Date: Wed, 01 May 2002 05:20:42 +0000 From: Daniel Lund Subject: Steel Tigers 4 I was recently called the king of cliffhangers by a reader who emailed me in irritation. I thank you for the compliment, sir, and hope this one is as irritating as the last one for you. I'm reluctant to kill anyone because of the uproar last time, but have no qualms about introducing new characters. Marcus and Rainee are based on two of my most dedicated readers. Thanks, guys. The idea was a good one. Seriously, thank you all for the notes and any suggestions. Dan skyecatone@hotmail.com Paper Tiger Book II, Steel Tigers: Part 4 Tyler looked up from the file drawer more because of a feeling on the back of his neck than an actual sensation, and was just in time to catch a mallet-like fist in the face. It was enough force to lift him off his feet and propel him into the corner. He crushed the metal door of a storage cabinet and slumped to the floor It took an incredible effort to open his eyes. His nose was screaming and he blinked several times. An out of focus figure squatted down in front of him and held a gun to his chest. When he was finally able to focus it broke his heart. "God, you are so fucking stupid, do you know that?" Lance looked at Tyler with disgust. "I have tried for seven weeks to get you to leave this alone, and you still manage to get yourself killed." Lance leaned in close, his voice rising with each word. "Don't you realize it's either you or Angel and the baby?" "Pull the trigger." Tyler panted and swiped at his eyes. "If I can't trust you I can't trust anybody." Lance looked down at the floor and rolled the hammer forward on the pistol. He ran his fingers across his head and looked up at Tyler. "Not me." He said and stood up. "Take him out to the van. Find Bridgemont." The guards stepped around him and pulled Tyler roughly to his feet. "You might not like it, Tyler, but I know you understand." "Sure, if that makes it okay for you." Tyler put his hands on his head as the guards took his gun and belt. "It makes me sick to think that Rocky will call a traitor Daddy." Lance snarled and backhanded him, bringing blood to his mouth. He smiled and followed the guard out of the room. He was led out onto the raised parking lot towards a white van with its door open. Lance came up beside him and threw his pack in the van. Behind them the building doors opened and two guards led Kyler out. Kyler stumbled and fell on his knees in front of Tyler. He looked up at Lance and his face fell. It quickly turned from fear to hatred. "You're the fucking traitor?" Lance waved his hand dismissively. "Shut up, Kyler!" He looked up at the guards. "Kill him." "No!" Tyler snapped and stepped in front of Lance. "At least let me say goodbye." He looked up into Lance's eyes and held his hands up in surrender. "Please, Lance." Lance sighed and nodded, and Tyler turned towards Kyler. Kyler looked like he was either going to tear someone in half or cry, and Tyler smiled slightly. He put his hands on Kyler's shoulders and squeezed them. Without moving his mouth perceptibly he said "Call Carlos." HE twisted at the waist and shoved Kyler over the side of the parking lot, causing all hell to break loose. Kyler slammed into the steeply sloped concrete and bounced and rolled to the bottom of the thirty-foot embankment. He landed on a stack of wood pallets shattered the top one. Driving sharp pieces of wood into his left side and hip. He looked up and met Tyler's eyes for only a second and then chips of wood erupted in front of him. He was being shot at, and he jumped painfully to his feet and ran. "That was a waste of time." Lance watched the kid run and turned to look at Tyler. "You just delaying what has to be." "My money's on him. He's a survivor." Tyler watched as several of the guards ran down the steps and tore after Kyler. Please, God, he thought to himself, keep him alive. Kyler was totally disoriented as to his whereabouts and ran down the hill into the city. He looked over his shoulder and saw a car screeching around a corner a block away. He turned down a side street and then into an alley. There were lights from businesses ahead, and he slowed down and looked around. There was a door slightly open in the corner of two buildings, and he leaned against it, shoving it open. There was a stack of boxes close to the door and he knocked them over and cursed at the noise it made. Something stirred against one wall, and he jumped as someone turned on a small battery powered lantern. Two boys about high school age looked up at