Thread: Hero Business [Defenders -- Sigr & Virginia]

She relinquished the flask easily, something that wasn't really usual. It wasn't like she was going to not give him some now that she'd offered it, so really it was the offer that had been unusual, not the actual sharing. That's on you, she informed him, like it was a personal failing not to have bottles of cheap whiskey and vodka stashed around his office. Jessica refrained from a comment on the fact she could hear his reaction to bottom shelf liquor, but refrained from it because there were more important things to attend to. She'd give him shit for it later, there'd be time. Whatever calm was starting to come from having someone she knew and trusted around to talk to was lost in an instant when he asked the question. Yes I'm sure, she snapped. Malcolm was near as much a soft spot as Trish, and the idea that people could get hurt just because they were around her... well, it hurt. Jessica didn't like hurt. Didn't deal well with hurt that wasn't physical. Are you trying to tell me to be suspicious of people? That was all she was. And he was using a line she'd have used with clients, though he'd delivered it with a lot more gentleness than Jessica probably would have. There was the grating sound of metal shifting, as the flask crumpled inwards a little bit under the force of her grip before she unscrewed it and took a swig to force a calm that she didn't really feel like she could have right now. Look, it's a real long story but he didn't get into drugs of his own free will in the first place. Someone got him hooked to... to get at me. I'll explain later. No she wouldn't. Not unless he asked specifically. She lifted the flask again, tilting it back for just long enough it was a little bit weird, and then screwed the lid back on and tucked it away in a pocket. I know what happened. What I don't know is why. I'll figure that out, I just need you to keep him from going to jail. And keep me from going to jail when I find out the who and why. It was supposed to be a funny, her tone said it was a joke, but it wasn't really. Bones were going to break, and she would find it satisfying. That moment of vengeful fantasy was cut into by the memory of vertebrae snapping under her hands, the heavy thud of a limp body onto concrete. She didn't regret that, but it still weighed on her. Jessica wasn't sure if it was because she'd done it or because it had taken her so long to get to it. Her fingers curled around the flask in her pocket again, and then Jessica tore herself away from those thoughts and let out a tiny grunt. Hope the police like you better than they like me. They weren't her fans, to put it lightly. Probably had decent reason, but it didn't mean that annoyed her less. They seriously needed to get their shit together. Don't do that slow pretending you don't know what's going on walk, I don't have time for it. I'll tuck you under my arm if I gotta. That was actually a joke. She held the door open for him - sort of. What happened was more her shoving her foot in the way so the door didn't close and giving Matt an almost aggressively pointed stare that he wouldn't actually be able to see. Her breathing and heart had evened out a little since she'd gotten there, betraying the fact that having Matt on her side was calming her a little bit. She was still stressed and angry. Angry was easier than being worried, after all. Came more naturally to Jessica at this point. A lot of feelings flowed into anger, really. Exhaustion, hunger, pain, worry, fear, hangover. Yeah, she was pretty sure that hangovers counted as an emotional state at this point, she was hung over more often than she was happy. The moment he was out the door too she was heading for the street, steps quick and focused. She wouldn't let Malcolm know she'd been in such a rush when they actually got there, but if Matt said anything she wouldn't really mind punching him. He might be blind but he also wore a real dumb armored costume, and that evened it out in her mind. Plus she was equal opportunity. People got what they gave, whether in violence or in words. Sometimes people who used words got violence in return, but that was how life worked. Mouth off to the wrong person and your mouth was gonna get all messed up. As far as she was concerned, no matter what someone wanted, she was the wrong person. For the job, for friendship, for romance, didn't matter. If what you wanted wasn't a total destruction of your life or someone to break down a door, Jessica was the wrong person. Other people were just too stupid to realize it or didn't listen when she tried to tell them.