A/N: Thank you so much for reading and reviewing. It makes the already wonderful process of writing that much more meaningful.
As amazing as this break-through was for them, he needed to go. He hated to leave her now, when she was finally letting go of her reluctance and anxiety, but Jerry already texted him twice and he suspected he was running out of time. He needed to talk to Truman and figure out the connections between Amato and Truman and, possibly, other players.
He checked his phone while Kim grabbed drinks for them. When she was back and saw him putting away the phone her face clouded in disappointment.
"You have to go, no?"
"Yeah. I'm sorry, but I need to talk to Truman. I need to know how he's connected to Amato and what he knows about you, if anything."
He saw her eyes light up with understanding, "Just... Make sure you're not caught and, like, don't do anything that could get your arrested, please. I know it is important and involves your and my security, and I promised you to defer to you, but…"
Her face was a mixture of conflicted emotions: resignation, compassion, fear, and sympathy. She was worried about his methods: not just because he could get caught, but because she opposed to inflicting pain on people. He was staggered again by her general innocence and humanity. But then, wasn't it why he was so attracted to her?
He could feel Jack, his mother's son and a boy who just kissed Kim senseless, agreeing with her. And yet it seemed fairly simple to Drago – get to Truman, get answers, make sure she was not in danger. He would not stray from his goal and his two objectives seem to intertwine for once.
So, what if he had to break a rule or break a bone? Did Truman really deserve any mercy? His automatic response – there was no such thing in his world – felt wrong somehow. It was the answer that was true in the world that his parents escaped, but he knew his friends saw things differently. More importantly – Kim saw things differently. If there was innocence, she had it. And no one would give her any mercy, but she... She probably would still try. So, maybe he would try to - unless it interfered with his goals.
So agreed, his two selves didn't war with each other and he set off with oneness of mind that was startling in its clarity.
"I'll be careful. Don't worry," he squeezed her hand and then asked her, unsure. "I probably would be out late tonight and I still owe you answers to your questions. Do you- Can I- I know you have practice tomorrow, so can I come by tomorrow evening? To talk," he added and wondered if being in relationship was always this awkward or was it just him, being unused to it all.
She beamed at him, momentarily scrambling his brain, "Yes, of course, it's fine. And- Just let me know tonight, when you're done, that you're ok?"
He kissed her then, because it was an incredible feeling to have her worried about him.
Thanks to Jerry he knew just where to look for Truman. He was at his house, coked up and fidgety. Milton's genius bug allowed him to have eyes inside by tapping into the home security system. There was a girl with him, equally messed up and had his dick half way down her throat. Jack burst through the door and pulled her off by the hair and told her to get lost. She was high, but not stupid, and ran with a dress in hand.
Truman, now pulling pants up, sneered at Jack, "Didn't realize you knew how to use words. Thought it was beyond your 'special needs' education level."
Jack moved fast and grabbed his throat, making Truman instinctively pull at that hand, while Jack used his other hand to drag the zipper up, catching Truman's dick in the teeth of the fly. The yowl that came out of Truman was not entirely human. His entire body froze and tears welled in his eyes.
"You were saying?' Jack said casually and enjoyed the wheezing noises and bugged eyes of the other guy. "Doesn't matter. I need to know why Amato needed me to lose so badly?"
He relaxed his hold on Truman's throat and let go of the zipper. When he saw the other guy's balled hand, he casually slipped a blade into his hand and let the tip rest close to the family jewels, "I wouldn't do it. My hand might slip."
Truman's face was twisted in half fear, half hatred and his next words were spit with as much gusto as he could muster, considering Jack's one hand was still pressing into his windpipe.
"I hate you, you psycho fucker. Only psychos are supposed to be smart. You - not so much. This house is choke full of surveillance, so is the outside. You are on camera, dude. Get ready for jail time. I hear young fresh meat like you would get around a lot."
Jack pressed the tip of the blade harder and it pierced the fabric to dig into skin. Jack knew the feeling very well now. The knife cut through and the split second later Truman's pupils widened in fear and adrenal reaction.
"I took care of that already. The camera right now is showing you shooting up and enjoying a good ol' blowjob. Your mother is with a 'friend' and your father at the country club. Neither of them would be here anytime soon. You sent out the help yourself. So, really, I am quite sure, we won't be disturbed." He gave another squeeze and dug the blade deeper, "This is a fine and sharp knife. It will give you a thin, precise, but very deep cut. Where it is right now, it could either go to the jewels or femoral artery. One option would leave you a castrate, another - with a severe blood loss. So, talk."
Truman's face crumbled and Jack felt the resistance in him go slack. Still, Jack didn't relax and held his hands where they were.
"I don't know why it was important. I mean beyond the money-" Jack squeezed his throat harder and released. Truman's next words were pleading, "I really don't. All I know is that they knew you and I went to the same school. And I owed them some money - I mean they took my car! - and they said that if I spiked your water, then my debt would be gone! Please!"
This wasn't much, but at least he started talking. "How did they find out about where I went to school?"
This was important. Grant and Jack misstated Jack's age for a number of reasons, so why would anyone think he was at school?
"I don't know! They already knew. They said your name and asked if I knew you. I haven't even met Amato and he'd be mad at me too! Fuck! I should've stayed away from you! I got nothing but beat downs because of you. Your lackey is a psycho too!"
This was unexpectedly fortuitous opening - Truman brought up the earlier cafe encounter with Jerry, which Jack didn't mention because he didn't want to give away his interest. He released Truman's throat, but kept the blade where it was.
"Well, he has a mind of his own. I hope it was worth it, whatever you were doing to piss him off."
