slightlyoffchilt | - IC CONTACT POST FOR MASKORMENACE -

[Oh, Chilton has many ideas. He's gotten endless ideas, in fact, from working with Walt alone. But he's far subtler than Crane with them, and in expression of them -- there's something to be said of humanity beyond the archetype. "Useful" has a broader definition after all.]

Threat noted. [Spoken just a bit dryly.] Pinkman was right about one thing, at least. You cannot kill him, that would only further his agenda. Succumbing to murder because of fear? Because you're terrified of the danger her poses? [No, dammit, thinks Chilton. That isn't the design he has for Walt!] You'd be vindicating him. And you'd have Batman as fallout, for all your troubles.

[More to himself:]

Crane was sloppy to invoke narcissistic injury. [Insulting Walt? The man clearly didn't respond well to hostile attention. It wasn't a sound manipulative tactic -- unless Crane wanted to drive Walt into Chilton's arms, in which case Crane had drifted more from reality on multiple tiers. Walt had demonstrated he was a dangerous man, probably explicitly to Crane, so why court that with a flippant betrayal? Was Crane embroiled in a project, and wanted the glory to himself? Did he intentionally cut Walt lose? Was it possible the man didn't realize what Walter White truly could be?

As much as Chilton praised Heisenberg, it wasn't the wealthy kingpin aspect that he sought to revive in Walt. It was the violence, the control. It was the brutality. It was the ability to murder a young man and dissolve his body in secret. It was the process of convincing and aged cartel lord to play suicide bomber. Walt was narcissistic and he exhibited anti-social tendencies; he teetered on that psychopathic cliff. Chilton wanted to push him right over it. He wanted so badly his creation.

And Chilton himself, arrogant and ambitious, could never ever insult something as glorious as his own creation.]

He hurt you.

[There was sympathy in his voice.]

He made you think he was a like-minded individual. He did that to the both of us.

[And now, a darker drop in his voice:]

We have to hurt him back, yes. [But how to you battle a glacier? You don't stab it with ice picks, no, you take its opposite force. You melt it.] But we have to hurt him through Batman.

[Crane's special someone.]

[Wow, Chilton would never lose to psychiatric trivia, the man is like in love with the system and every single version of the DSM. In love with the system to a sad degree except for any ethical review because it's Chilton. DO YOU EVEN KNOW HIM, WILL GRAHAM???]

What sort of case? Do we still have a De Chima?

[Perhaps he's giving away a lot about how dislocated he had been. All these little hints, so effortlessly exposed.]

[Maybe Crane pretended to know Jung's favorite kind of yogurt and bluffed really well or something! If educated men get all hung up on gossip surely they'll lie in trivia. HE DOESN'T KNOW HIMSELF SOMETIMES OK GIVE HIM A BREAK.]

Involves a priest trying to drown other clergy members in vats of holy water. We had a De Chima last I checked. [Will's not the sort to really ask people if they're okay; he's not a fan of that question himself, why invite it? Makes it...trickier. Ugh.] But I also meant if you need anything other than me to keep to my appointments.

[Friendship stuff like tampering with or destroying evidence! Or fetching things. Running errands.

...bringing noodle soup? Will is really not good at this. Hannibal always just showed up with that crap in tow.]

[ Yes. Good. This was all good; the intended result. Walt sacrificed the truth, but the payoff was worth it. Chilton was on his side. "We have to hurt him back" -- the use of we proved just that.

Walt was no stranger to using manipulation, but it certainly didn't mean he was immune. The more time he spent with Chilton, the more the man grew on him -- saying the right things and offering helpful advice. Walt had already benefited greatly from their meetings when it came to his interpersonal relationships with Hank and Jesse. But even as helpful as that had been, it wasn't the main reason for Walt's shift in Chilton's court. No, the main reason was their mutual vagrant acquaintance.

Destroying that man's mind to cover their tracks proved Chilton and Walt worked well together. It had been something Walt wanted with Crane. And while he and Crane did get along well in that working relationship, they never actually worked together. Crane wanted to keep things as separate as possible when it came to their work. But Chilton? Chilton was willing to work with Walt, to collaborate. There was a hole missing in Walt's life with the absence of Saul. And Chilton was filling that hole in with his presence more and more. A man of ideas and advice and a man of considerable talents, even though he was, at times, insufferable -- that was what Chilton had become. ]

Batman? [ His brows raised and the bewilderment could be heard in his voice. ] What? Are we just going to go to Batman and tattle on Crane and watch as he gets beat up again? Please tell me you have a better plan than that.

[Reaching out to Holmes. Chilton shifted in his chair, frowning. His proximity to Will made his discomfort something of a shared experience, and there was no wisdom in obscuring it.]

I can't say I'm comfortable with the idea. He seems like a man who won't stop at the obvious answer, if you catch my drift.

[What if Sherlock scented more than the murder mystery at hand? Chilton's body language was in direct contrast to Will's relaxed composure in this moment, as his mind stormed over the hypothetical catastrophes.]

But. If you're on top of him, then it's as good as leashing the man isn't it? And surely he can appreciate your authority over the matter. This your case, after all. Your territory.

