Alfendi Layton (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
selfdenying) wrote2016-10-16 03:23 pm
selfdenying) wrote2016-10-16 03:23 pm
DAY 4 (POST TRIAL) ALFENDI & ELIZABETH
[He honestly doesn't really know what to say.]
[Alfendi has never been a sentimental person. He smiles, he's polite, he knows how to follow proper manners like any good gentleman, but as far as expressing emotions goes? Well, that has rather always been his Achilles heel. Sometimes, he's not even sure if he feels anything at all, so how is he even supposed to show sympathy if the well has mostly gone dry, so to speak?]
[So, when he approaches Elizabeth not too long after the execution has gone down, he struggles with what words he should use. He can't tell her she did a good job bringing down a staff member, since that smacks of being emotionless, considering Lara had to get in the crossfires of the whole terrible thing. He can't just change the topic and focus on the task ahead - she's in a vulnerable state right now, and doing that seems callous. He wants to try as best as he can to say the right thing, because despite himself, he trusts her, he respects her, and to metaphorically smack her across the face with words would be an insult, indeed.]
[But despite his self-doubts, he's here - he notices her walking out of the trial room and approaches her, his tone level:]
Elizabeth. [He says, with a nod.] I'm...sorry you had to go through that. I can't imagine how it felt.
[Alfendi has never been a sentimental person. He smiles, he's polite, he knows how to follow proper manners like any good gentleman, but as far as expressing emotions goes? Well, that has rather always been his Achilles heel. Sometimes, he's not even sure if he feels anything at all, so how is he even supposed to show sympathy if the well has mostly gone dry, so to speak?]
[So, when he approaches Elizabeth not too long after the execution has gone down, he struggles with what words he should use. He can't tell her she did a good job bringing down a staff member, since that smacks of being emotionless, considering Lara had to get in the crossfires of the whole terrible thing. He can't just change the topic and focus on the task ahead - she's in a vulnerable state right now, and doing that seems callous. He wants to try as best as he can to say the right thing, because despite himself, he trusts her, he respects her, and to metaphorically smack her across the face with words would be an insult, indeed.]
[But despite his self-doubts, he's here - he notices her walking out of the trial room and approaches her, his tone level:]
Elizabeth. [He says, with a nod.] I'm...sorry you had to go through that. I can't imagine how it felt.
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We have something, but I'm not sure if it's conclusive. The votes were so split... so divided and Lara - God, she paid the price for our distrust. [ He can see her favor her wrist, holding it against her. Shijima is going to help assist her with it, but she wanted time to collect herself. ] What do you - ... what do you think you learned from all of this? I'm not quite... ah - everything's a blur, you see.
SORRY FOR THE TL;DR
That's alright, Elizabeth. Me? I learned that we can't take a person's expression of their feelings or actions for granted.
[He lets the statement sit in the air, heavily, before he continues to speak.]
I voted for Luke. He was experiencing symptoms akin to a cold, you see, and if you remember, Alice was feeling the same way too. She touched the foot in the fountain, Shijima verified that. If the illness did come from the foot, then how did Luke get sick, if he had supposedly never come into contact with it?
[The whole illness thing is a different beast, but he moves on - they can discuss that later.]
Plus, he has...had a boyfriend. A rather strangely quick little romance with that boy, Adam Parrish. I'm not against the idea of pure, young love, but...something seemed off. Luke seemed tired. He seemed to be withdrawn from most of the group. I talked to the both of them, and they told me very nice words about how they both were working on borrowed time, ready to experience what they could of their relationship before it was too late. Adam was Luke's shining knight of honor, ready to defend him at every turn, and Luke himself...well, he was strangely defensive. I barely accused him and he was ready to list all the reasons why he was innocent.
[A pause - he hardly wants to overload Elizabeth with information, but he feels he needs to get his thoughts down now, to share them with someone he knows will take this all to heart.]
Luke was innocent, of course, but he was complicit with the murders of two children, being a staff member. And if I have to be honest, Elizabeth...I would keep Adam in mind as a possible suspect. It's possible he was a victim too, but judging by the fact that they communicated and developed a relationship in such a short amount of time, as well as the fact that Adam wasn't at all that angry or shocked that his lover was one of our enemies all this time...
I don't think he can be marked off the guilty list just yet.
