants Hallewell to keep suffering for as long as possible.]
( There are things he can say, things he would say on his own, that he wouldn't bring up in front of Ezra. Ezra didn't know what questions to ask and he was working half-cocked. He came in overconfident and snarky, but had nothing to back it up.
He nods, confirming Hallewell will get what's coming. )
[And with that, she will get back to work, and he can head out to see their man Hallewell, who is still lounging comfortably in his room/cell. He's managed to conjure himself a stack of books to read, and is paging through, marking anything of interest with a highlighter.]
( He does his research first, his preparation with the leverage he needs to come in hand with. It's a tragic story, really, a young man in his prime, an athlete in his early twenties now kept on life support. He judges that choice, that anyone would drag someone else's human soul through something like it, but it gives him the leverage he needs.
It's not as sophisticated as Hallewell's approach, nor is it as sinister. It's not draining, but it is a very intricate linking, specifically to Arthur "Artie" Panzirelli's life force. His youth.
Artie's vitals are stable, but he has so low brain activity that the doctors don't know what will happen.
Max acquires three pieces of jewelry (all part quartz), an earring, a necklace and a ring. If he's going to bargain with the devil and he doesn't know the devil's style, he has contingencies.
He carries the black velvet box with him, asking for the room. Once he's left alone, he takes in the sight.
He pulls up a chair, the box sitting in Max's lap. )
[He twists so that Max can see the spine of his book, and it's not a text book. In fact, it is a fairly new copy of Naked in Death by JD Robb, aka Nora Roberts. "Say what you want about Nora, but she is both prolific and entertaining."
Besides, he's been alive long enough that what does he need to study for?]
["See, you got there on your own. She uses this when she wants to have a little mystery with her romance." Hallewell sticks a bookmark in his place before leaning back and capping his highlighter. "But you didn't come here to check up on my TBR."]
We're making a play. All of the heirs, hand in hand. ( He may exaggerate the extent of communication between parties, but they all want the same thing. Their parents (or whomever they are) dead and gone. Buried. Done for. Now's the painful part, but no one ever got anywhere easy. ) We need your help.
["You must have quite the hand to play." Hallewell tips his head to the side. "Don't get me wrong, I'm all for a shake up in the ranks, but what makes you think that you can succeed?"]
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everyonelives2023-03-16 09:07 pm
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She doesn't necessarily mind, but she is surprised, eyeing him briefly before striding past him to her desk. She knows Max well enough to know that this isn't going to be a pleasant conversation, based just on the way he's sitting, but she doesn't want to draw attention to that quite yet.]
I didn't expect to see you until later.
no subject
It's not that he would ever think his sister would unseat him. Though, he does know his family even before their ascension into
becomingthe inner circle, and every one of them have a ruthless streak. But that's how they were raised.Max, to be charming and Jaq, to terrifying. Both were expected to be cunning and diplomatic, of course. Of the four heirs, Max tows the shortest line. He's the face.
And now their best course of action is to betray everything he's ever known. It's not easy and it's crazy that his sister is so good at it. At strategizing. It's not the deaths that bother him. Or the collateral damage.
At the end of all of this, if the heirs are left standing, what next. Where does he fit in? )
I thought making an appointment was far too formal. You and I should talk. ( He studies her. ) How long have you and Sierra --
( He doesn't know how to put it into words, to define it. How long has she been aware of Sierra's whereabouts. When did it become Sierra and Jaqueline vs. Should he be watching his back now? Should David and Ezra? )
no subject
There's a lot of clauses that could fit at the end of that question. So she settles for the vaguest answer:]
A while.
[That covers most of the options.]
She's always been my best friend. Even though she was gone, after David came back and everything fell apart, she was there for me.
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Why didn't you let me in on any of your plans?
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But building bridges is not one of her stronger skills, so she's still very aware that she could fuck things up.]
Why didn't I tell you I had a girlfriend? Because I didn't think you'd care.
[It wasn't important, until it was. And it wasn't something he needed to know until it was.]
And I didn't want our parents to assume that I knew where Sierra was, because most of the time I didn't. I was worried about things like this, and them using me as leverage to get to her.
[She then pauses again, because the bigger plans are likely what he's more concerned with - not who she was fucking.]
But the plans weren't really mine. They were Sierra's, and I helped sometimes, but that's all it was. I was support, I wasn't a co-conspirator. And I told her at dinner that there wasn't going to be any secrets between you and me anymore.
[She's not sure if it's enough, but she hopes it is. She hopes that her secrets haven't fucked this up for them already.]
no subject
Were you worried about what I would do?
( It's bigger than just keeping it from their parents. )
Jaq, we found out about our parents five minutes ago. I thought we were both in this family. All you're telling me is we weren't the team I thought we were.
no subject
Her jaw shifts, before shrugging.]
You're really good at telling people what they want to hear, Max. You put on a good show.
[Which isn't a yes, but it isn't a no either.]
And as much as you could make me feel like we were a team when we were alone, it didn't always follow through when Mom and Dad were around. And it's not like you were asking me about my life in the interim either.
