forensicks | lastvoyages Inbox

I... honestly don't know at this point.

[He stands there near the front of the room awkwardly and then makes the turn so his gaze follows her to the table, to take his chance. He'll make the switch, maybe that'll have an influence.]

But you thought she was coerced. Like in a cult. [This is a phrase engraved clearly into his mind, the words on her lips as he studied her face trying to take the plunge and declare he accepted her.] "Cut ties with all her close friends, that's cult 101." That was when I brought up the Adam Martin thing again, because I wanted us all to be on the same page.

[What Inmate Misty would have called "the same team".]

You denied it, understandably, and we went our separate ways for a bit. But then you called me back. And not much later, the police discovered Adam's body. So I... [How does he want to play this? He always presents remorse, which will supposedly magically release him from this place, and thought Misty as a warden wanted that from him too. Will she actually see this as a good thing, if Adam Martin will stay dead? If nothing else, he might as well emphasize that he was genuinely occupied during this critical period.] I got to work.

Slow down.

[She says, because she sees the way he's skipping over details here - either accidentally, because he was there and doesn't realize how useless a surface-level skim is to someone who wasn't... or on purpose, because there's something that he doesn't want her to know. Either way, she's sure as hell going to dig.]

Where did you go when we went our separate ways? Where did I go? How much time passed between us separating and me calling you, and what did I say when I did?

[It's true that this is very much an elision. Though, summoning the details is a genuine headache. He rubs his hands together a bit, restless.]

The compound was very remote. Took well over an hour to drive in from anything like civilization. You made me leave you there, and at first I thought you'd get someone else to bring you out. I went to this house I have somewhere else in the state, so, even further than that. [Realizing that she is thoughtful and appreciates his thoughtfulness and will notice this distinction that he didn't just immediately ditch her like a douchebag:] A couple hours later, so I could refuel and be sure you hadn't changed your mind.

[He looks down at his hands, using them to count in his head without actually pointing his fingers.]

We first showed up on the 11th. The call was on the 12th, about 24 hours later. Technically it was a voicemail. So, it turned out that you stayed there, and also they had everyone turn in their phones in the office, which is why you used their landline at first. You were probably anxious about it being tapped... so you just said that I was "right about the thing". And that you were unplugging with the girls. And... "I miss you."

[He can't look her in the eyes. It was easier to handle all those things Misty had said when there was that space between them. How does he tell her the truth without saying... that? He misses it so much...]

A lot?

Did I say "I miss you a lot", or did I say "I miss you" a lot of times?

[An inconsequential distinction to some, maybe, and poor Walter, having to sit through this level of scrutiny - but Misty knows herself well, and the more exact info she can get on her phrasing and tone of voice, the better she'll be able to analyze her own future self's actions and mindset. If only this place was connected to a network; she would love to be able to listen to that voicemail herself.]

And the thing I was right about - you thought I was talking about Natalie having been coerced?

[...he'd thought it was normal to be stripped of his cell phone, to not even have a notepad app on the barge intranet device so he'd have to seek out more, but now he really misses it, because that voice mail would be on it.]

More like variations on "I miss you."

[She wants to reconstruct her other self's state of mind but is it really right for him to present evidence of what seems to have been falling in love? Present imperfect tense. If he had some kind of claim, at least, that would be easier to assert... But all else aside, speaking out loud instead of in text has made it easy to misunderstand the boundaries of the phrases, so he'll cooperate a little longer. When she is of course focused on the question of whether Natalie had been coerced, it does disturb Walter to think about what he doesn't know for sure about what happened between them.]

No, it was like—...all you really said about any of them was "unplugging with your friends for a little girls' weekend". Which is why you hadn't called me back until then. But I was right about the thing, and... you were sorry for pushing me away. And, you missed me. Uh...

So before, you'd been mad I accused you of murder, that, "whatever this is, it's over". Now I thought you were ready to trust me about how you killed Adam Martin... You were staying for a little while but we'd see each other again soon. At least, that's what happened...

