Wash just blinks and stares back at him when he points the gun in his direction. He feels a little naked without the full armour, but he's got better at hiding his reactions without it over the last few years. He'd always been good at surviving.
Felix. That's this one's name, isn't it? The mouthy one who'd made them the offer.
With the helmet, it was impossible to gauge Felix's expression of course and unfortunately, his body language was equally hard to read. So far, the man had proven himself to be mercurial and absolutely ruthless. He and his partner had vented most of the prisoners of the Tartarus without so much as blinking an eye.
So Wash was totally within his rights to be wary around the merc. Felix's helmet tilted ever so slightly and looked a lot like a cat eying a particularly juicy mouse. "You're not planning on hunting him down and skinning him alive for all the terrible things he did to you and your friends back in Project Freelancer, are you? Cause, while I can appreciate the need for revenge, Locus seems to think we need him." Locus being the operative word. Not Felix so it would seem.
Wash just looks back. He really wishes he had his helmet, but he isn't about the back down on this. Survival at any cost. That's how he lives now. In the end, everyone here is just a means to an end. The Counsellor is in the way.
"No, I was planning to sit down and have a calm rational discussion with him," he says dryly. "And they weren't my friends." Just people he'd worked with once upon a time.
"Well, hell, that's boring as hell. I would have even lent you a knife and everything." The raving lunatic even sounded regretful but at least he finally let the gun drop to his side rather than pointing it directly at Washington.
"Not your friends, huh? I'm pretty sure I hear the souls of Agent New York and North Dakota crying out a little from the afterlife being so callously downgraded. Usually, people try and remember the dead more fondly. And here the Counselor was telling us what fast friends you guys were." Felix was an absolute asshole. "I guess it's probably good they're dead so you don't have to break their heart with that little bit of truth, huh?"
"Of course you would," Wash replies, making a mental note that he never wants this guy near him with a knife.
Of course the Counsellor told him that shit. It seems to be Aiden Price's purpose in life to fuck him over. But that's fine. Apart from the clenching of his jaw, there's not much outward sign of his feelings about that. At least partly because he's not sure what they are anymore. The outright rage has burnt lower over the past couple of years, turned into a spiteful little ball in the pit of his stomach that devours emotions and spits out ice. North and York are long dead.
He inclines his head, looking at Felix. "Did he tell you that they betrayed me? That I blew up their corpses without hesitation. That I shot North's sister in the head for turning on me? Friends are liabilities."
"Whelp, too late now, offer is off the table." That was probably in Washington's best interest. Especially considering Felix had been there cleaning the knife he'd pulled out of the pilot's back when he was frog-marched onto the bridge by a pair of space pirates the day before.
Felix had been needling Wash, poking at his defenses and testing out weak spots with his words. And the other man had done a fairly decent job of masking his anger except for the traitorous bunching of jaw muscles when he clenched his jaw.
"That's not how he phrased it, no. But it is interesting you would immediately jump to betrayal and raining down retribution on people. You sure you're not planning on gutting Price? You don't really strike me as the live and let live type, Agent Washington." The merc deliberately used his former title just to dig at Wash a little bit more.
"Price is good at phrasing things to dig into your head," he says. He's seen it in action, and it's the only reason Price has survived this long on a prison ship. He knows which buttons to press and how to seem reasonable. "I've waited a long time. What's a bit longer?" He'll get him eventually. And then he'll take his time.
"It's almost like you're saying he's just trying to blow smoke up our asses. Which, I mean, if you can't trust the word of a convicted asshole implicated in the biggest military scandal of the century, who can you trust?" Felix was laying the sarcasm on a bit thick now. But considering the man had been advocating for Price's death, it wasn't too surprising he wasn't exactly a fan.
Locus had overridden him on Price, just as he had with Washington. Because Felix didn't trust the Freelancer any farther than he could toss him with one pinkie. "When you decide to gut him like a fish, hit me up and maybe I'll even be a pal and let you borrow one of my knives." Jesus, was this dude serious or was it just some demented fucking act? "Locus will probably be pissed off but really, how many Feeelancers do we really need. And it seems to me, you have way more valuable intel about the Sim Troopers than Price does. Weren't you buddy-buddies with them? Well, buddy-buddies in that they too abandoned you and man you must have a super winning personality, don't you?"
Wash shrugs, giving Felix a flat look before he snorts softly and looks away. At least he's not entirely stupid. "Just a warning. Your funeral if you don't want to listen." If they were going to ignore him, that was fine. He didn't care. He didn't care about much.
He definitely isn't planning to trust these men who came with their ultimatums. He just isn't planning to die any time soon either. It's a thought that jolts him a little. He remembers how ready he had been to die, how he'd wanted it when he faced the Meta and stood with Alpha. But now? No, he isn't planning to die.
Sim troopers. His lips press tight together for a moment. "They were a means to an end. And next time I see them, I'll probably kill them." Just another set of people who'd betrayed him, another set who he couldn't trust, who he'd never been important enough to. "That's rich coming from you."
"While I'm touched by your concern, I know better than to accept what Price has to say at face value. He's going to string us along as long as he can because after that, we don't really have much use for him. A less trusting man would think that means he's expendable or is liable to find themselves in an airlock." This fucking guy. It was both a mocking taunt and a reminder of just how tenuous Washington's position was all at the same time.