him with sleepy eyes from their make shift bed. They were identical twins and looked to be about thirteen or fourteen. Kyler pulled his pistol as a reflex and their eyes went wide. "Shhhh." He held his finger to his lips and they nodded. He watched the alley for several minutes before he was convinced that no one was following him. "You're bleeding." One of the boys whispered and pointed at his leg. Kyler looked down and then at the kid and nodded. "I fell." He said simply and put the gun back in his holster. "What are you guys doing here?" The pain in his side was getting hard to mask. "We live here." The other one responded matter-of-factly. "What are you doing here?" "I severally pissed off some guys." Kyler slid his pack off and set it by the door. He tried to bend down to open it but a sudden jab of sharp pains went through his side and ass. "Jesus!" He hissed. One of the twins stood up and came over with the light. "You've got big ass splinters, man. Want some help?" "If I give you some money would you go buy some bandages?" Kyler asked. The twin looked at his brother and nodded. "Hydrogen Peroxide, too." The kid said. Kyler smiled. "You guys are alright, you know that? Use the change to get us some drinks." He pulled his wallet out of the pack and handed the kid a twenty. "Get some munchies if you want." The kid grinned and was out the door in a flash. Kyler pulled it shut and moved to sit on a five-gallon bucket. "What's your name?" He asked the other twin. "Marcus Carter." The kid, about 5'6" tall, stood up and moved over to Kyler. "My brother's Rainee." He was dressed only in a pair of extremely worn Levis, and his long light brown hair was slightly greasy and unkempt. His hazel eyes looked fatigued. "Sorry I scared you guys with the gun." Kyler said and meant it. "I really wouldn't shoot anybody." It hurt to breathe and he cradled his ribs. "It's happened before." Marcus said with a lopsided grin. "What did you do to piss off the guys that were chasing you?" "I stole their computer." Kyler grinned and patted the pack. "Why are you and Rainee on the streets?" Marcus never batted an eye. "My mom found us fuckin' each other." He folded his arms in a silent challenge. "We kind of decided we loved each other, you know?" His tone all but dared Kyler to comment. "That'd do it." Kyler chuckled. "How long have you been out here?" "Almost a year." Kyler's eyes widened. "God damn, you two are survivors, aren't you?" Marcus nodded and scratched the side of his head. "We got kicked out on our sixteenth birthday. No real loss, though. They were fuckers anyway." Kyler felt a kindred spirit. "My dad's the same way. You guys look about twelve, though." "Damn good thing, too, or the tricks wouldn't like us as much." Marcus met Kyler's eyes and appeared to be haunted. "To bad you're hurt. We could make a deal for some cash." Kyler's face went red. "You guys are really helping me out. You can have what I have. No trick." Marcus smiled, a sweet honest expression, and nodded. "We'll keep you safe." They both turned as the door opened and Kyler reached for his pistol. Marcus put his hand on Kyler's arm and shook his head. Rainee can in and closed the door carrying two plastic bags. "Rolled gauze, peroxide, and antibiotic stuff." He handed the first bag to Kyler. "Here's the cokes." He took one out and handed it to Kyler and then to Marcus. "Hope you like Doritos." Kyler stood up and unzipped the front of his suit. "Sorry guys, hope you're not modest." He put the belt on a nail in the wall and carefully shouldered out of the stretchy fabric. His left side was slick with blood, and Marcus stood up to help him. Wow, you're buff, dude." Rain stared frankly at Kyler's bare chest. "I wish I looked like that." "Hold your arm still." Markus said and reached in his pocket. He came out with a butterfly knife and skillfully flipped it open. "I'll slit the material." Brady swallowed hard, realizing how stupid it was to hang his gun on the wall in front of perfect strangers. The kid cut the suit and he pulled his arm out. There was a tear in the suit over his hip, and Marcus slipped the blade underneath and cut it up to Kyler's side. "There's a stick in your side, man. It's bleeding a lot. Are you shy?" Kyler lifted his leg as Marcus slid the suit down and off. He felt a little light headed as her pulled his shorts out of the pack. His cell phone fell out and he picked it up. "I gotta call in and get some help." He pushed the button that would auto dial Vegas and handed the shorts to the kid. "Help me get some