(Untitled)

[victimofnoone]

Who: Perry Dawsey, Hayley Stark, Jonathan Crane [CLOSED]
When: Starting late last night and extending until Sunday afternoon.
Where: Deck, then CES
What: Hayley is nanomited to hate Crane and has an arsenal at her disposal, as well as a warden item. Perry owes Hayley a favor, but would probably chip in for free. aka: KIDNAPPING.
Warnings: Potential

Comments

[CES - Day one, hours later]

[doctor_j_crane]

Apparently, Hayley had not gotten bored. She remained a safe distance away, apparently not bothered at all by the passing time. For the first hour Crane had waited for a kind of nervous tension. Surely someone would be coming into the CES soon. He waited, expecting Eames or another warden to make an appearance. After the first hour, Crane's hopes for that started to die. He spent twenty minutes working on the ropes, applying pressure to them as best he could from various angles. It didn't help. If anything, Crane was reasonably sure that it tightened the knots.

By the third hour, Crane hated Hayley, the beach and everything on it. This type of waiting was frustrating, but nothing worse than the kind of insidious monotony that Arkham maintained. If it wasn't for the constant presence of Hayley, it would have been almost normal. But still, Hayley wasn't doing anything, which still left the ball in Crane's court. He wondered when it would get dark. Possibly soon, depending on the sun. But not soon enough to have any easy escape from the heat.

Crane lost his count of time around the fourth hour. It had all started to merge into a blur, and he hadn't managed to maneuver his arm enough so he could see his watch. Bored and beginning to experience dehydration, he decided to let Hayley win. It gave her the power in the situation, but so what? Rescue hadn't appeared and if he was going to get out, he'd need to talk to her.

"Hayley." Crane called, sounding rather resigned. "Are we really going to do this for the rest of the day?"

[CES - Day one, hours later]

[victimofnoone]

Hayley had drifted between searching for more shells, walking around barefoot in the water, and just reading in the shade of a palm tree. She was always nearby to Crane and always remained within his line of sight, but she also specifically always kept far enough away to avoid seemingly like she might care about him or be getting restless. Even though impatience gnawed at the back of her mind, she was perfectly content to ignore it and to continue doing what she was doing. He would break before she would. After all, she had done this many times before; how often had he?

"Mm," she replied dismissively, her tone of voice suggesting she was distracted. Finishing reading the paragraph she was on, she tucked her bookmark back into the book--The Lord of the Flies--and then set it aside and stood. The girl walked over, intentionally moving behind him again to get to her bag and grab another bottle of water. "I don't know. I'm kind of enjoying myself. It reminds me of California."

[CES - Day one, hours later]

[doctor_j_crane]

Crane had resented that book. It seemed so easy for Hayley just to sit at a distance, casually flicking through it as if she was just on the other side of a common room. She was colder than Crane had ever really expected her to be. It was admirable, in a way. But at the moment it was also highly inconvenient.

"I'm glad you're having so much fun." Crane said, the sarcasm more than obvious. "But there are better ways to have a day at the beach."

The fact that Hayley had moved out of sight again was frustrating. Crane started to grind his teeth, moving against the ropes again. He had to be patient. Sooner or later, he'd be able to find an angle. There was always an angle. Hayley had to have some kind of button to push that would provide an easy way out.

[CES - Day one, hours later] Sorry for delay.

[victimofnoone]

Hayley took a sip out of the bottle, then picked up the truth serum. She tucked the bottle into her arm for a moment to uncap the serum and then shifted it back to her hand. His words came during the process of this, not in the least bit impatient or perturbed by his negative attitude; really, who could blame him? She poured the truth serum into the bottle and then quickly capped it and tucked it back into her bag.

"Not for me," she replied honestly, something in her tone suggesting this was a familiar concept and she wasn't bothered with it in the least. Hayley moved around toward him with the bottle uncapped, pressing the liquid to her lips without drinking any. She lowered as she came around to Crane, as if she had just taken a small sip. "Did you need something, or are you just being impatient again?"

