A band. A motherfucking band. Dan just sat there, staring at the guys as they looked back at him.

“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me,” he finally found his voice and glared at Matthew. The former T-One just blinked back at him, a lazy gesture. Dan groaned, “Do you realise how much shit you could get in for this?”

Mathew snorted, roughly, “We’re well aware of the consequences. Dan.” He looked at his friends. “We all know…especially Johnny, here…” His tone was meaningful.

Dan flinched and rubbed at his face his next statement apologetic. “That’s right. I’m sorry…no one can forget what happened to- back then.” He leaned back on the sofa he was perched on, crossing his arms.

Johnny made a small noise in the back of his throat and moved away from the group to grab his bass. Brian shook his head slowly in acknowledgement of Dan’s comment. Matthew sighed, Zacky echoing him. It was Jimmy who spoke up then.

“This came as a surprise to us, too. I mean, I thought I was crazy. But obviously Matt’s the one who’s lost a few marbles…”

Matthew snorted a laugh and shook his head. Dan rolled his eyes the ‘no shit’ obvious in his expression.

“It wasn’t ever meant to be anything but one song,” Brian murmured. “That’s all my dad was expecting.” He looked at Matthew who was looking serious again. “But, sometimes it’s not enough, right?”

“Right. What’s the point in just releasing a song recorded in a studio? We all know the technology is good enough that Papa Gates could just say he did it all himself.” Matt stood and walked over to his desk.

The six men were in the Sander’s basement. Dan’s call to Zacky had set back their plan to get over to Elijah’s because Matthew decided to take him into their confidence. He knew Dan wouldn’t talk, even if he made a show of being loyal to Jason Berry. His true loyalty had always been directed towards the former T-One. That was a no-brainer; Dan had never really gotten along with the other male. Not even when they were at school.

Matthew leaned back against the edge of the desk and looked at Dan. “I trust you.”

Dan nodded slowly, “You can be sure I won’t say shit. Not even if…” He left the sentence unfinished. Matt would know what he was referring to. Jimmy cracked it though.

“What? Not even if, what?” He leaned forward an expectant look on his face.

“Jimmy…don’t ask,” Matthew murmured running his hand through his hair; he had started to grow it out because Val had said it looked nicer, and also because he couldn’t be stuffed sticking to Creed protocol and shaving it every week. “It’s not worth worrying about.”

Jimmy scowled at him; Matthew continued to shake his head.

Dan decided to answer the elder male’s question, though knowing well enough how Jimmy could get when he got a bee in his bonnet over something.

“Torture is still used within The Creed.” He glanced at Matt as he said cautiously, “Shads knows this…there are some things we had to do…”

Matthew growled, cutting him off, “I never laid a hand on anyone.”

“No, but you must’ve ordered it sometimes?” Jimmy murmured. His friend sighed, nodding a little his expression tight. “Tough shit…”

“Yeah…” Matthew slapped his palm on the desk. “Enough. We need to go to Eli’s.” He didn’t want to talk about that anymore. It was too depressing a topic and not conducive to his state of being. He pulled his jacket on and slipped his Aviators into position as he looked across at the others.

Brian grinned and nodded to the bigger male as Dan fished his keys from his pocket and walked over to the door.

“Let’s do this,” the poet said, emphatically. His excitement was still edged with anxiety; however with all the rules they were breaking and the cost that would incur if they got caught, it was only reasonable.

The six men, Dan included, headed out the door to the large SUV parked in the driveway. It was Dan’s private ride, which he only ever used when he was home. He’d had the strange urge to get it out to give it a run and it was large enough to carry all six of them comfortably. Matthew slapped the panel as Dan unlocked the vehicle and motioned for them all to get in.

“Nice ride, Abell,” Zack commented. Dan just smirked as he got in the driver’s side.

“As long as it gets us to Eli’s safe and fast,” Matthew muttered as he got in the front passenger side. Jimmy grumbled something about ‘shotgun privileges’ as the others climbed in. Dan glanced sideways at his former commander, reading the tension around his eyes.

