Cynthia eased open the heavy door to the hospital room and poked her head inside hesitantly, her breath catching at what awaited her. In one single glance she took in the almost beatific scene. Brian was halfway sitting against the head of the awkward hospital bed, Justin snuggled between his extended legs, back pressed to Brian's chest. One of Brian's hands was stroking gently through locks of long blond hair, the other resting beneath one of Justin's, their fingers entwined.

It had been several days since she had seen Brian and even then he had not been aware of her presence. Now, here he was. And as much as Cynthia loved him as the friend he was, as much as she worried over his health and his business, as much as she had simply missed his acerbic wit and measured anger, she was totally unprepared for the rush of pure sweet joy that coursed through her when their eyes met.

"What?" Brian barked. "You don't think you have to work when the boss is gone?" The soft smile pulling at his lips belied the harshness of his words.

"Good to see you, too, Boss." She could feel the barely suppressed tears threatening to fall and determined that she wouldn't do that to him. She and Brian didn't work that way. He didn't need her tears to know she cared about him. "Nice to see you both taking advantage of the accommodations."

"If only that were possible here, Cynthia," he grinned and kissed the top of his snorting partner's head. "I'm working on getting a lock installed on theinside of the door."

Cynthia gave a genuine laugh as she sat down in the chair beside the bed. "Never bothered you at the office, Brian. I've probably seen as much of your ass as they've seen in the backroom."

"Yeah, well... Different playground, different rules," Brian sighed, feeling an urgent need to change the subject. With his improving mood, his body was beginning to remind him of just how long it had been since he had been able to play, and he shifted uncomfortably. "So, have you and Theodore bankrupted me yet?"

At this question, Justin disentangled himself from Brian and raised up, situating himself on the bed so they could all three see each other. Brian noticed the look passing between his partner and his employee - noticed that it held just a few beats too long.  

"What's going on?"

"Brian..." Justin began.

"Sunshine, I may be crazy as a loon, but I can still tell when someone's trying to not say something. What the fuck is going on."

"Christ, Bri. You're not crazy!"

"Semantics. Now. Tell me. What the FUCK is going on." The frustration and budding anger was evident in Brian's tone. He knew he couldn't be at work right now, knew he was fucked up. That didn't, however, ease his resentment about those facts. There were enough restrictions on his life right now, and he damned sure wasn't going to let talking about Kinnetik to be added to that list.

Cynthia gave a quick look toward Justin, who simply sighed and nodded. Turning her attention back to Brian and looking him in the eye, she began. "Things have been hectic. You laid a lot of responsibility on me there, Brian, but you taught me well." Brian smiled slightly and nodded his head for her to continue.

"I was able to work with the clients, even handling Brown and the continual fuck-ups on their end." She paused and rolled her eyes. They were both well aware of what ridiculous requests the Brown team could make. "But we ran into a bit of a... problem."

Brian shifted, tensing slightly as he asked, "What... problem?"

"The media." Cynthia stated flatly.

"The media?" Brian's brow furrowed for a moment as he considered the possibilities. The furrow became a stunned but steady glare as he realized exactlywhat his friend was telling him. "Fuck!"

"Brian," Justin reached out toward his lover, who shrugged off the touch.

"Tell. Me." He gritted out. Brian knew this could be bad. Very bad. He could feel the tension begin to gather behind his eyes, in his neck. Could hear the gentle urging, the quiet command as he ground his teeth together. Resist. Resist.

Justin blew out a heavy breath before turning and facing Brian. He could see the battle beginning. He had become more attuned to the signs, and he grasped Brian's hand to ground him.

"Brian, look at me." When there was no response, the young man gripped tighter and said more firmly, "Look at me!" Brian turned slowly toward the man beside him and said quietly, "I'm fine, Sunshine. Just... tell me."

There really was no way to avoid this situation and the pain it was going to cause Brian, and Justin knew it. Brian would react, in some manner, whether they gave him the truth or not. They could try to protect him and let him feel more impotent than he already felt about his life, or they could give him the respect he deserved and be honest. He looked into those round, pleading eyes and knew he could not - would not - deny Brian yet another layer of his dignity.  

"There were some articles," he began slowly. "Day before yesterday the first one came out. Full of lies and half-truths, but it... began a feeding frenzy. They were limited to the rags, mostly. But today..." he paused, taking a deep breath before continuing. "...today, the Post-Gazette ran a piece about... Kinnetik... in the business section."

Brian sat stoically, eyes closed, listening as Justin recounted the media's journey. He opened his eyes and looked over at Cynthia. "How many clients?" She knew what he was asking.

"We haven't lost anyone, Brian. They are... concerned, however. I've dealt with them all day."

"How? How did it get to the media?" And with that, Brian asked the one question neither one wanted to answer. Even more than the impact to Kinnetik, Michael's involvement would be a blow. But again, Justin made the decision to respect Brian, to not condescend or patronize him. To give him truth as he asked for it.

"Someone who had... information - wrong information - got a little drunk, a little loud at Woody's."

"Who was it, Justin?" He laid his head back on the pillow and again closed his eyes. Bracing himself. Brian knew it had to be one of the family or an employee of the hospital. God, please let it be the latter. When he noticed Justin's hesitation, however, that slight hope slipped away, and Brian could feel a part of himself slip away with it.

"Who was it?" he repeated, almost a whisper.

"Michael." That one softly spoken word altered so many things.

