quicktoanger | Fourth Casefile: Damage Control. [Voice/Written/Action]

[Voice]

I paused, staring at the journal, not sure what to say for a moment.

What the hell do you say?

"Right. Sorry ab-"

Let's try this again without the accent, Harry.

"Right. Sorry about last week. If I was... off, or confused anybody, or offended anyone, or whatever."

I paused again.

"I lost the jacket, Richard, but did you at least get to keep the rifle?"

I sat for a moment longer, then chuckled.

"Least the hand didn't stay shot. Alright, I think that's it."

I shut off the feed and set to work on a filter. I suck at those, for the record, but this kind of needed to be said and was private, so...

Hell's bells, those things are more trouble than they're worth.

[Written- Locked to Molly Carpenter, filter at 2% 5% 6% 9% 9% 13 ~~16%~~ 20%]

Kid. Molly. I'm sorry about last week. Really, really sorry.
~~I never meant to~~
~~It was like I~~
Forget it. Look. Let me make it up to you somehow?

[Action]

That done, I tucked my journal in my pocket and went into town. I felt a pressing need to talk to people, which, let me tell you, never happens to me. Ever. Plus, there were a couple awkward conversations I wanted to have.

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"... When you say 'nobody...'"

I'd seen children in the village, for god's sake. I don't mean, like, comparative youths, I mean actual small children.

Quite literal. Age doesn't matter, skill doesn't matter.

This entire experience had been going from bad to worse, and I had been having difficulty dealing with the anger at the indignity, the lack of control, the sheer offensiveness of being kept like a pet.

But this. Using children as soldiers? As guinea pigs?

The anger didn't surprise me. The intensity of it, however, did.

I wanted to hurt something, and I didn't have a target. And that only pissed me off more.

"... Is there anything we can do to keep them from the drafts? Volunteer in their place, or anything like that?"

My voice was a bit shaky, I was trying so hard not to snap. I was sort of surprised I'd made it this far without screaming in rage and trying to burn down a tree.

Doubtful. [Not that he can recall, anyway.] If a draftee tries to avoid being taken, the droids just come to the village and physically drag them away anyway. I suppose if you negotiated with the ones who tell us who're going off it's a possibility, but I don't think I've met anyone who's successfully accomplished that.

"... What if you did those missions I read about? Could you do those and get somebody out of a draft that way?"

...you might be able to, but I haven't heard anyone actually accomplishing such a thing.

"... One of these days, somebody is gonna kick the shit out of these Malnosso. I just hope to god I'm one of them."

Tell me something, Dresden. What makes you think you've the power to really harm them?

"I don't know if I do or not. If I did, it would be a promise, not a hope."

But yeah. Put me alone in a room with one of the bastards. We'd see how much goddamn harm I could do.

...I'm a fairly powerful wizard, and unfortunately they've even gotten to me. [He doesn't like admitting that, but it's a point he thinks Harry should know.] That's all I'm saying.

"Oh, I know for a fact that I can't fight them in here. They've got this place pretty well set up."

But every cell has a flaw.

It doesn't matter how cunningly you craft it, how carefully you design it, how well you guard and maintain it. Every cell has a flaw.

"But nobody's immortal, not even the Malnosso. I don't have to smack them down to know that somebody somewhere will."

... A fairly powerful wizard. And that went in my mental file.

The real problem is that it's harder to find them outside of the barrier, seeing how the only times they let us out are for missions and drafts. Things to benefit them. Immortal or not, they've been here quite some time.

They were somewhere, dammit. And somebody would find them, would defeat them.

"Their missions and their drafts are part of the cell, so of course they can't be reached then. Hell, maybe it won't even be one of us. Some external force. These Third Party people. Infighting, even."

That might be likely, actually, considering the circumstances. There's going to be a slip-up and that's going to be their downfall. It's the same way with all people who only care to torture people. Their ego gets too big.