(no subject)
Mr. Soze has been home for the last few months, living out his old life again, just like he dreamed of.
* Soze has been home for three months now. Every night, he hears the humming in his ears like a train or a river, the same humming he's been hearing since the anniversary of his death. Still, the Nexus is a distant dream, a sepia colored painting, the fake watch in his coat pocket. It's nothing more than that. This is what he tells himself. (But he feels so tired these days.)
* Soze doesn't travel as much as he usually does, these days, not since his identity was compromised almost two years ago. He seldom sleeps in the same place twice. He wears green colored contacts under a pair of thick-rimmed glasses, and he's grown a beard. Plastic surgery is probably on the table, but for now he wants to take his time. Adjust. Bring the world back into his command.
* Soze is tucked in Pakistan this week, the country where he built himself up after fleeing Turkey, where he formed contacts and stabbed people in the back and cemented his name over a decade ago. He has some of his closest allies here, at least the ones who know his face, and also some of his strongest business prospects.
* Soze isn't with people who know him by face now, though. Soze's name for tonight is Paul Essex, and he's supposed to be a middleman for a tall, Pakistani man who everyone thinks is named Kermani. He takes his clients to dinner--a nice, fancy restaurant in the tourist district--and goes with them back to a hotel room where they can discuss their business a little more privately. The drug of the day is cocaine (it usually is) and the price clocks in around 20 million.
* Soze eventually excuses himself from the room--he needs to think things over, he says, and takes his translator with him, even though he can speak Urdu himself. (The translator is armed, of course.) He takes a smoke break outside, meets with his 'boss' in another hotel room ("we're going to take it," he tells him, and then goes) and then joins his translator back on the sixth floor again.
* SozeFlunkie is standing there in the hallway waiting for Soze's return, the heavy scent of smoke still present on his breath. He's a decent sized guy, yet he doesn't seem the overly intimidating type, just standing there with his hands in his pockets and his weight shifted to one leg.
* Soze nods wordlessly, indicating that he should lead the way back to the room. Yes?
Gabriel: It is very quiet in the hallway.
* SozeFlunkie as Soze nods at him, he turns and walks ahead of the man, hands leaving his pockets once they reach their destination. He looks pretty relaxed, and why wouldn't he be? There hasn't been a sound in this hallway to indicate anything is out of the ordinary. Keycard in hand he slips it into the door, turning the handle and pushing the door inwards once the light flashes green.
* Soze follows behind him, giving the occasional glance at the hallway around them.
Gabriel: The room is just as they left it, save for the blood, a bright arterial spray decorating the wall opposite the door. To the right, one of Soze's business associates never left his seat, his throat deeply cut. To the left, the second man lies on his back, blood blossoming from the center of his hand-tailored shirt, his own gun half-pulled from his shoulder holster. The third and final man had pulled his gun, and had unfortunately lost his gun hand for doing so. Deep cuts adorn his face and his chest. It's impossible to tell at first glance exactly which wound was the killing blow.
* SozeFlunkie 's eyes widen at the gory display he hadn't quite expected to walk into. Oh. Well. That's not good. He curses under his breath and starts to back away from the door, keeping his body in front of Soze as he does so, and he moves to draw the gun hidden at the small of his back as his eyes scan the room for the culprit.
* Soze 's immediate reaction is panic-- the calm always comes a few moments later-- and so he scans the room as well, pale, before thinking better of it and quickly glancing behind him.
Gabriel: A lone figure stands behind him, dressed in dark clothing and a black longcoat. He looks like he's raided Trent Reznor's closet as there are leather straps and buckles criss-crossing his chest. A dark, wide-brimmed hat and a grey scarf mask his head and face. The only features showing are fierce blue eyes, lined with age. And then there are the really, really large knives in his hands. The blades clean, but are dotted with blood near the hilts. The man is blocking the exit.
