Re: log: briar/jason
There was an older Jason, a few years younger and a lot closer to coming back from the dead, who would have ended this encounter already. He would have ended it decisively, with the satisfying finality of killing. He would have ended it permanently, in a way that could never (with some notable exceptions) be taken back.
He wasn't altogether different from the person who had tumbled the heads of every major gang from a duffel bag in a bid to take over the city he'd been born in, but he was maybe a little more hesitant to go in with a gun. Even in desperate situations, lately, he always tried nonlethal first. Now, he had to abandon it pretty quickly the last couple times her tried, but the attempt was a step. He couldn't always promise to leave the bad guys alive. Not when they were making war. But individual criminals very rarely called for it, these days, not unless they accrued multiple strikes. He wasn't any more willing to work inside the system than he had been before, but he'd met some people who'd at least given him a shred of mercy. It was enough to believe people might, under really specific circumstances, change. He didn't believe it strongly, but a shred could be enough.
The pipe was a pretty interesting touch. He'd never tried one himself. He'd already scanned the area for anything resembling a hidden fuse she could toss the lit thing on, though he could have missed something. His relaxation hid a readiness to move fast if he had to, and while he didn't have the grace of certain vigilantes who'd started as acrobats, he had muscle, and he could propel himself quickly and powerfully. "So why not stick with the nonlethal stuff?" he proposed, spreading a hand. "I'm not saying quit the business full stop. I mean it's obviously a passion. Just look at that twinkle you've got! But stick with the eardrums and the safes, maybe."