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Date & Time: 6/01 afternoon, right after Walt arrives
Location: Right outside of the Hold
Characters: Walter White, Stephanie Brown, Saul Goodman, Jesse Pinkman
Summary: So Stephanie has been on the lookout for this guy...
Warnings: Keysmashing

For everything that was so wrong with the situation, at least things were somewhat organized in this place. He played with the key in his hand. He wasn't sure how he felt about being forced to share his space with two people he didn't know. Maybe there was someone he could talk to about possibly getting his own place.

...But he didn't have the type of sway he had back in Albuquerque. All of his money that he worked so hard for, sacrificed so much for, was sitting in a storage area back home, a place that was literally, from what he understood, worlds away at this point. All he had were the marques in his pocket. He chose the physical money, not the digital card. He was far too used to having actual money with him. His money at home would collect dust until he found a way back.

He looks around for the promised "guide" that would wait for him once he was done at the banking counter.

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She'd started the day as Batgirl, because it's easier to wait on rooftops and slip through shadows than it would be as Steph, but as soon as she spots Walter White and gets in contact with Saul, Steph is pulling civvies on over her suit. The cape, cowl and gloves are shoved in a backpack that she leaves hidden to retrieve later, and then it's just a simple matter of slipping into the general crowd of Transports milling inside the Hold.

"Mr. White?" She's still a little distance away when she calls out, adding a wave to make sure she's definitely got his attention and there's something like incredulity in her tone as she makes her way over to him.

Briefly, she'd considered just being honest, telling him that Saul was coming and that he should wait here, but she thinks this will work better.

He was surprised when he heard his name in this strange place, brow furrowing with confusion. He turns in the direction of the voice and there was a slight blonde girl that he didn't recognize. Who...?

"Ah...yes? Can I help you?"

This is an easy role to play, so she just offers Walter a smile, somewhere between pleased and a little cheeky, the way someone might deal with an authority figure they happen to like, but can't help picking on a little anyway.

"You don't recognize me?" With the implication that he should, but she still seems relieved to see a familiar face even if he doesn't recognize her, "I mean, I know I had braces back then, but I didn't think I'd changed that much."

Saul's files had told her Walter was a teacher; what better way to buy some time than pretend to be an ex-student?

He laughed a little in embarrassment. He didn't exactly consider himself old yet, but he had to admit, his memory wasn't quite what it used to be. Being a teacher at a local high school just felt so distant from him and his life at this point. That was his old life.

"I'm...sorry, I'm terrible with names...to faces. You know, I get over 100 students per year and it can get hard to keep track..." he finished lamely, rubbing his bald head. He was hoping she would re-introduce herself. He was hoping her name would ring a bell.

There's a laugh from Steph as well, quiet and amused, as she shrugs in a what can you do? sort of way.

"I guess I only remember about half my teachers," Apparently she's not planning to hold it against him, since she's offering her hand to shake, redoing introductions, "Steph Bellinger. I can't believe they brought you here, too."

She'd wanted to give a fake name, but with how insular Exsilium is, she doesn't want to run the risk of it coming back to bite her. So, a compromise; this way he won't be able to search for her on the network, but if someone calls her on the surname, she can just defend herself with the fact it's her mother's maiden name.

"Steph Bellinger...Steph Bellinger..." he repeated, trying to go through his memory banks and see if he could place the name anywhere, to a seating arrangement, to a name at the top of a test paper...Embarrassingly, he couldn't seem to remember her still.

He held out his hand to shake and hoped she might not be too offended, considering he'd had quite a lot of other things on his mind the past year or so. He laughed sheepishly.

"Yeah I'm...not quite sure how they decide who to bring here," he said a bit bitterly, thinking about how he finally could have his family back and maybe enjoy all of the money he had worked so hard to earn.

She's careful to keep the handshake light, before she lets go, stepping back a little so she's not infringing on his personal space too much, mow she's sure she has his attention. Saul had said Walt is dangerous; her impression of Walt so far doesn't really match up with that, but first impressions can be misleading, and she... trusts Saul. Sort of.

