snowblindrpg | [log] IT'S A MONSTER PARTY [closed]

[She does not want to put the scissors away. Duster is dangerous and he is a murderer and he is still not sorry.

She puts the scissors away.]

He did not need to tell me. I am not stupid. I knew what he did.

You what? [Sorry, Ecks. He'll appreciate your deductive reasoning skills in a moment. Right now, John's gaze snaps to Royce, every part of him bristling. Murder. He's been helping a murderer, been worrying over him. And Solomons has to know - that argument about not being responsible for Royce's murders.

John slams a first against the wall. Well, here it is, a self-confessed murderer right in front of him and he has to figure out what to do with the man. Ecks is there - he needs to set an example for Ecks. There's a great deal of anger clouding his thoughts right now, though. He shuts down, his entire expression going blank.]

Ecks, killing him - threatening him - isn't going to do any good. Make a note: You don't threaten someone unless you mean to follow through. You don't commit murder in cold blood to avenge a murder unless you're damn sure the bastard's going to stay dead. And you had better be prepared to deal with the consequences. Because if you kill him, Solomons will come after you, then I'll have to go after Solomons, and we're going to end up with a bloodbath.

What we do is we tell the Admin what's happened, we tie him up, and we keep him away from everyone else until we can figure out what we're going to do with him.

You're not going to tie me up. [ Royce says flatly. ] I can't go anywhere. I'm not going to kill either of you, because there is no point.

Lock me in here, if you really need to. [ A beat, and his voice only wavers for a second. ] Do not tell the Admin. I don't plan on killing anybody again. It's unnecessary.

[Doctor Watson makes a good point about follow-through, but it is late for that now. If she had been sure of herself, he would no longer be arguing with them.]

Others have tried keeping prisoners. It does not last.

Did you plan on killing Doctor House?

That's why we're going to figure it out. [Watson is already pulling off his belt and another item's he's been keeping wrapped around his waist for safe-keeping, a long, thin cloth leash that looks like it might have been made for a dog or cat.]

And y'know how you don't trust me, mate? I really don't trust you, or anything about your word at the mo. I don't want to fight you, but I'm going to be tying you up, Duster. There are two of us, one of you, and a locked house. Think it through.

[He doesn't bother to address the matter of the Admin.]

Edited 2016-07-19 03:53 (UTC)

Don't touch me. [ What - is he... serious, he's going to tie him up with a leash? Really? His heartbeat thuds away in his ears, in his throat. He won't be tied up. He's not an animal.

Royce has his shiv in hand again, expression sharp. He doesn't look frightened, though. Ready, maybe. ] I'm done with House. I'd like to stop revolving my life around him, but both of you are making it incredibly difficult.

[ Royce stares at Watson, completely still. Tense. ] Call Tifa. Ask her. She'll tell you the truth.

[Ecks sees the shiv, and her own hand dips into her pocket to close around the scissors.]

You should not have killed him.

[She's...not entirely on board with this tying-him-up plan, frankly. If he is a prisoner they will have to guard him, and if they are guarding him they cannot explore, and if they cannot explore they cannot find the center of the spiral.]

Mate, you made him the center of your life here the minute you murdered him. Not really something you can walk away from.

[John gestures briefly to Ecks for emphasis. And he sees the shiv, as well.]

I'll give Tifa a call once you're tied up and not armed. Please don't make me hurt you, Duster. You're already injured.

[He takes a step forward. It's not quite within stabbing distance, but he's tensed, ready.]

This is the problem with people like you. You never listen. You never see both sides. [ Royce says, voice low. ] This was between House and I, and it was finished. We'd already agreed to move on.

And here you are, trying to arrest me. Sticking your nose where it doesn't concern you. Making it complicated.

[ Watson takes a step forward and Royce pushes himself up to stand, head spinning. He won't let himself be tied up. He won't. Calmly: ] Don't touch me. This is your final warning.

I do not think dying typically constitutes an agreement.

[It's possible House came to terms with Royce. Doctor House is weird. It's just wildly unlikely, that is all. Ecks moves in closer to join Watson, standing ready by his shoulder. Neither man looks ready to back down, and she will not let a fight happen without having her say in it.]

[John nods his head toward her.]

She's got a point.

[But even as he's saying that, the doctor moves. Like Royce, he's on the smaller side and tends to rely on speed and well-positioned hits when he needs to. He goes for the hand holding the shiv, aiming to take hold of the other man's wrist, if he can, and twist it hard.]

That wasn't --

[ But he can't talk his way out of this one. Watson moves, and Royce jolts into action. He lets out an agonized noise as his wrist twists - like he didn't have enough hand damage, Watson - but tries to use it in his favor. He shifts, twists his body forward and in, letting his free hand swing with all of his body weight right into where he approximates Watson's kidney should be.

He learned it from watching you, Ecks! He learned it from watching you! Or at least, he knows how effective it is firsthand, anyway.

