Chapter seven.
Fiona stood outside the door. Michael had thrown her out. She could not believe that he had done it. She marched down the steps, at the bottom she turned. Not really expecting him to be there, but hoping. When would he get the message that she did not want him to be constantly protecting her from his messed up life. She was perfectly capable of protecting herself. She had done it for years. She got into her car revving the engine and wheel spun away. She had not gone far when her phone started to ring.
.
"Fi, get back here now." Sam sounded flustered.
"What's the problem Sam?" If he asked what was wrong she would hurt him.
"Just get back here. And if you see Jesse just be careful."
"What?"
"Not now Fi just get here. Oh have you heard from Mike his cell is off."
"Michael is fine." She snapped. "What is it with, oh damn!" She narrowly missed another car.
"Fi, stop talking just get here." Sam yelled at her. He had heard the car horn commenting on her driving.
.
Sam had gone over the large thick folder several times. Admittedly he had skipped the parts he knew backward and forward, and the parts he had fabricated. He was getting nowhere, it took him a moment. Then he realised the same thing Michael had, the folder did not help. If it didn't help them how had it helped Jesse?
It couldn't of helped Jesse. That was the logical answer.
So how had Jesse got his information? That was the next question. Sam did not like the way this was going.
He tried Michael's cell but it was switched off. So he called Fiona. They needed to talk to Jesse.
.
Michael waited until he heard Fiona leave. He heard the squeal of tyres and winced slightly, the car was taking the brunt of her anger at the moment. He then started to prepare for tomorrows meeting. The was a lot to do. His head was clear now. So long spent in one place allowed him to form friendships, renew old relationships, made him soft. He pushed it all to the back of his mind. He shook his head it was pathetic how soft he had become.
.
Madeline watched as Sam tore through the garage which Jesse called home.
"Sam what are you doing?"
"Nothing to worry about Maddie I'm just looking for something." Sam replied as he searched.
"Well can I help. What is you're looking for?"
"I'll know it when I see it that's all."
"Fine then don't tell me." She muttered and left him to it.
Sam found nothing that incriminated Jesse. He stood looking at the mess he had left behind. He was stood like that when Fiona arrived.
"Sam?" She asked, looking in from the doorway. "Yeah Fi, I think Jesse may be spying on us."
"Really?"
"Yeah, that folder he's been pouring over, it contains just the stuff it always did, nothing after Michael talked to Simon. Nothing to say who the mysterious new player is."
"So you think Jesse is working with Brennan?"
"Brennan, really?" Brennan's name had been one of the four, not Sam's favourite. "Well I suppose Brennan does hate Mikey."
"Michael just threw me out of the loft, said he had a meeting set with Brennan and he didn't want me there." She sounded indignant.
"He's trying to go lone wolf again?" Sam sighed "Crap."
"What are we going to do."
"What we always end up doing. Getting him out of the mess he has got himself into." Sam huffed. he gave up on the room. if Jesse came back he had quite a few questions for him.
.
Nearby Michael's loft, a team who had been sent to watch Michael, keep an eye him. Make sure he didn't try and run. To make sure they knew exactly where he was when the decision was finally made to kill him. They all knew that he had pushed to far this time. Killing a handler was a big no no.
Not far from the first team the was a second team. This one was also watching the loft they were there to monitor his actions to make sure he was doing as he was told. As they worked for a communications company they had the very latest in bugging technology. They were also watching the first team. Drake industries do not play well with others. They were waiting for orders to take out this team of rivals. In the next twenty four hours they expected to be very busy.
Michael did not know exactly where these two teams from rival companies were, but he knew they were there and he knew that they had both had sound in the loft. He made all his preparations based around that fact.
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In the morning after very little sleep Michael showered and then dressed in his best suit, it hung off him a bit and he had to put his belt onto the highest hole. Standing in front of his mirror he combed his hair and studied his face. The was dark rings around his eyes making them appear a bit sunken in. His cheekbones were sharper that usual and his skin was deathly pale. He sucked on his lower lip unhappy with his appearance. He had been an idiot thinking he could of fooled Vaughn.
He was distracted by the sound of feet on the metal stairs. It was ten o clock.
.
Tyler Brennan had been looking forward to this day, a chance to wipe that smug grin off Michael Westen's face. Since his last run in with Westen he had learnt all he could about the man. He had rushed back to Miami when he was told a disgraced counter intelligence agent was asking questions about Simon Escher. When he found out this agent was meant to be working with Westen he had wasted no time. He produced evidence that Eshcer and Westen worked together and he managed to find the evidence that Westen had been the one who got Porter burnt. That piece of news had him smiling for a week. Before long he had turned the young agent completely against his partner. It was a shame the bible turned out to be a bust for him. Nobody wanted it, to hot to handle he was told. But then Michael had contacted him for help. That piece of news would make him smile for a month. He had held out but finally agreed to a deal. He had Michael Westen beg for his help. Now he was looking forward to bossing the other around until he got bored then he would have him shot. He had it all planned out. He straighten his suit and ran his hand across his hair as they pulled up at a set of rusting metal gates.
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Michael opened the door to two large men who pushed him back into the room. One patted him down, while the other swept the room looking for an ambush. Once they were both happy. Brennan walked in flanked by an other two men. He was as ever well dressed in a designer suit, and a thousand dollar shoes. He looked around the loft then turned his attention to Michael.
"Well you look as terrible as the dump you live in." He commented. He walked over and sat on one of the chairs next to what past as Michael's breakfast bar.
"so far this has been a one way deal Michael." He said. "I think it's about time we talked about the terms of our agreement."