"I don't think there's much deciding to it at all," Her tone is easy, conversational, though she's counting down that five minutes in her head, "There's a bunch of kids here, even, so it doesn't seem like the Initiative really know what they're doing."

He let out a dark laugh.

"It doesn't seem like it."

He really needed to see what the rest of this place was like, especially if he was to be here for the foreseeable future.

"It sounds like you've been here longer than I have. Why don't you show me around a bit?"

"Three months for me, now," A lie, but not really an important want, she just wants to have a few details different between Steph Brown and Steph Bellinger.

And she nods, offering a wry smile before she pulls up the hood of her jacket, to keep her hair dry, although-- "Have you got everything you need? Cash, key, tablet, weapon?"

Come on, Saul.

You rang?

Saul strolls past a short distance feet away, wrestling with his umbrella as he tries to close it, attention elsewhere. Then he stops, turns on his toe, stares. It's as natural and unrehearsed a reaction as any, despite the fact that the opposite is true — seeing Walter here, talking to Stephanie, with Jesse just over there makes Saul the kind of nervous that manifests itself in laughter.

It's a disbelieving laugh nonetheless, easily covered up as almost pleasant surprise.

Almost.

Let's not push it.

"Ho-ly shit. Look what the cat dragged in."

Walt does a slight double-take. Oh geez.

He hadn't spoken to his lawyer in a while. Though, he had to admit, he wasn't upset about seeing him. In a place as bizarre as this, anything familiar may have been a welcome sight.

"Saul?," he repeated, not really believing it himself. All Walt could think was What the hell kind of talent could he have that the Initiative wanted him?

Well, at least one of them is genuinely surprised, because Steph is playing at being slightly bewildered at the interruption, looking between Walt and Saul. The laughter didn't escape her notice, not when she knows how worried Saul has been about all this, so there's a moment where she looks at Saul and a reassuring smile makes it way onto her lips, before it's gone, her attention back on Walt.

"You know each other?"

The smile helps, but not enough. There's only one thing that would make him feel 100% better, and that option's just been swept clear off the table. Walt's here. Time to work.

Saul smirks and steps a little closer, nudging Walt's arm. "Sure we do. Walter, you wanna tell the pretty little lady how we know each other?"

"Ah...well," he looks between the two. Why the hell does she need to know how we know each other, Saul?!

"Saul here is my lawyer," he finished kind of lamely with a hint of reluctance. And then he turns to fully face him.

"How long have you been here?" He had seen him a couple of weeks ago, dropping off some of the money that he owed--before he decided he was out.

Edited 2013-06-08 16:03 (UTC)

The look she gives Saul could kill, and fortunately it fits with this particular charade - most twenty year old girls would be annoyed by that treatment, she thinks - because she honestly doesn't think she'd be able to keep the annoyance off her face.

"Great lawyer you've got yourself, Mr. White," Muttered under her breath, since she doesn't want to actually interrupt the conversation.

But she's not happy.

Saul would have been surprised if he'd gotten any other look, really. He flashes Steph an almost rueful smile. Sorry he's not sorry. Anyway, her comment doesn't go unheard or unacknowledged, because Saul's just in that kind of mood.

"I am. Thanks for the compliment."

Then, to Walt: "Two months, as of today. Happy anniversary to me, right? What a gift. Allow me to be one of the probably dozen people so far who've bid you welcome to Exsilium."

A moment passes as Saul looks him over.

"You get a weapon?"

He heard the comment too but didn't acknowledge it with anything but an internal Tell me about it and a half eyeroll.

Walt raises an eyebrow at Saul.

"I saw you a couple of weeks ago. How could you be here for two months?"

Now that he thought about it, he realized he hadn't quite been paying attention to the woman who was just talking at him quickly about 10 minutes ago.

"Who? Who else is here that I know? And yes, I have a weapon, why?"

