Smack the Dog

Smack the Dog 35: The Lion's Den
Author: Foofy
Rating: NC17
Summary: The boys seek out their revenge, although the art of teamwork still has a lot to be desired.

*

It was quiet.

Too quiet.

They really should have soundtracks in real life, decided Sean as they moved towards the bar like three cowboys off to take over a town swarming with bandits. If this had been a film there would have been something dramatic playing in the background, almost suggesting that one of them wouldn’t return to the car. It had to have a good beat to it, a bit of guitar, and possibly one of the women singers with a voice so raw that you could include it as part of a healthy nutritious diet.

Despite being second out the car, Karl was leading. Viggo seemed completely fine with this, just as he seemed fine with their current location. Sean wasn’t feeling quite so happy. It was evening time already, and evening time suggested people who had already started on the path to Drunken-dom. This wasn’t the type of crowd who were likely to allow their dinner to go down. Hell, this wasn’t the type of crowd who even bothered with dinner, unless it had been ripped straight off the cow.

Sean moved a little faster to be able to walk at Viggo’s shoulder. Karl was walking in front of them, a strange swagger already being used. Back to the cowboys again. Karl looked as though he had something in his belt he was about to draw, although the whole posture might simply be through having to sit on a car seat for a good ten minutes. Never underestimate the power of the paddle.

“ You okay?” murmured Viggo to Sean as they walked.

“ Sure. You?”

“ Not particularly. But I’m sure we’ll cope.” Viggo’s voice hadn’t changed from the mild tones, as though Viggo had scored a three for two offer in mild voice ranges and was desperate to use them on someone. Sean swallowed briefly, and focused on Karl who had reached the door.

And then they were in.

The bar was pretty much as Sean remembered it, which would have been more impressive if more days had drifted past between visits. The bar itself looked as unloved as ever, the clientele not improving either except in volume and number. Thankfully most of these were of the type who didn’t look as though they would jump straight into a fight if one presented itself to be leapt into, but you could never tell with people like these. It was normally the quiet ones you had to watch out for.

Karl strolled up to the bar like he owned it. Sean tried not to lurk at the back, but it was sodding difficult. He was also busy imagining so many things, all of which suggested something nasty and unpleasant was about to happen to his body, another problem in the whole casual stakes. Viggo, meanwhile, was standing completely at ease, glancing around the bar as though trying to spot some old friends. Perhaps he was. Viggo was so dark a horse you wouldn’t be able to spot him in the shadows. However, he deliberately kept close to Sean as though trying to comfort him, or possibly that he expected the main fight to aim directly at the blonde. Now *that* was a cheerful thought.

“ See them?” he queried lightly. Sean scanned the crowds.

“ Nope. You?” Sean wanted to bite back the question as soon as he had uttered it. Of course Viggo hadn’t seen them yet otherwise he wouldn’t have asked. However, Viggo seemed okay to ignore Sean’s little lapse in intelligence.

” Fancy a drink?”

Sean paused long enough for a momentary flicker of embarrassment to come across Viggo’s face. The older man shrugged.

“ Sorry, I forgot,” Viggo sighed. “ Although you could make do with one of the soft drinks,”

“ Do you think this place *has* soft drinks?” Sean was doubtful. Viggo obviously conceded the point as no further queries regarding liquids were made, the older man glancing over the room again. Karl was in the middle of a discussion with the barkeeper, whose name Sean had completely forgotten. Occasionally the odd gesture was made by Karl presumably to illustrate his point, or at least annoy the hell out of a small group of people who were just out of arm’s length but who were close enough for arm gestures to become slightly threatening.

“ Thanks for bringing me along, by the way,” Sean offered. Viggo glanced at him, surprised.

“ Was there any reason why I shouldn’t? You’re not a dog to be walked, Sean.” His eyes went back on Karl, feeling Sean with an undefined sick feeling in his stomach. For some reason it felt better to have the rules and restrictions and the Do As I Say attitude. Without it .. well, it felt as though he was still operating on his own. That Viggo had decided that he was in breach of his contract and therefore all responsibilities were off. And that was definitely a bad thing.

“ I know you don’t like me getting involved in your things,” Sean shrugged as an explanation, and was slightly startled by the intensive look that was suddenly aimed in his direction. Oh god what had he said now?

“ I don’t have a problem with you getting involved, as long as you don’t put yourself at risk unnecessarily,” this amendment was apparently important enough to involve Viggo’s full attention and his Serious Matters voice, which was a low, almost dangerous voice that spoke of authority. Sean nodded silently, not that anything else offered itself to be done.

Karl’s appearance managed to drag them back to the situation in hand.

“ They haven’t turned up,” he said with a scowl on his face. “ Bastards,”

“ You sure about that?” asked Viggo mildly. Karl turned scowl onto him.

“ What? Why wouldn’t I be?” he sounded irritated already, and that was without someone suitable to shout at. Viggo raised an eyebrow.

“ Because I wouldn’t put it past you to give us some story to make us leave then try and sort this matter out by yourself,” he said pleasantly. Karl bristled with something approaching outrage, although with at least some self control.

“ Well I haven’t,” he snapped. “ It’s the truth.”