pressure on it." Marcus nodded and motioned Rainee over. "Hold this on his hip." He put his brother's hand over the wad of gauze and carefully slid a large sliver out of Kyler's skin. Kyler swooned against the wall and pulled himself up. The pain ripped through his leg and ass. He listened as the operator answered his call. "Thank you for calling The Temple of the Sun Resort Casino." A lady's voice said. "Jaguar for the Mayan King." Kyler mumbled. "Hurry, please." He heard the phone click like a transfer and Marcus stood up and looked at him. "You're face is white." He taped the bandage over Kyler's hip. "The one in your side is bleeding bad." Kyler felt himself getting dizzy. He handed the cell phone to Marcus. "Tell him Kyler said Lance is the leak and he has Tyler. He'll give you money when he gets here." He tried to sit down on the bucket and fell on Rainee. "Ah, god." His eyes fluttered and closed. Carlos stood up from his bed and grabbed his robe. He carefully closed the door so as not to wake his wife, and went down the hall. One of his most trusted guards, Danny Campos, looked up from his paper as Carlos walked into the kitchen. "You're up early." "I need the Army. Get me Ramos and Steve." Carlos poured a cup of coffee and went out onto the deck. Campos followed taking out his cell phone. Carlos spun and nearly knocked him down. "I want this out through channels, too. A hundred thousand dollars for Lance's head." "Lance?" Danny looked up in surprise. "Our Lance?" "Get Brian up and tell him to be at the airport in an hour." Carlos stalked back towards the house. "I want ten men ready to go by then." When Kyler opened his eyes it was light outside and he was lying on the twin's makeshift bed. One of them was curled up next to him, and he blinked several times, trying to figure out why. He tried to breathe in deeply, and a sharp jolt went through his side. "Your friends are coming." Marcus sat near the door with Kyler's gun in his lap. "You got really cold, so we took turns trying to warm you up." He shrugged. "Hope you don't mind." "You're still cold." Rainee said and sat up to look down at him sleepily. He put his hand on Kyler's bare chest and rubbed it. "Really cold." Kyler was not unaware of the unreal nature of the situation and smiled as he closed his eyes. Rainee moved against his right side and he could tell the kid didn't have any clothes on. "What's funny?" Marcus asked as he came over near the bed. "Rescued by gay twin runaways. Tyler will love this." He chuckled. He put his arm around Rainee and weakly hugged him. "You guys are the best." Rainee responded by snuggling up against him. "Marc, there's money in my wallet if you guys want some food." He drifted off again. The next time he opened his eyes he was staring at a white ceiling and a fluorescent light. His mouth was dry and his head was pounding. He tried to move but the effort was more than he could put out. He heard someone coming up to him and Brian's face was suddenly in his view. "Hiya, Sunshine!" He leaned over and flashed a light in each of Kyler's eyes. "You are one lucky little shit, do you know that?" He put his stethoscope in his ears and held it to Kyler's chest. "We almost lost you." "What happened?" Kyler mumbled and managed lift his hand and put it on Brian's arm. "Where's Tyler? Where's Marc and Rainee?" "Is that the twins?" Brian asked and chuckled. He deliberately avoided the question about Tyler. "Those ferocious little shits wouldn't let anyone near you until Carlos got there. He talked to them on the phone, I guess, and told them to keep you alive. They kept three of Carlos' men out of that ramshackle shed for two hours with your gun until he got there himself." "Carlos is here?" Kyler whispered. Brian was checking his bandages and he winced and felt himself getting dizzy again. "He took the cubs to the store. He said he'd be by a little later." Brian picked up a syringe and injected it into Kyler's arm. "The cubs?" Kyler felt slightly nauseated from the shot. "They decided that they were the Jaguar's cubs when they heard the story about the Jaguar taking on the giant in Vegas." Brian laughed and pulled the blanket up around Kyler's shoulders. "I think you have some new bodyguards. You need to sleep. You nearly bled to death, Kyler. We need to get your strength up so you can fly home." "Did Carlos get my computer?" Kyler tried to sit up. "Was it there?" Brian eased him back down. "He got it. Now chill, okay?" Kyler rested his head back and his mind swirled as the drugs hit. He faded out to the sound