AN: I'm glad that everyone liked the little interlude- I just hate that it is taking so long to get things going. I guess because I already know what's going to happen, I feel the story is a bit sluggish at the moment. Ah, well, patience isn't my greatest virtue apparently. ;) Here's part two of Union of the Snake. While finishing this chapter up, my muse spent the majority of its time screaming, "Off with his head" at Cox. Hmmm... Perhaps you will be too. Lol

Enjoy. As always reviews are divine and those have been reviewing are angels. ;)

LJP: A good smack might do them both some good. Lol That little conversation will certainly be revisited down the road.

Imag1ne: Wow, thank you for such a compliment!

NYT: No doubt Jarod will be putting a great deal of effort into figuring out what he's done.

I'm lucky that I have no observation hours this semester, but next fall I've got a mandatory 48 that I have to squeeze in somehow along with five other classes, and then a lovely full semester of student teaching. How did you get through it?

Lyrics by Garbage

Union of the Snake Part 2

Lyle glared heinously at the man who sat behind his father's desk as he took a seat across from him. The man, untroubled by the black look, grinned triumphantly at the former-Chairman's son.

"You do know why you're here- don't you, Mr. Lyle?"

The younger man cleared his countenance and shrugged as though he could care less. "I assume it's about the Project I've been assigned."

Cox nodded affirmatively. "Indeed it is. I trust all is going well."

"Yes, of course."

"And I trust," Cox raised a suspicious brow, "that you haven't done anything stupid with her."

A small smirk tugged at the corner of Lyle's mouth. He held the other man's gaze with a hint of defiance. "Define stupid."

Immediately put off by Lyle's disrespectful demeanor, Cox returned Lyle's smirk with his own nasty glower. He ignored the snarky retort and went on. "Training sessions are to resume first thing tomorrow morning. She is to be in uniform, and to have fasted for a six hour period beforehand." He waved a dismissive hand at Lyle. "That is all for now, Mr. Lyle. You may go."

However he may have been goaded that Cox summoned and dismissed him like a common servant, Lyle showed no sign of this on his visage. And he did not move.

"What is the name of the Project?"

It was not a question, but a demand, and it caught Cox unaware. He glanced up sharply and peered at the Under Director through narrowed eyes. "Heptagon," he snarled shortly. "Just as it always has been."

"There is no Heptagon anymore," Lyle shot back forcefully. "What's the name of the Project?"

"That is none of your concern."

"It is when it involves my wife."

Cox gaped at him in stunned silence for a long moment. He held that moment for he was certain the concern Lyle seemed to have regarding Ameliawas in jest- this was, after all, a man who cared about no one but himself. After a time, he saw that Lyle was dead serious.

The laughter began.

Lyle stared disgustedly at the laughing man. He began to tremble as every muscle in his body constrained and madness sped through his arteries. The laughter reverberated in his skull as other voices joined in ridiculing him. He wondered what difference it would make if he crushed the miserable life out the ribald man right then and there. No one he knew would mourn Cox's demise.

Then he remembered the other man's intimate ties with the Triumvirate. Cox's termination would undoubtedly result in his own.

"You really have bought into this little play, haven't you, Mr. Lyle?" Cox wiped at the corner of his eyes as the merriment bubbled out once more. Once he had calmed a bit, he added, "You really are serious about the vows you took that day, aren't you? So sentimental and here, all this time, everyone had you pegged for heartless S.O.B."

The chuckling continued unabated until, unable to restrain himself any further, Lyle jumped across the desk and pinned Cox against the opposite wall, cutting off the flow ofoxygen to the laughing man's air pipe. Thoroughly enthralled with the anticipation of watching the animation slowly and painfully seeped from him, it was a struggle for Lyle to regain control of himself. Just as Cox was turning a curious shade of reddish-purple, Lyle released him and returned to his chair on other side of the desk as though nothing had happened. Besides, there were far more excruciating ways to die- asphyxiation was far too merciful a way for Cox to go.

Cox, once he was able to breath normally again, now had further reason to hate the man across him. He took his anger out on his tie as he straightened it.

"You will regret that, Mr. Lyle," he murmured under his breath. Louder he announced, "If she was truly your wife, then perhaps you might have right to know, but as the marriage was not a legal one, you don't. So you can shove this caring husband bit back wherever you got it."

This revelation had no impact on Lyle, much to Cox's surprise and ire.

Lyle merely shrugged.