[CES - Day one, hours later] C:

[doctor_j_crane]

Crane glared at Hayley. She'd obviously just taken a sip from the bottle, in what was probably a deliberate attempt to get to him. Just like she'd just sat there waiting, reading the damn book. Crane was getting impatient. He needed an out, but for that to happen he needed Hayley to work with him. To undo the knots in the rope. From there on, he'd be able to take her down.

"I'm ready to deal, Hayley." Crane said, smiling. It probably didn't look particularly friendly. "You say what you want me to do. Make a list. And I'll do it. Then we can both just leave."

[CES - Day one, hours later]

[victimofnoone]

Hayley gave a small nod and returned the cap to the bottle for now, crouching down near his torso, careful of his legs like always. Her eyes were free from sympathy or empathy as she regarded him. It was only a matter of time before the heat started to get to him. If not the heat, then perhaps the threat of the night or thirst. She would feed him, of course, but not until he drank first. And drank the water she'd brought for him.

"Well, not to discourage you? But it's not really that easy. Why don't you start telling me how you lied to me and then we can go from there? Or you could tell me about how your father beat you as a child and your aunt said you weren't worth anything and how your whole life has been trying to prove them wrong." It was a shot in the dark, but no one on the Barge seemed to have normal childhoods-- except Ned. "Are you thirsty? Or do you want to start?"

[CES - Day one, hours later]

[doctor_j_crane]

Crane smiled thinly at the mention of the family issues. There were enough facts wrong for Crane to know that Hayley was guessing, but he could appreciate the underlying assumptions. Abusive family members, mental problems as an adult. He guessed that something had happened to Hayley, but he wasn't about to bring it up.

"Would you drink that, if you were in my position?" Crane said, leaning slightly forward against the ropes as much as he could. "Would you even drink it again?"

He was thirsty though. It had been hours. But he needed to at least try to get the upper hand before going along with what Hayley wanted.

[CES - Day one, hours later]

[victimofnoone]

Hayley didn't care how right or wrong she was, just waiting for him to give her what she wanted. The talk about him giving in and being honest was really just a distraction to get him to take a drink without dwelling on the matter; then the real conversation could begin.

She scratched along the side of her eye with her thumb, considering for a moment. "I don't know. I mean, I've never been in your position before. I've only been in mine. But I'll drink the rest of it if that's what you want. I really don't feel the need for you to drink. I was just trying to be nice in offering, because you're kind of pathetic now that you're all tied him."

After giving a falsely sympathetic smile, she stood as if to show how much she didn't care again.

[CES - Day one, hours later]

[doctor_j_crane]

Crane glared at her, even more as she stood up. To leave and go back to reading her book, Crane assumed. But still, she seemed to have taken that sip before. Really, what harm could drinking the water do? The CES was almost like a port. Even if it was going to be fatal, there was a reasonable chance that the Admiral would bring him back. He was simply going to have to take the risk.

"You're so sympathetic, Hayley." Crane snapped. But he quickly got back on track, looking up at her. "But fine. I'll drink it."

[CES - Day one, hours later]

[victimofnoone]

Hayley actually smiled at his retort, seemingly amused with his anger. It was fun to watch him fall apart. It was something she never thought that she would get to see in him, of him. She paused for a moment as if to consider before crouching at his side again.

"I'm not undoing your hands, so you're going to have to trust me not to drown you," she offered with just a little bit of innocence in her tone. Of course, she had no intention of harming him unless it was necessary, but she didn't need him to know that. The girl unscrewed the lid and lifted it up a little. "Ready?"

[CES - Day one, hours later]

[doctor_j_crane]

Now that he was actually faced with the prospect of drinking it, Crane felt more uncomfortable than ever. He spent a second grinding his teeth before responding. This was too easy. He needed to at least try to win back some ground. He still held out the hope that there really was nothing in the matter. That Hayley was just playing out an elaborate mind game.

