A/N: Sorry for the delay! Took a mini vacay to Salt Lake City last week for the Guts World Tour!
"Glad to see you back in action."
Sonny donned a classic smirk as he turned to face his office door. Brick stood tall in the door frame, hands in his front pockets.
"I'm glad to be back," Sonny responded as his right-hand shut the door, taking a seat on the other side of the desk.
"Doctors gave you the all-clear or you're still in physical therapy?"
"All-clear."
"Good. We can get right to work on retaliation. A certain German needs to pay for what he did to you and your family."
"It's all I've thought about since he p-put me in the hospital. That bastard injured me and reduced my stock to...to nothing. He tried to ruin me; the least I can do is ruin him in return."
"What do you want to do?"
"What did you say that Wallace deals in? It wasn't product-"
"Secrets. His business deals in political and corporate unrest."
"What's the likelihood that planting a fake scandal for him to exploit works?" Sonny rubbed his chin, "Wallace is many things, but he's not...naïve."
"There's a very good chance that it wouldn't work out in our favor."
"Does D-Dex still work for him?"
"I'll look into it-" a knock on the door interrupted them, and both men's heads turned in that direction. Tony walked through, Nina Reeves on his right.
"Boss," he bellowed, "I'm sorry to interrupt-"
"Is it an emergency, Nina?" Sonny asked, beginning to stand up.
"Possibly," she responded, "Michael reached out to me."
"About what?"
"About reconciliation," Michael walked up next to her, hands in his front pockets.
"I'm in the middle of something," Sonny sat back down.
"Please, Dad," Michael bypassed Brick, looming over the desk, "we need to talk now."
"I'm not interested."
"You won't even give me a chance to explain myself?"
"There's nothing to explain. You hired a spy to take me down. You betrayed me."
"Dad-" Michael stopped himself when he felt Brick pull him back, a sour expression on his face.
"Hey, Michael," Sonny's right-hand began, "look, you know that I'd welcome this on any other day, in any other circumstance, but right now, because of you, we have to deal with Wallace Heller."
"I don't need the reminder," Michael shook his head, "and I-I know that Wallace and Dex caused some problems-"
"Caused some problems?" Brick raised both of his eyebrows, "Really? That man and his son are responsible for injuring both you and your father on top of torching your father's coffee stock."
"I understand that-"
"Then you'd apologize for it," Sonny remarked.
"You're not giving me the chance to do that!"
"We're wasting time," the kingpin stood up, "I'm in an important meeting right now, and I'm going to finish."
Michael doesn't respond, shaking his head in frustration as he stormed out of the office. Nina stood by awkwardly, watching the scene unfold.
"I'm so sorry," she spoke up.
"Don't be, Nina," Sonny took his seat again, "I'm sorry Michael bothered you with coming over here when y-you have the Metro Court t-to worry about."
"It's alright. Any excuse to see you is a good one for me," she forced a wide smile, glancing between the men. They stared at one another in complete silence for a beat, the woman breaking the silence, "...What's going on with Wallace Heller? Did something happen besides what he did to you?"
"No, no," the kingpin shook his head, "Brick and I...we're figuring out how to deal with it."
"And we need to work on this in private," Brick stared her down.
"...Oh," she chirped, "right, of course. I'll...I'll see you later, Sonny. I love you."
"I love you too," the man nodded, watching her close the office door behind her. Nina let out a heavy sigh as the door to Pozzulo's opened, Brando strolling in.
"Hey," he nodded at the woman, slightly out of breath, "is Sonny busy?"
"Uh, yes," Nina ducked her head, gripping her clutch, "he is. He's currently meeting with Brick."
"About?"
"Wallace Heller?"
"Of course," Brando shook his head, "that guy and his bastard son must've done something else."
"They're trying to find a response to the warehouse fire," Nina stepped closer to Brando, "I'm concerned about all of this. I don't want things to escalate."
"Neither do I, but you know Sonny well enough to know he's not going to let Wallace's behavior go unpunished."
"I know, but what if this turns into a war? That can put a lot of his family in danger! I know Sonny is able to protect us but-"
"Yeah…" Brando sighed, "that's the last thing any of us need."
"Where are you-" Nina turned around as she watched Brando approach the office door, frowning when Frank obliged his request. The two men looked his way, surprise on their faces.
"Brando," Sonny said, eyebrows raised, "what are you doing here?"
"I heard you're figuring out how to handle the Hellers."
"We are," Brick replied.
"I want in."
"...Why?" the kingpin asked.
"They hurt my family, for one, and…" Brando looked at the closed door, "I want to avoid things spiraling out of control."
"Out of control?"
"Nina's worried that a mob war could come out of this…and so am I."
"We don't want to go to war with Wallace," Brick chimed in, "at least, not now."
"He's owed a response after attacking me and my property, Brando. That's what's going on."
"I get that, but I'm sure Wallace would respond to that, and it'll just go back and forth and-"
"Brando, you know I protect my own. I'm not gonna let Wallace do anything to anyone. It'll be between me and him only."
"I'm sorry, you wanted in on this?" Brick raised an eyebrow.
"I do. I was at the warehouse and found you and Michael; I saw all the damage they did. The least I could do, besides getting you two medical attention, is let them know how badly they screwed up."
"I appreciate that, Brando, but-"
"I don't want to get in the way, but I want to help somehow. I told you, Sonny. I knew from the jump that something wasn't right with Dex when he 'went after' Michael."
