Mike curled up on the hospital bed, looking out at the window. He was glad that for the moment, he could be alone. He needed some time to do some serious thinking. He was exhausted and miserable.

Not only was he miserable, he was pissed. He had called his handler to tell him about the situation at Graceland. What had happened. What Briggs had done. That conversation hadn't gone well, and Mike was beginning to wonder if his handlers were guiltier than Briggs was.

Flashback

"It's Mike…"

"Mike, any updates? Any evidence yet?"

"No, not really… But look-," he started to say only to get cut off.

"Why are you calling me if there isn't any evidence? I told you that you are required to stay on the damn case until you find some evidence. Why? What happened? Did he hurt you?" the voice was sarcastic and Mike growled.

"Yes. I had to sneak away from my hospital bed to call you. He shot me!"

"And? What do you want me to do about it?"

"I don't know what to do. Every time I go back to Charlie he drags me back with him. He's done everything short of selling me on the black market. He's going too far. He shot me with a real bullet in the leg and broke my arm, Juan!"

"But he did that both under the cover of the case. You knew he would have to beat you when you took the case."

"Juan, I didn't think that involved shooting at me!"

"I am not pulling you out. You will stay there, and you will stay dating Briggs until I say otherwise. If I hear that you're back at the Graceland mansion without Briggs' consent, I'll personally drive down there myself and hand you back on a silver platter too Briggs. I want this guy, no matter what the cost. Are we clear?"

"But what if the cost is me? I need help! I can't do this! I'm about ready to lose it!" Mike had pleaded, desperate to at least hear what Briggs was doing was wrong.

"No. He's doing all this under the cover of the case. You need to find actual evidence on him. When you find actual evidence on him, then I'll pull you out. Are we clear?"

"But—" Mike had sighed as the phone was disconnected. He'd managed to sneak back into the hospital room…all while his security guard was on break.

-end flashback –

That had only been five minutes ago and the reality was hitting Mike like a ton of bricks. He was a trained FBI agent, he could think his way out of this situation. So he couldn't go back to Graceland, and Briggs had the authority to treat him however he wanted. He also couldn't risk revealing he was an undercover agent to anyone else because he didn't know who was trustworthy, even though he felt like Nathaniel and Jakes were.

He was fucked. Totally and irreversibly fucked.

But maybe Levi wasn't….

Nathaniel entered the room then. "Hey, Levi. How are you feeling?"

"Like shit," he muttered, looking around the room. "Nathaniel? W-where's Braxton?"

"In jail, right now. Jakes, the agent who saw you and took you to the hospital, is pressing charges of assault on him."

Mike laughed bitterly. "It won't do him any good. He's got connections. They'll make sure he gets away free. If nothing else, until his hearing."

"Would you agree to testify in a court hearing?"

"Yeah, if you think it'd do any good."

"I think it would. You've been hurt the most by him – you have the right to speak out."

"I guess…but what about the court hearing? I'm really worried he's going to go free today when bail is posted…"

"If you don't mind," Nathaniel said, pulling out a camera, "I have a random, unorthodox idea that just might work."

## break ##

"I don't get why Briggs had to shoot him," Johnny said as he turned the car down the street. They were going out for dinner…at a location an hour away. Really, it was an excuse to talk where they could actually talk.

"I don't either. I mean, that's just way too far. Johnny, when he tied you up, did he give you any clues that he was trying not to shoot Mike?" Charlie asked as she rested in the passenger seat. Paige had curled up on the backseat and put a pillow over her head, threatening to shoot whoever talked to her. She'd been up half the night trying to figure out who Mike's handler was so they could let him know what was going on. Nobody, of course, was talking because that was "confidential."

"No, Charlie. That's what bugs me," Johnny said. "He looked…I don't know how to describe it. Evil."

"I wonder if the case is getting to him. I mean, okay, fine. Let's say he had to shoot Mike for some fucked up BS reason. But what about the beach scene?"

"What beach scene?"

