Brian paced about in the small room, his nerves never more frayed than they were at this moment. Of all places, Carl had stashed him in the walk-in linen closet... a laughable location at best. He doubted anyone would ever look for him in these cramped quarters. That factor had largely been part of Carl's rationale, in addition to his belief that he wouldn't need to stay hidden for long. Fuck, he hoped not. He wanted to be with Justin. More to the point - he needed to know that his partner was protected.

Feeling his way around the dark and tidy room, mindful that it wasn't safe to turn on the light, Brian realized he'd only been in here a few times... actually only one other time if he didn't count the two occasions he had pulled Justin in here and fucked the hell out of him while they were supposed to be entertaining their dinner guests. A reminiscent smile curved his lips. Now that was something he'd enjoy repeating... once the Sap was gone from their lives for good. Those carefree days that just made them... well, them.

He wished he knew how long he'd been trapped within this little room, his anxiety only increasing. Had Justin woke up yet? And more importantly, was the murderous Sap now on the grounds, and making his way to Justin? Fuck! He couldn't stand this! His hand reached for the doorknob when his subconscious screamed at him - ‘Don't do it, Kinney. You aren't Rage. All you'll do is fuck up Carl's plan...'

That unwanted thought - alone - was all that stopped him from rushing to Justin's side, and being there to see his partner through what he hoped was the end of this horrific ordeal. It had to end tonight... or this morning. Right now, he wasn't even sure of the time or which it even was. He found himself worrying if Justin could handle much more of Gary Sapperstein, and the constant threats his presence represented. He didn't even care about how much of a risk that posed to himself. All that mattered was Justin's protection. The only aspect that grounded him regarding that threat, was the knowledge that Justin would once more be at the Sap's mercy. He had the feeling Justin's life would be even more hellish a second time around. Then, there would be the massive guilt Justin would endure if Gary managed to kill him.

No. That was the last thing Justin needed. He just had to be patient for a little while longer. Sapperstein's capture and Justin's safe new world was worth any sacrifice made to achieve it. His eyes widening as he heard the sound of footsteps hurriedly passing his door moving in the direction of the hallway that led to Justin. He realized with a rapidly beating heart, it wouldn't be much longer now...

Justin was having the most beautiful of dreams. Seated at a long rectangular table was Debbie, his mom, Daphne... in actuality the entire gang was there smiling, and watching him and Brian dancing. They were all dressed in wedding attire. Everyone looked fabulously beautiful... of course, none of them compared to Brian. As he pulled his head back to look into Brian's hazel eyes, his heart lurched at the love that virtually radiated around his partner. No, not his partner. They're married now. At long last, after all the obstacles that had conspired to keep them apart... Brian was finally his husband.

Fate was now smiling on them.

A hand brushed along his leg... over the covers, a smile on his lips to be awakened by the man he loved. "Brian..." he whispered, his eyes slowly flickering open; however, the sight he had been expecting was not the vision he was now seeing. "Gary!" Justin gasped in horror, immediately sitting upright in the bed. "How did you get in here? And where's Brian??"

"Brian! Fucking Kinney is always the name on your lips..." Gary sneered. "I've waited what seems like forever to see that look on your beautiful face again." His ears sharply listened for any sound coming toward the door, unable to shake his unease that he hadn't located either Kinney or Horvath. "Get dressed. We're leaving here now."

"No, we're not. I'm staying. You are the one that's leaving..." Justin insisted, crossing his arms in front of him, refusing to become that helpless victim again.

"Perhaps Kinney finds your little acts of rebellion attractive, but trust me when I tell you - I do NOT!" Gary's nostrils flared as he spat out the words, unable to believe Justin would defy him now. "Get out of the fucking bed, and do what I say. That is the only thing that will keep me from tearing this house apart and killing your fucking lover now!"

