Windstar: This chapter is the shortest chapter yet. I do have an excuse though: if I had posted the entire thing today, it'd be well over twenty pages and things wouldn't be spaced out enough or focused appropriately. This chapter has a much different feel from the next chapter after this and combining the two would make things less potent. I'm so sorry, but I'll update a tad sooner because of it. How about...sunday? Maybe even a little earlier depending on how many people have read it. Thanks to my wonderful reviewers as always, and I'm sorry to say that there isn't going to be much closure on the Tala death thing for a while.

Disclaimer: Same as always.

Chapter Nine:

"What the fuck kind of intel was that, Boone?" Kai shouted as he smashed his hand down on the man's desk. After Tristen Michaels had died years before, the asshole ISA agent from America, Logan Boone, had been sent to fill in his shoes. Tala hated the man with a passion, and in all honesty, Kai didn't like him any more.

As children he'd purposefully sent him and Anna into a deathtrap, and working with the man after that had been something of a disaster. It was another reason why Kai maintained that he was retired from the ISA, even if he still did missions for them from time to time. It was always an excuse "I'm an Officer of F-Fives" this or "I'm just backing up the others." He wasn't technically retired, but he wasn't all that active of an agent.

Still, he was pissed off now, and Boone was the man who'd sent all the information on their sting to his office. The fifty-something man raised his brows at the young Officer. Clearly he wasn't impressed.

"Is there a reason why you stormed into my office acting like a toddler, or do I have to guess?"

"Tala's dead!" The man's jaw dared to drop for a brief moment before he managed to catch himself.

"I'm sorry to hear that, now would you like to tell me how this happened or are you just going to stand there and blame me for things that I had no control over."

"You fucking gave us shit intel that's what! The drug lords you sent him after weren't Temple of Fate you complete ass!" The man's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Excuse me?"

"They were run of the mill small fries. They killed him without even thinking about it! You sold us out!" His fist came down again, and wood splintered under the strike.

Outside the office, Boone knew that there were at least two dozen people who were all wanting his blood. No one messed with the leader of the Fortune Five Hundreds and expected to get away with it lightly. He even remembered seeing something about Kiril being in the building. If that was the case then he knew that the child was probably somewhere in a closet hyperventilating. He wondered vaguely what the boy's last words were to his brother. He could bet that they weren't very nice.

"I did not sell you all to anyone-"

"You gave us the wrong intelligence. I have the tapes! They knew who he was! They said his name! They were talking about Xander! You sold my men to those bastards and you let them die for your stupid grudge!"

Boone probably liked Tala less then Kai, and that was saying something because he hated Kai. Tala though was a challenging little bastard who had a tendency to rally the hearts of everyone around him just by batting his pretty blues at them. It made the man sick at times to think that Tala was in charge of at least five hundred people that would literally kill for him. He didn't deserve that type of power or respect and he made it no secret just how much he didn't get along with the man.

"I would never purposefully send two agents into the field expecting them to die-"

"Then how the hell did they know who he was?!" Kai shouted, fury flashing through his eyes.

"Has it been confirmed that he's dead yet?" Boone hissed as he stared at the (in his opinion) annoying second in command.

"We haven't found a body." Kai hissed. "We didn't have anyone else on the ground. We were all here – like you told us to be!" He was visibly shaking with rage. He was so close to just reaching over across the desk and strangling the man for all he was worth.

"Then find his body. I'm putting you and your men on this, go and find me a body and we'll cover it from there-"

"You fucking sold us out and now you want us to go in there and have it happen again!?"

"I didn't sell you out, I gave you the information as soon as it came to me. If there was a problem it was on your end. Now get out of my office before I have you forcibly removed Commander Hiwatari." Being called by Tala's title was the last straw. Even if that's what he technically was now that his brother was no longer around, Kai refused to accept it. He punched out faster then the man could blink and he flew from his chair onto the ground. "Get out of my office. Now." Boone growled, eyes flashing with hatred.

"If I ever confirm...what I've just said...I'm going to kill you you son of a bitch." Kai hissed, and with that he turned and walked away, anger coursing through his body as he did so.

He opened the door and Boone was just able to see the tear stained face of Kiril Ivanov. The boy was looking up at his Uncle with huge eyes, as though begging for what he'd heard to be a lie. Begging that the ISA hadn't betrayed Tala after all these years and gotten him killed. Begging that his brother was still there with him.

