The day he had been dreading for a while was about to come. Even though the captain had told Brian not to let his brother know that he was alive the cop felt the need to tell Jack the truth after his talk with Faye. There were also a few questions he needed to ask him before he might wind up six feet under because of his crazy 'job'.

At least five times Brian had found something more important to do, used the bathroom or got a coffee. Procrastination.
Finally he managed to walk down the hall to the cell block of the main station where Jack had found a temporary home after his release from the hospital two days ago.
"Open the gate, please." Brian told the officer on duty and stepped through the main entrance to the area.
One more corner...and then he saw him. Jack, looking like shit, pale, unhappy, with his leg propped up on a rolled up blanket on one of the uncomfortable beds.
Brian waited for the officer to unlock the door to the cell and then stepped inside.
For a lack of anything clever to say he simply stated.
"You look like shit."

Jack sat on the thin mattress of a bed far too short to lay remotely comfortable on. His bandaged leg lied stretched out in front of him while the other hung over the edge, bouncing up and down on the ball of his foot out of pure boredom. Or was it something else? The prescribed pain meds didn't seem to cut it half the time. Nice. Real nice. But he had to admit, it at least preoccupied him enough to take his mind off of other things.

Hearing his brother's, no, correction, his dead brother's voice, he couldn't help but snort. "I will admit I've felt better." He mumbled as he turned his head, fully expecting to see some cop who had sounded an awful lot like Brian standing in his cell.

At first his mind couldn't process what he was seeing. He had fired twice. He had seen Brian go down, and he had seen him bleed on the ground. His brother was dead, he had been told so. But here Brian was. Alive and looking better than he probably did.

He swallowed as he stood up. His eyes seemed to mist a bit, but he blamed it on the pain flaring through his leg as he slowly limped his way over to his brother. He looked him over as if he still wasn't sure before he then grabbed Brian in a tight hug, something he never really did.

"You're alive." He mumbled. For once, he was glad to see the bastard, grateful even, but the hug didn't last long when a new realization kicked in. "You're alive." He repeated a little less... happy? as he let go and shoved his brother away from him. "Why? You son of a bitch." He growled through gritted teeth. He had been lied to, tricked in to doing something for the cops that would most likely get him killed, and for what? A couple of shits and giggles?

Brian had expected the second reaction, a slap some cursing, anger but the first part was absolutely unexpected. Jack never hugged him. He usually didn't show emotions towards Brian other than anger.
The cop was moves by it and couldn't help but feel even worse for the betrayal.
"Watch out - the woman is your mother, too." He attempted a joke but quickly became serious.
"It wasn't my idea and I'm actually not supposed to be speaking to you right now."
He sighed and looked at his leg. "How's the leg?"
That was the injury he had caused his brother-the other one wasn't his work.

Brian wasn't quite sure why he had come here. He couldn't tell Jack any big news. No deal, no release but he had a question. First he needed to talk to Jack a bit though before he could ask him.

Jack merely scoffed at the attempted joke as he moved back to the bed to sit down on the edge of it. He needed to put some distance between him and his brother if he wanted to be able to keep resisting the urge to clonk Brian in the head for lying to him. He knew it wouldn't do him any good if he started a fight in the jail cell when he already was on trial for assault and battery, among other things...

His eyes wandered to his leg and he gave an indifferent shrug. "I'll live." He mumbled. Though he was sure he was a dead man walking as soon as he hit the streets with that wire on him. No one was stupid enough to believe he got out on good behavior, or even stupid enough to believe his bail had been paid when it was set higher than Mount Everest.

He smiled wryly before he looked back up to Brian. "So why are you really here, huh? I doubt it's because you missed me so much." He stared intently at his brother. He knew why Brian was truly here, what he wanted to ask, so why not just spit it out and get it the hell over with?

Brian watch Jack walk to the metal bunk with concern. He wasn't sure how badly he was injured after hearing it was actually a fight to keep him alive. It was written all over his brother. His skin was pale, almost grey and his expression hopeless, so different from the reckless, vibrant guy he had been only a few days ago. Jack knew he was doomed.
"There are two things. We should figure out a way to set a trap for who hired you without putting you in the danger of being killed."
Brian leaned against the bars and took a breath wondering how to start asking his actual question.

"You could have killed me, Jack. Did you try to kill me?" Now it was out and Brian feared the answer. His hands were shaking.

Jack snorted. "And how do you propose we do that? I already told you I've never had direct contact with them, I'm just a small pawn in their game. You think I'm lying?" He wasn't touched by Brian's sudden concern about keeping him alive. Not in the least bit. If Brian hadn't gone cop on his ass, neither one of them would have been in this fucked up situation in the first place. It would have been only me. He thought wryly.

A small uncomfortable silence fell between them before Brian finally asked the question. He could see his brother's hands were visibly shaking. Brian probably feared the answer, and if he was honest he couldn't blame him. He had fired twice with a dead on aim. Should thank the old man for that. Had Brian not worn that vest, both shots would have been lethal.

He thought a moment longer before he finally said something. "I just did what I had to do." It was an ambiguous answer, he knew, and he managed to give an almost indifferent shrug. Almost. Things were far more complicated than he had let on these passed few weeks. Debts, dead lines, and in the end an ultimatum were what had truly driven his actions, but hey... what did it matter now? Brian was still alive, wasn't he? If anything, he was probably the one with the bullseye on his forehead now.


