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Smart people, people with enough experience to know better, people with enough brains to match their brawn, know not to get between Sierra Six and his family. Everything that happaned with that fucker and his stupid mustache proved that. Someone got between him and Clair, and now that person's dead. Simple. Clean. Understandable.
Well, not clean at the time. But in the end, the lesson was clear. Don’t fuck with Six’s family.
Which is why it’s so mind boggling, so confusing, so utterly… stupid, that someone would not only take his brother. But that they would be so sloppy, that makes it clear it’s not a kidnapping. It’s bait. Ryland Grace, taken right outside his apartment. In clear view of security cameras and everything.
In the years since that little fiasco Court made the… maybe not advisable choice to find his brothers. After everything was said and done, Court had, more than anything, missed the little brothers he gave up everything for. 20 years, they had both grown, both changed, both become adults.
Colt was easy to track down. Less easy to make amends with. That boy could always hold a grudge. Stubborn and angry. But, with a little work, and an explanation of… everything Colt was willing to actually speak to him.
Ryland was a bit harder to find. Well, he would have been if Court wasn’t Sierra. But he was, so he found Ryland in a matter of hours, hiding under their mother’s maiden name. Grace. Court’s little brother had made a name for himself in a much different way than his twin. The fact that Ryland is actually more stubborn than either of his brothers is something most people don’t notice unless looking deeper. But, after the paper that ended his career, Ryland has settled himself down as a science teacher, something Court thinks is much more suited to him.
All in all, things were going well, with Court’s efforts to reconnect with his brothers. Both of them were happy to know he’s alive, and he’s happy to know they grew up good. Better than him.
They would both say he has some stalker tendencies when it comes to both of them. He would call it protective. Either way, it’s come in handy. Neither of his brothers could sneeze without him knowing, so of course he knew when Ryland had been kidnapped. Thankfully, Colt was off in Moraco, filming, safe and sound. Well, safe-ish.
It takes a matter of hours for Court to find where they are keeping Ryland. A warehouse by the docks. So common it borders on cliche. Staking out the building and putting together a plan sets him back another hour, but he can’t afford to rush this. Whatever happens, Ryland needs to get out of there safely.
Finally, Court breaches the building. There are men stationed at every door and entrance, all with loaded guns. They are all wearing quasi military gear. Some look too trigger happy to be safe for anyone.
Court cuts through them all the same. The most they are able to throw back at him is a set of broken ribs and a sprained wrist. All very manageable. He blends with the shadows before he finally gets eyes on his brother. Like he feared, he couldn’t just go in and retrieve Ryland quietly. A man stands there with a gun pressed against Ryland’s head.
Ryland is sitting in a folding chair with his hands tied behind his back, still in his ever present yellow raincoat. Aside from a black eye, there were no injuries. That wasn’t going to save anyone. His little brother was surprisingly relaxed. Sometimes Ryland has responses to things that would make a normal person shudder. Most likely he was calm because he knew Court was coming for him.
There are guards stationed on the catwalk above them and no clear way to get to them without putting Ryland in more danger. Maybe I should go up to the catwalk first? Court runs through a few possibilities, all with a unique set of risks.
“I know you’re here.” The man holding the gun to Ryland’s head calls out. “The guards outside haven’t responded. You kill them?” The most concerning part, aside from the gun pointed at his brother, was the fact that he had no idea what these people wanted. He doesn’t know who they are or where they came from. “Come out, now.”
Huffing almost silently, Court straightens out from where he’d been crouched and comes out of the shadows, gun pointed at the man’s head. “You got me here, what do you want?” He snarls.
The man’s eyes widen, roving his face, then the shadows behind him. “Who the fuck are you?”
Ryland’s face is a mix of relief and happiness, and… is that dread? “You know who I am, what do you want?” Whatever kind of strategy this is, Court’s never encountered it before.
“No, seriously, who the fuck are you?” The guy asks again.
Court sees Ryland getting more and more nervous. Whatever, they want to play games and I don’t have time for that. “Let my brother go, and maybe you can walk away from this.” That’s a damn lie. No one is leaving this damn building alive.
“‘Brother’?” The guy mumbles to himself, quickly sparing a glance at Ryland then looking back at Court. “Oh, I can see it.”
What the fuck kind of game is he playing?
“You - ” Court’s threat is cut off when one of the watch men falls from the cat walk, cracking his neck on the ground. Court sees a bullet wound in his chest. The other watch men are on high alert, but whoever is shooting is from the shadows. The other three go down in rapid succession, crumpling from bullets expertly placed in their chests.
The man with the gun tenses in anticipation, excitement and fear radiating off him. “That you, Butcher?”
A deep voice comes from the shadows. “Maybe. You wanna find out?”
This must be who they’re waiting for, but what does Ryland have to do with any of it? Ryland looks even more relieved hearing this voice than seeing his own brother’s face. His lips twitch, fighting down a half smile. Court glares into the shadows, but doesn’t take his aim from the man with the gun.