"I'm so sorry Kiril..." Kai whispered, one hand cupping behind the boy's head as he drew him to his chest. The boy was motionless for a while. His eyes stared unseeingly out in front of him, and his arms hung limply at his side. Adrien was not to far behind him, standing with Spencer who looked lost.

Tala would be the first of their group to die...he would be the first of their team to loose their life. It was heartbreaking. It was so heartbreaking.

Kiril was in a daze. He had fought with Tala for the past few years because Tala would always come back to yell at him whenever he did wrong. Tala would always be there to scold him. He hadn't fought with him, truly, to aggravate the man, it was just that it seemed to be the only way he could make the man come home from a mission. He just wanted to see him...he wanted to see him because in his heart he was terrified for a day like today.

A day where he would be left behind once more...and everyone would forget about him. He felt himself start to shake terribly. He felt his body start to tremble badly. He vaguely heard someone call his name, but he didn't care. He was past caring. No one was really there anymore...no one was there. Everyone had left. Left with Anna. Left with Tala. Left and forgotten about him. Maybe he should just leave too. It was like he'd always said...death was much better then living on earth. At least the dead didn't have to worry about being left alone. They would always be with the ones they loved. They'd be in heaven where no one forgot about you. So why even bother living?

Kai felt the boy in his arms fall still suddenly, and it was only because of years of training that he'd managed to catch him as he started to go slack. Blank eyes stared at the world, and shallow breathing was all that met him when he called for him. His heart was dangerously slow and his skin was deathly pale.

"Someone call an ambulance!" He shouted, looking up at the dozens of on lookers. Ten people moved at the same time, all of them going to do so. Adrien crashed to his knees, terror blatant on his face as he stared at his friend who had suddenly just collapsed. He looked up at Kai with such fear in his eyes, but he didn't have time to wallow. Spencer pulled him back and whipped him around, forcing him to meet his eyes.

"Listen to me Adrien. You need to listen you hear?" The boy nodded, he didn't have a choice. "Kiril's going to be lost and confused for a while and I know you think that your job is to protect him and make sure he's doing alright, but you can't give him whatever he wants and you can't make him better by harming yourself." Spencer's eyes were still misty and there was chaos everywhere as people tried to figure out what they should be doing. "He's going to try to push you away, he's going to tell you to do things that I know you know better then to do. You can't listen to him. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"I...I'm not allowed to-"

"Listen to me!" Spencer shook the teen roughly. "You turn fifteen next week don't you?" The boy nodded, frowning at the change in topics. "Well at fifteen years old you should know better then to let Kiril get away with murder. Do not let him murder you to heal his heart. You have a will, and if you truly want to help that boy you need to learn when to disobey."

"He'll hate me if I-"

"He's not going to hate you. You're too persistent to let him hate you. You need to do this Adrien. He's lost too much...and he's scared to lose more. Don't let him do it. Don't let him lose everything." The boy nodded slowly.

He could hear sirens, and Kai was picking the boy up, running down the stairs because he could probably run faster then it took the elevator to meet them and descend. Adrien wanted to go too, but Spencer held him still. He forced the boy to meet his eyes.

"Sir?"

"Learn to say no." He commanded as he looked at him. "We're not going to be here forever." Adrien felt his blood freeze.

"Sir...are you going to...go after who killed...them?" He asked slowly, looking at the man with all the concern in the world. The man took a deep breath and nodded.

"I know I speak for all of us...we're in this for the long run. Whatever the case may be, whichever way the river flows, we're on this path and we're taking it. Kai isn't going to be able to forgive Boone...and I doubt Bryan or I will either."

"What about...Ian?"

"Ian's been away from this life for so long I'm surprised he even bothers to write a Christmas Card." It was a cold thing to say, but it was the truth. Ian had all but vanished once he'd gotten his shiny new family. Adrien couldn't even remember what the man looked like anymore. "He'll be upset, no doubt about it...but in all honesty I don't give a shit at the moment. He's not going to want to come back into this."

"But he's your best friend-"

"Was, Adrien, he was our best friend. You can't really consider someone your friend when you haven't seen or heard from them in over two years."