“ Makes sense,” shrugged Sean, eager to get the fight away from themselves and onto the real targets. “ if we were after them, this would be the first place to try. Well, we did try, thinking about it. We *are* here, after all,”

“ That does take into account that the people we are dealing with have more brains than the average housecat, which I have my doubts upon,” Viggo glanced towards the rear of the bar again as though expecting them to have entered through a secret door. “ Although I suppose we could wait. Revenge is a dish best served cold,”

“ It’s best served immediately,” countered Karl. “ Dave’s stuck at Sean’s place looking like someone has just beaten him round the head with a baseball bat,”

“ And, regardless of how successful our visit, he will continue to look so,” replied Viggo. “ I don’t think he’s in any danger,”

“ Hey, exactly who was it who demanded to come with me?” snapped Karl, who really wasn’t in a good mood today. Sean could see the agitation in the younger man’s eyes as though someone had stolen a highly sentimental object from him. “ Besides which, they might still come after Sean. You know that,”

“ I’d like to see them try,” Viggo replied grimly.

“ I wouldn’t,” Sean interjected. “ I like staying in one piece, and that one piece not being black and blue,”

He was aware of the look Karl gave to him, a slightly amused one from a person who knew damn well how black and blue certain areas of Sean’s anatomy were likely to be. Sean flushed slightly, coughed, and glanced towards Viggo who at least wasn’t focusing on him.

“ So are we staying or going?” he asked hurriedly. Viggo drummed his fingers on his arm in thought, his eyes narrowed and focused on the bar. Not that the bar was actually guilty of doing anything to have such an expression aimed at it. It simply seemed to be a suitable spot to park the gaze whilst the mind got in some serious consideration.

“ I don’t think they’ll do anything for at least a week,” he said finally and not a little grudgingly. “ By that time it should be much easier to find them. The last thing we want to do is get them edgy and nervous and their reactions make this bloodier than necessary. People do odd things when they’re scared,”

“ So we just came here for something to do?” Karl ran his hand through his hair and glanced across the room idly. “ Great. Next time let’s decide this at home shall we?”

“ Well, it’s good to get some fresh air once in a while…,” Sean trailed off at Karl’s frozen look, and followed his gaze. People. Room. Tables. Smoke. Women in tight cheap tops. Drinks. A flickering light bulb on one wall light fixture where the bulb was on its last legs. And one large gentleman who looked extremely familiar.

Karl’s expression had grown tighter.

“ Kurt,” he said slowly. Sean looked back at him, then cautiously towards Viggo who had the expression that normally crossed a cat’s face when the neighbouring tom had just sauntered through their back garden. Karl glanced at Viggo, obviously aware of the sudden tension in the room. The air almost crackled with it.

“ I’ll go speak to him. Stay here,”

“ I don’t take orders from you,” Viggo was obviously rattled. Karl shook his head.

“ Take it as a suggestion then. Just please stay here, okay?” Karl’s eyes flickered to Sean as though pleading for his assistance on this one, then he moved off through the crowd towards the human brick wall. Sean watched him go, then looked back at Viggo. He was actually faintly impressed Viggo hadn’t already disappeared on him.

“ I take it he was one of the ones who attacked Dave,” Viggo’s voice was a soft growl, if growls were soft.

“ I think he’s one of the ones who left soon afterwards,” Sean searched his memory. All he could remember was the fact that Kurt had seemed to take a fancy to him last time he was in the bar. Heaven alone knew what he had been planning if they had found Sean rather than Dave in that room. Although that was probably his imagination being dodgy and paranoid on him. “ Spoke to him last time I was in the bar,”

“ You’ve always been a busy boy,” commented Viggo dryly, his eyes never leaving the two across the room. Sean was aware of Kurt’s gaze on them briefly before crowd once again hid them pretty much from view. His hand was on Viggo’s arm before he realised it, drawing comfort and security from his presence, as well as making sure he had that early warning alarm should Viggo decide to charge.

“ He seemed alright. For a thug,” Sean added. There was a snort of amusement from Viggo at this which had more of a nod towards disbelief rather than humour.

“ Alright people do not go off and attack innocent people in their homes,” Viggo growled.

“ Well, to them I’m not innocent am I? I’m some dodgy pervert,”

“ You *are* a dodgy pervert,” Viggo smiled briefly at him with genuine humour. “ Although the good type.”

“ That type being the ones who do what you want?” grinned back Sean. Viggo shrugged.

“ Could well be,” he agreed, returning his gaze back to the other two. “ You’re definitely staying over at mine tonight, speaking of wants,”

There was a pause.

“ What about Dave?” Sean struggled to get the words out. Viggo looked briefly surprised.

” What do you mean, what about Dave? I believe that Karl will be looking after him,” Viggo’s voice was cautious, as though Sean had offered a brand new problem. “ Why, were you wanting to stay with him?”

“ He did look after me when I was … ,” Sean searched for the right words. “ unhappy,” he offered. “ I wouldn’t feel right leaving him with Karl.”

“ Dave can look after himself, Sean,”

“ Well, quite obviously he can’t judging by the bruise on his head,” Sean hadn’t meant for his voice to have quite so much of a snap behind it, but it was so difficult to resist. Viggo’s attention had gone completely from the pair across the room, focusing on him with a look that suggested that carefulness was being used and kid gloves were firmly in place.

“ So you want to stay?” he asked softly.