* SozeFlunkie finding no immediate culprit upon scanning the room, he grabs the door handle and slams the door shut again, holding it shut with his hand. Whoever did this did it with knives and not guns. /They/ had the superior weapon here, so... how had this person managed to kill /three/ guys with guns? He moves to turn to Soze... and that's when he sees who's behind them. He starts to go pale, like he's seen a ghost, and that gun hand rises, aiming quickly for the man.
* Soze doesn't recognize Gabriel immediately-- not with that outfit and his face covered save for the eyes. In a split second decision, he goes for his own gun, buried in the inside pocket of his suit.
Gabriel: The man takes a step forward, raising his arms and attempting to push/shove Soze into the room, /through/ the door, if necessary. Curiously, he does not use the knives themselves. He seems to be ignoring the guns for the moment.
* SozeFlunkie is knocked aside a bit as Gabriel shoves Soze past him into the door, but as soon as he's regained his footing he's firing at the man.
Gabriel: He takes a shoulder hit which spins him around, then another in the chest. Funny though, he's getting back up... and as he does so, he throws the right-handed kukri at the flunkie.
* SozeFlunkie stares for a moment when the man just... gets back up. You don't just get /get back up/ after being shot twice, once being in the /chest/. He's so shocked, actually, that he doesn't have time to even try to dodge that blade. It sinks into the bulletproof vest beneath his shirt, deep enough to puncture flesh. He gives a surprised sound of pain before firing at Gabe again, point blank at his chest.
Gabriel: He /felt/ that, reeling and stumbling backwards into Soze. He's not sure the suit held, but he's not instantly blacking out so he assumes it did. Nevertheless, this tilts his windmill a bit more than the last two, and it takes him a moment to regain his bearings.
* Soze goes to shove Gabriel off him, teeth clenched, so that he can start digging for his gun again and figuring out how to get the fuck out of here.
* Gabriel grunts, annoyed, and throws the other knife at the thug.
* SozeFlunkie tries to bring the gun up to block with but the tip of that knife still slices into the side of his throat, just enough to sever that vital artery. His eyes fly wide and he stumbles back as blood starts to /spurt/ from that wound, each spray in time to his heartbeat. He goes down, dropping the gun and clutching at the wound desperately, blood pressing between his fingers. Safe to say he's not going to be a problem for you anymore, Gabe.
* Soze doesn't take any time to mourn the man. All he's thinking about is how -guns aren't working-, and so, steady as ever, he lunges to elbow Gabriel in the face.
Gabriel: Finally finished with the detritus, he turns back to his prize and gets an elbow square in the face. His hat, which likely should have been knocked off several minutes ago (but his mun is half awake), is finally dislodged, showing off a nicely shaved head. Stumbling backward, he grabs Soze by the shirt and takes the man with him.
* SozeFlunkie is busy bleeding out on the floor. He frantically tries to apply pressure to the wound at his throat, but it's far too late at this point. There's a few more moments of struggling on the ground, his breath fast with panic, before he falls into a dazed sort of state, the spurting slowing to a pulsing gush. Finally, he slips unconscious. A few seconds later, the bleeding slows to nothing more than an ooze as there is no longer a pulse to send it from his body.
* Soze knows who it is now. Of course. Of course. He -laughs-, actually, short and rough, before allowing Gabriel to pull him closer, using the momentum to add strength to a punch, aiming for his face.
* Gabriel gets another to the face before he can react properly, and they both go over onto the floor. As they fall, he bends his knee, aiming for Soze's stomach.
* Soze chokes, but then his hand is going for his pocket and -not- grabbing for his gun, but instead a PINpoint. He slams down a few keys and the two of them snap out of the hotel lobby-- and down into the storage rooms in the basement. Cold, hard concrete.
Gabriel: The cold centers him, and he thrusts his fists toward Soze's stomach, trying to dislodge the man, get enough room to pull his glock.
* Soze doesn't give up very easily. The fists connect, alright, and they knock the wind out of him, but before he's even recovered, he's aiming to hit Gabriel in the face again. He moves mechanically, like he's going through a routine. Like he can never stop.
* Gabriel slams his fists in again--get off him, damnit! Tries to tuck his chin in so that Soze's blows aren't hitting as square, but he can't. He's starting to see stars. Something needs to happen.