The mention of Brian was all the inducement needed, Justin slid from the bed, reaching for and sliding into his pants, making sure to keep his eyes averted. The last thing he wanted to see was Gary's face transformed into a madman's version of voracious lust.

"You are so beautiful..." Gary rasped, his eyes hungrily crawling over Justin. "If I had Kinney and your police watchdog secured, I'd fuck you now - in his bed..."

Justin's lip curled in total distaste. "You disgust me! I will never let you touch me again! You would have to kill me first!"

"Kill you?" Gary hissed, the menace in his voice causing it to raise. He advanced closer to his half-clothed obsession. Waving his gun in front of him, Gary reached his free hand up to roughly grasp the nape of Justin's neck, his other hand pressing the gun into Justin's side... his objective being to instill terror in the young man once again. "Perhaps I should kill you. Maybe that would destroy the lust that burns in me. I've made so many mistakes gripped by that very same lust. That just might be the answer."

Stalling for time, fairly confident that Brian and Carl had to be nearby, Justin bravely continued to goad his evil ex-captor. "Go ahead, then. Kill me. End it all - here and now. Because, one thing is for certain, Gary... I will never go with you of my own free will. NEVER!"

In one enraged moment, Gary backhanded the side of Justin's face with his empty hand... barely mindful of the fact that he didn't want to render him unconscious by using the hand that held his gun. He watched as the force of the slap knocked Justin onto the bed, his teeth grinding together as fury and lust continued to consume him. Right now, he hated Justin even more than Brian Kinney. They should already be gone from the estate, but he still fell prey to his need for the blond, and too quick to anger. "This is your last chance, Justin. Either you come with me now... or I will tear this house apart until I find your lover." He watched as Justin cradled his cheek in pain, yet with eyes watching him hatefully... yet fearfully.

Justin swallowed as he looked to the bedroom door, his eyes seeing the handle turning so slowly that no sound was being made. It had to be Brian or Carl. One of Gary's thugs wouldn't care about entering so discreetly. Shakily, Justin stood to his feet, refusing to back down, or give Gary the satisfaction of terrorizing him again. He wouldn't be that man again. Finally, he had found hope, and a renewed sense of strength... all thanks to Brian's love and understanding. He wouldn't go back now. "Fuck you!" he hissed, his arms crossing in front of him. "As I already said - you will have to kill me first!"

The door busted open forcefully, an irate voice shouting out, "Back away from him, Sunshine."

Reacting almost blindly, Justin kicked at Gary's arm just as the shot fired in Brian's direction... his eyes wide in panic at where the bullet would connect. It had all been gut instinct knowing that Gary hungered as deeply for Brian's demise as he did to reclaim him. He gasped when Brian's hand moved forward, a gun in his hand, the successive shots deafening in the small room.

"Brian! No!" Carl shouted out, immediately moving forward, his arm nicked by the passing bullet. He grabbed at his arm, immediately realizing the wound to be superficial, yet extending his other arm toward Sapperstein, all of them realizing Carl's efforts were for naught, as Gary collapsed on the floor, blood seeping through his shirt. "Justin! Kick the gun away from him. Quickly!"

Brian looked down at his hand in disbelief. He had shot a man. It had been in self-defense, but doubts instantly assailed him. Did he really act out upon seeing the Sap firing the gun at him... or had he been a man bent on evening a score? Right now, he wasn't so sure. All that mattered, in the end, was protecting Justin. Tossing the gun onto the floor, Brian ran the short distance to Justin, urgently pulling him into his arms.

"Brian..." Justin began to sob. "You shot him! The gun... how!?" Justin shook his head in shock, his eyes focusing on the blood that further seeped across Gary's chest, his body twitching, his eyes barely open yet watching them both with open hatred in them.

Pulling free, his eyes drifted to Sapperstein's body that was fighting the process that sought to claim him. "How many men have you raped and killed, Sap? I think it's a fitting end. Don't you?"

