THE BACK of his hand comes away with a slick smear of blood after he drags it across his mouth. the bloodied lip is a side-effect of the confrontation an’ he’s none too happy ‘bout it, ‘specially considerin’ the other man still looks as shiny as a new penny. mal scowls. he’s still fired up and makes a half-hearted lunge when the stranger all but insults him.
❛ small fish? i’d watch who i was callin’ small. sure there’s somethin’ to say
about the size of the fight in the dog or somethin’. ❜
somethin’ stops him, though. perhaps it’s the way the man holds himself, unconcerned, almost as though he could grind him beneath his heel and call it a day. his scowl only darkens his face but he straightens and makes a great show of brushing at the dirt on his sleeves. he slips a suspender back up onto his shoulder, though his shirt is still untucked and rumpled. the thief can smell a deal from a mile off.
❛ an’ if i say no? walk away from all this? ❜
if only it were that easy. he shows
his incisors, cheeky, because he knows he hasn’t a shot in hell of
walking off now.
it’s not a question. ford knows it, and reynolds knows it too. mal’s not in the position to deny any offer given to him. he has too much to lose. ford lets his gaze fall to his jacket, hands coming to smooth the material down. it’s either a sign of trust ( or more likely ) a slap to the face that he’s confident enough to look away from the other man.
looking back up, there’s a hint of a challenge in his eyes as he moves to roll the sleeves of his shirt back down his arms. part of him hopes the other man has more fight in him, and he needs a way to work off this excess energy that their lackluster fight hadn’t managed.
but if the guy’s smart ( which everything in his file seems to say ), he won’t. he’ll listen to what ford’s offering, and he’ll take it.
❛ but fer curiosity’s sake, let’s say
ya didn’t take the deal. a rather stupid fuckin idea,
in my opinion. but alright. ya’d be lookin at
a life sentence in a max security prison. no chance
o’ parol, an no shot o’ appeal. you’d be spendin
tha rest o’ yer life in that hell hole, whatever
remains o’ it, anyways. cause all those blokes
ya’ve shorted over tha years ?? they’re all in there
waitin fer yer scrawny lil arse. ❜