The Syndicate

Author\'s Notes: Not much to say. So... Please enjoy!



"Dialogue."



Narrative



~Character Thoughts~



***Dream Sequence***



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



At first today started like an average day for Marko. He had been trying to get in touch with Jack since sun-up.



But he had no such luck in reaching the Under-Boss. That part was normal.



Marko knew full well that Jack hated to do anything that was asked of him; especially if it was the White Elder doing the asking.



His biggest concern, at the time, was trying to figure out how Jack found out that they had a task to perform. That was the only reason Marko could surmise as to why Jack would be avoiding his calls.



But when a doctor had answered Jack’s phone, riling the hell out of the brunette. It had Marko speeding through rain soaked and traffic congested downtown streets.



He would be lying if he said that the clearly educated and well articulated voice coming through the receiver had not startled him. After taming his frazzled nerves, he ever so eloquently asked ‘Who the fuck are you and where is Jack?’



The doctor had went into a lengthy explanation, detailing what exactly was ailing his long time friend and one time lover. To be honest Marko had zoned out right after the part where the doctor said Jack would be fine.



It took Marko all of fifteen minutes to reach ‘Grace Memorial Hospital.’ Not a simple feat, considering the rush hour traffic and near apocalyptic weather conditions.



Now here he stood at the foot of a rickety hospital bed, with a nurse buzzing in his ear about ‘hospital policy’ and ‘him needing to wait outside, if he wasn’t immediate family.’



Marko didn’t want to be bothered with that kind of bullshit. He would have gladly told her to ‘fuck off’ or something of that nature, but he could not be bothered enough to take his attention off of Jack’s limp figure.



The usually stoic and expressive Under-Boss took on an ethereal appearance, in his unconscious state. His straw colored locks fanned out gracefully across the surface of the white pillow casing. His chapped pink lips parted slightly in the release of air and dusky eye lashes caressed the hollows of his jaunting cheek bones. The only feature that was off about him was the dark circles that had formed beneath his eyes.



Jack’s sleeping form never failed to captivate all of Marko’s senses.



It was a bad habit of his, a habit that Jack easily picked up on. But this one time, he knew that he would not be chastised for allowing his sights to linger upon Jack’s sleeping form for a little bit longer.



So he gladly indulged in the opportunity.



Marko faintly noticed that a man wearing blue scrubs and a lab coat, flanked by two security

guards hastily entered the room.



“Sir, We’re going to have to ask you to leave the premises,” said the man in the lab coat.



Marko listlessly cocked his head to the side, keenly regarding the other occupants of the shrinking hospital room.



He slipped a nimble hand into the folds of his jacket His unwavering fingers came to rest on the cold, hard weapon nestled dangerously close to his heart.



~That must be the doctor...~ Thought Marko as he widened his stance.



“Sir, I’m going to have security escort you out of the building if you are not an immediate relative of the patient.” The doctor repeated.



Marko took a second to evaluate the situation.



He came to the brisk conclusion that it would not be in Jack’s best interest if he shot up the place.



Taking a deep and steadying breath, Marko lowered his hands back into view.



“I‘m his brother...” Marko mumbled under his breath.



“Excuse me?” Asked the doctor.



“I said I’m his brother.” This time Marko added more bass to his voice.



“In that case, I would just ask that you take a minute of your time and register at the front desk.”



Sighing, Marko nodded his head and followed the guard out.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When he returned the doctor and the nurse were busy fiddling with the volley of instruments connected to Jack and scribbling notes on his chart.



“I’m sorry,” said the doctor, “I didn’t get to properly introduce myself... My name is Dr. Hamilton, I am the residing physician.”



“And I’m Marko... Now that we’re done with the pleasantries... What’s wrong with Jack?”



“Jack...” The doctor lowered his face into the charts and scribbled some more notes, “Well let me just assure you that your brother is going to be perfectly fine-”



Marko released a sigh of relief.



“... He is just experiencing an acute case of Alcohol Withdrawal.”



“So... What does that mean?” Asked a perplexed Marko.



“Well, basically he has deprived his body of a substance that it needs... The effects of the withdrawal as well as its duration is completely contingent on the person in question.”



“Will this happen again?”



“Certainly... His body has become dependent on a harmful substance. If he refuses his body access to said substance... then he will surely go into withdrawal again.”



“Doc’ how can I stop this from happening to him again?”



“The only way to fully curtail his dependence on alcohol is to wean him off of it,” doctor Hamilton said as he dug thru his lab coat and produce two pamphlets, “You see the first one will detail the adverse effects that alcohol is having on his body,” doctor Hamilton took a deep breath and continued, “The second will detail all of the available treatments and rehabilitation centers made available to him by the state.”



