hopepainandshit | TLV: IC Inbox

He escaped.

I made sure of it.

[Yes, he got out, but Corvo took down as many guards as he could to leave him an exit.]

You knew Campbell was corrupt, though. You could've proved it, you could have ruined him completely.

[Corvo's silent for a moment, just staring.]

We'll never get through this if you want to pick through every damn choice.

[Richter gives him a completely unimpressed look.]

You just said you know you fucked up. That means you made a bad call somewhere on the way. [He gestures along the mugshots.] Most likely, you made a lot of them. How do you expect us to work it out quickly?

Alright. I could have done it. I had an idea, but it would have been considerably more risky that way.

[He turns the page.]

I wasn't willing to take that risk.

[It's impossible to keep all the incredulity off his face.]

As opposed to, and this is just a totally random example - stalking him to the house where he planned to murder someone, watching him poison the glasses, and sneaking in to switch them when no one was looking.

Yes.

[Absolutely no irony in his voice.]

Anything else or shall we move on?

"What was the other way?" he asks. He's not letting this one go just yet. "What made it more risky?"

He clenches his jaw again.

"To brand him with the Heretic's mark. Show the city and the country what he really is," he mutters. "I would have needed to knock him out and taken him down, unseen, to the Interrogation Room where the brand is."

It's creative, nonlethal, and would have been the better option.

Corvo still didn't think it would be worth the risk when he could hear the man choke.

"Couldn't you have taken the brand from the prison?" That seems the more straightforward way to him, but he might be missing something.

He shakes his head. "No. There is a chemical involved along with the brand itself being far too heavy to simply carry with me. I couldn't guarantee that the fires upstairs would burn hot enough, either."

He nods readily, easy acceptance of new information.

It doesn't make the Campbell situation better, but he's certainly starting to see a bigger picture.

He slides Campbell's picture to the side for the moment, clearing the way for-

"The Pendleton brothers. You said they were hiding Emily for a while there."

He nods, glad to be moving on.

"Overseer Campbell's journal, which I had been tasked to take, contained blackmail information that the Loyalists needed. It also told them where Emily was being held. The twins owned a pleasure house - the Golden Cat. She was inside. Their youngest brother, also a Loyalist, needed their votes in Parliament, so they needed to be taken care of."

He leans forward on the table again, linking his fingers. "I - met with Slackjaw. Leader of a gang in Dunwall. He said he could take care of them for me if I did him a favor. He wouldn't kill them. I didn't want to risk Emily by shedding unnecessary blood in the Cat, so I did it."

His eyes flick up to meet Corvo's, but his head stays angled towards the paper. "What did you do, then?"

"He wanted the code to a safe. There was an art dealer who - enjoyed the attentions at the Cat." He raises a brow.

"Are you even old enough to hear this story, boy?"

"That's cute, you think I don't know what a prostitute is." But it's a snicker, and his grin widens. "Don't tell me you had to suck his cock for the code?"

Corvo's smile is warm. Despite it all, he's fond of this fucking brat. Sometimes he has to remind himself of that fact.

"Not exactly. He liked to get a little shock while blindfolded. All I had to do was dismiss the women and increase the electricity. He gave me what I needed."

Richter hasn't had the pleasure of getting electrocuted yet, but he can only imagine that would fucking suck.

"That's still not great, mind you." But at least he didn't kill him? "What happened then? Your man didn't kill the brothers, and Emily wasn't there, right?"

"No. She was there. Upstairs. Clever girl led me out the back way once I had the key for us," he mutters. "I took her back to the pub and she - stayed there a while."

"What happened to them? The brothers." The paper says, so he picks it up casually, so Corvo can't cheat.

"He didn't say and I didn't ask."

He deliberately doesn't look.

"Right." Neutral, almost careful. But that's... also not great.

He slides the paper aside. "Lady Boyle?"

He looks away.

"No. Not that one." It's the one he has the most regret about and he even tries to reach over to snatch the page away.

He snatches the page first and leans back quickly, holding it at arm's length so Corvo can't grab it. "All of them, Corvo. What did you do to Lady Boyle?"

"Read it yourself," he mutters, staring at the door. "I didn't kill her."

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