A Scripta

Part III - (Masonry Recruitment Drive - these both take place on the same day)
Psychological intervention I

Masonry watched the pen moving in Pinkerton's hand. "Tell me now about Carlos."

Masonry's eyes widened at the name. He felt Lodestar's comfort and wanted to close his eyes, but in order to do this treatment right, he needed to keep his eyes open to watch the pen's movement. "He beat me. He used to look at me in the hallway and I used to run away."

"How did he beat you?"

"Carlos would call his brother and the Five Fingers - that's what he called his friends, I think one was his cousin - he told me in the morning he was going to beat me up that night, and when I saw them, I'd run, and I didn't tell anyone--"

The pen stopped. Pinkerton watched the big man take deep breaths, trying not to hyperventilate. He waited. Masonry nodded once, and the pen moved again. "Tell me the first time he beat you."

"Fourth grade. There was a trailer off to the side of the school, where the retards went. I go that way to go home. He caught me there. He threw me against the trailer. He punched me in the stomach. He hit me in the head. I went down at his feet. He kicked me. In the head. I don't... no, he thought I was passed out. He left me there."

"He didn't do anything else?"

"Not that time."

"But he did do other things to you later."

"Yes."

"What?"

"No."

Pinkerton stopped the pen as Masonry closed his eyes, feeling Lodestar's comfort, They can't harm you anymore. You're safe here. They can't harm you.

I'm embarrassed.

Say it plainly. I will help you.

Masonry snapped open his eyes. He nodded once as he pushed the emotion out of him as Lodestar had taught him, flowing into a small ball that stayed at the base of his heart. He took another deep breath, focused his eyes on the pen. Coldly he stated, "Carlos held a gun to my head. He told me to put it in my mouth. He pulled the trigger. I lost control of all my bodily functions."

Pinkerton said, "Anybody would have."

"I would have done the same thing to him."

"But he was dead by the time you would have gotten to him."

"Yes."

"Who did you kill instead?"

"No one. I found his wife and two children and did that to them. It was enough." He nodded briskly. "Yes, it was enough."

"So now what?"

He shrugged. "I move on now." He took a deep breath, and that ball slowly grew smaller, and smaller, until he felt it was gone. It was enough.

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Part IV - Psychological Intervention II

"Are you an evil man?"

Masonry thought on that. "I don't know."

"How would you define evil, Mase? Quickly now. Don't think about it."

"The absence of any feeling for your fellow man."

This psychologist was from Kirkbride, Dr. Mark Orbison, whose bedside manner reminded him too much of Hope's Fury, with his cold detachment.

"Hmm...interesting. So nothing to do with your thoughts or deeds?"

"I'm being selfish if I use my thoughts or deeds. I'm not evil. If I don't care about whether my thoughts or deeds hurt anyone..." He tilted his head as he realized where that was going, because he knew when he wrapped his hands around Donnie's throat and squeezed, he didn't care who he hurt, just as long as he was dead. "Oh," he whispered. He looked up at the hologram. "But I don't mean to."

"So you believe being evil means not caring?"

"Well, yeah. And doing things on purpose to cause someone hurt."

"Do you do that?"

"I don't mean to if I do."

"Why do you, then?"

"Because I'm selfish. I want to be in front. I want to be the one they look up to I want to be the one they follow."

"Those are good leadership qualities, Mase."

"I wanted to be the one doing the beating - Huh?" Leadership qualities? Leader? Me?

"Why did you want to be the one doing the beating?"

"Because I was hurt and I want to hurt those who hurt others. I know how it felt. I don't want it to happen to anyone anymore - and I want them to know I did it."

The doctor nodded. "And you believe this makes you evil?"

"Um, no... Morally ambiguious, maybe." He smiled.

Orbison smiled and offered a small chuckle.

"But E and Fyre think so--I know, I know, it's not about them."

Orbison studied Masonry. "You believe you might be evil because they think so?"

Masonry kicked at the floor. "Yeah," he said quietly.

"Do you know how they define evil?"

"They think that because I let Ben out and I listened to him and he fed me a line that I meant to do everything Ben did. That Ben was an excuse. Like the drugs I took was an excuse for me to murder."

"Why do you say that?"

"It's what they told me. They said I should--"

"Does that make it true?"

"Never have done--" He blinked. "Does that make it true?" he repeated, stunned at the question.

"You tell me." The doctor looked at something behind Masonry. "I'm sorry, Masonry, but our time is up for now."

The hologram projection dissolved into a shower of sparkling light--leaving Masory, once again, alone.

(Thanks to Ice for playing the part of the psychologist and providing the last line.)