Pawns and Players
Chapter One
Word Count: 1,884
Rating: T/PG-13, with discussions of/implied torture and some... worse things
Disclaimer: Normally I'm wittier, but... I got nothing. I would say I own nothing, but that's not true. I have a bit of original fiction I should be working on instead.
Summary: When an old enemy of Oz' resurfaces looking for revenge, he sets in motion a plan to save his company and his people.
Author's Note: I remember thinking as soon as I saw the first episode of season two that things had changed significantly, and as the season continued, more people acted out of character and a lot of the fun spark the first season had was just... gone. I also really didn't buy that Oz went broke and had to sell his company (I can see him as a gambling addict to a point, but even the obsession with the sword doesn't do enough to make me believe that was what caused all this.
I got to thinking about Shaw and his need to destroy Oz, and at first, I was just thinking of him actually managing to get the upper hand for once and how that might go, but that changed itself into this idea, which allowed me to explain all sorts of out of character behavior and still do a lot of what I was thinking of in a revenge story. It's not one the show would have told as it is likely to be darker and the humor more lined up with that when it happens, but I couldn't help almost wishing this was the way it happened and why it happened.
I also had thought I'd only post this to A03, but there's just not enough Breaking In fic anywhere, so I thought I'd try sharing it here, too, just in case someone else was like me and wanting more.
Chapter One
"Hello, old friend."
Oz did not sweat. Oz did not know fear. The first, at least, was true. The second was a bit more of a gray area. That was the trouble with emotions. They weren't as easily cut off as a sweat gland or a phone call. It was true that little rattled him, and usually that took the form of anger, not fear. He would put his hand through walls and threaten his staff with a sword.
He would not cower. Not ever.
Except the voice on the other end of the line and a few thousand unpleasant memories made that almost a tempting option.
Tempting, but still only an option.
"That's an interesting term for what we are. Friends don't exactly try and kill each other. The whole leaving someone for dead aspect tends to destroy any friendship that might ever have existed," Oz said. Those memories weren't even mentioned in jokes, no matter how many times the letters KGB made the rounds. "Or have you forgotten that?"
"I never forgot, though you seem to have," the other man said. "You betrayed me first."
Oz snorted. "You also have a very interesting way of rewriting history."
"You are the one with the faulty memory, Oz," the other man went on, trying to make this sound like a normal conversation, like he was as charming as ever. Deacon used ooze that, and people would fall for anything he did. He had Josh beat as far as infiltration went, and people who could fool Oz were rare, but this one had.
He still had nightmares because of it, though he would deny their existence and the fact that he ever slept to the day he died.
"Do you think about it, Ferris? What you did to me? Because I do. I do every day."
"And now you sound like a bad cliché. You should hire a new writer. I know a few, I can put you in touch with them," Oz said, though he would definitely give him the names of the worst of the hacks if the man took him up on it. He wasn't giving this bastard a damned thing.
"You still use humor to deflect. It's cute."
"As opposed to you. There's nothing cute about you."
"Ah, Ferris. You are such a tease. There are a few things that you should know. First of all, you should remember that I am and always have been the type to hold a grudge. That was something you never should have forgotten, and if you did, in fact, forget, then I will take great pleasure in reminding you. It's past time we meet again. I will enjoy seeing your life in ruins, burned to ash as I take everyone and everything that has ever mattered to you."
"Amusing threat coming from you."
Deacon laughed. "You still think I'm locked away, don't you? If I was, would I really be calling you?"
"You did," Oz told him. "Every day as soon as they gave you phone privileges. Of course, I made sure they took them away again, but then you were rather colorful, if vulgar, about what you were planning on doing to me."
"And yet you managed to forget."
"You are very high strung. Like one of those yippy little dogs. Still don't understand why she has one. So unlike her, but then she is a contradiction," Oz mused, unable not to think about Melanie and her little horndog. That wasn't the sort of pet he would have expected her to have, but then Melanie was unique, and she probably enjoyed defying that part of her wild girl stereotype.
"Don't try and change the subject, Ferris. You can't hide in humor forever. You know me. You know what I'm capable of. You know what I will do to you. Of course, that will wait until after I've done it all to your little... team. You were always so smart before. Never let anyone stay around, never got attached... You didn't have friends, you had people you used, and it was a good thing. You were never vulnerable."
"I'm still not."
"Oh, but you are. I'm not even talking about your on again off again thing with that woman. I'm talking about this little 'family' you've appropriated for yourself using your business. You care about them, and you know what that means. It means I get to take them from you one by one until there is nothing and no one left. They will die. Their deaths will be slow and painful—"
"Again with the clichés."
"I'll take Contra from you first, scatter that little family of yours to the wind, and I will hunt each and every one of them down. No one else left scars on you, Ferris, but me? I did."
Oz forced himself not to touch the mark. He'd never told anyone how he got it. He never would.
