empathicfault | IC Inbox

[As the knife completes its arc, the killer is looking at the victim and Malcolm grabs the knife hand, twisting it sharply so the knife drops, then pulls him to the ground, his face on the floor next to his daughter’s, Malcolm’s knee in his back, his arm twisted behind him in Malcolm’s grasp.]

[ Will is taken down immediately, and he hits the ground nearly the same time as his daughter. He lets out an oof, but she's still scrambling for purchase, gasping for breath. She's bleeding heavily, but she's still alive.

Not that Will is paying attention to that. He's doing his best to scramble out from under Malcolm, not that he's making much headway there. ]

Did you see it? Did you--

[ Air has become a problem. He coughs, his lungs trying to find what they can. ]

[Grimly, to him.] I saw it. [He looks at the girl.] Listen to my voice. I’ve got him. I need you to do two things. Grab one of those tea towels and put pressure on the wound, then call 911. You don’t have to speak. As long as you connect, they’ll come.

[ Will slows in his struggle at the confirmation. Whether he's tiring out or actually believes Malcolm is hard to say.

The young woman, meanwhile, is in dire shape. Her wide eyes look at Malcolm and seem to take in his words, but she's on the floor right now and mostly trying to breathe. She can't reach much, just a towel on the floor that she grasps weakly. She gets lucky and uses her off-side to drop it onto her neck and press. It's not doing a lot but it's better than nothing.

Her old cell phone slips out of her pocket as she moves. She doesn't notice it, too occupied with her neck. ]

[Malcolm sees it. Without taking the pressure off the killer's back, he fumbles with his free hand on the nearby counter and comes up with a spatula that he uses to awkwardly fish the cell phone over to him. He dials 911 and asks for police and an ambulance. One victim suspected deceased, one victim critical, on suspect restrained. He looks at the girl.]

They're coming. Hold on.

[He looks at the man under his knee.]

You're right. She's perfect. I hope she lives.

[ There's some possible logistics over whether the daughter will need more help and how Malcolm would handle that, but- the meat of this scene is over. Malcolm will feel Will under him relax entirely and taking deep breaths. When he speaks, it's soft and quiet. And it's undeniably Will. ]

Okay, Malcolm. You can let me up now, I think you did it.

[ His face is a mess, tear-stained and blood splattered. As soon as pressure lets up, he starts shaking some. He'll sit on the ground for a moment to help collect himself. ]

[Malcolm looks down at him in confusion for a split second before being almost startled back to reality.]

Oh! Sorry!

[He eases off of him, moves to help him up, but Will needs to sit, so he sits next to him.]

Did I do it right?

Mmmhmmm.

[ It's all Will says before he turns and hugs Malcolm tightly, eyes flicking to the not-Abigail on the floor (she's mostly gone quiet, not having any new stimuli to react to). And then he's burying his face on Malcolm's chest. ]

Sorry. Sorry, just give me a minute.

[ He still shakes, but it's doing down. ]

[Malcolm holds on to him tightly from the moment Will hugs him and doesn't let go, burying his face in Will's hair when Will presses his face to Malcolm's chest. He's usually the one doing that. He likes hearing the sound of Will's heart.]

It's okay. Take your time.

[When Will mentioned being the killer in scenarios, Malcolm hadn't been expecting something quite so immersive.]

Are you okay, though?

I will be.

[ It's muffled as he says it into his chest. ]

Just- you saved them. Both. Thank you. And...I wish I'd done that.

[ He hadn't been ready for any of it, at the time. He knows that. He sniffles a bit, then presses his face into the crook of Malcolm's neck and inhales. He presses a kiss there before pulling back. ]

I think...that was really informative. Let's- let's bring up my woods and we can talk about it in my house?

[ It's a frequent program of theirs, woods for running around in, and a house for changing and resting afterwards. ]

I’d like that. [He gets up and offers Will his hand.] I should have brought tea. I’ll bring a thermos next time.

[Once settled in Will’s home, Malcolm reaches for Will’s hand. Squeezes it gently. Brings it to his mouth to kiss the back of his fingers.] Are you sure it’s a good idea for you to be the killer when we do this? It seems like it takes a lot out of you. Did I hurt you?

[ Will seems far more settled once they're in his house, although he still takes the occasional deep, slow breath. The question gets a small smile from him. ]

No, not at all. If I'd been...myself, it would've been a real turn-on.

[ He smirks a bit, but he can feel the semi-joke fall flat. He squeezes Malcolm's hand back and leans against him on the couch. ]

It's all right. I realize you haven't seen what it is I do, not really. But that's common, even the shakes afterward. This Hobbs persona, it was already in me. It might even be good for me to have...aired it out a bit, so to speak. There were some parts that my conscious mind had forgotten.

