Liam's sleeping figure was far from serene. He was jolting about before he all but jumped with a sharp intake of breath. As he realized he was in his own bed next to Jillian he focused his efforts to slow down his elevated heartbeat and his panting breath.

"Liam? You ok? Bad dream?" He heard his girlfriend's soothing voice asking, as she slowly stirred in their bed, regarding him through her still sleepy eyes.

Nodding silently the young man brought a hand to cover his eyes trying hard to regain his composure. He couldn't risk Jillian finding out about anything that had occurred the previous day. How could he explain it to her anyway?

"What time did you come back last night?", Jillian asked again.

"Not sure.. Late." Liam answered a bit curtly.

Jillian watched him intently for a moment, before scooting closer to him. "You've been working far too much, Liam. You need to slow down and take care of yourself." With these words she brought her hands around him from behind and enclosed him in a tight hug.

Liam yelped loudly at the sharp pain on his ribs.

Retracting her hands hastily, Jillian looked down to see what caused his intense reaction. And then she noticed it. A nasty looking bruise on the left side of his naked torso. Her eyes enlarging she looked at him worriedly, "God, Liam! What happened to you?"

Liam had to try hard to keep his temper in check now. Jumping to his feet he tried to sound reassuring. "It's nothing! I... I was in a rush and... I run into something," he said dismissively as he made quick moves of wearing his jeans.

"You seriously expect me to believe that? Unless that something was a car!" Jillian remarked smiling uncomfortably. Why on earth was Liam hiding things from her all of a sudden? When she was met with silence she continued, "Liam, what is going on? You know you can talk to me…"

"I already told you!" Liam snapped as he faught his way into a fresh t-shirt. "It's no big deal, now please cut the third degree, alright?"

Jillian looked at him dejectedly before uttering a flat-toned "Fine".

Looking at her worried face and feeling a strong pung of guilt at the way he spoke to her, Liam went close to her and landed a soft peck on her lips. "I'm sorry, I'm just tired. I got a meeting now, but we'll talk later, I promise," he said placatingly, but didn't wait for an answer.

Jillian remained watching him jogging to the door and vanishing behind it.


Darius paced next to Liam as the two of them proceeded towards the debriefing room. A simple glance to the young man's face informed Darius that he hadn't slept nearly enough last night. Not that it surprised him.

"Are you ok, Liam?" The older man asked, his tone and eyes sincerely concerned.

Liam let out a sarcastic snort before answering "Yeah, peachy!"

Darius could read his frustration from a mile away and wanted nothing more than to offer him a chance to talk things through, but right now they had a Pentagon debriefing and he needed Liam as focused as possible. Clearing his throat he answered to the young man, "Good. You can't dwell on the past."

The incredulous look he received from Liam made him want to kick himself.

"I didn't know 12 hours ago was the past, but sure! Why not?!" came Liam's sarcastic retort. Shaking his head he walked faster towards the glass door of the meeting room leaving Darius following close behind.

Darius watched the young man walking away with a pensive expression, but chose not to address his tone or irritation. The kid had gone through a hell of a lot over the last weeks and yesterday had been extremely hard on him.

As they took their seats and the head of the debriefing team started asking questions, Darius did not take his eyes from his protege. He read and noted every jerk and jolt and roll of eyes. His tapping feet and his cracking fingers. His irritated tone and sarcastic answers. The kid was a mess. He needed to take his mind off of everything that was going on and in Darius' not so humble opinion someone to talk to. Promising himself he'd find a way to take care of the boy and still manage to save the world, Darius started planning their next moves before they even left the table.

Forty minutes later Liam and Darius walked out of the meeting room with solemn expressions. Liam felt ten times worse than he did when they had entered. A sense of guilt that this was somehow his fault was starting to overwhelm him.

"I fucked it up in there," he mumbled to the general direction of his British mentor.

"Liam, please, you know how I detest foul language," Darius admonished lightly. "And no, You did no such thing. The Pentagon is out to get us from day one and you know it. They just found the opportunity to do so. There is nothing you could have said that would change that."

Deciding not to argue with the man Liam only asked, "What did you mean in there, when you told them that you can make things right?"

Smiling a bit to the young man's observation skills he answered, "Let's just say that I know someone who has some more of our rock." At the Liam's dumbfounded expression he only smiled as he added, "You'll need your passport. Be ready in an hour."


Liam tapped his fingers impatiently on his knees as he kept his head stubbornly turned towards the jet's window. "You can stare at me like that throughout this flight. It won't change a thing," he informed Darius annoyed.

Darius only inclined his head a bit more and nodded in understanding, never breaking eye contact. They were already flying for over half an hour and he was determined to break through Liam's stubbornness and get him to talk before they landed.

His annoyance ever growing, Liam scoffed, "You don't get to shrink me or whatever, just because you have seven hours to kill! No!"

"Ok, first, I'm not trying to shrink you. I lack the appropriate training for that, although I have taken a couple of classes at one point or another during my college years… I am merely trying to talk to you! I believe you have gone through a very traumatic experience and I can see you're struggling. I only want the best for you Liam."