* Soze sees that Gabriel's starting to get disoriented-- he knows the signs. He quickly rolls off of him, scrambling for his gun again.
Gabriel: As soon as Soze is off of him, he reaches for the gun strapped to his thigh. The scarf he'd used to mask himself is now falling free, and he grabs a fistful of the fabric, pulling it off. He's still reeling and his face is already feeling like pulp, but he knows he needs to get the first shot. He /needs/ to regain control of the situation.
* Soze is halfway to his feet when he has the gun pulled on Gabriel. He isn't even panting-- much.
* Gabriel smiles. He has his own gun, but it's not pointing at Soze. Just a slight too slow. Fucking guns. If he'd had his kukris--but no, they were wasted on the flunky. Stupid. Even so, he smiles as if he's the one with the advantage.
Soze: "You made a really shitty decision."
Gabriel: "Simply tying up loose ends."
* Soze purses his lips, almost smiling. "Who told you where to find me?"
Gabriel: "Does it matter?" Gabriel mentally figures how long it would take him to hit the panic button on his PIN versus the time it would take Soze to shoot him in the head. Must think of a plan b.
* Soze can shoot you in the head very quickly, Gabriel. "I want to know. It took you long enough."
Gabriel: "I took my time. You weren't going anywhere, were you?" Duck sideways? No, the man is a very good shot. This is not a positive position. Another tack, perhaps. "And why is that?"
Soze: "I'd like you to answer my question," he says, perfectly calm and patient. His patience is further displayed by how he-- without the slightest hesitation-- abruptly aims his gun at Gabriel's leg and -fires.-
* Soze quickly rearranges his aim for Gabriel's head again. Hello, there.
* Gabriel stumbles, but catches himself before he falls. Shit, that hurt. Righting himself, he starts to raise his own gun. Two can play at this game. "Repeat the question."
Soze: "Drop your weapon."
Gabriel: "In the form of a question, Alex." Nah, he'll just point it at you, Soze.
* Soze gives a short, bitter laugh. Now he's getting nervous. "Fuck you."
Gabriel: "Fuck me? Fuck you." He doesn't want to kill Soze yet. Why not? He doesn't quite remember. Oh yes. Kill Soze, get the hell out. He remembers Z stressing the speed, the need to get back. But... He takes a shot, aiming for the shoulder. /Drop the gun/. Try anything once.
* Soze fires his gun a split second later, before the bullet lodges deep into his shoulder-- a sharp, maddening pain. He lets his arm drop, gritting his teeth. The pain goes all the way down his arm and neck.
* Gabriel catches Soze's bullet in the arm, feels the impact all the way through to the bone, hears the slug hit the floor. He was going to /kiss/ whoever made this suit when he got back. And he /would/ get back. He was gaining control again. "I searched for you all over the fucking place. I grilled everyone who knew you." Pointing the gun at Soze's head now.
* Soze is panting finally. He stares at Gabriel, searching for a weakness, an exit, anything. He should have killed him at the first opportunity, no questions asked. He was too confident. He was careless.
Gabriel: "I even asked Levitt. He had no fucking clue. So I went to the only one I could think of." Closer yet. He wants to see the man's eyes when he kills him. He isn't sure why, but it's /important/. He needs to remember this moment. This. /Moment/.
* Soze eyes widen visibly at the sound of Jeff's name. (These are things he shouldn't be thinking about it. There's no proof of anything. It's all over.) He thinks about tossing his gun to the other hand-- judges the odds. He thinks about playing along. "Who?" he asks.
Gabriel: "Flavius. Of /course/ he'd know. And he did. And now you and I are here. As it should be." Tension on the trigger, the barrel nearly between Soze's eyes now. Cold, not-sane, blue eyes above a serpent smile. Yes. Now.
A_lawyer: Cold metal against the back of Gabriel's head. A command again, the words smooth and polite, as if anyone could afford to be diplomatic in this sort of situation. (He can.) "Release your weapon."
