Jackson sits in the depths of Deathrow at a desk. He quietly cleans his pistol, turning it over to examine it.
“You know, they say that any man can be pushed too far. All it takes is the right trigger to finally cause them to break. Think of them like… A piece of thread. You take it in your hands, wring it back and forth, pull and yank over and over again until it begins to fray. Wearing the poor bastard down until that last strand of sanity weakens in your hands. And then?”
“Snap.”
“The string tears in two. All of your torment, your malicious ways, they cause it all to unravel before your very eyes. The string no longer works to bind things together, nor to hold weight at either end. It simply ceases its primary function. Little did you know just what that little piece of twine was truly holding in place.”
Cade reaches out, grabbing his magazine.
“Snap.”
“That was the sound of Joey’s neck breaking in the center of that ring on a cold winter night, Jasper. You took the person I loved most in the world, the very man that drove me to be a better man. My love for my brother? It was the very foundation on which I built my morals. When I was defending the people of Arcadia as an officer, I was defending Joey. When I was hunting down scum like you? I was doing it for Joey.”
Snap.
He loads the magazine into his pistol.
“And you took him away from me, didn’t you? You spent years fraying my string, toying with me, haunting me, all so that you could finally look me in the eye and make me watch as my brother fell limp at your feet. You knew that he was the last thing holding me together, didn’t you, Jasper? I could just feel the smile on your ugly fucking mug as you left me to cradle his body in my hands.”
Snap.
He racks the slide in place, finger on the trigger.
“Well, you did it. You broke me, Jasper. But, I suppose you don’t know what that string was holding in place, Redgrave. Because I don’t care of our match is a trap, I don’t care if I don’t leave Olympus alive.”
“Snap.”
“That’ll be the sound of the hammer clicking as you feel the cold steel of my sidearm against your head.”
“Snap.”
“The sound of hot lead piercing your skull.”
“Snap.”
“The feeling of your blood and brain matter splattering across my face as I send your pathetic ass straight to hell.”
“Snap.”
“The rain of bullets taking me down in a blaze of glory as I stand over the corpse of Arcadia’s worst serial killer.”
“Snap.”
“Our coffins closing shut, our fates sealed.”
Cade stands up, turning towards the door.
“Because there’s no book to follow, Jasper. No law you aren’t above.”
“But just one last time, I’ll do what’s best for Arcadia. Because on Monday, I’m not just the Law, Redgrave.”
“I’m judge, jury, and executioner.”
Cut.