“ I should make the offer, Vig. I’d feel an absolute bastard if I didn’t,” Sean’s eyes pleaded with Viggo to understand. Thankfully Viggo didn’t seem threatened by it. Just that strange caution. Sean was beginning to believe that the older man suspected some type of affair by the level of the interest, which normally only appeared when serious misbehaviour was about.

“ I understand,”

God, he hoped he did. Sean really really hoped he did. But Viggo being Viggo it was so hard to tell what he was thinking. Viggo was the type who could die of a broken heart and no one would know until they read the diary entry.

“ I can come back to yours as soon as I know he’s okay,” Sean was quick to make the statement, his green eyes fixed on Viggo as though breaking eye contact would somehow make Viggo believe that everything he said was a lie. “ Honest,”

“ Calm down, Sean. I understand and it’s fine,”

Sean raised an eyebrow, suspicious. “ Yeah?”

“ Yeah,” Viggo shook his head and sighed. “ I mean, yes. You and your accent, Sean. It’s addictive,”

But Sean didn’t care about his sodding dialect. This was important. “ You’re sure?”

“ Yes, I’m sure. Why are we still talking about this?” Viggo’s voice was beginning to become clipped with impatience.

“ Because I want you to know how important you and Orlando are to me,” Sean replied immediately, then suddenly realised exactly how that sounded as Viggo turned shocked eyes to him. Not neutral. Not calmly surprised or inquisitive. Just plain shocked, as though Sean had suddenly danced the Tango dressed only in a red silk thong and a saucy smile.

Viggo was obviously struggling to say something. It wasn’t often that Viggo struggled with anything. Sean stared at him in nervous fascination. Surely commitment was a good thing, wasn’t it? Or did he sound too eager, too desperate, or, worse yet, too *assuming*. He’d slept with Orli behind Viggo’s back, essentially. He’d done nothing but cause problems, including constant guilt. They stared at each other, Sean waiting for Viggo to move, to speak, to do *something* other than just look at him with that grey-blue stare.

“ Well, I spoke to him,” Karl’s voice broke them both out of the shared daze they had been occupying. Both men jumped. Obviously realising he had interrupted something, Karl’s eyes flickered from Sean to Viggo in wary interest. “ Sorry, I butting in here?”

“ No,” Sean broke the gaze reluctantly and glanced at him. “ What did he say?”

Karl’s eyes were still narrowed, but the younger man was obviously okay to let things go. He shrugged, folding his arms, the noise of the bar washing over them as he paused. Viggo had recovered enough to become impatient once again, shifting his weight around as though it was a loaded weapon.

“ Well?”

“ He says he doesn’t know where they are,” Karl said finally and reluctantly, his eyes resting on Viggo suspiciously, waiting for movement. “ He didn’t agree with what happened to Daisy, and he hadn’t been fond of the idea of breaking Daisy’s new toy either. That’s you, by the way,” he added helpfully to Sean.

“ New toy?” echoed Sean. “ What, am I new from Bandai or something? Do I have Made in Taiwan tattooed on my arse?”

“ Give Viggo time, I’m sure he’ll oblige,” drawled Karl, who swiftly changed the area of topic as Viggo frowned at him. “ Anyway, Mackenzie isn’t here. He’s not expected,”

“ When *is* he expected?” Viggo growled. Despite the noise of the club, the sound carried remarkably well. Karl looked shifty.

“ Well, it’s hard to say,”

“ Try,” Viggo definitely had the look of someone who wasn’t too happy about the speed of world events. “ Because I’m beginning to disbelieve you, Karl. And that’s going to be bad for all concerned,”

“ I’m just as concerned about getting these guys off you as you are, Viggo. Back off,” snapped Karl, his eyes flashing. Sean smiled in what he hoped was a winning way with the nearest little crowd of bar patrons who had started to give them the suspicious looks of bar-drinkers everywhere when they suspect their neighbours were about to kick off, and put his hand on Viggo’s arm in both warning and support. Viggo’s arm was clenched hard enough for comparisons with stone pillars to be made.

“ Viggo, it’s Dave who got hurt. Why would Karl try and fool you?”

” Good question,” Viggo’s eyes were hard on Karl. Any ground they had gained from the previous night’s games seemed to disintegrate before Sean’s eyes. Sean rubbed Viggo’s arm a little harder, and glanced towards Karl who was also giving a damn good impression of someone who was about to go gun slinging. This was getting old really really fast.

“ Oh, for crying out loud, would the pair of you just get on for five minutes?” Sean snapped. “ Vig, calm down. Karl, stop fucking about and get us the answers we need.”

“ This guy’s not a train. He doesn’t have a fucking timetable, Sean,” growled Karl, who had, at least, calmed down a little more. Viggo’s arm seemed tenser than ever, obviously Viggo’s desire to kick the shit out of Karl being greater than his desire to punish Sean for snapping at him in public. Sure enough:

” Anything else happens because of this, Karl, and it will be your ass I’ll be taking it out of,” Viggo growled finally. Sean slapped Viggo’s arm hard. He wasn’t aware he was doing it until the damn thing happened, and by that time it was a little too late. The sound of the slap would echo in his mind for years to come, he could hear it now.

Okay, keep breathing, keep breathing. Pretend nothing just happened.

