hadriel_logs | "I love it when a plan comes together!"

Nick's eyes narrow, his nose wrinkling in stifled anger.

"That's what I'd like to believe, but you're making it real hard when you're helping the guy we're standing against, her included."

Firo hesitates. He could protest that he had no idea Rey would even be here until she called him, and it would be true. But that sounds too much like an excuse, and making an excuse to this guy would be humiliating. Better to ignore it.

"So what? She's picked her side, and I've picked mine. She can hold her own, and I'm only hitting him, anyway."

He hopes, in the long-run, that what he's doing will help Rey. If he has an in with Sato, he might be able to keep the guy away from the ones he loves when things really go south.

Nick finally moves from his spot, taking a step into the room, his cane heavy on the floor. He doesn't know Firo's ulterior motives; he only has Rey's trust in the guy to go on, and right now, it's looking like that trust is worth about as much as a counterfeit bill.

"You might not be firing at her or any of the rest of the Guard, but the point is that you're helping Sato. You're keeping him fighting, and in turn, keeping her fighting. You do know that, right? Is that what you want? Is that what friends do where you from?"

Firo's whole body tenses, and he doesn't relax even when it looks like Nick might not strike. Yet.

He bites his tongue; he wants to be angry, but the words hit too close to home for him to lash out. His eyes flick off to the side. "...Sometimes that's how it goes. Friends in rival Families have to fight each other when it comes up. Everybody knows that goin' in."

Not that Firo has any firsthand experience with such a thing... In part, that's why he can keep to the original plan now; he's been emotionally preparing for something like this ever since he joined the Martillos instead of the Gandors. That and the fact that betraying Sato now would put him and his family in a worse place than rejecting his request outright.

Rival families. That sounds like mob talk if Nick ever heard it, but he sees an iota of guilt in Firo's expression. He's not backing down, but neither is Nick.

The synth takes another step, his gait as uneven as ever. "So in short, you're choosing to side with this guy over Rey. With someone who'd instigate a riot and try to get folks killed for no damn reason over someone you call a friend, someone who trusts you enough that she'd vouch for you."

And knowing how cagey Rey can be, that means a lot. He's sure Firo knows, too.

"Is that what's going on?"

His tone darkens as he asks that, giving the impression of finality. Choose your answer carefully, Firo.

It hurts to hear it put that way, but Firo thinks that it would be lying to argue. He's not happy to be against Rey, but here he is. Part of being a bad guy is being honest about who you are and what you do. He turns to square his body to Nick's, his hand leaving the gun. "Why're you even asking? No matter what I say, you've already made up your mind."

With a little more honesty, he continues, "Besides, there's no way for me to back outta this now without losing face."

And any favors he hoped to get from Sato. He wasn't necessarily excited about being on the guy's side, but he definitely doesn't want to make him into an enemy.

Nick's expression softens an iota. He's pissed that this friend of Rey's would betray her like this, but he sticks by his principles -- if there's a way to solve this without violence, then that's the route he should take. It didn't always work in a brutal place like the Commonwealth, and it won't always work in Hadriel, but nothing changes if they don't work for it.

"I'm not asking because I've made up my mind. I'm asking because I'm hoping you haven't." While his tone still carries that undercurrent of distrust, it's not as demanding as it was before -- there's sincerity there, something that someone like him should be incapable of. He is a machine, after all, but one who cares for the good of people, no matter what the cost.

But the rest of what Firo has to say doesn't fall on deaf ears, nor can Nick turn a blind eye to the shift in the other man's voice. He's got something to lose in this. "I can't let you do this, but... Rey trusts you, and I know that's a damn hard thing to earn. I want to know if I can do the same, and if so, how we can get through this without either of us getting the raw end of the deal."

Half of Firo's mouth quirks up in a self-deprecating smile. "If you're even thinkin' of trusting me, you're not as smart as people've said you are."

But now that he's gotten his quip in, he realizes that he has to respond to the real thrust of Nick's words: what do they do now? Firo's been in plenty of fights, both with other thugs and with the law. Theoretically, he knows how this is supposed to go, because there's only one way it can go. A fight. He has no experience being asked what they should do.

He hesitates, uncertain, "We have to fight now, don't we?"

Nick returns that self-deprecating smile with a wry grin of his own. The original Nick Valentine was no scholar, no genius scientist or professor; he was, however, a good man with a good heart that made its way into the synthetic shell standing before Firo. He had good gut instincts that helped him on the job -- Nick has learned to trust those instincts himself. They don't often lead him astray.

And that gut feeling, along with Rey's assurance that Firo isn't a bad guy and his own distaste for violence as an answer, are why Nick is giving him a chance here. "If that's the only way you're willing to handle this, but I get the feeling Rey wouldn't be very happy if either of us got hurt." Especially him, given the talking to he got that morning before leaving the house.

Grudgingly, Firo has to nod in agreement; he knows Nick's right. "Yeah. I don't care about you, but I wouldn't wanna make her mad by hurting you."

