Person of Interest fic - Lessons

[dimity_blue]

Title: Lessons
Author: Dimity Blue
Rating: Teen
Genre: gen, episode tag, angst
Characters: Peter Arndt, Andrew Benton
Word Count: 675 words
Disclaimer: Not mine.

Warning: Implied rape, domestic violence.

Spoilers for Cura Te Ipsum and Many Happy Returns (season 1, eps 4 and 21).

Summary: Peter Arndt has no idea he and Benton both owe their present situation to the same man.


Lessons
By Dimity Blue

Peter looked up as the door opened and a pale man stumbled into the canteen beside a guard. If he had to guess, he suspected the man looked as shell-shocked as Peter had the day he'd realised he was in a Mexican prison and not getting out.

"Please!" Sweat rolled down the man's face as he pleaded with the guard. "I shouldn't be in here - I'm innocent!"

The guard rolled his eyes and gave the man a shove towards the line. Peter thought the man had no idea how lucky he was that Martinez was the guard he was arguing with; Castillo would have knocked him to the ground by now.

"Let me call my lawyers. Please. They'll clear this up. If it's a question of money, I can pay you!"

The canteen went quiet and the man looked around, apparently realising he had the attention of the entire room.

Martinez sighed. "Benton, you have no money. Arndt! You show him the ropes."

Peter kept his head down as he got up, grabbed Benton's arm and yanked him towards the food line. As Benton began arguing again, Peter hissed, "Shut up!" He could hear the murmured comments about 'the gringo' and hoped it was Benton they were discussing, not him. Peter hadn't realised it at the time, but he'd been fortunate to spend his first few weeks inside in the prison infirmary. By the time he'd been released into the general population, he'd wised up a lot and he'd been able to defend himself from the worst. It didn't look as if Benton had that kind of sense. Well, it wasn't Peter's concern. Benton would learn, sooner or later.

"I shouldn't be in here," Benton said as soon as they sat down. His eyes darted around, as if looking for a friendly face. "I was set up by a man in a suit."

Peter kept his head down and finished off what was left of his meal. If Benton wanted to make friends, let him. Peter had learned soon enough that being innocent didn't matter, especially when the Mexican authorities were hauling you out of a crashed car that just happened to have a large amount of drugs and weapons in the trunk. He sometimes wondered what had happened to Jessica's ex. When he'd arrived home to find a gaunt stranger sitting in his chair watching his wedding video, he'd thought the loan sharks had come for their pound of flesh. Instead, it was Jessica's ex-boyfriend, proving that Peter had been right to be suspicious, right to be angry with her - not that he'd meant to kill her, of course; he'd just been trying to get her attention, to get her to listen. It hadn't been his fault at all. If she hadn't wrenched herself away from him, she wouldn't have fallen, wouldn't have banged her head. It had been Jessica's fault that he'd needed to crash his car, to make her death look like the accident it was. He'd almost died in that accident too. There were times he wished he had.

Peter swallowed down the last of his stew along with his regret and useless anger at Jessica. If she'd just tried harder, if she'd understood... Even now he loved her, missed her.

As the bell rang, Peter grabbed his tray and put it in the pile before hurrying into line. At the last minute, he snagged Benton's arm and dragged him along with him, ignoring the babbling about how the man had been going to kill him and if he could just call his lawyers this could all be sorted out.

Benton yanked his arm free. "I have rights!"

Peter shook his head and let him go.

"Maybe we can help you with these rights."

Serrano and his henchmen stepped forward and Peter kept his head down and turned away. He'd done what he could. It was too late now. The canteen door opened and Peter followed the line out, leaving Benton behind as the vultures circled.

The end.
19th July 2015.

~~~

Hope you liked it!

Comments

[leesa_perrie]

Peter's head is a messed up place! Poor Jessica!

[dimity-blue.livejournal.com]

I can't imagine that any abusive spouse is actually thinking straight - not that they'd realise it themselves.

Thanks, Leesa.

[debris_k.livejournal.com]

Some people take longer to learn than others, but I have a feeling Benton won't be in denial about his situation for long. Great fic, hon!

[dimity-blue.livejournal.com]

No, neither do I! I couldn't imagine that John could let Benton go...but I couldn't see him shooting him in cold blood either. When the prison governor said he had 'one or two' other American prisoners in his prison, I thought Benton was probably one of them. Along with Peter.

Thanks, Debris! I'm glad it worked for you.