[TLV][IC Inbox]

[reargunner]

ᴛᴇxᴛ | ᴀᴜᴅɪᴏ | ᴠɪᴅᴇᴏ | ᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴ



Leave a message if you want. I'll get back to you when I pick my comm up.

Or I won't.

Comments

[reargunner]

[Oh, what now.]

Who the fuck is telling people not to speak to me.

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

Oh not people. Just me.

[reargunner]

And you ain't people?

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

[A laugh.]

No, I'm an asshole.

But just one. And you're Cain. You're Abel's. Or - Abel's yours. Or you're fucking neither, who knows. But I know you are from the same place. Which is about all I need to know.

[reargunner]

If you got a point to make you better make it. I'm getting bored.

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

Eh, I'm not here to entertain you, kid.

But I love pissing Abel off.

He's the one who told me off, by the way. In case that wasn't fucking obvious.

[reargunner]

Funny you should say that, 'cause I'm not here to entertain you either.

Like I said, you got a point you wanna make here?

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

God, you were more fun the last time.

You at least stabbed me then.

[reargunner]

So, that's a no. You're just wasting my time.

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

Implying that you have so much to do right the fuck now.

[Jacob thinks for a moment, quiet but not finished. When he talks again, it's with less bravado and more resignation.]

Listen, we're not supposed to like each other and we're supposed to be at odds or some shit. But fuck that. You've been here for what? Five minutes? I'm not here to tell you what to fucking do. I'm not your babysitter or your nanny.

But this place fucking sucks. I've been in the goddamn trenches a couple of months and even I know that.

You got weapons? Blades, a gun? You'll need 'em. You know what wardens will give you shit? You know how to get to the inmates-only speakeasy? You know how to use a private bathroom?

Got all that covered?

[reargunner]

[If not for the change in tone his own reply would be far more acerbic.

He's been taking everything in. Even the parts he seemed to be dismissing.]

And I should trust you, why?

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

You probably shouldn't.

But I'm an inmate, too. Which means I'm already more trustworthy than the fucking wardens. You get your first temp?

They're assholes, right? 'Come and be best fucking friend with me even though we've never fucking spoken.' They're full of shit, most of the time.

[reargunner]

[There's a bit of a gap of silence here before Cain picks up the next message.]

Don't trust prison inmates any more than I do wardens. Just to set that straight.

[He's enough experience for that wariness to be thoroughly bedded in.]

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

Yeah, kid, I've been to juvie. I get it.

But these wardens are here for a deal, which is more than a goddamn paycheck.

Anyway, you don't have to trust me. I'm not asking you to. I'm just asking you if you know the basic shit to survive around here?

[reargunner]

Yeah. I got it covered.

[His tone is getting cooler and more distant by degrees.]

And don't fret, sladkiy. Juvie was fucking playtime compared to where they tossed me. I don't need anyone looking out for me.

[Especially not that fucking warden.]

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

Yeah? Where'd they toss you?

[reargunner]

[...]

New Volga Correctional Facility. Mars colonies.

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

What'd you do to get that? Sounds fucking rough.

[reargunner]

None of your damned business what I did.

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

I killed the people who were fostering me and my brothers and then set fire to the barn.

But I was fifteen, so - guess they went easy on me.

Then I went to war. Kinda wish I could have stayed in juvie, honestly.

[reargunner]

So what now? You tell me yours and I'm supposed to tell you mine?

For someone who says I don't need to trust him you're sure going out of your way to try to earn it.

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

Nah, mine's no fucking secret. My brother wrote a whole book about it.

I said you don't need to. I didn't say I didn't want you to.

[reargunner]

And why the fuck would you want me to.

You don't know a thing about me.

[weaponwithoutpurpose]

[A sigh.]

Call it a fucking hunch. That maybe we got more in common than this fucked up place. And here? That shit matters.

[reargunner]

... If I give you an in, and you fuck with me, you'll be wishing the last version of me was the one still here.

Am I making myself clear?