Johnny sat in the back of the SUV, silent as ever, but he had a death grip on the wrapped object that lay across his lap.

When Matt Berry had taken them down to the lowest level of the Locker, when he had brought out the bass, when he had placed it into the younger man’s hands... Johnny couldn’t explain the emotion that had overcome him. It had been overwhelming, too much to even try thinking on. Thankfully, Matthew and Zacky had made no comment, hadn’t tried to say anything to him. It was evident that that hadn’t been the point of the exercise. They weren’t there to badger him to open up or anything. Of course, it wasn’t obvious what the point was at all. Matthew was still not forthcoming with an explanation.

The big man sat in the driver’s seat, a grim quiet settling around him. His covered stare was fixed on the road, concentrating on their next destination.

The Seward’s lived at the east edge of town, had done so ever since they moved there from Long Beach, long before Johnny was born. Frank Seward was a salesman of the old school. However, he had settled down after Janet had had their first son, Luke. He’d switched to cars and had been in the business ever since. He was in fact very close friends with Zack’s family. Or had been up until Luke’s death.

Everything changed after that. The Seward’s stopped socialising, and holed themselves up in their single-storey bungalow. At one stage there were even rumours of them having left town, and then returned under covert circumstances. Or at least, without letting anyone know they’d come back. Or left.

None of that mattered now, though. All Matthew was worried about was how they would respond to having him show up at their doorstep with their younger child. He’d rehearsed, in his head, what he wanted to say, over and over again, but it still didn’t sound right. How could he really explain to them what was going on? Considering he’d killed their eldest he felt that they probably would resent him, and maybe even make accusations of him. Which in hindsight he most definitely deserved.

Despite the fact what he had done was a requirement of the law, he knew those closest to Luke would see it as an unnecessary act. Almost criminal, in a sense. Basic human rights came into play here, the most fundamental being one’s right to live. However, the law was the law, and breaking it incurred certain penalties.

Glancing in the rear-view mirror, Matthew could see Johnny, sitting with his head down, hands gripping the covered bass. Seeing the younger male’s expression when Berry had revealed the instrument had almost been worth the anxiety he was still feeling. Johnny’s eyes had lit up for a moment, some life coming back to them. He’d grabbed hold of the bass, clutching it to his chest and hadn’t let go of it the whole way back out of the Locker. The look in his eyes at that second was enough to let Matthew know he’d made the right decision. And that was at least some kind of relief.

He shifted his gaze back to the road, but not before noting Zacky who was sat next to him, leaning up against the window, staring out at the passing scenery. The mechanic was still angry but was doing a great job of not letting it show. His face was calm, flat, revealing nothing. The corners of his mouth were turned down a little though, and every now and again he would absently suck at the piercings on his lower lip.

It bothered Matthew a lot that his friend was mad at him. Even though he wasn’t one to admit such things. He just hoped that he’d eventually be able to fix things between them. However, he had to worry about Johnny first and foremost.

Focusing his gaze on the road, he saw the sign for the turn off heading to the Eastern Quarter looming ahead. Squeezing at the steering wheel, he hit the indicator and muttered a soft curse, before swinging onto the road.

“Problem?” Zacky’s voice broke the heavy silence that had filled the cabin.

Matthew didn’t remove his eyes from the bitumen as he answered, “None at all.”

“Really?” That incredulous air that the mechanic had sported the whole morning was still evident in his voice.

“Yeah, really.”

“Bull.”

Matthew shot a hard look his friend’s way. “Well, if you’re such an expert on all this. Please, feel free to enlighten me.”

“You need to loosen up,” Zacky said, his tone sharp. “It’s not gonna help Johnny relax any, if you don’t.”

Matthew sighed. It wasn’t as if he disagreed, he was just too worried. Shaking his head, he muttered, “None of this is easy, Zack. I’m just…” He paused, glancing sideways at his friend.

“You just?” Zacky prompted his voice still tight.

Matt shook his head.

The two men went silent for a moment, as if waiting for something. Matthew kept driving, gaze returning to the road, watching as street signs flashed passed. There were hardly any other cars on the road; the place could almost be taken for a ghost town if one didn’t know the area very well.

The Eastern Quarter was sparsely populated and no one ever really went there. It wasn’t a ‘tourist spot’, that was for sure. Very few people lived down there and, since The Creed had no centres in that part of town, Matthew never had any reason to go down there. Also, considering the numbers of residents were low, there were hardly any issues of concern going on in that part of town.

“Matt?” Zacky finally broke the silence, though his voice was notably softer than earlier.

Matthew flicked his eyes sideways, a sign that he was paying attention. “Yeah?”

“You were gonna say?”

“I haven’t spoken to Mr and Mrs Seward for six years, Zack. And I don’t know how the hell this is going to turn out.” He hated the fact that he sounded uncertain. But, it was obvious, he knew because of the look on his friend’s face. Zacky looked anxious, and that emotion was directed at Matthew, and they both knew it.

“You’re worried. You’re actually worried.”

“Yes. I am.”

Matthew decided he’d said enough, because he hit the stereo button, and the loud obnoxious voice of the state’s most notorious political commentator filled the cabin of the SUV.

“…says that Haner will probably nominate the election dates which will most likely cause the Mayor to lose face amongst the people because no one gives a rats about what he thinks anyway. And that’s the state of affairs as of yesterday’s private cabinet debate…”

Matt grimaced, muttering, “What the hell, Coop?” and changed the channel, some Mozart or Beethoven, he could never tell the difference, drowning out the other sounds in the vehicle. Johnny had fallen asleep in the back seat and was snoring softly; Zacky snorted at his friend’s inability to hold down a conversation and was sulking.