"Oh, you want the best for me?" Liam answered incredulously his eyes turning sharply to the older man's direction. "Where was this concern last night, huh? Or this morning?"

Darius leaned forward in his seat and rested his arms on his knees as he looked at the young man square in the eye. "Liam, we both know that things are more than crazy these days. Prioritization must happen at all times and at all costs. And believe me, I wanted nothing more than to prioritize you from the very second we got you back from the Russians, but the fate of the planet lays in both our hands. We had to go through the damn meeting and we couldn't have you an emotional wreck for that. I am sorry for this situation, I really am. But now we are here and we have the luxury of time. I don't look for time to kill. I look for a chance to help you."

Liam regarded the older man silently. He leaned back in his seat and brought his palms to rub his eyes tiredly. After a few silent seconds he commented, "I've been a dick haven't I?"

Closing his eyes and managing to swallow down the stern 'language' that came all the way to his tongue, Darius reached out a hand and rubbed the boy's knee, "You've been a rock, kid. But right now I need you to open up a bit."

"It's just…" Liam started and abruptly stopped, remaining silent for a few seconds, eyes darting to the small window next to him. "At first I felt so betrayed... Croft didn't only betray our country, he also betrayed me. He took our work, he stole it, he abducted me, and tried to sell everything to the Russians. And then he had a gun pointed at me. Threatened to kill me. So that he'd be the only one with the knowledge of how to build the EM drive. He always said I was like the son he never had, you know? And then he was there, ready to shoot..." After another short pause, Liam bit his lower lip before getting out in a wyiet tone, "But I shot first."

The abrupt violent shaking of the kid's shoulders made Darius all but jump from his seat and move right next to him, hugging him by his shoulders, trying his best to soothe him.

"I can't pretend to understand how you're feeling right now. You had to shoot your mentor, in order to save your own life. I wish I could somehow be there and do it for you, take this away, Liam. But I can't. I can only tell you that I am so very happy that you're the one who got out of that place safe and sound."

Liam shook his head as the sobs kept rocking his body.

"Sshh, now. It's ok. You're safe. I promise you won't have to go through anything like this again. I promise I will protect you from now on, no matter what. I promise, Liam" , Darius said as he rubbed a soothing hand over the kid's back. He couldn't exactly spot when or how, but this young genious had sneaked his way into his heart. He saw him as more than a protege. He saw him as a son or at the very least a younger brother.

Liam slowly calmed down. When Darius felt his breathing going somewhat back to normal, he reached behind him to a small shelf and grabbed a bottle of water, which he promptly handed to him.

After Liam gulped down half of its content he turned his still wet eyes to the older man and asked "Anything stronger than this?"

Darius shook his head smiling, happy to see some of the young man's impishness coming back. "You'll have your chance to enjoy excellent drinks, when we reach our destination. Now go wash up a bit and try to get some sleep. You look exhausted and we still got a good 6 hours ahead of us."

Liam nodded and rose to his feet. After taking a couple of steps towards the small plane's bathroom he turned back to Darius. "About what you said earlier… I didn't have to shoot my mentor. Croft is not -and never really was- my mentor. You are." With these words, he turned his back again and quickly approached the bathroom.

Darius smiled widely as he opened his laptop and began typing away.


Walking through the imposing gates of the castle, Liam felt his eyes enlarge in awe. Beautifully groomed gardens and sparkling white marble fountains, polished stone paths and a marvelous architectural structure that seemed like it could belong to the very Queen of England, spread everywhere around them.

"Branson?" He asked looking at Darius inquisitively. He had been trying to guess who they'd meet ever since their car started rolling through the magnificent estate's road to bring them to this very castle.

"No."

"Beckham? Connery?"

"No! Stop guessing, we're almost there," Darius said amused as he led them to the all too familiar from his younger years parlor.

"Then tell me who we're here to see and what they've got to do with the crystal…"

Darius looked at Liam plastering a smile on his face and emphatically whispering, "Stop nagging at me and start listening!"

"Darius!" a third voice rang. Liam watched as an old man in his sixties or seventies approached them, smiling widely.

"Nicholas!"

"When they told me you'd come, I was certain they were just trying to pull my leg," the man said excitedly as he proceeded to enclose Darius in a strong hug.

Liam watched Darius remain rather awkward and rigid in the older man's arms as he grunted out "I happened to be in the neighbourhood." When the embrace ended Darius promptly continued, "Liam, this is Nicholas Tanz, Nicholas, this is Liam Cole. My newest protege."

Liam glanced at Darius for a second, a bit annoyed over being called 'newest', as if he was some polished new toy the man owned. Managing not to comment on it, he smiled and shook Nicholas' hand.

Darius continued, "Nicholas is my…"

"Uncle, I know. I've read your biography," Liam interrupted smiling. He savored the sense of satisfaction at interrupting Darius, something Liam knew greatly annoyed the man.

"Where you're from, Liam?" Nicholas asked kindly.