"Didn't I tell you? I know I told you, I guess I didn't tell you all of the details. Nathaniel called. He said he happened to be in the hospital, checking on someone else, when he came across Levi and wanted to let us know about the situation. I guess some other agent, a DEA named Jakes, found him and Briggs arguing on the beach. Briggs was beating him really bad according to Jakes' statement."

"Wait. Where's Briggs right now?"

"Waiting a hearing. They're holding him overnight. Jakes is pressing charges against Briggs, not Mike, so that way the charges stick. His hearing should be…in about ten minutes—for whether he gets bail or not."

"I feel like we almost need to tell the agents who have us here what's going on. I mean, they probably know. But Briggs has just gotten out of control."

Charlie sighed as Johnny turned down another road. "I know. Maybe a few days in jail will do him some good. In the meantime, let's see what we can do to help Mike out of his current situation…"

## Break ##

BAIL HEARING

Briggs sat at his chair, feeling fairly confident he'd be walking out of there tonight. Once Bello had heard he was arrested, he'd given his personal attorney to use. Briggs knew Bello wasn't promising anything, but it looked like it had the chance to go in his favor that he wouldn't have to stay in jail until the trial. Briggs knew that even if he was sentenced, Bello would have ways of getting him out.

Personally, he just wanted to arrest the damn bastard and be done with the whole fucked-up case. He sighed as the summons was made for him to stay in jail until the court arrangement.

"My client is not a flight risk," the attorney argued. "He has ties to the community."

"Your honor," the DA said, "It's not the flight risk we're worried about here. You know from what we said earlier that a young gentleman who was formerly in a relationship with this man is scared for his life and has no safe place to go if this gentleman is out on the street."

"You can't put a man in jail for three months just because someone is scared!"

The DA, to her credit, held firm. "He has every right to be afraid, after all he was kidnapped and assaulted multiple times by your client. As I have put in writing, Your Honor, we are pressing charges of three charges kidnapping, two charges of assault, one charge of assault with a deadly weapon, and the charge of attempted homicide."

"I do understand those added charges," the judge responded. "I would have to agree with Mrs. Harrison that it is not that the charges are about Braxton fleeing. I don't believe Braxton fleeing either. But it's about the victim's safety. I believe you have a video you wanted to show me?"

"Yes. I know it is unorthodox and last minute, but we did submit it to you and to the other attorneys to view. I appreciate you letting it in."

VIDEO

"I've lived with Braxton for a year now," Mike told the camera, lying in his hospital gown. Briggs was chilled with how thin he looked. With how terrified the kid looked. Had he done that? Where was Mike, the kick-ass agent that wasn't afraid to tell him off? "I went to a bar to celebrate my sister's birthday. I didn't have anything to drink because I was too young, because I'd just turned eighteen a few days prior. He asked me if I wanted to go out sometime. I said no. The next thing I knew I woke up in his house and he said we were boyfriends now."

"What did you do then?" the voice on the camera asked. Briggs clenched his hands, recognizing it as Nathaniel. The dirty bastard. Then again, he didn't blame him for doing this and was glad that he was defending Mike when nobody else could.

"He broke all the fingers on my right hand. I never wanted to date him. Every time I even mention Clarissa, my sister, he punches me. He won't let me eat for days after I go visit her. He made me quit my jobs and won't let me out of the house. I just want to be free, you know? I just want to be able to feel safe outside again. Just once."

The tape shut off.

"Every time he's gone to visit his sister, it seems there have been some kind of ramifications. We have evidence that Braxton was controlling Levi and monitoring his every movements."

"Does the defendant have anything to say for himself?" the judge asked.

"Brat tended to wonder off, so I had to make sure he stayed close," Briggs said, grinning inwardly when he realized that Bello's attorney was smacking himself in the head.

"That's all I needed. Bail denied. See you next week for your court date." The judge stood up. "All rise…."

Briggs raised his eyebrows. Hmm….This was going to get interesting fast.

A huge thanks to EVERYONE For their ideas - especially Guest & hikeyosemite...and all my other reviewers! I have to flee to catch my bus now but I PROMISE I will reply later. What do you think will happen next?