A/N: Yawn

Chapter 2

John Dread walked around his former office as he waited for a meeting with Jefferson Smith. He had almost forgotten how beautiful the view of the bay was. Almost. While silently reminiscing about days spent in this office, Dread reached into his pocket and withdrew the key to the locked drawer in the desk. He had taken it with him when he…died. As Marco Nathanson, he had faked his own death, while bringing about the real deaths of many others…including the real father of Josh McGrath, or as he was known around here, Max Steel.

Anyway, Dread was curious to see what his successor to the N-Tek throne kept stored in the drawer. He suspected it would be some kind of weapon; he himself had stored his magnum in it, even thought he had never been forced to use it in this nice, plush office.

Withdrawing the key he had not used in so many years, Dread worked it into the keyhole in the drawer, and was happy to see that the lock had not been changed since he had last used it. Without knowing why, there was a feeling of suspense, and Dread paused in his task, making sure he had not just heard footsteps outside the door. He hadn't. Good. Slowly, he opened the drawer that had formerly contained his deadly firearm, making sure that it was not booby-trapped in any way.

Finally getting the drawer open, the man peered inside, and had to blink before he could accept the truth of what the drawer contained. He carefully picked up the object, pinching it between his thumb and forefinger and held it at eyelevel for inspection. Out of all the possible self-defense weapons, out of all the most important papers, out of everything secret and vital he could have stored in that drawer, Jefferson Smith had been keeping a half-eaten Snickers bar in it.

John Dread made a face of disgust, and it was at that moment Jefferson Smith himself returned to the room to meet with the former Marco Nathanson. Smith seemed to be frozen in place, looking horrified at the fact that John Dread had found the half-eaten candy bar he had stored in the emergency drawer.

It took a minute, but finally Smith regained his composure and cleared his throat. "I'll forget you took it upon yourself to open that drawer if you forget about what was in it."

Dread tossed the lint-encrusted candy back into the drawer and looked for something to wipe his hand on.

Jeff rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on, it's not that bad…" He went over to the drawer to take a look at the candy. He had started the bar two months ago, and had honestly forgotten where he had put it. He had thought Josh took it. Jeff shuddered as he got a good look at the Snickers bar. "All right, maybe it is that bad…" He could have sworn he saw a flicker of a smile on Dread's face, but as soon as it registered in his mind, it was gone.

"Anyway," Jeff said, sitting down and motioning for Dread to do the same, "should we get down to what this insanity is all about?"

Dread chose a chair in the corner of the room, giving a curious glance to the one with splintered armrests as he passed it. "Stress chair?" he asked, sounding amused.

Jeff sighed. "Close, Josh chair."

"Ah."

Semi-disturbed by the familiar quality of their conversation, Jefferson Smith decided that he did not want to come across as too friendly to the man who had been trying to destroy him and his organization for years…and vice versa. "Mr. Dread, why are you here?" Jeff folded his hands on his desk and stared at the man sitting in the far corner of the room. He had to admit, it was the first time someone had chosen to sit in a chair other than the one directly in front of the desk.

"I was under the impression that Ms. Leeds was to brief you on my request, Mr. Smith," Dread answered. He had picked up the formal note in Jeff's voice and seemed amused by it.

"Yes, she told me what you wanted, but I am as of now unaware why you would even think such a request is reasonable."

John Dread opened his mouth to reply, then stopped, distracted by one of the framed photographs visible on Jeff's desk. From the expression on his face, Jeff could tell which one it was. "It was Woodstock, okay? Everyone was dressed like that!"

Snapping back to reality, Dread smirked and looked like he wanted to make a comment, but stuck to the topic at hand. "My offer would benefit both our parties equally. My organization would get what we need at the moment, and yours would be rid of Psycho, who I understand has been a great annoyance to you over the years."

"We can take care of Psycho by ourselves, thank you."

"Right. Because we've all seen how well you've been at that."

Jeff glared daggers at the man.

Dread sighed and held up his hands. "I'm not here for a confrontation, Mr. Smith, I just think this deal would help both of us accomplish certain goals."

Jeff leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling. Dread noticed that his old swivel chair had been replaced, along with the carpeting. He had never liked the carpeting.

While Dread was pondering the carpeting, Jeff was mulling over the newest decision to be made at his executive desk. He knew he could not trust Dread. He knew it. But, the man did have an attractive offer that would benefit both of them…

"All right, John, I will consider allowing you to help N-Tek in the capture and/or assassination of your former freelancer."

"And?"

Jeff sighed. "And your right to stay at N-Tek until the contract is fufilled."

Dread stood up. "Thank you, Mr. Smith."

Jeff had a warning tone in his voice. "I didn't say yes yet, John. I said I'd think about it."

John Dread nodded at him. "Call me Marco."

Jefferson Smith retrieved a bottle of aspirin from a drawer as the other man left the office. He had a feeling that John Dread was not going to make this easy for him.