Leopard and Reed Meet Again

"Well....that's certianly not how I remember Chase...no, quite the opposite. He was too shy and reserved and afraid of you to do anything," he replied. "Oh, but not me. I'm not like that at all."

"Chase wasn't shy, he was just a good big brother!" snapped Reed. "He cared and he took care of me, and he sacrificed a lot...he loved me, because we were brothers. He didn't see me as anything else, because he wasn't sick."

He crossed his arms awkwardly, unwilling to say it out loud. He had always known liking his brother was wrong.

"He wanted to fuck you," he said bluntly. "You know that right?"

"Are you sure that isn't just you?" he asked, rolling his eyes. "I would have known. Chase wouldn't have brought home so many girls..."

He refused to admit that, deep in his heart, he hoped it was true. That he prayed it was true with every ounce of his being. He could practically feel his brother's hands tugging on his hair, the way he had been imagining it for years.

"You mean you're really that dumb? He did that to try and pretend he wasn't in love with you, stupid." he laughed.

He ran a hand through his hair.

"...You're lying," he replied lamely, unable to think of anything else to say. "If you weren't, we'd be at my car, Chase, or Leopard, or whoever the hell you are. Stop lying."

He leaned forward, placing a hand on hus brother's chest.

"You know I'm right."

"...Prove it," he replied, very much wanting his brother to do so.

"I think you've proven more than I ever needed to," he chuckled, turning to leave. "well....seeya around."

"You said you'd come to my car," he insisted, following after him. "If I wanted you dead, you'd be dead. Come on, I'm taking you up on your offer. I want my brother."

"You don't want your brother back, you just want to have sex with him with no strings attached. You don't really care about your brother."

"Say that again," he said slowly, "and I think I'll kill you. I really think I will. Do you even know why I'm alive? Everything has been for him--everything. I'm still breathing, I'm still walking across the accursed Earth, because of Chase.

"I wanted to avenge him. I wanted to honor his memory. Otherwise, I would've just joined him." He clenched his fists, restraining himself from just grabbing the knife.

"You don't even know what I've done for Chase, you stupid fuck. So you can just be quiet.

"I'm asking you one more time; will you go to the car with me? I'm...sick of this." He didn't elaborate on his meaning, opting instead to glance off to the side. He still felt as though all the raw wanting he had always felt for his brother would be visible in his eyes; he had to hide them.

Leopard grabbed Reed by the neck, shoving him against the wall of the warehouse. With his spare hand, he took out his gun.

"I'm going to end this, brother. For both of our sakes. You have lost every ounce of your humanity left. I csn't let you go on like this. Yu won't join me, you won't repent, you won't even try..."

He took the gun and aimed it at his own head.

"This is goodbye. Again."

Without thinking, Reed knocked the gun out of Leopard's hand. He stared, stunned at his own actions; he had been considering killing this man himself. But somehow, when it came down to it, he had failed.

"Don't...do that," he said, straightening his jacket. "Just calm the fuck down, would you?! I didn't invite you here to make a suicide pact, I came because I wanted to see my brother."

"No, you didn't. You don't expect your brother to have changed with age. You think he'll be the same as before. You didn't come here to see your brother." he said.

"Let me die. I've spent my life trying to find you and bring you back, and if you won't then Kill me."

"I've spent my life trying to avenge you!" he snapped. "Do you even know...how lonely I was? Not that it matters. I'm not letting you leave me again, but...I can't just leave the organization." He reached for his knife, tossed it from hand to hand.

"...Maybe I should kill you. I hate seeing you like this."

Leopard grabbed his hand, forcing him to put the knife to his throat.

"Then do it," he replied, his eyes flashing. "Slit my throat, leave me to die."

He swallowed, feeling the blade against his throat.

Reed yanked the knife away, stumbling backward.

"...Never mind," he hissed. "I'll do this some other time--I'll find a better way to redeem you. I'm going to my car."

He turned around and walked out of the warehouse, not bothering to glance back.

Leopard stared at the ground. What was he going to do?

He sank down to the ground, leaning against the wall of the warehouse. He ran a hand through his unruly hair, his fingers grazing the large scar on his head.

He had survived so much to find his brother, but it appeared that he could not survive seeing his brother. So much had changed. He was a failure. He had failed in forcing his brother to come home, and now he couldn't even die.

What did he do from here?

Two weeks later, Reed sat in a cheap hotel room, waiting for his brother. He had waited a while before contacting him--he wouldn't admit it was due to nerves. Seeing his brother like that had shaken him, badly.

Even now, as he imagined he could hear footsteps outside every few minutes, he could feel his heart pounding in his chest. He just wanted to get this assassination over with.

Leopard had made what could only be described as a stunning turn around recovery. In fact, so much so, that by the time he reached Reed, he was smoking a cigarette in one hand, holding a blood soaked gun in the other.

"Sorry I'm late," he replied, a devilish grin on his lips. "I was taking out the trash."

He slicked his hair back, running his tongue across his upper lip.

"I tried to clean up, but I think there's still some blood on my suit, hope you don't mind, I had a job to do before I got here," he shrugged as he raised his gun at Reed.

"Now on to business."

"To business," said Reed, holding up his gun. "I'm afraid you die today, brother--I thought long and hard about it, and it's the only way. You're not the person you used to be...just look at you. Hitting on your own brother? Chase would never do that."

He laughed loudly, taking a drag on his cigarette.

"You sure you can kill me? I'm positive I've killed a lot more people than you have, and I don't think you have what it takes to kill Chase," he said bluntly. "I don't think you have what it takes to kill Leopard. You're a sad, pathetic little dog of the organization. Have you even spilled blood?"

He shrugged slightly, laughing. "You're just a little baby. You haven't seen anything compared to what I've had to do."

"I've killed tons of people for you," he said, standing up. "I didn't have a big brother to protect me anymore, remember? I had to fend for myself. And sometimes that means killing many people for a couple of untouchable bigwigs with too much power. You got something against it? From what I can tell, the only differences in our jobs is that I'm trapped."

He laughed.

"Are you serious? Being freelance is so much worse," he replied, waving his cigarette. "Enough talk. Kill me, if you can, little brother."