Marko remained silent as he struggled to take in all that was being said.



Doctor Hamilton offered him the pamphlets. He faintly remembered taking them and placing them on the bedside table.



“For the time being his condition is stable,” Hamilton said with a small smile on his face, “He lost a lot of fluids so we have him hooked up to a saline drip and a few monitors.”



Marko turned to the side and stared longingly at his unconscious friend.



~What the fuck are you doing to yourself Jack?~



“Well,” Hamilton cleared his throat, “I assume you two would like to be alone... Just call the nurse over if you need anything... We will be monitoring his vitals remotely.”



“Thanks doc’,” Marko mumbled.



Hamilton exited the room with his pristine lab coat billowing behind him.



Marko took the nearest available seat.



It felt as if the weight of the world was pressing on his shoulders. Everything was fucked up.



They had a task to do for the Syndicate and if it wasn’t completed, then they would both be retired.



Unfortunately for Jack and Marko the Syndicate’s idea of a retirement package was a one way ticket to an unmarked grave



On top of all of that mess, Eian, Jack’s ‘server,’ had pulled a certifiable Houdini. The kid just up and disappeared.



Marko hadn’t had the time or the resources to spare in order to properly canvas the city. If it was by mere chance discovered that Eian had gotten away, Jack’s authority would come into question.



The other Under-Bosses would immediately attempt to test the water and move in on Jack’s turf.



At present Marko’s greatest fear was that Jack’s turf would come under attack by friendlies and hostiles alike. They would not hesitate in seizing the opportunity and monopolizing on the fact that Jack was out of commission.



~Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! What am I going to do? What would Jack do?... I don’t kno-~



“Marko...” Jack rasped startling Marko out of his thoughts, “I thought I told you that you scare me when you think too much.”



Marko stared disbelievingly at the pompous blond.



Jack cocked a thin eyebrow at Marko’s shocked demeanor, “What did I grow an extra head?”



“No it’s just that- Everything is kind of fucked up right now Jack... And here you are... just making jokes.” Marko’s comment hung thick in the air, like a foul stench.



Jack leveled Marko with an unperturbed stare. His cerulean eyes gleamed with an alien emotion.



“I can’t keep it together Jack I-I need help- I need you,” Marko pleaded with blond, “You can’t keep doing this to yourself. You have a responsibility to Chase- We have a responsibility to Chase!”



Jack flitted a pink tongue across his parched lips, in a feeble attempt at quenching his immeasurable thirst.



“Marko, get me a drink...please,” Jack croaked out, feeling his throat burn with each gulp he took of the too sanitary hospital air.



Marko looked dumbfounded, “a drink?” He asked obviously confused by the request.



Confusion soon gave way to anger.



Jack saw the upset look on Marko’s face and released a frustrated sigh, “not that kind of drink Marko.”



“Oh!” Exclaimed a rapidly blushing Marko, “Of course. I’ll be back in a sec.”



Jack barely nodded his head in affirmation and allowed his heavy eye lids to slide shut.



He heard Marko release an exasperated sigh followed by the scrape of a chair and a pair of heavy retreating footsteps fading off into the distance.



Clenching his teeth in frustration, Jack ran a trembling hand through his thick mane. It was a stress induced habit that he couldn’t completely shake off.



The sound of a squeaky sneaker alerted him to the presence of another person in the small room.



He opened his eyes once more, squinting due to the harsh glare of the fluorescent lights.



Turning his stiff neck towards the door was more of a challenge than he had anticipated.



The persons figure refused to come into focus. But as luck would have it, the person approached the bed catching the Under-Boss completely off guard.



Jack’s senses were invaded by the powerful scent of freshly cut lavender. The heady aroma brought on a mixture of anger, betrayal and a ravenous desire.



There standing completely soaked to the bone was none other than Eian. The boy was shivering and his teeth were chattering. He clutched an equally soaked duffle bag to his chest and kept his vibrant ebony eyes downcast.



“Hey,” Eian mumbled dejectedly.



Jack sat up in bed, clenching his fists at his sides. “What are you doing here?” He asked.



Eian let the duffel bag fall to the ground, bringing his hands up to vigorously rub at his tired and blood shot eyes, “I couldn’t-I couldn’t leave. At first I just thought it was- that maybe it was fear that was keeping me here. But that wasn’t it...” Eian trailed off.



Jack regarded the boy with sharp eyes the color of mercury, “Then what was it? What made you come back?”