I LIVE FOR TL;DR!!!
Elizabeth feigns a bit when Alfendi mentions who he voted for. The sickness was his downfall by Alfendi's testimonial and even if Elizabeth distrusted almost everyone... she didn't cast too much of a shade of doubt in her roommate's direction. She didn't think he was anything more than a smart-mouthed young man, and... that was her downfall. She nods, gulping a bit harshly. ]
No one will blame you for that logic. You exhibited the know-how to connect dots that seem mixed among a mass of bullshit and uncertainty. [ Elizabeth sounds bitter. ] ...Ironically, I voted for Adam out of panic. He seemed less likely to be voted and I wanted to save my own guilt after last week.
[ Fun times!!! However, when Adam is brought up differently, she listens. Truly, the girl tries to hear how Alfendi came to the conclusion he did. ]
I have no pity for Luke. He wants to talk about - some... some survival as if he hasn't been playing God this whole time? As if this game isn't skewed their favor? [ Elizabeth grows bitter and says something far too quickly before she can catch it: ] -- they're not playing a game, they're doing research!
[ Her fist balls and she feels a cold flash strike down her spine. She's upset, thinking so deeply and without any further explanation, she trusts Alfendi: ]
Luke was more likely using Adam and vice versa to gain pity. There's two groups that seem to be brought here together: Rhys and Jack and this... Jade and Guy. Maybe they tried to blend in and that was their downfall, but - whatever that means... we need to keep an eye on Adam now. Warn whoever he is rooming with.
[ Elizabeth sighs heavily, but she'll double back to this, pulling Alfendi aside with her own wobbly body in the mean time. ]
What I'm about to tell you... you must never repeat. Not to anyone you trust and certainly not to anyone you're rooming with for prosperity's sake. [ She starts: ] These staff members, as I mentioned, are not lowly white-collar workers. They're scientists.
[ Elizabeth??? ]
And I very much don't like being caged like some labrat again.
no subject
If I have anything to fall back on, at least, it's logic. If even such a way of thinking can find the truth in such chaotic times...
[But he stops talking and listens carefully as Elizabeth brings up her own concern. They're both cautious, both paranoid, and yet, somehow, they can share some sense of trust with each other. It's a lifeline that he, especially, feels he needs to hang onto to get bearings in a place that is messing with everything, including his own mind.]
Yes, I did notice the pairings...which IS odd. And actually, now that you mention Rhys, I admit that I found him rather suspicious yesterday. He didn't appear with the rest when we discovered Rayfa's body and instead was somewhere else, and during the trial, his panic was distracting and caused us more trouble than it was worth. Of course, he could be just that nervous, but I don't know. It seems too....convenient for me. He plays the patsy, and everyone thinks he doesn't have the temperament to murder, but people can easily hide who they are, you know.
[Her sudden outburst makes him pause before he can continue, and his eyebrows furrow together in slight surprise.]
Oh? [She sounds very certain - he comes closer, lowering his voice, his tone deadly serious.]
I had my suspicions. The sterile environment. The program. The controlled aspects of everything, down to the food and water and requests for items. The sickness, even. [A pause.] Elizabeth, it does seem to hit home for you, and I apologize, but...what do you know?
no subject
The man made himself sick at the mere mention of a metaphor! Jack expressed that the man is a stalker, but harmless. I'm not sure if I can believe Jack when he was so keen on boosting himself as some hero like this is a Howard Pyle novel. [ There was nothing merry about these men. ] Jack spoke with me privately about wanting to offer me a clause... one that would allow me to write my findings down on a terminal, but I don't suspect he's fond of me at the moment.
[ :( Guys, stop being selfless? ]
Rhys is someone I do plan on keeping my eye on but I'm not keen on pushing it if he plays the - as you say, patsy - role so well.
[ But... right, back to the Serious Conversation at hand. ]
... Before this, before all of this... if my memory isn't failing me.. [ There's a sarcastic laugh there. ] ... I spent my entire life in a tower. Alone. Guarded and learning about some... powers no one could explain. I had no one, but someone helped me escape - and... I realized what that tower was. It was a cage and I was some experiment. My entire life, mister, was watched through two-way glass and recorded as part of some grand project.