He asked in a low voice, “Worried, Shads?”

Matthew’s lips twitched at the corners. “Always.”

“Well,” Dan smiled grimly as he turned the ignition, “We’d better get this right then, hey?”

* * * * *

“You do realise if you go through with this, innocent people may die?”

Elijah scoffed a rough edge to his voice at his brother’s thinly veiled threat. “You’ve already decided he’s guilty. Isn’t that the real reason you demoted him?”

“I am not referring to him.”

“No, of course not.” Elijah grimaced as he glowered at his computer monitor. “You’re referring to his friends. One really shitty mechanic…a frustrated poet, a practically harmless renegade, and a young man who’s already been through the wringer.” He grunted, adding, “Not that you give a shit about their lives.”

The former Assassin frontman had not been surprised by the General’s supposedly unexpected call. Nor was he meant to be. Their rendezvous were always carefully planned, calculated for risk. No one outside a small circle of people, which now included Matthew and his friends, knew that Elijah was alive, and for Eskino it was extra important to be vigilant about when, where and how they met. At the moment, video-link was the safest option because the General could disguise it as an official call and no one would ever think anything was amiss.

Their calls were usually brief and about the banalities of normal life. Elijah sensed that his brother felt that he owed him that much since he’d single-handedly prevented his execution. However he hadn’t felt any real gratitude until now. Bit hard to feel thankful for one’s life when all one’s friends were deceased.

It were as if his brother had read his mind because the General said in exasperation, “For God’s sake, Eli. This isn’t like back then. I only managed to save you because I begged and promised you were no threat. I mean…it’s not like you were trained for the service.”

Eskino’s voice held a vulnerability that no one in public ever heard. But, Elijah heard it, loud and clear even through his old static-filled speakers. He wasn’t in his main office he was in a small concealed room that none but he was allowed to access. Even Melissa was not permitted in there. This was his private space and the only place where the General of the Creed could contact him freely without threat of detection. Hence the outdated equipment.

Elijah sighed, “So, that’s the problem. It’s because he is which means saving him is beyond your means?”

“Or his friends.” The General’s voice was weary as if he held the weight of the whole world on his shoulders. “The Mayor would never allow it.”

Elijah leaned his elbows against the rickety old desk which had been in their family for years. The wood creaked as he gazed at the grim expression on his brother’s face.

“Elliott seems so…”

“Harmless?” Eskino laughed coldly. “Don’t be fooled by him. He’s the main reason the Creed still exists. That Senator was an ancestor of his.”

“Damn it, Peter…all the more reason for this to go ahead.” There was silence after his statement. It stretched for an interminable time where he sat fiddling with a pen while the General shifted his considerable weight in his chair the squeaking sound reaching Eli’s ears.

Finally after time crawled passed Eskino said, finality to his tone, “I can’t deal with this, Eli. Do whatever you think is right, just know,” he paused to clear his throat then continued in a hard voice, “Just know I cannot support you in this.”

Elijah growled reaching forward to hit the escape button on his keyboard but not before snapping angrily, “Then don’t. Just do your damned job.”

The wounded expression on his brother’s face registered but not soon enough for him to change his mind about ending the call. He had to process the conversation and he knew he didn’t really have time for that especially when Melissa started to page him on his phone. He hit the escape button just as his brother was trying to tell him something, or make some final admonishment. Elijah wasn’t interested in hearing it. He cut the connection and pulled the plug on the old computer before getting up and stalking out of the room almost running into Melissa who was coming down the corridor. Looking for him no doubt.

“Sir, they’re here.” She didn’t seem too fazed by his confused state. Then again he was often like that after his discussions with his brother. He was always conflicted. On the one hand hewas grateful he still lived and that Eskino was instrumental in that, but on the other, he was resentful of the hold his brother had over the people of New Huntington. They feared him, feared the Creed, and that did not sit well with Elijah, particularly because he knew that wasn’t what his brother was really about. He shook himself as he cast those thoughts aside and smiled at his assistant.

