impure_tale

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147

It didn't work last time either, you know.

[Private to Iago]

Iago, my treasure. It would seem that we need to have a word, and I would prefer to do this in private.

(ooc: It didn't occur to me until now that there might be an issue with the Marquis being purposefully publicly blunt as per usual. Please someone IM me if that is the case. If not, he's likely not going to respond to any tags because Arthas is going to break his journal and incapacitate him in a most grisly fashion. :|)

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[This is the sound of a lock being forced. Crack.]

[Immediately Renate begins to bark loudly, so even if the Marquis hadn't heard the lock (which he did), her sudden alertness is enough to have him on his guard. The Marquis sets his quill pen down and rises from his desk, guardedly making his way toward the front room where (stupid idea on his part), his weapon also happens to be.]

[The door opens so hard it bounces back off the wall, but by that time Arthas is already out of the way and swinging a chair leg at the Marquis' head.]

[The Marquis is only quick enough to throw up an arm to block the attack, and hearing an audible snap he collapses as his dog leaps at his attacker, snarling. He is stunned, but immediately scrambling for where he knows his gun to be.]

[The makeshift club is swung like a baseball bat at the dog's head - connect or miss, he moves immediately to plant his foot hard on the Marquis' back.]

[The Marquis hears a sudden pained squeak from his pet that is abruptly cut off as she hits the ground some feet away from him unmoving, and he hasn't time to react before he feels a booted foot in the small of his back. He's had moments now for the pain in his right arm to register, and his voice is labored but a testament to his threshold for pain that it does not rise in hysteria. In fact what he growls is almost mocking.]

D...Do take your time, cherub.

Edited 2010-11-04 22:06 (UTC)

[There's no sign that Arthas even heard him - he shifts his weight to pin the man and grabs a handful of his hair to pull his head back and tries to stick a balled-up sock in his mouth when he opens it to fucking talk.]

[He tries to cry out around it but hasn't much room to struggle.]

[Tape goes over the sock, and he crouches down and pulls a furniture screw, filed into a short, serrated blade. Pulls the skin taut on the back of the Marquis' neck, calmly starts to saw between the third and fourth vertebrae.]

[The Marquis is uncertain what he is doing until he feels the pinch of metal on the back of his neck, and his body goes tense; his eyes widen as he begins to object, to call out, voice all but drowned by the crude gag in his mouth. He screams, until white hot pain and the firing of lights behind his eyes sends him out of consciousness]

[The Marquis lies prone and gagged on the floor, though he doesn't appear to be bound in any other place. His right arm lies at an ill angle, and there is blood on the floor, coming from a wound in his back. Renate is dead on the floor close by.]

[Rather than reply to the Marquis, Iago, bored, simply headed down the hallway, whistling softly to himself. However, when he opened the door to the Marquis room, the sight that met his eyes actually broke through the calm exterior he typically had. He mentally balked at the sight, seeing Renate first and then the Marquis. Thinking him dead as well, Iago knelt down, undoing the gag and putting his hand against his cheek.]

[His cheek is warm, and he comes out of whatever glazed-over trance he was in and gasps awake] Nnoo --

[Iago jerked back a bit, as he hadn't been expecting the Marquis to answer. Thinking it must be some trick, he eased a bit closer and swallowed hard.]

No...what?

Iago? [His vision seems to become clear then. He twitches, tries to swallow.] I-I can't feel anything... I can't move.

[As the Marquis's coherency seemed to be returning, Iago frowned.]

What happened?

An Inmate. Armored.

[He shuts his eyes a moment. He feels and can move nothing but there's still errant pain signals in his head that are bouncing around with nowhere to go. This must be what it feels like to be beheaded. ...That thought scares him. Has he been? Where is his body? He tries to move his head, to look down, and can glance, at least, that he's still attached to everything. But he can't really move, save his eyes and mouth.]

Arthas. [He practically gasps the word, but his diction quickens; clearly he's panicking.] There was talk of him and others, regarding a riot -- Iago swear to me you're not involved!

[If the situation wasn't so dire, Iago would have been offended. Instead, he just shook his head and sat on his knees beside the Marquis. He felt more than a little useless and reached for his communicator.]

Don't degrade me like that. A riot is beneath me. [He paused, as if asking for permission.] I'm going to contact the infirmary.

No! [His reaction is sudden, and he's still again, tense, trying to will his limbs to do anything. A wince.] Check Renate.

[Iago jerked again and dropped the communicator, looking confused. He glanced to the dead canine and he shook his head.] I don't know. [Ever the liar.]

Iago I can't look. [Catching his breath.] But before the last blow I know my arm was broken. How does it look?

Don't worry about it. Just...let me get you some help. [He started to stand up carefully.]

[More forcefully, like he's made up his mind.]

No.

[He's still trying to look around with his eyes but he can't see what he's searching for. He doesn't have enough reach.]