"You'll be turning over that building to me in less than a week. Think of this as... a hostile takeover."
"You won't win. I always have a plan."
"Not against me. I know all your weaknesses. I know how you think. And I know how much I can take from you before you break. I remember that, too. Goes so well with your scar."
Oz knew he would lose if he said what he was actually thinking, the curses and names and threats he wanted to spew but would only make him seem out of control and scared. "You always were so deluded."
"As were you, my friend. I'll see you soon, Ferris."
The call ended, and Oz threw his phone. He should have known about this. He prided himself on being ten steps ahead and prepared for any possible outcome. He wasn't. Not for this. He would have to scramble, and he was going to have to do a lot he didn't like.
Starting with selling Contra.
"You want me to what?"
"Disappear," Oz answered. He'd been going over the variables, and from a strictly numbers point of view—which he had to assume was all his "friend" had after years locked away, Josh was the first and best target of the other man's ire. He was gambling, and he'd sworn he was going to stop that, but he couldn't send everyone off at once. Josh was also a logical choice because he was a master of disguise. He could disappear, and he should.
"Interesting," Josh said. "Is this for a job?"
"For your life."
Josh stared at him. "This is one of your jokes, right?"
"No." Oz could not afford jokes. He'd entered into negotiations to sell Contra to a conglomerate, which would buy him some time. It wasn't an ideal fix, but the deal with OCP gave him some controlling interest and retained his relative position within the company. He'd moved his funds to an untraceable location, which made him look broke but kept it out of his enemy's reach.
He was two steps in, but he felt like he was a dozen behind, and he couldn't accept that.
"Oz?"
"I don't like telling the truth," Oz admitted. He'd never been good with it, and sidestepping or slight of hand always seemed to work better than the actual facts. He knew how to handle himself if things turned ugly, and the truth made that happen more often than not. "You know this."
Josh nodded. "I do. I'm not sure any of us knows a true thing about you, not even me, and I've been there the longest."
Oz nodded. He didn't share details with anyone, and even with legitimate jobs, he never told them more than what they absolutely needed to know. "I can't tell you everything. Some of it is classified, and the rest I won't talk about. No, most of it I won't talk about. A few pieces are classified."
Josh frowned. "Okay, but that doesn't actually explain anything. Why do you want me to disappear?"
"I don't want you to disappear. I need you to disappear."
"I know I normally do whatever you ask of me, but this is different. I need a reason. A real reason. This is my life. I live for this job."
Oz knew that. He did not want to do this to Josh, didn't want to do this to any of them. He hated the idea of selling his company, and he hated losing his people. That could still happen if the deal with OCP went wrong. He had chosen that company because there was less chance of Deacon being able to get himself involved with them. They were the obvious choice, since they were also snapping up other security firms, but he knew that Deacon's record would keep him from getting too much power there.
Oz had made sure he owned his own fair share of stock in OCP as well, and if need be, he could get more, enough to gain a controlling interest. Shell companies were valuable things.
"You remember Shaw?"
Josh frowned. "He that cannot be named? The backstabber you replaced with Cameron the kiss ass?"
"Cameron's not a kiss ass, but yes. That Shaw."
"This is about Shaw?"
"No. Forget about Shaw. Shaw is small time compared to what this is. Remember, Josh, we are in the business of security. We help our clients keep the bad guys away, but when we do that—"
"We make enemies. So, what, this guy is someone you made an enemy of?"
Oz nodded. "More than just an enemy. There's this whole betrayal and vendetta and he's a complete sociopath or is it just psychopath? I get them confused sometimes. Either way, he's bad news. He swore he'd take Contra from me and kill everyone there."
Josh stared at him. "Please tell me this is just a situation where the fear is real."
Oz handed him a candy bar, knowing the man needed to stress eat. "I wish it was. Josh, I need you to disappear. Go off the grid. Don't let Cameron or anyone else find you. No electronic traces, nothing like that. You know how to disguise yourself better than anyone. You just have to do it for real this time. Life or death stakes."
"Are you sending the others away, too?"
Oz shook his head. "Not yet, and not if I can help it. You know Cameron and Cash. They couldn't function. Melanie, she'd be all right, but the boys..."
"Point taken. How far do you think I should go?"
"Far."
"Oz—"
"Think of this guy as me, only completely evil instead of quirky scary. Don't underestimate him, don't think you can surface if it seems like no one is watching you. Don't contact anyone from your current or former life. I'll find a way to let you know when it's safe."
Josh nodded. "Will do."
Oz started to walk away, but Josh called out to him.
"Oz, wait," Josh began, and Oz looked back at him. "What happens if he goes after you?"
"He said he'd destroy everything and everyone I care about first, so I've got time," Oz said. He was planning on using that to anger Deacon into attacking him directly when he couldn't get at any of Oz' people, but that would still take time. "It's me, Josh. I always have a plan."
"Yeah. Be careful, Oz."
"You, too, Josh."