[The Misty before him has made him think of how little was really said. What if she really was going to stay in the compound forever? Long distance relationships have never bothered him in theory but that's the least of the concerns.]

[A sudden thought occurs to Misty: had she had a crush on this guy? Oh god, how embarrassing; no wonder he's acting so strange. He's probably trying to think of how to let her down easily, apparently for the second time - and who knows what she'd pulled on him in response to the first. She'd probably tried out a litany of her dating tricks, like guilting him or turning on the waterworks--]

Right. I think I understand.

[She pulls in a deep breath.]

Listen, Walter - Mr. Tattersall. I know this likely won't come as much of a comfort considering it was another version of me, but - I am truly sorry if I-- if she-- if she made you feel uncomfortable. Or pressured, or-- or anything like that. I can assure you that it won't happen again.

[A confused look passes over his face that she will likely see as an extension of that "strange behavior". What have they done to her? Did he leave out too many of the awkward details... No, surely what he's described is still a dogged pursuit on his end. "Misty" was the one who had to push him away. She's certainly clingy by nature - rebuffed by Taissa and Shauna, then Natalie herself. That hasn't gone away with her insistence on learning the truth. But far from sensing Walter's feelings for her, she sees herself as some kind of predatory monster...? Will she convince herself that Misty simply manipulated him into killing for her?

He puts his hand on her shoulder.]

You don't have to be formal with me if you don't want to! I only call you Ms. Quigley because, well. [Ah, hell, lighten the mood a little.] You're Barge!Misty, and Misty is Future!Misty. Unless you don't like that, of course.

No, it's fine. And you're being very... kind.

[But she purses her lips, still clearly troubled.]

So, do you believe me when I say that I don't want to pressure you into anything? Or do you think I'm completely full of crap?

[Walter is outright frowning now, an expression that instantly stands out on his boyish face. What made her so afraid of this? Something very specific must have happened. He softens his expression and continues, hand still on her shoulder, even leaning a little further down]

Ms. Quigley, I might not be able to tell you what "you" were thinking, but what I can say is that I chose to go all the way back to the compound. That was my choice! I was choosing that, and it was a choice. If I have any regrets about it now, that's not because you took away any part of my choice. Okay?

[Misty closes her eyes and takes in a deep breath: centering herself, and also letting herself believe the words.]

Okay.

[She says, blinking her eyes open again.]

Thank you. I appreciate that.

Good. I hope you can hold onto that.

[He pats her shoulder and finally lets his arm draw away, to the table. It seems like Misty has tears bottled up inside that fortunately didn't quite come out at this moment... Walter speaks calmly, somber but not losing his motivation, looking at her without a directly piercing gaze.]

You see... When I went back to the compound, I came prepared. I told the police where to go, so they took their places on the stage. One of the cops investigating the case was Matt Saracusa, he had to present and legitimize the fabricated evidence. The other was Kevyn Tan, and to frame him for the deaths of Adam Martin and Jessica Roberts... I killed him. [This is the part where the music would get louder to tell the audience "Walter, what the fuck?" as he keeps talking with, still a somberness, but nowhere near dark enough.] I'm sorry if that's hard to hear, it was morally wrong, and, I know at least Jeffrey knew him...

[Misty looks shocked, maybe even a little rattled, but not heartbroken. She blinks again (and, luckily for Walter, is still completely tearless), shaking her head slightly.]

No, it's not-- I mean, yes, it's not the most pleasant piece of news I've heard today, but I-- we-- I didn't know him well.

[But Natalie did. God, is she going to have to break this news to Natalie? But no, of course not; he's still alive on their world, and if they've prevented Natalie's kidnapping, then surely they've prevented this, too.]

Walter. You did this all for me?

