Title: Betrayed
Chapter 21 – Tension Boils Over

"I asked…you a question!" Shane growls as he offers another firm blow to Eames stomach.

"Shane!" Arthur snaps in anger. "Stop it!"

"Just who the hell are you?" Shane asks again, ignoring Arthur's angry demand.

"His fairy god-mother," Eames retorts in sarcasm as Shane merely glares at him in contempt.

"You're doing a hell of a job," Shane retorts in sarcasm.

"Depends on perspective mate. Who the hell are you?"

"A very bad man and one you don't want to cross," Shane replies matter-of-factly. "Trust me."

"Oh I've already seen evidence of your handiwork tonight."

"Garth," Shane smiles as he pulls away from Eames and slowly heads toward Arthur's captive and struggling frame. "Yes Garth learned the price of defiance. The hard way."

"What did you do to him?" Arthur demands with a slight hiss. "Garth wh..."

"I showed him who's really the boss and that cros…"

"WHAT?" Arthur yells before his lungs constrict from the dry cold air attacking him.

"Why don't you tell him fairy god-mother? Do something to benefit my little brother!" Shane directs his verbal snicker in Eames direction while keeping his dark gaze fixed firmly on his captive sibling. "TELL US!" He shouts as Eames delays. "Tell dearest Arthur here just how bad a man I really am. Tell him it's in the blood. I'm just like my father. Tell him how I made Garth feel the mistake of betrayal. TELL HIM!"

"Tell him what? How you beat to a bloody pulp an innocent man. Yes that's a tale worth sharing," Eames growls in sarcasm.

"Damn you Shane!"

"Oh you honestly believe he was INNOCENT?" Shane finishes with an angry yell as his hand seizes Arthur's throat and applies pressure. "Tell me little brother. Was he innocent? Are you? ARE YOU?"

"STOP IT!" Eames yells as Arthur glares at Shane for a few seconds before his lips start to gasp for air.

"How easy it would be little brother…to end it all right now for you."

"Sha…ne…st…op…."

"What the hell do you want with him?" Eames growls as he tries in vain to pull himself free.

"I want what's mine," Shane leans in closer as Arthur's lungs start to heavily gasp for air. "Dear Arthur here wanted to keep me from what's mine."

"Gar….th…h…e…can't….shan….e…bre…"

"STOP IT! You're killing him!"

"Oh I will yet do that yet fairy god-mother," Shane growls as he lets go of Arthur's neck. Arthur's lungs instantly cough as his head bows and his eyes squeeze shut in an attempt to hold back the black circles that had started to form due to the lack of oxygen. "I had warned him fair and square. Stay out of my business. Had he listened he'd have been in Paris by now oblivious to the fact that this is how the real world works!"

"No…no it doesn't," Arthur offers with a labored breath, drawing Shane's gaze back to him. "I offered to pay…that was my money…you took. Garth was…innocent."

"That was my money! I don't care how he got it or where from it was mine! I earned it!"

"No, it was his...I turned away…from the other guy…you warned," Arthur reminds Shane with a painful gasp. "Garth…Shane he practically raised me…I owed him…something."

"I told you I don't care. That block…it belongs to me. He was the last hold out and you know how much I admire defiance," Shane barks as he punches Arthur once more in the stomach, forcing the point man to utter an anguished cry.

"Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" Eames challenges as he tries in vain once more to pull free of his captors.

"Eames…no," Arthur warns as Shane looks sharply at Eames before he heads out of the cell.

"Ah...so this is Eames."

"At least your hearing works well," Eames snickers, earning an instant eye roll from Arthur.

"You're the guy who called earlier…disrupting all my fun. Don't look much like a fairy god-mother."

"Looks can be deceiving."

"Is that so? Care to tell me how?"

"Tell your goons to stand down and I'll show you some real magic," Eames replies smartly as Shane offers a nod and a grin, turning slightly to look at Arthur before he swiftly turns and offers a firm backhand to the left side of Eames face.

"Shane!" Arthur shouts hoarsely. "What…do you want? You got your money so…"

"See this is why I'm so pissed off. I didn't get my money. I beat that miserable Garth and he died without…"

"No," Arthur's voice dies in a tormented gasp. "What?"

"Garth didn't die. He told the cop that was waiting that it was you personally that did the nasty deed," Eames rushes in haste.

"You think he'll actually live long enough to make a positive ID?" Shane questions as he punches Eames in the stomach once more. "Or that the stupid cop will LISTEN?"

"Let…Eames go," Arthur begs firmly as Eames weary frame finally sags in the grasp of the two men holding him captive.

"Sorry can't do that. Bring him."

"Shane!" Arthur grumbles as his body buckles against the cold metal shackles. He watches Eames struggle in vain as he's stripped of his jacket and gun and dragged into the same cell as he was trapped in.

"Put him in!" Shane directs as the two men bodily wrestle Eames down to the ground and then fit his arms into the second set of shackles so that he was trapped much like Arthur but in a seated position. "I am going to go and take care of Garth. Se…"

"NO!" Arthur shouts as Shane's head snaps to the right.