Gabriel: He freezes. Another one? He killed them all. All of them. Dead. How? He grips the weapon, not moving an inch. "We seem to be at an impasse."
A_lawyer: "I will not ask you again," says the voice, keeping its calm professionalism. "I have no idea who you are, and so I have no qualms about killing you right here, right now. If you stop, perhaps you'll be spared."
* Soze watches the newcomer out of the corner of his eye, but for the most part, he keeps his eyes locked on Gabriel. He isn't going to lose.
Gabriel: "I cannot let him live. I'm sorry, but you can kill me. He's going to die." Dead. Calm. He starts to pull the trigger.
* A_lawyer meets Soze's eyes before abruptly swinging the gun back, aiming to hit Gabriel hard on the side of his head.
* Soze reads his signal and -ducks-, doing his best to avoid the gunshot while Gabriel's off balance.
Gabriel: The gun goes off, burying itself in the wall behind Soze, narrowly missing him as he moves. Gabriel himself gets a pistol in the back of the head, cracking his skull and sending him off balance. The gun goes flying.
* Soze swiftly shifts his gun to his uninjured hand, takes aim, and fires, going for the neck or head or anything not covered by the suit.
* Gabriel hears the shot before he realizes what's happened. He can't move, he can't breathe, he can't-- damnit. Dead again. Not in the Nexus. Not at home. Not-- ... .. .
* A_lawyer flinches only slightly when the shot goes off, but nothing about his expression changes. He and Soze, they're two peas in a pod. Wonderful.
* Soze exhales, lowering his gun. His arm is killing him. He walks over to Gabriel, shoots him again, and then steps back. There's the humming again, washing over his ears. Jeff. He talked to Jeff.
* Gabriel would say 'yeah I did, you fucker,' but he's dead as toast.
Soze: "I'll explain later," he lies, voice bland. He isn't even looking at the other man.
A_lawyer: "There's no need."
* Soze is quiet for a long moment, looking down at Gabriel's body. Everything's changing. Everything could be -changing.- "Let's get out of here," he says finally. He has work to do.
The next week.
* Soze has been home for three months now. Every night, he hears the humming in his ears like a train or a river, the same humming he's been hearing since the anniversary of his death. Still, the Nexus is a distant dream, a sepia colored painting, the fake watch in his coat pocket. It's nothing more than that. This is what he tells himself. (But he feels so tired these days.)
* Soze doesn't travel as much as he usually does, these days, not since his identity was compromised almost two years ago. He seldom sleeps in the same place twice. He wears green colored contacts under a pair of thick-rimmed glasses, and he's grown a beard. Plastic surgery is probably on the table, but for now he wants to take his time. Adjust. Bring the world back into his command.
* Soze is tucked in Pakistan this week, the country where he built himself up after fleeing Turkey, where he formed contacts and stabbed people in the back and cemented his name over a decade ago. He has some of his closest allies here, at least the ones who know his face, and also some of his strongest business prospects.
* Soze isn't with people who know him by face now, though. Soze's name for tonight is Paul Essex, and he's supposed to be a middleman for a tall, Pakistani man who everyone thinks is named Kermani. He takes his clients to dinner--a nice, fancy restaurant in the tourist district--and goes with them back to a hotel room where they can discuss their business a little more privately. The drug of the day is cocaine (it usually is) and the price clocks in around 20 million.
* Soze eventually excuses himself from the room--he needs to think things over, he says, and takes his translator with him, even though he can speak Urdu himself. (The translator is armed, of course.) He takes a smoke break outside, meets with his 'boss' in another hotel room ("we're going to take it," he tells him, and then goes) and then joins his translator back on the sixth floor again.
* SozeFlunkie is standing there in the hallway waiting for Soze's return, the heavy scent of smoke still present on his breath. He's a decent sized guy, yet he doesn't seem the overly intimidating type, just standing there with his hands in his pockets and his weight shifted to one leg.
* Soze nods wordlessly, indicating that he should lead the way back to the room. Yes?
Gabriel: It is very quiet in the hallway.