How was it for you? What sort of feelings would you attach to the whole experience?

I don’t… know. It… felt like a case. Once… once I got into it. I think that part will get easier. Part of me thought that it might be prudent to shoot him in that moment that I had him distracted, but not… enjoying lethal force wasn’t really the motivating factor. I was thinking about her. The girl. I just… didn’t think she would want that. I didn’t. I didn’t want him to be free, but I didn’t want him to be dead, either.

Your priority was saving her.

[ He smiles, but there's a sadness to it. ] That was mine, too. But I still shot him in the shoulder. Maybe that's the police training, I don't know. Maybe it was the fact that I knew I couldn't talk him down.

I got lucky that I didn't shoot her accidentally. I was a terrible- terrible shot. Had to practice after.

But you managed to de-escalate- and I know, it was technically me, but I'd been...if I'd been less immersed, I wouldn't have listened. But Garret would. You hit on some of the things he cared about, very quickly. Things that would make him pause.

I'm always thinking about the victims. Understanding how killers think... sometimes I empathize with them. Sometimes I understand why they do what they do. What made them. How they broke. Sometimes I think I can help them, too. Maybe that's why this place appealed to me, when the Admiral asked. But it's just... always been important to save people from them. For all the ones I failed to save from him. What Hobbs wanted - to preserve something he thought was beautiful like a trophy - I get it. I get how... transitory things can feel and how nice it would be to never give them up and how lonely it is when they're gone. And that loneliness being a driving force... someone being willing to engage with the thing that's important to you. To share it with you. To explore it with you. It's the one thing you want more than anything when you feel like that.

[ Will listens but he watches Malcolm's face closely through the latter half of that. His smile is small but genuine, and he squeezes Malcolm's hand. ]

It is. We both know that feeling. Intimately.

[ He sits with that for a moment, in his quiet house. He thinks he knows the answer to his next question, but he knows he should ask it, anyway: ]

If you hadn't been able to save Abigail, what would you have done? What would you have wanted to do?

[He can usually save them. He frowns faintly.]

I still would have arrested him. …I might have been a little… less kind about it.

[ Will nods, taking in that small frown. ]

You would rather he be...contained, than entirely gone?

[ He's not sure that's the right word. He hunts for others. He throws out the nicer terms, as that's not really what they're here to explore. ]

Disarmed, incarcerated, under control...powerless?

The ones that have no hope for reform, the true psychopaths who will never feel remorse for the suffering they caused… that revelled in it, even… they’re the ones that deserve incarceration the most. They deserve to live long enough to experience a little suffering. Being kept in a cage, knowing they’ll never be free ever again. That’s justice. Why should they get a reprieve from that?

You assume they'd find that to be a punishment. The man who made the totem pole of bodies only did so because he wanted to be housed and fed...I'll grant that he was an unusual case.

[ Even among the serial killers. ]

How do you know if someone has no hope for reform?

There are a few different... criteria. Are they capable of feeling remorse? Some people truly aren't. Is it possible to make restitution for the things they did? Some crimes are too heinous and wanton. Though, I guess... maybe the Barge is making me reconsider that notion. That there's a level of psychopathy where redemption isn't possible. Though I'm not sure there are Earthbound institutions capable of delivering what the Barge does.

[ That's a more measured response than Will expected, but he generally agrees. Time to see what might affect it. ]

I don't think our worlds would have a chance at it, no.

You said that justice is keeping them in a cage, knowing they'll never be free again. [ He smiles slightly. ] Is that satisfying to you? Knowing they have to stay where you put them? Knowing they can't be free to choose? Knowing that the time drags for them, as they stare at the walls? That they might face some of the same dread their victims did?

It just seems... fair that they get the outcome they want the least when that was all they offered their victims.

Mmmm. [ It's a small hum in agreement, but he's somewhat lost in thought. ]

Hannibal gave himself up at one point, so I would always know where he was. He'd...committed to me, by then. He was trying to show me that he valued me over his freedom, and that he knew I'd come to him when I needed him again.

...and I did, eventually. He asked if it was good to see him. I said no...it wasn't for me. I didn't like seeing him caged. Restricted. But I was...I was in deep, by then. And my experience with jails was very different than yours.

So it seems fair to me, too, but...i's not the outcome I'd aim for, anymore. It hasn't been for a long while, now.

Wow… I’m… really going to have to step up my romantic gestures, huh?

[It wasn’t the outcome Will aimed for. Achieved. Malcolm knows that. He didn’t know about the wooing by sacrifice.]

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