meadowlarklogs | all this time

[At this point, Gabriel is just airing his own frustrations—he knows that he can’t fully blame Jack for doing what he has to do, but he’s sick of not having answers and having no good way to get them. Even the other Displaced, the ones who have been here much longer than either of them, don’t seem to have any answers. It’s hard not to feel cornered, and maybe a little bit hopeless. When Gabriel feels that way, he can’t help but lash out.]

It’s taking too long.

[He’d felt he same way in Nysa, of course, but now it all seems to be coming to a head.]

Nobody here knows anything about anything. They’ve made no progress. I’m not gonna let us fall into the same trap.

[ Jack tilts his chin up and narrows his eyes, issuing a challenge. ]

So what's your plan?

[ Jack can't help but push back, but that's always how the two of them have functioned. They apply pressure as needed, and sometimes it leads to a blowout fight, but other times it leads to some kind of breakthrough. They're on the same page here, which is that they need to make sure they don't become complacent. The ultimate goal of finding their way back is top priority, but their methods of handling that are different.

Again, that's always how they've been. They're aiming for the same thing, just going about it in different ways. ]

Part of the reason I took the job at Vyonation is because I figure it might eventually get me access to information.

[Gabriel recognizes that tone of voice, and though of course he knows Jack is coming from a place of logic and necessity, he can't stand the kind of haughty tone, reminding him all too much of when Jack answered to the UN.

It's all performative. Jack knows how things really get done--that in the end, Gabriel will be right.]

I don't think you're gonna like my plan.

[And, to his own credit, he's refrained from pulling out all of the Blackwatch stops just yet--sure, he's shaken a few people down, but given how long they've already been here, there's much more he could do.]

It's faster, though.

You're right, I probably won't.

[ There's plenty of things that Gabriel had done back during Blackwatch's active days which Jack had felt uncomfortable about, even as he'd signed off on them. How many times could you justify actions that fell squarely in the gray area of the morality box before everything started to fracture?

Thirty years, apparently.

Jack and Gabriel are definitely on better terms now than when they'd first reunited on El Nysa, but that doesn't stop the ball of anxiety that bounces around in Jack's chest now. They don't really answer to anyone here, and it's no longer Jack's job to decide how far is too far for Gabriel, but it still puts him in an uncomfortably familiar position.

He keeps his gaze locked on Gabriel, jaw tight and shoulders tense. ]

I still want you to keep me in the loop.

[ That had always been the point of contention. Gabriel had at times thought it would be better off if Jack didn't know something, but that was never true. ]

[Gabriel always has to act like he’s playing three-dimensional chess, even if he’s no closer to finding any answers than anyone else here. It’s part of his air of mystery, and with everything else ripped from him in New Amsterdam, he’s got to hold on to what he can. What he can’t do is admit to Jack that he’s made no real progress on any of these fronts. He talks big about kidnapping and interrogation, but even he knows he isn’t in a position to do that. The EMP had been a fluke—they’d gotten lucky, and he doesn’t expect to be able to pull something like that off again, especially considering how the kidnapping of the UNA soldier turned out.]

Sure. I’ll send along an itemized list of the kneecaps I’m busting.

[What he really needs to do is start honing the powers he has here, but Jack can’t exactly know about that, either.]

You still want to get these chips out of our heads?

[ The smartass comment doesn't do anything to help Jack's mood. His mouth thins out into a line and his expression is completely unimpressed. The thing is, he's pretty sure that if Gabriel had actually come across anything of note in his investigation, he would have shared it with him. There would be no reason to hide that kind of intel in this situation, which means that he's probably come up just as empty as everyone else.

For someone like Reyes, that's not an easy pill to swallow.

At the question, Jack nods slowly, but he also knows that task isn't as simple as they'd expected it to be when they first got here. ]

If we want to do it, we need to find someone to actually perform the surgery and to replace it with a new one. It's not exactly what we wanted, but at least that way we know it's not from some unknown source.

[ Even the straight out of the box implants likely had some software pre-installed to monitor them, but in that case they could hope it would be more run-of-the-mill data collection. Still not great, but better than the giant question mark they're dealing with now. ]

[Gabriel knows he's tipped his hand--and Jack knows it too. Even as they manage to change the subject, albeit a little, the truth is unspoken. He's made no more progress here than any of the other displaced, and he won't admit that he has no idea where to start. He stares Jack down until he relents a little with that nod.]

Nobody's gonna do it for us.

[As in, Gabriel isn't going to trust anyone else to do it for them, especially when the consensus among the displaced is that the implants should stay exactly where they are.]

[ Jack narrows his eyes and shifts his weight, making a gesture with his hand toward Gabriel. ]

So what, you gonna learn how to do brain surgery, then?

