Failure Is Not An Option - true_writers
OOC: Fifty years in the future, James is twenty. James, Orestes and Cody are mine. Daniel, Hsu and Lars are mentioned with their mun's permission.
"Remember, you're fighting for this woman's honor, which is probably more than she ever did." - Duck Soup
"Of course it was over a girl." Cody shook her head, slowly and sadly, as the two bodyguards, their seconds, and the two young men stood before Hsu, explaining the events that had gotten so out of hand. The air inside the empty training barn was musty, but so still, as if anticipating the inevitable explosion of temper. Cody took her position to the left of Hsu, expression grim, while Orestes took the position to the right. In front of the silent, furious warlord were his two sons, one by blood, the other by adoption, both men fairly quiet, knowing that this was very, very bad. Daniel may have been over fifty years old, James not quite twenty, but they might as well have been whelps of ten, for all the difference it made.
"Who started this?" Hsu's quiet tone was tight, deceptively constrained. "You both had orders to go to Paris, and keep a low profile. Four days. Off the ranch for four days, and you manage to screw up."
"Dad..." Daniel spoke, chafing at the anger he was being hit with, as he was far too old to be treated like a child.
Hsu's ice blue stare silenced his eldest, his born son. That name was unwelcome at the best of moments, and this certainly wasn't that. "James was killed. His first death. He was stabbed in a bar, in the middle of brawl." Each word was snapped out, enough to make Cody Jean blink and straighten her posture even more.
"Father, I am so sorry." James had the good sense to talk quietly, but then, that was his way. He was called the 'Little Peacemaker', for his gentle manner, and his ability to approach Hsu in a way that was not confrontational. "Please don't be angry with them. It was my fault. There was a girl, and I thought she was pretty so I danced with her. I didn't know she had a boyfriend. When he started fighting with her, I thought he was hurting her. I just tried to talk to him, and he stabbed me. But Nic and Tony got us both out of there, really fast. Daniel helped me get out, too. No one saw me die, I swear, Father."
Cody and Orestes both looked at Hsu, who barely acknowledged his youngest son's explanation. Hsu truly loved the boy, though certainly not with the single minded obsession that he had for his blood child. But he had always been affectionate and protective of Cody's son, who he had adopted after her divorce from her husband, and he had raised the boy as his own. James, in return, had always been reasonably obedient and often nearly worshipful of his 'Papa'.
Hsu walked past the boys, and to the two lead bodyguards. Both had already been briefed, in detail, by Orestes, who had told his boss everything. Nic was young, an affable but deadly Syrian who got along with Daniel quite well, and had stepped in when Van stepped down from field work and moved to more supervisory work, because of age. Tony, however, was older, and had been with James since Orson's death in an attempted grab by the Guild, over a decade prior. He was very fond of the boy, indulgent, even. But he should have stepped aside for a younger man by now, and Orestes had been looking for a good replacement. Tony was a brilliant weapons man, a dead shot, but he was growing arthritic from too many injuries, and he was slower.
Both bodyguards met their boss' gaze, unflinching. This was the job, the life they signed up for. Both men knew from day one that with the generous pay came a code. Failure, especially in regards to the protection of Hsu Danmei or his inner circle, meant death. Stupid, sloppy failure meant a long, slow, pain filled death at the hands of Orestes and his senior men, a hellish process that left the failed soldier wishing for the death he would eventually be granted. Simple failure might mean swift execution. Either way, Hsu's men knew that excellence, diligence and obedience might get them to an old age death, like Lars recently had, with Cody Jean tearfully holding his hand as he passed. Her grief over the death of her dear friend still racked her, so her heart was not in this process, because she knew that this...all of this...was little more than ceremony.
"Nic, you stayed close to Daniel, and when the fight broke out, you shielded him. When James was injured, you assisted Tony along with Daniel and got him out." The recap was done by Orestes, flatly and unemotionally. Hsu looked from one man to the other, fury in his eyes. "Tony, you let your principal out of your reach, and you allowed him to sustain a killing injury."
"It wasn't his fault!" James spun around, stalking up to Orestes, his long hair in his eyes and his arms open. "I went over there. I was fast! This is my fault! Mom..." He stepped over to his mother, pleading with her, taking her arms in his hands. "Mom, you have to do something. It's all my fault. Tony got me out. He kept me from being seen dying. Come on, Mom, this isn't fair."
"Jamie, son, stop. You're making this worse." Cody murmured, trying to soothe her only son, but he jerked away, shaking his head.
"If it was Lars, or Andy..."
"Lars and Andy never would have let this happen." Cody's eyes were now cold, the grief clear. Andy was very, very old, retired. Lars' death broke her heart. "You were killed. What if there had been someone from the guild?"