A grin, jazz hands. "Magic."

It's the best explanation he's got, really.

Some quick mental math — a couple of weeks ago could place Walt at just about any point, really. That tells Saul nothing. And why does he need to know?

Because Walt just asked the question he's been dreading, that's why.

Saul's enthusiasm fades, but he covers it like he's slipping back into business mode, not like he's absolutely terrified. "Jesse's here."

His brows then furrow. That was not the correct answer, Saul.

And he still didn't have anything close to an answer to his question.

"Jesse's here?" He had just visited his former partner yesterday with those duffel bags he dropped off. He had been acting suspicious. This place was getting even stranger by the second.

Might as well get this over with, Saul figures. No use dragging it out. He might say something stupid.

"Yeah. You know what? Let me go get him. You two — " He waves his hand between Walt and Stephanie. "Go ahead and keep talking. Sorry for the interruption. I'll be right back."

Now you see him, now you don't.

It's about fifteen minutes later that Jesse shows up. He's high, which may or may not be immediately obvious. There are a lot of other ways to explain the way he looks: wide-eyed and drained of color with a sheen of cold sweat on his skin. He walks slightly ahead of Saul, though, so he doesn't give the impression of cowering behind him. It was his choice to come here, and more importantly, it has to look like it was his choice to come here.

He's just not that good at hiding the fear, though. He spares Stephanie a glance but doesn't bother to greet her, his focus turning to Walt and Walt alone.

"Hey, Mr. White."

Staying quiet is easy enough, as Saul and Walter talk, and then it's just a matter of making idle chitchat with Walt - she can manage to bullshit a surprising amount about a high school she never went to - until Jesse and Saul return.

And suddenly, finally, she gets why this has been worrying Saul so much. Jesse looks terrified and even not knowing him at all, she wants to do something to help, because she thinks she's realized exactly what's happening, here. But she can't help, and she can't stay, not when this hits a little too close to home, nevermind that Saul would want her to get out of the way, anyway.

She waits until Jesse's finished his greeting, then briefly touches Walter's arm, just to get his attention, "I'm gonna head off, I'll see you around."

No, she won't, and she's also not waiting for a reply, not even saying anything to Jesse or Saul before she slips away. She disappears from sight, but that doesn't mean she's not nearby. Someone has to keep watch in case something goes wrong, and that's her job for the rest of this conversation.

He doesn't even turn towards her when he replies softly, "Goodbye."

And it was obvious to him that Jesse was high. He could tell Jesse was high a couple hundred feet away; he had seen it enough.

Not only that but...terror. He had seen that look before as well. Walt wasn't quite sure why, considering the last thing that happened between them was him giving Jesse a cut.

"Jesse," he said, matter-of-factly. "How are you?" He could tell Jesse was under the influence but there was something else there too--and he didn't think it was drug-induced paranoia.

Jesse's gaze drops to the ground without him meaning for it to. His heart's racing and he feels dizzy. That would really be something, if he fainted right now, wouldn't it? He should've done the meth a little earlier, before panic had time to set in. It takes him a little too long to answer while he focuses on breathing evenly. "I'm... good. Yeah." He forces himself to meet Walt's eyes again. "What about you? You doing okay?"

"I think I'd be better if I wasn't dragged here, but otherwise healthy." Now there was something he needed to ask, since Saul's answer had been unsatisfactory.

"How long have you been here, exactly?" he asked softly. His former student looked like a frightened animal.

Jesse has to fight to keep from glancing back to Saul for direction. He's not sure what's been said already. They probably should've worked out a story. This question, at least, is something that can be answered easily because network records give them no room to lie. "Like a year," he says, then clarifies, "Or, ten months, exactly. Almost a year."

Meanwhile, Saul is standing by, monitoring the conversation. It's not exactly hawk-like; it's much more casual than that, the way he glances between the two as they exchange words, expression merely bordering on curious.

But acting neutral doesn't mean he feels that way. He can see the look on Walt's face, can hear his tone of voice just as well. Like he's concerned.

