"This has a little Silence of the Lambs type feel to it, don't ya think?"

Nick rolled his eyes at the man on the other side of the glass. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"You're scared of me, but you need my help," James replied.

"No I don't," Nick said, shaking his head. "You're in jail, and your business is completely shut down. I have my life back. I don't need anything from you."

"Then why are you here?" James asked.

Nick sighed. "I honestly don't know. A few people thought it would be a good idea, and I guess I did too."

"What people?" James inquired. "No one that you know would want you around me."

"Mom was one of them," Nick said. James turned pale instantly. "Yeah, I know she's alive. She told me everything."

"You're gonna believe that bitch over me?"

"She never tried to kill me," Nick replied.

"I wasn't trying to kill you," James said. "I was trying to give you the perfect life everyone wants. You coulda had anything you wanted. Snap your fingers and boom; a beautiful super model falling into your bed. Access to any club, bar, or restaraunt in the world. Keys to whatever mode of transportation you wanted. And now what do you have? Nothing."

Nick nodded slightly. "You're right, I did lose a lot. But all that stuff you just said, I never had it. So I didn't lose it. I lost much more valuable things."

James nodded as well. "And you'll never be able to get them back. You know that, I know that, everyone knows that. You lost everything you had left to lose."

"I lost Jack and Mike, I understand that," Nick said. "But I still have my job. I still have my friends, who still love me even though I was a criminal and lied to them. And I'm still me, I'm still Nick. I didn't lose as much as you did."

"What are you talking about?"

"You lost everything you've ever had," Nick responded. "Your reputation, your money, your houses, you legend status. You're nothing but a murderer and a crook. You're gonna be like the bad guy in any movie ever made. You gave a pretty good performance, but you'll never get anything from it."

James opened his mouth to speak, but Nick continued. "And you lost me. You lost me, and you lost Mike, and you lost Jack. Your only chances in the world. We're gone."

"You're still here," James said. "You can't do anything about me being your father."

"I don't have to because you're not," Nick retorted. "Jack is."

"You're a fucking liar," James challenged.

"Am I?" Nick asked. "Think about it. You know that Mike isn't really your son. His blood was a perfect match to mine, which means we have the same parents. Mike's are mom and Jack. So are mine."

James stood up, almost dropping the telephone receiver in the process. A guard quickly came over and forced him back into his seat. He took several deep breaths before he spoke.

"You were more like me than him," James said coldly.

Nick shook his head. "I could have been. I could have been fake, stupid, evil, and ruthless. I could have been just like you. But I wasn't. No matter how close I came, I was never like you. Jack saved me from you because he loved me, something you would know nothing about."

"Shut up," James said firmly.

"Do you even know how to feel anything?" Nick asked.

"Shut up," James repeated.

"I guess not," Nick said, something like sincere sadness in his voice. "Just remember, as your blood runs thin and your time runs out, no one will be listening, not even if you scream. Your angels turn to devils, and then you finally figure out that no one will be with you in the end. You brought this all on yourself, and you can lie all you want, but I know that it's going to torture you for the rest of your life. You lost everything, some things that you never even had to begin with. Like your heart."

"Don't try to act like a tough guy and make me feel bad," James said.

"How does it feel?" Nick asked. "How does it feel to have no one care what happens to you? You may think I lost more, but I still have something left. I have a lot more left than you do. You have nothing, nothing at all."

"And what exactly do you have Nick?" James asked. "You lost your father and brother, in one week. You finally met your mother, who you'll soon find out is a money grubbing whore. You lost two things and gained only one. According to my calculations, you're still down one."

"I'm not in jail for the rest of my life," Nick replied. "I still have my friends, my family. I never said I didn't lose anything. But I didn't lose everything."

Nick hung up the receiver as he stood up. He pushed the chair out with the back of his knees and turned to his right, heading out of the room at a steady pace. He felt James' eyes burning into the back of his head, but he didn't turn around. He didn't even consider it. All he did before he disappeared down the next corridor was nod slightly to the guard at the door, receiving a nod in return. And with that, Nick was out of the building, back in the parking garage where his Denali awaited him.

Nick opened the door and slid into the driver's seat. He closed the door slowly as he closed his eyes and let his head fall back against the leather headrest behind him. He was thankful for the freezing air pulsing through the vents straight onto his face. It wasn't particularly hot out, but the cold air felt good on Nick's hot skin. He felt like his blood had turned to fire, and maybe it had. Nick didn't wasn't sure of much anymore, but he didn't care either.

"Want me to drive?"

Nick opened his eyes and looked to his right. "Nah, I'm fine," he replied.

"You sure?" Warrick asked skeptically. "You look kinda pale man."

Nick nodded. "I'm sure. I needed to do that."

Warrick smiled slightly. "Just like when you had to do it with Kelly Gordon too," he said, and Nick nodded again. "I understand, it makes sense. I just want you to be okay."

"I am okay," Nick answered honestly. "Right now, at least. I'm going to be okay. As long as I have something left, I'm gonna be fine."

Sorry this chapter was short and a long time coming. I was on vacation for a week, and have spent a lot of time with friends recently. There's still a few more, and they will be a little different than the others. Hope you're enjoying.