psycho killer

“thea jain.” at least the questions are starting off easy. she tries to remember how a polygraph is supposed to work. all the wires percy draped over her were meant to detect her pulse or something, right? her heart was beating so fast on its own, lying or no lying, she wonders what sort of results the test would turn up. maybe it would be fine. or maybe it wouldn’t, and he’d accuse her of lying, and she’d have to confess the other reasons why her pulse was racing. it probably would be better if she was just lying. “no middle name. people get hung up on that sometimes.”

she glances over at his hands on the controls just for a second, more out of curiosity than anything. when all this was over, she’d ask him to show her how it all actually worked. she’s trying her absolute best to keep a straight, serious face, but when he’s looking at her the way he is, she wants to smile. or laugh. or panic. maybe all three at once. “of course i’m loyal to the team,” thea replies. “i love the team. i love spending time the team. i love working with the team. i never thought i’d end up doing this, but…i’m really glad i did.” it dawns on her briefly that while everything she said was true – she has no reason to lie – she wasn’t sure whether in that moment she was actually talking about the team. “how am i doing?”

percy’s hardly looking at the polygraph readings, even as thea is talking. he’s only glanced at it maybe two times since she started answering the questions. instead, his gaze flits between her lips and her eyes, its intent clear as day. percy knows this game. he’s played it a lot. he just isn’t used to feeling this way about it. he does, however, peer down at the chart to make sure she’s telling the truth about where her loyalties lie--he still has a job to do here, of course. well, two jobs. but the other part, the seduction, feels more like a natural instinct at this point. it’s grown legs of its own, and part of that scares percy--to have no control. as far as he is concerned, love merely leads to loss. he had sworn off of it long ago. so why is his heart beating so fast?

thea stands stone still when percy moves behind her, so still she has to take a second to remind herself to breathe. the wire is a little cold, but she continues to fight the urge to flinch. this wasn’t even the closest she’d ever been to percy. she’s tackled him to the ground. she’s fully punched him in the face. but this was different. those were scenarios when touching was called for. in this case, it felt more like a choice. she shuts her eyes for just a second, imagining for just a moment, before his voice interrupts her thoughts. “i should have figured as much, i guess,” she mumbles. 

did he know what he was doing? she had wondered more than once whether percy was clueless about the effect he had started to have on her, the way that his hands lingering on her waist drove her a little crazy. he had to know. she stares at their hands for the moment they’re together. “percy…” she finds herself more than a little disappointed when he pulls away. that’s what always stopped her from saying anything about the way she was feeling. right when she thought he might be relaxing, he buttoned himself back up again. or at least, that’s what she saw. she turns her eyes to meet his and clears her throat. “let’s do this thing.”

percy glances down to smooth out the crinkles on his shirt out of habit. usually, he’s not this nervous during interrogations. he has no reason to be--he’s not the one being questioned. but he knows that what happens here, with the two of them alone and forced into honesty, might change things drastically. and, of course he wants that, but he can’t decide if it might actually be for the right reasons. he’s supposed to be cold and distant, untouchable. and spending time with thea has started to distort his image of himself. he didn’t like that part of it--getting so close to someone that the line between intentions and feelings started to blur. when he did that, he hurt people. unintentionally. and percy, being a major control freak, decided that it was better to just hurt people knowingly.

thea can feel percy’s eyes on her. she glances up to meet them, just for a moment, before hurriedly looking away. she feels the heat rushing into her cheeks, and desperately hopes nobody else in the room notices. tensions are running high, but this felt like an inappropriate sort of tension to be adding to the mix. it’s an involuntary response, that’s all. she trails him out of the room, ducking her head slightly to hide her face. she leans against the bar awkwardly when they arrive, unsure whether she’s meant to sit or stand.

she watches percy work with the briefcase with interest, her eyebrows quirking up slightly when he removes the machine. a polygraph. he really wasn’t messing around. it was another one those things that she mentally files away as something she never thought she’d ever come in contact with. as a consequence of this, she has no clue what to expect. thea looks back up at him and nods, lifting her arms a little in an attempt to be helpful. “so, how does this all work?” she asks, keeping her eyes trained on his face. “the, uh, interrogating.” the more she thinks about it, the scarier in sounds.