And maybe that feeling that lodges between Saul's ribs is jealousy. It feels right, almost, lodged up against all that anger. So in lieu of saying anything — because he doesn't know what to say, let alone in a civil tone of voice — he looks up as though noticing the light drizzle for the first time since returning and opens his umbrella. And since he's still close enough to Jesse that he can hold it over both of them, that's exactly what he does.

And smiles a little, like: what a nice thing, the three of us being together again.

When Walt saw Saul move out of the corner of his eye and the umbrella go up over them, he stuck his hand out from underneath, noticing the drizzle for the first time. It was starting to sink in that he wasn't anywhere near New Mexico anymore.

He turned to Jesse, a more bewildered look on his face.

"I just saw you yesterday. How...?" And though he logically knew that something like this was not outside the realm of possibility, he couldn't seem to figure out a way to wrap his head around it.

Jesse's throat goes very dry all of a sudden. "Yesterday?" he tries to say, and it comes out a whisper. He clears his throat and tries again. "You saw me yesterday? I mean - Yeah. That, um. That happens a lot. Time travel. And all."

"Time travel...so you're saying you're from a different time than me then," he stated, rather than questioned. Honestly, it wasn't that odd, considering their situation. He was quite calm about it. But then of course there was the possibility that Jesse was from a time ahead of him. Maybe something happened in the future that was causing Jesse to be so hesitant.

"I, um..." Again, Jesse has to fight the urge to look to Saul for guidance. "I don't really know. It was a long time - I mean, before I got here... It was a long time since I saw you. What happened yesterday? For you."

"Yeah...yeah it was a long time for me too. Maybe 3 months? But then, yesterday, I uh, happened to be in the neighborhood and I dropped off some of the money I uh...I owed you," he finished lamely. Jesse had seemed really uncomfortable then, too.

This is a trick. This is some really cruel trick he's playing, like all the others, and Jesse can't fall for it. He can't believe it this time. Mr. White can't say what really happened so he's making up some story that he thinks Jesse wants to hear, and all Jesse wants to do is look at Saul because Saul could probably tell him the truth in a single glance - or at least what he thinks is the truth - and then Jesse would know for sure whether he's crazy or whether what Walt is saying is even remotely possible. But it isn't. It isn't. Mr. White killed everyone else and then he came to kill Jesse and that's the only thing that makes sense.

Because Mr. White doesn't care. He never cared. No one who cared would do the things he's done.

"That didn't happen," Jesse answers vaguely, hollow, left to interpretation. Maybe he means that didn't happen yet. Or maybe he means you're full of shit.

Didn't happen? Walt gave Jesse a confused look.

"If it didn't happen, then what were you up to until you uh, came here?"

This whole timeline thing could make the situation a bit confusing, so he wouldn't be surprised if maybe Jesse hadn't seen him yet after the three months they'd been away from each other. At least, it made some sense if he understood the timeline discrepancy issue correctly.

Jesse doesn't know how to interpret the look he finds on Walt's face. He's not defensive, there's no anger, there's not even suspicion. He's confused. Just actually confused. It makes Jesse waver. What if he's been wrong the whole time? And if he's wrong about Mr. White hurting him, what else is he wrong about?

"Nothing," he answers. What a pathetic thing to admit, too, that he had absolutely nothing going on in his life without Mr. White. There's no use in coming up with a story, though. It's all obvious, isn't it? How little he has, what a fuck-up he is. No point in lying about that. Maybe he'd rather see disappointment than doubt on Mr. White's face. I expected better instead of I knew it.

"Nothing? Not a thing?" he asked, wanting to hear a real answer. He had been curious as to what he had been up to when he talked to him yesterday, but there still wasn't a direct answer then. They hadn't parted on particularly good terms last they talked before yesterday, but he didn't think it had been particularly malicious. He didn't believe that Jesse actually did nothing.