of Brian inflating a blood pressure cuff. Steve and Berto sat in the hospital's coffee shop and watched as the cubs devoured a couple of huge subs and chips. Berto shook his head in amazement. "God damn, for little guys you can pack it away, you know that?" "Little?" Steve chuckled and picked up his can of soda. "I think you're a whole half an inch taller than they are." The twins laughed and Steve held his hand up for a high five. "There you go, smart ass. Teach 'em to dis on me." Berto did his perfect homey routine for them, eliciting stares from some of the other customers. "I don't mind. I'm used to your ghetto bullshit." "You guys are funny as hell." Rainee laughed and set his sandwich down. He ran his hand trough his freshly cut shoulder length hair and grinned. "You should be on HBO or something." He was now wearing new clothes, compliments of Carlos, and was clean for the first time in a week. Marcus had opted for a much shorter cut, spiked and bleached pale blond with dark roots. "When can we go up and see Kyler?" He asked. "Soon as Carlos gets done. Should be anytime now." Steve put their trash on the tray and carried it to the garbage. "We can go up to the floor he's on, I guess." "Might as well. Save us some time." Berto stood up and pointed to the doors. "Come on, guys. We can get him a magazine." Carlos stood and looked out the window at the rain. His strong square features were blanched by the light reflected from outside. He had his hands in his pockets. He turned around and looked Kyler in the eye. "You did what I needed done, and now you go home and heal up. I understand how you feel about Tyler, but I'm not asking either." "Carlos, please." Kyler leaned against the raised mattress. "I have to help find him. I have to." He closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. "How?" Carlos asked gently. "Look at you. You can't even get out of bed without help." He put his hand on Kyler's arm. "I've known Tyler a lot longer than you, and I guarantee I will do what ever I have to do to get him back. You can help me by showing some responsibility for yourself and going home to heal up." Defeated, Kyler nodded. He thought for a moment and made a decision. "Will you do me a favor?" Carlos nodded. "Name it, Jaguar." Carlos smiled reassuringly. "I want to take the twins with me. They're homeless, and I owe them." Kyler waited for the laugh or grunt or whatever negative response was coming. Carlos sighed and nodded. "What's a Jaguar without his cubs, but they're your responsibility, and I don't want them to know every thing that goes on." "Thanks." Kyler let his head fall back. "Maybe they can be delivery boys or something." "They're natural warriors, Kyler. You can see it in their eyes." Carlos headed for the door. "Trying to make them work against their nature is asking for a rebellion." "So, what, we turn them into assassins?" Kyler smirked. "If that's what they want." Carlos stopped and regarded him closely. "The point is that they will let us know. I knew you were a warrior even when you doubted it. Tyler saw it, too." "I'm no warrior." Kyler looked at his hands. "Sure you are." Carlos grinned and waved. "I'll send in the cubs." Kyler waved back and looked out the window. Some warrior. Let his partner get captured, was brought down by a super toothpick, and adopted two street kids. Obvious contender for warrior status. The door opened slowly and one of the twins peaked around it. They both had had long stringy hair the last time he'd seen them, and now the one he could see had spiked bleached hair. Kyler smiled and waved him in. Right behind was the other with his brown haircut to one length, hanging to his shoulders and tucked behind his ear. "You two look great." Kyler held his hands out and they each took one on opposite sides of the bed. "Nice threads." "Steve said it was a good idea so people could tell us apart." Marcus said, lightly touching his spikes. Kyler was pleased to see that he could actually tell them apart with or without the haircuts. "It looks good, Marc." He reached out and took the kid's hand. "I owe you guys big time." He looked at Rainee and took his hand, too. "I want you to think about something, okay? I want you to come back to Vegas with me." They looked at each other, and it was hard to read their expressions. "You want us to come with you?" Marcus asked. "You mean to stay?" Kyler nodded, and he looked at his brother. "Why?" Rainee asked. His face suddenly looked haunted again. "Because I want you guys to stay with me and not live on the street