“ Viggo,” Sean gave the best warning voice he could at Viggo’s incredulous stare at him. It was actually reasonably believable, without any shaking or anything. Viggo, however, had a look that suggested he had been dive bombed by a few canaries. Sean resisted the urge to cringe. Karl smirked.

“ Well, at least you didn’t completely neuter him,” he commented towards Viggo. Viggo simply looked back at him hard with an expression that could drill through metal and still have time for rock. Sean coughed lightly and took hold of Viggo’s arm again as though escorting him to a romantic evening with flowers and chocolates.

“ Vig,” he tried. Blue eyes slid to Sean. Not for the first time that evening Sean wished for a suit of armour underneath his clothing. There was a pause, which was loaded with possible threats.

Finally Viggo sighed, a short sharp burst that suggested that the owner was simply doing a task to humour the idiots of the world. Karl’s smirk widened. Obviously the younger man had no self preservation, or, for that matter, any wish to save his own arse. Did he not *feel* the paddle marks of the night before? Honestly…

“ You did say you weren’t expecting them to do anything within the week,” Sean added helpfully.

“ I am aware of what I said, Sean,” Viggo’s voice was gritty enough to be used for traction in snow. However, there was another light sigh at Sean’s sorrowful expression, this time with more regret and less need for defences. Sean felt a little better. Not much, though, considering the current company. Viggo patted Sean’s arm. “ You’re right,”

“ I am?” Sean was even more taken aback by this. “ I mean, yes, sure,” It was a sheer miracle that he hadn't squeaked this out. Karl eyed them, sighed heavily to himself like a child confronted by his parents kissing, and started to walk towards the door.

“ When you’re ready, lovebirds, I have a Wenham to check up on,” he threw over his shoulder as he walked. Viggo scowled after him. Sean’s hand tightened on his arm in warning, which at least managed to do something other than piss Viggo off. The man subsided, grumbling to himself as they followed Karl out the door.

Given the tense situation between Viggo and Karl, Sean had thought that the few paces behind Karl was probably a good thing. This, of course, turned out to be the case but for a completely different reason.

" Fuck," Viggo swore at his side at the scene that started to unfold in front of them.

It was rare these days for Sean to walk out into a full battle unless it was already scripted, but a battle was what commenced as soon as Karl stepped a few paces outside of the door. This was mostly due to fate, which was the usual label given by the person who came off worst from someone else’s luck. That someone else, of course, was Mackenzie, whose thugs happened to be coming into the pub at the same time as they were leaving it.

There was a pause whilst everyone’s minds had to be reshuffled in order to take on board exactly what the fuck was going on. To be fair to him, Karl was very quick on the uptake, although Sean guessed this might have been due to the large fist suddenly coming towards at his nose. You rarely had to question a large fist for its motivations. Karl dodged to one side wearing a wide eyed expression that was more commonly found on a fawn in a Disney movie.

Fawn impersonations swiftly forgotten, Karl waded back into the action, proving once again that he was obviously deficient in the self preservation area of his mind. He was more lucky with his own punch, a cut opening up from his ring on his hand, although his muscle power was obviously much less than the buffalo he was trying to knock down. It was like watching a hummingbird wrestle a hippo.

Okay, that was a little harsh, as was the phrase “watching”. For you never watched in these sorts of circumstance, never got the opportunity to be able to escape the brawl even if you wanted to. Sean had managed to watch the first few steps of the Punch Up Dance before another man attempted to rearrange Sean's teeth with a fist to the mouth. This offer was not taken up; Sean ducked and felt the wind of the blow whistle past his ear. Heaven alone knew why he decided to grab hold of the aggressors arm with one hand and punch with the other hand, but that was what happened – albeit on automatic pilot – and it proved remarkably effective as fist connected solidly to aggressor’s body. The man grunted and fell forwards, Sean remembering to let go of the arm before he got dragged down too. However, the man was still not leaving him alone, and this was proving to be a problem.

Sean had forgotten quite how graceless, fast and messy the average street brawl was, but it was all flooding back to him. Sod the fists alone. Elbows, knees, boots, even teeth on occasion all entered the fight like moths to a flame, Sean fighting more like Richard Sharpe than the more choreographed Boromir, not that he particularly cared. As long as his fist was connecting to people who weren‘t on his side, he was happy. What he looked like doing it wasn‘t really his problem. He suddenly realised he was fighting, in fact, like a northern bastard. At least Orlando would be proud.

He hadn’t forgotten Viggo by his side, not that the man seemed to need the attention. Viggo had the reactions of a striking mongoose it seemed; having easily adapted to the idea that you could walk out of somewhere and suddenly get hit by no less than… quick count here … six people, Viggo was currently making sure at least one person’s life was more of a misery than his own. Sean hadn’t missed the fact that Viggo’s hand had immediately moved to grab a sword hilt that was no longer hanging at his side, the fluid movements of Viggo’s body to face the danger, but the blonde couldn’t keep an eye on him all the time if Sean wanted to ensure his own eyes were not turning black in the immediate future.

They kept coming, that was the problem. Actually, the fact that they didn’t fall over when hit was also proving to be quite an annoying factor. Did these people not *know* they were supposed to roll over and play dead when this happened?

