No One's Born Broken

[abrightboy]

For tinstar.



Gil came and went. Dani came and went. Ainsley came and then left with their mother, who refused to even hear him out about telling the truth. He stared through the window at the motionless man in the bed for some indeterminate amount of time, his hand clutching his phone in his pocket.

Finally he let his eyes leave the figure through the window and he took his phone out of his pocket. He stared at that for a long moment, then scrolled through his contacts until one name rolled onto the screen: Raylan Givens.

He looked through the window, then looked at the name. Then he pressed it.

Comments

[tinstar]

Tim grinned unevenly. "We solve 'em together. It's all about who we get and who we're goin' after. Then whoever called dibs gets point. Like a score sheet of who got the biggest baddest dude. Pretty sure Art's got us all beat on account of his old Mob chases. You could get on the board - considerin' the kinds of people you've already helped catch."

Yes, Tim had done a little side homework the day that Malcolm walked in and talked them into a case.

[abrightboy]

Malcolm studied him for a second.

"Working at the FBI was kind of like that. Competitive like that. It can create camaraderie or destroy it. I'm glad it's working for you guys." He considered Tim further. "What do you know about who I've caught?" he asked curiously. It could have been a defensive question, but his tone didn't convey that.

[tinstar]

"None of the crimes you deal with are what anyone else would call regular. I wouldn't say you've got a tendency for Family type crimes, but you seem to get a lot of Family Adjacent ones to go with the rest of your mix of Serial Killer. Not more than one or two 'traditional' cases that I could find."

[abrightboy]

Malcolm looked at him.

"That you could find," he echoed. "So you looked." He paused. "They don't call me for traditional cases." That slanted the ratio. "When did you look? When I was here the first time?"

And what else did he find? There wasn't a lot that connected Malcolm Bright to Malcolm Whitly, but what little there was, was accessible to federal law enforcement.

[tinstar]

Tim wasn't ashamed or anything other than plain faced when he looked over at Malcolm.

"No offence to your Lieutenant Arroyo, but if you don't come with a badge, we gotta double check your authority. NYPD Adjacent is nice and all but it doesn't move a lot on paper." And despite their avoidance of paperwork, Tim wasn't getting caught with his pants down.

"Hope you don't mind," he continued as his eyes drifted back to the road. It sounded like it didn't much matter if Malcolm did mind; it was already done.

[abrightboy]

"I don't mind," Malcolm told him.

But he was sure he'd been right when he told Raylan nobody would hire him if Gil didn't. They wouldn't take recommendations. They'd do their homework like Tim.

"Find anything else interesting?"

[tinstar]

"Few things," he replied. "Nothing worth bringing up to anyone, if that's what you're worried about."

It wasn't a far jump from Whitly to Bright when you had the history laid out in newspapers but Tim figured Malcolm changed his name for a reason.

"Enough to know you're not some.. scam artist or serial liar."

[abrightboy]

Malcolm watched the countryside speed by the window.

"It's something I worry about," he admitted. "People bringing up things that were none of their business ended my FBI career." A beat passed and he confessed "Though that was probably for the best in the end."

[tinstar]

"Lot of us come from shit backgrounds. Nobody's business but your own," Tim assured in the same dry level tone he'd used so far. He glanced over sidelong.

"Fuck the FBI. Everyone hates them anyway."

[abrightboy]

"Yes, well. They hated me back, so our relationship was very equitable."

He let out a breath and looked at Tim. "So everyone in your office knows who I am."

[tinstar]

"I guess if they looked into you, yeah." No, he hadn't shared with the class. "If not.." He looked back at the road more steadily, eyebrows lifting a little and letting the sentence finish itself.

"You did good while you were down here. That's all they care about."

[abrightboy]

"Is it? That's new," he admitted.

Tim had seen him talk a killer into putting down his gun while standing between a bunch of guns; maybe that gave him points.

"Does Raylan know that you know?" he asked curiously.

[tinstar]

It had. Took balls and brains to do something like that and it was either luck or skill. Judging by Malcolm's record, it was skill. Tim could respect that.

