consultcriminal | 002 [Audio]

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002 [Audio]

[Jim's going to pretend that he wasn't asleep for a while. That just makes things easier. And less weird...]

Who is really running this ship? I want to say schoolchildren, but honestly, I've seen children act better than this. And I was under the impression that wardens were supposed to be the "good guys."

It's just like being at home.

[Private to E. Nygma]

You didn't tell me what you learned.

[Private to Bruce]

One might think that a warden would want to contact his inmate. But...I could be wrong?

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[ Oh, he doesn't expect him to be intimidated so easily, or for him to follow Bruce's rules. That will be far too easy, won't it?

That's fine. Bruce already knows how to deal with that. Contingency plans, right? He smiles slightly. ]

Second rule, you'll meet me at the end of every day and tell me everything that happened. I want a full, complete report. The only exception is if you are in a Barge coma, or dead.

If you miss out anything, I will know.

[ He knows that Moriarty won't follow that either. He just wants to know what will he miss out. ]

Oh you will? That's a relief. [He also had no intention of doing that, either. He reported to no one. People reported to him. And there was no way he was going to do that to this man. Certainly not when some random "Admiral" had arbitrarily assigned them together.]

Next?

There's nothing else.

[ His smile slips right back to the Bat, and there's a pause before he cocks his head to the side. ]

I forgot to mention. For every infraction, I'll release to the public a portion of your file. Which portion and how much is my decision. When I'll release it, and the method, is also up to me.

If you don't break the two rules, you can stay Jim.

Are we clear?

[Something seemed to break, just a little, inside Jim. He stared up at Bruce coldly, if only briefly, before that smirk returned.]

You act as if I have a need to stay this way. As if I like being Jim. I do it because it's fun.

[And to keep his identity from Sherlock. At least for now. He turned towards his laptop.] My file. Show it to me.

[ At least that will ensure his obedience. At least for a little while - he's not so stupid to think that this will last forever. ]

I don't care if you follow the rules due to necessity or for the sake of keeping your entertainment, Jim. As long as you do.

[ He smirks a little, and spins the file in his hands until it's facing Moriarty, and he hands it over to him. ]

[Jiim took it from him idly before scanning the contents. He knew what it would say. There was nothing in it that's a surprise, but it's not that he wanted. It's not the information he was after. He just wanted the layout. If Eddie wanted a file, then Jim was going to give him one.

But that left one question. He wouldn't ask it outright, of course, but he would watch. Handing him back the file, Jim opened his laptop once more.]

I think we're finished here. [A clear dismissal.]

You must be used to ordering people around.

[ It's a casual remark as he reaches forward and very slowly closes the laptop again. ]

But so am I, and I say we're not done here. Come. [ He stands, turns and looks at Jim. ]

Let's take a walk.

[Annoyed, he leaned back, weighing his options. He didn't want to go, but it seemed easier if he did. It would just be less hassle.]

I do have things that require my attention. [But he did stand and opened his laptop only to shut it down properly. He had valuable information there.]

Of course. [ He looks back at him for a long moment, observing, analyzing. ] But I'm at the top of your priority.

[ Matter-of-fact. At the same time, he's walking towards the door, swinging it open. ]

You haven't been up to the deck. [ Not even a question. ] But that can wait.

We'll play chess in the common room.

[Jim almost corrected him. He had been up on deck already, but he didn't care enough to tell Bruce that. It would just remain his little secret. He could pretend to be surprised. Again.]

Chess in the common room. How thrilling. [He sighed a bit dramatically.]

You disagree?

[ He's careful to keep a close watch on his inmate out of the corner of his eye. The ship isn't that big, and he's been through a few rounds of it - enough to memorize the route and not even have to look very carefully to navigate his way to one of the common rooms. ]

We can play bullet chess, then.

What if I don't know how to play chess? What would you do then? [He laughed again and headed out. Like his warden, he knew the layout of the ship well enough. Not the warden-only levels, of course. But the rest of the Barge had been explored, even if only in a cursory sense.]

Do you expect me to believe that you don't?

[ And he has one eyebrow raised, stopping just to turn around and fixing Moriarty with a sharp, serious look. He might be still using most of his Brucie facade when compared to 'Bruce' and the Bat, but it doesn't mean that he's going to let Moriarty think he's stupid.

It'll defeat the point. ]

No. That's not what I expect of you. [As they wandered the corridor, he kept his hand in his pockets and took his own time, walking slowly. He wasn't going to hurry for any man. Let alone his warden.]

[ He doesn't mind. A hunter has patience, and besides- he has waited far longer on rooftops for mobsters to gather, or for shipments to come in. Just standing there and waiting for Moriarty to catch up isn't a chore.

Besides, he's half-certain that the man is only trying to assert his own semblance of power, in what way or another. ]

We come back to this question.

What do you expect of me?

[He chuckled, giving Bruce a penetrating look.] Not much. I have very little faith in you.

[Shrugging once, he continued along, glancing towards the common room they approached.]

And judging by the rest of the wardens, 'not much' is exactly what I'm going to get.

[ At those words, he starts walking again, tilting his head back and letting a sharp, harsh bark of laughter escape. Well, Moriarty has surprised him- though Bruce is pretty sure that his inmate doesn't mean that as a joke. ]

Expect the unexpected.

[ And he's walking forward, throwing the door to the common room open. ]

[Jim stepped inside idly, glancing around, bored. This ship really was dull. And lifeless. And he really, really wanted something to do that didn't involve his overbearing warden.]

How quaint. [Whether he meant Bruce's words or the common room was left vague.]

I find it useful.

[ That comment, too, can apply to both his own words and the room. Two can play the same game, Jim.

And he's walking over to the side of the room where he's seen a chessboard before- there, it's still there. Bruce hefts it and walks directly to a table with two chairs, dropping down on one.

Jim can stand there like an idiot, or he can come over. His choice, really. ]

[Jim sat down, as it seemed the more appropriate reaction.]

What is the purpose of this? [Chess was boring. This warden was boring. Boring. Boring. Boring. He stared at the board, sighing. He was taking the dramatics up a notch.]

[ He notices the boredom, and he lets his smile slip a little. Strange, that the man doesn't mind letting the facade slip even though he's in public - is Bruce boring him so?

Setting up the board, he shifts it around until Moriarty gets the first move. ]

I don't like repeating myself. [ He'd already answered that, hasn't he? ]

Oh right. Goody. Warden and inmate bonding times. [He moved his knight and sat back, staring up at the ceiling. If anyone walked in, Jim would change slightly. But he knew there was no point hiding from Bruce. It was...annoying, but at least it presented a small change.]

[ Moving a knight first. Interesting. Of course, he has chosen chess for a reason - the way a person plays chess also reveals somewhat about how they think.

And that is honestly what Bruce wants to know the most. ]

Tell me something about yourself.

No. [He was an aggressive player normally, but he didn't know Bruce. He didn't know how he played. So he was cautious, quite on the defensive at the moment. He didn't want to overestimate his enemy. The first meeting was not the place to do so.]

[ But even that caution does tell Bruce something - that he's already being analyzed, that he's being looked at as an enemy. He doesn't mind. It's only expected, after all.

However, it means that he shifts his playing style. Turns it into something almost too reckless, too aggressive. ]

I would've thought that you want to tell me about everything that doesn't bore you.

002 [Audio]

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