𝐃𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐈𝐀 - TMR, Gally ² / ³

𝟢𝟢𝟣，𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐚𝐥

***

Joan doesn't bother to listen to his bullshit about this being a way to way station, a safe place before they go to an even safer place. All lies.

Once they're finally done walking around—her ankle is getting quite annoying by now—they stand in front of a hallway.

"First," Janson finishes, "let's do something about that smell."

"Why thank you," she murmurs, though she also realizes that after all those days, they can't be smelling good.

His fault; he locked them up there themselves.

"Joan." Unexpectedly, his eyes fall on her. "I want to have a talk with you. Thomas, you too. How about you shower first as I talk with Joan? Then she goes to the cafeteria as I speak to you?"

Wow, that's funny!

They never told Janson their names.

"I don't like that idea at all," Gally insists. "How about—"

"I don't think I asked you anything, did I?" Janson glares at him, then motions for Joan to follow. "Come on, kid."

She gives Gally a 'don't worry' glance, the gun and operation knife pressing against her skin, then follows Janson through some hallways, all the way into a room that only has includes two metal chairs, a metal table, and a camera in the corner.

Janson lies his hands down in front of him. "So... Joan."

"That's me. Lovely how you know that. Are you a mind reader? Or a stalker? I don't remember telling you my name," she murmurs.

It would be so oddly satisfying to give herself away telling him she knows he works for WCKD. But she keeps it to herself... for now.

"I just wanted to ask you a few things," he says, ignoring her, "about WCKD. Your experience in the Maze. I understood that you could control those Grievers? Have a connection with that Gally?" 

"Shouldn't you know?" She mumbles.

For a few seconds, Janson stares at her. Then his lips purse together and he leans back into his chair.

"Yeah, I've got you figured out already," she announces.

His eyebrows move up. "Well done. I guess that gives me the chance to continue immediately. Because I have a proposal."

"I'm listening."

"Your friends," he starts. "Ben, Alby, Clint... you can save them. Obviously there's some terms to it, but are you interested, first of all?"

She hides her shock and the pounding in her chest at this sudden thing, and hearing their names. "That depends on what I'll have to do."

"You keep your mouth shut about us being WCKD. You keep your friends calm. That's it."

Her head tilts to the side. "It almost sounds too easy to be true." A pause. "Okay. Maybe. But I have a few things I want, then."

His eyebrows raise again.

"You'll answer every single question I'm about to ask you. If I ever find out you're lying, I'll stop lying about you being good. You're gonna keep my friends alive. If you hurt them in any way, I'll hurt you ten times worse," she summarizes. Her arms cross, both for some kind of protection and to seem tough. "Deal?"

He hums, slowly. Then, "Alright. We have a deal."

"How come Gally and I share these connections?"

"It's a long story."

"I'm sure I have time."

He sighs, clearly not in the mood to explain all of this. "You know about your past? That you weren't in our building at first?"

"Yeah. My parents and I worked against you."

Janson nods. "Of course, we did not approve of that. I assume you have wondered why you were the only girl."

"I was send because I needed a punishment," she says. "I know that. It was because I worked against y'all, wasn't it? And to get my mother to watch me suffer in there?"

"You're intelligent, really." His grin starts to form again. "The plan we had has failed. Failed because of our own mistakes."

"What plan?"

"To kill you," he says, almost as if it's the most casual thing in the world. "We knew enough about Gally to know he was reckless, and he opened a reckless part in you, even before the Maze. We figured out that if we put the same chips in your bodies, you'd be depending on each other."

"You assume Gally would be so reckless that he'd die."

"Something like that. Obviously, we had a plan, as I said. To take him in our control at the end. But unfortunately, you managed to convince him to come with you. We could still make it work out, but when the Grievers also didn't show up to sting him, we couldn't do anything."

"Why didn't they show up?"

"That's a whole different subject than this one,"
Janson replies.

"So? You said you'd answer all my questions."

"But you haven't even had your answer to the first one yet."

"I have. You send me there, knowing I'd die along with Gally if y'all connected us."

"Yes. If the boy dies, you die."

She's not sure if she's supposed to like that thought or not.

"He once told me he can feel the pain my body makes. Like headaches, or cramps. But if I break something, he won't feel it unless my body is working to heal itself. He doesn't feel scratches because it doesn't hurt for scratches to heal," she explains, even though Janson already knows. "How come he didn't feel the pain I felt when Thomas killed a Griever?"

"The things you share with Grievers are purely your connection with them. It aparts from the chip with Gally."

"Why didn't the Grievers show up when we escaped?"

"There was little left of the control you had over them. But, as you might've figured out by now, there's someone with a very familiar blood type as you, isn't there?"

"Thomas," she says. "He's subject A2?"

He smiles in satisfaction. "Yes. He's your cousin, but I doubt that's new news."

"Our blood is so similar the he also takes part in controlling the Grievers? Is that why the Griever chased him in the Maze? Because it was curious about Thomas? And no Grievers showed up because even though he didn't know it, Thomas could control them and he was hoping they wouldn't show up, so they obeyed?" 

"Exactly."

"Okay." Joan lets go of a breath at all this new information. "I think that's enough. But don't think I won't come back with more questions."

"I'll keep it in mind."

She stands up. "Good."

"Good," he replies carefully, also getting up. "And Joan?"

"What?"

"Whatever it is in your mind that you fear, whatever's stopping you, kill it."

Her eyebrows start to furrow. "I have no idea what that means, but alright."

"I expect to see you tomorrow," he adds, right before she can reach the door handle.

"Why?"

"Reasons."