“    no? ” hazel eyes glare across the cold metal desk they’re both seated at, meeting the equal glare of this punk ass kid before him. but this punk ass kid surprised him, actually managing to flank the commander’s whole team, managing to get a shot off before he was noticed, managing to actually hit the commander himself. not fatal, but close enough.

“  jail isn’t any place for someone as young as you. i’m giving you a chance to be someone better, where your skills can actually be put to use. no more working in sweltering heat, unsure if your haul would even be worth it. ”

   still no answer, but the kid looks like he’s thinking about it. abruptly gets to his feet, wanting to force a decision, gathering up all the paperwork he’d prepared and saying, “ but i can get where you’re coming from. it’s obviously more worth it to take one for the team and ensure your friends stay free men. because you’re clearly not the only one sticking his neck out for everyone else, right? ” looks at him, waiting for only a moment for any type of reaction. shrugs and turns his back on the kid, heading for the door.

“    oh well. ”

If there’s one word to describe Jesse, it’s defiant. Spiteful, maybe, or, if you want to get fancy, recalcitrant. Refractory, ungovernable… Okay, there are multiple words to describe him, but they all send the same message — he ain’t interested in listening to some stuck-up authority figure, especially with his hands tied, both literally and figuratively.

He also ain’t interested in going to prison. Ya fucked up real bad this time, McCree. . .

Now he has a choice to make. Betray his gang, his family, and join the authority he’d already renounced, or rot in prison for the rest of his life, with no promise of escape. The dumb optimist in him swears up and down that Ashe would bust him out, of course she would, how would he doubt her? The realist in him, though… Well, it was no accident that let him get caught while the rest of ‘em turned tail and ran.

His spite towards Reyes suddenly shifts its attention to them, because he’s young and dumb and full of poorly-managed rage. They left him. They let him get caught and taken in! Why should he be the one to take a bullet for ‘em? He’d already done that!

Before he can say anything, though, Reyes stands and gathers his things, and Jesse knows that if he walks out that door, he’ll be taking Jesse’s last chance at freedom with him. Anger yields to panic; he scrambles to turn around in his chair, facing Reyes’ turned back.