"How do you know he's alright? Maybe something happened?"

"We'd know if something happend to the Nose. We keep track of our men." He answered cryptically. Then he centered himself. "Adrien, when we leave...our Corps are going to want to come with us. There's going to be a huge divide in the F-Fives. Tala kept everyone together because everyone looked up to him. What we're doing though...it isn't going to be for everyone's better. It's going to just make us feel good later."

"I don't understand..."

"Some of the F-Fives truly believe in the ISA and the BBASS. They would do anything for them. That's who they've sworn their loyalty too. Others are loyal to the F-Fives themselves. If we leave, it won't be for the help of the ISA. There's going to be a lot of fighting going on. Ideally everyone will stick together, but I don't see that happening.

"When the split occurs, you need to be there for Kiril. Keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't disappear in the chaos. If I know him...he's going to want to get his own revenge on what's going on. He won't be allowed to, so he'll do it himself."

"Sir, wouldn't it just be a good idea to let him do what he wants to then?" Spencer frowned.

"Are you mad? You want me to hand that child a gun tell him to shoot at the man who murdered his brother, and destroy that completely innocent slate before he has a chance to fully understand what's happening in the world around him?"

"I don't understand..."

"Tala's last wish was for Kiril not to be pulled into this world. He didn't want Kiril to have blood on his hands. It was the real reason he's been denying you all the permission to go on missions. He knows full well just how sensitive that child is, and he doesn't want to ruin his soul by having him kill someone. You honestly want me to let him do it, knowing that it would be going against Tala's wishes?" Adrien bit his lip. No. That wasn't what he wanted at all. "Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid." Spencer whispered softly.

When Kiril was taken to the hospital, no one really knew what was wrong with him. They couldn't tell. As far as the medical field was concerned, he should have been completely healthy. Yet he wasn't. He'd fallen into a near catatonic state. Had they left his eyes open, he would have continued staring blankly at the world around him without ever seeing a thing.

His pulse was slow and thready, his breathing was shallow, and his brainwaves showed absolutely nothing. He wasn't thinking. He wasn't doing a thing. He was just laying there without functioning at all. He'd completely run away from reality. Kai sat at his bedside the whole while, looking out for him and waiting. The boy was completely in shock. He couldn't deal with this anymore. He honestly couldn't, and Kai truly wished that Adrien had made the boy leave when he'd first told him too...Kiril didn't need to see his brother die. He didn't need to see that.

Tala had forced them not to watch. He'd forced them to be blind to his death. Kai felt his blood turned to ice though. He felt his very body become wracked with a hatred that was unparalleled. It had been a long time since he'd hated with every fiber of his being. He did now though. Deep in the darkness of his soul he could feel the burning whispers of treachery.

He felt his heart turning to stone so quickly and so easily he wondered if it had ever been any different in the first place. Hot fury was running as his blood and as he looked at the basically catatonic boy who had lost his entire family due to misfortune, he found himself hating the world.

Why not? The voice whispered into his ear. Why not just let it burn like it should have when you were sixteen?

He didn't have an answer. It was shameful to think that after all this time he so easily let himself fall into temptation, but at the moment, he was so fulled with hatred he couldn't really think straight. Who was left that fought for that world? Korg was dead. Mikhail was dead. Michaels was dead. Tala was dead. Anna was gone. Ian was gone. Voltaire was far to old to be involved. Christopher...he hadn't talked too since well before Marcus had died. Mr. Dickenson had retired. The other Fortune Five Hundreds didn't know who or what to fight for. The other Officers...well...they were really the only ones who were left. Bryan and Spencer were the only ones left.

Where was their world that they had fought for? Where was the freedom and the happiness?

Where was his happiness?

Why was he always forced to be away from the thing he wanted? If he was with her he would no longer be with his family, and he refused to do what Ian did and just walk out on everyone. He refused to walk out on Adrien and Kiril...even if Kiril was being a complete ass hole. If she left her world...she would be separate from everything that she knew. She too could never truly be happy.

That wasn't what he fought so long for. This wasn't the life he wanted to live.