The boy hesitated for a moment trying his best to keep his voice and breathing even.



“I-I just didn’t want to see you get hurt,” Eian said honestly as he stifled a sob. “Jack, I think I-No, I know I l-”



The sound of shattering glass drew both of their eyes to the door.



Marko stood by the doorway in a puddle of juice, his large frame shaking in rage.



“Marko... Don’t do any thing stupid. Okay?” Jack pleaded.



As if on queue Marko released a snarl of rage, rushing up to the slender boy and yanking him back by his lengthy ebony tresses dropping him to the floor.



Eian let out a scream of sheer agony.



Marko continued to drag a kicking and screaming Eian clear across the polished linoleum floor, coming to a harsh stop against the wall. The force of the slam surely reverberated into the neighboring room.



Jack bellowed, “God dammit! Stop it Marko!”



Marko stooped down on his haunches and faced the trembling boy, “Who the fuck do you think you are? Huh?!”



Eian was still out of it. The poor boy was fading in and out of consciousness.



“I’m tired of this bullshit. I’m tired of your bullshit- Stay the fuck away from us. Stay the fuck away from Jack!”



“Why?” Eian squeaked through the haze of pain, “Is it because you’re not the one he wants to fuck?”



Marko released a ferocious roar.



The brunette wrapped his gargantuan hands around Eian’s frail windpipe, lifting off of the floor with his powerful legs, with a shocked Eian in tow.



At first Eian put up a slight struggle, but he was beginning to see the futility in struggling against the monstrous brunette.



“Marko, this is your last warning get off of him,” Jack wheezed.



The burly brunette ignored Jack’s warning. So Jack was left with no other choice.



He hopped up off of the bed clad only in a flimsy hospital gown. In the process he managed to disconnect all of the wires that were attached to his chest.



No sooner had he gotten three feet from the bed, did he experience hands down the most excruciating pain that he ever felt in his whole life.



With a sickening pop the catheter that was attached to his manhood came loose.



Jack instinctively chomped down on his fisted hand. Easily breaking through the delicate skin. In the hope of stifling the ear shattering screech, that begged to be loosed.



He yanked his hand out of his mouth. Faintly noting the presence of a coppery aftertaste.



But now was definitely not the time to worry about that. If he didn’t move fast enough Marko was going to kill Eian.



Jack hopped on Marko’s broad back and effectively caught the brunette in a suffocating head lock. He used the full momentum of his weight to pull back on Marko’s esophagus with his powerful arms.



The brunette immediately loosened his grip and Eian slid to the floor clutching his throat and gasping for precious air.



Marko bucked, wildly trying his hardest to toss off his assailant.



“Enough Marko,” Jack hissed at him through gritted teeth. The amount of pain he was in as well as the brunettes erratic movements were making him dizzy.



Upon hearing Jack’s exhausted voice, Marko came to a dead stop. Thus allowing Jack to unwind his arms from around his thickly corded neck.



Jack slid down the expanse of Marko’s back, immediately nursing his crotch.



“Fuck,” Screamed out Jack. “What kind of fresh hell is this?!”



No sooner had he finished his sentence, had all hell broken loose.



An alarm started to ring and the PA system blared, “Paging doctor Hamilton. Paging doctor Hamilton. Room 202 is flat-lining!”



Said doctor had rushed into the room, with a nurse and a crash cart in tow.



The doctor stood still surveying the carnage that had been reaped upon his ward.



Tables and chairs were flipped over and his patient was nursing his genitals.



But even more worrying was the presence of a third male. Whom he was most certain, had not gone through the hospital’s mandatory registration policy.



~How the hell is everybody getting in here?~ Thought a perplexed doctor Hamilton.



“Who the fuck are you?” Jack barked, “You know what? I don’t give a fuck...“



“What the hell is going on in here?!” Asked a very flustered doctor Hamilton.



“Nothing,” Said Jack as he tried to push through the doctor and the nurse, “Now get the fuck out of my way.”



“But you can’t leave,” said a shocked doctor Hamilton, “You haven’t followed the hospitals discharge policy.”



Jack sighed, “Fuck that... No better yet, Fuck you and the hospital’s policies. I’m leaving.”



Doctor Hamilton was taken aback. “You can’t do that... I’m your doctor. I need to treat you-”



“Thanks... But no thanks,” Jack saluted doctor Hamilton as he brushed past him, “Fuck you very much.”



The Under-Boss walked out into the corridor bare-assed, without a care in the world.



He barked back at the room. “You two puckered up assholes coming?!”