"What is it you want?" Michael sat on his bed. A smile firmly in place.
"I have a business rival who is shall I say stepping on my toes I would like you to go and sort it out for me."
"So I'm to be your assassin?"
"When you called me Michael you promised to do whatever I wanted in return for some information and neutralizing one of your enemies. If I remember correctly you told me you needed my help."
"That's right, you set me up quite well didn't you. Left me no choice but to look for help, and you were the only one in town."
Brennan smiled "Your dossier did say you were quick."
"Did it also say not to trust me?" Michael had pulled a gun from under his pillow. In the same move he fired. The nearest of Brennan's bodyguards went down. Michael's hold on the gun was not as good as it would be normally he hit the second in the shoulder, by now the other two plus Brennan all had their guns out. This looked like it was going to end very badly for Michael. That was when a flash bang came in through the balcony door. The five remaining occupants of the room were stunned as the two doors into the loft were breached. Outside the was more gun fire as the two teams who had been watching the loft opened fire on each other.
Michael, Brennan and the three remaining henchmen came around, handcuffed, sat on the floor backs against a wall. Two men heavily armed stood guard over them. Outside the gunfire had stopped, from the way he tilted his head one of the men was receiving orders. He turned to the captives.
"Where is the bible?" He asked. When he got no reply he turned his Mach 10 towards the injured captive and a short burst of gunfire finished him off.
He didn't ask the question again just looked at the men sat on the floor. When he got no response he shot the next man.
"We don't know-" Brennan got no further in what he had to say as the man next to him was killed. The guards body slumped against Brennan's expensive suit.
"I'd tell him Brennan," Michael said. "They don't mess around."
Brennan was furious he should of taken the bible and disappeared but he had stayed for the chance to rub Michael Westen's nose in it. To have the man who was the thorn in his side working for him. The gun was now pointed at him, the eyes of the man holding it stared down at him expressionless.
"It's at my house?" He said. "In the safe." The man turned away, speaking into his comm's.
He turned back, "Take both of them. Mr Ottoman wants to speak to him." He nodded at Michael.
They had bags dropped over their heads and were dragged up. They were forced down the steps almost at a run, unable to see they half fell and and were bundled into a panelled van.
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Sam and Fiona watched from a distance, Sam kept a grip on Fiona . "It's not the time Fi they'd cut us down they way they did the others." So they followed keeping as far back as they could. All was going well until they were cut off a car pulled across the front of them, then another blocked them in behind. From each vehicle men appeared carrying fully automatic weapons. They were ordered out of the car and into the back seat of one of the cars. "Lets just wait here a bit." They were told by one of the men. After half an hour they were let go, but first Fiona had to watch as they shot out the tyres on her car. "Don't stick your noses in our business again." They were told as the gunmen got back in their cars and drove off.
.
Michael blinked as the bag came off his head, he was sat in a hard metal chair to which his wrists were shackled. In front of him was a table and another chair. The was no windows in the room and both the walls and the ceiling was the same off white colour. They left him there for several hours. He could hear the sounds of shouting and then moaning coming from another room. Eventually the door opened and a small rather portly man came in, he was balding and wore wire rim glasses. He held a clip board which he dropped onto the table. He took the seat facing Michael.
"Mr Westen, how well do you know Mr Brennan?" It was the same voice, this was the man who had tortured him.
"We've had a couple of run ins in the past." Michael answered. Wondering why the was no bright lights and torture devices.
"Did you know he had the bible?"
"No."
"Strange he said you did. He says you told him about it."
"Why would I have got him to steal it when I could of just given it to him?" Michael argued.
The man smiled. "We know that. Now," He changed the subject. "Regarding your employment."
"My what?"
"Employment. These are yours." He slid a credit card across the table, a cell phone and a storage locker key. "The card is for expenses only, weapons, ammunition,those you can't get from us that is. Travel, hotels, meals you know the sort of things, the cell you keep on you at all times, you answer it immediately, yes the is a tracker in it do not remove it. The key is for a storage facility where weapons ammunition and other ordinance is kept."
"When did I agree to work for you?" Michael asked, he had guessed they would want him to, would threaten his family and friends to make him. But this was, just you are going to do it.
"I'm sorry do you want to stay here as my lab rat. Because that is your choice. Now that brings me to my rules. Honesty Mr Westen is very important to me. You tell me no lies and you won't have to come in here again. I ask a question, you answer it completely no holding back any part of the information. I also understand you like to do some little side jobs. Not a problem but if that phone rings you answer it you do the job requested and you don't do anything else until you get the all clear. You will receive Two thousand dollars a week, as a retainer, more for any job we ask you to do. We have set up a bank account for you. It is not effected by the freeze on all your other accounts. Now you tell me. Do you want to stay here. Or do you want to leave here as an employee."
"What's happened to Brennan?"
"None of your business Mr Westen. That's another lesson. The is a lot you do not need to know."
"I don't ask twice Mr Westen." He was standing up ready to leave.
Michael really wanted to say no go to hell. But he really did not want to stay at what ever facility he was being kept at.
"Yes."
"Yes what?" Like he was talking to a child.
"Yes I will work for you."
"Welcome to Drake Industries Mr Westen. Some one from human resources will be in to let you go soon."
They kept there for another couple of hours. Then took him still in handcuffs and a black head bag and put him in a car. He was uncuffed and thrown out of the car by the loft. When he got to his feet he checked his pockets and found the credt card, phone and key inside.
At least I am now getting paid he thought to himself. He would go inside and then try and find away to make it up to every one.