i am a landmine, so don't you step on me

[hejhej]

Who: Lisbeth and Jesse
When: Tuesday afternoon, around 1 PM
Where: Jesse's house
Summary: Lisbeth has been planning some very nefarious things and Jesse has some very much needed resources for her to carry out these things.
Warnings: Cursing, deviousness. The usual with these two.

[Sitting in the kitchen, Lisbeth has a brochure open in front of her that she'd picked up yesterday from one of the SERO-affiliated hospitals. It was for a program where she could get her eye back. Normally she wouldn't be so bothered by her new scar, but walking around the way she was would make her look conspicuous. Picking up her cup of coffee, she looks through the brochure again. They said they could make one from scratch - it was an organic eye, however. She would be part bionic. But they could match it with her other eye. Lisbeth wasn't so sure how she felt about technically being part machine.

But she needs money for this operation and her bigger plan. With all her money back in Sweden and not even on the same plane as Siren's Port, she's been toying with the idea of asking Jesse.]

Comments

[hostage]

[Jesse's been asleep all morning. He's only just awoken when he comes shuffling into the kitchen, rubbing at his bleary eyes with his palms. He doesn't notice the brochure yet, too focused on making his way to the fridge for some orange juice. Which he drinks straight from the carton as he leans back against the counter.]

Morning.

[hejhej]

[She looks up briefly when he enters the kitchen, but doesn't initiate conversation. It's not really her thing. But when he greets her, she replies.]

Morning.

[She's also not one to point out proper times of the day.]

[hostage]

[He's not feeling too chatty either. It's early for him, okay? He takes another gulp of O.J. before putting the carton back in the fridge. Then he turns around to grab his pipe and a dimebag out from one of the drawers. Time for a pick-me-up.]

[hejhej]

[She hears the drawer open and she knows exactly what he's getting. Lisbeth glances at the clock. No more than a few minutes since he'd woken up had gone by. But she says nothing about it.]

Sleep okay?

[hostage]

Yeah.

[Jesse taps a rock from the bag into his pipe and lights the stove. He leans over the flame, lets the crystal melt a little, then takes a hit.]

...What about you?

[hejhej]

[She gets up from the table, taking her cigarettes out of her back pocket. She walks over to the stove and using the same burner, she bends down. Lisbeth holds her hair back, having starting to grow it longer, so she wouldn't catch fire.

She lights her cigarette and straightens back up again. Lisbeth reaches over, placing her hand against his cheek. She brushes her thumb against it gently before pulling her hand away again.]

Fine.

[hostage]

[He smiles when she does that. He loves it when she touches him, even little touches like that one. He takes one more hit before turning the burner off and setting the pipe aside. Then he eases closer to her to rest his chin on her shoulder.]

[hejhej]

[A smile tugs at the corner of her mouth when he returns her affection. She stays standing there, eventually reaching back and putting a hand behind his neck. After a few puffs of her cigarette, she finally speaks again.]

I have a question to ask.

[hostage]

Yeah?

[hejhej]

[She turns her head slightly away, pretending to be interested in whatever invisible dirt might be under her nails.]

I need to borrow some money.

[hostage]

[Not a moment of hesitation:]

It's yours. How much you want?

[Because he loves to provide, honestly.]

[hejhej]

[She turns her head quickly back in his direction. The usual question doesn't follow - what was it for?

She quickly calculates all her costs.]

Sixty thousand.

[The surgery alone would be 25K since Newcomers weren't allowed health insurance.]

[hostage]

[He's not going to ask. He just nuzzles into her neck and sneaks a kiss in before straightening back up.]

No problem. You want me to grab it now?

[hejhej]

[She lets out a huff of laughter when he kissed her neck, but her expression becomes serious again when he asks her his question.]

No. I need to make an appointment first.

[She pulls away from him slightly to grab the brochure off the table. Lisbeth holds it out to him.]

[hostage]

[His smile fades when he takes the brochure and gets a good look at it.]

Wait... Are you sure about this?

[hejhej]

[She chews the inside of her bottom lip before nodding.]

It's important for.. what I have planned.

[hostage]

What're you planning?

[hejhej]

[She stares at him for what seems like an eternity. When she asked Mikael for money, she covered it up by saying it was for an investment opportunity. Why had she done it? Because even though Mikael was a journalist with a set of brass balls against corruption, he was still that upstanding citizen. He would have tried to persuade her from what she'd done.

But she felt like Jesse wouldn't care about being an upstanding citizen when it came to revenge.]

Retribution.

[hostage]

[He doesn't judge her. How could he possibly judge her? But there's a sinking feeling in his stomach, the same as he feels any time it's coming down to murder. As angry as he is about what happened to Lisbeth and Mary, the dread overtakes him when he considers actually picking up the gun. He has to tell himself that he wants revenge. He has to repeat it in his head like a mantra.]

Okay, yeah. How? What're you gonna do?

[hejhej]

Tracking him down, putting on airs, and then death.

[A pause.]

Poison because it doesn't leave any fingerprints or blood.

[She also planned on stealing his money, but ssh]

[hostage]

[There's a lump in his throat when she says that.]

Poison?

Like... Like ricin?

[hejhej]

[How strange he should think of that first. But she nods.]

Something like that.

