As the sun rose on another glorious Saturday morning in Orange County, a sandy haired man in his early fifties sat on the back porch of his Costa Mesa home, basking in the early morning warmth. His steel grey eyes scanned the newspaper that lay on the patio table in front of him, his heart sinking slightly as he read the story on the disappearance of a young Huntington resident, Tyler Grayson.

He knew that the kid would never be found. He should've known better than to send someone so young and naive into what could only be described as the lion's den. He'd tried his best, but it was only a matter of time before he'd have become careless and his mistakes discovered. He had no doubt met his demise at the hands of Haner. That bastard hadn't calmed down over the last couple of years. If anything, the thought of losing his life had made him even more hellbent on proving that he was not to be messed with. Sighing deeply, he closed the paper and headed back inside.

On entering his bedroom, he caught glimpse of himself in the full length mirror, stopping to take a good look at himself. His new appearance was still taking some getting used to, but it had been something of a necessity. He'd been burnt in the fire that had destroyed his home two years previous, and he'd needed to rid himself of the scars that he'd suffered in order to be able to begin his revenge on the young men who had stolen everything from him.

He had forged himself a new identity and history so that he could slip back into life in Orange County without raising any suspicions until he was absolutely ready. To most that had known him, Carlisle Drummond was dead, but there were a handful that were very much aware he was still live and well, living as Devon Whitehead. Divorced businessman and all round nice guy, according to his neighbours.

Of course, those that knew had all been working ardously ever since he'd disappeared to ensure that all that he had planned went off without a hitch. Of course, there were going to be casualties such as Tyler along the way, but it was nothing that he couldn't deal with. It was just a mere hiccup in what should otherwise be a smoothly executed plan. As Drummond turned from the mirror, the phone on the nightstand rang.

"Hello?"

"I think we have something that could make this so much more interesting."

"Really? And what would that be?"

"Cassandra is far from done with them. She's with Sanders."

Drummond listened intently as the caller informed him of what they'd witnessed the night before. Oh this really was going to prove very useful. It was the perfect weapon to use to drive a wedge straight between two men who'd been struggling between themselves to gain supremecy over the other within that gang.

"And you're absolutely sure that it's more than just platonic?"

"Yes Daddy, I know exactly what I saw."

Drummond smiled to himself. They were playing right into his hands, and they didn't even realise it.

***************

Brian didn't like conducting business at the weekends. That was his quality time with his daughter. However, something had been eating away at him for the past few days, and he needed to get it off his chest. He'd called the guys and instructed them to come over once Emily was asleep. That way, they could discuss just what was on his mind without any disturbances.

Brian had wanted to know every last detail of what had happened the night Carlisle Drummond's execution had taken place, because right now, the story he'd been told whilst he'd been in hospital just wasn't fucking adding up. There was a big loophole somewhere, and Brian was determined to get to the bottom of it.

All five of them were gathered in Brian's study, Brian sitting behind the black marble topped desk, leaning back in his chair.

"One of you bastards is hiding something from me about that night, it was a fucking clear cut plan. We all knew what room he'd be in, he had a routine that he fucking stuck to like clockwork, so what the fuck went wrong?" Brian asked in a low tone.

"As far as I was aware, Matt went in, shot the bastard, checked he was dead then torched the place. Yet, that son of a bitch is walking round and sitting in our clubs without a fucking care in the world. Now forgive me for appearing a little concerned, but those aren't the actions of a fucking dead man," he continued, his gaze falling on Matt.

"Brian, we don't know for sure it's him," Zacky stated. Brian shot him a glare.

"I know what I fucking saw Zack, I may be a little crazy, but I'm not completely fucking dilussional!"

Zacky just nodded, knowing better than to even try and argue with Brian over the point. Brian's eyes fell back on Matt, who shifted in his seat, looking less than comfortable with the situation.

"You ok there Matt, something you wanna tell me?" Brian questioned.

Matt tried to avoid looking at Brian, but found he couldn't.

"I didn't shoot him," he murmured.

Brian's deep brown eyes appeared to darken, alerting the others that this was not going to be pretty.

"You didn't shoot him?" Jimmy hissed. Matt shook his head.

"No, I didn't go alone that night. I took Tommy Callaghan with me, I let him go in and take care of it," Matt admitted.

Brian was now standing, pacing the floor of the study, his hands clenching in and out of fists.

"Would this be the same Tommy Callaghan that disappeared about a month after that, with no explanation?" Jimmy asked.

Matt closed his eyes and nodded.

"Yeah, I found out he'd been working for Drummond all along, so I took care of it."

"What, like you should've taken care of Drummond?"

Brian was now behind Matt, his face only inches from his. Matt jumped up so he was facing Brian.

"Look, at the time I thought nothing of it, ok? I heard the fucking shot, Tommy came out, said it was done, and I torched the house. I had no reason not to believe him. But when I found out Tommy had been working for Drummond, I took him out. I didn't know what else to do, I was constantly watching over my fucking shoulder, waiting for something to happen. But the longer time went on and we had no problems, I thought we were in the clear."

Brian pinned Matt up against the wall with all of his strength.

"We will never be in the clear when it comes to Drummond you stupid fuck!" Brian yelled.
"We stole from him, we killed his people, we took everything from him, and now, thanks to your fucking stupidity, it's coming back to haunt us. You've put every single one of us in fucking jeopardy."

Brian pulled his fist back, catching Matt straight in the stomach, hitting him repeatedly til Jimmy and Zacky pulled him away as Matt fell to the floor.

"If anything happens to any one of us, I will hold you personally fucking responsible Sanders, and I will not think twice about blowing your fucking brains out," Brian snarled as he shook Jimmy and Zacky off of him.

"Get him the fuck out of my sight." he added.

As they helped Matt off the floor, the door to the study opened.

"Daddy?"

Brian turned, his expression changing instantly as he saw Emily standing there.

"Hey princess, what are you doing up?" he asked her softly as he scooped her up into his arms.

"I can't sleep, and I came to find you and heard your angry voice," she whispered.

Brian felt a pang of guilt rip through hs heart. He should never have done this whilst she was here. He didn't want her to be a part of what he did. He tucked a lock of stray hair behind her ear and kissed her cheek.

"I'm sorry sweetheart, I never meant for you to hear me, but it's nothing for you to worry about ok? C'mon, let's get you back to bed, your uncles were just leaving anyway," he told her.

As his friends began to leave, Jimmy turned to Brian.

"Monday, yeah?" he asked. Brian just nodded. "Good, night munchkin," he cooed, kissing his niece before following the others out of the house.

Brian ascended the stairs with his daughter still in his arms, taking her into her room and tucking her back into bed.

"Lay with me Daddy," Emily asked quietly.

"Sure I will princess," he murmured, settling himself down next to her, his arm pulling her towards him.

As he lay there, watching his daughter drift back off to sleep, Brian realised that Matt's actions had put more than the five of them in danger. He knew how Drummond could be, he'd use others as pawns in his game if he needed to. And Brian knew he was going to have to do all he possibly could to ensure that neither Emily or Cassandra became entangled in all of this, because losing either of them would kill him easier than any bullet from a gun.