Dane

The adult Dane was far, far more practiced at controlling his facial expressions. And at swallowing shock.

​​

When the video finished, Dane handed it back to Felix. "I remember," he said, careful to keep his voice even. "Was there a point?"

Felix smirked. "Several, actually. Which would you like to hear about first?"

Dane sighed and leaned back in the chair like he was bored. "Well, since you're going to tell me all of them, you can choose which one goes first."

"Oh, very good, Dane," Felix murmured, pulling the tablet back in front of him and tapping on the screen as he talked. "Your father was right, you have grown a lot since we last saw you. Well, in that case, I'll tell you: Your father has tasked me with disabusing your wife of her current impression that you are…" Felix snorted, "…a good man."

Dane smiled. "You going to ruin my fun, Felix?"

"Fun?"

Dane leaned forward over the table. "A woman is a lot more… uninhibited when she feels safe."

"Yes, I heard about how uninhibited your wife is. No wonder your brother wants her."

Dane knew the comment was designed to knock him off balance, so he just nodded to accept it like it was a compliment and didn't even clench his teeth, though he wanted to tear the walls down around them.

Felix watched him carefully, then smiled at the screen. "So, one of the most important things we'll be doing in the coming days, is making sure your wife has a very special viewing party. Just so she can see the measure of the man she's been letting paw her in dark corners like a whore."

"Now that you mention it, how is your wife Georgia doing?" Dane said with a smile. "Does she still try to fuck sixteen year old boys? Or has she aged-out and been forced to move on to actual men?"

Felix dropped his head back and laughed. "Oh, good one! Georgia will be very curious to see you after all these years. But let's not get distracted, Dane. How does it feel to watch that video back after all this time?"

Dane shrugged. "It wasn't my finest moment. It also wasn't my worst. But I'm sure you know that."

"Yes, I do. And perhaps more importantly, your wife is about to, as well."

Dane let his displeasure show—just a slice of it. Let his teeth grind, let his jaw twitch, but didn't let his eyes fall away. "Why does it matter, Felix? Seriously?" he said quietly.

Felix tipped his head. "You don't care what your wife thinks about you, Dane? Seems like you went to an awful lot of trouble to get her out of here. So… I'll admit both your father and I find it a teensy bit difficult to believe that you're just waltzing in here and picking up the old mantle."

"Where is my father, anyway?" Dane said looking around. "I'm surprised he'd miss this."

"Oh, he isn't," Felix said. "But since he still has a lot to do to make sure your wife is… comfortable in her new life, he's letting me take this little project. He'll watch it back later."

"Good to know. But you were getting to the point, I think, before I was so rude about your wife?"

Felix dropped his smile and looked at Dane. "You're very good, Dane. I'll credit you with that. You've grown. You'll be a great asset to us when you can be trusted. But know this: You won't be trusted until we know you aren't ever going back. And that means burning every bridge in your life. Make no mistake: we'll do it."

"I already burned most of them," he said through his teeth. "This kind of thing will take care of the rest."

"Yes. It will." No fake humor or cheerfulness. Felix just stared at Dane intently and let him see the truth of it. "Your wife is a strong woman—she's in the hospital right now, did you know that? And your brother's watching out for her. She's already asking about how they'll get you out. Chris is an extremely good actor. We should have noticed that earlier in his life. But… we were always kind of distracted from him. I find that interesting."

Dane just stared back.

"You're extremely persistent, Dane," Felix said in a low voice. "You always have been. You never had the emotional control before, of course, even then you would bide your time. Went along with the plan until you saw your way through. I thought your father was crazy to let you loose on the world, frankly. But it seems his judgment was correct. You've been… honed by your independence. That's good. But know this: Now it's time for us to take the blade you've become and sharpen it for our own uses. Do you know what happens to the blade that resists reshaping?"

"I'm sure you'll tell me."

"It gets thrown into the furnace and the heat gets turned up, until there's no resistance left in it."

Dane opened his hands to the room. "Hence, my presence here."

Felix clucked his tongue. "Oh, I don't think so, Dane. I don't think so at all. But, I've been wrong before about you. So, we'll see. We'll see very soon, I think. That video is on its way to those around your wife. We have a whole packet of fun goodies for her, and some others, in the next couple of days. And we have people in place to make sure she understands what she's seeing. If you're really here, just weather the storm and we'll take care of you. But if you're still resisting…"

"And the other points?" Dane asked as if the blow didn't land.

"Very, very soon, your wealth will be… redistributed."

Dane shrugged, but his stomach went cold.

"The lawyers will insist on it," Felix continued, turning the tablet back to Dane. "Because, you see, assets gained through criminal enterprise have to be surrendered to the State. So, it will be very, very important for someone else to own your assets before this comes to light."

He nudged the tablet toward Dane.

Dane took a breath and pressed play.

*****

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