[ Comstock... he's the one who put her there, who tried to stop her escape. Elizabeth stammers, not willing to reveal anything else. ]
It hits home for me and I think that... may be why Judy told me about their true roles privately.
[ She doesn't tell the whole truth... she's gauging for a reaction. ]
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[Is it a deal to help her or a deal with the devil? They'll just have to see about that. But he pushes the topic aside and listens to what Elizabeth has to say.]
[He's silent for a moment. And this is really a defining moment of just what kind of man Alfendi Layton is. Because, really, he's not the type of person to ever cry over a victim. Their stories usually do not move him. He is far more interested in the perpetrator, the way they think, why they do what they do, and the poor people caught up in their schemes are usually nothing but puzzle pieces he must arrange in a certain fashion to figure out a mystery.]
[Alfendi Layton is a very cold, unforgiving man on this side of his personality. His friendliness and polite manners cover up his seemingly uncaring heart. He can sentence one of two lovers to their grave without regard of the consequences to the other. Only justice matters. People must pay. That's how it has to work.]
[And yet...]
[He looks at Elizabeth, and a small part of him falters from its frigid state. He doesn't see someone who is merely part of a puzzle. He sees a person, battered, broken, subjected to merciless things throughout her lifetime, and understands the gravity of how much she had to go through. He sees someone who he respects probably far more than anyone else in this place. He's not going to turn into a bleeding heart so suddenly, but he's not going to treat her without any dignity whatsoever.]
That's despicable. [There's no placid smile, no attempt to mask his emotions - he looks grave.] No one should ever, ever, go through that. People aren't experiments.
[And there's a touch of bitterness at the end of that sentence, like it's brushed up against some personal nerve.]
And you got out of the frying pan and into the fire. Goodness. [He almost forgets to address the last statement, he's so suddenly deep in thought.]
...Judy verified it, did she? Why? To mock you?
no subject
[ She's much more of a girl than she lets on. She tried her hardest to find people to trust and she's scared. So scared she's making the wrong choices. Her doubt in Jack is low, but it's there. The same with Alfendi. As he pushes onward, he talks to her a bit like a victim - like she was still so hurt by the life she lived. Honestly? It made her feel.. accepting of that. Of how she's come into this. She's not a victim and she refused to be one.
When he continues on, she nods. ]
... No. Because I... I went to her privately and -
[ Against her better judgment, she speaks. ]
I need people I can trust. I need people who are confirmed for innocent and I have the power here to do so. Judy's ..."helping" me try and find the scientists. It seems as if she's growing disenchanted with their involvement - something is different about her in this regard. She seems reluctant to follow orders.
[ Alfendi, don't you do it. ]
...I'm one of those six people they spoke of, I suppose. I haven't the slightest idea of who else is involved, but I can if I keep looking. This paints a target on my back and - I figure if I'm going out, someone needed to know my findings.
no subject
[And that is quite the revelation. He thinks over it, before nodding.]
...I see. [He had been wondering about that strange statement, the "six people" that Judy had mentioned, and now it's like he's gotten a small glimpse of it, a little glimmer, and it's slowly shedding light on the whole situation. But still...]
Elizabeth. I will say right here and now, with absolute sincerity, that I am innocent. [And he means it, he does.] I'm not involved with any staff, but I am not one of these six people she mentioned, either. I don't know what's going on. I can only ascertain based on what little I have to go on, so...you probably have far more of a bigger picture than I ever will.
[His eyebrows furrow - what she says confirms his own theories.]
I've been suspicious of Judy for a while. Her motivations are selfish, much like a lackey needing to get rid of her bosses in the most subtle way possible. But a person like that doesn't care about others. She probably sees you like a tool for her to use so...please. Elizabeth, be careful. Don't trust her completely.
[There's a pause.]
If you do want to go ahead with this and trust me...we need a Plan B. In the case that something happens to me...well, I will do everything I can to fight for staying alive and helping you, but if the staff targets me, you need to have another person just in case. That decision is up to you.
no subject
[ As he talks about his innocence, she clenches her fist a bit. It was a relief to hear, but part of her still feels that people - anyone - can betray her. Elizabeth feels her heart sink when he talks about his innocence, she tries to recall something she lost long ago: faith.
She puts faith in him when it could be her undoing. ]
No... no, you need to understand. You've put yourself at risk too by forcefully talking about theories and trying to lead us to a conclusion. Whether you're someone truly innocent or someone with some ulterior motive, you need to understand I'm choosing you for a reason.