"About your record?" Or something else? "I imagine he knows I did some digging. Hasn't asked me what I've found. I ain't told him. I haven't asked about his vacations either."

[abrightboy]

Malcolm pressed his lips together and looked out the window.

"I see."

He'd figured out exactly where Raylan had been going. Malcolm knew Raylan had concerns about working with the people in his office if they knew. He hoped he hadn't said anything that aggravated the situation. As ever, he didn't want to be a problem for Raylan. Maybe he shouldn't have come like this. He should have called. But it was much, much too late now.

[tinstar]

Tim kept driving.

"You wanna try tellin' me the truth about why you're down here, now that we're a bit more familiar with each other? For my own sake of mind," he continued. "I'd hate to deliver someone I can't trust to Harlan and Raylan's work without knowin' the reason why. Just in case."

It was bullshit, but viable bullshit.

[abrightboy]

Malcolm looked at Tim for just long enough to read his face, then directed his gaze back out the window.

"I think you know everything there is to know."

Even if Malcolm hadn't said it.

[tinstar]

Tim glanced over again before focusing on the road. If he hadn't been sure of his suspicions before, he was now. It was okay. He had his own proclivities that meant he wasn't going to judge, but the confirmation naturally brought about more questions.

Ones he wasn't going to ask. No, he hoped he'd see what he needed to when the profiler and Raylan greeted each other.

Unless Malcolm spoke up, they'd ride in silence until they saw the Harlan County sign and Tim's phone sprang to life. He glanced at Malcolm before answering it. "Gutterson. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yeah. Sure, be there in ten."

He glanced at Malcolm again. "Hope you don't mind a small detour."

[abrightboy]

Malcolm took Tim's silence as confirmation.

He looked right at him this time. "I sincerely hope you really do intend to consider what's best for Raylan when you decide what to do today," he said quietly.

When the phonecall broke the silence Malcolm looked over sharply.

"A detour? To where?"

[tinstar]

"My job? Sure, I'll take him into full account," he said with a heavy note of sarcasm as he turned them off onto a less well beaten dirt road.

"Raylan's lookin' for some backup tailing someone. Needs us to be where he can't til he can get there."

Tim glanced over. "If you think I'm out here tryin' to out people just because I know something.. I was in the army. Confidential means something. And out here in the hills, they don't take too well to surprises. So it's best they not know a lot of things." The story of the government, in Tim's mind, but now was not the place or time.

[abrightboy]

They were going to help Raylan? He couldn't help the slight increase in his heart rate or the flush that came with it.

He looked over at Tim. "You asked me about it. I don't know you well enough to guess why."

He glanced around. "I thought Raylan was after some random loser. Why does he need backup?" He paused. "How did he know you were out here?"

[tinstar]

Malcolm also sat up a little straighter, leaned forward a fraction enough for the sharp eye'd Marshal to notice.

"Is that a question or a statement? I can't tell." Welcome to dealing with Tim Gutterson, Malcolm.

"Random loser has friends and thinks he's slick. Just a good time to prove 'em wrong. He didn't. We'll be waitin' a little bit. I'd apologize about not bringing any snacks but it's a BYOS system here."

[abrightboy]

"It was a statement," Malcolm said, and left it at that.

At Tim's explanation, he answered with an absent "I don't really eat," before asking "What are we waiting for? Are we blocking their escape route?"

[tinstar]

If it was a statement, Tim didn't see any reason to dive into a response about it. Either Malcolm would get to his point or not but Tim wasn't the kind guy to come half way for no reason.

"We're gonna serve as pressure, if we're pointed out or made and follow anyone who leaves if we're not. You want me to let you out so you can ride with Raylan somewhere?"

[abrightboy]

Malcolm looked over at Tim.

"Are we going to meet up with him somewhere before it starts?"

[tinstar]

"Nope. We're a bird in the trees. Don't get excited; it's mostly for show. You'd be surprised what some subtle pressures will do."

Tim turned them down another road, paying more attention to where they were by the building around them than any GPS system.

"Just us being here will be effective."