[Your people.]

Then I'll keep him in mind.

[What did this Chimera know, anyway? It was entirely possible that a suggestion of Sherlock Holmes wasn't one meant for good, for something they could benefit from. The two of them couldn't know for certain why he was offered. Better for his people (and him) if he showed more interest in their concerns and voice than he showed to a complete stranger. What message would it send Frederick if Will immediately jumped on board that ship instead of his? Especially when he wasn't beating around the bush about his discomfort, when he was laying it out there that no, it wasn't exactly his favored outcome. Unless that was his design, to build up both resistance and loyalty in one go. He was doing a smashing fine job of it. Will didn't like leashes when there was no need for the leash in the first place. He could, however, operate pretty well when he was wearing one himself. He tried. He was trying now.]

Have you thought— [He frowns, pauses, hesitates. It's not the most unique thought, but it's one that Will has trouble voicing. One that's run through his mind a hundred times and he pushes it away, if only for how miserable an ending to this it would be. But he can't deny the possibility, and the discomfort on his end is meant to show as much, not that he believes Frederick Chilton truly has not considered this yet.] —whoever did this to her might. Be gone? What do we do then?

That's what you get, for neglecting to dig into my history. A good many questions and a cheeky mystery.

[Ugh, no, that RHYMED.]

I'm from a violent world, as you've deduced.

[ Maybe she was being courteous! ]

abel gideon?

[ IT'S A GUESS because really. It could have been anyone. She doesn't know much about that guy beyond his associations and creepily sniffing around Abigail's first disappearance (doesn't everyone though). If she's wrong maybe he'll correct her and she can get double the deets. ]

And you were so eager to leave me the impression that you didn't care. Imagine!

[Because of course, she got it in one.]

Mass murderer turned serial killer. Some people just don't respond well to treatment.

How much time have you devoted to thinking about Raina and me, together? Embraced?

never know when a name will be relevant. good to remember them

[ Despite her not...having one. Or maybe that's why! ]

how did he detain you?
he must have cared a lot
i'll imagine that

You say that like it's more than a passing thought.

[Chilton took a moment. It was an invitation, certainly, and one that spoke to other sensibilities: compassion, investment. Will Graham couldn't outright make the concerned inquiries, and Chilton wasn't about to surrender any relevant information regardless.]

A little on the nose, don't you think? Holy water. Clergy. Was this around the time Lucifer ported in?

Nothing so obvious, Walt. But given Batman's importance to Crane, which I believe is a profound relevance based on a brief conversation we shared, there is no other tool that inflicts the same impact.

[A quickened beat followed, like the rhythm of a pulse.]

You and Crane shared a lab. Do you have any formula residue? Of his... Toxin? And if not -- do you understand the compound structure? Can you mimic it?

Perhaps because your behavior at the Swearing In and this residual remark implies that indeed, it is.

Should we talk about it?

Only if you don't get offended when I don't pull punches.

If they're gone, then what's to stop them from returning?

[Pessimist logic. It wasn't the lack of closure that haunted Chilton, it was that the killer would sneak back to ensure urban closure. What if she was but the first of Baltimore to fall? What if there was a grittier design?]

It would do good to investigate regardless of any promised justice. [Chilton didn't believe in justice. He believed in crime and punishment.] But for our own sake. For your sake.

[Chilton tilted his had to the side with that emphasis.]

Just before he announced himself to the Network, yes. I went through the church and spoke to the priest myself. It could match with the timing of his arrival, but what happened doesn't match to Lucifer. It's someone - or something - else. I've been working on it when I've been able.

[And paying him visits, too, but he probably shouldn't let that slip so soon. He doesn't want to hear any questions or conjecture on why he's taking it upon himself to provide this sad, confused man with some company.

Will knows he goes because of what could be considered unhealthy reasons. As long as he's aware of it, that's all that matters. Gosh.]

[ Raina is finally breaking her silence just to drop this little note: ]

Revelations. De Chima. I'm meeting up with Crane there at 7pm.

Finally! Don't I get a hello? I wouldn't have known if you were even ALIVE had I not made those deliveries signature-required.

[Emotionally charged text? From Chilton?]

You're meeting Crane. I want to know why.

Edited 2015-05-01 01:58 (UTC)

Dorian, would anyone who knows you well be surprised at how hands-on you can get? I expect punches unpulled.

Hello, Frederick. Thank you for the humiliation.

As for why I'm meeting up with Crane, you should know why. I want answers. I have a suspicion that you were a test subject and he's planning something far more sinister. I want to know if I'm right.

Good.

In that case, let's have another meeting. Name your time.

I would prefer that you didn't use the terminology "test subject" with regards to my person. Quite obviously, you must proceed with caution. Do not discuss me, he will want to, he will test you in that prodding manner of his. It isn't so much that Crane is insidious as he is just quite frankly unhinged. That sort of dislocation from reality is going to cost him before it costs the people around him.

But it will cost the people around him, Raina.

And you weren't answering my calls, so I wasn't sure where to have your gift delivered.

- IC CONTACT POST FOR MASKORMENACE -

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