“Thank you, better get to work, hey?” With those words the two of them fell in a comfortable silence as they headed for the studio.

* * * * * *

Jason looked up and blinked as he registered the ponderous form of his superior officer leaning against the doorframe to his office. General Eskino looked anxious, which lately had been the norm, though it hadn’t been as obvious before.

“Sir?” Jason stood to salute him. Eskino waved him back to his seat and came over to ease himself down in the chair in front of the desk.

“Just came to have a chat.”

Jason blinked. General Eskino did not have ‘chats’ with his soldiers. Not even the commanding officers. Something had to be wrong. He waited, though, for the General to speak first.

Eskino looked hard at his new T-One then finally said, “Tell me about your friendship with Matthew.”

Jason blinked again. Hadn’t they already done that? But then it dawned on him; he’d only really asked about the whole temper thing, nothing more. He didn’t know where to start, though. How was he supposed to explain the years when they first became friends? It was so raw now, especially now that his brother was dead, by Matthew’s hand no less. Eskino obviously sensed his reticence because he spoke up again, his voice softer than was the norm.

“How about you tell me what you were feeling after he carried out your brother’s execution?”

Jason gave a light snort. That was definitely the right question to ask, wasn’t it? But, wasn’t that what the shrink had been asking him this past month. He hadn’t told him, so why would he tell Eskino?

“I don’t…” He shook his head. “Betrayed?”

“Are you asking me?” Eskino enquired mildly. Jason rubbed at his temples; he wouldn’t normally answer such a loaded question. However, nothing seemed normal right now, especially this ‘chat’ with the General.

He sighed, a heavy sound. “No. That’s how it is.”

“You do realise, I ordered him to do it.” Eskino grimaced. “It wasn’t an easy decision for me to make. But, it was necessary, due to the circumstances.”

Jason shot him a look of confusion. “Sir?”

“That’s what I really came to speak to you about.”

Jason nodded slowly as he thought to himself that he knew that this was not just some random ‘chat’. The General always had a reason for everything he did or said. He sat back and indicated with a nod that he was listening.

Eskino cleared his throat gruffly, “This is becoming too personal an issue for me. So, I’m transferring all responsibility of this particular case to you.”

“Pardon?” Jason stared at his commander wondering whether he’d heard correctly. He couldn’t have, it was too unexpected, too…weird. But he had to put voice to it, just in case he wasn’t hearing things. “You’re putting me directly in charge?”

“Yes. I can’t trust myself to not be biased.”

The General narrowed his gaze, as he observed the warring emotions on the young man’s face. Jason was evidently shocked by his statement. It would indeed seem out of the blue for the young T-One. The General never spoke of his personal issues with the job he did. Just as Shadows kept his emotions locked tight inside, he did the same. They were in fact very similar in that regard. And then the fact that he would admit that it was too personal. Jason didn’t quite understand that statement, but he wasn’t one to question the General’s reasons.

Eskino said softly, “This doesn’t leave this room, Commander. Officially I’m taking leave as I’m long due for a holiday. But…unofficially…”

Jason swallowed hard, finishing his superior’s thought for him. “You’re taking yourself out of the mix.”

Eskino nodded and looked across the desk to a framed picture on the wall. It was a photo of the Command team, several years old because Shadows was there in peak form as TaskerOne. His gaze in the official photo was stern, implacable and held a resolve that intimidated a lot of people. And the thing was Eskino still knew the former T-One was a force to reckon with. Still, he figured if anyone could confront him it would be Jason Berry, Shadows’ former 2IC.

He sighed, returning his gaze to his new T-One. This would be a big test for him, to take complete control of an assignment. Especially one that was so loaded. After all it wasn’t only personal to him; it would be for Jason as well. However, he felt that the fact that betrayal cut deep he wouldn’t have to worry about the younger male’s ability to do his job. Unlike Matthew, Jason was calm, controlled in everything he did. He didn’t have to deal with a hot temper.

“So, Berry…that’s me done here. You know what you have to do.”

Jason rose and saluted again as the General stood and exited the office the door clicking softly shut behind him.