Sean sidestepped another blow and suddenly discovered he had moved a hell of a lot more distance than he had realised as pub wall was suddenly pressed up against his back rather than the doorway he had assumed was still behind him. The man who was attacking him, a large beast of a bastard with a lazy eye, shoulders as broad as a Yorkshire accent and fists like sledgehammers, also apparently forgot about this as a fist connected to brick. There was an anguished cry and a few snaps that sounded like a large bowl of Rice Crispies.

With the man holding his injured fist and paying little attention to him, Sean took the opportunity to work out what was happening with everyone else’s immediate positions. Karl was still in front of them, fighting with two men who seemed determined to pin him down. However, they were having immense difficulties with the fact that Karl fought like a hurricane, or possibly a very pissed off cat. There was no grace in Karl’s movements, no calculation. Karl hit whatever was in front of him, and quite often to the sides as well. There was an element of the lottery to his movements; where he will stop, nobody knows.

Sean glanced to his right swiftly; Viggo was in a similar position, except he seemed more focused. This was actually proving more problematic for his foes, who were finding that when Viggo struck, he really, really meant it. As Sean watched, one man was propelled backwards by something striking, the man having to slowly pick himself up afterwards before getting back into the fray. And despite Viggo’s best efforts, there was only so long he would be able to hold off from getting seriously hurt. He had to get lucky many times. They only had to get lucky once, to lower his defenses, and they would be all over him.

Not a fucking chance in hell.

If Sean was surprised about the war yell he gave as he raced over to them, it was not quite as surprised as the man his fist connected with. It connected solidly and it connected with momentum. The man crumpled as though having fallen asleep on his feet, Sean’s fist throbbing painfully in reminder of what a bloody stupid idea this was. Viggo looked at him in astonishment for a mere moment, before his attention turned once again to another man who was seemingly trying to bite him although given the limited viewpoint Sean assumed this was simply a matter of perspective.

A pained cry from Karl’s position forced Sean to glance up; the younger man was staggering back, his hand clamped to the side of his head as though trying to keep his ear attached, a thin trickle of blood seeping through his fingers. Sean froze. Karl almost dropped to one knee, but the last remains of the self preservation kicked in, forcing him to move back. The two men he had been fighting – one of whom looking much worse for wear – prowled after him like wolves scenting a wounded animal, their eyes fixed on him.

“ Fuck,” Sean hadn’t realized that had come out of his mouth either, but it was there, as was his immediate response. The more beaten up of the two men looked wary as Sean approached them, the blonde's fists clenched to his side, trying desperately to look bigger than he actually was, but the other one didn’t give him more than a bored glance. A foot lashed out at Karl, who was still staggering backwards. Behind the man Sean could just about see the now familiar figure of Mackenzie who was stood, watching. Sean couldn’t quite make out the expression but he seriously doubted it was likely to be concern.

Karl managed to move to his side, his eyes closing briefly before he shook his head and straightened. By that time, of course, the larger of the two men had attempted to strike, but he had not taken into account the sheer bloody-mindedness of the Sean who had stepped in. Wishing he had some type of wooden staff to act as a sword, Sean ducked the initial blow – which coincidentally was similar to that performed on him by Bob during their recent training – and immediately followed through with a kick of his own. Suddenly foot added to the areas that were beginning to be classified as agony intensive. This man wasn’t just hard in his body, he was fucking well made of metal.

There was also the little problem of his mate. With Sean’s attention firmly fixed on striking one man, the smaller bloke had decided to fix his attention on making Sean’s life as painful as possible. A series of punches connected to Sean's shoulder and neck, one painful one catching the side of his jaw and slamming it shut with a click of teeth on teeth. By the sudden sharp pain and taste of blood in his mouth, obviously his tongue hadn’t quite got out the way of this one either. Additional kicks forgotten, Sean stumbled before pulling back, finding a useful ally in the now almost recovered Karl, who immediately shoved the lighter man so hard that he was flung backwards.

There was something to be said for adrenaline. Sean could feel his heart racing in his chest, his eyes darting around trying to watch everything at once, and for some damn reason this felt .. well, it felt damn good was what it felt like. Sod the emotional baggage. Sod the soft words, the worries about what went on out the back, the complications. This was true, this was real, and this really wasn’t that difficult to understand. You try to hit him, he tries to hit you, later on you take a few painkillers and hope that a visit to the dentist won’t be necessary. Good, clean, simple annihilation.

He glanced at Karl, whose cut had stopped bleeding already but whose trail was still clear on the pale skin. Karl’s eyes flickered to him, before moving back. Amazingly, despite the bruises and the fact that Karl was obviously favouring one leg more than the other, the man still had a grin on his face. Sean was briefly reminded of a Jack Russell dog, an animal that seemed completely oblivious to its size when a fight was happening.

There was another flurry of blows, mostly aimed towards Karl. Sean managed to get in a couple of good kicks and a sharp elbow blow which connected to the lighter man’s ribs with a satisfying crack. Backing away a few steps, Sean glanced desperately back to Viggo, knowing the man had a nasty ability to be mortally wounded and still not give a murmur of pain.