"Yes," he acknowledged smugly, "the marriage arranged by the Centre was not legal. That has since been remedied."

"What?" The word dropped from Cox's mouth like batter onto a hot skillet.

The smirk returned to lips of the Mr. Parker's son and with purposeful deliberateness he removed a folded document from an interior jacket pocket. He flicked it at Cox.

"A legal, binding contract," he simpered proudly. Once again, he had the upper hand.

Cox said nothing. His scalding blue eyes scanned the document thoroughly. When he was finished, he folded the paper again and tore it in half, not once but four times.

"Doesn't matter," Lyle commented cooly. "That's just a copy. The original is locked away where the Centre hounds can't get to it."

Cox clenched his teeth and snarled. "Fine," he snipped off each word aggressively. "The name of the Project is ARES."

Lyle nodded self-satisfied. "That's all I wanted to know."

Cox watched with consuming detest as the younger man took his leave. Lyle may have gained the name of the Project, but he would soon forget it.

He was not about to let this transgression go without penitence of some sort.

I'm only happy when it rains...

He left his meeting with Cox with a strange feeling lingering upon his shoulders. Something Cox had said was deeply disturbing.

"Heptagon. Just as it always has been."

How did Cox know of Heptagon? And why, after the careful removal of the existence of the original Heptagon, would they retain the name of a Project they wanted erased?

Unless...

I'm only happy when it's complicated...

Lyle tried to sleep on it, hoping rest would clarify his mind and help him figure out the significance of Cox's statement. Sleep, as usual, eluded him most of the night.

Unless... Unless... Unless what?

Drowning out the jeering voices with sound of rushing water from the shower, he reviewed his knowledge of Heptagon and Dominatus and those involved. The recap offered little as he could not remember Cox's involvement in the original project.

Unless... Unless..

Lyle stared at his image in the bathroom mirror without seeing himself. Slowly, the light of realization dawned in his eyes.

Unless Cox didn't know what he knew about Heptagon!

He grimaced. Raines would have informed Cox, wouldn't he? Raines' absence was yet another puzzling mystery. Was one connected to the other?

Turning away from the mirror, he meticulously tidied up the bathroom. The first thing he saw when he entered his bedroom was an unmade bed and Amelia's nightgown tossed carelessly across the sheets.

Grunting in annoyance at the less than neat bed, he snatched the silky camisole off the bed and was about to toss it into the clothes hamper when something gave him pause. He wasn't sure what that something was- whether it was the light, airy texture of the material or the scent of lilac that surrounded it. He frowned.

And though I know you can't appreciate it- I'm only happy when it rains...

She was his wife, he had told Cox. By making the marriage legal, he taken back some of the power Cox had usurped from him. But what good did that do him? It was all being undone and voided in a matter of hours.

He hated having to kowtow Cox of all people- he couldn't understand what the Triumvirate was thinking or plotting even. Something else that perturbed him was how silent the Triumvirate was being through all this. They spoke through Cox and Cox alone. They would not even speak to his father directly, and Lyle had a sneaking suspicion that Mr. Parker's sudden absence might have something to with that.

You know I love it when the news is bad and why it feels so good to feel so sad...

The sound of water running in the kitchen caught his attention and reminded him that Amelia was up. She had said little when he informed her the night before that her visits to Cox were to resume and gave her the instructions Cox had given him. She had been distant since returning from the rather disastrous trip to West Virginia. Perhaps not physically, but mentally she was worlds away.

He rubbed the silken material between thumb and forefinger, his lips pursed into a tight line. It was terribly unsettling how bothered he was by the impending annulment. It should not matter one way or the other. Marriage had never been particularly appealing to him, not even when he was wed to Shei Lin, but the dissolution of this one had him vexed. Briefly, he entertained the thought of not taking her to Cox and what repercussions that would bring, but dismissed the idea quickly- Amelia or no Amelia, his appetite for power had never relented and he was not about to jeopardize his position further by going against the current Centre Chairman.

Pour your misery down on me... I'm only happy when it rains... I feel good when things are going wrong... I only listen to the sad, sad songs...

He flicked the garment into the hamper and started to the leave room when he turned back at the last moment. If he didn't take care of that bed immediately it would gnaw at his thoughts all day. He did not need something else to worry about.

He found her in the living room arranging the some new interior decor. His apartment was beginning to look like a Tuscan villa and a little too homey for his liking. However, he did not share that thought with her.

"Amelia."

