Incentive

[Anselm de le Poer]

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-- "Nah, that oughta be about it," he said. He paused for a moment, reconsidering. His voice lowered and he glanced to Garnet for a moment, ignoring Firefly's snappy remarks from within the shed. "And you know, for what it's worth, try to think about how she's feeling. Remember that Talitha's going through the same thing somewhere else." He didn't elaborate further; she could take that however she wanted. Some part of him was honestly hoping that if they treated the hostage decently, when the trade was done, everything would be finished for good. Obviously, maltreatment would just be more fuel for the fire--even if they managed to beat down most of the flames, any little thing could be what subtly kept it going. It might be too dim for them to notice, but even the tiniest thing later might trigger an explosion. Even without further "encouragement," as it were, that tiny flame might grow and swell on its own. Anselm wanted none of it. Once more Firefly called to them from within the shed, and he whipped his head around to stare at the planks of wood blankly. Threats like these he couldn't take seriously; she was in enemy territory and rather well contained. Still, if it made her feel better, he supposed he couldn't blame her. Looking back to Garnet, he shrugged a little. "Good luck, I guess. Feel free to call for me any time."

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