Brian took a slow sip of his morning latte, his eyes cold and unfeeling on the body writhing on the ground at his feet. He watched as Jackson's boot repetitively kicked into the man's side, his eyes unrepentant as he watched the man beginning to plead, the words barely audible over the sobs that escaped. He sat his cup down on the table in his secluded patio, a grim smile on his lips. "That must really hurt." His eyes looked off into the distance for several minutes, before he finally gave the nod for Jackson to cease the torturous, and life-threatening motion.

"P-please, Mr. Kinney. I- I haven't done anything wrong; I- I swear I haven't." Brandon could barely speak through the pain that held him immobile, his body curled into a ball at the gangster's feet. He had a strong suspicion of what this was about; although, he wasn't going to speak of it if Brian didn't know.

"Haven't done anything wrong," Brian repeated, a darkness in his eyes that bespoke of bad things to come. "How about you show him, Jackson? Then, we might not have such a misunderstanding..."

"No! Wait!" Brandon begged, thinking that meant the beating was about to resume. He didn't think he could take any more of that.

Brian laughed coldly, his eyes becoming even blacker as he spoke. "I meant a visual. Of course, if you continue to lie to me, I will assume your betrayal is absolute; then, well, I won't have any choice." Clicking his tongue in mock regret, Brian silkily purred, "Such a shame to put you on ice. You had that new club to open." His eyes flickered to Brandon's lips that had once provided him a moment of exquisite pleasure. "And you certainly have your uses."

"You've got it all w-wrong; I swear!" Brandon protested, his eyes widening as Jackson played the footage that showed his not-so-secret meeting with his brother in a darkened booth in Gary's seedy club. "It's not what you think, Sir. Let me prove it to you!"

"Get him to his feet!" Brian sneered. "I can't talk to this writhing mass..."

Jackson nodded in the direction of the other two men surrounding Brandon, each of them roughly grabbing him by his arm, yanking him abruptly to his feet. No emotion was shown as Brandon shouted out in pain, blood and sweat dripping from his body. They dragged him over to where Brian sat, each of them watching the boss for any sign of what would happen next. Right now, only one man had the answer. There wasn't a doubt that would come soon.

"Now... why don't you tell me all about your little late-night meeting with big brother. You do remember him, right?" Brian's eyes were savage as they drilled into the bloodied and beaten man, not a flicker of remorse in his hazel eyes.

"I didn't have a choice, Mr. Kinney. Gary threatened to burn my club down to the ground before I even opened." Barely able to stand freely on his feet, he reminded, "I don't have to tell you that he's capable of that."

Jackson's eyes widened as he watched the murderous expression transform his employer's face. That reminder hadn't been the wisest of comments to make. Although, in a way, it could have been preemptive. Now, he had diverted the boss' attention away from himself, and back on Gary Sapperstein's recent crimes against him. Depending on how it all played out - that could be very clever.

A muscle jerking in his cheek, Brian hissed, "No. You don't have to tell me that..." Brian stood to his feet, idly beginning to pace back and forth, deliberately working to instill fear in Brandon... knowing the only way the younger man would leave here alive today, was if he was certain of his loyalty. As of now, he had much convincing to do. Moving closer to the table, Brian began to slide his fingers along the gun he didn't want to use; however, one that he had no problem using if he found the circumstances warranted it. "I don't think you understand your position." Continuing to stroke the gun, Brian spoke in a pondering tone, "Let me see if I can find a way to change that..."

"M-Mr. Kinney... I s-swear, I'll do anything you say. You've got to believe me!" Brandon's eyes were darting back and forth, between Brian's menacing expression, and the gun he almost lovingly stroked. "Gary is fucked in the head. I don't have to tell you that! I was scared... so, I made a deal."

Brian picked up the gun, aiming it at his terrified prey, his eyes wild when he asked, "What kind of deal?"

"He told me if I helped him bring you down, in particular, found a way to get to a man you are involved with, he would pay off my loan. More important than that - he wouldn't try to challenge me for ownership, or destroy it - ever."