“Come out, let’s talk about this.” Guy says. “He doesn’t have to get hurt.”
“It was a mistake.” The voice responds, throwing itself all over the vast warehouse. “You must know what happenes to people who fuck with me. You don’t need to die, Caz, just let him go. Let him go and I will let you run back to the COI and tell them what happened here.”
Caz growled and pressed the muzzle of the gun harder into Ryland’s head. “How ‘bout you come out here before I blow a hole in his pretty face!?”
Court is debating taking the shot when a figure steps out of the shadows. They have a human shield, a struggling guard pinned to their chest with a knife twisted to enter the guard’s jugular at any moment. The person in the shadows is revealed to be a man with longer, wavy, black hair pulled into a small ponytail. His clothes are scraggly and Court can make out a jagged scar on his left that stretches from the edge of his mouth to right under his ear, making a half glasgow. In one hand is a knife, in the other is a gun pointed at Caz. The hand holding the gun is a metallic chrome substance with specs of gold details in the joints and ridges.
“This is a mistake.” He says. His dark eyes bore into Caz, making the man tense even more. “You don’t need to be living to send the message to the COI not to fuck with me. Your mangled corpse can do the same.”
“Where’s the black box?” Caz asks instead of responding to the threat.
“Gone, destroyed.” He responds.
“We had a deal, Butcher.” Caz snarls.
“I had a deal with Ava.” Butcher says. “The black box is gone. I never even saw the information on it. The intel is gone. It’s over.”
The two men appear to be in a stand off. Caz is still holding the gun tightly to Ryland’s head, but it appears now that his mark is here, he’s completely forgotten about the variable Court has presented. It’s clear the Butcher hasn’t forgotten about Court, angling his meat shield so Court can’t get a clear shot on him either.
He adjusts his footing slightly, and takes aim. One perfect shot through Caz’s head knocks him to the ground. At the sound of the gun shot, the Butcher slices his shield's neck open and they both run towards Ryland, who looks like he’d rather be anywhere else, but not for the reasons he should.
They are both within a few feet of Ryland and almost in sync Court and the Butcher stop short and point their guns at each other. “Who are you?” Court snaps.
“Who are you?” They appear to be gearing up for another stand off, then Ryland says, “He’s my brother.”
The Butcher’s eyes flash towards Ryland for a moment. “Yeah, I see the resemblance.”
“Great, take your gun out of his face.” Ryland demands.
His brother has always been stubborn, but Court always counted on Ryland to be the smarter of the two twins. Turns out he’s as stupid as Colt. “Ryland, shut up, don’t talk back to gun men.”
Ryland completely ignores his brother’s warning, staring hard at the Butcher. “Don’t shoot my brother. Put the gun down.”
“Him first.” The man responds.
Ryland sighs, but does turn his head to Court, “Ehem?”
“Are you fucking serious?” Court hisses, gun still pointed at the man.
“Very serious.” Ryland says. Court isn’t looking at him, but he can feel his little brother’s glare drilling into the side of his head. At Court’s continued hesitation, Ryland says, “I promise. It’s okay. Don’t shoot each other, please.”
It sounds almost like he’s saying it to both of them. The Butcher is lowering his gun even before Court does. Slowly, with plenty of time to shoot, they both holster their guns. Before Court can blink, the man rounds Ryland’s chair and crouches down to cut his bounds. The ropes slip away and Ryland bounces up, shaking out his limbs.
“Are you hurt?” “Are you hurt?” They both blurt at the same time, turning to glare at each other then turning back to Ryland at the same time.
“Other than a black eye? No.” Rylands says casually.
“Did they ask you about the black box, or Ava?” The Butcher asks.
“At first, but I think I was just bait, they didn’t think I knew anything.” Ryland responds.
“Good.” He says, “Get a look at any other faces?”
“No, other than Caz here and a couple of muscle guys, no.” Ryland says, way too casual for having been kidnapped. Court’s hand is itching to pull out his gun again. Ryland seems to sense it because he was over at Court’s side, hindering him from reaching for any weapons in moments. “This is definitely not how I wanted you guys to meet. I was planning a dinner for when Colt got back. Or, you know, never.”
“I voted never.” The Butcher says.
“I know, that’s why I don’t count your vote.” Ryland says easily. The Butcher’s lips twitch and his eyes soften. “This is my big brother, Courtland. We’ve talked about him before.”
The Butcher softly nods and sheaths his knife. He reaches out with his prosthetic hand. Court belatedly realizes he’s waiting for a hand shake. Normally he wouldn’t bother, but his brother’s big expectant eyes push him to reach out and shake the man’s hand.
“Court, this is Simon.” Ryland flutters over to the Butcher’s side, wrapping his slightly taller frame around the man’s broad shoulders. “We’re dating.”