Well, madder. No matter how this goes, they have to have a little chat afterward, just like she said.

He bites his lip and thinks. No matter what, he can't let Sato think he betrayed him, because that would mean everything he'd done was for nothing. "Would you make a deal? I can't shoot if you punch my lights out. But I want the gun back after this all is over."

He knows he can't trust Nick to give it back, of course, but he's not sure what else he could do. Worse comes to worse, he could try to steal it back. Honestly, as much as he'd hate to lose the gun, not having it would be one of the better ways to make it seem like he fought back.

While not exactly eager to give the gun back to a guy who'd agree to this madness, Nick does take into account the fact that Firo seems willing to work with him at all. Firo is taking his offer and giving him a chance to end this as peacefully as possible, and while Nick might not fully trust him or his motivation in all this, that's a hard bargain to pass up, considering that's what he hoped to accomplish in the first place.

He pushes a sigh through him, one he doesn't actually need, given what he is. He might be a detective and have the mind of a long-dead cop, but he's dealt with his fair share of shady and amoral characters in the Commonwealth. You have to get your hands dirty if you want to want to root out the weeds. Firo might be a pest in the garden, but he's not the main threat here.

"All right. It's not as though you don't know where I live to get it back. I'd take you into custody, but anyone who's seen me in the last couple of months knows I'm not in any shape to be dragging a body down a flight of stairs."

Firo bites his tongue--so Nick's not in good health? He could've just taken him? The old Firo would've been upset to hear that, because he would've taken advantage of it. Now, he knows that he wouldn't have exploited the weakness anyway, but he still kicks himself for his stupidity.

He swallows that regret and smirks just a little. "Funny enough, I'm fine with it if you don't."

His smile flickers away. While his hand rests on the back of the gun, he doesn't move to point it elsewhere or go for the trigger. "So go ahead. I can't just hand it over--it has to look good."

Given the cane and the limp, what's ailing Nick these days is obvious. Being a machine, he can't get sick like a human, can't fall ill from old age; however, it's not as though parts like his grow on trees, and there aren't any Institute synths in Hadriel to scavenge spares from. Unlike the flesh-and-blood folks, he can't mend with time or magic.

That'd be one of the main reasons why Rey didn't want him here here, why she kept him away from the main battlefront to begin with. She depends on him as much as he depends on her, but he couldn't let this gunman go -- not when there was something he might be able to do, even with a bum leg, and not when Rey is out there risking herself for this.

But just because his leg has seen better days doesn't mean he can't throw a punch that hurts like hell. All the metal parts help with that. As he closes the gap between them, his brow furrows -- it's clear he's not entirely happy about having to bludgeon Firo at all, but if they're going to do this, they ought to do it right. He picks up his cane and looks between it and the bare fist, and determines that the cane will probably be less painful than the sharp angles of his metal skeleton.

The job is the same either way. He grimaces as he rears back for a swing. "Sorry about this."

And if the regretful look he gives Firo is any indication, he truly means that, despite the circumstances.

Edited 2016-12-21 10:59 (UTC)

Firo doesn't know what to make of the facial expression and the apology; in the brief window he has to react, his own expression shifts from defiance to confusion. Perhaps then it's fortunate that he doesn't really have time to make anything of it.

All that matters is that now he can honestly tell Sato that they fought and Nick took the gun. It'd be better if he'd have a mark as proof, but immortality will make sure that doesn't happen. Head injuries always take longer to regenerate, but it'll only take a minute or so for everything to be fixed. He just hopes that Nick's gone by then--facing him would be awkward.

The cane connects with Firo's temple with enough force to knock him flat, and Nick can't help but close his eyes upon the impact. This isn't him defending himself against a raider, or taking out someone he knows truly deserves it. Something in what Firo said indicated that he made a deal with Sato and had no way to get out of it. While Nick doesn't know what that deal was, he has no doubt Sato would skip out on his end of the bargain if he thought it best for his agenda. Nick has found that madmen tend toss their compatriots in the garbage as soon as they've outlived their usefulness, no matter how loyal they may have been.

However, more important than this possible deal is that Rey trusts Firo for reasons Nick has yet to figure out. Whether that means her faith in him is misguided, or he's a good guy in a bad situation is unclear, but it means something, and that's enough for the synthetic detective for now. His glowing eyes flick to the window, to the battle happening at the headquarters -- a battle he promised he'd steer clear of, but one that troubles him all the same. His family is out there, and there's no real telling if she's all right.

After stooping to pick up the rifle and having one more look at the building in the distance, he heads out, taking the weapon back home for now, keeping his word to her. Firo might not believe Nick will return it, but he intends to make good on his word. Reliability goes both ways, after all, and unlike Sato, he's no madman: he upholds his end of a deal, especially one that helps Rey and the Guard.

Edited 2016-12-23 10:30 (UTC)

"I love it when a plan comes together!"

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