AN: Though I disliked, nearly despised Matt Engarde when playing through the final case of Justice For All (on the basis that he's a ruthless, manipulative bastard), I have to admit that he's a fascinating character to write.
Matt Engarde loved the better things in life. Fast cars, beautiful women, fine wines, and every other luxury were his for the taking. (The first, however, was the only one he let his fans know about.) Yet, despite all the joy to be gleaned from these diversions, there was one activity that kept his life interesting; no, kept it worth living.
Blackmail.
It was truly the finest hobby in existence; a wicked combination of simple, powerful, enjoyable, and ever so useful. If done properly, blackmail could give easily give you control over anyone, anything, and net you a pretty profit at the same time. What's better, everything you got could be chalked up to your own ingenuity. All you needed was the right toehold, then the guts to rip your victim's will to shreds.
On several occasions Matt had tried to isolate the most enjoyable facet of his hobby. There were the results, the end product. Of course, the goal is always something to look forward to, but isn't the journey, the steps and long process leading to your goal, more important?
After long nights of careful deliberation, aided by the brandy snifter never far from reach, Matt decided that it was indeed the journey, not the destination, that held the most appeal.
Oh, the feeling of being in a position of absolute power was intoxicating, but knowing someone was under your control was nowhere near as delicious as the actual breaking. The first few strikes against the victim's delicate psyche to lessen their resistance, followed by the coup d' grace to shatter it. That is what one should savor the most, that and the precise moment when their resolve crumbles and they give in.
That's when they get the look. That wonderful expression that worms its way onto someone's face when you tell them you have something, someone they love locked away somewhere out of their grasp. It's an indescribable experience to see that expression on your target's face. There are truly no words for it, but Matt never tired of seeing it.
The look is a waypoint, signifying that, from there on out, that poor sap is yours, to command and direct as you please, and they know it. If you tell them to jump, lie, steal, pay, do the Macarena, anything at all, they'll do it. They'll hate you all the while, but they will fold.
The broken look in the target's eyes, that was the true prize.
Matt's mind had been turning to thoughts of blackmail lately, pondering the workings and motivations behind it for hours on end, because he was currently in the midst of his most complex scheme to date. A wonderful plan, involving two victims working together and against each other simultaneously; keeping one vulnerable and obedient, and the other too confident and in the perfect position to fall. If the devious nature of his mechanizations wasn't enough, he had a double breaking to look forward to. Matt could toy with that pathetic lawyer now, and then bring that trusting idiot de Killer to his knees once Wright had done his job.
This latest scheme was shaping up to be his favorite blackmail operation ever. There was just something different about Wright, maybe it was all that moral fiber, but that look... That wonderful blanched grimace and expression of pure disgust that he got every time he heard the phrase "You'll get that acquittal for me, won't you, Mr. Attorney?" was priceless. The way he would look like he was about to vomit, then struggle to control himself, trying to hide how deeply Matt's threats affected him. He wasn't fooling anyone.
Matt couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something uniquely satisfying about how those emotions mixed together and flowed towards the same conclusion. How all that rage, loathing, fear, guilt, and defeat slowly but surely funneled down into the single realization that, no matter how hard he tried, there was absolutely nothing Wright could do to free himself from the vow he had, albeit unknowingly, taken. Every face of every person Matt had ever blackmailed paled in comparison to that one defeated expression that was so indicative of the depths of Wright's suffering.
The mere thought of the lawyer's distraught face was enough to cause Matt to break out in a wide grin. It was enough to make his sure-to-be-brief stay in the detention center cozy and delightful, instead of stressful and confining. He would have to thank the Fey girl once their deal was over, it was all thanks to her that he had been able to ensnare Wright after all. More than once, as he sat in his cell counting down the seconds to freedom, Matt had thought of how refreshing it was each time he saw Wright's eyes dull and his shoulders slump in despair. The inaudible cracking and splintering of Wright's soul being crushed into tiny bits was so very refreshing. It had a lousy spring breeze beat by a long shot.
AN: So there it is. That was... Extremely fun to write.