DAY 9 (AFTERNOON) ALFENDI & ELIZABETH

[selfdenying]

[He's worried.]

[He's mad too, of course. He's always mad. In a place like this, with a morbid game so frustratingly arranged against him and the others, it's hard not to be.]

[But now, after that strange conversation with the dead, he's worried. "Sleeping with the enemy"? And Dojima, suddenly leaving him a note asking about Bigby Wolf, and whether he's innocent or not? He hadn't considered it. He had trusted everyone in his apartment, assumed that they were all allies, they were on his side...]

[But were they, really?]

[He briskly walks through the Complex, finally catching sight of who he's been looking for - he walks up and stops her in her stride by stepping in front of her, his expression twisted in a frown.]

Elizabeth. [He says, his voice low.] I...I need to talk to you

[He doesn't allow her much time to reply, since he lets out a sigh and speaks up again:]

I'm worried that Bigby Wolf might be staff.

Comments

[tearable]

[ Honestly...? It was nothing. Looking back, it was nothing. It was a weak moment. Elizabeth was raised with the notion that Eve brought temptation into the Garden of Eden - that the Biblical passages were words to live by. She faulted, she invited that in.

It was just a kiss.

That's all.

It was temptation in it's rawest form. ]

I don't know... I - [ Elizabeth tries to gather her thoughts but fails. The words fail her. ] He can't be like them. There's no way. He wasn't...

[ God, she feels sick and she takes a moment to find somewhere to sit down, to carefully rest her knees from trembling. ]

It has to be something airborne with a chemical agent. I would suggest something structured to our DNA since Alice was allowed to awake as was those chosen by the security officers.

[ She sounds a bit sad, honestly. ]

...I need to talk to him.

[selfdenying]

[She sits down and he's just left standing, awkwardly, next to her, his hands clenching and unclenching at his sides. He's still sick - he even wobbles slightly in place - but his focus is all on her.]

That would make sense. Or maybe something with the ankle monitors, but they only give shocks as far as we know...

[He doesn't know what to do. He's not a man who feels for others, who reassures, who calms the families of victims back home. She's distressed, he can tell that, and a part of him wants to help, but no words that come to mind can help her, he thinks.]

[Finally, he lets out a sigh, raising a hand to push away some of the hair draping over his face.]

...Be careful. Please. [She's already at risk. She might not be alive when he wakes up tomorrow morning but...god, he can't think of that. He can't.]

For all we know, it could be Shijima that's the culprit, but...just be cautious, Elizabeth. I know you will be, I just...well, just do that.

[He doesn't know how to express "I'm worried you'll get yourself into something terrible and I won't be able to help you" adequately.]

[tearable]

[ Theres a lot of thoughts rushing through her mind, partially keen on the betrayal that Bigby could have had. His kindness, his care... what if it was a ruse and she, a fool? ]

It's technology or chemicals far beyond my knowledge... I'm afraid unless we stumble on a secret I'm the terminals or Judy is willing to elaborate... we are at a loss...

[ She hates it, but she has to move on. Think logical as opposed to with emotions. She had only one friend back home - Booker... In that moment, she has to wonder if he would have thought of her as naive for trusting anyone. ]

It could be, yes... but in the case that it is Bigby, I'm the fool in that regard. He - he forced me into a wall when we arrived, believed i was pulling some sort of con with the men. When I defended myself, he has shown nothing but kindness to me. I just... I don't know why I didn't check him...

I could have put you all at risk and for - what? Human connection...?

[selfdenying]

That's too bad...funny, how they can have technology like that and yet the books in the damn library are from the 40s. It makes no sense.

[Another disadvantage lined up for them upon a mountain of disadvantages. What's new. Elizabeth's statement, though, makes him visibly bristle.]

He did what? What the hell? What con? [Holy moly, Bigby, what were you doing when he wasn't keeping an eye on you?] And don't blame yourself. Though there's still a chance that those dead freaks are messing with us, if he is staff, you couldn't have known. It's not your fault, Elizabeth.

[He trusted Bigby too. Didn't even look at him twice. And people are dead, because he thought that the people closest to him wouldn't stab him in the back.]

[(There's a certain familiar painful pang of a feeling at that thought, but he doesn't know why it's there. He shakes it off.)]

We both messed up, Elizabeth. For now, let's find out what we can. You'll be meeting your partner soon, yes?

[tearable]

I don't much mind that ... [ Re: the books and cinema. ] At least something is familiar to me.

[ Elizabeth looks up a bit defeated, she opens her mouth to defend him because she truly feels that he acted on his anger. On a lot of things, he's also shown his softness and sympathy with her. ]

It wasn't - after we disposed of Diva's body, I think we were both at ends. I... [ She blames herself and that's why the games she played with the men - the femme fatale image that worked so well in Rapture came undone. The moment he pushed her against the bathroom stall, she knew she'd get someone killed again at that rate. ] I was pulling strings when I arrived here - using the men to try and find a way out, try and find those staff members. Jack, Alvin, Bigby... only one of them called me out on my bullshit.

[ Elizabeth feels her stomach churn at this point and she has to explain - ]

...He knows I'm working against them. I confided in him that knowledge. [ She feels alone. She feels as if she made a mistake and maybe she did? She hopes and she tries so hard to ping back to the word Bigby used on her - faith. She tries to have faith. ] I'll... yes. I've met with my partner already.


...Alvin's innocent.

[ She should have cleared Apartment 7 first. ]

[selfdenying]

[Honestly, a part of him doesn't blame Bigby. If he hadn't known what Elizabeth was doing, he would've probably accosted her, too...on this side of the personality wheel, at least.]

If he is staff, I'm surprised he hasn't taken advantage of that, yet. He hasn't fed you any information of his own, right?

[Because if he did something to push her off the scent...well, then, that's bad news.]

Alvin? That man? [Ugh. No wonder he was suspicious, but apparently he wasn't staff, as Alfendi had once thought. He lets out a huff, almost looking disappointed, like a dog whose had a piece of meat stolen right from under his nose.] Ugh. Well, then, I guess I can take him off the list of suspicious people, then.

...Is there anyone else you know of who's innocent?

[tearable]

He may have. Why would Rhys... why would Rhys have so devotedly gone for me?

[ Besides #grudge. ]

Just keep an eye on him, keep Alvin alive. Make sure he knows the basics.

[ Elizabeth grows silent a bit, knowing that she'll need to meet with Bigby. After this...? There's no way. Elizabeth shakes her head, her hand resting on the cast at her wrist. ]

...I have a list for you, Alfendi. I'll provide it to you before we sleep tonight. It's all of my musings, all of my theories... The innocents, suspected, and highly guilty individuals are on it with some answers I've found.

If anything happens to me, check inside of my pillow.