[Now that was better. Why couldn't they be at this point all along?]
Is that what you were told? You do realize there are two sides to every story. I suppose because you're emotionally invested, you'll only hurl words and accusations at me because it's easier than investigating other avenues of truth.
[He knows it's true. He knows it's true. And so does Pierce.]
I'm going to tell you a story, Mr. Pierce. It's about a man named Richard Brook. He wasn't a very nice man. In fact, he was very bad man, one of the worst London had ever seen. But no one knew it. Rich Brook was a children's television presenter, you see. Nothing wrong with that. He had a whole portfolio, appearances, awards. There was one problem.
Rich Brook never existed.
Here was a man who could pull on any mask and wear it perfectly. He had the resources at his fingertips and the brain to become anyone he needed to be. One day he was Rich, another day he was just an IT man or a tourist, but most days, on the days when he let his true colors show, he was a spider of a man named James Moriarty.
Rich Brook, James Moriarty, managed to convince the world that he was something that he was very much not, and he used that to bring better men down, to drag them through the mud and put them through hell. Because wouldn't someone, anyone just listen to his side of the story? And he had such a story. People ate it up. It was the story they wanted to hear, a fairy tale complete with a villain and a hero and the unmasking of a king.
You want to know the best way to sell a lie? Wrap it up in truth. You can make someone swallow anything, even yourself, if you make it palatable with the truth.
[There was a long pause before his reply, mostly because he was actually writing down the key points of this story to have it physically on hand so that he could dissect it over the course of the coming days. This Mr. Moriarty seemed like an excellent man to seek a recruitment for in HYDRA after all.]
And what was Mr. Moriarty's motivations? Why did he do all of these things that he did? Why put on a mask? Why drag other men through the mud? To what end was he playing this apparent hand of his?
Well, he had a business to run, didn't he? The world's only consulting criminal. And better men got in his way. He promised to burn the heart out of the best and the most amazing man that I know because he got in the way.
And he stopped him. James Moriarty was stopped. Just like you will be.
But please. Tell me your story, Mr. Pierce. I'm sure it's a good one.
[A consulting criminal? What a dastardly notion to consider, but it was a bit too colourful for his liking. The world needed less criminals, not more.]
Was that all? He was a businessman and had no other personal motivations for what he was doing? I'm apologize if I find that a bit too flat. People are complex. They are layers of motivations, some even conflicting each other.
Who did he try to burn and fail?
I'm sensing sarcasm, which means you don't honestly believe any of that statement. I don't waste time on close-minded men, not even ones that I respect.
I'm not a detective. I'm a doctor and an assistant to a consulting detective. He was also dead the last time I saw him. Makes for a fairly one-sided conversation.
You keep saying that. All I did was ask you to look into something for me. Do you know something I don't, Mr. Pierce?
And you clearly see no concern at seeing the death of him either. Though to be fair, I'm dead, and we're having a conversation. You never know about second chances.
He shot himself in the head with a handgun. We weren't close.
[And if Moriarty were to come here... John's not sure what he'd do. He'd have to deal with him, though. He couldn't let that man get to Sherlock again. Never again.]
If you're trying to imply that I should have saved him, he was on the roof of a six story hospital building. I was in a cab several blocks away. I'm also not a brain surgeon.
[Well, all right, that's more the sort of insult Sherlock would throw at him. It glances off John much more easily than questioning his mental health does.]
You're a spider, Mr. Pierce. I know you haven't been and won't be idle spinning a web for yourself here. Maybe you and the Administrator can find some common ground there.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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[But it wouldn't stop him from destroying you if you get in his way. At least he was being honest?]
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[Well, there's the plan to not be overt out the window. John can't help it. The clandestine sniping is better left to people like Natasha.]
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Is that what you were told? You do realize there are two sides to every story. I suppose because you're emotionally invested, you'll only hurl words and accusations at me because it's easier than investigating other avenues of truth.
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I'm going to tell you a story, Mr. Pierce. It's about a man named Richard Brook. He wasn't a very nice man. In fact, he was very bad man, one of the worst London had ever seen. But no one knew it. Rich Brook was a children's television presenter, you see. Nothing wrong with that. He had a whole portfolio, appearances, awards. There was one problem.
Rich Brook never existed.
Here was a man who could pull on any mask and wear it perfectly. He had the resources at his fingertips and the brain to become anyone he needed to be. One day he was Rich, another day he was just an IT man or a tourist, but most days, on the days when he let his true colors show, he was a spider of a man named James Moriarty.
Rich Brook, James Moriarty, managed to convince the world that he was something that he was very much not, and he used that to bring better men down, to drag them through the mud and put them through hell. Because wouldn't someone, anyone just listen to his side of the story? And he had such a story. People ate it up. It was the story they wanted to hear, a fairy tale complete with a villain and a hero and the unmasking of a king.
You want to know the best way to sell a lie? Wrap it up in truth. You can make someone swallow anything, even yourself, if you make it palatable with the truth.
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And what was Mr. Moriarty's motivations? Why did he do all of these things that he did? Why put on a mask? Why drag other men through the mud? To what end was he playing this apparent hand of his?
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And he stopped him. James Moriarty was stopped. Just like you will be.
But please. Tell me your story, Mr. Pierce. I'm sure it's a good one.
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Was that all? He was a businessman and had no other personal motivations for what he was doing? I'm apologize if I find that a bit too flat. People are complex. They are layers of motivations, some even conflicting each other.
Who did he try to burn and fail?
I'm sensing sarcasm, which means you don't honestly believe any of that statement. I don't waste time on close-minded men, not even ones that I respect.
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Funny enough, I didn't sit down with him to have a chat about it.
If you can't figure that out, I think I was wrong about you being clever.
You're free to tell me any time, Mr. Pierce. My inbox is always open, of course.
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Perhaps you were wrong.
A kind offer, but your bias against me makes it difficult for me to trust you. After all, I'm already aware of your previous set-ups.
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You keep saying that. All I did was ask you to look into something for me. Do you know something I don't, Mr. Pierce?
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Of course I do.
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[And if Moriarty were to come here... John's not sure what he'd do. He'd have to deal with him, though. He couldn't let that man get to Sherlock again. Never again.]
What's that, then?
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You've given me no reason to tell you. Besides, I'm certain you'll pass everything we discuss here to others.
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As I'm sure you'll pass along what you like, sir.
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With whom? As I'm sure you've already used your current assistant detective skills, I am alone here.
[And it's not a point of boo-hoo either. It's a point of fact.]
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You're a spider, Mr. Pierce. I know you haven't been and won't be idle spinning a web for yourself here. Maybe you and the Administrator can find some common ground there.
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Do you think if I continue to ask her for mastermind advice, she will respond favourably?
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I'll look forward to you asking after my patients. I aim for satisfaction and an easy health care experience.
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Given there is a lack of health care in a place like this, I have no doubt that the standard must always remain low.
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Good morning, sir.