[Maybe she should have volunteered it, but again. She didn't think he would have cared.]
no subject
( He knows his sister better than everything and everyone (19). He reads her like a book. )
You don't tell anyone anything you don't want them knowing. The way you disseminate information is pathological.
( And she thinks he tells people what they want to hear? )
You work the system, just as much as me. Maybe even more. When your life is about dismantling a system you know we both fundamentally disagree with, you can include me in the conversation. You really think I would've run to mom and dad? You think I would want to bring them down on you, because we all know what would happen if they knew you were helping here and there.
( They both know their parents aren't above torturing their kin. Killing probably isn't off the table, either. They know what they were born into. She can't pretend that he has to play this part, they both do to an extent, to survive this family. )
no subject
[Because she's had to. Because it's the coping mechanisms she's been given.]
Sierra's only plan was to get the Knightsbridge power. To cause a destabilization and show her parents that we could compete. But the Gauntlet complicated everything. Plans changed. And the second you needed to be involved, I told you.
I may not have been plotting with you, Max. But I wasn't plotting against you.
[To her, there is a difference between the two, but she doesn't think he's feeling so discerning.]
no subject
( He smiles, laughing to himself bitterly. )
It doesn't sound like you trust me, Jaq.
( When was he lumped in with his parents who aren't even his parents, anymore. He has complicated feelings toward them, of course, doesn't everyone, but they don't rate higher than his sister. )
I tell you everything.
( Everything relevant, everything she needs to hear. Fuck his personal life, like he has one, anyway. )
And I wouldn't sell you out to our parents. There is no you or me, or at least I thought there wasn't.
no subject
[But not in the way he's thinking.]
Why do you think I wanted to take your place in the Gauntlet in the first place? Before we knew what it was really about?
[She's trying to see if she needs to be worried about him, so might as well lay all her cards on the table.]
Because I knew that if this was going to play out, it was going to be you, David and Sierra, and fuck David, but I was going to have to sit there and watch either you kill her or her kill you and I would rather have her slit my throat than have to live with either of those scenarios.
[Better to die by the hand of someone who cared enough to make it quick. Better to know that her brother could use this to get out rather than live with half of herself gone. It doesn't matter which half it is, either one would break her.]
They've been using us against each other since we were kids, Max. Plausible deniability protects you.
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Fuck.
( His frustration rolls through his entire body. )
This is what they want. They want us at each other's throats. They expect us to have contingency plans. They expect you to betray them. Or, me. They're fucking ready for it. You should have given me a choice.
( But, now he's just as implicated.
She has Sierra. David has Ezra. Who does he have in his pocket? )
If Sierra does anything to you, I don't fucking care if she had to, even if it was written and baked into some God damn prophecy, I will kill her.
( And David, and Ezra and whoever else. )
We need to get the upperhand.
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But that's not the point. She takes the threat for what it is, and doesn't feel the need to reciprocate because obviously she feels the same. But she leans back in her desk, crossing one leg over the other and raises an eyebrow.]
Do you have something in mind?
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Hallewell held back. He thinks we have nothing his wants, but we know more now.
( He chews on the inside of his lip, deciding whether or not to share his own secret. )
I can make him young again. It's dark but it's doable. I do that, he could give us leverage we need.
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If you think you can convince him, I say it's worth a shot.
[And honestly, Max might do better on his own. Ezra was driving a lot of the conversation last time, and as effective as he can be at times, he's a transplant. Max was trained by their parents, and he'll figure out the buttons to push.]
But don't forget - he doesn't get what he wants until we get what we want.
[She knows she doesn't need to remind him - it isn't about that. She just wants Hallewell to keep suffering for as long as possible.]
no subject
( There are things he can say, things he would say on his own, that he wouldn't bring up in front of Ezra. Ezra didn't know what questions to ask and he was working half-cocked. He came in overconfident and snarky, but had nothing to back it up.
He nods, confirming Hallewell will get what's coming. )
I love you.
no subject
[And with that, she will get back to work, and he can head out to see their man Hallewell, who is still lounging comfortably in his room/cell. He's managed to conjure himself a stack of books to read, and is paging through, marking anything of interest with a highlighter.]
no subject
It's not as sophisticated as Hallewell's approach, nor is it as sinister. It's not draining, but it is a very intricate linking, specifically to Arthur "Artie" Panzirelli's life force. His youth.
Artie's vitals are stable, but he has so low brain activity that the doctors don't know what will happen.
Max acquires three pieces of jewelry (all part quartz), an earring, a necklace and a ring. If he's going to bargain with the devil and he doesn't know the devil's style, he has contingencies.
He carries the black velvet box with him, asking for the room. Once he's left alone, he takes in the sight.
He pulls up a chair, the box sitting in Max's lap. )
What are you studying?
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Besides, he's been alive long enough that what does he need to study for?]
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Never heard of him.
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"Have you heard of Nora Roberts?"]
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( Why is he wasting time. Right, he has to play the game. Fine, he can. He listens, mildly curious. )
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( Not even close. )
We're making a play. All of the heirs, hand in hand. ( He may exaggerate the extent of communication between parties, but they all want the same thing. Their parents (or whomever they are) dead and gone. Buried. Done for. Now's the painful part, but no one ever got anywhere easy. ) We need your help.
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