Locus would have told him to shut up by now but his keeper wasn't there to muzzle him so the merc let his mouth run unchecked.
"Uh there is no 'probably' in this equation, Agent Washington. Your job is to kill them and Carolina if it comes to that. The Simulation Troopers are becoming a pain in our ass and there will be no quarter offered. Is that going to be a problem for you?" The voice that filtered through the speakers of Felix's helmet was silky but as dangerous as the naked edge of a blade.
"As long as you know that," Wash says flatly. Appearing unconcerned about his own future isn't an act. He's spent too much time over the last few years not expecting to have one. He hadn't expected to be getting out of prison so this is already a step up.
God, his standards are rock bottom aren't they?
He tenses a little when Felix mentioned Carolina. He'd assumed that she was dead, at least until this had happened. But after that flicker of doubt, his stance hardens, jaw clenching. He hasn't seen her in years. She's dead to him already. She'd survived and had never even tried to find him. "Not a problem," he says. "I'll look forward to it."
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lightofdawn) wrote2016-12-10 10:34 pm
Re: D: Equally late, sorry.
Felix. That's this one's name, isn't it? The mouthy one who'd made them the offer.
He shrugs. "Hunting down Price."
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So Wash was totally within his rights to be wary around the merc. Felix's helmet tilted ever so slightly and looked a lot like a cat eying a particularly juicy mouse. "You're not planning on hunting him down and skinning him alive for all the terrible things he did to you and your friends back in Project Freelancer, are you? Cause, while I can appreciate the need for revenge, Locus seems to think we need him." Locus being the operative word. Not Felix so it would seem.
no subject
"No, I was planning to sit down and have a calm rational discussion with him," he says dryly. "And they weren't my friends." Just people he'd worked with once upon a time.
no subject
"Not your friends, huh? I'm pretty sure I hear the souls of Agent New York and North Dakota crying out a little from the afterlife being so callously downgraded. Usually, people try and remember the dead more fondly. And here the Counselor was telling us what fast friends you guys were." Felix was an absolute asshole. "I guess it's probably good they're dead so you don't have to break their heart with that little bit of truth, huh?"
no subject
Of course the Counsellor told him that shit. It seems to be Aiden Price's purpose in life to fuck him over. But that's fine. Apart from the clenching of his jaw, there's not much outward sign of his feelings about that. At least partly because he's not sure what they are anymore. The outright rage has burnt lower over the past couple of years, turned into a spiteful little ball in the pit of his stomach that devours emotions and spits out ice. North and York are long dead.
He inclines his head, looking at Felix. "Did he tell you that they betrayed me? That I blew up their corpses without hesitation. That I shot North's sister in the head for turning on me? Friends are liabilities."
no subject
Felix had been needling Wash, poking at his defenses and testing out weak spots with his words. And the other man had done a fairly decent job of masking his anger except for the traitorous bunching of jaw muscles when he clenched his jaw.
"That's not how he phrased it, no. But it is interesting you would immediately jump to betrayal and raining down retribution on people. You sure you're not planning on gutting Price? You don't really strike me as the live and let live type, Agent Washington." The merc deliberately used his former title just to dig at Wash a little bit more.
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Locus had overridden him on Price, just as he had with Washington. Because Felix didn't trust the Freelancer any farther than he could toss him with one pinkie. "When you decide to gut him like a fish, hit me up and maybe I'll even be a pal and let you borrow one of my knives." Jesus, was this dude serious or was it just some demented fucking act? "Locus will probably be pissed off but really, how many Feeelancers do we really need. And it seems to me, you have way more valuable intel about the Sim Troopers than Price does. Weren't you buddy-buddies with them? Well, buddy-buddies in that they too abandoned you and man you must have a super winning personality, don't you?"
no subject
He definitely isn't planning to trust these men who came with their ultimatums. He just isn't planning to die any time soon either. It's a thought that jolts him a little. He remembers how ready he had been to die, how he'd wanted it when he faced the Meta and stood with Alpha. But now? No, he isn't planning to die.
Sim troopers. His lips press tight together for a moment. "They were a means to an end. And next time I see them, I'll probably kill them." Just another set of people who'd betrayed him, another set who he couldn't trust, who he'd never been important enough to. "That's rich coming from you."
no subject
Locus would have told him to shut up by now but his keeper wasn't there to muzzle him so the merc let his mouth run unchecked.
"Uh there is no 'probably' in this equation, Agent Washington. Your job is to kill them and Carolina if it comes to that. The Simulation Troopers are becoming a pain in our ass and there will be no quarter offered. Is that going to be a problem for you?" The voice that filtered through the speakers of Felix's helmet was silky but as dangerous as the naked edge of a blade.
no subject
God, his standards are rock bottom aren't they?
He tenses a little when Felix mentioned Carolina. He'd assumed that she was dead, at least until this had happened. But after that flicker of doubt, his stance hardens, jaw clenching. He hasn't seen her in years. She's dead to him already. She'd survived and had never even tried to find him. "Not a problem," he says. "I'll look forward to it."