Justin. Brian gnashed his teeth together in fury. Fucking the boy had been a mistake. Now, his head was all kinds of fucked up. He should have waited until after Sapperstein was neutralized. As it was, all he could think about was getting back to him. Not only that, though; in the back of his mind, he kept thinking about how Justin would feel about how he handled business... in particular - this kind of shady business. No matter the provocation, he knew Justin wouldn't approve of him killing Brandon. The boy's heart was just too kind. "How generous of dear old Gary..."

"Not really, Sir. He's just desperate to destroy you. Apparently, the kid pissed him off too, plus he seems to want him. Hell, he even said we could take turns with him." Awareness immediately struck him in astonishment as he viewed what appeared to be the protective rage on Brian's not-so uncaring face. This was interesting, he thought. Brian Kinney cared about someone? Perhaps Gary realized that too, and that was why he was willing to give him so much in return for acquiring what could be Kinney's most valued possession.

"Your brother is sick... and so are you for going along with him. I'm going to kill him - make no mistake about that! Now, it's only a question if you will be joining him in that same death." Brian moved closer, slapping the gun against his hand, a part of him thinking that killing Brandon would be the perfect gesture in making a point with Gary Sapperstein. He wasn't sure that wasn't exactly what he would do. "I wonder, Brandon..." Brian invaded the younger man's space, stalking, and weakening a helpless victim, always his specialty. "I wonder if you have any idea why I haven't killed you before now. Your brother has been my most hated enemy for years. Killing you would have made a point."

"Please don't do this, Mr. Kinney. We can work together and bring him down. Gary is bad to the bone, but I don't think you are. Not really. Let me help you end this war. I'm probably the only one that can."

Brian looked up, his eyes narrowing on the sight of Justin moving around the grounds, a guard discreetly monitoring his every movement. "I intend to finish this; however, I don't need you to do it. I have everything I need right here..."

"You can't just kill him. It would be suicide. He has loyal underlings. They would avenge his death." Brandon's voice was raised when he shouted, "You're not thinking of all the possibilities!"

"I'm not thinking of all the possibilities..." Brian murmured thoughtfully, his eyes sharply dissecting the prey that he was still deciding how to handle most appropriately. "No, Brandon. It's you that remains deluded. And you didn't answer my question. "Why do you really think I gave you the loan... and more importantly than that - why have I allowed you to live?"

Clutching his side as the painful contractions still pierced his side, Brandon muttered, "It's not hard to guess. We both know Gary doesn't give a fuck if I live or die."

"Exactly..." Brian watched as Justin moved closer toward them, his head shaking at how Justin continued to test his boundaries. The blond knew he was having a meeting this morning... one that was both important and dangerous. He had no business approaching him now. The boy was too curious and headstrong. In every way, he made protecting him all the more difficult. He hated how this boy he barely knew was affecting so many of his decisions. In the past, this meeting would be over. Now, he seemed to be trying to find a reason not to make the decision that was inevitably best for business. In this case, killing Brandon and ridding himself of one more tool maneuvered by his enemy, was the sound thing to do. And yet, he kept thinking of how Justin felt on the day they had met - the hit on Kip he had witnessed. This boy was fucking with his mind... and more importantly - his life. He needed to bring the badass gangster back and show the blond things would be done his way. What he thought about it meant nothing to him. That was the life he led, and how it had to be.

"Sorry to interrupt. I thought your meeting would be over by now." Justin didn't think anything of the kind, but he refused to let Brian think he would stay in the background, or back down just because he had dangerous business to conduct. Odds were, this had something to do with him too, and this attack coming his way from Brian's enemy. To his way of thinking, he had a right to be involved; of course, he knew Brian wouldn't feel the same.

Brandon glanced over his shoulder, his eyes sweeping over the smaller man. It all made sense now. He could only imagine Gary's reaction when he caught sight of this boy. And the most ironic part of all - the blond belonged to Kinney. That had to have his brother salivating in lust, and the need to bring his enemy down - once and for all. "You know, maybe we can make an arrangement - one that will answer all of our problems."