OK... [That they did not know Kevyn well is perhaps good but doesn't make the homicide any less illegal, so he gives a slight unobtrusive acknowledgment. Then there's the question. It's much like in his past. Misty Quigley, always unappreciated and unaware that she is so special. He says something completely serious, even though it might sound unserious but that's just what those things are called--]

Yes. Unless the admiral cannot forgive the occasional slime tutorial, that is why I'm here.

[So why didn't he tell her something so important...]

Your timeline is so different now, and you could have gone back any day for all I knew. [Honestly... he also drastically overestimated how weird "we were falling in love over the course of a week in the future and I committed murder for you" would actually sound on the barge and by the time he realized it was already awkward.] But yes, after everything you went through, and becoming your friend, I wanted you to be safe.

[He gives a small smile, says three words that are very obvious but mean a lot to him.]

You're Agent AfricanGrey.

But that never means anything to anybody.

[Except her, anyway, but that's a given. Misty had long since learned not to expect or rely on the approval of others: experience had told her that it would never come. Some of the relationships she's formed on the Barge had been exceptions, of course, but Walter is talking about back home, where such things just don't happen, and--

She crosses her arms hard over her chest.]

Am I supposed to say thank you?

[It comes out sounding a little harsh, which she hadn't intended; she thins her mouth into a line.]

Wait, no-- listen. Whatever happened with Kevyn was obviously not ideal, but I'm not angry with you. I am a little worried about how Natalie reacted, though.

Well, no, especially considering that I had to go die and get caught and make everything strictly worse. But you'd have a lot of reasons to be mad at me, so I'm glad you're giving me another chance.

[Even if being helped were a positive and ethically acceptable experience for Future Misty (and where Barge Misty has been cut open he might be seeing what's inside her head in either timeline, that she had been alone for so long and their meeting did change things), now he's left her as soon as he arrived... Jesus Christ, he'd tried not to keel over right in front of her once he realized he wasn't feeling well towards the end, but afterwards, did she see him dead the way she had just seen Natalie? ...right.]

Natalie? [He frowns, mostly in concentration.] For better or for worse, she never found out, barring some outside possibility like Lottie Matthews setting up a security camera. That guy did... tell you about the dream, I assume. [She's never really said what started all this. Maybe she did just finally crack and question his mysteriousness, wouldn't that be something. He's waited as long as possible to make sure he doesn't let his resentment get the better of him, until they're getting closer to the topic of what happened to Natalie - where he can point out the obvious distortions in the vision.]

Arthur? Yes, he did. He told me enough to make me pull the trigger on talking to you about this. And I'm not going to keep this from Natalie, even if we've prevented it from happening in our timeline, but I can leave the details about you out of it if you'd prefer that those stay... private.

[Two years ago, Misty would have been torn over whether or not to tell Natalie something like this. On the one hand, she would have wanted to shield and protect her from upsetting news, even if that meant lying to her about something she would likely have preferred to know; on the other hand, the opportunity to be there for her in her time of need would have been something to relish, and possibly too good to pass up. It's a weird little sort of relief how simple the decision is now. Natalie would want to know that, in some alternate timeline that they've prevented, Kevyn dies; ergo, Natalie should know, and Natalie will know.

But that isn't the only nugget of information she's focusing on here.]

Walter - are you saying you died while you were doing all this?

I'm open to her knowing now that you do--or if there were the chance to tell her myself, even. Though I want to be clear that the dream was a little more supernatural than real life...

[If there's even the smallest chance that this were an alternative to participating in the system and getting a deal to reverse his crimes, he'll do it. Really it's harder to imagine that Natalie would care about, well, anything really.]

Nobody was in flagrante delicto, thank goodness, but I hadn't expected to go A.F.K. so soon... Jeffrey and I confronted Kevyn and Saracusa in a different part of the compound, and I had only come back to the welcome area where all of you were for a few minutes before the stroke started creeping up on me. That's not too strange, is it? You would have died the day after ending things with Jessica Roberts?

[Tiny spark of hope that Misty is suspicious of the timing on the barge in her own case--]

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