Valentin Takes A Bath

[Skraal]

Ah, yes, of course. The old standard:

>I totally have a plan, just trust me bro!
>No, I can't tell you what it is.
>Why don't you believe me?

Jacob, for one, didn't buy it. Sure, maybe there was an off chance that they actually did have something in mind, but if they did, why wouldn't they just say it? Like, the terrorists were surely already listening, and if they were going to blow the group's collars for discussing escape then it wouldn't matter if they told him now rather than waiting for more people to show up. It seemed far more likely to him that they both were hoping to pull throw together some ideas on the way, haphazardly constructing a path forward like a student starting a school project the night before it was due. He put a hand to his chin for a moment, glancing down at the ground before looking back at the others.

"Ah, well, you know, it's kinda hard for me to agree to anything without knowing what the plan even is in the first place. Like, if you were going to offer to risk your life helping someone out, you'd want to know what they were actually going to do. Why save the plan for later when you could possibly die any minute and take your ideas to the grave with you before letting anyone else even know about it?"

He paused for a moment. A small voice inside of him nagged him to stop, that safety in numbers was better than wandering around alone, even with no escape plan in place. It was a reasonable idea, but, unfortunately, he couldn't just allow them to just get away so easily. If they were going to try to bluff him into going along with them, then he'd make them work for it. Anything else and he'd spend the whole time he was with them annoyed for not at the very least messing with them about it. Jacob coughed quietly into his hand before continuing.

"That's assuming you actually do have a plan in the first place."

[Maraoone]

Woefully, Jacob had a point.

Everyone on this island had been touched by violence one way or another, whether by hearing the announcements, or seeing directly what ended up on the announcements later on, or being part of it, even.

Valentin rubbed his fingers, laid underneath the water. Wrinkled and soaked as they were from prolonged submersion, he still felt a tackiness, as if Constance's blood hadn't released its grip from him yet.

Everyone on this island had been touched by violence, so the paranoia and distrust the terrorists had sought to instill among the populace of Endecott had well and truly sunken in by now. It was healthy, even, to be paranoid by now. Some of the less scrupulous actors on this island could use the idea of salvation in bad faith, to lure people in for whatever nefarious means they had in mind.

The slight aspersion at the end, the insinuation that Valentin was making all of this up, did not go unnoticed by him, but he paid it no response.

It would be easier, probably, to simply let Jacob go on his own. Valentin had already swayed Chloé to join his side, after all, and Alexander would be waiting for him in the research station come tomorrow. But, too many days had passed by without action, too many people had been left behind already.

Those people he'd met in the tunnels, Eden and the girl. Were they still alive? He hadn't caught every name on the announcements.

Would they be alive if he'd convinced them to stick around?

He had to give an honest effort to persuade Jacob to stay, even if he personally disliked him. It was the least he deserved.

Valentin's concerns about the terrorists listening in still held, however. It was one thing to discuss in euphemisms and metaphors the possibility of a third way between death and murder, as Jacob and Chloé thought they were doing. and it was another to be actively enacting a plan, to be on the cusp of pulling it off if Valentin's stupid, elementary plan was actually correct.

It was always best to communicate openly, in any case. As much as could be under constant surveillance by their own version of the KGB, anyways.

Valentin focused his gaze on Jacob.

"You are right. You deserve more honesty from me, I am asking a lot from you. I am simply..."'

He stroked his beard.

"...adapting to the circumstances we are in, however, so forgive me I speak in a circumspect manner. I have three options for you, as far as I see it."

He pulled his free hand out the water, raised his pointer finger.

"One, you leave right now and go on with your life, however long it ends up being. That is a choice you always have."

Middle finger.

"Two, you meet us at the research station the next day, and I can report to you the plan in more detail."

Ring finger.

"Or three, if you are so, so curious as to what my plan is, then you can join me here in this thermal spring, spend the rest of the day here, and we can find out, together," he said with a smile.