* SozeFlunkie as Soze nods at him, he turns and walks ahead of the man, hands leaving his pockets once they reach their destination. He looks pretty relaxed, and why wouldn't he be? There hasn't been a sound in this hallway to indicate anything is out of the ordinary. Keycard in hand he slips it into the door, turning the handle and pushing the door inwards once the light flashes green.
* Soze follows behind him, giving the occasional glance at the hallway around them.
Gabriel: The room is just as they left it, save for the blood, a bright arterial spray decorating the wall opposite the door. To the right, one of Soze's business associates never left his seat, his throat deeply cut. To the left, the second man lies on his back, blood blossoming from the center of his hand-tailored shirt, his own gun half-pulled from his shoulder holster. The third and final man had pulled his gun, and had unfortunately lost his gun hand for doing so. Deep cuts adorn his face and his chest. It's impossible to tell at first glance exactly which wound was the killing blow.
* SozeFlunkie 's eyes widen at the gory display he hadn't quite expected to walk into. Oh. Well. That's not good. He curses under his breath and starts to back away from the door, keeping his body in front of Soze as he does so, and he moves to draw the gun hidden at the small of his back as his eyes scan the room for the culprit.
* Soze 's immediate reaction is panic-- the calm always comes a few moments later-- and so he scans the room as well, pale, before thinking better of it and quickly glancing behind him.
Gabriel: A lone figure stands behind him, dressed in dark clothing and a black longcoat. He looks like he's raided Trent Reznor's closet as there are leather straps and buckles criss-crossing his chest. A dark, wide-brimmed hat and a grey scarf mask his head and face. The only features showing are fierce blue eyes, lined with age. And then there are the really, really large knives in his hands. The blades clean, but are dotted with blood near the hilts. The man is blocking the exit.
* SozeFlunkie finding no immediate culprit upon scanning the room, he grabs the door handle and slams the door shut again, holding it shut with his hand. Whoever did this did it with knives and not guns. /They/ had the superior weapon here, so... how had this person managed to kill /three/ guys with guns? He moves to turn to Soze... and that's when he sees who's behind them. He starts to go pale, like he's seen a ghost, and that gun hand rises, aiming quickly for the man.
* Soze doesn't recognize Gabriel immediately-- not with that outfit and his face covered save for the eyes. In a split second decision, he goes for his own gun, buried in the inside pocket of his suit.
Gabriel: The man takes a step forward, raising his arms and attempting to push/shove Soze into the room, /through/ the door, if necessary. Curiously, he does not use the knives themselves. He seems to be ignoring the guns for the moment.
* SozeFlunkie is knocked aside a bit as Gabriel shoves Soze past him into the door, but as soon as he's regained his footing he's firing at the man.
Gabriel: He takes a shoulder hit which spins him around, then another in the chest. Funny though, he's getting back up... and as he does so, he throws the right-handed kukri at the flunkie.
* SozeFlunkie stares for a moment when the man just... gets back up. You don't just get /get back up/ after being shot twice, once being in the /chest/. He's so shocked, actually, that he doesn't have time to even try to dodge that blade. It sinks into the bulletproof vest beneath his shirt, deep enough to puncture flesh. He gives a surprised sound of pain before firing at Gabe again, point blank at his chest.
Gabriel: He /felt/ that, reeling and stumbling backwards into Soze. He's not sure the suit held, but he's not instantly blacking out so he assumes it did. Nevertheless, this tilts his windmill a bit more than the last two, and it takes him a moment to regain his bearings.
* Soze goes to shove Gabriel off him, teeth clenched, so that he can start digging for his gun again and figuring out how to get the fuck out of here.
* Gabriel grunts, annoyed, and throws the other knife at the thug.
* SozeFlunkie tries to bring the gun up to block with but the tip of that knife still slices into the side of his throat, just enough to sever that vital artery. His eyes fly wide and he stumbles back as blood starts to /spurt/ from that wound, each spray in time to his heartbeat. He goes down, dropping the gun and clutching at the wound desperately, blood pressing between his fingers. Safe to say he's not going to be a problem for you anymore, Gabe.