James wildly spun, his shoes scraping on the wood floor of the empty barn. He had learned how to fight here, learned how to protect himself. The young man looked to his adoptive brother, who only shook his head, slowly, knowing that Hsu's edict would stand. He looked to everyone in the room, finally to Hsu, who was standing behind the bodyguard. "Father, I'm begging you. Just fire him. Let him go. Papa...please. For me."
Tony was a good soldier, a brave man, and not a coward. He quietly spoke to James, shaking his head, thinking of the kid he was so fond of. "James, kid, it's okay. This is the job. I let you down, kiddo, I'm sorry. But your father is right."
Orestes slowly pulled a long knife out, and the other men moved away, while Tony stood unflinching. James strode over, and planted himself in front of the security chief. "I won't let you. You'll have to kill me, first."
Before the words left James' lips, the report of a gun echoed through the dimly lit structure. Cody jumped, a little, from the shock, and James spun in place to see Tony's eyes wide, a circle of red in his forehead, and he pitched forward to the floor, dead long before he hit it. Behind him, Hsu stood with his smoking pistol.
James stared in horror at the bodyguard's body and the growing red pool of blood. He looked at Hsu, then the body. "How could you do that? He served you! He protected me! Do you think that makes you GOD? WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?" James screamed at Hsu, who didn't blink, and didn't respond. James walked right up, to where the gun was in his chest, and stared his father down. "You think you're so brave. Mercy is brave. Compassion...that's courage. Bullets in the back? Cowardly." He stood there, as if daring Hsu to pull the trigger, and neither backed down.
Cody knew her lover wouldn't shoot Jamie, no matter what the boy said. She trusted him. James knocked Hsu's arm away, and ran out of the barn, throwing the door open so the light streamed in. Cody took a step, but Daniel held up his hand. "I'll go talk to him. I'll handle it." Cody just nodded, as Daniel followed his little brother out, and the rest of the men silently began to clean up the mess.
That night, in Hsu's bed, she had been sitting up, knees bent to her chin, thinking. Hsu was lying back against the pillows, and he spoke quietly. "James has to toughen up, Cody, or he won't survive."
"I know." Cody swallowed, hard, staring at the door, as if she could see through to her son's room, where he had been all night, refusing to come down to dinner. "I want him to be who he is, but I'm scared that will make him..." She couldn't say it, tucking her chin down.
"Weak. Dead." Hsu's voice was unemotional. He sat up, and pulled her back against him. "To survive, we have to be without mercy."
Cody just nodded, and turned over to rest against his broad, strong chest. All she could think of was her son's eyes, of the hurt and anger. She sighed, and pushed the thought away. He would learn. Mercy was for mortals. Immortals didn't have the luxury.
"Remember, you're fighting for this woman's honor, which is probably more than she ever did." - Duck Soup
"Of course it was over a girl." Cody shook her head, slowly and sadly, as the two bodyguards, their seconds, and the two young men stood before Hsu, explaining the events that had gotten so out of hand. The air inside the empty training barn was musty, but so still, as if anticipating the inevitable explosion of temper. Cody took her position to the left of Hsu, expression grim, while Orestes took the position to the right. In front of the silent, furious warlord were his two sons, one by blood, the other by adoption, both men fairly quiet, knowing that this was very, very bad. Daniel may have been over fifty years old, James not quite twenty, but they might as well have been whelps of ten, for all the difference it made.
"Who started this?" Hsu's quiet tone was tight, deceptively constrained. "You both had orders to go to Paris, and keep a low profile. Four days. Off the ranch for four days, and you manage to screw up."
"Dad..." Daniel spoke, chafing at the anger he was being hit with, as he was far too old to be treated like a child.
Hsu's ice blue stare silenced his eldest, his born son. That name was unwelcome at the best of moments, and this certainly wasn't that. "James was killed. His first death. He was stabbed in a bar, in the middle of brawl." Each word was snapped out, enough to make Cody Jean blink and straighten her posture even more.
"Father, I am so sorry." James had the good sense to talk quietly, but then, that was his way. He was called the 'Little Peacemaker', for his gentle manner, and his ability to approach Hsu in a way that was not confrontational. "Please don't be angry with them. It was my fault. There was a girl, and I thought she was pretty so I danced with her. I didn't know she had a boyfriend. When he started fighting with her, I thought he was hurting her. I just tried to talk to him, and he stabbed me. But Nic and Tony got us both out of there, really fast. Daniel helped me get out, too. No one saw me die, I swear, Father."
Cody and Orestes both looked at Hsu, who barely acknowledged his youngest son's explanation. Hsu truly loved the boy, though certainly not with the single minded obsession that he had for his blood child. But he had always been affectionate and protective of Cody's son, who he had adopted after her divorce from her husband, and he had raised the boy as his own. James, in return, had always been reasonably obedient and often nearly worshipful of his 'Papa'.