*******

We would like to thank you for flying with us this afternoon and hope you've had a pleasant flight. Welcome to Pittsburgh, everyone.

As the tinny voice of the flight attendant faded, the wheels rolled to a gentle stop and the roar of the engines quieted, Connie Simpson casually stood and retrieved his carry-on from the overhead bin. He hadn't brought much with him. A couple changes of clothes and his personal items. He wouldn't need much on this trip. He wouldn't be here that long. Just long enough to remind Kinney what his place was in the pecking order.

As he walked through the concourse he continued to seethe about the way he had been fucked over by his father. Of course he knew who was really to blame. If he'd just fucking answered the emails. If he'd just agreed to take Simpson Steel on as a client of Kinnetik, it wouldn't be Sam sitting in that goddamn CEO's office in a couple of weeks.  No, scoring Kinnetik would have been the final feather in his cap, Connie thought. The old man had been fucking thrilled with Kinney's work on the advertising for the company when he was working for Ryder. He'd never quit talking about the fucking genius and his fucking visionary campaigns. When the genius refused to work on any subsequent Simpson accounts, however, his father had broken off association with Ryder. He didn't want the company - he wanted Kinney. And Connie had planned on getting him, securing his place with the old man. If only that little bitch had remembered his place.

Now he wouldn't be using Kinnetik for his company, but he damned sure would be using Kinney. And this time the boy would never forget what he'd been taught.  

*******

Cynthia was only a bit nervous. She was used to the pressure of working in a fast paced environment with a tenacious boss who was occasionally mercurial with his emotions and temperament. She was even used to the dealing with the media to some degree. But that had always been for the client. This was a totally different game and required a totally different game face. This was for Kinnetik.

As she and Justin were relating to Brian all the issues being raised by the media and the potential threats to Kinnetik from those media reports, she could see the war being waged inside him. She knew that right now every defense he had ever erected to protect himself emotionally was being threatened. In some cases those defenses were already obliterated. The solid masks of cool indifference and practiced calm were now cracking. Although his reaction to hearing about Michael's betrayal was, at least on the surface, less extreme than she expected, she could read the truth in his eyes. The pain. The soul deep ache. Something permanent shifted with that one revelation. When she showed Brian what the legal department had prepared, he read it carefully. Word for word. He approved it - with one small addition, and an admonition that it be included just as he had written it.   

So here she was, on the threshold of Kinnetik, Inc., standing proudly in front of the building that still looked every bit the bath house it had been. At her side was Ted, as well as Mark Stein, head of the Kinnetik legal department. She had her dancing shoes on, but this was not going to be a waltz. This was a war dance.

She stepped up to the podium emblazoned with the Kinnetik logo and the buzz and chatter from the reporters and spectators slowly quieted. Before she spoke, she lowered her head for only a moment, closed her eyes and called upon the Brian Kinney mojo. Fuck them all, she said to herself, as she started to speak into the various microphones.

"My name is Cynthia Moore and I am Chief Operating Officer and acting Chief Executive Officer of Kinnetik, Inc. I will not be answering questions at any time during or after this statement.

"There has recently been a spate of news articles and news reports regarding Brian Kinney, founder, owner and CEO of Kinnetik. For the most part, those articles and reports have been filled with erroneous claims, misstatements, innuendo, speculation and, to some degree, out and out malicious lies. Yes, it is true that Mr. Kinney has been hospitalized, and remains so at this time. Of course I will not address any specifics of Mr. Kinney's health. As with any of you, that is a private matter. However, I can tell you this. It is patently untrue that Brian Kinney is either dead or dying. It is patently untrue that he is in rehab for drug and/or alcohol and/or sexual addiction. It is patently untrue that he is in treatment for HIV or AIDS. It is patently untrue that he has had a mental or nervous breakdown. All of these claims have been made repeatedly by various members of the media, and have engendered unnecessary concern and anxiety for many valued clients of Kinnetik, Inc.

"I spoke with Mr. Kinney earlier today and he is well aware of this press conference. He wanted me to impart a few words of his own. 

"I quote:

‘Don't believe everything some drunk shouts out in a bar. In vino veritas only applies if the drunken asshole actually knows the truth in the first place.'

"End quote.

"That being said, and so eloquently by my employer, I would like to add that Kinnetik, Inc. is a strong and vibrant company. Brian Kinney built this company with a specific vision and he has continually operated this company according to that vision. He employs only people who share his specific vision for Kinnetik. I am one of those employees. I have worked with Brian Kinney for more than ten years. I was the very first employee when he began Kinnetik out of his home. He has entrusted me to operate Kinnetik in his absence and that is what I have been doing and will continue to do until Mr. Kinney returns to his desk. I take great pride in his confidence in my abilities, and strive to meet every challenge, every opportunity utilizing the same visionary approach that Brian Kinney would use.

"On a final note, I have turned over to our legal department the matter of egregiously false claims regarding Mr. Kinney that have come forth in the media, and have asked them to seek cease and desist orders from the court. Some of you may be hearing from them."

Cynthia collected her notes, nodded to her companions and walked back through the doors of Kinnetik. She could hear the hum of the truck generators and almost sing-song chatter from the reporters as they worked to get their own faces on air. She had done what she could at this point, and knew that it was not nearly good enough. The story was out there and it could never be taken back, no matter how many press conferences were given. It had already caused damage and would no doubt continue to do so. She knew that Kinnetik would eventually survive the damage, perhaps a little battered and scarred.

She only hoped that in the end Brian would fare as well.