"I'd gag you little brother because I genuinely am tired of hearing your voice, but when I come back both of you will be dead...both of you, so I'll be charitable enough to let the two of you spend your last few moments blaming the other for your rather tight predicament and then saying goodbye."

"Leave Garth out of this!" Arthur shouts as Shane offers him a rough slap on his scuffed cheek before he turns and heads out of the cell, the two large bodyguards following and the newly recovered Rocco once again standing guard. "Shane!"

"Be back soon boys."

"SHANE!"

"Don't waste your breath darling, he's not listening and somehow I gather reasoning with that Neanderthal out there would be a complete waste of time."

"Watch it!" Rocco warns.

"Or what?"

"Eames," Arthur groans with a heavy sigh as Eames looks up at him with a small frown. "Not...right now."

"Very well. Anything broken?"

"Probably," Arthur replies with a small wince. "You?"

"My bloody phone. Damn shame too, I kinda liked this one."

"Why are you here Eames?"

"Is that rhetorical?" Eames fires back.

"No. Why are you here?"

"Well first off you missed our first drink meeting and while I don't mind having the bottle of scotch all to myself my own stories are rather boring. I called but you didn't answer. Then I met with Cobb and he told me…"

"What?" Arthur interjects sharply.

"No need to take offense," Eames counters. "I am not going to offer an I told you so because I think you can see that for yourself, but really…why did you come here without backup?"

"Was hoping there was at least someone in my family who was at least a little bit honorable."

"A simple text would have sufficed," Eames suggests.

"You would have found a way to shackle me to the floor in my apartment," Arthur lightly huffs before his lips emit a soft wince.

"Ah tempting," Eames snickers before his expression turns serious at Arthur's visible wince of pain.

"Nothing's…broken."

"You sure?"

"Wrist maybe? Maybe a few ribs? It doesn't matter. How's Garth? Eames was really as bad as you say?"

"Worse mate. They worked him over pretty good. Brave fellow though. He never gave in. Won't matter much now if Shane is allowed to get close and kill him."

"You said a cop was there? Maybe the can help?"

"Don't get too excited, I'm sure she's already helped dispose of the body by now."

"She? And you couldn't charm her?" Arthur lightly growls.

"After I saw his condition, charming a Lady cop wasn't on the agenda. I hope Shane is stopped or something..."

"Yeah me too. Damn it Eames…that was my money Shane took from him. I offered…I offered him the money but he…he said it wasn't just about the money but he's too much like Ean. He loves the power and position also. You should see his home…his car…his lifestyle."

"Envious?"

"Yes and before you ask I was slightly tempted. But then I saw first hand how he maintains his lifestyle and I was done. I was all prepared to get on the plane back to Paris when I overheard Shane threatening Garth. I couldn't let that happen. Garth only ever mentioned financial trouble when we talked, he never told me the source and I respected that. But him suddenly having that large sum of money was my fault," Arthur rambles on in a weary tone. "My fault he's like that."

"He could have paid the money and you know it. He's like that because he has character and isn't afraid to stand up to worthless men like Shane Franchetti!" Eames voice finishes in a louder pitch as he turns and glares at Rocco. "You hear me big man?"

"Eames," Arthur mutters under his breath.

"If I come in there you will be sorry."

"I think you're full of piss and wind."

"He's delusional," Arthur groans. "Eames…shut up."

"Oh come now darling, he's too stupid to make his own decisions. Tell me do you need Shane to tell you when to jerk it off also. What about it mate you wanna share some details now?"

"Eames..."

"One more word out of you and I have permission to take it out on him," Rocco glares at Eames who merely purses his lips. He had wanted to get Rocco close enough to at least try to take him out but if his actions only earned Arthur a further beating that wasn't fair.

"He's done. You're done," Arthur tells Eames firmly.

"Oh darling this assertive side of you is very charming but I could have taken him."

"Funny," Arthur huffs as he tries to straighten up. But his lips offer another tormented gasp as he tries and his body sags back down; Eames watching in concern. "Garth tell you I was here?"

"He did. But I had to break into your apartment to even know to come to America in the first place. Figured that was okay after the call and rather odd text."

"You knew the text wasn't me," Arthur states more than questions.

"The reply was too…normal. Figured if you were here living the high life you would have found a way to gloat or brag, not giving me a way or reason to offer my I told you so and thus leaving me quite disappointed."

"Well I'm glad you figured it out. So you found all my notes then? About my mother? And her side of the family?"

"Very enlightening."

"I had to know Eames."

"You know for a split second I had almost thought your family would be tied to that ivory handled piece you bought in the pawn shop a few weeks back."

"I think I'm officially discouraged from investigating any more family history; even if it belongs to a gun."

"Oh come now darling, think of all the people that could have touched that ivory handle."

"I'll pass. You didn't call for backup on the way over by chance?"

"Didn't know who to trust. This is your neighbourhood not mine."

"Not mine either, it's Shane's," Arthur grumbles. "I don't belong here. I just…wanted to know who else was out there. Now I just want to go home and never come back."

