[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?"]
( His fingers tap along the black box in hand like he's questioning his decision. He reached back into his dad's store of (now, he guesses, ancient) magic he doesn't do, but desperate times. He carved out a minute percentage of his soul in the process (everything this dark has to be bound somehow), not privy to how that will affect him and maybe that's a part of how hard he went in on his sister, but either way they're all reaching a point of no return. They all are.
[He studies the box like he's trying to see the rest of the board, wondering what to make of Max's move here. He's certain he's not working alone, but he's also not sure he wants to give them what he has just yet.
"Not exactly. David Gainor broke my current bond - rather efficiently, actually - but close enough. Your sister was there."
He leans back on his couch. "Are you going to give it back?"]
["I don't need to open it to sense that that's a pretty powerful piece of witchcraft. Rather impressive, actually, for someone who's never made one before."
He's not going to touch it until he knows all the strings (18). And while he can feel the ties that stretch out to Max himself and someone else in the distance, it's hard to say that there isn't a sword of Damocles waiting to fall somewhere. This isn't his first day at the rodeo.
You hinted - unsubtly that you could turn the tide. That you know something. But, we had no leverage. Hallewell, meet leverage.
( He leans forward. )
Help us take down the asshole possessors, we won't round you up like the Colony tried to. And. ( He sits back, straightening out the cuff on his sleeves. ) You'll be free. You'll need to make it look convincing, I already have the alibi in mind - who knows about the Gauntlet better than a witch who survived the last one. Hell, admit it. Did you throw it?
( He's grandstanding now, talking to hear himself talk, standing up in all his bravado and everything his dad taught him. All his "wasted" yes-man potential. At least he's going rogue with his sister's benefit. )
I don't care about the Gaybands and as far as I'm concerned, Sierra is always out for Sierra, but whatever happens, you leave me and my sister out of it, we're square. I'd say that's a pretty airtight offer.
["I'm not interested in going anywhere. My freedom is pretty much assured one way or the other."
He had said that the first time they met, and the same reasoning holds true now - especially if they're going to start murdering the Inner Circle. Honestly, part of him is intrigued, wanting to see if they could actually do it. In order to stand any chance of success, they do need his leverage.
But Hallewell isn't just going to give it away for free.
"This is a lovely little present, and I'm quite tempted to take it. But what's to stop you from slitting my throat when all of this is said and done? I was born yesterday, Max. If you're going to take me down with you, I need to make sure you're invested in keeping me alive as well." Meaning if Hallewell gets caught in the crossfire, there are going to be consequences.]
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everyonelives2023-03-16 09:07 pm
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.
no subject
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.
no subject
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.
no subject
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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( His fingers tap along the black box in hand like he's questioning his decision. He reached back into his dad's store of (now, he guesses, ancient) magic he doesn't do, but desperate times. He carved out a minute percentage of his soul in the process (everything this dark has to be bound somehow), not privy to how that will affect him and maybe that's a part of how hard he went in on his sister, but either way they're all reaching a point of no return. They all are.
He holds the box out. )
My sister drained your life force.
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"Not exactly. David Gainor broke my current bond - rather efficiently, actually - but close enough. Your sister was there."
He leans back on his couch. "Are you going to give it back?"]
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( And that's enough for him. )
No. I did give it back. Open the box. ( he leans forward. ) Don't worry, it isn't Gwyneth Paltrow's head.
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He's not going to touch it until he knows all the strings (18). And while he can feel the ties that stretch out to Max himself and someone else in the distance, it's hard to say that there isn't a sword of Damocles waiting to fall somewhere. This isn't his first day at the rodeo.
"What do you want, Max?"]
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( He leans forward. )
Help us take down the asshole possessors, we won't round you up like the Colony tried to. And. ( He sits back, straightening out the cuff on his sleeves. ) You'll be free. You'll need to make it look convincing, I already have the alibi in mind - who knows about the Gauntlet better than a witch who survived the last one. Hell, admit it. Did you throw it?
( He's grandstanding now, talking to hear himself talk, standing up in all his bravado and everything his dad taught him. All his "wasted" yes-man potential. At least he's going rogue with his sister's benefit. )
I don't care about the Gaybands and as far as I'm concerned, Sierra is always out for Sierra, but whatever happens, you leave me and my sister out of it, we're square. I'd say that's a pretty airtight offer.
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He had said that the first time they met, and the same reasoning holds true now - especially if they're going to start murdering the Inner Circle. Honestly, part of him is intrigued, wanting to see if they could actually do it. In order to stand any chance of success, they do need his leverage.
But Hallewell isn't just going to give it away for free.
"This is a lovely little present, and I'm quite tempted to take it. But what's to stop you from slitting my throat when all of this is said and done? I was born yesterday, Max. If you're going to take me down with you, I need to make sure you're invested in keeping me alive as well." Meaning if Hallewell gets caught in the crossfire, there are going to be consequences.]
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