It was just as well he did. At that moment as he looked round, Viggo crashed to the floor, almost immediately followed by another man whose jacket Viggo’s hands were firmly attached to. And this was going to be a bad idea, Sean knew it even before the man hit the floor. It was one thing to yank your enemy off their feet and onto the floor. It was quite another if *you* were the padding between him and the floor itself. There was a crash thump that suggested body parts had been instrumental in the ending of the fall, and by that time Sean was already over there to yank the man off Viggo. Man, thankfully, came off easily. However, Sean was not comforted by the fact that Viggo didn’t immediately bounce to his feet, a look of pain briefly visible in his eyes before that was physically shoved to one side.

“ You okay?” called Sean anxiously. Viggo nodded slowly and slowly began to push himself upright. There was a movement to Sean’s right, which almost resulted in Sean’s fist connecting to Karl’s face. Karl looked startled.

“ It’s me, for fuck’s sake!” he didn’t quite yelp it, but it was certainly not casually said. Sean looked slightly embarrassed and glanced towards Mackenzie, who was walking towards them. The fighters pulled off and retreated to side positions, occasionally glaring at them. Sean ignored them. Not even the best was anywhere near the intensity of Viggo's glare when he got going.

Mackenzie stopped about five paces away from them and surveyed them coldly, as though they were exotic animals in a cage rather than the three dirty, bleeding and aching men they so obviously were. Thankfully Mackenzie’s own side were looking remarkably similar in the whole tenderised effect, although this wasn't quite as comforting as Sean first considered. They were, after all, still up.

There was a brief pause whilst a cigarette was located on Mackenzie’s person, moved to mouth and lit, a smoke ring rising into the cool air. Sean was aware of the comforting figure of Viggo by his shoulder and held on to that thought as the silence lengthened. Finally Mackenzie bothered to speak, his eyes narrowing at Viggo before turning to Karl.

“ I’m surprised to see you here again, Karl, and even more surprised about the type of company you appear to keep nowadays,” the man’s voice drawled in a way that suggested he would have been lounging if the position was available. “ Can I assist you?”

“ You attacked David,” Karl snarled, wiping the blood from his face with an arm and giving a glare towards him that spoke of disemboweling and knives.

A brief look of surprise flickered across Mackenzie’s face. “ I most certainly didn’t. That was Mike. Granted, it might have been as a result of a conversation we had, but still my hands are clean when it comes to physically attacking Daisy,” The weasel eyes glanced at Viggo again for a moment, then back again. A slow smile began to creep across the man’s face as though a fast growing ivy across the front of a house. “ I’m sorry, is your presence some sort of reactionary body come to take revenge? I didn’t realise how low you could sink, Karl.”

“ You just want me to walk away from this?” Karl snorted. “ I don’t know whether you’ll decide to go do it again,”

Mackenzie’s eyes flickered amusement at this statement, the smile growing a little, cold and dark. “ Oh, you can be assured that no one will be attacking *Daisy* again,”

The smile faltered slightly as Viggo stepped forward, his expression hard and unforgiving, his fists already clenched. It didn’t matter that the man was obviously worn from the fight, that dust was in his hair, that his clothes were crumpled and ripped in places. At this point, Viggo looked and acted like a king, or at least someone who had a thousand men at his beck and call rather than the two beaten and bedraggled ones he had at the moment. You could honestly believe that victory was but a tea-break away. The human spirit was incredible.

Viggo stopped a mere few paces away, his grey-blue eyes scanning the dark ones in front of him.

“ You won’t be attacking *anyone* again,” when his voice came it was steady enough, but you had to be particularly confident to completely ignore the danger behind the words. “ Trust me on this,”

Mackenzie’s eyes flickered down Viggo’s battered body then back up to rest on his gaze mockingly. “ Or what, my little knight in shining armour? Will I find you knocking at my door late at night?”

Viggo’s eyes grew even colder. Karl decided this was a good point to butt in.

“ Him, no. The police, certainly,” Karl’s voice was loud enough to indicate he was unhappy about the current position. Sean wasn’t far behind him. He was already tense to pounce in case someone decided to get back into the fray.

Mackenzie glanced towards Karl again, his eyes narrowing. “ Oh, that won’t happen, will it?” his voice was casual. “ That would require *investigations*, and I’m sure our friends here could do without their lives being broadcast across the country.”

“ David could testify without any of them being brought it. And so could I,” Karl glanced towards Viggo once in a manner that suggested he was trying to do this to gauge the reaction, and then back at Mackenzie who at least had lost some of his coziness.

“ You given up hope on the boy then?” Mackenzie asked with a pointed tone.

” Orli is young but not anywhere near what you could call a ‘boy’, and he’s fine,” Karl folded his arms. “ Mackenzie. *Drop it*. We can all just walk home and call it a day. No unfortunate behaviour. No problems. Just getting on with our lives,”

Sean had a sneaking suspicion that walking home probably wasn’t likely to happen without less than a few winces, but he could see the appeal of the suggestion. Viggo hadn’t moved in this time, giving Mackenzie a glare that was powerful enough to generate electricity. Mackenzie, to his credit, hadn’t moved. However, he didn’t look as comfortable as he once did. Before it was almost as though he should have been wearing slippers and smoking a pipe. Now it was just the wary look of the trapped animal.

Dark, weasel eyes flickered back to Karl.