Hot fury stabbed into his heart and burned through his soul. He heard the door open behind him, and he knew instantly it was Bryan. Only Bryan moved like that. He could feel the anger pouring from him as well. He felt the same. They both wanted revenge on the world. They both wanted to see this world burn the way it should have. Maybe they really shouldn't have destroyed the Abbey. Maybe Boris shouldn't have had to die.

A chill ran down his spine. He could almost hear Mikhail now. Jeez Hiwatari, what did I die for then? Certainly not this world though. This world without Luka. That wasn't a world at all. Even a world without Anna had been hard to stomach. That girl had become family. Everyone loved her. He knew that he certainly had. He loved her because she was family, she was his friend and family, and she'd left. She'd thrown them away like trash. Just like Ian had...

Then she'd recreated the Black Dranzer system.

She was an idiot.

He remembered years ago when he'd risked his life to save her own. They'd never told Tala about that night. It had been something they never planned to tell him too. It would break his heart, and he was already dealing with enough without adding this onto his plate.

It had been that horrible, horrible night Anna had broken into the Abbey. She had been shot twice, and Kai had run across Moskva to get to her in time. He could barely breathe and yet he ran as fast and as hard as he could to get to her. He wouldn't tell Tala that he had seen him get arrested. He was running towards the lake and while he'd missed seeing the redhead actually shoot at Anna, he'd heard it and he'd watched as his brother was arrested.

Then he rushed to the water and dove into it. He swam hard, going to where Anna fell backwards into the water. She wasn't anywhere to be seen. He'd taken a deep breath and he dove down, swimming deep into the Lake's freezing depths just in time to grab hold of her and drag her to the surface.

She hadn't been able to swim with her leg and arm shot and she had slowly been drowning. He pulled her up though. He pulled her up and swam to shore with her. Only there wasn't any shore anywhere around them. Only tall walls and logs. He'd swum with her limply hanging on to him for nearly fifteen minutes. By the time he'd gotten to the shore, she had started going into shock.

He'd had to give her CPR, and Michaels had come to take her to a med team. He himself caught a mild case of hypothermia, but he hadn't cared. When he knew she was safe he'd been happy and that was that. He hadn't slept at all until he met with Tala again though. He'd been too stressed.

An evil part of him regretted saving her. At least then she wouldn't have caused all the pain she had now. The angel on his shoulder reminded him though, that if he hadn't, Tala probably would have died long before because of his own hand.

"What's the plan Kai?" Bryan's voice asked, breaking through his thoughts, as he sat down across from him. His eyes ran briefly to the child who looked like he was sleeping, but who may not wake up ever again. He let himself act on an indulgence and he gently moved the bangs from the boy's forehead before kissing it fondly. To some it may seem odd, but to him, it was simply an act of love he gave to any of his brothers. It wasn't because he was attracted to the child, if he was he would have kissed him far differently that's for certain, but it was really because he cared deeply for the boy. He really was the nephew he'd always considered him to be. He too was family.

He too was a casualty.

"Fuck the God-damn ISA that's what." Kai muttered, clenching his teeth. He looked up at Bryan, and Bryan nodded.

"You going after them?" He asked seriously, looking at Kai with a dead certainty in his eyes. He wanted to know the truth, and Kai knew he would tell him.

"Yes." He replied. "I'm going to play their game for a while, and then I'm gone. Their world is going to wish it had never crossed us."

"What about Kiril? How's he doing?" Bryan asked as he looked over towards the boy.

"The doctors don't know if he'll wake up. There's no reason for him to be out." Kai replied seriously.

"You sure you want to do this with him like this? If they recoil-"

"They won't touch him."

"Why not? Just because he's a kid-"

"Because he's got a guard dog that won't let them." For a second his mind didn't process he was saying all of this about the boy he thought of as a son. "He'll be fine...hopefully this'll all be over before anyone gets the bright idea to go after him."

"What if something happens to Adrien, what if-"

"Then we're screwed anyway. We can't stop what's going to happen Bryan. We can only play the cards we're dealt."

"So what are you going to do?" Bryan asked as he sighed heavily and looked over at Kai. The man looked back at him.

"I'm going to win. I'm going to use my wild card."

"And what's that?"

"The deuce of course." Kai grinned, and fixed the man with a cold look. Bryan just nodded though. He understood. Time to move out. This poker game was just getting started, and so far the enemy held all the cards...but that's the thing with poker.

People cheat.