My pistol. It should be on the mantle. [He wets his lips and shuts his eyes.] I need you to use it.

[Whoa. Iago froze where he was, his fingers trembling.]

Why?

W-what he's done.

[His jaw trembles.]

I cannot tell. Or how long it will take to heal. W..whether it can be. Whether it will kill me.

[He opens his eyes.]

I need you to finish it.

[He's trying to swallow and is very nearly choking on his own saliva.]

I ... I cannot protect you like this. I cannot be this way.

[His eyes are wet with tears]

Please help me.

[Iago wandered over to the mantle and picked up the gun. It felt a lot heavier than it should and he held it much too tightly as he listened. The Marquis presented a good point. And Iago wasn't going to deny him that. Clenching his jaw, he turned, aiming the way that had become so familiar in Masterworld.]

As you wish.

[He hesitated only a moment.]

Come back, Marquis. [It was almost a prayer. He squeezed the trigger.]

[West had heard the faint clatter from the Marquis's room, but hadn't thought anything of it, as he was used to the man occasionally having destructive impulses. When the gun went off, however, he lowered the book he was reading and bolted out the room. A broken door and Iago standing there with a gun-- well, that didn't look good. However, West knew the other man well enough-- not to mention his reputation-- to know that this couldn't have been as simple as it appeared. The force that it would've taken to break in the Marquis's door... It would've taken more than one try for Iago to pull that off, and thus made more noise. He looked down at the Marquis, then the dog, then brought his eyes over to Iago.]

What happened?

[Iago turned to face West and was actually quite unsurprised to see him there. The man was in a faint daze after what happened and so, instead of answering at first, he turned and placed the gun back on the mantle, his bloodstained hands making red marks across it.]

I shot him. [Pause.]

He asked me to.

[West looked at the Marquis again as though to confirm, then nodded.] I don't doubt that. [He looked at Iago again.] The question is 'why'? [He nodded to the door.] You weren't the one who did that.

[Numb, Iago settled into a chair that wasn't broken and leaned back in it, staring at the blood on his hands. He was slowly coming back to himself.]

He said he was attacked by Arthas. He couldn't move.

[West started after Iago, then hesitated. There was a twisting knot in his stomach, telling him not to leave the Marquis like this. He shrugged off his jacket, then walked over to the warden and laid it over him, making sure to cover his face. It was only respectful, he figured, although he wasn't certain the Marquis would appreciate having a jacket over his head when he woke up. Ah well. With that done, he walked towards Iago and stood across from him.]

Arthas. [There was no shortage of contempt in his voice.] Is that all you know?

Yes. We didn't exactly have an insightful conversation before he asked me to shoot him, Major. [He was frustrated, yes, but also very shaken by what had happened. He had never seen the older man so vulnerable.]

I might as well walk myself down to zero. They're going to think I did it.

[West snorted.] They probably will. But that's no reason to validate them. [He moved to the edge of the bed and sat down.] I'll vouch for you. As will the Maquis, once he's... restored.

[He looked over to the other man and then down to the dog. He loved that dog....]

What am I supposed to do, then? I'll take him to the infirmary...but I don't want to answer their questions.

We'll wait here. In shifts, if necessary. It can't be more than twenty-four hours. [He paused, looking at his communicator.] Should we warn them about Arthas? [He said that musingly, not entirely certain if it was necessary. It could draw unnecessary attention to Iago, and if they wanted to avoid questions...]

Edited 2010-11-05 02:47 (UTC)

[Iago shook his head.] No. Why would we do that? [If Arthas wanted to roam around, killing people, then what did it matter to him? There wasn't anyone else he really cared that much about. And those he did care about had good sense to be careful. But...on that note...]

Where's Billy?

To see to it that he's at least dealt with. Then again, considering the wardens' general incompetence... [And there was the unspoken desire for revenge. West was rather territorial of his loved ones, and although he and the Marquis had grown estranged, he still felt some lingering loyalty towards the older man.]

Shit. [To be honest, he hadn't thought of Billy as a target initially, but now that Iago mentioned him, West couldn't shake the thought. He stood up and paced to the other end of the room, recording a message for Billy. Once that was finished, he turned back to Iago.] He'll be safe.

[Iago understood being territorial of those he felt for, and his feelings bordered on obsessive. He linked his bloodstained hands together and leaned forward, staring at the fallen form of his warden while he waited for West to finish.]

Good. So now...we wait.

[He nodded, then let a few minutes pass in silence before speaking up again.] You can go wash up, if you must. I'll stand by with the-- with him.

[Iago was normally a very clean person, but blood didn't bother him as much as anything else. Now that West brought it up, however, he looked down at himself and sighed.]

Alright. Thank you, Major. [He stood up, moving around the body as best he could and went to do just that.]

What didn't work last time? What the hell are you talking about?

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voice

[cannot answer, as the Marquis' journal has been snapped in half]