“ You know I dislike making agreements with such people, Karl,”

“ Then make it with me.” Karl’s voice was stubborn. Mackenzie snorted something to himself, then turned to move away. Viggo’s arm struck out like a lizard catching a fly with its tongue, his hand grabbing hold of Mackenzie’s arm. The weasel stopped as though he had reached the end of a rope and stared back at Viggo incredulously. Viggo smiled at him under a mask of politeness.

“ This was the agreement you were supposed to be answering,” he said grimly. Mackenzie’s eyes narrowed to slits.

” Take your hand off me,” he spat, pulling his arm away. However, it took more than that to dislodge a Viggo. His backup, however, might well do it. Two men had already stepped forward to assist, their eyes scanning Karl and Sean to see whether they were going to step in as well. Sean had a sneaking suspicion that the ‘discussions’ were balanced on a very fine line between agreement and free-for-all. He wasn’t entirely sure which one he preferred either.

“ Your answer?” Viggo didn’t seem to even notice the fact that he was holding onto the man’s arm. His tone was polite and yet more dangerous than a pool of hungry sharks.

“ I don’t answer to you,”

Viggo smiled politely. “ You do now,” he replied grimly.

Sean stepped forward a little more, in support. One of the men glanced at him warily, waiting for his movement, the others circling a little more around them. Not that any of this seemed to matter to Viggo by the dedicated look he was giving Mackenzie. Sean was briefly reminded of ‘Mad’ Riggs in the Lethal Weapon series, the solid, unwavering look of someone who really didn’t care about the immediate consequences, who already knew that death was just a handshake away.

Apparently this had also drifted through to Mackenzie. Eyes narrowed even further to the extent that the man was squinting out into the world.

“ I shall consider your proposal,” the weasel said finally, as though this was an honour befalling them. Viggo glared at him a moment longer then let go of the weasel’s arm, dropping it as though it was somehow infectious.

“ I’d recommend you seriously think on it,” he said quietly. “ It’s not something you can turn down twice,”

“ You don’t scare me, Mr Mortensen,” sneered Mackenzie.

“ Really?” There was a cold gleam in Viggo’s eyes. “ Perhaps I should try a little harder then,”

This type of gun-ho attitude had apparently drifted to Karl, who was staring insolently at the men behind Mackenzie as though as though he had access to five fighting units and two tanks behind him.

“ Fucking panies, the lot of them. Couldn’t toss a salad without tearing a muscle,” he commented to Sean in that familiar loud voice that suggested the words were not intended for Sean at all. Sean stared at him incredulously for a few moments, before glancing back ahead. To be unafraid was one thing. To actively taunt the enemy whilst being completely outnumbered and already bruised was quite another.

Mackenzie seemed to be less bothered by Karl’s words, although Sean supposed if he had been an ex-drinking buddy of Karl’s this probably was through practice rather than anything else. He puffed on his cigarette thoughtfully, as though actually considering Viggo’s words. Not that Sean was expecting this, mind you. There was more chance of Orlando deciding to take a vow of chastity than Mackenzie leave them alone.

“ I believe,” he said slowly and casually glancing at his cigarette as though it might have magically changed shape since last he checked it. “ I have come to a decision,”

Sean was aware of dark eyes resting on him. There was a hint of disgust hidden in those eyes, before Mackenzie moved his gaze back to Viggo. Viggo hadn’t moved through any of this, his back as straight and true as an arrow into the centre of a target. It was definitely comforting, although it would probably be more so should Viggo still have his sword at his hip. God, what Sean would have done for his sword. It would probably have been more pornographic than any of Orli’s sordid fantasies, that was certain.

“ Hope he’s worth it,” Mackenzie addressed Viggo, his eyes flickering to Sean and back again.

Viggo didn’t say anything, but then neither did he move, looking all the world as though he didn’t really need to answer that question. However, Sean really wished that he had. God, had he wished he had, and at least it would have solved a little more of his current quest for answers. What he actually wanted, Sean realised with a sinking heart, was just a bed and a lazy evening and just sorting a few things out once and for all. No arguments. No guilt. No stepping on anyone’s toes, causing psychological damage or causing fist fights in the pits of the city. Just the three of them, Viggo’s orders, little Orli’s enthusiasm, just as they had been, that was it. He supposed a few toys could enter the equation. Just as .. well… tradition. Not that he really liked that sort of thing.

Much.

God, they were right. He was a pervert. Now, let’s just make that into a *happy* pervert and he was sorted.

Mackenzie puffed away some more, a slightly smug expression in his eyes. There was a long, long pause. Sean’s heart sank a little more at this. No one who was happy to make peace stayed quiet for that long. It was an unwritten rule. Obviously Mackenzie had been studying for his Evil Villains award recently.

“ Might I say something, Mr Mortensen? I despise you. I despise what you stand for. Yes, I’m sure you despise me just as much, but I have issues you see, deep and burning issues. When you include youngsters in your little … ‘games’ I suppose we should call it, I have issues indeed,” Mackenzie took on a look that Sean assumed was supposed to look noble. Viggo folded his arms.

“ I assume you believe that I’m abusing Orli,” he said coldly, and this was a coldness that could have frozen the hindquarters from a winter wolf. Mackenzie looked briefly confused, the puzzlement clearing swiftly.