* Soze doesn't take any time to mourn the man. All he's thinking about is how -guns aren't working-, and so, steady as ever, he lunges to elbow Gabriel in the face.
Gabriel: Finally finished with the detritus, he turns back to his prize and gets an elbow square in the face. His hat, which likely should have been knocked off several minutes ago (but his mun is half awake), is finally dislodged, showing off a nicely shaved head. Stumbling backward, he grabs Soze by the shirt and takes the man with him.
* SozeFlunkie is busy bleeding out on the floor. He frantically tries to apply pressure to the wound at his throat, but it's far too late at this point. There's a few more moments of struggling on the ground, his breath fast with panic, before he falls into a dazed sort of state, the spurting slowing to a pulsing gush. Finally, he slips unconscious. A few seconds later, the bleeding slows to nothing more than an ooze as there is no longer a pulse to send it from his body.
* Soze knows who it is now. Of course. Of course. He -laughs-, actually, short and rough, before allowing Gabriel to pull him closer, using the momentum to add strength to a punch, aiming for his face.
* Gabriel gets another to the face before he can react properly, and they both go over onto the floor. As they fall, he bends his knee, aiming for Soze's stomach.
* Soze chokes, but then his hand is going for his pocket and -not- grabbing for his gun, but instead a PINpoint. He slams down a few keys and the two of them snap out of the hotel lobby-- and down into the storage rooms in the basement. Cold, hard concrete.
Gabriel: The cold centers him, and he thrusts his fists toward Soze's stomach, trying to dislodge the man, get enough room to pull his glock.
* Soze doesn't give up very easily. The fists connect, alright, and they knock the wind out of him, but before he's even recovered, he's aiming to hit Gabriel in the face again. He moves mechanically, like he's going through a routine. Like he can never stop.
* Gabriel slams his fists in again--get off him, damnit! Tries to tuck his chin in so that Soze's blows aren't hitting as square, but he can't. He's starting to see stars. Something needs to happen.
* Soze sees that Gabriel's starting to get disoriented-- he knows the signs. He quickly rolls off of him, scrambling for his gun again.
Gabriel: As soon as Soze is off of him, he reaches for the gun strapped to his thigh. The scarf he'd used to mask himself is now falling free, and he grabs a fistful of the fabric, pulling it off. He's still reeling and his face is already feeling like pulp, but he knows he needs to get the first shot. He /needs/ to regain control of the situation.
* Soze is halfway to his feet when he has the gun pulled on Gabriel. He isn't even panting-- much.
* Gabriel smiles. He has his own gun, but it's not pointing at Soze. Just a slight too slow. Fucking guns. If he'd had his kukris--but no, they were wasted on the flunky. Stupid. Even so, he smiles as if he's the one with the advantage.
Soze: "You made a really shitty decision."
Gabriel: "Simply tying up loose ends."
* Soze purses his lips, almost smiling. "Who told you where to find me?"
Gabriel: "Does it matter?" Gabriel mentally figures how long it would take him to hit the panic button on his PIN versus the time it would take Soze to shoot him in the head. Must think of a plan b.
* Soze can shoot you in the head very quickly, Gabriel. "I want to know. It took you long enough."
Gabriel: "I took my time. You weren't going anywhere, were you?" Duck sideways? No, the man is a very good shot. This is not a positive position. Another tack, perhaps. "And why is that?"
Soze: "I'd like you to answer my question," he says, perfectly calm and patient. His patience is further displayed by how he-- without the slightest hesitation-- abruptly aims his gun at Gabriel's leg and -fires.-
* Soze quickly rearranges his aim for Gabriel's head again. Hello, there.
* Gabriel stumbles, but catches himself before he falls. Shit, that hurt. Righting himself, he starts to raise his own gun. Two can play at this game. "Repeat the question."
Soze: "Drop your weapon."
Gabriel: "In the form of a question, Alex." Nah, he'll just point it at you, Soze.
