Cole pushed the accelerator to the floor as he raced to the warehouse. He couldn't wait to show his father how much money his last deal had made.

Ever since his father had reappeared, Cole had been trying to prove to Patrick that he was worthy of his time. His father had the freedom of their homeland on his shoulders, and as he had repeatedly told each Marty and Cole to not bother him with their many issues.

Cole had even screwed up the prison escape. Patrick had worked with Alison Perkins to make the arrangements to fake Cole's death. During the riot at the prison, Hannah was to find him and pretend to shoot him. Cole had gotten confused in the riot. He decided to follow Mitch Laurence since he knew the man was connected to Alison. When they ended up in Llanview, Cole had been pleased. He wanted to see Starr and demand that she break up with James. A prison official had suggested breaking up with her as a way to prove himself after getting in a fight. The guy had said Cole didn't realize that he was going to be in prison for ten years then he needed to accept life on the inside. A way to prove it would be to let the girlfriend, who visited him more than once a week, get on with her life. It would, also, be a way to earn back his TV privileges. Cole had complied grudgingly. He knew she would run to find that James as soon as she left. The guy was a wimp; Cole hadn't cried when his father hit him since he was four. Of course, it was probably just a ploy to gain Starr's sympathy. No one seemed to realize that Starr belonged to Cole. His father had told him that while they lived in California. How her father had taken things from Marty, so that he owed Cole and Patrick the right to take the same thing from his daughter. Cole had succeeded at it all too well and been saddled with Hope. It had been a balancing act. On one hand, he could feel the little girl worming her way into his heart. On the other, he knew his father could come back for him at any time. Cole hadn't done well, but his mother had taken every chance she could to self destruct which left him on his own. At one point, he thought John McBain could help him. His last name was McBain, after all. Cole quickly found out McBain was more interested in his career and women then the freedom of their homeland. So Cole had settled down with Starr and Hope to wait for his father. It hadn't gone well – people had just kept ticking him off. Then his mother and Starr would get on his case. Thankfully, he had met Hannah. She had understood him better than anyone else. He had thought she would be very useful when Patrick had said she would be coming to Ireland after his prison break.

Cole quickly dismissed his deviation from the plan from his mind. It was much easier to blame Todd and Starr for all his problems. He stepped harder on the gas pedal as he was nearing the meeting spot.

He was glad that he was almost there

Cole flashed the hand signal to the guard as he pulled up to the gate. He sprayed gravel as he quickly parked near the door. He grabbed his backpack out of the passenger seat as he threw open the driver's side door. Noticing a guard standing at the door, Cole frowned for a second. His father usually preferred to have everyone in the meeting. Cole nodded at the man he knew by sight.

"Go on inside. Your father has a surprise for you that I think you will like."

"Interesting," Cole knew most of his father's surprises involved someone getting beat, hopefully it wasn't him.

"Are you sorry now that you killed Brenden?" Cole heard his father ask.

Kelly killed his older brother many years ago, but what was Patrick talking about now? Kelly lived in Llanview, or maybe it was London. He really hadn't paid any attention to anything Starr had rambled on about when they moved to Ireland. Cole crept around the corner to see Kelly tied to a chair as Patrick moved closer and closer into the chair.

In Patrick's right hand was a whip that he snapped back and forth next to Kelly's head. "You're here with me now to decide your punishment." With that threat, he used the handle strike her.

Kelly just stared back without saying a word.

Cole moved backwards into the hallway and to the small office nearby. He remembered the pain of the whip when he had angered Patrick by trying out for the football team instead of the rugby team in junior high. He heard his breath accelerate. He knew how to handle this. He dug into the backpack for any pills he could grab. Without looking at the pills, he stuffed them in his mouth and swallowed. Cole sank down on the floor and waited for the familiar numbness to takeover.

Note: I know Cole sounds a little nuts here. He did always seem more violent than the show wanted to admit that he was. As well, I want it to be believable that while Starr has been living with Cole the past few months, mentally she has left the relationship. And she's more than ready to move forward with someone else. The next chapter was written, but the last two have gone in a slightly different direction. I'm going to need to add some explanation and a transition to the beginning, but don't worry it shouldn't take nearly as long to post as the chapter before this. I do have a new laptop now.