I do not own "Brick" or any mentioned characters or situations.
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Rain hit the cover of the dark casket, bouncing off into the muddy ground beneath it. The silence in the group allowed the tiny drops of water to actually be heard spattering against the heavy wood. He heard it well, even from his place away from the others.

He wiped his hand across his glasses, keeping the cold rain from fogging them. It was useless in the downpour but he didn't need to see anyway. The reality sunk in a long time ago, when he found her near the tunnel- it was easier to look at her then, not now confined to a box forever.

His worn, grey jacket hugged his shoulders tightly against the wind. The dreary weather had started early that morning with no signs of stopping.

What a day for a funeral.

He had never been to a funeral before this week, there was never a need for it. But the last few days, everything seemed to be caving in at once. Dode, The Pin, Tug. Poor Frisco finally went under after another month. Dode was an accident, not supposed to have happened. But the Pin and his muscle, he didn't feel anything for it.

And then there was Em, the forgotten victim. The papers only mentioned her name once or twice after the bulls raided the pow-wow that night. Every article was focused on the Pin and Dode's murder, but not how a hot-headed Tug killed an innocent and pregnant teenage girl and left her body in a dark tunnel. Busting the biggest dope dealer in the Burgh- that would always make the headlines first. All that mattered was his own knowledge. He had gotten the straight, and definitely broke some deserving teeth like he planned.

The casket was lowered now, finally invisible from view. He was able to look again. The small group of people backed away, covering their grieving faces. Kara was there, eyes brimming with forced tears. Out of all the people that he would like to have seen get what they deserved, she had managed to stay under the radar. The others were strangers, most likely more rats that hung around behind the pie house.

He hadn't realized before now how desperate she was for human contact. She did tell him that, but he was too busy trying to protect her, hide her away from the world.

"I just couldn't handle life with you anymore."

If he could have convinced her then that she was wrong, he wouldn't have to stand there watching the only person he ever loved being lowered into the ground.

Footsteps came along side of him, breaking the uneasy silence that had formed.

"Brendan, it's been awhile."

"A week now," he answered. "What have you been doing?"

"Been at home. Getting some rest."

"Good, you needed it."

"Yeah. I figured I should come out today though."

Silence.

"I'm…really sorry, Brendan."

Silence.

"I mean, I knew her as long as you did."

More silence.

"So…word on the street is that there's a new Pin. He's already getting around with the upper crust."

"Yeah?"

History always did have a way of repeating itself. Sooner or later, there was going to be more heat, another war.
Before he wouldn't have cared, he already did what he had to do. But the players were still out there. People like Kara would be moving up now that everything was under new management. He wasn't going to let it get that far this time. He'd have to start small though; corner the rest of Em's old group before moving on to the big game.

He wiped his hand over his glasses again as the rain finally started to let up. Stuffing his hands into his pockets and pulling his jacket tighter against him, he turned to his side.

"I need you to OP."

The Pin warned him before.
"You're coming into a certain situation."

A new Pin in the Burgh meant another situation and like the last time…

There wasn't much chance of coming out clean.