[ He talks of Judy and her face falters. Elizabeth doesn't know how to feel - Judy is cold at times, but offers glimpses of hope in ways she can't explain. Why? IS there some conflicting morals...? ]
I won't. I refused to partake unless she gave me information about the staff. That's how I know that they're scientists - it wasn't Judy's offering at first.
[ She fought for the damn thing! ]
There is another person I'm discussing this with, someone I've verified as innocent. They'll be another point of contact that I can confide it, don't worry. [ She smiles weakly. ] What I need from you... I need for you to keep pushing certain people. I have the ability to find out these staff members in private, but only one at a time - I've narrowed my fields of innocence but if I find out a staff member... we have to find a way to out that information without me or anyone innocent coming into risk.
[ Selfish as she was to wanting to stay alive, it's because she has a purpose now. ]
I don't want anyone to take the fall for me, I'd never ask for that...
no subject
[Anybody could be against them. Anybody could be waiting to backstab them when they were all distracted by something else. Paranoia is only natural, in these times.]
That's good. I'm glad you have someone else.
[There's a pause, his smile turning somewhat bittersweet as she discusses him getting targeted, of him being pointed to and destroyed of just trying to find the truth.]
You know, I am scared of that. Of them going after me, not just because of my theories and such, but... [He pauses, the words heavy on his tongue- he's still trying to come to acceptance with it.] Elizabeth, you know I'm not a well man. I'm sure you've seen it for yourself. All it takes is for me to do something wrong, something out of my current control, and they'll be on me like vultures to roadkill.
[He lets out a breathless laugh.]
But that doesn't mean I'll stop. I know the risk. I'd rather catch these cowards than worry about my own hide, you know? I feel I have to. I need to. Catch them before they kill again...
[There's a pause. His lips feel dry.]
Don't worry, Elizabeth. We'll find a way to share it without putting others at risk...it'll be hard, though, but it's possible. We still have the paint idea - if we find out the apartment the perpetrator is in, we can confirm it via that way. We'll need to brainstorm things, ensure that all possible leaks will be sealed...
no subject
I won't let them. I let an innocent woman, as unwell as she was, be executed. Alfendi, no matter, I will give you the fairness we are all entitled to.
[ She's taking a chance here. She really is. Elizabeth chews on her bottom lip, trying to come together with the prospect of believing in Alfendi - trusting him. It's hard for her, hard for her to believe in anything but her own escape. But... ]
If they have research to do, they won't stop until there's a result produced. They're... studying us in some way, looking for a metric we can't quite find. Is it based off survival...? Stress levels..?
[ She muses out loud, but it's so... dry. She doesn't care right now. She's tired and sore and disenchanted. ]
There's only two people in my apartment now - myself and another. If you need to spend the night and brainstorm this, we can. I don't... know much about my other roommate, but we should be fine.
[ Yeah, Elizabeth's room is a fucking danger zone?? ]
no subject
[His smile turns rueful - before today, he'd been in the dark, thinking he was having nothing but a few fainting spells. It turned out much worse than that. How nice, how everything changes so quickly in a few hours.]
If we want to ascertain the nature of their research, we'd have to look at their parameters. I have no scientific experience, really, but I know for a fact that if they are trying to obtain a certain result, they will keep some things the same as to eliminate variables. Perhaps removing the foot is one of those controls...but we can't tell at this point.
[hahahaha they're going to be so wrong about the foot]
Hm. Well, let me try to gather more information and try to narrow down suspects. When another murder occurs, I can stay over, and we can move from there. I want to make sure our plans will be as effective as possible.
[He can see how tired she is, how exhausted, and he, too, is also out of it. This whole strange game of murder weighs far too much on a person's psyche. What will be the last metaphorical straw on the mind in the shape of a camel's back?]
[He doesn't know. He has to just look to the future and ensure that the murderers will get what's coming to them in this deadly game.]
[There's a bit of an awkward pause, but he reaches forward, placing a hand gently on her shoulder in his attempt of a reassuring gesture as he looks into her eyes.]
Please get some rest, Elizabeth. The days ahead will be long, but if we work as hard as each of us possibly can, then we'll escape this wretched place.