"So what will it be?"

[Skraal]

((Skipping with permission))

Valentin did have a point, which was the most frustrating part of this. No, it wasn't just frustrating - it was infuriating. As the man with the (hypothetical) plan, Valentin was in control of the situation, and part of that control meant, as Jacob was beginning to realize, that he was under no obligation to allow anyone to call his bluff. After all, Valentin needed help, but not Jacob's in particular. If Jacob left, this guy would surely find someone more trustworthy to be his minion, all the while Jacob was back to wandering in the wilderness by himself. This bastard had him by the balls, and they both knew it.

That little voice of reason continued to nag at Jacob's mind, louder now. There wasn't much that he had to lose here. Sure, he might die following Valentin's plan, but the chances of him dying if he went off on his own were also pretty high. When one's life was at stake, even the craziest of odds were worth betting on. From a purely rational point of view, there was no downside to going along with this, at least for a while. Besides, if Valentin was going to kill him then this was a pretty terrible way of going about it.

That said, the thought of just accepting those words and following without question felt awful. How stupid he would look if he just backed down so easily, without any further argument? At every turn on this island, Jacob's experiences in the arena of words continued to give off one overwhelming impression - that he wasn't nearly as smart as he thought he was. To just accept Valentin's argument and go along with him in exchange for merely promises and hopes would be an act that just reinforced that awful feeling of inferiority. To go from a lone wolf to someone's errand boy felt like an intolerable step downwards, even if it was in service of ostensibly increasing his chances of survival.

Jacob swallowed as he broke eye contact with Valentin, staring down at the ground. If he actually knew the details of the plan, maybe the decision would be easier, but as things stood, the offer on the table was a 1% increased chance of survival along with a 100% chance of humiliation. Arguing here would only making things worse for him in the end - the harder he could fight, the more embarrassing it would be for him to finally surrender in the end. After a long moment of silence, he looked back up at Valentin, doing his best to hide his emotions behind that playful, slightly bored tone that he had become so accustomed to using.

"The research station, huh? Sounds like as good a meeting place as any, I suppose."

And with that, he turned to leave, barely even glancing over at Chloé as he headed back down the stairs. He still wasn't sure if he was actually going to show up, but even he decided not to, leaving on this note might at the very least inconvenience Valentin by making him wait for a potential partner who would never actually arrive. It was stupid and it was petty, but it was all Jacob had the energy to do right now.

What a pain.

((Jacob Lang continued in Mutilated Lips))

[midnight_twelve]

Chloé looked at Valentin, one eyebrow raised.

“Do you think he’ll actually come?” she asked, half doubtful. Valentin’s skills of persuasion were certainly impressive, and Jacob had looked almost convinced before he scurried off. But she would never have let him leave if it was up to her. Not that Valentin could have stopped him, it was as he had said- Jacob had that choice. Still, there was now the possibility that he would abandon them, or worse get himself killed. She thought suddenly that maybe he’d have stayed if she showed him the gun, and then had to think about why she thought that, whether he’d have been sticking around for the protection or as a hostage.

She for one would not be going off alone again. Resigning herself to a lazy day at the springs, Chloé gave Valentin back his privacy and sat down to try and think of a plan of her own to offer alongside his.

((Chloé Delacroix continued in Faire et Refaire.))

[Maraoone]

Valentin blinked in surprise. That he received any acquiescence at all was completely unexpected. He had expected more obstinance, more needling under the skin, as was Jacob's way.

It picked his spirits up quite a lot, to be honest. There was always the chance that Jacob skipped out on them, decided heading back was too much of an inconvenience, but that's all it was at the moment, chance. There was still hope he could be saved.

So, to Chloé's question, he answered with a smile, "I prefer to think positively."

And with that, he settled into a silence and laid back, collar submerged, water burbling under the chin, and he waited for sunset.

((Valentin Shulgin continues elsewhere))