“ Ah, yes, short for Orlando, I see,” he took another drawn out puff from the cigarette and focused back on Viggo with a sneer in his eyes. “ You see, I know what men like you do. You prey on the young, the inexperienced, and then you ensure that they cannot live without you.” The man looked a little harder towards Viggo. “ They get used to all the perversions you give them. After a while, they start to like them. They believe that it’s *normal*,” The man snorted laughter. “ And then, when they get too old, you abandon them.”

Sean wasn’t sure how Viggo managed to keep his cool, but he did so, and with a slight laugh to himself as well which was almost certainly for effect rather than anything else. Sean recognized the stiffness in Viggo’s posture, the tense position and inwardly winced. However, Mackenzie wasn’t yet finished. The cigarette butt was thrown onto the floor and idly ground out the cigarette with the heel of his boot, his eyes finally turning back to Viggo.

Incredibly, there was still a smile on Mackenzie’s face, an all-friends-here type that Sean immediately took to mean the man wasn’t playing with a full deck. You didn’t make that sort of casual grin with this sort of situation. You just didn’t. There was another glance towards him, sly, and suddenly Viggo’s temper tantrums weren’t the worst thing Sean could think of. Oh no. He’d heard about what these vigilantes could do, had done, regardless of evidence or even common sense. Anger did funny things to people, and he only wished it was the ha-ha type.

“ And what, exactly, is this little lecture about? This little plan?” Viggo sounded almost bored of the whole situation. Out of the corner of his eye Sean could see Karl watching them, a wary expression on his face as he waited silently. A silent Karl. If things hadn’t been this grim it would have been something to note.

“ I don’t plan to do anything. However, I can tell you what will happen,” The man glanced towards Sean again idly, and Sean could see Viggo straighten further, already assuming the worst.

“ You touch him and I swear I will hunt you down and kill you,” Viggo spoke again, his voice deadlier than a basket full of annoyed rattlesnakes. Mackenzie smiled and glanced at Sean, eyes slowly moving down Sean’s body as though to emphasis the somewhat ragged state that Sean was in at the moment.

“ Why, I believe we have already touched him, unless he always looks that unkempt,” Mackenzie spoke in amusement. “ Lord knows-"

No one was entirely sure what the Lord might or might not know as Viggo crossed the few paces between them and slammed his fist into the man's face. No warning. No announcement. Just, good, solid, meaty punch. Mackenzie, who had been looking back at him in surprise due to the movement, went down like a sack of potatoes. There was a period of group stunned silence whilst people managed to drag their minds back to accommodate this new development. Not that Viggo hung around either; with a decisive nod, he turned and looked at Sean. Sean managed to drag his eyes from the prone figure on the floor to where Viggo was standing.

" Let's go," Viggo had that look in his eyes that Sean recognised from the first few days of their relationship, the look that spoke of danger and pain only a few moments away should people not do what he said. Sean wasn't entirely sure whether that was a blessing or a curse. He nodded his agreement at this and had to grab hold of Karl's arm, the younger man staring down at the fallen Mackenzie in shock.

" You *hit* him-" he started but Sean's tug on his arm silenced this pretty damn quickly. Karl stumbled after them, still looking at the body as though unable to fully believe what he was seeing.

They would have gotten away with it too had it not been for the group apathy wearing off almost as quickly as it had come. There were still four men hovering, and hovering apparently was going out of fashion by the speed they got into the fight. Three of them immediately headed for Viggo again, as though they had Viggo seeking sensors as part of their genes. Sean's hand dropped from Karl's arm as he swiveled to face this new problem. Swiveling wasn't going to cut it as a defensive move, however. The fourth man, apparently, was a bastard, and a *sneaky* bastard at that. Having apparently remembered exactly who it was who came to assist Viggo in his moment of need, a fist was already flying towards his head at the speed of... well, light was a bit of an exaggeration, but it was fucking fast and it fucking hurt when it hit. Sean stumbled backwards, feeling the blood start to run down his forehead from where the ring had split the skin. His eyes couldn't quite work out whether their new dancing spots were going to be white or black and kept ranging between the two.

Sean faintly heard someone call his name, but it sounded too distant for him to fully focus. His attacker, obviously surprised he was still standing, took a few steps back and lashed out with a foot, which was swiftly avoided. How much of this was luck and how much was skill was another matter, but Sean had cleared the slight distance between them too swiftly for him to start considering the technical details. He didn't quite remember when he started properly fighting, but his mind cleared after a few moments in time to fully focus on the battle he was caught up in. It was swift, it was brutal, and he had already gained himself several areas that were going to hurt, one crack to the shin accompanied by a pain that had flared and then died down again but in a throbbing manner that suggested the body was going to store it up and spring it on him when his back was turned. However, he seemed to be winning, and that was the main thing.

Karl, however, was not having as much luck. Having regained his senses after a moment, he had charged in only to be hit by a lucky punch and almost thrown to the floor. This wouldn't have been so bad had the lucky punch man not then added a swift boot to Karl's stomach immediately afterwards. Out of the corner of his eye Sean saw Karl fall, Viggo, who was nearby, move to defend him from another kick to the body. Sean was about to call out a warning to Viggo when pain blossomed in his head once again as a blow connected to his temple.

The floor, being thoughtful, rushed up to meet him. The world, choosing this moment in time to be a little more cinematic than normal, faded to black.

And, just for a while, the pain ceased.

TBC