[Edgeworth pulls out a handkerchief with one hand while scratching Pess's head with another. He's finally attaining some measure of his usual calm, though a weight continues to bear down on him.]

If I knew what must be done with him aside from giving him a fair trial -- something we were only just barely in a position to attempt even with Wright -- then perhaps I would be more confident in my ability to obscure the existence of the power vacuum amongst us. As it stands, every form of punishment I can think of is either impossible in this situation or cruel and unusual except one, and that one contains a loophole -- this very hour.