Matthew turned up the radio, the dulcet tones of a saxophone softening the atmosphere and almost lulling him into a sense of peace and security. There was an ominous undertone, though, which made him wary of the feeling. He knew it couldn’t last, whatever happened from now on. Things were going to get complicated, but if anyone could handle it…it was him. He was TaskerOne after all. And that had to amount to something.

Sighing, Matt locked his eyes on the horizon and kept driving.

* * * * *

Gravel crunched beneath the wheels of the SUV, alerting the large guard dog that was lying at the end of a ten foot long chain on the front lawn of the Seward’s residence. It lifted its head, but made no move to respond. Just stared at the three men who climbed out of the vehicle. Matthew was first, readjusting his leather jacket and sliding his shades from his face, hooking it on the neck of his tank top. Zacky got out next, shoving his hands into his pockets as he looked across to the house. Then Johnny shuffled out, sans instrument his arms folded tight over his chest.

The dog reacted then. Its head came up more as it took a big sniff of air; then it shot to its feet and dashed toward Johnny, the chain bringing it just short of the young man. Its body started waggling and it whined loudly.

“Looks like Buddy still remembers you,” Zacky mumbled. The dog had been Luke’s. He’d bought it not long before everything went down. It had been a tiny puppy then, could fit in the palm of one’s hand. Now it was the biggest dog in the street.

Johnny blinked hard before stepping closer and dropping to his knees in front of the dog. It yipped then proceeded to give him a sloppy greeting. He laughed a little, wrapping his arms around the dog’s neck. It continued to lap at his face and neck, growling and barking, in turns.

“What the hell?”

Matthew and Zacky looked toward the front door. Frank was standing there, a deep scowl set on his features. They looked at each other, and then Matt approached the older man.

“Mr Seward, I’m sorry for dropping onto your doorstep like this, but…” he paused, clearing his throat roughly, while glancing back over his shoulder.

“Who is that?” Frank, following Matthew’s gaze, nodded toward Johnny.

Matthew returned his gaze to him, his own thoughts churning. Standing in front of Luke’s father made him feel like a fucking heel to be honest. But, he couldn’t think about that now. Pushing his self-deprecating thoughts aside, he focussed on answering the question.

“It’s Johnny, sir.”

There was a brief pause; then, “Johnny?” Frank’s eyes widened, and he grabbed hold of the doorframe. His features seemed to sag, and he went pale.

Johnny looked up at his father’s exclamation taking in the elder Seward’s stunned expression. Matthew and Zacky stepped back, observing the scene in silence.

“Johnny,” Frank repeated, in a low voice. He didn’t move, though. It was as if he were glued to the spot, too shocked to do anything but stare at his younger son. Johnny straightened and took several steps toward his father.

He cleared his throat several times before he said, in an equally quiet tone, “Hey, Dad…it’s me…” Which was the bleeding obvious but he had no idea what else to say.

Frank rubbed at the bridge of his nose, then at the corner of his left eye, nodding a little. “I can see that, son.” He glanced toward Matthew and Zacky, brow furrowing. “I thought he still had a long time…” He couldn’t finish the sentence, just shook his head a hint of confusion in his expression.

Matthew said in way of explanation, “The General gave me leave to hold him outside of the Astor. He wasn’t doing too well in there.”

Frank nodded, looking back at his son. “Do you have time to come in? Your mom is cooking lunch.” He looked at Matthew again. “If that’s alright with you?”

Johnny turned his head to look at the bigger man, read the tension around his eyes. “Shads?”

“Alright.” Matt lifted his shoulders slightly. “We might as well. But, sir. If we do…this will be the only time I can allow this to happen. I don’t think bringing Johnny to see you guys is really allowed.”

Zacky snorted, speaking up for the first time since they’d got there, “Yeah, you wouldn’t want to get caught doing the wrong thing. That’d be sacrilege. You never do anything against the law.”

An awkward silence came between the men, with Matthew glaring at his friend, Johnny looking pointedly at the ground and Seward senior glancing over his shoulder into the house.

After the quiet stretched on for a long time, Frank turned to the three younger men and jerked his chin back into the house.

“Come in. Have something to eat.” He looked at Johnny. “Your mom will want to see you, son.”

“Mom,” Johnny murmured in response almost sounding incredulous. As if he couldn’t believe he was about to see her.

“Yeah, she’s missed you,” Frank said, softly.

Johnny rubbed at his face, before shooting a questioning look in Matthew’s direction. The bigger man nodded toward the door, a tiny smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. He was honestly pleased for the younger man, regardless of the situation. And on the inside he was hoping fervently that this visit to Johnny’s parents would help him in the short term.

“Go ahead. We’ll be right behind you.”

Johnny shoved his hands into his pockets a nervous gesture, but he smiled weakly at his father who stepped aside giving them space to enter. Johnny and Zacky headed in, nodding to him as they did so.

Matthew was the last to walk past the elder Seward. Frank stopped him in the doorway, placing a hand on one broad shoulder.

“Matt?”

“Yeah?” Matthew cocked his head to one side, meeting the elder male’s look dead on, recognising the emotions that were evident in his face, but saying nothing to that effect, just waiting.

Frank cleared his throat several times, before he said in a gruff tone, “Thank you for this…really…thank you.” He paused allowing his eyes to drift in the direction his son had gone. “You don’t realise how much this means to me…how much this will mean to his mother…” He glanced back at the young man standing before him.

Matthew looked hard at Johnny’s father, shaking his head slowly. “No. No, I have a good idea how much it means.” He licked at his lips which had gone dry in the time he’d been standing there. He was nervous as all Hell about the whole exercise, but he had known it would have a big effect on everyone concerned. Including himself.

He smiled faintly, adding, “And, you’re welcome, sir.”

Frank nodded, releasing his shoulder, and the two men followed the others into the house both anxious to see how things would work out.