abrightboy | Voicemail (IC Contact Post) OLD

abrightboy

This is Bright. Leave a message.

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From:

cactusy

I've noticed.

[She says it with an arched eyebrow, and just the barest hint of a smile.]

From:

abrightboy

Right. And he’s not strictly honest. So. That’s that.

From:

cactusy

I think he thinks he's doing what he says he's doing. I don't think he's lying, I just think he's failing.

From:

abrightboy

Well that’s not good, either.

From:

cactusy

Yeah.

Not so different from us, though, huh.

From:

abrightboy

In what way?

From:

cactusy

[Shaw just raises an eyebrow.]

Seriously?

From:

abrightboy

Yes. You have a take; I want to hear it.

From:

cactusy

You think of people who are trying but still kind of sucking at this whole Barge life thing, and you don't think of us?

From:

abrightboy

Not really. Because he’s sucking by being dishonest with himself and we’re sucking by being too honest with everyone.

From:

cactusy

Bright, tell me you're not still stuck on thinking all your deductions are actually a hundred percent right and we're all just too scared to hear the truth.

From:

abrightboy

[He gives her an annoyed look.]

If you ever wonder, in future, why I think you think I suck at my job, consider how you never miss an opportunity to bring it up.

No, to answer your question. But that isn’t remotely the same as inviting someone your inmate almost killed to have a chat with him where you’ll be there to protect them, but you really actually are only there to protect your inmate. From questions. That aren’t even about violence.

From:

cactusy

Do you think I'm lying when I say I don't think you suck at your job, Bright?

[She pauses, waiting expectantly for an answer.]

From:

abrightboy

No. I’m asking you to consider why it appears that you think that, not accusing you of thinking that.

From:

cactusy

Okay. You wanna think back and remember what I said the last time we had this conversation?

From:

abrightboy

[He pushes off the railing.]

Nevermind.

From:

cactusy

[A muscle in her face twitches, and exasperated, she reaches out and puts a hand on his arm.]

Bright. I'm trying; try with me.

From:

abrightboy

It was a joke when I said it. And I get it, okay? Reid’s a decent guy who’s trying to do the right thing and swinging wide and hitting the best thing for just his inmate instead. I guess that has to be good enough around here. He still did more than Rogers did about his Inmate hitting me in the face.

From:

cactusy

[And here Shaw hesitates - torn between two lines of conversation, both of which she wants to follow up on. After a moment's pause, she picks one, and sounding genuinely surprised, she says:]

Are you pissed about the punch?

From:

abrightboy

No. I'm pissed that Rogers had nothing to say to me about it but had plenty to imply after my inmate hit his in the face with a pint of beer.

From:

cactusy

Plenty to imply like what?

From:

abrightboy

For one thing? That I should just trust that he would ‘handle’ what Laura did but should explain how I was dealing with what Kikimora did. How is he the boss of me the second time we ever spoke? The first time we ever spoke directly. And I don’t think he did anything about Laura. Whatever justifications she gave for walking up to someone who was minding his own business and hitting him? Maybe he bought them, I don’t know. Do you know why he even contacted me at all? I called Laura thinking she’d cooled off and maybe we could talk about what happened. She told me what Kikimora did to her - that’s how I found out - and when I asked questions about that so I knew the whole story so I could deal with Kikimora? She told him to call me off. He called me specifically to tell me to leave her alone. Like I ever did anything to her. AND HE DID IT. Someone has someone under control in that pairing, anyway.

From:

cactusy

She was pissed about being equated with Kikimora, since the damage Kikimora did was worse. Sounds like she thought you were being condescending to her, too.

From:

abrightboy

Condescending? Oh no! Maybe she should hit me again. [He takes a breath.]

Look, she hit me unprovoked. She didn’t know I signed up for healing. In fact, she lamented it. She wanted to damage me. I don’t condone Kikimora damaging her back, but she started it and then got mad about there being consequences because there are other inmates on board that tend to resort to violence and she didn’t know any of them liked me. She can consider it ‘condescension’ that I invited her to Kikimora’s very thorough lecture on the ramifications of meeting violence with violence, but the offer was sincere.

From:

cactusy

[Shaw pauses, squinting a little as she looks Malcolm over again.]

I didn't know you signed up for healing; I thought it was just a mild enough punch that it didn't really do much damage. How bad was it before you healed?