If he can just get free, if he can run and lock himself somewhere and let Alfie know... that's his plan. ]

[If her shovel were the weapon to hand, maybe Royce would get it in his kidney again. It isn't, though. When Ecks moves in half on the anger of before and half on impulse, it's the scissors she brings to bear, and this time she does not aim to threaten. She reaches in to grip Royce's shirt in one hand as the other drives the point of the scissors into his jugular.

You don't threaten someone unless you mean to follow through.]

[John grunts at the blood, pain shooting through his abdomen, but he moves to get around Royce, draw his arm up behind his back and-

Ecks joins the fray. He thinks it's just to hold Royce steady, but then there's a flash of her scissors in what little light there is.]

Ecks, no!

[He releases Royce immediately and tries to shove her roughly back and away from the other man.]

[ It's not much of a fight.

The scissors flash through the air, and Royce barely even has time to register what's going on before the pain kicks in. The blade sinks in, and Royce chokes - gurgles helplessly for a few seconds before his strength goes. Watson lets go, and Royce drops to the ground, hands scrabbling to try and... and do anything.

But he can't. His limbs fail him. Fingers won't curl around the scissors in his neck. He can't think, can't do anything but reach, try to grab his tablet desperately. It's the last thing he'll do, try to open a call to the last person he had a conversation with. Whether it works or not, it doesn't matter; Royce stares up at Ecks and Watson, blood dribbling from his lips.

The light leaves his eyes not more than a few seconds later. ]

[Watson knocks her away and the scissors slip from her hand, but Ecks can see that the deed is already done. She doesn't crowd back in, but stands where she stumbled back in response to the shove and simply watches.

That was not so difficult.]

[As Ecks isn't immediately coming after them again, John drops to the ground next to Royce, pulling out his mini-torch again. She hit a major artery. It's over. But training kicks in, and he's bending down to check for breathing before carefully removing the scissors and chucking them under the bed.]

In my pack there are bandages - adhesive bandages - get them now, Ecks.

[In the meanwhile, he's ripping his jacket and sweater off. The sweater gets bunched up and John applies pressure to the fast-bleeding wound.]

Duster. Duster, talk to me. Come on, lad.

[ Nope. He's dead, ~~Jim~~ John. For extra fun, though, Royce does in fact wheeze out a noise that sounds suspiciously like a name - Gwen - before going limp completely, eyes closing. ]

He is going to die.

[But she goes to fetch them anyway, moving swiftly. When she comes back she has already opened the package on the way, and she slips in beside him with the bandages in hand as though she were a helpful bystander rather than the person responsible for Duster bleeding out on the floor.]

[She's right, and that breathless cry is going to haunt him. Gwen. He needs to find out who Gwen was. By the time Ecks returns, John is sitting back on his heels, sweater pulled away and just resting over Royce's stomach. He stares straight ahead in the darkness.]

He's dead. Ecks, he's dead. We're going to have to tell the others. You understand what this means? That you just escalated everything? Why the hell did you stab him like that. All you had to do was hold him. He was injured. He couldn't have fought us both off and we just needed to get him tied up.

I followed through.

[She sets the bandages on the bed, not wanting them to get bloodied when there is no purpose to it. She cocks her head at the corpse, considering his face for a moment as she pushes away the nagging feeling that there is more work to be done here. There is no need for that.]

We do not have to tell the others. If we tied him up we would have to tell the others and Alfie would not let him stay tied up.

Where did you put my scissors?

[Follow through. His rule. God damn it.]

Ecks, I didn't mean murder always has to be the follow through. I meant if you're going to threaten harm, then do harm. There are a hell of a lot of steps between holding scissors to someone's throat and stabbing them dead. We didn't need to kill him. And we do need to tell people what's happened. It's going to get out eventually if he comes back.

[God, he hopes Duster comes back.]

I put your scissors away. You don't need them tonight. Leave it, go back to sleep. I need to... figure out what we're going to do. We need to take his supplies to Solomons to hold onto. [There's a pause.] You shouldn't be there. I'll need you to wait for me in another building.

Oh. I had never threatened anyone before.

[Sorry, Watson, it's murder or nothing in her experience. Anyway, the harm she had threatened was death, probably.]

I will need my scissors. I do not have anything else that is sharp unless I take his knife. If you had not been here I would not tell anyone what had happened.

Murder is a last resort. Not a first resort. [Barring a few very specific exceptions.]

And you can have your bloody scissors back in the morning. You don't need them right now. [Anger, disappointment. She's heard the first from him, not the second.]

[That seems, in hindsight, like a reasonable rule...and she knows full well that what she did was not on her list of acceptable reasons for murder. She stays crouched beside him a moment longer in silence, absorbing his tone. He is more upset about this than she thought he would be.]

He killed Doctor House.

[She stands, though. Leave it until morning, go back to sleep. She might as well.]

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