"Nothing important." Honestly. That's the real answer. Jesse lifts his shoulders in a helpless shrug and looks down at his hands. "Video games. Getting high. You were right - what you said before - so... Yeah. That's it."

"But why?"

Jesse threw away his job, their partnership...for what? It didn't sound like he had anything lined up that was better. He wasn't doing anything productive like looking for a job. Now he was wondering if it was a mistake giving him that money, knowing he would use it for drugs.

Jesse didn't mean to do it, but he suddenly sees an opening and he seizes it. "Um..." He picks up his head and looks Walt straight in the eye, his expression softening. "I just didn't know what to do, you know, by myself. I shoulda listened to you. I mean, you totally called it. I fucked it all up. Everything that happened... I couldn't deal with it alone, and you were just trying to look out for me. It was a mistake, walking away like I did, and I'm sorry."

Walt did a small double-take, as though he didn't hear Jesse right. When had Jesse ever apologized like that, without any kind of protest or insistence that it wasn't his fault?

"Well, uh..." How to say this? "You don't really have to apologize. After I dropped off the money...I decided I was done." After he saw the obscene amount of money his estranged wife couldn't possibly launder through their car wash business.

There's so much bullshit in that sentence, Jesse could scream. He takes a slow breath, pushing down that urge. It's a very subtle bristling, covered up with feigned surprise. "Oh," he says with eyebrows raised. "Like, you're out? For good? That's, um... How come? I mean, did something happen, or..?"

"Well....things were...put into perspective, I guess you could say," he replied carefully. He put his hands into the pockets of his pants. And now all of his perspective was gone--back in, what, the timeline he was taken from? No access whatsoever. He couldn't even enjoy the decision he made, with his family, nor his fortune.

Were you sorry that you killed me? Jesse can't help but wonder.

He steps forward, laying a hand on Walt's shoulder. There's a twitchiness to the movement - because it's forced, though that's easily dismissed since he's also jittery thanks to the meth. This is as close to a hug as Walt's getting. "I'm glad to hear it," Jesse says, hoping that twists a knife. "I was always worried something would happen to you. I'm glad you got out safe."

Stick a fork in him; Saul is done with listening to this conversation. They're both full of shit and he can't, literally can't stand by and watch this unfold further. He's pretty sure his blood pressure is approaching dangerous levels. What if his head actually explodes?

"Well, this has been a heartwarming reunion, but allow me to hop in here and suggest that we maybe get out of the rain, hm? We can all reminisce and catch up over coffee indoors, give Walt the grand tour, yadda yadda. Yes? Good. C'mon."

They better follow, because he's heading off with or without them.

He nods at Jesse. "It was time. I just wish after you'd gotten out, you'd do something more productive," he replied, gently taking Jesse's hand off his shoulder, not unkindly, looking him in the eyes. There was a truth to it though--as much as he was pissed off that Jesse had bailed on what they had, he had secretly hoped the other would get his life together; but clearly that did not happen, the way he looked now.

Walt shrugged towards Saul. Any of that sounded fine to him. He would rather stick with them--for now. Considering they were the only people he currently knew anyhow.

He does indeed follow behind Saul, giving a questioning look to Jesse, wondering if he knew why Saul was in such a hurry.

Oh, Jesse knows, and he's eternally grateful to Saul for it. Not that it shows in his expression, which is frozen in its teeth-clenching tweaked-outedness and wide-eyed uneasiness as he tries to make sense of the man standing next to him. This isn't the same Walter White that he remembers. Aspects of him are familiar, sure, but he's so genuine and sincere and tender - even in his criticism of Jesse - that it's suspicious as hell. It's no wonder Saul's gotten sick of standing here listening to it. Jesse feels pretty sick, too.

But in answer to the look from Walt, he offers a shrug that's punctuated by a shiver. Well, it is cold and rainy. And Jesse's high and therefore slightly feverish. A good enough reason to move.

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skipping Steph on this turn —

LAUGH. Saul pls

jumping in here as well ALSO STFU

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