35

[gotgreenmagic]

I'm kinda wondering at this point if the Warden of whoever did it knows who did it and just doesn't wanna admit they didn't notice their Inmate building a doomsday device.

[Private to Mozenrath]

Hey, sunshine. Don't suppose you have any above-decks access right now?

Comments

[subtlescience]

That would be interesting, wouldn't it?

[gotgreenmagic.livejournal.com]

Not sure that's the word I'd use.

[pleasesmirk.livejournal.com]

Wouldn't surprise me, you know.

It equally wouldn't surprise me if the particular criminal responsible hadn't killed their warden in the process and avoided immediate consequences like that.

[subtlescience]

Far more interesting is the question of how many inmates might have provided the parts for a doomsday device, and have said nothing of the recipient to their own wardens.

[gotgreenmagic.livejournal.com]

What'd be in it for them? 'Oh, sorry, I gave Mass Murderer #2846 the 'on' switch that melted a few dozen people when pushed'.

[Private]

[mightymorbid]

I should.

[subtlescience]

My curiosity is piqued. What sort of reward would tempt such information? A step closer to rehabilitation is surely of no consequence to you lot. Something more material, then, I imagine?

[Private]

[gotgreenmagic.livejournal.com]

Don't suppose you could share? I need a change of scenery like you wouldn't believe. And I don't want to have to ask Kirk.

[gotgreenmagic.livejournal.com]

Gee, Severus, since I don't make a habit of supplying mad scientists with equipment recently I couldn't begin to tell you.

[subtlescience]

Pity.

[gotgreenmagic.livejournal.com]

Given your opinion on criminal insanity, Findthee, you wouldn't be surprised if the culprit had just gone ahead and killed themselves in the process.

[pleasesmirk.livejournal.com]

To be honest, I wouldn't be. Maybe only by accident, or by necessity of having to set it off, but it wouldn't surprise me.

Criminals never surprise me because I don't let them, not because they're predictable.

[Private]

[mightymorbid]

Sure. We'll see when we get up there whether or not I can get into the CES, but I'm pretty sure I can.

[Private]

[gotgreenmagic.livejournal.com]

Thanks. Meet you on deck in half an hour?

[Private]

[mightymorbid]

Half an hour.

[Spam]

[gotgreenmagic.livejournal.com]

So she was adjusting, a little bit, maybe. More like she was back in the swing of talking to people she didn't know all that well - Snape, Findthee, Ruby to an extent. She was never particularly sincere with them anyway, so pretending to be back to normal was easy.

But some others? Mozenrath, McCoy, Kirk...they were trickier to lie to. Or easier to be honest with. It was hard to tell.

She stood on the deck and crossed her arms tightly, waiting for Mozenrath to show.

[Spam]

[mightymorbid]

It didn't take long. Scotty had afforded him a week of privileges in the CES before they would have to meet and discuss things. Provided his Warden hadn't gotten fickle on him, things should have been fine, but then Scotty was so busy investigating the explosion in the kitchen that he was almost certain he hadn't had time to think about being an ass. All of this, and yet Mozenrath had only gone up to the CES one other time, in order to ascertain that what he had told Akio was true.

There had been time for just a quick once over, and while he wasn't the most thrilled about taking scenic walks, he was -- whether he liked admitting it or not -- worried about Shego. Access to the CES meant possibly getting her far away enough from everybody else that she'd actually talk.

He saw her right away as he came up. "I'm here."

[Spam]

[gotgreenmagic.livejournal.com]

Shego lifted one hand. "Hey." Practically at the entrance to the above-deck areas as she was, she stepped aside to let him get past her. "How's it going?"

[Spam]

[mightymorbid]

"I'm fine." This wasn't necessarily how it was supposed to go. But then he wasn't the most versed in this sort of thing, nor did he want to be, and THAT wasn't what was going on here anyway.

[Spam]

[gotgreenmagic.livejournal.com]

She nodded. "Good. Great. So what did you have to do for CES access, anyways?"

[Spam]

[mightymorbid]

"Everything I was doing before my new Warden showed up." He smirked.

[Spam]

[gotgreenmagic.livejournal.com]

It occurred to her that everything he'd been doing before Scotty had shown up was pretty much everything a normal person would do for the absolute minimal level of preserving their own health and wellbeing, but she didn't feel like starting a fight. Not with him, anyway. So she just didn't comment.

The CES was dark and chill under a night sky, but not pitch-black; the sky was clear and the stars were brilliant, a half-full moon glowing overhead. As illusions went it was pretty darn convincing, and it felt satisfactorily like being somewhere else.

"Not bad," she said quietly.

[Spam]

[mightymorbid]

It would have been a short argument. He knew exactly what it was he'd done. It'd come at an irritating cost, certainly, but it still established the sort of relationship they were meant to have -- one where his good behavior was contingent on his Warden going out of his way to make certain he didn't anger him.

He didn't even pause to take in the scenery once they got inside. "What happened, Shego?"

[Spam]

[gotgreenmagic.livejournal.com]

She glanced over her shoulder at him, then looked away.

"Nothing. Almost nothing. Nothing that...it's...it's not important."

[Spam]

[mightymorbid]

"No, Shego." He didn't get angry. He wanted to. But he also knew that at her best she could punch his lights out. "Not nothing. You've been different."