he sets down one of the sensors, finally having picked which one to tie around thea first. percy walks behind her slowly before dangling the wire above her collarbone like a necklace. maybe he’d get her a real necklace some day. purely for professional reasons, of course. not because he thought about her enough to want to buy her something nice. no, that would be ridiculous. right? percy realizes that his hands have just kind of been hovering over her back for a while, quickly rushing to connect the wires together. “well,” he starts, grabbing the second sensor. “i ask questions, you answer them.”

thea’s first instinct when she sees percy leaves to room is to get up and follow him. they’re all a little shell-shocked, the revelation of the mole and the fake diamond casting an unsettling silence and tension over the room. she fights her instinct just at the moment when she felt her muscles tensing to stand. she doesn’t really know what’s stopping her. maybe she’s not willing to stand up in front of the whole group and show there’s something potentially going on when she still doesn’t feel sure of it herself. instead, she sits, casting nervous glances around the room and chewing on a hangnail. he had to come back at some point.

she can’t help but jump when he slams the briefcase. he doesn’t scare her – at least, she doesn’t think he does – but any sudden movement felt like enough to incite a reaction. there’s a long pause after his announcement. finally, thea clears her throat. “i’ll go,” she offers in a small voice, finally rising to her feet. she wants to make sure he’s okay and, if anything, she wonders if she might be able to calm him down before he takes his whatever is going on out on the rest of the team. “where to?” she tries to make it sound as casual as possible, as if the stakes didn’t feel extraordinarily high.

percy finally settles his gaze on something--and when he does, it’s thea, the only thing in this room not spinning. and immediately, he feels guilty, because he’s demanding the truth from all of them while he’s been playing his own game of deception with her in his free time. he swallows, a sharp pang of humiliation passing through his throat. percy stares at her for a second, distracted by the surprise second layer of emotions that he hadn’t prepared for. he finally breaks his hypnosis, shaking his head and staring at the ground. “alright.” he accepts her volunteerism. he appreciates it. but percy is pretty fucking sure that thea isn’t michelangelo. but if she was? maybe that would be poetic justice for all that he’s planning on putting her through.

michelangelo. what a stupid fucking name. percy had disappeared into his room almost immediately after reading the note, desperate to release. within a matter of seconds, all of the important files he had lined along his desk were slowly floating down to the ground, an awkwardly slow force juxtaposed against his instant rage. the angsty return to his room didn’t last long, however, for he practically ran back into the common room with a briefcase he had once stolen from the fbi. 

it wasn’t supposed to end this way. at least, that was what he was going to tell himself once it was all over. once she had left him there, alone, to silently remind himself of why he would always be just that. but what was his plan, in the first place? was it to manipulate her to the point of no coming back? to let her fall in love with him?

to let himself fall in love with her? 

whatever his plan had been, it had worked. so why wasn’t he happy?

percy found himself begging her to stay, to give him a chance to explain. but it was hard to do that when he couldn’t justify any of his actions, because for once in his goddamn life, he had followed his heart and not his head. 

“thea, wait--please, please just stay.” he tried to grab her arm in a sudden act of desperation, but he knew she was stronger than him. that his grip on her wouldn’t last. but she would always have a hold over him. 

percy banks did not cry. especially over a success. but the little stream of regret began to flow out of his eyes, dampening a face that had been left dry for far too long. 

“maybe it was that in the beginning. but i promise, thea, i swear, i’m in love with you. that part was real--it’s always been real. and fuck, i’m sorry that i had to get there under false pretenses, and i should have told you a long time ago, but i was scared. i need you to stay, please--” his sniffly explanation was cut short as she roughly pulled away from him, disappearing through the door way. 

if only he had allowed himself to love.

NEW VOICEMAIL    →    from percy banks

JULY 12, 2016

“     calla, hey. it’s percy. i just landed in paris. are you and the big guy already set up at hq ? give me a call back when you get the chance. thanks.     ”

* ･ﾟ@plutomade !

𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐓 𝐇𝐐 is nothing out of the norm for him. seeking out percy without mischa at his side, ready and willing to annoy the shit out of him, is more unusual. nevertheless, he wanders through the common spaces until he finds percy, hedging and fidgeting with some abandoned book on a table nearby before he gathers the words to speak. “ i can’t stop thinking about it, ” he says finally, looking over at percy with a half-grimace on his face. it’s a rare show of seriousness for him; something out of the ordinary, but he thinks the situation merits this sort of response. what they do is hardly legal, obviously, but it’s a lot easier to evade traditional pursuers like the police or the feds. they’re much more visible, for one thing, and they have ivy on the inside in case of emergencies.

something like this, though, is completely out of left field — they don’t have the faintest idea of who’s behind it, and that unsettles him. monty loves the game of it all, outwitting and outmaneuvering law enforcement as they pull off their heists, but this sudden role reversal has left a sour taste in his mouth. “ the note, ” he clarifies, as if percy wouldn’t already know what he’s talking about. that’s why monty’s here, after all — if there’s anyone he expects to be turning this mystery over and over, it’s percy. “ who do you think it’s from ? ”

percy didn’t necessarily consider their heist fully successful. sure, they got away with lots of cash and a banksy piece that their fence was thrilled about, but a little bit of fear had been instilled in each of them at the thought of what that note truly meant. he had been in this business for a long time, probably longer than most of the others. he was fully aware of the existence of other organizations similar to their own; there were almost unspoken rules between groups. he had learned a lot at jupiter’s side, sorting out any necessary communication with fellow outlaws as a part of his job as his right hand man. but that note had been personally terrorizing him for days now, as he pondered who could have left it for them. they were supposed to be golden. the best. what his previous team was like. but they were made the butt of some stupid prank, their intelligence clearly questioned. 

thea’s thoughts seemed to slow down to a regular pace after her outburst, finally relieved of the worries that had built up since the heist. with the ease of that pressure also came a sudden jolt of clarity, and the sinking realization of how ridiculous she must have sounded. “okay, i’m – okay.” she cut herself off from another apology. she felt her muscles relax slightly when he put his hand on her arm. “right. work. all part of the job.” her thoughts also turned back to the few minutes they played couple – his arms around her waist, the kiss she’d planted on his cheek. they were such small details, but they played in her head on a loop. she gave him an embarrassed smile, which quickly turned back into a concerned frown when she finally got a good look at his face. 

“oh shoot, percy, your eye. i mean, thank god you’re not concussed, but yikes, that’s gotta hurt. and don’t give me any of that ‘it’s not so bad’ crap. can’t fool me.” once again, the words escaped her mouth before she had time to organize them in any sort of eloquent way. she’d mentally kick herself for that one later. although thea preferred her loved ones to be completely whole and uninjured, she couldn’t say that the bruise made percy look particularly worse. sort of the opposite, actually, not that she’d ever admit it. “i know i’m no judy, but do you mind if i take a look at it? just for…my own peace of mind, i guess. and to make sure you use the ice pack.” she cast a glance just past his shoulder into his room. “you should probably sit down, at the very least.”

percy liked watching thea ramble. if it were anyone else on the team speaking so inefficiently, he probably would have been irritated. but she was amusing, and he thought that regardless of whether or not he desperately needed her to like him. it was an added bonus. sometimes he forgot of his ulterior motive, as he got so easily lost in dark doe eyes. he nodded. “hey, i don’t mind taking one for the team if it means we get away safely. but, maybe next time, you can punch striker instead.” he joked, gesturing in the direction of his room. not that he necessarily wanted that to happen, but people with face tattoos were basically just asking to get decked. 

she followed him into the room, a grin on her face, the type of grin that only appears when you’re up to something and you’re mere moments before you finally get to see the payoff of your hard work. she walked past him, turning around once she heard the door close. “as a matter of fact, i did,” she said coyly, putting the glasses on the nearest flat surface for a moment before opening the bottle and pouring two glasses. “tonight,” she followed up, handing one to him, “we drink to success, we drink to money, we drink to fucking over the people who deserve to be fucked over, and we drink to fucking the people who deserve to be fucked.” she lifted her glass and took a sip, maintaining eye contact with him as she did.

