[attr="class","beck"]a voice drags him out of the depths of his mind, snaps him back to reality. his eyes lift from the book as he sets it on the table before him. he peers then at merlino, and for whatever reason, theo does not assume the worst. but the anomaly is too strange to simply ignore.

"where's hart?"

[attr="class","noodles"]Cillian Quinn

"Dead."

There's no hesitation to admit it, even when he knows what it will mean. Theo has trained him well.

"The target escaped. I stayed for the clean-up."

Gavin sports a broken nose, dark shadows below his eyes. He favours his left arm; it had been dislocated in the struggle, and though he'd popped it back into place the pain radiated throughout. He'd put up a fight, but he'd lost.

[attr="class","beck"]"ah."

the venture back into nothingness comes far too easily. flashes of anger and disappointment and anger are immediately drowned out, buried behind layers upon layers of nothing. this is the only way he knows how to survive.

for moments, he forgets where he is, forgets what he is, and simply breathes.

[attr="class","noodles"]Cillian Quinn

He expects Theo to be angry. Disappointed. Cold.

He does not expect him to be vacant. It's as if the admin is somewhere else. Gavin is smart, observant, and he knows from this shift alone that something is wrong.

He'd been bracing himself for the punishment. It takes a moment to unfurl his stiff fingers and process his thoughts. Obediently. Blindly. Watch your tone. Don't speak unless spoken to. He's quiet; something's wrong.

He's forced to break his last rule. He licks at dry lips.

"Are you all right, sir?"

[attr="class","beck"]merlino's voice barely registers as anything more than a whisper but it's enough. he blinks, snapping back, and it's always the recoil that hurts the most. it almost makes him flinch in his seat.

"merlino."

it takes a second to recollect but when he does, he stands, grabs his blazer off the chair, and starts making his way out the room.

"follow."

they descend wooden steps that spiral down into darkness. at the bottom, it breaks into a short hallway and at the very end is a single room, its mere sight brings with it an overwhelming sense of dread. theo stops before it, hand lingering above, waiting to knock. he's trembling.

"don't speak unless spoken to."

[attr="class","noodles"]Cillian Quinn

Theo doesn't answer; he doesn't have to. He's not all right.

Gavin snaps to attention at the sound of his name, tracks the admin's movements with his eyes. When told to follow, he gets up without questioning the order and slips after Beckett like a ghost.

Wherever they're going, Gavin knows it isn't good. Dread curls in his gut as he thinks of his first day in Rocket, of a dim-lit room with a blood-soaked floor. His footsteps are soft on the stairs and he wonders how hard it would be to take them at a run, going up. Unless an exit lay beyond the room at the end of this foreboding hall, it was his only route. If he can move quick enough, he can grab Theo's gun and pull the trigger. He thinks Beckett won't expect it, because he's trained Gavin well. Can he remember the way out? Up the stairs, down the hall, left, left, right?

Theo lifts a shaking hand to knock and Gavin's perception of the scene violently shifts.

He's smart. He understands. He doesn't speak, barely moves but to incline his head to show he's heard. For all that THEO BECKETT has done to him, it's empathy he feels.

He knows what it is to be afraid.

[attr="class","beck"]the door opens.

it's a surprisingly modest room; simple in the way that it lacks personality. it's an office, that much is clear from the desk set up at the end. but it's the person sat behind it that demands attention.

theo approaches with a lowered gaze.

"mora lives, sir. we failed."

[attr="class","noodles"]Cillian Quinn

[attr="class","blackwell"]"i see."

silas rises, circling around the desk. the intensity in his gaze cuts through the air, pressuring. he stops before beckett and allows his eyes to drift to the other in the room. the air feels electrifying as he speaks.

"who's this?"

[attr="class","noodles"]Cillian Quinn

It's the simplicity of the room that unsettles him. There is no hint as to the personality of the man behind the desk but for the Luxray that slumbers beneath it, and that tells Gavin little. Years later, he'll adopt these tactics as his own.

Yet for all the room's emptiness, he knows its occupant by reputation alone.

Gavin is Theo's shadow, slipping into the room behind him and focusing his gaze on the floor. Though he does his best to breathe, the air feels thin.

We? It had been Gavin to fail, not Theo—
but where he would once have objected, he doesn't say a word.

Don't speak unless spoken to. You know what happens when you fail.
What's going to happen to Theo?

His mouth is dry. He's not looking at Silas, but he knows when Silas looks at him by the chill that crawls from the base of his spine. Survival instinct screams at him to run, but it's drowned out by willful obedience. Don't scream, don't run, they'll kill you— but what if he kills Theo? Don't speak unless spoken to— is he talking to me?

He doesn't know, and that's what keeps him silent.

[attr="class","beck"]for once, merlino doesn't speak, perhaps understanding the gravity of the situation. theo pockets trembling hands in an attempt to quell them — it doesn't help much, but gripping fabric does help ease words out.

"merlino, sir. hart was the other. i assigned them to fuchsia."

[attr="class","noodles"]Cillian Quinn

[attr="class","blackwell"]"i don't care about the other."

luxray shifts from under the desk, coiling like a serpent ready to strike as it circles the desk, much like its master did. deadly-yellow sparks of electricity dance across its dark mane as it approaches. it stops by its master, allows him to pet it should he wish to.

"you know what happens when you fail, beckett."

a THUNDER WAVE pulses, targeting only the admin. it surges across his body, seizing up his muscles, paralyzing, as he drops to a knee.

silas turns, takes a step towards merlino and asks:

"what would you like me to do him?"

[attr="class","noodles"]Cillian Quinn

He is statue-still even as weak knees threaten to give. The Luxray prowls, sparks of electricity biting at exposed skin and raising the hair along Gavin's arms. He traces the path of its paws till it comes to a stop at Silas' heel.

You know what happens when you fail.

He doesn't flinch at the crackle of electricity. Don't scream.

He doesn't flinch when Silas steps toward him. It doesn't take paralysis to seize Gavin's muscles; they tense with instinct, fight or flight. Don't run.

Don't speak unless spoken to. He's talking to me.

Gavin looks up, if only to acknowledge that he understands. There is no defiance, for Theo has robbed him of it.

"Whatever you think is deserved, sir." You know what happens.

He has not been robbed of empathy. His chest is unbearably tight.

"But I'm the one who failed."

[attr="class","beck"]the pain drags him back, grounds him as electricity flows through his body. he drops to his knee, knows to be mindful of his tongue, and bears through the pain that he knows will eventually subside. when it does, he gasps, choking as he attempts to regain his breath.

don't speak unless you're spoken to. no words escape him because he knows his place. this, he knows, is deserved.

[attr="class","noodles"]Cillian Quinn