"Rhode Island, Sir, Providence," Liam answered in perfect manners.

"Your family still there?" The older man kept up casually as Darius regarded him with a knowing look.

"Yes. My mother. She is a nurse." Liam continued his tone a little less chippery than before.

"Ah! And your father?" Nicholas pressed on his smile never leaving his face.

"Uh.. He… He was not in the picture." Liam answered again obviously uncomfortable by now.

His smile growing bigger, Nicholas' eyes travelled to his nephew as he commented, "Ah! I see. You took in another stray, didn't you Darius?" Before any of them made it to answer the man chuckled waving his hand as if indicating he was just joking. "Well, Liam, then you and Darius have something in common."

Darius in an effort to lighten the atmosphere and not lose his temper sooner than necessary, continued as if he was never interrupted, "Liam here got a full scholarship at the university. He is a very gifted scientist. He is just 19 and already completing his graduate studies."

Nicholas chuckled saying "A young genius then? Ah! Another thing you've got in common with my nephew!"

Smiling tightly, Darius then mentioned, "Nicholas put me through MIT."

Nicholas regarded his nephew with a gaze of mixed pride and bitterness as he added, "I raised him like a son. And how does he repay me? By building an empire an ocean away!"

Liam's eyes moved between the two men as if watching a tennis match trying to decide what their relationship was really like behind these false pleasantries.

Darius obviously uncomfortable by now, mentioned after clearing his throat, "Anyway, Liam is a specialist in space rocks. I thought you might enjoy showing off your collection to him."

Nicholas' eyes sparkled with almost childish pride and enthusiasm at that, as he approached Liam, "Anything you've seen in Tanz industries will pale by comparison. Get ready for the grande tour!"

As Nicholas walked slowly away with Liam, Darius reached out and grabbed a glass of scotch, from one of the waiters strolling by him and proceeded to gulp it down in one long sip before following the pair.

Liam and Darius remained silent as Nicholas guided them through the castle's converted stables to what could only be described as a rather pompous and incoherent private museum, filled with cars and space rocks. At the center of the largest room, on the largest stand laid the reason for their trip. A large piece of meteorite filled with the invaluable crystal they needed.

As Nicholas' proceeded to describe its history and how he gave Darius a small piece of it when he left to remind him of his home, Darius and Liam looked at each other knowingly.

"You know, Nicholas, I am putting together an exhibit for the Smithsonian and I believe this beauty would make for a great centerpiece. What would you say If I took it as a loan and return it to you right after?" Darius asked casually as he regarded his uncle with hands in his pockets.

The older man's eyes narrowed as a small knowing smirk formed on his wrinkled face. "You know the funny thing about this rock… I've had it for years. Nobody ever showed any particular interest in it. Until last night, when some fellows from Russia offered quite a few millions to buy it from me," he paused long enough to gauge Darius' expression before continuing, "Then the very next day, Darius Tanz after years of absence casually walks in and asks for the same rock. Now, what are the odds?"

Liam watched Darius' eyes narrowing and his arms crossing in front of his chest, as he glared at his uncle straight in the eye. "What if I told you it's important for me?"

Nicholas laughed out loud. "More important than it was for me to be partners with you? I seriously doubt that, Darius."

"Don't act sentimental Nicholas, it doesn't flatter you. It's always been a number with you, so let's have it. How much do you want?" Darius answered impatiently, his voice now elevated.

Liam felt his temper rise. How could Darius be so dumb, angering the man further? Risking their only chance to get the crystal and build a working EM drive?

Nicholas shook his head and chuckled lowly, "The answer is no."

Darius let out a low chuckle as well as he shook his head. "You're just like I remembered you, uncle. A real son of a bitch!"

Liam almost flinched at the words. It wasn't only that Darius never swore, it was that their last chance to get the crystal was evaporating before his very eyes.

Smiling his confident smile, Nicholas only answered, "I'd like to go back to my guests. Thank you for dropping by, Liam, it's been a pleasure!"

"Yeah," Liam answered awkwardly as he shook the man's hand.

"Goodbye Darius."

"Bye-Bye"

When the sound of Nicholas' steps faded away, Liam turned incredulously to Darius, "What the hell was that? You didn't even try to convince him, you just insulted him!" When he was met with silence the young man pressed on, "Darius, I don't give a fuck what kind of daddy or uncle issues you have, but you have to apologize, hell you have to bloody beg!"

Darius shot a stern look at Liam, "What have I told you about swearing?"

"Are you kidding me right now?" Liam asked incredulously throwing his hands in the air.

"Nicholas, would never sell to me, Liam." Darius said in a calm tone. "We didn't come here to convince him to do so. We came here for some high tech spying."

Liam remained still watching Darius reaching in his eye and removing what seemed like a contact lense and putting it in a small box he retrieved from his pocket.

"Darius, what are you planning to do?" Liam asked confused and a bit afraid of the answer.

Darius face was lit by a mischievous confident grin as he pointed a finger to the rock, "I'm gonna steal it!"


TBC