"You helped Garth fight back," Eames reminds Arthur with a small wince of his own. "He stood up to Shane because of you…"

"He nearly died because I interfered!" Arthur hisses with an angry gasp. "If I hadn't interfered he would have paid the damn money…and been okay," Arthur resigns in misery.

"And all those innocent boys like Miles and Allen and the others would be pushed back into the system or worse."

"Yeah growing up on the streets," Arthur is forced to acknowledge. "I still feel responsible. I just want to go home and change my name."

"Lots of room on the Eames family tree," Eames snickers as both quickly stop as they hear a phone ringing.

"Arthur Eames?" Arthur shakes his head as Eames grins.

"Your fairy god-mother eh mate?" Eames calls out to Rocco.

"You two will be laughing out of the other sides of your faces when the boss gets back here to finish you off!" Rocco tosses back. "He just capped that Garth fellow. Two you is next."

"Are," Arthur growls through gritted teeth, earning a small eye roll from Eames.

"What?"

"It's ARE next you uneducated Neanderthal!"

"What's that?" Rocco asks angrily as he takes a few steps toward them.

"Arthur," Eames warns in a low tone, knowing that in Arthur's condition he couldn't take another round without being able to defend himself and he with his own wrists firmly caught in the iron shackles he wasn't worth a damn. "He's picky about proper speech."

"Well tell him to shut it."

"You tell me."

"What did you just say?" Rocco glares at Arthur.

"You heard me or do you also need a hearing aid?"

"It's Neanderthal darling...don't forget that."

"Oh right. Do you need a hearing aid Neanderthal?"

"I'll show you Neanderthal!" Rocco growls as he offers a stiff blow to Arthur's already bruised jaw, snapping his head back against the cold stone wall.

"Oh stop it you daft prick!" Eames shouts as he tries to pull himself free.

"That the best…you can do…dumb ass," Arthur goads as Rocco prepares to hit him again; Eames gritting his teeth as he tries in vain to pull himself free.

"The next one will break your jaw. Shut you up for good!"

"Try it!"

"Arthur!" Eames snaps as he watches Rocco's fist ball and prepare to strike. But just before he does the three of them hear an angry voice heading toward them; a few seconds later the heavy door being pulled open and Shane's menacing expression stepping out from the shadows.

"I see the party's just getting started," Shane mentions as he nears the cell, Rocco stepping to the side to let him enter; one bodyguard by the door and one at the top of the stairs. "In a few hours this place will be opening for the day and I really need my beauty sleep. So…"

"Is Garth really dead?" Arthur demands angrily.

"Two shots to the chest. Didn't put up that much of a fuss either," Shane replies with a mock frown. "But now…" Shane pauses as he pulls out Arthur's gun and waves it in front of his face; Eames frame starting to squirm against his restraints. "Now…who do I finish off first? My newly found and soon to be recently departed little brother? Or his poorly dressed fairy god-mother?"

"Poorly dressed? This shirt is new," Eames retorts in sarcasm.

"Fight me."

"What?" Shane asks with almost a wide grin.

"You heard me. Fight me like you did Garth. Or do you only fight old men that can't fight back?" Arthur goads as Shane leans in closer. He grabs Arthur's badly sprained wrist and starts to push is back.

"You mean like this?"

"AHHHHHHH!" Arthur yells as fresh pains resonate from his wrist and start to tickle his spine. Don't give up! Arthur hears Garth telling him. So he takes a deep breath, tosses his head forward, slamming his into Shane's and forcing Shane's to snap backward. "FIGHT...ME!" Arthur yells with a ragged gasp, as Eames tries to get his legs tangled with Shane's and at least get him tangled and stall for time. But stall for what? Help? What help?

Shane's fingers grab Arthur's jaw and give it a firm squeeze, hindering Arthur's speech; Shane pressing the end of the gun into Arthur's cheek and cocking the trigger.

"NO!" Eames shouts as he violently struggles against his restraints. "Shane…don't…"

"I am not going to ask you to beg me for your life because I know much like myself you wouldn't give me the satisfaction. So I'm just going to pull the trigger, decorate the wall with your blood and go have breakfast!"

"I…wa…" Arthur tries as Shane's fingers keep his jaw fixed in place, not letting Arthur jerk his head free. He finally lets go and steps back, pushes his gun against Arthur's forehead and prepares to fie.

"Any last words brother?"

"Go…to hell," Arthur manages in a clipped tone.

"You first."

But time seems to slow just as Shane readies his shot. His finger eases back on the trigger at the same time a soft 'thud' is heard; seconds later the door busts open and someone comes into view.

*bang*

Shane's lips utter a cry as his body starts to falter. His left hand instantly cradling the right arm that was shot, the gun clattering to the floor a few seconds later. He drops to his knees and both Arthur and Eames look up to see the last person they expected standing a few feet away with a raised gun.

"You?"

A/N: hmm so who showed up to help our boys? Thoughts? Is it really over? Is this person good? Or bad? Please do review before you go and thanks so much!