Ooc: Craptastic post but whateva! XD

"I have no idea whether you're lying or not but you're definetly holding back some information."
With a deep frown he kept listening to his brother, who didn't show remorse. The answer 'I did what I had to.' wasn't satisfying at all. He might as well just have shrugged.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Cocking his head to the side he stepped closer.
"Just give me a straight answer. Your bullshit has brought us here. Just drop the crap. Did you want to kill me?"

Brian assumed that Jacks words meant he had to shoot him because somebody made him or put pressure on him but he needed to know for sure. This was an absolute turning point in their relationship and might change it forever.

His eye sparkled dangerously. Brian wanted an answer NOW.
"Do you have any idea what it feels like when you're own brother pulls the trigger on you?" 'first...' "Yes. Brian had pulled the trigger as well. On the contrary to his sibling in self-defense.
The angrier he got the more his wound hurt and reminded him of how bad the whole situation could have ended.

As Brian stepped closer, Jack stood up from the bunk, wincing a bit as he put more weight on his leg than he should have. Tension rose between them as he came face to face with Brian, looking him intently in the eyes to show he wasn't fucking lying. He had only been following orders, just like his brother had told him he was doing when he was being arrested. The only difference was, Brian had had some sort of a choice not to follow them... He himself hadn't had that luxury.

"No. I didn't want to kill you. You're my brother!" His eyes were simmering with anger now as he spat the words in Brian's face. Though the question had been a legit one, it ticked him off to no end all the same. Even now he could still feel the same nausea wash over him as he had felt when he had been told he had killed his own flesh and blood.

A pained smile that was still bursting with anger, and maybe even regret, crossed over his face as he snorted and moved away from his brother. "You want to talk about feelings? I don't give a fuck about your feelings, Brian. I did what I had to do. It was either you, or..." He swallowed the last part of his sentence and gathered himself a little, but his expression was still tense.

"Anyway, it doesn't matter anymore. Because now we're probably all targets." He mumbled as he gestured futilely. What had started off as a simple boosting job, easy money, had turned in to something far beyond his control. He had gotten himself in to this, and dragged others down with him. But he'd be damned if he would admit it out loud, or even to himself.

Relief washed over Brian when Jack stated that he didn't intend to kill him. It was the confirmation he needed in order to still care at least a little about his brother who was in a truly screwed up situation. The slight sound of regret even if it was mixed with anger was all he needed.

"I figured that much. I'm not sure who you got yourself mixed up with but if its bad enough to take a shot at me you must have you're drawers really full." He took a step back and leaned his back against the metal bars. Tired and worried he rubbed both hands over his face.

Brian's posture became a little less stiff when he continued. "The way I see it you have two options...go to jail because you might be safer there and try to get your case reviewed in a year or catch the bastard before he catches you...what do you say?"

From across the cell he looked up at Jacks face to meet his eyes for the first time since he asked about the shooting.

Jack watched his brother darkly as he leaned his back against the grimy wall of his latest accommodation to get some weight off his leg. It hurt to stay standing even then, his still stiff shoulder from where a second bullet had bit him not helping much on the matter, but he refused to sit back down on the poor excuse of a bunk not far from him.

He scoffed, not liking either of the options as he weighed them against each other. He wasn't a snitch, but he had to keep in mind that he had shot a cop. His own fucking brother, as he was constantly reminded of. If he didn't cooperate, he'd go down for several long years. Yet on the other hand, if he did cooperate, his release would make him instantly suspicious to his boss, which could result in his death. But on the oh so bright side of things.. if he helped the popo bring down the bad guy (and survived), maybe he'd be able to get some kind of deal, maybe he could dodge the bullet of going to state prison where he'd most likely end up as someone's girlfriend.

"Say I go for the latter. I won't put my ass on the line if there's no decent deal involved." He said suddenly when he had made up his mind. "And I won't do it with a wire stuck to me." He added. He'd rather be dead than go to jail, yes, but he'd rather not push his luck by going back in bugged. He still had a decent mouth on him, he could make up a bullshit reason as to why he was released if he had to, but he couldn't bullshit his way out of anything if he was wearing a wire.

"So what can you offer me?" He asked as he looked at Brian intently. He knew he needed his brother's help on this one, and he could only hope he hadn't shot up whatever bond was left between them, aside from the obvious blood related one.

Brian watched Jack lean against the wall. Obviously the wound was bothering him and Brian couldn't help but feel a little bit of justice in it even if mischief was a bad character trait. He deserved it.

Crossing his arms in front of his chest he frowned. "What can I do for you? Maybe you should ask yourself what you can do for me!"
In Brian's book Jack needed to a make a good, big step towards him to proof that despite what happened he still felt somewhat of a brotherly bond.
The thought actually made him mad. So he shook his head.
"I think you have some thinking to do, Jack. Figure out whether there are any feelings left toward me but hate and resentment. Then I'll see if I can figure anything out,."

His hands knocked on the bars. "Open the gate!" To let the officer in charge know he wanted to get out.
He didn't tell Jack that he had already talked to his Captain about a deal a couple of days ago.