Work Text:
Gabriela makes a mistake on her first trap-building assignment, the guillotine blade they’re working on slipping out of her hands and almost slicing directly through Hoffman’s foot. He grunts in surprise, turning to face her, and Gabriela backs away before she can even stop herself, hands out in front of her to protect her scarred face from any further damage.
“Hey!” Amanda says from the floor, working on the underneath of the trap. “Who fucking dropped that?”
“Oh my god,” Gabriela whispers. “I’m so sorry – I didn’t – Please.”
Hoffman very slowly bends down and picks the blade up from the floor, setting it down on the workbench. He’s quiet, and Gabriela knows to be scared of quiet. He’s a big guy, and it would be so easy for him to turn the blade on her, slit her open like Valentina.
“Your little souvenir dropped it.” Hoffman says, voice deathly calm.
“Idiot,” Amanda says, and it takes a second to realise she’s talking to Hoffman, and not Gabriela. “Why the fuck was your foot there?”
“I didn’t realise she was going to drop the blade.” Hoffman snaps. His eyes are boring into Gabriela’s own, and Gabriela retreats further away from them both. “She’s a liability.”
“Get fucked.” Amanda bites back, pushing herself to full height. She looks different on home soil than in Mexico, favouring loose-fitting clothing rather than the tactical gear of before. She still wears big stompy boots, and Gabriela likes polishing them at night, so shiny that she can see her own face in them.
Hoffman slams one of his work tools onto the table, and Gabriela knows a threat tactic when she sees one. “I didn’t ask for help.”
“You fucked up all your other traps.” Amanda crosses her arms across her chest. “Kramer told us to help.”
“And you run and do what Daddy tells you?” Hoffman demands.
Amanda turns abruptly on her heel, marching towards Gabriela. Gabriela presses herself closer to the wall, heart in her throat. She fucked up so badly, Hoffman could have lost a foot, Kramer is going to be so angry with her, they’re going to send her away-
“Hey,” Amanda says, her voice low and soft. “You okay baby?”
“I slipped,” Gabriela says, eyes wet. She’s seen Kramer scream at the other apprentices for doing a bad job, changing from the kindly figure she had met in the clinic to someone cruel. “I’m so sorry Amanda – I’ll make it up to you.”
“You’re such a silly thing,” Amanda says. “I’m not mad at you.”
She flicks the tip of Gabriela’s nose lightly, like she does to Carlos when he’s messing about. Gabriela still keeps her guard up – she’s seen Amanda turn at a moment's notice, she and Hoffman wrestling on the floor like animals.
“I’ll try better next time,” Gabriela says. “I promise.”
“You think I care that you almost chopped off his foot?” Amanda asks. “He’s a stupid cunt. I don’t give a shit what happens to him.”
Gabriela glances over Amanda’s shoulder to see Hoffman back at work, fiddling with the guillotine. He scares her, with his big mouth and broad shoulders. He’s the only one of them who doesn’t have any visible scarring, but Gabriela is too nervous to ask what his test was.
“Next time, I’ll pin his foot down.” Amanda says, “Then you can drop a blade on it. How about that?”
She grins at Gabriela, like it’s a good idea. Gabriela tries to offer Amanda a small smile in return, and Amanda latches onto it as if Gabriela has wholeheartedly agreed to her plan. She laughs, and tangles her fingers in Gabriela’s own, squeezing tightly.
“You’re so cute,” Amanda says fondly. “Let’s try and injure him again.”
“I don’t know if that’s a good-“ Gabriela says, but she’s already being tugged back towards the trap.
“It’s fine,” Amanda says brightly. “He deserves it. Don’t you Mark?”
“Go slit your wrists again.” Hoffman replies, not looking at either of them, and Gabriela tries not to glance down at the scars that run up Amanda’s arms.
“He thinks he’s funny,” Amanda says to Gabriela. “It’s a good thing Kramer’s sending him back to the zoo soon.”
Hoffman jams his screwdriver back into the mechanism, muttering as he turns it. The whole thing creaks, and Gabriela can only imagine the horror of the trap once it’s complete, and Kramer is happy with it. Amanda picks up the blade from the workbench and offers it to Gabriela again.
“Next time,” Amanda says, smiling. “Slice open his throat.”
Gabriela nods nervously, and holds onto the guillotine blade so tightly that it bites open the callouses on her palms.