"Well, brunette is off limits now and the blonde... Too much of a good girl. Wouldn't know what to do with her mou-" his sentence ended in a scream as Jack dug the blade even deeper in. The idea of Truman, or anyone for that matter, discussing Bambola in such terms gave such sharp rise in possessive urge to cut tongues and gouge eyes that it gave him a whiplash.
Better step away from this or he might be able to refrain from doing something worse than just give Truman a cut and a scare.
There was a beep on his phone, and Jack removed the hand with a blade to check it.
"If I see, or hear, that you tried to meddle in my life again, I'll come back to finish the job. You hear me?" Truman nodded frantically and the snot and tears that covered his face were now dribbling down his chin and throat. "A word of advice, if you can't handle this life, you shouldn't have tried. That girl, by the way, is not eighteen yet."
Jack waited until he saw the realization dawn on Truman, "Yes, I see that you understand. If you talk, the tapes will talk. You gave a minor, an underage girl, drugs and had sex with her. Do you own math and stay. away. from. me."
He put away the blade and left the sniveling boy on the floor. The information he gathered was meager, but enough to worry him. It would appear that Amato had tabs on Jack for a while to learn about him and how to get to him. There was only one good thing in this mess: they haven't learned yet about Bambola.
His next stop was to check with Jerry and Milton. His friend was apologizing even before Jack settled in his customary chair, but Jack simply waved him off. He missed the connection as well.
"Milton, I think we need to expand our search. Truman's words suggest that they specifically targeted him because they knew he and I went to the same school." Milton looked up sharply and Jack nodded, "Yes, you need to be extra careful now. They know I live with your family, so you are a prime target. I know you oppose my methods, but I think you need to start carrying a piece on you." Milton was frowning, but Jack was serious," I'd move out, but since they already know - it's better if I stay with you, just in case. Let's beef up the monitoring around your house and have at least some form of weapon on you. Also, do you think we can arrange some sort of contest for your parents to 'win' so they'll travel for a couple of weeks? Money's not an issue."
Milton nodded and went about typing on the keyboard, "Ok, I can do that. I will check Truman's dad records as well. I doubt he would have been so cavalier about the lost car, unless he knew something or was under pressure himself."
Jerry looked at Jack and said, "I know you already spoke to him, but Amato and his people would wanna do the same. Do you want eyes on that?"
"No. Well, I would love too, but there are only three of us and this sort of surveillance is dangerous. Milton, you have the feed on Truman's house, right?"
"Yep, ever since you planted my little bug."
"Ok, let's get what we can on them when they come to pick up Truman for a conversation. And let's start looking at all of Amato's connections. They dabbled with drugs to dope me and that ambush was nearly professional. I say Amato has some ties to a gang here, locally."
Jerry piped in, "If it's a local crew, maybe they bet against you as well, if they knew about the fix?"
"Good idea. Let's check the betting records and see if any of our friends pop up."
Jerry was half-draped over armchair his face slightly dreamy.
"Jerry, Truman swears he was just hitting on Kim and her friend, but I want to make sure. So, would you check on the friend?"
Jerry smiled crookedly and nodded, "Be happy to. I take it that you'd keep tabs on Bambola yourself?"
Jack sighed, "You didn't do it on purpose, did you?"
"What? Assume that you had told her about your fighting? Or make an honest mistake and try to protect her? Which led to spectacular kissing and her finding out about the fix, by the way. No, I didn't do it on purpose, but if it moves things along for you and her, then you're welcome. It was almost impossible to deal with your angry and angsty ass these days."
"Please! As if I don't know that it was Grace, who was with Kim, and you interfered as much for your own benefit as for Kim's," Jack scolded his friend, but it was light-hearted.
"Well, sometimes you can kill two birds with one stone. I'm just a Swagmaster like that."
Jack smiled ruefully. Things were moving along, but he was not entirely sure it was a good thing. He hoped, really hoped, that the Amato-Truman debacle was just a local thing involving the underground fighting. He would have to start searching for connections between Amato and the Bruneri. He could not afford to relax now.
"Jerry, you realize that you put her in the crosshairs now? She'd be the target, on par with Milton and his family. Maybe, even more so..."
"And you have the tendency to exaggerate," Milton huffed. "If they already knew where you lived, they clearly decided not to touch myself or my parents. This tells me that their focus is solely you. And consider, to do anything to me, or my folks, or even Kim would invite way too much scrutiny and requires a level of investment in this that, frankly, is beyond just betting on some bloody matches."
"And if it is more than just the matches? It could be about what happened to my parents. They could be targeting me. Then attacking you or Kim makes a lot more sense."
"They had all this time to do so, Jack, and they haven't" Milton spoke quietly.
"Still, what about our side operations?"
"Well concealed and before you say anything else, let me ask you this: are you going to stay away from her?"
Jack's smile at recalling his conversation with Kim was answer enough.
"I thought so," his friend finished with a sigh. "In that case, it might as well be known that you are with her. You, by far, the best protection she could have. People, who fix matches, they know what you are like. They'd think twice before going after her. And even if somehow people connect you to all the havoc we've been wrecking on the streets, then your reputation would only grow stronger. You won't be just a guy with fighting skills and a temper. You'd be the guy, who knows how, and isn't afraid to, use cold weapons and firearms. To go after Kim would mean crossing Jack Brewer and the leader of the new crew in town. You might as well benefit from that rumor."
Milton had a point.
And the same went for the people, who targeted his family. Though neither his friends nor the police knew for sure, those two dead bodies in their house could have been Jack's doing. He came home early enough to engage the assailants together with his dad.
Jack shook the memories out of his head. Now was not the time to relive that particular nightmare.
He lost his loved ones once, he wasn't going to let it happen again.
A/N: This was the loose end from the match and I wanted to wrap it up. I also wanted to show that Jack is still the same BAMF, even if he is softening a little. Next chapter would be more of Kick talking and being a new couple.