The door didn't open all the way at first.
It stopped halfway, held there by hesitation more than anything else.
On one side stood Walter White, his expression calm, almost neutral—but his eyes sharp, focused in a way that didn't match the rest of him.
On the other side stood Jesse Pinkman, confusion written plainly across his face.
"…Mr. White?" Jesse said.
Walter didn't answer immediately.
He simply looked at him.
Then—
"I saw you," Walter said.
Jesse blinked. "What?"
"At the house," Walter continued. "Yesterday."
A pause.
Jesse's expression didn't change right away.
"…I don't know what you're talking about," he said.
Walter didn't move.
Didn't react.
"You fled through a second-story window," he said calmly. "You were wearing—"
"Yo, alright!" Jesse snapped, glancing outside instinctively before stepping back. "Alright, come in—just—come in."
Walter stepped inside.
The door shut behind him.
And just like that—
The dynamic shifted.
---
Lucas watched from inside the room, leaning slightly against the wall, arms crossed.
He hadn't moved when the door opened.
Hadn't spoken.
But he had listened.
Watched.
Measured.
Walter noticed him immediately.
Of course he did.
"…You weren't alone," Walter said, his eyes briefly flicking toward Lucas.
Jesse followed his gaze. "He's cool."
Walter didn't respond.
But he filed it away.
---
"I know what you do," Walter said.
Jesse let out a short, disbelieving laugh. "Yeah? You think you know?"
"You manufacture methamphetamine," Walter replied.
Blunt.
Direct.
No hesitation.
Jesse stared at him.
"…You here to turn me in or something?" he asked.
Walter shook his head.
"If I were," he said calmly, "you would already be in custody."
That landed.
Jesse's posture shifted.
Slightly more guarded now.
"…Then what?" he asked.
Walter stepped further into the room, his attention drifting toward the table.
Toward the equipment.
Toward the process.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"…This is what you use," he said.
Jesse frowned. "Yeah. What about it?"
Walter picked up a piece of glassware, examining it carefully.
"The process is inefficient," he said. "Your temperature control is inconsistent. You risk contamination at multiple stages."
Jesse scoffed. "Man, it works."
Walter set the piece down.
"It works poorly."
Silence.
Not loud.
Not dramatic.
But heavy.
Because now—
It made sense.
Now the criticism had weight.
---
Lucas shifted slightly.
Watching both of them.
Jesse's irritation.
Walter's certainty.
"…He's not wrong," Lucas said.
Jesse looked at him. "Man—what?"
Lucas gestured lightly toward the setup. "You got hit yesterday. That wasn't random. That was exposure. Sloppy setup, sloppy location."
Jesse exhaled sharply. "Alright, damn."
Walter's attention sharpened.
Because now there were two voices saying the same thing.
"…You understand process," Walter said to Lucas.
Lucas shrugged. "Enough."
Walter studied him for a moment longer.
Then nodded slightly.
---
"I can do better," Walter said.
Jesse looked back at him.
"…Better how?"
Walter didn't hesitate.
"Higher purity. Greater consistency. Reduced risk."
Jesse laughed once. "You're serious."
"Yes."
Again—
No hesitation.
That was what made it believable.
"…You're a teacher," Jesse said.
"I am a chemist," Walter corrected.
Lucas watched that exchange carefully.
Because that—
That was the shift.
That was the moment Jesse started listening.
---
The conversation stretched from there, moving from confrontation into negotiation.
Walter outlined process improvements in calm, precise detail. Reaction control. Chemical balance. Yield optimization.
Jesse didn't understand everything.
But he understood enough.
"…So what—you cook, I sell?" Jesse said.
"Yes."
Jesse shook his head, pacing slightly. "Man…"
Lucas watched him.
The hesitation.
The temptation.
"…You're thinking about it," Lucas said.
Jesse stopped. "…Yeah."
---
Lucas felt it then.
That internal shift.
Subtle.
Precise.
"…Right on time," he thought.
The screen appeared.
[Daily Pull Available]
No one else reacted.
No one else saw it.
Lucas didn't move.
Didn't speak.
Just… paused.
"…Not yet," he thought.
Walter was watching him again.
Lucas noticed.
"…Careful."
---
"…You good?" Jesse asked suddenly.
Lucas blinked once. "Yeah."
Jesse frowned. "You zoned out."
Lucas shrugged. "Thinking."
"Yeah, you do that a lot," Jesse muttered.
Walter said nothing.
But he had noticed.
---
"…Alright," Jesse said finally. "Let's say I'm in. Hypothetically."
Walter nodded once.
"Then we proceed carefully."
Lucas's attention split again.
Conversation.
System.
Timing.
"…Now," he thought.
[Pull Now?]
"Yes."
The spin was silent.
Fast.
Controlled.
Then—
[Reward Acquired]
System Adjustment Ticket
Lucas's eyes narrowed slightly.
"…That's useful."
---
The conversation wound down.
Plans forming.
Nothing finalized.
But moving.
Walter stepped toward the door.
"I will return tomorrow," he said.
Jesse nodded slowly. "Yeah."
Walter glanced at Lucas one last time.
Then left.
---
Silence filled the room.
Jesse exhaled. "Man… what the hell was that?"
Lucas didn't answer.
Because his attention was fully on the system now.
The ticket.
The timing.
The opportunity.
"…Noon doesn't work," he thought.
Too exposed.
Too predictable.
Too disruptive.
"…Night."
He focused inward.
[Use Item: System Adjustment Ticket?]
"Yes."
[Select New Pull Time]
"02:00 AM."
[Confirmed]
[New Daily Pull Time: 02:00 AM]
The screen disappeared.
Lucas exhaled slowly.
"…Better."
"Yo," Jesse said. "You good?"
Lucas looked at him.
"…Yeah."
This time—
He meant it.