"We don't know if Dex still works for Wallace."
"How could he not?"
"A lot has…gone down with Dex and-"
"Like what?"
"He's a Cassadine."
"...Okay?" Brando raised an eyebrow, "I mean, you've dealt with that family before-"
"His grandfather, Victor, put him through all kinds of hell. Don't get me wrong, I-I'd love to take that bastard down for being a spy, but he wouldn't have done anything he did if not for Wallace."
"So…what, Dex gets to go free? That's not like you."
"He'll get his karma soon enough. He's just not as much of a priority as his father."
"And he doesn't even work for his father, not anymore."
Both men turned to Brick, who pocketed his cellphone in his muted cyan blazer.
"I got in touch with some contacts," he explained, "and they did some digging. Dex left the organization by the time Wallace returned to Seattle. There's no clear timetable, but he's out."
"And where is he now?" Brando questioned.
"He's in Geneva, currently a student at the World Security Bureau Academy."
"He's going to work for the WSB? After everything he's done?"
"I'm sure familial ties had something to do with it. Former agent Valentine Cassadine is his uncle, after all."
"I g-get your concern, Brando," Sonny sighed, "and if circumstances were different, I'd rope Dex into our response, but he had no role in what Wallace did."
"...I still think Dex deserves some karma for being a mole."
"His grandfather almost killing him is enough. Wallace is the bigger, more active threat," Sonny ducked his down expectantly, staring directly at his cousin, "Do you still want to help or not?"
"I'll help."
"Great," Brick let out a heavy sigh, "Let's get this discussion back on track."
"Any ideas so far?"
"The Heller organization isn't like mine; it d-deals in rumors and p-political secrets instead of…of product."
"So…what, we plant a fake scandal? That might work."
"Wallace Heller is a lot of things, Brando," Brick shook his head, "but 'stupid' isn't one of them. There's very little, if any, chance he'll run with a planted scandal."
"If we can't get to his work, can we get to him?"
"We could try an assassin. We'd have to be very picky on who to employ."
"I'm sure I can get Selina to loan me a guy."
"You want to get Selina Wu involved?" Brick raised a startled, concerned eyebrow.
"I don't need her…involved, I just need a favor. She owes me."
"If we want to avoid a mob war, we shouldn't rope her in. Not until we absolutely have to."
"Then we're back to the drawing board," Brando sighed in irritation, "Wallace can't be this impossible to deal with."
"He isn't," Sonny replied, his tone low, "He's a pig who beats his chest to feel important and has no issue with putting his family in danger."
"And we can't go after Dex…why?"
"He's with the WSB now; he'll have security. He's out of the picture."
"And Wallace has no other family?"
"Based on my research," Brick cleared his throat, "Dex is all he has."
"We need to go straight for him," Sonny remarked, "which means we'll need the best to take him down."
"Frank and Tony are the best you got. I doubt you want to risk their lives."
"I don't, and there are very few men in my business I trust to even attempt taking Wallace down. Asking Selina for help is the best move."
"I still think it's a bad idea," Brick shook his head slowly, "I suggest deploying the men you already have. We can go to Selina if they fail."
"Are you sure that's the best move here?" Brando raised an eyebrow.
"I do. Dex is off-limits, Wallace is too smart for a fake scandal, and we're asking for trouble by going to Selina. I know it'll be a blow if your guys fail, Sonny, but that's the best we can do right now."
"...Okay," the kingpin nodded, "that's what we'll do. I'll give Drake, Hoffman, and Leonard a call and we'll work on prepping them."
"Sounds good," Brick and Brando stood up together, the young man grabbing the other's arm.
"Can we talk in private?"
The pair exited Sonny's office as he proceeded to make the phone calls, Frank closing the door between them. They stood right next to the lone booth in the restaurant.
"How certain are you that we can't get to Dex?" Brando questioned, his voice a sharp whisper.
"I'm certain," Brick answered in kind, "Sonny doesn't want to put a target on the kid's back, and I don't want to deal with the WSB's security and technology in order to get to him. I know you have your gripes with the guy, and I can't say you're wrong for it, but Wallace is the issue. Focus your energy on him."
"...Fine," Brando let out an irritated sigh, "How certain are you that Wallace has no family besides Dex?"
"As certain as I am that pursuing Dex is a waste of time."
"The Cassadines wouldn't count?"
"That's Dex's family, not Wallace's. And even then, last I checked, Dex's mother died when he was a teenager. I doubt Sonny would want to turn to grave-robbing."
"Cassadines always come back in some way, shape, or form. I'm sure Dex's mom is out there somewhere-"
"Brando," Brick's voice was deep, "I get you want to help, and I get that you have a bone to pick with Dex, but you need to relax. We're going to deploy Sonny's guys and see where that gets us. If it fails, we'll revisit this conversation, okay?"
Brando opted to stay quiet, watching the man leave Pozzulo's. He stayed put in the meantime, staring directly at the closed office door. A million thoughts raced through his mind, yet he couldn't land on a single one. He shook his head in disappointment before marching off, leaving the restaurant behind. A moment of silence passed before Brick walked back in, frowning at the sight of Brando's car speeding away.
"Stick to the plan, kid," he muttered to himself, "Things will work out the way they're supposed to, vendettas be damned."