anymore. I want you to stay with me because we have a lot in common, and because I can help." Kyler slowly pulled him closer. "What's the matter, Rainee? Don't you want to live in Vegas?" "Yeah, but it's kind of scary, you know?" Rainee hugged Kyler's neck. "Fuck that." Marcus grinned and hugged him, too. "I'm damn sure going." Tyler sat with his legs crossed in the middle of the bed in his room and studied the pine trees and rocks that covered the steep mountains west of the house he was imprisoned in. He wasn't certain where he was, but figured it was in the Rockies somewhere. Aside from a couple of interviews when he'd first arrived he hadn't seen anyone other than the guards in almost three weeks. His meals were brought in three time a day, and he was taken to a small but well equipped weight room in the building every other day. The remaining time was spent reading books from the small library or watching TV. He gave up on escape for the time being because of the number of guards. There were over a dozen that he knew of, and that didn't include the ones he saw from time to time in the woods. So far he'd been treated okay, which is to say totally ignored except when was moving from one room to the other. Tyler hadn't seen Lance since the night he and Kyler got caught. He had no idea if they'd killed Kyler or not, and he had no idea if Carlos had the records that had nearly gotten him killed. Thinking of Lance made him sick to his stomach, and he worried about his son. Kyler blinked awake in the early morning sun and tried to rollover. Something was behind him, and his forehead bunched up in confusion. He pulled on the covers and felt warm skin against his back. It startled him and he jerked onto his back and came face to face with Rainee's sleeping form. Behind Rainee was Marcus, also asleep. He groaned and rubbed his face, wondering if he would spend the rest of his life sleeping with the twins. Every night they went to their own room, and every night he went to his. Three out of four mornings he woke up with them in bed with him. Kyler had slept in the nude since he was thirteen, and had stopped wearing underwear all together at the same time. Their invasion of his bed had made him think about wearing boxers to sleep in, but he dismissed it. They never did, and if they were bothered they could stay in their own damn bed. He carefully slid out of bed and shuffled to the bathroom for his morning routine. Since returning to Las Vegas he'd been staying at the Temple of the Sun hotel in one of eight apartments on the second to the top floor. Carlos had insisted that for his own safety he needed to be where the guards could watch him, and he had hesitantly agreed. The apartment was a circular living room and dining room, a small kitchen, and two bedrooms and a small study. He took the master bedroom and put the twins across the living room in the other room, not that it had mattered since they only stayed in it long enough to have sex. That wasn't fair, and he felt a twinge of guilt as he climbed into the shower. The twins were extremely close to each other, and it made him miss Tyler even more. He washed himself, carefully washing the scar where Brian had removed the shard of wood from his left side. It still hurt when he moved wrong, but it was getting to the point that he could ignore it. He turned of the water and grabbed a towel, mentally laying out the day as he dried. He was meeting again with an older man by the name of Morgan Larsen, a long time friend of the Rivera's. Carlos had decided that because of his analytical skills that Kyler would be more useful working with the finance department. He thought it was going to be a crashing pain in the ass, but a week after starting he found that it was a challenge, and that Morgan's irreverent sense of humor and unique views on life were stimulating. The days went by quickly, and he usually had lunch with Morgan, Carlos, and Brian. Afternoons and evenings were spent taking the twins to see all of the entertainment available only in Las Vegas, and he firmly believed they'd hit every roller coaster in town. The twins had an insatiable appetite for thrills and excitement, fitting in perfectly with Carlos' devil may care attitude. Truth be told, Carlos was beyond indulgent with 'his cubs'. Anything they asked for was immediately delivered, including daily fighting lessons, shooting lessons, and driving lessons. At some point Kyler had become some sort of quasi parent or older brother for them, and occasionally ended up being the bad guy