[ It's not like Jack is that thrilled with the idea of finding some random surgeon to take care of it, but he has to concede that it would be preferable to whatever the two of them might pull off on their own. This isn't just removing shrapnel from a wound. They'd be cutting into each other's brains, and enhancements or not, he has no clue how their bodies would take to that. ]

Can’t be that hard, right?

[He knows that’s a bad joke, but there’s some seriousness in the proposal. He knows that their chance of finding someone among the Displaced to do this for them is slim to none. Perhaps brain surgery isn’t an “if you want something done right, do it yourself” kind of situation, but Gabriel is starting to see fewer and fewer options.]

We’ve got the healing factor. We’re already in a better position to do this than most people.

[ Both of them are so stubborn that there are times where Jack feels as if conversations with Gabriel are tantamount to turning his wheels in a ditch, but sometimes it's just a matter of being bullheaded enough to keep at it.

He takes a step back, placing one hand on his hip as he bows his head and lets out a sigh. ]

I still think that going to an actual hospital and fashioning a reason that we need our implants replaced is the better move here. El could probably help us falsify records.

[ Does Jack want to owe anyone, particularly an AI who's already kept secrets from them? No, not exactly. But he also doesn't want to get brain damage. ]

If we do it ourselves, then you're gonna have to be the guinea pig.

[ Seeing how Reyes is the one who's digging his heels in on this, it's only fair. ]

Do you trust El?

[Because Gabriel doesn't trust anyone, in this scenario, and he's starting to see a situation where they're going to be asking favors. He doesn't want to be beholden to anyone for this, even if what Jack is proposing is arguably safer in the short term.

As always, he has to think about the long game, and he seems fairly casual about being the one to go under the knife.]

I'm fine with that.

[He's got something of an ace up his sleeve in that department, he thinks, even if Jack won't be very happy to find that out.]

[ Jack shakes his head, because his trust also doesn't go very far. There's a time when he'd been freer with it, but not anymore. Not since Overwatch's messy end, and it's Gabriel himself who's to blame for some of Jack's overwhelming paranoia.

He still doesn't know how much of that had been an outright betrayal. He still doesn't know how much Gabriel had been keeping from him. ]

Okay. [ He heaves out a breath, his eyes flicking down toward the floor. ] You got the stuff for it? I grabbed some scalpels and other medical supplies when he raided that facility, but I think we're gonna need something more heavy-duty if we're cracking your head open.

I’ve got some stuff for it.

[He and Kovacs had made off with some medical supplies and some drugs as well, but unfortunately brain surgery is a little more complicated than that. Gabriel knows what Jack is getting at—if Gabriel is not prepared to do it right now, then he’s just bluffing.

He folds his arms.]

Forgot my bone saw, though.

What a shame.

[ Jack's tone comes out completely dry when he makes that comment, and he glances away, heaving out a sigh of frustration as his arms drop back to his sides. All this effort put into getting worked up and they still don't have everything they need to do what Gabriel's suggesting. ]

To get the right equipment, you're probably gonna have to break into a hospital.

[ Not an easy task, he would imagine, but if anyone can do it, Gabriel could. The question is, will he put his money where his mouth is? ]

[Now he's being taunted, and Jack of all people should know that he's not going to get away with it. Gabriel Reyes will always call a bluff, and even if he can't take care of this one right this second, this is just more incentive to make it happen.]

Yeah, I guess I'm gonna have to break into a hospital.

[But Gabriel is, perhaps, further ahead on this than Jack knows, given his excursion with Kovacs in the morgue.]

So many places to break into, so little time.

[ If Gabriel manages to get the necessary tools, then so be it. Jack will attempt to do some sort of back-alley brain surgery on him, and it will likely end in tragedy, but it won't be anything that Gabriel himself didn't ask for.

Neither of them should be so cavalier about this, but they're both too old and disillusioned to put much stock in their lives.

Seeing his opening, Jack actually manages a small smirk as he shoots back: ]

So is one of those places gonna be a furniture store?

[ No, he hasn't forgotten about what started this argument. They don't even have a couch. ]

It was not on my list.

[Probably he's going to be an upstanding citizen and buy furniture, with money he's been making by betting on Jack at the fighting ring, of course. Not that he's going to mention it.]

Maybe if you ask nicely.

[ Jack sighs and leans his weight back on his heels, shaking his head to himself. ]

What do you want, a "pretty please with a cherry on top"?

[ The words come out as an exasperated drawl, and then he begins to turn away. As far as he's concerned, their argument is over. It remains to be seen if what they've discussed today will actually lead to anything, whether that's more bone saws or couches in their lives. ]

Hey, it might be nice.

[He'll worry about furniture soon. The argument might be over, but it was still a good reminder of how volatile the two of them can still be. They've only just gotten here, but Gabriel is already ready to have some time to himself.]

I'm gonna get some air.

[And maybe he'll look at some couches. Maybe.]

all this time

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