Brian ignored Brandon completely, his eyes sharp on Justin, ever watchful of how the boy was taking in everything. Tenacious little fucker, he thought to himself. They would be having a long talk about this afterward... that, and so much more. "As you can see, my meeting is far from over. Go back into the house; I'll join you when I'm finished."

"No need. I'll just be quiet right here..." Justin ignored Brian's instructions, in the next instant taking a seat at the terrace table, his eyes suddenly becoming aware of the gun in Brian's hand, along with the pained expression on the face of who was clearly today's victim. Schooling his features, Justin decided to see how far he could push Brian, hopefully, causing enough of a delay to urge Brian into making the right choice. He wasn't sure why he thought such was possible, he just felt there was something good underneath that harsh exterior. He doubted he would be happy until he found out just what made Brian Kinney the man he was today. One day at a time, he hoped to make that discovery.

"Uhhh, Sir? Should I escort Mr. Taylor inside?" Jackson asked nervously, unable to fathom how brave, and ultimately stupid this young man was behaving. What could he possibly be thinking? Here and now, this rebellious act was not in anyone's best interest.

Brian's eyes slid to Brandon, intuitively trying to deduce how this man that was a liability was taking this all in. Justin had forced his hand here, whether the blond realized it or not, his brash, and improper behavior was undermining him. That couldn't be allowed to get out. "That won't be necessary, Jackson. However, you can take Brandon away." His eyes connected with his chief enforcer. "We're done here."

Brandon shook his head back and forth. He could read his death in Brian's eyes. Fuck! He had been swaying him... at least, he thought. It was the blond's interference that changed the balance. This kid was a curse on all of them. "Don't do this. P-please don't! I can help you with Gary."

Justin watched wide-eyed. It was happening again. These men were going to murder a man just on Brian's say-so. What had this man done? And why was the name Gary so familiar? Then it occurred to him. Gary Sapperstein. This man was connected to him. He had to stop this. This man's blood would not be on his hands. "Brian, you need to stop this. There has to be another way!"

"What you need to do - is stay the fuck out of my business!" Brian snarled. Brian knew he had to focus, and stop allowing this boy to sway him on anything. Brandon knew too much, and... he didn't trust him; he couldn't be allowed to run back to Sapperstein. That was a disadvantage he couldn't afford now. "If you hadn't provoked Sapperstein as you did - none of this would be coming to a head now."

Brian grasped Justin's arm, abruptly pulling him to his feet. "You're coming with me. We have so much to discuss."

"Sir?" Jackson questioned. He was no longer sure of what his boss wanted him to do. This was a prime example of a meeting gone awry. In all of his years with his employer, he had never had anything like this happen. "What exactly do you want me to do?"

His eyes were deadened as he looked at Brandon's horrified expression, then back at Justin's reproachful and disgusted glare. "Finish him."

Justin watched as Brian's chief enforcer pulled the man away, his eyes on Brian in disbelief. He couldn't believe this was happening again. He had been as powerless as the first time. "I will never forgive you for this, Brian. Not ever!"

"Fortunately for me, your forgiveness is not necessary. You have interfered in my business decisions for the last time. Once we're finished talking - you'll have a better understanding of how things are going to be..."

Brian gestured Justin toward the house, his shoulder tensing at the finality in Justin's voice, yet the determination to win this war, and do so his way, was all that mattered. This was his world. Justin couldn't understand that. He was about to send Gary Sapperstein an all-important lesson. The debt owed to him was only beginning to be repaid. A brother for a brother. It was only fair. As he led the visibly defeated, yet unresisting blond back inside, Brian realized he didn't feel any peace in his actions today. In the end, he had still watched his family being slaughtered by the hand of Gary Sapperstein all those years ago. Brandon had just been a child, and not a part of his brother's more dangerous world. The Sap's big mistake had been allowing him to live through the experience. It was a mistake he planned on Sapperstein remembering with chilling clarity up until the moment he took his last breath.

TBC