[Ravi is at work when he sees this, checking the network during a smoke break. He recognizes Gavin, especially the voice, and his heart sinks as the implication of the words settles in. He listens again, and then again, and then again--each time hoping there will be some indication that he's misunderstanding, that what he's hearing will somehow make more sense if he just listens more closely this time.]
[The intent does become clearer with each listen, but not in the direction he was hoping.]
[Ravi understands war and combat and justified self-defense. He understands shooting someone before they can shoot you. He understands taking out a military target in a precision strike while the enemy least expects it. But this is not a war. The Blood Keys are not al-Qaeda. This is not a combat zone, and nobody has a reasonable expectation of being shot at while they walk down the street.]
[Ravi has killed people before. He can do it without hesitation, but it's not something he likes having to do, or even something he wants to do. It's just something that seems necessary in certain situations.]
[This isn't one of those situations.]
[What Gavin is talking about isn't self-defense or a crime of passion. It's cold-blooded murder. Ravi can see the value in the argument--kill them now so they can't hurt us later--but it's viscerally wrong, and it also falls apart if you look at the long term. Logically, it's a terrible idea. It's a choice you'd only make out of callousness.]
[It doesn't gel with the image he had of Gavin. Someone calm and tactically-minded, who was willing to take the time to talk him down during a panic attack and reassure him that he'd care if Ravi disappeared. How is someone like that the same kind of person who could do something like this?]
[Us versus Them thinking is so dangerous. Ravi's seen it before, it's how the entire military operates, he doesn't want to see it again, not like this, not from Gavin.]
[The whole thing is deeply upsetting. He feels he should say something, but he knows--knows--that when the people willing to do these kinds of things have made up their minds about it, there's nothing you can say to talk them out of it. It's not a single act. It's a mindset. You can't force that to change with a few well-placed words.]
[He has to go back to work, but it stays with him for the rest of the night. He'll wait until he knows what happens, he decides, and then he'll say something to Gavin privately. Once he figures out what that is.]
NOT ACTUALLY A REPLY
[The intent does become clearer with each listen, but not in the direction he was hoping.]
[Ravi understands war and combat and justified self-defense. He understands shooting someone before they can shoot you. He understands taking out a military target in a precision strike while the enemy least expects it. But this is not a war. The Blood Keys are not al-Qaeda. This is not a combat zone, and nobody has a reasonable expectation of being shot at while they walk down the street.]
[Ravi has killed people before. He can do it without hesitation, but it's not something he likes having to do, or even something he wants to do. It's just something that seems necessary in certain situations.]
[This isn't one of those situations.]
[What Gavin is talking about isn't self-defense or a crime of passion. It's cold-blooded murder. Ravi can see the value in the argument--kill them now so they can't hurt us later--but it's viscerally wrong, and it also falls apart if you look at the long term. Logically, it's a terrible idea. It's a choice you'd only make out of callousness.]
[It doesn't gel with the image he had of Gavin. Someone calm and tactically-minded, who was willing to take the time to talk him down during a panic attack and reassure him that he'd care if Ravi disappeared. How is someone like that the same kind of person who could do something like this?]
[Us versus Them thinking is so dangerous. Ravi's seen it before, it's how the entire military operates, he doesn't want to see it again, not like this, not from Gavin.]
[The whole thing is deeply upsetting. He feels he should say something, but he knows--knows--that when the people willing to do these kinds of things have made up their minds about it, there's nothing you can say to talk them out of it. It's not a single act. It's a mindset. You can't force that to change with a few well-placed words.]
[He has to go back to work, but it stays with him for the rest of the night. He'll wait until he knows what happens, he decides, and then he'll say something to Gavin privately. Once he figures out what that is.]