* Soze gives a short, bitter laugh. Now he's getting nervous. "Fuck you."
Gabriel: "Fuck me? Fuck you." He doesn't want to kill Soze yet. Why not? He doesn't quite remember. Oh yes. Kill Soze, get the hell out. He remembers Z stressing the speed, the need to get back. But... He takes a shot, aiming for the shoulder. /Drop the gun/. Try anything once.
* Soze fires his gun a split second later, before the bullet lodges deep into his shoulder-- a sharp, maddening pain. He lets his arm drop, gritting his teeth. The pain goes all the way down his arm and neck.
* Gabriel catches Soze's bullet in the arm, feels the impact all the way through to the bone, hears the slug hit the floor. He was going to /kiss/ whoever made this suit when he got back. And he /would/ get back. He was gaining control again. "I searched for you all over the fucking place. I grilled everyone who knew you." Pointing the gun at Soze's head now.
* Soze is panting finally. He stares at Gabriel, searching for a weakness, an exit, anything. He should have killed him at the first opportunity, no questions asked. He was too confident. He was careless.
Gabriel: "I even asked Levitt. He had no fucking clue. So I went to the only one I could think of." Closer yet. He wants to see the man's eyes when he kills him. He isn't sure why, but it's /important/. He needs to remember this moment. This. /Moment/.
* Soze eyes widen visibly at the sound of Jeff's name. (These are things he shouldn't be thinking about it. There's no proof of anything. It's all over.) He thinks about tossing his gun to the other hand-- judges the odds. He thinks about playing along. "Who?" he asks.
Gabriel: "Flavius. Of /course/ he'd know. And he did. And now you and I are here. As it should be." Tension on the trigger, the barrel nearly between Soze's eyes now. Cold, not-sane, blue eyes above a serpent smile. Yes. Now.
A_lawyer: Cold metal against the back of Gabriel's head. A command again, the words smooth and polite, as if anyone could afford to be diplomatic in this sort of situation. (He can.) "Release your weapon."
Gabriel: He freezes. Another one? He killed them all. All of them. Dead. How? He grips the weapon, not moving an inch. "We seem to be at an impasse."
A_lawyer: "I will not ask you again," says the voice, keeping its calm professionalism. "I have no idea who you are, and so I have no qualms about killing you right here, right now. If you stop, perhaps you'll be spared."
* Soze watches the newcomer out of the corner of his eye, but for the most part, he keeps his eyes locked on Gabriel. He isn't going to lose.
Gabriel: "I cannot let him live. I'm sorry, but you can kill me. He's going to die." Dead. Calm. He starts to pull the trigger.
* A_lawyer meets Soze's eyes before abruptly swinging the gun back, aiming to hit Gabriel hard on the side of his head.
* Soze reads his signal and -ducks-, doing his best to avoid the gunshot while Gabriel's off balance.
Gabriel: The gun goes off, burying itself in the wall behind Soze, narrowly missing him as he moves. Gabriel himself gets a pistol in the back of the head, cracking his skull and sending him off balance. The gun goes flying.
* Soze swiftly shifts his gun to his uninjured hand, takes aim, and fires, going for the neck or head or anything not covered by the suit.
* Gabriel hears the shot before he realizes what's happened. He can't move, he can't breathe, he can't-- damnit. Dead again. Not in the Nexus. Not at home. Not-- ... .. .
* A_lawyer flinches only slightly when the shot goes off, but nothing about his expression changes. He and Soze, they're two peas in a pod. Wonderful.
* Soze exhales, lowering his gun. His arm is killing him. He walks over to Gabriel, shoots him again, and then steps back. There's the humming again, washing over his ears. Jeff. He talked to Jeff.
* Gabriel would say 'yeah I did, you fucker,' but he's dead as toast.
Soze: "I'll explain later," he lies, voice bland. He isn't even looking at the other man.
A_lawyer: "There's no need."
* Soze is quiet for a long moment, looking down at Gabriel's body. Everything's changing. Everything could be -changing.- "Let's get out of here," he says finally. He has work to do.
The next week.