when the seventeen year olds went over the top. Kyler spiked his hair back and shaved, brushed his teeth, and turned out the light as he went back into his bedroom and passed Rainee in the doorway. One thing, the only thing the two of them had ever complained about was that people occasionally treated them like children. Despite being almost eighteen, both of them had baby faces, and with their height of about 5'5", they looked much younger, The kid bumped into him on the way to use the toilet and mumbled something along the lines of good morning. Kyler chuckled and went to his dresser. Marcus had apparently gone to the other bathroom since the bed was now empty. He pulled on silk slacks and a silk polo shirt and topped of the look with Italian sandals. Morgan Larsen always wore a suit and tie, and Kyler liked to dress in more than shorts when he was around him. He heard the shower start as he left the room and went to the kitchen for coffee. Marcus was wrapped in a towel and sitting at the counter eating a bowl of cereal. "Good morning, kiddo." Kyler patted his shoulder as he passed. "What do you evil little shits have planned today?" "Campos is taking us shooting after tae kwon do. Are you coming?" Marcus asked. "No can do, Marc. Sorry." Kyler poured his coffee and sipped at it. "I'm tied up until about three, but I'll be done in plenty of time to go see Spiderman." He'd promised them he'd take them and wasn't going to disappoint them. "If you guys need me I'll have my cell on." "Cool." Marcus finished his breakfast and put the bowl in the dishwasher. "Are you leaving soon?" Kyler nodded and the kid wrapped his arms around Kyler's ribs. "Don't forget to say goodbye to Rainee. He gets upset." "I promise." Kyler hugged him and watched him go into their room. It amazed him how different their personalities were despite being twins. Marcus was assertive, almost aggressive, and Rainee was logical and thoughtful. They were equally ferocious and competitive when it came to marshal arts and shooting, demonstrating teamwork that bordered on psychic. He finished his coffee and looked up to see Rainee come out of his room with a towel around his waist. Rainee was not a morning person, and it usually took him a half an hour or so to wake up. Kyler poured him a bowl of cereal and waited for him to start on it. "You in there, sunshine?" Kyler asked, careful not to sound condescending. Rainee smiled slightly and nodded, and Kyler came around the counter and hugged him from behind. "I'm going to be in the conference room all day. If you get sick of being thrown down get cleaned up and come down if you want, okay?" Rainee nodded and Kyler kissed his temple. "Don't forget Spiderman tonight." "Bye." Rainee said his first intelligible word for the day and waved a little. Kyler got hit computer case from the couch and headed for the elevator. The conference room was on the second floor and over looked the gardens in front of the hotel. A huge oak table sat in the middle of the room and was surrounded by high backed leather chairs. He walked in and set his case on the table and headed to the bar for coffee. "Good morning, young man." Morgan entered right behind him and set his own briefcase on the table and came over for a cup. "I stopped and picked up today's downloads." "Thanks." Kyler held out a cup of coffee to the older man. "I asked Carlos last night to stop in for lunch. When I told him the invitation was from you he said he'd be here." "Well done." Morgan chuckled and went to the table to sit down. "Today I want you to take the family accounts. They're categorized with an AR in front of the transaction code." He handed a CD to Kyler and pulled out a stack of computer printouts. "We're going to see what you've learned. I won't tell you what to do today, and if you need a question answered just let me know." "Sounds good." Kyler smiled and sat down. It took only a few minutes to set up the computer, and before long he was deeply engrossed in his work, adding comments or directions as he checked the movement of money either in or out of the family accounts. The morning passed quickly, and he was almost done when he came across an account that was x'ed out and had a wrong password entered. "Morgan, someone used your name as a password but look, it was the wrong password." "Whose account is it?" Morgan stood up to come around the table. "I can't tell, the information is blocked." Kyler typed rapidly and tried to peel away the layers of security over the account using his administrative password. Morgan looked