mismanagement | IC Contact Post [Hadriel]

[Hey, score one on guessing. Also wow, not surprised that Maketh's methods would be considered too far.]

How many people have you actually dealt with who've committed a murder here? I know there was one just recently.

[Although he's more interested--in terms of this particular subject, not in general--in the one Mello had mentioned them ignoring. It seemed Mello thought they did it on purpose, but Lance wants to be sure of if they were even aware of it.]

Two.

[Maketh exhales slowly.]

I'm aware of the recent ones as well. Will and Sharon. We haven't been able to determine the culprits yet. I take responsibility for the failure.

[Hm, that's one more than he knows about.]

Who were they?

[As far as Will and Sharon go, he's pretty sure Sharon knows who killed her and isn't telling so it's not like that can be held against Maketh, and Lance doesn't know anything about the situation with Will. They haven't spoken in some time.]

Mello and Bianca. Mello killed Sharon and Bianca took offense to that.

[Maketh thins her mouth into a tight line. That was a mess all around and it hadn't ended cleanly.]

That girl has not fared well here. At any rate, we were concerned with preventing further retaliation.

[Hm. Mello seemed to be under the impression Bianca had gotten away with things without penalty, so Lance wants to make sure--]

And they both just agreed to community service?

[Lance didn't really know Bianca, but he did have the impression she wasn't exactly the type. And Mello definitely isn't, although Lance understands why he agreed in this instance.]

To my great surprise, yes.

[Maketh grimaces.]

We had them watched, of course. I liked Bianca, but I wasn't foolish enough to trust her. There were no further incidents with those two.

[Interesting. Lance will just file that away mentally for now, moving onto the logical next question and a more pressing concern.]

What happens if someone doesn't agree? The Guard doesn't have any real authority to enforce such sentences.

[It's neutral, as a statement of fact instead of a particular point. He'll get into that issue more depending on how Maketh responds.]

[Ah. That's the real question he's pushing at, isn't it? Maketh just shrugs. She waves for another drink. A shot of whiskey this time.]

It hasn't come to that.

[Not yet. She downs the shot without a word.]

[That is not at all a satisfactory answer, and he doesn't like the dismissiveness of it either. But he considers for a moment how to answer, taking a sip of his own drink again before responding lightly.]

It's a precarious position to be in. It's not as though letting murderers run around to do whatever they want is a good option, but you also really can't enforce laws that don't exist even if you did have the authority to do so.

[So a conundrum. And general 'you' in this instance.]

Your grasp of the obvious astounds me, Doctor Sweets.

[Maketh is well aware of the situation and resents the implication that she's somehow not.]

[He really wants to tell her that her grasp of subtlety is not quite as astounding, but refrains. Instead--]

Sometimes the obvious needs restating.

[He didn't really get the answers he wanted on that last subject, but the lack of them is an answer in itself and he decides to move on; he's discussed what he considered most important, so if the next subject goes poorly he isn't losing anything.]

I saw that you met Dr. Brennan.

Your colleague. Yes.

[She eyes him suspiciously. This conversation is veering off in directions she's having trouble predicting and thus Maketh dislikes it.]

What of it?

I found it interesting. You seemed to get along well enough.

[At least for the most part, until the end of the conversation.]

I appreciated her logic. It was an enlightening conversation.

[She pauses.]

Why do you care?

She's incredibly intelligent.

[But she also has a strong sense of morality, and so things balance out. The last question earns a raised eyebrow, though.]

I care because she's one of my closest friends.

[He stares at Maketh intently as he says it, underlying meaning clear; he doesn't trust Maketh in the slightest, and so he cares because he's looking out for Brennan. She's not the best at social interaction, and he's heard more than enough about Maketh's world and her way of handling things to be concerned about her trying to use Brennan in some way.]

[Unlike you, Maketh almost snaps. It's not true, though. She doesn't like admitting it, but Sweets has some intelligence of his own. He reads people. Doctor Brennan's intelligence is easier to deal with.]

What exactly is it you think I'm going to do, hmm?

Nothing.

[It isn't an answer as much as a warning, tone certain and stare just as focused; he's not good at the whole intimidation thing, vastly preferring to play good cop when working with Booth, but Booth isn't here. Brennan and Zack are, and as much as they can take care of themselves--anyone who might try to hurt Brennan especially will find that out the hard way--Lance is the only one of them with much talent for dealing with other people. That means it's his job to protect them as much as he can in Booth's place, and keeping them out of being potentially used as pawns should it be convenient is one of the ways he's going to do so.]

[And yet he deliberately brought up the topic. He's going to make a point or is already attempting to. Maketh eyes Sweets up and down.

It occurs to her then that the Doctor is trying to threaten her.

Oh. That's utterly pathetic.

Maketh laughs quietly.]

Have a drink, Doctor Sweets.

[She orders another shot, laughing under her breath.]

[That... Didn't work at all.]

I already have a drink.

[It isn't sullen in the slightest; he is completely unaffected by not being taken seriously. Completely.]

[Maketh just shakes her head at him.]

You're not very good at this part, Sweets. You ought to be better at threats.

I rarely have need to practice.

[That is so not his job; he's supposed to be the sympathetic one, so when Booth scares a suspect they end up telling Lance their stupid, whiny murderer story and implicate themselves, and he and Booth get drinks and close the case.]

[Maketh just gives him a look. Excuses.]

You ought to, considering your line of work.

[And where they currently find themselves.]

I would consider a threat from Doctor Brennan, if she offered it. She seems clever enough to come up with something lasting. You--

[She tips her head to the side.]

You would use the law against me, in your world. But that has no meaning here and I have seen no evidence that you have the stomach for truly effective measures.

I don't think making so many assumptions is all that wise.

[Although she's not... Entirely incorrect, especially on those whole 'truly effective' and 'lasting' comments, he also wasn't bluffing. It would be meeting an immediate threat with an immediate response, though, nothing before or after.]

Yes, because vague allusions are so helpful.

[She drinks her shot without flinching.]

For instance, had you threatened to have someone shoot me in a nonlethal capacity - Mello, perhaps? - I would have considered it seriously. I doubt you'd have the stomach to kneecap me or shatter the bones in my hands, though he'd probably enjoy it.

So you'd believe I wouldn't have the stomach for it, but I'd send someone else to do it?

[That makes no sense to him; he gets the idea conceptually just fine, and it certainly is the case for some people, but--]

Do you really think squeamishness would be the problem, instead of it being a moral issue?

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