"F-fuck you, K-Kinney..." the unremorseful man raggedly stuttered. His eyes glazing over, and intent on one man only, he hoarsely demanded, "J-Justin... come h-here. I- I need to tell you something..."

Placing a restraining hand on Justin's arm, unwilling for him to go anywhere near the deranged criminal, whether weakened or not, Brian shook his head in denial. "Don't do it, Justin. He wants to play his mind games with you... all until the bitter end. You are in control now - not him."

Brian's eyes drifted to where Carl stepped out of the room, his cellphone to his ear as he placed a call that he knew would send the rescue squad, not to mention police backup in their direction. Self-defense or not, he couldn't help wondering if there would be consequences of him shooting the Sap, most especially with a gun that wasn't his own. He didn't own a gun. It wasn't something he believed in, but now he had shot a man. Brian couldn't help but feel strange about that... although, he knew he would do the same thing again - all to protect Justin.

Justin kept his eyes on the man's face that was rapidly draining of all color, no pity in him for the suffering Gary now endured. He placed his other hand over Brian's that held him fast, squeezing it gently. "Don't worry, Rage. I won't go near him."

Brian rolled his lips under. "Rage indeed. However, he wouldn't need to use a gun to save his man."

Gary sputtered and coughed, blood spurting from his mouth in the process. "P-pathetic fools..." He squirmed on the carpet, his head turning to seek his gun that had already been kicked far from his reach, resting immobile for the Feds to secure and examine. "I- I could have g-given you the world... unlimited power. Y-your worthless hero gives you n-nothing but romantic dribble..."

Justin grinned at Brian, his heart shining in his eyes. It was as if he had been reborn. Now he knew they had a future. At long last, fate seemed to be smiling on them. "No, Gary. You are the fool. I have the world right here - everything I've ever wanted... needed. My life starts now."

"D-don't be so sure of that. A hit i-is o-out on your l-lover... He might n-not survive that..." Gary's eyes flickered closed, the effort his speech was taking on his body, draining the life out of him all the more quickly.

"On the contrary..." Carl announced in a booming voice. "I have it on very good authority that your accomplice is in police custody... and singing like the proverbial canary. Game over for you, Mr. Sapperstein..."

Incoherent curses were the last words to fall from Gary Sapperstein's numbed, and now dead lips, his eyes opened and fixed hatefully at the two lovers entwined together, as his body had lost the fight.

Justin released a tremulous sigh, all at once his legs shaking from the shock and the meaning of all that had happened early this morning. "It's over. Finally, it's really over..."

Brian smiled tenderly at his partner, a bittersweet smile on his lips. "It is for you, Sunshine. But I've just killed a man with a gun not registered to me. There could be consequences for that."

Carl holstered his weapon, the need for that no longer existent. He removed a clean handkerchief from his pocket, reaching for the weapon that he had unprofessionally given to Brian in the event Sapperstein found him in his hiding place. Before their stunned and clearly confused eyes, Carl wiped the gun off meticulously, a smile on his face despite the fact he was violating his most sacred oath. "Not anymore..."

"Carl? What the fuck?" Brian asked, both he and Justin looking at him with gaping mouths.

His eyes drifted to the lifeless body on the floor, then back at the two boys that had suffered so much in the past three years. "You boys have been through hell. The last thing you need is inquisitions and doubts cast on your integrity. Brian, you have grown into an incredible man. I couldn't be more proud to call a man my friend."

Tears misting in his eyes, Brian cursed himself for the weakness, but couldn't help but be weakened by what he realized Carl was about to do. "I- I don't know what to say, Carl. You've already saved our lives... and now this??"

"Just be happy, and don't screw up your future. That's all I ask." His head turned as he heard the sirens in the distance, knowing the Feds had their own issues to handle when they found the disloyal agents tied and awaiting their own punishment. "You never had my gun, Brian. He shot at you, and I fired at him in self-defense. Case closed. Finally... the good guys win the war."

TBC