over his shoulder at the account and watched him work. "What is that five digit number at the end of the password?" Morgan asked. "That password isn't even formatted correctly." Kyler plugged his computer into the network and started a search on the number. Morgan typed in a password and the account number finally revealed it self. "That's one of Tyler's accounts. It's an off shore account that shouldn't have been accessed like this. It usually bleeds into his account here." "So who would try to get in it?" Kyler checked the connection speed and watched as the computer looked for any references to the number. "The only three people that ever called me Uncle Morgan were Carlos, his sister Megan, and Tyler." Morgan looked carefully at the password again and rubbed his chin. "Can you access the internet from here?" "Sure." Kyler brought up the browser. "What am I looking for?" "Just type that number into on of the search engine." Kyler did and ran it. Immediately a result came back, and he glanced over at Morgan. "It's a zip code in Wyoming. Somewhere near a place called Cody." "My God. Call Carlos and get him down here!" Morgan leaned across the table. Kyler felt his scalp tighten and his stomach knot up. "You think it's a message from Tyler?" "Can you think of another explanation?" The last two days had not been the greatest for Tyler. He sat in his room holding a Ziploc bag full of ice on his left eye and cradled his bruised ribs. Lance had returned the night before last with a man named Dobbsen, and as expected they wanted him so sign over control of Angelique's money. At first he'd seen it as a lucky break and had asked for access to a computer, leading them on with the idea that he could get into the accounts over the internet (which was true), and turn it over to them (which was not). A phone book was sitting on the desk near the computer, and he'd deliberately entered an invalid password, one that he hoped would be noticed by Carlos' head of finance, Morgan Larsen. When the account wouldn't open for him, he told Lance that Carlos had obviously changed the passwords when he'd been taken prisoner. That was when they'd turned to alternative methods, 'convincing him to sign legal documents that would release the money. Dobbsen, a short powerful man in his early forties, had taken Tyler's 'encouragement' as a personal obsession. Lance had tried to tell him to make it easier on himself, but Tyler couldn't even meet Lance's eyes. "You know how this works. You know they'll get what they want. You don't have to die." Lance almost pleaded after his first serious beating at the hands of Mr. Dobbsen. "Look at you, Lance." Tyler felt bile in his throat as he responded. "You were number three man in a fucking empire! What the hell's the matter with you? I played hide and go seek with you for Christ Sake. Nobody else knows you like me." "You don't understand, Tyler." Lance got right in his face. "IF they don't get it from you, they will go get Angel and your son and they will hold a gun to his head and make her sign the papers giving them their money back." "Carlos will never let them take her or Rocky, you fucking moron. You know that as well as I do, and by taking me all you did was make him mad." Tyler turned away in disgust. "You're a corpse, Lance." After a few moments of silence Lance left, leaving Tyler to stir through the ashes of his life. That was yesterday. Today brought with it a new beating, and Tyler sat in the middle of his bed and tried to put coherent thoughts together. Dobbsen was a real pro, and each hit was for maximum pain and least damage. The door opened and lance leaned against the doorframe. His face was clouded and angry, and he looked at Tyler for a long time before he spoke. "The gigs up. We need to go for a walk. I want to show you something." "Finally find the balls to kill me?" Tyler mumbled. Almost in a flash Lance was across the room and holding him up by the front of his shirt. It tore from the rough handling, and Lance's eyes were deadly. "I've tried to make this easy, you selfish little prick, but you wouldn't listen." Lance half dragged / half carried him out of the room and down the hall. "Now I'm going to show you why you're going to sign those fucking papers right goddamn now or I'll kill you myself." He shoved Tyler down a short flight of stairs and dragged him over to a large window that looked out across a deck. The door was open, and the people on the deck turned to see them. One in particular broke away and ran towards Tyler with his arms wide. "Daddy!"