beingdifferent | Sixth little lie ♰ 'Cause the devil works quick, you know it don't take long

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Sixth little lie ♰ 'Cause the devil works quick, you know it don't take long

(CW: gore)

Who did this?

[Today you don't get charm, Barge, you're in for something completely different. Esther's standing on the deck, eyebrows knit, mouth a thin line, looking troubled. The reason why becomes apparent when she swings her communicator around and captures an image of something becoming increasingly common on the Barge: a bloodied corpse, this one of one Hannibal Lecter. That in and of itself isn't so strange, and even a young murderess is clever enough to pick up on that. The strange part is that this death was obviously not due to a human attack; the claw and bite marks attest to that.]

This is the man everyone is angry with. Someone set a dog upon him, right? [She doesn't sound disturbed so much as disapproving, and the feed swings back to capture her face still wearing that frown.]

…A warden will need to bring him to the hospital. [By which she means infirmary.] I'm not going to stay here alone.

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[There is, without a doubt, a meanness in him. Maybe it comes from being a double-oh, maybe it's just a part of him, but the suspicion that she might not be a girl under ten outweighs any common decency owed to a girl under ten.

It should make him think twice, and it doesn't.

Taking the stairs two at a time, he opens the deck door and scans the space, eyes settling first on Esther, then on Hannibal's body. The latter gets a cursory glance before he goes to the girl, and does what he does best. Going to a knee before her, he lies.]

You all right?

[Bond may be mean, but Esther is colder than her soft facade, and she's very aware of his real intentions for chaperoning her to safety. If he's flint she's a knife, and which one breaks which depends on the angle of the strike. All she has to do is twist things to her advantage.

When he arrives she's flanking the door, clutching her communicator with two sweaty hands, gazing at the body worriedly and, hunched in on herself, looking even smaller than usual. When he kneels to look at her she meets his eyes, nodding twice.]

I don't want to be around that.

Nor should you be. [He's learned here how to act fatherly, at least to some extent, though he'll never admit it comfortably. He doesn't have to; in this it's a ruse, Esther is the last child he could ever be compelled to look after.

He remembers, very well, what being stabbed felt like.

So he holds out both his hands for hers.]

Let's get you out of this chill. There ought to be hot chocolate in the mess hall.

[If Esther wasn't already biased against him she might appreciate that paternal echo. Now it just makes her wonder how much he knows and exactly what it is he suspects.

Still, she is not unprepared. She lays her hands in his, wide-eyed and grave.] Yes. Thank you, I'd like to do that.

Mr. Dent wants to come with.

[Speed it up, he realizes, and runs his thumbs comfortingly over the backs of her hands, a useless little protective gesture to make her feel safe. They're both putting on their facades.]

Is he on his way?

[She lets the gesture warm her to him a little, and she squeezes his hands briefly. If they're going to act, she's going to act right.]

Yes, he should be here soon.

[No time to waste. He nods, shifts and gets ready to stand.] All right. We'll wait.

[On his way up, he drops one of her hands - and with the other, stretches his forefinger and thumb to pull at the ribbon on her wrist.]

[She's putty in his hands up until she feels the fabric peeled back from her wrist. The change is immediate: she tenses, her fingers suddenly curling and digging into his hand. She screams, the way a normal child would have upon finding the body in the first place, and wrenches away from him.]

Don't! Don't ever!

[ Harvey wasn't in any rush-- up until the scream. He'd been talking to her, now and again, on the communcator until he hit the deck itself-- and now? He hears her shrieking and goes running. ]

Esther!

[ What a miserable plateau this will be. ]

Edited 2013-10-22 05:32 (UTC)

[It could be anything, from OCD to PTSD - but Bond sees less than an inch under the ribbon. He sees the edge of a scar, and he knows. She was aged down during that flood. She's not what she presents herself as.

She's absolutely the girl who tried to gut him.

His hand tightens, briefly, squeezes hard because she's no little girl and she knows what she's done--

But the hears another voice, and abruptly lets her go, looking toward the stairs as Harvey comes running. He never fully takes his eyes off Esther.

He doesn't apologize, either, just levels a look on her, however brief, before the other man arrives. He knows.]

[He grips her hand tighter and she begins to claw her nails into his hand, stopping cold as soon as Harvey shouts her name. For one brief hate-filled moment she glares into Bond's eyes, then bursts into angry tears and runs to Harvey's side, grabbing for his hand.]

I don't like it!

[ Harvey is quick to catch catch her hands, before she impacts with him as he comes quick, grinding to a halt with her before him. ]

The hell is going on?

[ Gloved hand in Esther's, he holds tight to her, giving a look down to her and then up to Bond. Well, Warden: he's waiting for an explanation there, and he's bristling to beat one out of him. Kids aren't off limits to Two-Face, but Harvey has issues where Boy Hostages and others like them are concerned. ]

[His eyes narrow fractionally at her, annoyance with the facade coming through. Harvey earns a sharp glance, and James shifts subtly to roll out his shoulder, just in case. He's not looking for another fight, but given Two-Face's penchant for violence, it can't hurt to be ready.

It never hurts to be ready.]

I was going to take her to the mess, for a drink. [He lies easily. Always does.] I suppose she doesn't like cocoa. [He owes Harvey nothing. There are others more in need of a warning.]

[The facade was real enough to make Bond doubt his own suspicions and it's back up now, Esther every inch the injured little girl. She shuffles half-behind Harvey, holding his hand tight, and sniffles pathetically.]

Don't touch me.

Sure you were.

[ Harvey's had his own thoughts on Esther-- but for the moment, solidarity with another inmate before a warden he doesn't like is the foremost concern. If she is a child, then they'll handle it. If she's not -- well, he's not going to cry too hard about it. ]

I got it from here, I think.

[It's all he can do to keep his lip from curling in a sneer, disgust rising. He sees the game she's playing, knows this could look very ugly for him if she played it harder.

Instead, he lifts both his shoulders in a nonchalant shrug.]

By all means.

[It's a drawl, arrogant, a little angry, a little satisfied. He has proof enough for himself.]

[It's a trump card, one she's very good at playing, and she's looking for his disgust with hateful eyes. She grips Harvey's hand tighter, staring at Bond through tears.

She's already scheming how to best rid herself of him.]

I think we can take it from here, Bond.

[ He puts a hand to her shoulder to nudge her, gentle. ]

Come, Esther. I still have some of the cookies Anya made. You can have one.

[He gestures for them to go on ahead of him, more emphatically than he would normally. It feels a little absurd, that he has to be so careful not to glare at this girl. She's what, eight? Nine? No - she says she is. But it's not so difficult to act like a little girl, is it, no - not when there are people ready to run to the rescue.

He's disgusted, but willing to wait. If she gutted him at - Christ, how is he supposed to sort out how old she is? - as a child, maybe she's more restrained, now. He can wait it out.

He's certainly not concerned for Dent's safety.]

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Sixth little lie ♰ 'Cause the devil works quick, you know it don't take long

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