Hsu walked past the boys, and to the two lead bodyguards. Both had already been briefed, in detail, by Orestes, who had told his boss everything. Nic was young, an affable but deadly Syrian who got along with Daniel quite well, and had stepped in when Van stepped down from field work and moved to more supervisory work, because of age. Tony, however, was older, and had been with James since Orson's death in an attempted grab by the Guild, over a decade prior. He was very fond of the boy, indulgent, even. But he should have stepped aside for a younger man by now, and Orestes had been looking for a good replacement. Tony was a brilliant weapons man, a dead shot, but he was growing arthritic from too many injuries, and he was slower.
Both bodyguards met their boss' gaze, unflinching. This was the job, the life they signed up for. Both men knew from day one that with the generous pay came a code. Failure, especially in regards to the protection of Hsu Danmei or his inner circle, meant death. Stupid, sloppy failure meant a long, slow, pain filled death at the hands of Orestes and his senior men, a hellish process that left the failed soldier wishing for the death he would eventually be granted. Simple failure might mean swift execution. Either way, Hsu's men knew that excellence, diligence and obedience might get them to an old age death, like Lars recently had, with Cody Jean tearfully holding his hand as he passed. Her grief over the death of her dear friend still racked her, so her heart was not in this process, because she knew that this...all of this...was little more than ceremony.
"Nic, you stayed close to Daniel, and when the fight broke out, you shielded him. When James was injured, you assisted Tony along with Daniel and got him out." The recap was done by Orestes, flatly and unemotionally. Hsu looked from one man to the other, fury in his eyes. "Tony, you let your principal out of your reach, and you allowed him to sustain a killing injury."
"It wasn't his fault!" James spun around, stalking up to Orestes, his long hair in his eyes and his arms open. "I went over there. I was fast! This is my fault! Mom..." He stepped over to his mother, pleading with her, taking her arms in his hands. "Mom, you have to do something. It's all my fault. Tony got me out. He kept me from being seen dying. Come on, Mom, this isn't fair."
"Jamie, son, stop. You're making this worse." Cody murmured, trying to soothe her only son, but he jerked away, shaking his head.
"If it was Lars, or Andy..."
"Lars and Andy never would have let this happen." Cody's eyes were now cold, the grief clear. Andy was very, very old, retired. Lars' death broke her heart. "You were killed. What if there had been someone from the guild?"
James wildly spun, his shoes scraping on the wood floor of the empty barn. He had learned how to fight here, learned how to protect himself. The young man looked to his adoptive brother, who only shook his head, slowly, knowing that Hsu's edict would stand. He looked to everyone in the room, finally to Hsu, who was standing behind the bodyguard. "Father, I'm begging you. Just fire him. Let him go. Papa...please. For me."
Tony was a good soldier, a brave man, and not a coward. He quietly spoke to James, shaking his head, thinking of the kid he was so fond of. "James, kid, it's okay. This is the job. I let you down, kiddo, I'm sorry. But your father is right."
Orestes slowly pulled a long knife out, and the other men moved away, while Tony stood unflinching. James strode over, and planted himself in front of the security chief. "I won't let you. You'll have to kill me, first."
Before the words left James' lips, the report of a gun echoed through the dimly lit structure. Cody jumped, a little, from the shock, and James spun in place to see Tony's eyes wide, a circle of red in his forehead, and he pitched forward to the floor, dead long before he hit it. Behind him, Hsu stood with his smoking pistol.
James stared in horror at the bodyguard's body and the growing red pool of blood. He looked at Hsu, then the body. "How could you do that? He served you! He protected me! Do you think that makes you GOD? WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?" James screamed at Hsu, who didn't blink, and didn't respond. James walked right up, to where the gun was in his chest, and stared his father down. "You think you're so brave. Mercy is brave. Compassion...that's courage. Bullets in the back? Cowardly." He stood there, as if daring Hsu to pull the trigger, and neither backed down.
Cody knew her lover wouldn't shoot Jamie, no matter what the boy said. She trusted him. James knocked Hsu's arm away, and ran out of the barn, throwing the door open so the light streamed in. Cody took a step, but Daniel held up his hand. "I'll go talk to him. I'll handle it." Cody just nodded, as Daniel followed his little brother out, and the rest of the men silently began to clean up the mess.
That night, in Hsu's bed, she had been sitting up, knees bent to her chin, thinking. Hsu was lying back against the pillows, and he spoke quietly. "James has to toughen up, Cody, or he won't survive."
"I know." Cody swallowed, hard, staring at the door, as if she could see through to her son's room, where he had been all night, refusing to come down to dinner. "I want him to be who he is, but I'm scared that will make him..." She couldn't say it, tucking her chin down.
"Weak. Dead." Hsu's voice was unemotional. He sat up, and pulled her back against him. "To survive, we have to be without mercy."
Cody just nodded, and turned over to rest against his broad, strong chest. All she could think of was her son's eyes, of the hurt and anger. She sighed, and pushed the thought away. He would learn. Mercy was for mortals. Immortals didn't have the luxury.