If she heard him, she ignored him and continued setting up the Majolica ceramics on the mantle above the entertainment center. Her entire face was scrunched up in a rather unattractive grimace.

"Amel-ia," he called in a sing-song voice. He crossed his arms over his chest, growing more and more impatient.

There was no reply.

"Mia!"

She looked up, startled, as though she had been unaware of his presence.

"Is it time to go?" Her eyes fell to the floor as she tried to shove her hands into pockets that did not exist in the sleek black uniform she was required to wear.

He nodded, suddenly uncomfortable. "You haven't eaten anything, have you?" he asked gruffly.

"No," she whispered, looking ashen. She made an effort to move.

"Well, come on. We can't be late."

Obediently, she came to him, a grey version of her usually vibrant self. He sighed heavily.

"Come on, don't be like this," he said, almost pleadingly. "What's the big deal?"

She looked up at him with enormous eyes, but said nothing.

"What?"

"I don't like these 'sessions'," she admitted finally.

"It's not like anything bad is happening to you. I wouldn't let it," he responded lightly. In truth, he had no idea what was happening to her during her time with Cox.

"I'm just starting to remember, Bobby. I don't want to forget again."

I only smile in the dark... My only comfort is the night gone black... I didn't accidentally tell you that I'm only happy when it rains...

"Yeah, well, some things can't be avoided," he muttered weakly, dropping his chin to his chest. After a moment, he lifted his chin again. "Look, I've got my eye on Cox. You'll be fine."

Amelia shrugged apathetically and followed him to the front door. As they passed the sofa table, Lyle paused. His eyes were riveted to a set of folded papers that set on the edge. There was an air of repulsion in the way he picked up the papers by their corner. He could feel a pair of gray eyes regarding him curiously.

"Make sure you sign these," he told her curtly, waving the document at her.

"What are they?"

He glared at her singularly. Hurt mixed with anger flared in his eyes. He locked that look onto her for some time before glancing away in embarrassment.

"Don't question me- just sign them when you get back."

You'll get the message by the time I'm through when I complain about me and you... You can keep me company as long as you don't care... You wanna hear about my new obsession? I'm riding high upon a deep depression... Pour some misery down on me...

"Eight o'clock on the dot. I am impressed, Mr. Lyle," Cox grinned at the dour man leading his prize Project through SL-24.

"In uniform and fasted six hours per your instructions," Lyle reported acerbically. "When should I pick her up?"

"You'll be notified." Cox turned to Amelia with a dashing smile. "Lovely to see you again, my dear."

Amelia glanced uncertainly at Lyle who would not meet her gaze.

"Do you remember me, Amelia?" Cox asked.

She shifted fearfully and pressed against Lyle for some sort of reassurance of which she received none. She shook her head "no".

"Splendid!" Cox clapped his hands together delightedly which served to further confuse the girl. He reached out to her and latched a cold hand onto her arm.

She twisted around to see her husband, silently begging him to intervene. But he would not look at her.

Once they were gone, Lyle tried to make a quick exit but a voice that sent a shudder through him called him back.

"I am not through with you, Mr. Lyle."

Gone was the debonnaire facade, replaced by the man's true darkness. Lyle turned to face Cox and found himself surrounded by six sweepers that he could not recall ever seeing before.

"What's this all about?" he demanded, fighting to keep incertitude out of his voice.

Cox circled him rapaciously. "Do you really think that I would let your little display of rebellion earlier go?"

Lyle glared at him defiantly despite the uneasiness that had settled in his chest.

"I will not tolerate any display of insubordination from you or anyone else!" With a crisp nod, Cox signaled to his sweepers to restrain the Under-Director.

The younger man was not so easily broken.

"You are not in charge anymore, Mr. Lyle," he spat. "And Daddy isn't here to save you, either."

"Yeah," Lyle grinned dementedly. "What are you going to do about it? You don't have the power to remove me. There's only one person who can do that and it's not anyone from the Triumvirate."

"Good point," Cox relaxed a bit and seemed to consider what Lyle said. "Yes, Madame Director does seem to be in your corner... for the time being."

"Yes, she is. Now tell your thugs to let go of me."

Cox shook his head and regarded the other man smugly. "I don't think so. You see, I don't believe removal is necessary. I think a trip to Cell 6 will suffice inbreaking this bad behaviour."

The blood drained from Lyle's face leaving it a ghostly pale. One ghost of a word escaped from his lips.

"No..."