11M044-2 -- and we'll drink ourselves away [VOICE]

[lost_undercover]

[Costigan's talking in his usual chill voice, which is pretty much devoid of accent.]

When my dad died, the father at the service said it gets easier to deal with death as time goes on. I know he wasn't exactly talking about my own death, but I still feel like he had no fuckin' clue.

[Inmate Filter, minus Crane & Slade]I need some alcohol. Anyone

Comments

private;

[fivestepsahead]

[ LOOOONG PAUSE. He's considering. ]

I do. [ Pause. ] He asked me to wait for you to contact me.

;spam

[fivestepsahead]

[ Bruce already knows what Costigan looks like, even before he shows his face. He makes it his business to know, because he doesn't like to be unprepared- but he appreciates the gesture, nonetheless. It doesn't mean that he is going to trust the man - that'll take much more effort and time - but he's going to make the effort to be civil, and not just for Dick's sake.

Alfred did train manners into him.

He sees Costigan the moment he steps into the place, and he heads straight for him. He can eat later, and he has just woken up anyway. And he drops himself on the seat opposite the man, his body language entirely casual, no tension or nervousness- and yet at the same time entirely anonymous. Nothing that someone glancing across the room will pick up, or even if they choose to look at the two of them. ]

Afternoon.

[ He lets the Jersey accent slip just a little into his voice, cocks his head to the side as he looks at Costigan. ]

;spam

[lost_undercover]

[Costigan doesn't glance away from his distracted stare, but he certainly notices the other man as soon as the warden spots him. He waits until Bruce is closer to shift his gaze to meet him directly, offering a neutral a nonchalant persona to the man. There's no reason for Bruce to know or have any more than absolutely necessary to satisfy him and, really, Costigan's hoping one conversation will be enough. Of course, he doubts it, because he knows the type, but at least it would show some effort on his part.]

"Are you going to tell me or are we playing happy family for a minute first?" [There's no use beating around the bush. The inmate's all for niceties when they're relevant, but they both know what the other wants already, or a rough idea at least, and so why bother.]

;spam

[fivestepsahead]

[ Straightforward. Not bad, he thinks, and he already knows that Costigan is controlling his body language- but even without that, he moves unlike the criminals he knows. Bruce has met many, many of them throughout his time, and has learnt to categorize them- but Costigan has a different edge.

Perhaps it's because it's Bruce whom he is talking to. Whom he doesn't seem to want to talk to, but is because his warden wanted him to. Bruce needs more data. More information. And so he watches even as he shrugs expansively, a hand tapping against the table in front of him. Silent. ]

You know about Nightwing. [ It's not a question. ]

Has Dick told you about Gotham?

;spam

[lost_undercover]

"Yeah. That a big deal or somethin'?" [He knew it was in Dick's mind, but he was curious what Bruce had to say about it. Because he had spent years undercover with some of the hardest and most paranoid criminals in Boston, he delivered the line without difficulty, because it was a genuine question as much as he knew the answer. Then, to the latter.] "A little, sure. You going to answer my questions?"

Re: ;spam

[fivestepsahead]

It means he trusts you.

[ Then, he leans back a little, trying to consider. He steeples his fingers together, place them down on the table. He's not going to tell Costigan everything, of course not- but he will tell him enough. ]

Gotham was a corrupt city. A man can walk into a shop filled with cops and rob it without being stopped, if he offered those cops a share beforehand.

There needed to be someone to change it. [ He breathes out. ] I chose to. Working within the system will take too long, so I became Batman. [ And he shrugs, a little. He could've become a cop, he knows- but that wasn't for him. Not with his position. Not with his name. ]

Dick found out about it a while after I took him in, and he wanted to help. So I trained him.

;spam

[lost_undercover]

"And what makes you think that your judgment is better than theihs?" [Part of him wanted to launch into a long-winded speech about the merits of the system and how they only worked when people supported them, that the rat bastards like Sullivan were what made the system fail and the few good people like he and Queenan were what truly kept it alive. But that would be giving away too much, so instead, he just leaned forward to rest his forearms on the table in a display of actual interest and limited what he said.] "What separates you two from every other asshole with a gun, a ski mask, and an idea that maybe he could change things too?"

;spam

[fivestepsahead]

[ Very good questions. Bruce lets a small smirk curve his lips at that, and he shrugs - perfectly casual, because he has thought about these questions before. Because he already knows the answer. ]

Dick will tell you different, but there isn't a difference.

I'm a vigilante. I work outside the law; outside the system. The police I work with have an obligation to arrest me - only their good will make sure they don't.

;spam

[lost_undercover]

[Costigan respected that and that one little honesty made him respect Bruce a little. Dick always acted like what they were doing was so different because they were trained to act outside the law, but Bruce understood the truth of it and Costigan understood that a lot easier. He gave a nod and his expression lightened in skepticism just a hint.] "What questions do you want to ask me?"

;spam

[fivestepsahead]

[ Because Dick went to it when he was a child, and he has been practically raised to think that what they do is right; is part of him. Bruce knows that there's a warrant for arrest for him, that there's technically an ongoing investigation on who the Batman is so they can arrest him.

Jim Gordon just never bothers.

It's a trust that he won't break.

And he looks at Costigan for a long moment, then links his fingers together. ]

Tell about yourself. [ He cocks his head to the side. ]

Anything you choose.

;spam

[lost_undercover]

"Fuck you. I know that game. You want to ask me somethin'? You ask me straight. I'm not playing into your psychological bullshit." [Costigan had gone through Dignam's loaded questions. He'd been ordered to see Madolyn, then another shrink; both used the same tactics to figure out what was important to him and what he thought about those things without revealing anything about themselves.

This was different, though, because he hadn't been assigned to Bruce. He has no obligation to answer and, really, no desire to. As far as he was concerned, this was because Dick had practically ordered him and because it was a favor to his warden. Costigan really didn't give a fuck about Dick's dad, even if he was a comic book character.]

;spam

[fivestepsahead]

[ Good instincts. He'd probably been asked the same kind of question too many times, then- and he isn't elaborating. Self-control as well- it's reminiscent of some things that he's seen before. It's a sort of brokenness, a sort of desperation- he'd seen it many times in Gotham, in the policemen who transferred here from other cities who don't understand how Gotham works. How dark a lady she can be.

And they fall, break to pieces, hold guns against their own heads and cry and scream. Or take hostages. Try to destroy the whole Arkham Asylum itself. Scream at him. He's seen it all, really- and Costigan reminds Bruce, just a little, of those fallen cops.

It's probably in the look of his eyes.

And so Bruce cocks his head. Doesn't smile, though he does put his hands on the table, folded between themselves. ]

Tell me about your city.

;spam

[lost_undercover]

"I still don't hear a fuckin' question, guy." [Costigan replied irritably, watching Bruce. The last couple shrinks had ended so poorly that he wasn't too keen on revisiting the scenarios and Bruce's not-questions were the catalyst necessary to prime those memories in his mind. The former undercover shifted to sit back in a show of both displeasure and lack of interest; an intentional one.] "Look, I'll give you one more chance before I decide you're a fuckin' waste of my time."

;spam

[fivestepsahead]

[ Volatile. With every reaction that Costigan has, Bruce is learning more and more about him- and well, he's not judging as much as calculating how much danger he would pose to Dick. Right now, it's firmly in the realm of 'not much', because Costigan hasn't actually attacked him yet.

And he did come. Because Dick wants him to. And that is telling. ]

I believe that a city shapes a person. [ He shrugs. ] So tell me about the place you come from. What do you like about it? What do you hate? What would you change?

What is it like?