09-02-2016, 12:56 PM
"He's awake," one of the stormtroopers said. The Law Around Here looked up from the files in front of him to glance at the one-way mirror. Inside the next room, you could clearly see the bald captive shaking his head to get the cobwebs clear. He looked groggy, but very much aware of his situation. That was good. That was how Judge Dredd needed him to be. He needed to have a clear head for what came next.
"Stay in here," the judge directed, closing the manila envelope in front of him and taking it with him out of the room. It was time to put the ball in motion. If he was going to nip the problems that he was having in Coruscant in the bud, he was going to need to set up a playing field that gave him the advantage...but wouldn't be too big of a loss if it went wrong. He walked down the dimly hallway just a few feet, to the next room, and stepped in. "Mr. Rory," he said to the man in front of him. "Did you have a nice nap?"
Mick Rory was sitting on an uncomfortably small steel chair, with his hands cuffed through the back of it to keep him down. His ankles were also cuffed, but to the floor rather then each other or the chair. He looked up at this new figure that stepped in the room, eyes almost rolled back as he glared. "It was nice." He said, the sarcasm thick in his rugged voice. He had a talented way of being funny while retaining his general badassness. "Had to catch up on my beauty sleep."
The man in the metallic helmet smirked. This was unusual for him...to smile. Especially this early in the conversation. It was either a good thing or a bad thing for Rory. Neither of them knew which.
"Where am I?" Mick asked, but it wasn't phrased like a question. It was more like a demand for an answer. The last thing he remembered was engaging stormtroopers in a fight. He had knocked three down when one of them sucker-punched him from behind. While on his knees, he had been able to see one of the cloned troopers on the radio, communicating with someone. Then a sharp pain had attacked the back of his shaved head. Then darkness. Then here. "Who are you?"
"They call me Judge Dredd," the man said, almost robotically. "I am The Law."
"I can tell you right now, buddy," Mick began, breathing out his words low and dark. "I don't get along with the law. Ever. That ain't gonna change today."
This time, there was no hint of a smile on the face of Dredd. He looked up briefly to acknowledge that he heard Mr. Rory's words, and then leaned back against the wall behind him. He opened the file folder in his hands, glancing down to read the selected data. "I believe that is where you are wrong, Mr. Rory." He told him. "You are a criminal, yes...and I am the Law, yes. Natural enemies. But there is a core difference. Do you know what that is?"
"Enlighten me," Mick growled. Normally that would be a good time for a one-liner. But he was simply not in the mood anymore.
"I serve the people," Dredd explained to him. "You only serve yourself. And in that regard, I have an offer for you." Mick looked up at him as he spoke, clearly interested in what he was saying. "You have a bounty on you already. It is within my right to lock you up, which I know will only cause problems. I could execute you, which again, is a temporary solution. So instead, I give you an opportunity to clear your name. You will lead your little Rebellion to a designated spot. We will put them down. You will leave. No more bounty. Free to terrorize another verse."
Mick grunted. His nostrils flared a moment as he processed the demand. "I'm not a rat." He spat at the Judge. "Why should I sell them out for you?"
Judge Dredd squatted down in front of Mick. They were looking eye to eye, staring at each other...or, at least, as best as Mick could do through that ugly mask. Dredd spoke his words slowly, to emphasize his point. "You've had two strikes here, Mick Rory. I'm giving you a chance to walk away, and be the petty criminal you were born to be. If you don't do this for me, then when I find you - and that's when, not if - I won't just kill you so you can come back. I will send you down to the Underverse with the Devil Himself."
Mick didn't answer. Dredd didn't elaborate further. He banged on the mirror in front of him to signal the two stormtroopers that were posted on the other side of it. One of them turned up at the door, holding a pair of keys in his hands. Dredd signalled to him with a nod of them to uncuff the prisoner. Mick watched, quietly, as if biding his time, as the stormtrooper unlocked his restraints. His rubbed his wrist as he stood up, now free from the confines of the chair.
"Nice chat," Mick told the Judge. Back to sarcasm. Back to classic Mick Rory. "We should do it again sometime."
"I should hope not," said The Law honestly. "Make the right choice, Mr. Rory."
Mick didn't answer. He didn't show his cards as to whether or not he was actually considering betraying the rebellion in order to save his own skin. Though the offer was good, he had to admit that. It was a second chance to do it right, all at the cost of some people didn't even know. He could take Snart and just leave. But then that meant letting The Judge win, and he wasn't sure he was okay with that. He stepped away, backwards at first, and then walked out the door.
