[attr="class","beck"]he pulls out a photo from the same drawer and places it on the table. it shows merlino midconversation with another person, likely photographed from a distance away.

"then explain this."

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

It's difficult to get a good look at the photo on the desk with Nidoking restraining him, but Gavin does his best. He recognizes himself, of course, and the place in which he's stood — the other person in the photograph, though?

"That's somewhere I go pretty often outside of work. It's down the street from my apartment. Don't know who that is, probably some bloke that came up to ask me the time or something. I — I'm sorry, sir, I don't understand the significance."

[attr="class","beck"]"that bloke is in charge of the officers in celadon."

he isn't sure if merlino's playing stupid or is just stupid. he quickly decides on the former as he reaches into the drawer for syringes. he reaches for the last vial, plucks it from the tray, then brings it under the table.

soon, he places something back into the drawer, then stands to approach merlino from the side. he's gripping something in one hand, likely the syringe, but he's not showing it.

"it's not looking good for you, merlino."

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

Rather unfortunately for Gavin, he is not stupid at all.

Amber eyes trace Theo's movements as the vial is shifted beneath the table, out of sight. When Beckett approaches in his peripheral, Gavin squirms against the Nidoking's hold in spite of his earlier intentions of compliance.

"I didn't know!" His voice shifts louder, panicked. "Sir, I swear I didn't know, I didn't tell him anything, please."

He's fighting Nidoking's grip, now, for all the good it doesn't do him.

"I-I swore I'd be loyal, I have been loyal. Beckett."

[attr="class","beck"]"have you?"

there's something in the way he says it that betrays the indifference he wears. he clicks twice, causing the nidoking to tighten its hold. he reaches for merlino's dangling arm, grips it tight, then stabs the needle into him. he's not gentle, not in the slightest.

a moment passes before he pulls away, revealing the now-empty syringe.

"you have about three minutes before you die. i have the antidote, but whether you receive it really depends on you."

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

"I have!"

He squirms, struggles, tries to yank his arm from Theo's unforgiving grasp... but in the end, the needle pierces skin.

And it's not like before, tied up in a dingy Saffron interrogation room where he'd accepted the inevitability of death. He'd deserved it, then. He'd understood. Now, his breaths quicken as if to catch up to his racing heart.

He's bluffing, he's got to be bluffing, he just wants me scared—

Gavin's muscles tense as the venom burns through his bloodstream, lighting his nerves aflame. An attempt to plead with Beckett is choked off by a strangled gasp, breath hissed past clenched teeth as he endures the waves of agony. Don't scream, but Arceus, he can't help it, not when it feels as if he's being burned alive.

Theo hadn't been bluffing. Theo didn't believe him. Theo was going to kill him.

One thing is for certain: Gavin isn't scared, he's terrified.

Through gasps of pain, shuddering, he begs.

"I-It wasn't me, Beckett, I don't know what you want me to say. I didn't know who he was. I would — n-never sell out Rocket."

[attr="class","beck"]another click forces nidoking to release its hold. merlino drops to the ground, landing with a hard thud as the poison starts taking its effects. nidoking takes a step back, its tail dragging across the wooden floors.

theo approaches, looming over the other. words escape hushed, almost muted.

"i trusted you."

he reaches down and grabs merlino by his jaw.

"what else did you tell him?"

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

Nidoking lets him go, and Gavin collapses.

Tense muscles won't allow him enough maneuverability to get back to his feet, so he remains on his knees and shudders through agony that only seems to get worse as time goes on. Had Beckett injected him with venom, or lava?

Beckett grabs him by the jaw; it shudders against his hold, against an unsteady breath sucked through Gavin's teeth. He's forced to look up, hurt reflected in watery eyes — not tears of grief, but an involuntary response to pain.

"Nothing. I told him n-nothing."

He whimpers, closes his eyes as pain shocks through him like an electrical current.

[attr="class","beck"]"you swore your loyalty to me."

his grip tightens.

"was that a lie, too?"

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

Panic.

He recognizes the feeling, the tightness in his chest that makes it feel as if his heart might explode. His entire body is shaking.

Beckett squeezes his jaw, his hold tight and uncomfortable, and Gavin opens his eyes. At first unfocused, clarity returns as he blinks.

"No," he breathes. "I didn't lie to you, I'm not lying."

Anger, again, a hot white burst of it brought on by another surge of radiating pain. It sees him stress the last words in half a snarl, fingers digging against his thighs.

[attr="class","beck"]it's then that knocks sound from the door, cutting through tension. he lingers for a moment to glare into merlino's eyes before releasing his grip. he stands, approaches the door.

"what?"

after a brief exchange, the door closes, and his shoulders slump. his head hangs low as he stares at absolutely nothing. he turns back and his words are no longer laced with venom.

"they...found the rat."

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

He expects this is the part where they finish him off.

Theo doesn't believe him — it's clear in the way the admin holds his gaze with a glare before letting him go. And if Theo doesn't believe him, that means they won't give him the antidote. That means that even if he runs, now, even if he fights off every person between here and the outside... there's not enough time.

The venom continues to pulse through him, agonizing. He thinks that even if he tried to get up, he might collapse.

He's shivering on his knees, head bowed, breath unsteady, when Theo speaks.

"Wh...?"

He's hurt, and then he's furious. His jaw clenches hard as he glares with as much venom as Theo had met him with before opening the door.

"I told you," he snaps. "I swore it and you didn't fucking believe me."

He's panting, frantic even in his fury, when he remembers.

"A-Antidote — please."

[attr="class","beck"]"there is no antidote."

he loses himself in the floorboards, detaching from the situation. he exhales, looks back up, then walks back over to his desk.

"the pain will pass in about ten minutes. you won't die."

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