IC contact [Mask or Menace]

[infomodder]

"Gone fishing."

[ so don't leave messages to ruin the after fishing glow !!!

your one stop shop for not leaving him alone ]

Comments

[glassinine]

[ A slight hesitation. That's a cooler greeting than he anticipated. ]

Mr. Graham. I've...returned from it, actually.

[infomodder]

[It doesn't do to play all his cards at once.]

Doesn't tell me how it was. [He doesn't really care, either. It's just shit, and it needs to be cut.] Or what you want.

[There's cool and then there's cold.

This is verging into Arctic waters.]

[glassinine]

[ A hesitation, then: ]

I simply wanted to discuss a new arrival who seems to be of your acquaintance.

[infomodder]

I saw your conversation.

[He was not happy with it, nope. No. No one pries into Abigail's life ever, not on his watch.]

What do you want to discuss?

[glassinine]

[ He tries to gather his wits about him. There are more important things than whether or not Will Graham is peeved at him. Such as: ]

Whether someone has attacked her. Those wounds were not consistent with the account she gave, nor was the gravity of her situation. If someone tried to do her harm, action must be taken to safeguard her person.

[infomodder]

[Ah, but the reason he's peeved is this right here.]

I don't see how she's any of your business, Mister Edgeworth. [Yes, he's peeved with him about Abigail.] And it really should stay that way.

[glassinine]

[ And, at once, his own voice gets quite a bit colder. ]

She might have been hurt or abused. That is how she is any of my business.

[infomodder]

[Will does not give a single shit.]

Abigail Hobbs is not from your world. [She's not yours.] Unless your new job is making every wounded imPort your business regardless of whether they want you prying or not, than no, Mister Edgeworth, she's none of your business.

[Things that Will Graham does not budge on: Abigail Hobbs.]

[glassinine]

[ He grits his jaw. ]

Wounded imPorts have always been my business. I'm a criminal prosecutor, sir. Have you forgotten that? It is my job to ensure that those who hurt the people in this city pay for their crimes. And the fact that you immediately attack me for trying to do my job makes you seem damnably suspicious.

[infomodder]

[SHUT UP MILES]

That only applies if the crime happened here, doesn't it. [Not a question? Not a question!] I've stated in no uncertain terms that Abigail Hobbs is not your business. That is not an attack. That's fact until she chooses otherwise.

[Will seeming suspicious? Must be Tuesday.]

[glassinine]

She's afraid. Correct?

[infomodder]

She is not up for discussion. I'm not saying it again.

[you get nothing
you lose with will, sir
good day]

[glassinine]

Then you are keeping her in fear. You are protecting the one who hurt her, and you are making it so she can be hurt again. If you're her friend, you will help her. Are you her friend?

[infomodder]

[He laughs at that. It's not the laughter of something that's funny because of good humor, not being told a joke with a silly punchline. It's one of those dark sounds that tells what comes next isn't going to be funny for either of them.]

I'm not keeping her in fear, Mister Edgeworth. I'm keeping her from you. Is your ego so warped that you think exposure to you is something that can get rid of fear entirely? That's the last sort of person friends would suggest someone go to, isn't it?

[Instead they should go to Hannibal Lecter, A+++, great guy.]

[glassinine]

You're keeping her from me.

[ Far from offended, he's clearly simply energized by that comment. ]

Why?

[infomodder]

[no don't ask that]

For starters, you have zero respect for established boundaries, as evidenced by this entire conversation. You're more than happy to press and accuse me of doing what I never would to get what you want, why on Earth would I want you anywhere near...anyone I care about?

[glassinine]

[ Firmly: ]

Because I have no concern other than keeping her safe. No other loyalties, no emotional attachment to anyone involved. My sole concern - and it is a professional concern, not a personal one - is what is best for her well-being. You've known me long enough to know that is true.

[infomodder]

That doesn't negate anything I just said, and that doesn't change my mind. The crime did not happen here, she's an adult who can choose to involve who she wants when she wants [And she's really good at picking the people Will's very "no???" about, hopefully this isn't the case here] if she wants, and that's the choice she makes. Not me. You are not involved, I will not involve you without her agreement, and as of right now? You don't have a legal foot to stand on trying to do push for her being your business, do you.

[This is a mess.]

[glassinine]

I do, in point of fact. Have a "foot" to stand on. It seems you'll bear witness to that.

Good day, Mr. Graham.

[infomodder]

[Will knows that words have meaning and that, no matter what his words really meant, they can be twisted to suit the agenda of another. Which leads him to:]

Keep in mind that if you go through with this, that if you take it upon yourself to remove her freedom of choice, you are not only pissing off the guy who thinks about killing people for a living, Mister Edgeworth. You're actively working towards pissing off Freddie Lounds.

[Welcome to the Baltimore crew, they use each other and eat each other on a regular basis. Try the veal.]

[glassinine]

I thought you were a bait-shop owner, Mr. Graham.

[infomodder]

I am here. I'm not where I'm from.

[This is retirement, in a way. But Will Graham isn't someone who retires easily. It'll bite him in the ass one day.

And then it'll bite him in the face.

He doesn't know that.]

[glassinine]

I see. So you're not retired enough from the job to issue bizarre, inexplicable threats. Again, for the crime of seeking to help someone you claim to care for.

Perhaps you ought to turn that keen eye upon yourself right now.

[infomodder]

[Will's reminded of a time when, stuck in a hotel room, he and a coworker had a difference of opinion. Rather than continue the cycle of "no you're wrong, I'm right, look, I have reasons" and argue longer, he'd simply shut the door in his face, sat on a toilet, and talked to his boss. And because Will Graham's opinions on the Ripper are far more valuable than Z's, he got away with it.

There is no door this time, no boss, no bathtub holding a dead body to have a squabble about, but it feels oddly similar. Instead of shutting the door, Will hangs up without another word. If Hannibal Lecter and he are both willing to ignore the mourning family and friends of two slaughtered siblings, if Freddie Lounds is willing to call Abigail friend and push aside any inklings she might have about her following in Daddy's footsteps?

They can handle a nosy lawyer.]