SAW: Hoffman

The Trap

"Mark?" Cyan called hesitantly as she rounded the corner, "Mark, are you here?"

He watched from the shadows as Strahm spun around, the paused tape still clasped in his hand as he pointed his gun at Cyan.

"What the hell are you doing here?" He snarled furiously, "Where is he?"

"I don't know where he is." Cyan stammered, holding her hands out to Strahm pleadingly, "Please, I didn't know you would be here."

"I bet you didn't." Strahm sneered, "You're his accomplice, aren't you? I know, I know!"

Strahm was teetering on the edge of sanity as he be glared at Cyan with his flat eyes.

Mark stepped forward slowly as Strahm played the tape again, staring at Mark as he approached the trap with feral eyes.

'Oh, how the mighty have fallen.' Mark thought bitterly as he brushed past a frozen Cyan, his eyes flickering towards her face once.

The fear he saw there made his heart skip a beat, and for a moment he doubted his entire plan.

But only for a moment.

Strahm spun around and began to attack Mark, both men fighting for the upper hand as Strahm threw the tape aside in his haste, pausing the message once again.

'Perfect.'

Mark winced as Strahm began punching him in the mouth, drawing thin streams of blood from his nose as one of the punches caught it.

"Stop it!" Cyan screamed, attempting to prise them apart weakly, "Stop, you'll kill him!"

Strahm was snarling as he threw her aside roughly, his eyes focused on Mark.

Time slowed as he raised his fist again, aiming it at Mark's face for a final blow.

"No! Mark!"

A small figure threw itself in front of Mark as the fist flew towards him, taking all of the blow.

Cyan flew backwards and landed in a crumpled heap on the floor, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.

Strahm smiled twistedly as he punched Mark again, knocking him backwards into the glass box and the shards of glass inside.

'Please, not yet.'  Mark thought desperately as Strahm went to slam the lid. He stared at Cyan, hoping that Strahm would misunderstand.

He did.

'Idiot.'

"Take your little girlfriend with you."

Strahm picked Cyan up and threw her on top of Mark with a deranged laugh before slamming the lid, sealing them inside. 

Sealing his fate.

He ran over to the door with a smile and tried the lock.

Mark smiled as he frowned, turning back towards the trap in confusion.

His face darkened as he regarded Mark smiling at him. He slammed his palm against the glass and leant in close.

"Tell me how to open it."

'If you're good at predicting the human mind...'

Mark stared at Strahm for a moment, enjoying the sight of fear in his dark eyes.

"Tell me how to open it!"

Mark pointed at the tape with a hand and wrapped his other arm around Cyan.

"M-Mark?" She groaned thickly, "Where-Where are we?"

"Ssh." He murmured in her ear, his eyes fixed on Strahm as he listened to the tape.

The agent paled as the realisation dawned on him.

He'd failed his test.

"Put your head on my shoulder and close your eyes." He muttered, "You don't want to see this."

Cyan looked up at him for a moment and stared into his eyes. His heart quickened as her breath whispered across his skin.

"Mark-"

"Please." He said roughly, "Please, I don't want you to see this. No matter what you hear, I need you to look away."

Cyan closed her eyes and turned her face away towards his neck as the agent stood over them with his gun drawn, his eyes bright with insanity.

The walls were closing in fast as the box sank into the floor, carrying Hoffman and Cyan to safety.

"I know who you are! I know!"

Mark watched in silence as Strahm fired the gun, tightening his hold on Cyan as she jumped, burying her face into his neck.

'I leave everything to chance.'

Strahm began to climb the walls as they moved in towards him, but his chance had already passed.

'Everyone deserves a chance.'

But not him.

Peter Strahm had his chance.

Mark flinched slightly as the red rain began to flow, followed by tortured screams that held no humanity.

Cyan shivered in his arms as the screams began to fade, leaving only the sound of dripping blood behind.

Strahm was little more than an animal as he died.

Cyan began to sob as Mark murmured in her ear, his eyes turning away from the remains of Special Agent Peter Strahm.

"It's ok. It's over. Cyan, it's over."

She looked at him with haunted eyes, their lips mere inches apart.

"Where is he?" She asked flatly, glancing upwards at the stains on the glass, "You...you're Jigsaw."

"Yes." Mark nodded slowly, his arm still around her waist, "John Kramer was my mentor. Now I've inherited his legacy."

She stared up at the stains and shuddered violently,

"Get me out of here."

Mark pushed the lid open and waited for her to get out. He was stepping out of the trap when she fell to her knees and began retching.

"Cyan, Cyan." He murmured, moving her hair away.

"Don't touch me!" She snapped, pushing his hand away, "You're not a good man. You're nothing but a killer."

Mark dropped his hand away from her and leant against the wall, folding his arms across his chest.

'Do you like how brutality feels, Mark?'

"Get out." He demanded coldly, pointing at a door with a shaking hand, "And don't bother telling anyone about this. I'll know if you do."

Cyan got to her feet and stared at him uncertainly.

"You're letting me go?"

Mark stared at the opposite wall as he spoke, trying to bury his emotions.

"You saved me. I'm saving you."

Cyan nodded once and opened the door to his left, her mouth pulled down into a grimace.

She looked back over her shoulder as she closed the door.

"I'm sorry, Mark."

'So am I.' He thought, 'So am I.'