"You first." Crane said, giving Hayley a hard look. "Drink some."

It bought him more time, if nothing else. If Hayley refused he would probably drink it anyway. He'd been out here for far too long.

[CES - Day one, hours later]

[victimofnoone]

Hayley gave him an incredulous look, but he wasn't immediately changing his mind. Of course, she could just wait until he got too thirsty that he would drink anything, but she really wasn't meaning to torture him and she was pretty sure he was already dehydrated. So she weighed the risks and decided, in the end, it was worth it to risk a little bit of her own power and control for the sake of him losing his entirely.

The girl uncapped the bottle, as condescendingly as possible, and took a slow and deliberate drink to show him that it wasn't poisoned or drugged. Perception was everything, after all. She drank a decent sip, enough that she was confident he would believe her, but not too much as to believe she would be affected. "Are you happy?"

Then she lifted the bottle to his mouth to help him drink, tilting it up and then back down in almost perfect, measured amounts. It was as if she had done this before.

[CES - Day one, hours later]

[doctor_j_crane]

While Crane didn't appreciate the attitude behind it in the slightest, at least Hayley was willing to drink it. It was exactly a small sip either, which allowed for Crane to feel ever so slightly more comfortable with the situation. As comfortable as you could get while tied up to a tree with someone who wanted you temporarily dead.

"Fine. I'm happy." Crane drank the water Hayley gave him, not really noting the fact that she seemed rather well practiced at it. It was a relief after being in the sun for hours. He couldn't taste anything in particular in the water, but of course that didn't necessarily mean there was nothing in there. For the moment, he just had to trust that Hayley wouldn't put anything fatal in there.

"Alright. Enough." Crane said, moving slightly away, when they were about three quarters of the way down the bottle. A fair amount. Probably too much, if there was something in there.

[CES - Day one, hours later]

[victimofnoone]

Hayley nodded, taking the bottle back and returning the lid. She stood with the same dismissive nonchalance as before, showing no signs of her pleasure at his concession. The girl set the bottle down near him, in his line of sight, so she could try to convince him to drink the rest later. Then she walked around behind him to fetch her book and go back to reading. She wanted to set him him and get him to start talking. Besides, it would take a little while for the substance to begin to set in.

It wouldn't surprise her if he protested to her ignoring him again. Truly, she had never realized what an attention whore Crane could be until this experience, having been too close to it before. Now she hated it and she hated him for it. Her mind idly wondered how they had ever been friends, how she had ever allowed herself to care about someone so pathetic, deceitful, and expendable.

[CES - Day one, hours later]

[doctor_j_crane]

Crane swallowed, watching as Hayley walked off. And around out of sight, again. Only to fetch her book. Crane couldn't quite believe it. He'd done what she wanted, so she was just going to wander off again? Did that make leaving him tied up the point for the exercise? Crane tipped his head back against the tree. He didn't feel immediately different having drunk the water.

"That's it, then?" Crane said, grinning despite himself. "You're so predictable, Hayley. How much more time are you going to spend waiting? Waiting for something to happen?"

To him, it seemed like that was all she'd ever done on the barge. Make her friends, yes. Talk to the wardens, all of that. But as far as Crane was concerned, that didn't mean a thing. It wasn't going to get her off the barge. Tying him up and doing whatever she was doing now wasn't going to help either.

[CES - Day one, hours later]

[victimofnoone]

"I'd guess about fifteen minutes to half an hour," she replied with a deep-seeded nonchalance as she flipped open her book. Hayley didn't bother sitting down because she knew it wouldn't be long before the effects started to kick in and she was more impatient than she would admit. His analysis of her didn't bother her; she would probably be spouting similar cutting words were she in his place and she couldn't really blame him for trying to psyche her out. It might have been more effective if it wasn't the strategy of basically everyone she'd ever done this or anything similar to.