biteouttagrimes | IC CONTACT

He is. Just like us. But I don't think he'd be dangerous to us.

Alright. Just checking. I was concerned since he knew about you but not me, so I was worried if there was a reason to that .

[ He can get it. When Carl was by himself, he didn't talk to potential strangers about his family. Even to friends. He didn't even talk about his dad that often until Dad actually arrived. It's easier to talk about the world, but family . . . family is different.

Of course, the one time he talked intimately about his parents and his life was possibly to the evilest man the entire multiverse, so Carl is even doubly cautious on the subject of family. ]

Edited 2015-10-12 17:45 (UTC)

Just didn't think it was important for him to know.

[ Rick isn't hiding it per se. Anyone who looks at the network will see their names and put two and two together. But talking about his son to near strangers, well, that isn't something he's willing to do until he learns he can trust them. Like Verity. But Verity is gone. And it just proves how unpredictable and chaotic this world truly is. ]

An' you were goin' through so much. That's why I never brought him up.

Yeah, I get it.

[ Dad explaining things help things, with Carl. The whole episode with Tetsuo was like a live wire in Carl's brain, especially with that ugly encounter with Carl's old therapist, where Crane's words acted like a cold fist wrapping around Carl's heart, squeezing until he couldn't breathe. So Carl trust Dad's opinion on this guy, more than he trust his own intuition. ]

Just got a little worried, sorry.

Don't worry. Ain't nothin' to worry 'bout. It's not like...

We're not a group. It's just me helpin' him learn how to survive.

[ Which is what Rick says now, but more and more he's becoming invested in Tetsuo and his friend Kaneda. ]

Yeah. I understand.

It's hard to live here without the others, back home.

[ Carl sort of suspects what is going on. Maybe Dad is trying to make a group here. He's better at reaching at people than Carl is, that's for sure. ]

Don't think they'd know what to do with themselves either. In a world like this.

We sure as hell had a tough time gettin' used to it.

[ And hell. Rick still hasn't adjusted. ]

We'll find a balance. We can live here, we can. We are used to life throwing curveballs at us.

Just . . . Dad, promise me. Promise me you won't go after Crane. It's bad enough he's my first therapist. It's my fault I haven't realized how bad he is. But I've told things about you to him, and I don't want you to be his next target. Please.

I ain't gonna promise that, Carl. He messed with my family. An' you know I don't let the people who do that just walk away unscathed.

[ Because this is not going to be solved with a bullet to the face, Carl thinks, as his face is starting to warm and his throat starts to tighten. Because he knows, deep down, Crane is what people call his archenemy. When Carl reads Crane's words, and will hear his voice and look into his eyes, he knows, deep down, that this is going to be more than a man going after a stupid teenager. In this world where death is practically null, there is something charged, something more than deadly between Carl and Crane. The stakes are higher, higher than simply surviving for another day.

It's going to be a fight for Carl's soul. And he's afraid Crane will drag Dad into being the first casualty. ]

I know. I know. I just don't want him to hurt you to get to me, because that's what it's going to happen. He wants it between me and him.

[ Would he? He's sure that might happen, but he can't predict Crane. In terms of intelligence, Crane outpaces Carl by miles, Carl supposes. The only thing Carl can trump Crane on anything is . . . well, he can't think of anything. ]

That won't happen. I won't let it happen. You got me?

[ Sometimes you couldn't protect your teammates no matter how hard you tried. But Rick would lay his life on the line for Carl's sake. Rick would do what it took to take down this Crane bastard -- even if he had to team up with some of the worst people to do so. ]

He made all this personal the minute he decided to mess with you. And it wasn't only you. So many other people suffered because of him. This is the one thing -- the one enemy we ain't alone in havin'.

I got you. I got you.

[ And now Carl is starting to shed tears, because he feels so foolish. He thought he was the only one to be duped by Crane. To nearly losing his mind, to nearly killing some people, the only one outraged that no one told the truth about Crane. Carl wipes the hot tears away from his face furiously. ]

I just - I've never encountered anything like this before. It's so easy to just shoot someone, but here . . . it's not natural.

[ Rick might not be able to see the tears, but he has a pretty good idea what's going on. ]

Hey. Listen to me. We'll figure this out. Maybe we can't shoot him, maybe he'd just come right back from the dead alive and well. But we survived so long in our world back home. We'll survive here, too. He ain't gonna hurt you.

Just. . . just when he talks to you, don't trust a word he says. I know it's obvious now, but when you meet him face to face - it's so much different than you'll be expecting.

[ How can Carl describe a man like Crane. ]

You don't gotta tell me that, Carl.

[ Because Rick is about the least trusting guy on the planet right now. It takes a lot to gain his trust. Even the imPorts closest to him -- like Tetsuo, still aren't 100% there. ]

He ain't gonna get to me. [ And then with a small smile. ] I'm pretty good about not listenin' to the shit some people have to say if it ain't worth listenin' to.

Okay. Alright.

[ Carl rubs his face, his nose. ]

I'm sorry if I've interrupted anything. It's been kinda a bad day.

You're never interruptin' anything, Carl. You know that.

Maybe we should think about gettin' some walkie talkies. That way, there's no chance of our messages gettin' sent to other people.

Like burner phones? Or just walkie-talkies?

[ A pause. ]

Where'd you learn a phrase like burner phone?

[ It's not necessarily a bad thing. But as a former cop, that's the type of thing you associate with criminals. ]

[ aw shit he fucked up he's horrible at being a teenager . . . but it's something he has to tell Dad sooner or later: that he did sort of joined a terrorist cell behind Dad's back, even if all he did was answer a letter. And made up a fake name. And . . . did some things. ]

Jesse Pinkman gave me one.

The school nurse? Why'd Jesse Pinkman give you one of those?

[ And Rick hopes it's more because it's beneficial to not have the government listening in rather than any sort of illicit activity. ]

Because we both got letters from a guy called Mr. 0. Said that he wanted to save imPorts the government. Said he wanted our help. Jesse gave me one as a precaution.

[ There's a long, drawn out pause on Rick's end of the line. ]

An' you just believed it? What if he was lyin'? Not Jesse, this Mr. 0.

[ Because it sounds like Jesse had been looking out for Carl at least -- even though Rick sure as hell was going to question the guy about this situation. ]

No. I didn't. Not really. But I didn't see anyone who offered any real solutions to people like Crane. So I wanted to hear him out. But he never showed his face, so I trust Jesse's judgement on this whole thing.

Huh. Wonder if he's still out there.

[ And maybe Rick should dedicate himself to finding out the true identity of the guy who reached out to his son of all people and decided he would be a great addition to some terrorist group. ]

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