“if you want me to stop complimenting you over comms while we’re working, i’m gonna need you to stop wearing those pants. it’s not my fault, i’m an observant person, and i have to communicate the things i see to you, that’s, like, my whole job.”

percy bowed his head at the mention of the people who deserved to be fucked. indie was always so forward. in part, it was one of the things he really liked about her. they worked well like that--percy was fairly blunt himself. not everyone could handle that. “cheers to that,” he replied. percy held is glass in the air and sipped in sync with the woman, smiling coyly. this was one of the few times he allowed himself to seem happy to the team--it was statistically proven that consistently stoic leaders could keep groups in check. “oh, so you’d rather me wear no pants at all, then? because i’m pretty sure my ass will look great in anything else i try to wear.” he joked, cocking his head. 

@plutomade​

thea didn’t know how long she’d been pacing outside percy’s door. she’d occasionally stop and stare at it, maybe even take a step towards in like she was about to knock, then she’d lose her nerve and keep walking. she took care to not squish the loaf of banana bread she had cradled in her arm. she could feel the ice pack she’d brought warming up by the second, although it was still cold enough to sting the small piece of exposed skin where her shirt rode up. she was embarrassed – mostly about the punch, but also about the pretending to be a couple thing – but she knew deep down it’d be more embarrassing if opened his door and found her out there. she stopped, took a deep breath, and knocked.

once the door swung open, thea tried to not even give him time to say anything. “i’m SO sorry,” she said, pretty much shoving the banana bread at him. “i really, really didn’t mean to hit you that hard. i mean, when you told me to hit you, it really seemed like it needed to be convincing, but when i saw you on the floor i realized i went too far and, oh–” she suddenly remembered the ice pack. “i brought this!” she waved it.  “i mean, it’s probably not that cold anymore, but it’s a good thing to have on hand if your face is still sore. or in general, i guess. that’s, uh, banana bread by the way.” she motioned to the loaf. “i wasn’t totally sure what your favorite was, but i figure most people like banana bread, and i should probably stop talking to take a breath, right? right.” she gave him a small smile. “sorry. i mean…that was…sorry. hi. how are you feeling?”

the heist had taken more of a toll on percy than he was willing to admit. of course, sometimes, improvisation was required of the group. sometimes, they had to get creative with it. and sometimes, that meant getting clocked in the face by the punishing force that was thea jain. percy genuinely hadn’t thought it would hurt this bad -- at the time, he thought he was quite clever for creating such a distraction. but he had a headache and a black eye that proved him otherwise. of course, he didn’t blame her. he could never blame her. thea was filled with all the best parts of the world, wrapped up in sunshine and sealed with a kiss. and it probably wasn’t professional of him to think of any of that, but he couldn’t help himself. even percy banks could get distracted.

∘ * ϟ starter for @plutomade​

𝐈𝐓 𝐃𝐎𝐄𝐒𝐍’𝐓 𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐄 𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐆 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐎 𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐃 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐂𝐘’𝐒 𝐑𝐎𝐎𝐌. that’s a benefit of being privy to all sorts of confidential information, and having the means to find it when you’re not told it outright, and something she tries not to take for granted. sometimes she forgets that there are people who don’t just have the WORLD at their fingertips, who can’t squeeze their way into places they shouldn’t be. this is her normal, and while it is not at all where she thought she would end up, she can’t complain.

she holds a bottle of champagne in her right hand, two glasses in her left, and she lightly taps her knuckles against his door, whispering “honey, i’m home” into the crack between the door and the wall quietly, sarcastic words of affection meant just for him. maybe one day she’ll say it to someone and mean it in a different way than the way she says it to thea when she bursts into their apartment late at night, a GUST of adrenaline and energy drinks and weed, but that day is far in her future, and it’s sure as hell not going to be with him.

for now, she puts the fantasy aside, tapping her toes lightly against the floor and waiting for him to let her into his room.

another successful heist down meant another night of celebration with percy’s favorite black hat hacker. indie had already spent much of their heist objectifying him via comms, but percy hadn’t had the privilege of being able to see her until the all rendezvoused at their temporary headquarters hours later, seeking to be inconspicuous. he was almost relieved to hear the knock on the door. embarrassingly enough, percy actually spent several minutes each day looking at himself in the mirror, assuring himself that he was still sexy. his heavy commitment to his job didn’t necessarily help his sex life, or any affirmations of his attractiveness.