Chapter Text
Angel knew the others saw it as an invasion of privacy, but she couldn’t help it after seeing Mick’s deeply contemplative, somewhat nervous face. She was simply curious, and it wasn’t like he would find out, right?
So she read his mind, and when she did she heard a term unfamiliar to her.
“Come on, Mick. Just take her out. What’s the worst that could happen?”
Take her out.
Angel does not know what that means. Take who? Out to where? What?
So she asked someone. The closest person that wasn’t the doctor happened to be Hookline.
“Good morning, Hookline. May I ask you a question?”
“Sure.”
“What does it mean to ‘take someone out’?”
Hookline gave her a look. “Taking someone out means to kill someone.”
She held in a gasp, but her face betrayed her shock. “Truly?”
“Yes.” he raised a suspicious eyebrow. “Why do you ask?”
“O-oh, uh, no reason! Thank you for your help!”
“Sure…”
After she walked away, she began to panic.
Doctor Mick wants to murder somebody?!
She couldn’t believe it! Mick has acted normal the entire time they’ve all been stuck here, she would have never thought he wanted to harm someone. She has to get to the bottom of this.
He said- well, thought “her”, so he was either referring to Swift, Cassie, Ouro, or… herself. Angel hopes it wasn’t herself. I mean- she hopes it’s nobody but- you know..!
Except there was no way of finding out without asking the doctor himself. And if he really wants to kill someone, she doesn’t want to be around him alone.
She needs someone who can hold in a fight to ask for her.
“Judge, I need your help.”
“What’s wrong?” Judge asked, grabbing his giant hammer. Which is kind of going overboard considering Angel could be asking for help with something completely mundane, but for once it was (seemingly) the opposite case.
“I need you to speak to Doctor Mick. I believe he wants to end someone’s life.” she explained sadly.
Judge looked surprised at the news, which makes sense considering Angel is telling him that their doctor of all people wants someone dead.
“What? Why?”
“I… may or may not have read his mind as he was thinking about ‘taking her out’. So he could be referring to either me, Swift, Cassie, or Ouro.”
Judge stared at her, suddenly silent. He loosened his grip on his hammer and let it touch the floor. Then, he asked slowly, “Do… do you know what that means?”
“To take someone out?”
“Yes, that.”
Angel shook her head. “Not originally, no. So I asked Hookline, and he informed me it meant to kill someone.”
Judge scowled, his grip on his hammer tightening again. “Of course he fucking did…” he muttered, before sighing. “Angel, he does not want to kill anyone.”
“But-“
“No. You need to talk to him yourself.”
“What about-“
“Angel, if you don’t go talk to him right now I will drag you to him myself. I assure you, he doesn’t want to hurt anyone. I don’t think that man ever could.”
You see, that’s what Angel had thought originally. He’s a doctor, and doctors usually want people to live, not die. Though she was still unsure about talking to Mick herself.
“…can you come with me?”
Judge sighed again. “Fine.”
Angel looked relieved and the two walked to Mick’s room.
When they neared, Judge firmly planted his feet at the turn of the hallway, just out of sight. “I will be right here. Call me only if he really is homicidal.”
“Okay,” said Angel, who had kind of been hoping that he would come in with her.
She knocked on the door and heard a “Coming!” and soon enough Mick was in front of her. Seeing Angel, the doctor’s face turned red in probably surprise, like he hadn’t ever expected her to knock on his door. “A-ah, hello, Angel! Do you need anything?”
“Yes, I do. I believe we need to talk.” she said, a little coldly, enough that she kind of regretted it at Mick’s nervous frown.
“Alright, come on in then…”
Angel followed him inside, cracking the door behind her. Once they stood face to face, she spoke.
“Doctor Mick, I have a question: what do you think of Swift?”
“Swift?” the doctor repeated, confused at the sudden, unexpected inquiry. “Well… Swift is very competitive and high achieving, which drives her to always try the best she can. And I admire that about her.”
“And Cassie?”
“Um, Cassie is also pretty competitive. More intense than Swift, and certainly more aggressive, I’d say. But that ferocity of hers translates into so much passion, and that’s what pushes her to work so hard. It’s inspiring.”
“Ouro?”
“Ouro is certainly… mysterious. She’s cold and distant, and definitely knows more about this place than she lets on… but I know she has some caring qualities about her, despite how much she does to convince us otherwise.” he furrowed his eyebrows. “Why are you asking-“
“And what about me?”
At that, Mick immediately blushed, his pale skin turning into a brilliant shade of red.
“Angel… I…” he stammered. Angel’s gaze pierced him. “I- honestly… you are… the kindest person I know.” her eyebrows shot up. “You have a good heart that is rare to see in someone. You hold care for every person you meet, and I think- I know your presence provides some much needed hope to everyone here, including me. You are just… you… you’re… incredible.”
Angel’s eyes were wide as she listened to him. She hadn’t expected this.
Neither had Mick. He hadn’t planned to tell Angel his thoughts… his feelings so soon.
“I… there’s more, but I don’t think I can put it into words just how much you mean to me.” he said. Angel felt her own face heat up.
“So…” she finally spoke, quietly, close to a whisper. “You… you don’t wish death upon anyone..?”
“What?” the doctor startled, looking a little appalled. “Absolutely not- is that what this was about? Who told you that??”
“I… may or may not have read your mind when you thought the term “take her out”. I’m sorry, I know you don’t like when I do that, I won’t do it again. I asked Hookline what it meant and he told me… well.”
“Oh. Oh, no. No, no, that’s not at all what it means-“ he sighed. How had he messed everything up without even saying a word? That RBI agent is definitely going to have something less than kind written in his biography… “Taking someone out means to… it means when you want to get to know someone better, to ask them to spend some time with you. Usually to eat a meal together.”
“Oh…”
“It also-“ he hesitated. “…it also means you possibly want to get in a relationship with that someone.”
Angel thought for a moment, before smiling. She has a feeling she knows what he means.
Later, when they walked out of the room together, hand in hand, Angel glanced at the spot Judge was supposed to be waiting at. Except, he was nowhere to be found. She bets he left as soon as she stepped into the doctor’s room.
He knew the whole time, didn’t he?
Bastard.