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No, I can't say I know any Basira Hussains but- Melanie King?

[at least he's distracted by this, sounding incredulous] Are you certain? Is this the same Melanie King who spent a good few minutes mocking the Institute at every turn?

One and the same.

[ martin sounds a little exasperated. ]

She really needed a job.

Lord, there had to be a better candidate to replace- [and he makes himself sad, lips thinning. he closes his eyes, exhaling, before opening them again to regard martin.]

It doesn't matter. It ah... I'm sorry, for what it's worth. [he's trying to be comforting. Badly.]

It was fine. I was handling it fine. Just-

[ martin glances up at him, pointedly- ]

You don't have to protect us, okay? I know it's - I know this isn't going to mean anything to you now, and you're not gonna remember this, but - you don't have to protect us. That's not your job. We're already neck-deep in everything, whether or not you're there.

[jon blinks, clearly startled at that] I ah-

[it was frustrating, not really seeing the full conversation. his lips thin and he thinks of spiders- of one spider in particular, of a bully who died when maybe it could have been different. he thinks about sasha.]

You're right, I don't know what you mean and you should know I can't just agree not to try and protect my subordinates when I can. Especially after Sasha. It-

[he frowns, then exhales slowly] I know I'm... dismissive of statements, skeptical, but that doesn't mean I don't know there are truly awful things out there. They're rare, of course, but they exist- Leitner and his ilk, for example. And I don't... [he shifts, slightly awkward] I may also be dismissive of you and the others but I will not let you be picked off if I can help it.

[ martin glances over at him, a little surprised at this answer. ]

Dismissive of- oh, no, that's not - that's not what I'm saying, Jon. You're not- oh my god, I completely forgot how much has changed over the past year. This is- this is actually sort of brutal.

[ but it looks like some of the tension is easing from his face, at least. this is so, so close to actually being funny. ]

[again he's left clueless, and good old season one jon answers that by being a grumpy shit of course. did you miss this, martin]

For god's sake- what are you saying then? You're being so vague it's like talking to Elias about budget renewals.

[ha. ha.]

[ yes, he did. he missed this a lot, actually. ]

I just meant- I know you believe in this stuff. And I know you're trying to keep us safe. That's all.

Oh. [well, alright. that made sense, things sound like they got... supernatural. rather hard to remain so intensely skeptical to everyone during that.

the other bit, keeping them safe, makes him uncomfortable.] Martin, what exactly do you think I'm trying to keep you safe from?

[ martin glances at him, a little surprised by the question, before he finally shrugs. ]

I dunno. Sort of wish you'd tell us.

I see... [he sighs, rubbing his temple] In all honesty Martin I always assumed Leitner was the greatest evil out there. Suppose he's out of the question now.

Just go ahead and give that title to Elias, okay? And- and also the police. Did you know the police can be terrible?? [ because it was NEWS TO HIM ]

What on earth did Elias do? You said he was 'creepy,' a word that means basically nothing and may as well be lumped in with spooky. [punch season 1 jon]

I... what? Nevermind, on thing at a time. Tell me what great evil Elias pulled.

Martin rubs his palms against the knees of his trousers. He can't not tell Jon at this point, but still: it's making him nervous.

"He, um- he's the one who killed Gertrude Robinson and Jurgen Leitner. He... Says he has his reasons? But I don't know if they're any good."

Well. Consider Jon completely floored.

"He- Elias? Elias murdered Gertrude and- and Jurgen Leitner?" He says Leitner as if Leitner was some powerful beast he can't imagine Elias being able to defeat. He then blinks a few times, letting that settle. "I... He said Gertrude died in the line of duty."

"Yeah, well... either he was lying, or that was just him making a really twisted joke." He hesitates, hand moving back to his dog's head. "Look, you don't have to believe me. I wouldn't blame you if you don't? It's not like any of that matters here, anyway. It's just- it's gonna take me a little while to adjust to being back."

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