[hostage]

[Wordlessly, Jesse moves across the room to where his jacket's slung over the back of a chair at the breakfast table. He pulls a carton of cigarettes out from the pocket, selects his "lucky cigarette", then breaks it in half. A glass capsule slides out onto his palm, which he then holds out to Lisbeth. It contains a white powder.

His expression is torn between hopeful and guilty. He has no idea what she'll think about him having carried an extremely deadly poison on him all this time, and he doesn't really know how to explain it.]

[hejhej]

[She watches him carefully, curiously as he fishes something out of his jacket pocket. When he turns back with a capsule in his hand, she looks down at it. Well this was helpful. However, she senses something in his movements.]

If you want your involvement to end with the money, that's okay.

[hostage]

No.

[His voice is quiet but emphatic. He gives a slight shake of his head.]

I wanna help.

[hejhej]

[When he answers her question, she reaches forward and takes the ricin. A small smirk tugs at her lips.]

We're Siren Port's reckoning.

[hostage]

[He wishes he could smile about it the way she does. Instead, he's numb.]

Yeah.

[hejhej]

[She slips the capsule into her front pocket before leaning back against the stove. Lisbeth continues smoking her cigarette, keeping her gaze on him. It's one of her wide-eyed stares, as if her expression has just glazed over. It's the same look she gives her computer when she's hacking away.

There was something there. She just couldn't figure it out.]

[hostage]

Be careful with that. You don't wanna breathe it in, you know, if it breaks.

[He returns to the counter to pack another rock into the pipe.]

[hejhej]

[She gets up from her position as soon as she sees him heading to the counter.]

There's a double feature in the Underground.

[Lisbeth deftly slips her arm through his and begins to pull him away gently.]

Let's take a shower.

[hostage]

[He glances over to her, not quite pulling away from her but not leaving the pipe, either.]

Yeah, yeah. Hold up. Lemme get one more hit.

[hejhej]

[Her shoulders tense with apprehension. She's usually stayed quiet when this happens, but she can't stand the days without sleep and the paranoia.]

Jesse.

No.

[Her voice is stern, but there's almost a pleading element to it.]

[hostage]

[He looks confused for a moment. Then there's a slow shift in his expression: incredulousness, then indignation. The next words are uttered very quietly, but the dark tone of his voice doesn't leave room for argument:]

One more hit.

[hejhej]

[Lisbeth doesn't take too kindly to dark tones and takes it as a challenge. She repeats herself one more time.]

No.

[hostage]

[This can't be Lisbeth's fault, though. She wouldn't hassle him like this over a little meth.]

You been talking to Mr. White? He been bothering you about this?

[hejhej]

I haven't spoken to him ever since he came here. What I have done, however, is make sure the house is clean and that you don't run out into the Darkness when your paranoia is peaking.

[She kept her volume level, but her tone was terse.]

[hostage]

[His voice is rising, though.]

That's bullshit. What'd he say to you, huh? He tell you to babysit me? Yo, you know, I can take care of myself. I been on my own forever.

[hejhej]

Nothing.

[She practically spits it out.]

You don't think other people are capable of genuinely caring about you.

[hostage]

What?

[That hits him like a slap to the face. He doesn't even know what to say to that. It takes him a couple seconds of reeling before he retorts:]

If it ain't him, then what's with you all of a sudden? A few weeks ago you and me were getting high together! Then Mr. White comes busting in here and beats the shit outta me and you're suddenly a hardass about it, too. Yo, I ain't stupid, you know. I can tell when people are trying to handle me.

[hejhej]

[She notices she's touched a nerve, but doesn't worry it any further because there's another thing she has to address.]

This isn't some conspiracy between me and Valt. His reasons for coming here and kicking your ass are probably completely separate from mine.

[It's getting harder to control her voice, to control herself from screaming in his face.]

[hostage]

So why're you giving me shit about one little bump?

[hejhej]

[She inhales shakily, angry that he would downplay it as such. One little bump? One little bump stretched out over weeks. Lisbeth was never one to admit being hurt, but this wasn't the same as getting into a physical fight. The words are strange and unfamiliar as they come out of her mouth.]

Because it hurts me.

[hostage]

[He exhales a short breath. His head gives a little shake. And all the outrage behind his words earlier? It's gone.]

No, come on...

[hejhej]

It hurts me that you don't sleep for days. That you're extremely paranoid. That you're never really happy until you take it.

[hostage]

It ain't the meth, okay? It's just... I got a lot going on. A lotta stuff I gotta deal with. There's - You don't know, okay? You don't even know half of it, and that's my fault, and I'm sorry. But it ain't this - [with a gesture to the crystal] - okay? It's got nothing to do with this.

[hejhej]

[She stares at him when he gives his explanation. It's reasonable and anyone could fall for it, but Lisbeth was taking it with a grain of salt. The way he got defensive about the meth.. She decides to let the subject drop.]

Okay.

[hostage]

[He isn't sure what "okay" means here. "Okay" like she gets it? "Okay" like he can take a hit? He stares back at her, uncertain, before slowly reaching for the pipe again.]

[hejhej]

[It meant she gets it, but she isn't going to stop doing what he wants. He's made it clear. Instead of stopping him, she gently runs her hand up and down his arm, which she didn't let go the entire time they spoke, and then lays her head on his shoulder.]

[hostage]

[He flicks the burner on, then turns to kiss Lisbeth - one soft, slow, sweet kiss of apology - as the crystal vaporizes over the flame. A second later, his lips are on the pipe instead.]