"Another one who uses an apology as a bargaining chip." Jack Kadere shook his head. "Why don't you people understand? When you have no leverage, you should apologize early to seize the opportunity. When you have leverage, you don't need to apologize at all."
He turned and walked toward Laurel, still slumped unconscious in her chair.
"What a beautiful face." He chuckled softly, extending one finger. Electric light flickered at its tip, tracing gently along her cheek.
Crackle. Crackle.
Laurel's face twitched.
"What are you doing?!" Dinah Lance's voice cut through the air, sharp with alarm.
"Do you think I don't know she's your daughter?" Jack narrowed his eyes. "Originally, she wasn't in any danger. I just wanted to give her a choice—to satisfy my own curiosity, admittedly. But now?" He tilted his head. "Not so certain."
"I'm sorry!"
The apology came fast, decisive.
"Not enough." Jack shook his head.
Dinah rose slowly. She crossed the distance in silence, step by step, until she stood a few paces from him—then dropped to her knees with a heavy thud.
"I'm sorry. I chose the wrong way to approach you. If my actions have made you angry, I hope you'll direct that anger at me and spare my daughter." Her voice wavered. "She's all I have left."
"Decisive. Sincere." Jack looked down at her with an amused smile. "Given your age and the depth of your love for your daughter, I should probably forgive you. But I don't want to."
He crouched slightly, bringing himself closer to her eye level.
"You said what I did in Gotham threatened the safety and peace of human society. Are you sure you found the right person? My name is Jack Kadere, not Bane. I killed Bane. I saved Gotham." His smile didn't reach his eyes. "And you call me a threat?"
Dinah's jaw tightened. "We investigated you. You're extremely self-centered, selfish, and possess a typical antisocial personality disorder. You can be friendly and easy to get along with, but only when it suits your mood. Most of your actions are driven by instinctive desires, which makes you highly unpredictable. Combined with your extreme aggression and destructive power—"
"Sounds like the standard villain profile." Jack grinned. "Unfortunately, it doesn't hold up to scrutiny. Who isn't self-centered and selfish? If Laurel weren't your daughter, would you be kneeling so readily? When you're in a good mood, you're friendly too. When you're not, you argue, you fight. Drinking, eating, fucking, shopping—who isn't driven by instinctive desires? You do things because you want to."
He straightened, pacing a slow circle around her.
"You analyzed my personality, slapped a threat label on me, and ignored the fact that I saved Gotham. Isn't that the definition of self-centered thinking? Let me guess: if I cooperate, you control me. Best case, I lose my freedom. Worst case, I lose my life—or become your cannon fodder. If I don't cooperate, I'm a threat to be eliminated."
He stopped in front of her again.
"It has nothing to do with personality or behavior. Nothing to do with good or evil. All that high-minded rhetoric boils down to one sentence: only children distinguish right from wrong; adults only consider pros and cons. Right?"
Dinah was silent for a long moment.
Then she nodded. "Right."
"Position dictates perspective." Jack's smile widened. "I like your honesty. So, Miss Laurel—you must have heard everything clearly by now. In this situation, what do you think I should do?"
Dinah's head snapped toward her daughter.
Laurel's eyes were open. Her expression was complicated, unreadable.
For days, Laurel had been unable to decide whether or not to seek out Jack Kadere. Then tonight, her mother had appeared at home, confessed her identity as an A.R.G.U.S agent, and asked why Jack had approached her. After Laurel explained, her mother had declared him dangerous—someone who needed to be controlled—and mentioned extracting information about the mastermind from him.
That was why Laurel had finally made her decision tonight.
She hadn't expected to be knocked unconscious by some eerie, terrifying method the moment she arrived. She hadn't expected to wake up to this conversation.
Neither her "righteous" mother nor the "evil" Jack Kadere were what she had believed them to be.
"It seems you don't know either." Jack chuckled lightly. "So let's do it my way. Someone has to die, right?"
Dinah and Laurel both froze.
Was he going to make them choose between each other?
"Me!"
"Me!"
They spoke simultaneously.
Jack laughed, shaking his head. "Mother-daughter affection—very touching. But at least let me finish. The person who dies will either be the head of A.R.G.U.S or the mastermind behind Queen's Gambit."
He spread his hands.
"You choose."