Judge Dredd closed the manila envelope in his hand as he watched the man known as Heat Wave disappear into the hallway. He figured either way, Mick would end up head in the streets of Coruscant eventually anyway. This was, the man could potentially be useful. And it would also answer the age old question if that was, in fact, any honor among thieves.
"Stay in here," the judge directed, closing the manila envelope in front of him and taking it with him out of the room. It was time to put the ball in motion. If he was going to nip the problems that he was having in Coruscant in the bud, he was going to need to set up a playing field that gave him the advantage...but wouldn't be too big of a loss if it went wrong. He walked down the dimly hallway just a few feet, to the next room, and stepped in. "Mr. Rory," he said to the man in front of him. "Did you have a nice nap?"
Mick Rory was sitting on an uncomfortably small steel chair, with his hands cuffed through the back of it to keep him down. His ankles were also cuffed, but to the floor rather then each other or the chair. He looked up at this new figure that stepped in the room, eyes almost rolled back as he glared. "It was nice." He said, the sarcasm thick in his rugged voice. He had a talented way of being funny while retaining his general badassness. "Had to catch up on my beauty sleep."
The man in the metallic helmet smirked. This was unusual for him...to smile. Especially this early in the conversation. It was either a good thing or a bad thing for Rory. Neither of them knew which.
"Where am I?" Mick asked, but it wasn't phrased like a question. It was more like a demand for an answer. The last thing he remembered was engaging stormtroopers in a fight. He had knocked three down when one of them sucker-punched him from behind. While on his knees, he had been able to see one of the cloned troopers on the radio, communicating with someone. Then a sharp pain had attacked the back of his shaved head. Then darkness. Then here. "Who are you?"
"They call me Judge Dredd," the man said, almost robotically. "I am The Law."
"I can tell you right now, buddy," Mick began, breathing out his words low and dark. "I don't get along with the law. Ever. That ain't gonna change today."
This time, there was no hint of a smile on the face of Dredd. He looked up briefly to acknowledge that he heard Mr. Rory's words, and then leaned back against the wall behind him. He opened the file folder in his hands, glancing down to read the selected data. "I believe that is where you are wrong, Mr. Rory." He told him. "You are a criminal, yes...and I am the Law, yes. Natural enemies. But there is a core difference. Do you know what that is?"
"Enlighten me," Mick growled. Normally that would be a good time for a one-liner. But he was simply not in the mood anymore.
"I serve the people," Dredd explained to him. "You only serve yourself. And in that regard, I have an offer for you." Mick looked up at him as he spoke, clearly interested in what he was saying. "You have a bounty on you already. It is within my right to lock you up, which I know will only cause problems. I could execute you, which again, is a temporary solution. So instead, I give you an opportunity to clear your name. You will lead your little Rebellion to a designated spot. We will put them down. You will leave. No more bounty. Free to terrorize another verse."
Mick grunted. His nostrils flared a moment as he processed the demand. "I'm not a rat." He spat at the Judge. "Why should I sell them out for you?"
Judge Dredd squatted down in front of Mick. They were looking eye to eye, staring at each other...or, at least, as best as Mick could do through that ugly mask. Dredd spoke his words slowly, to emphasize his point. "You've had two strikes here, Mick Rory. I'm giving you a chance to walk away, and be the petty criminal you were born to be. If you don't do this for me, then when I find you - and that's when, not if - I won't just kill you so you can come back. I will send you down to the Underverse with the Devil Himself."
Mick didn't answer. Dredd didn't elaborate further. He banged on the mirror in front of him to signal the two stormtroopers that were posted on the other side of it. One of them turned up at the door, holding a pair of keys in his hands. Dredd signalled to him with a nod of them to uncuff the prisoner. Mick watched, quietly, as if biding his time, as the stormtrooper unlocked his restraints. His rubbed his wrist as he stood up, now free from the confines of the chair.
"Nice chat," Mick told the Judge. Back to sarcasm. Back to classic Mick Rory. "We should do it again sometime."
"I should hope not," said The Law honestly. "Make the right choice, Mr. Rory."
Mick didn't answer. He didn't show his cards as to whether or not he was actually considering betraying the rebellion in order to save his own skin. Though the offer was good, he had to admit that. It was a second chance to do it right, all at the cost of some people didn't even know. He could take Snart and just leave. But then that meant letting The Judge win, and he wasn't sure he was okay with that. He stepped away, backwards at first, and then walked out the door.
Judge Dredd closed the manila envelope in his hand as he watched the man known as Heat Wave disappear into the hallway. He figured either way, Mick would end up head in the streets of Coruscant eventually anyway. This was, the man could potentially be useful. And it would also answer the age old question if that was, in fact, any honor among thieves.