Brogan x Xander x Lennox

The only thing that kept Xander conscious during the walk was his determination to keep his eyes focused on Lennox as she followed from a distance. The situation was beyond humiliating. Not only had he just gotten his face beaten in, but Brogan also had to throw salt into the wound by carrying him around like a pathetic damsel. The world spun once again as he was deposited onto the bed and Xander slumped onto his back in exhaustion, taking several moments to reorient himself and try to figure out where the hell Brogan had taken them.

He sat up with a groan and propped himself up against the wall of the shack, scowling in Brogan’s direction when the man began to lecture him, “I didn’t start anything,” he felt the need clarify, tired of being blamed for instigating situations that were out of his control, “That creep kidnapped my friend, Bo. I don’t know why, but I had to save him. I…broke him out of Raevaryn’s castle,” he admitted reluctantly, “But that’s not even why he showed up the house. He was looking to shut down the rest of mom’s operation. He’s a fool for thinking it ends with me,” he muttered, pressing his fingers tentatively against his swollen cheek.

Xander’s eyes landed on Lennox and softened. Although he was ashamed of the way that everything had played out, he knew it could have been much, much worse. He patted the spot on the bed beside him, urging her to sit, “He took it too far,” he continued, the chilling image of Roman holding a knife to Lennox’s neck still clear as day in his mind’s eye, “I’m telling you; that guy is unhinged. But Lennox…” he paused, studying her face as if the answers were hidden there somewhere, “You saw something,” he murmured, his curiosity evident. It didn’t occur to him to share with Brogan that Lennox, too, was a mage with abilities they had only just begun to understand. Instead, he sat forward, seeking whatever knowledge Lennox had gathered from the two men during the exchange, “What was it, Lennox?” he asked.

Brogan listened as Xander explained and he realxed, nodding, almost to himself. He could feel Lennox's discomfort coming off of her in waves, and so he made a show of disarming himself, setting his weapons on the kitchen table. He sat himself down in a chair, trying to make himself look as non-threatening as possible. "Ah, sorry kid. You did the right thing, going after your friend." he offered, the closest Xander would get to a real apology for the way Brogan had jumped to conclusions. He watched the young man carefully, noting his wounds. He'd need to be patched up soon. "So Roman is trying to shut down the operation..." he stroked his jaw, seeing a golden opportunity present itself. "Well, I say we let him. Doesn't he know it's Amara's operation now?" he arched a dark eyebrow at Xander, wondering if the boy would catch his drift. If Roman believed Amara was the head, that Xander had been ousted from the ring, Roman's attention would shift to the woman long enough to let Xander disappear and reestablish himself as the head of the criminal organization in an anonymous way. Amara would simultaneously be taken out of the picture, and Xander would be free to go.

Brogan paid little attention to Lennox's mention of a vision, of a name. It didn't bother him that she was a mage, that she had powers she couldn't control or did not yet have full knowledge of. Though neither of the young ones in the home knew it, Brogan was a fiercely loyal friend and he was bonded to Xander, which meant that Lennox was under his protection as well.

Xander made a point of ignoring Lennox’s tangible disgust, fed up with constantly being on the offensive. He undoubtedly cared deeply for Lennox and would go to great lengths to protect her, but he was not about to give up his sense of free will at the drop of a hat. If they were going to stick together, which Xander fully intended on doing, there were compromises to be made on both ends. He side eyed her as she climbed onto the bed, tightening his grip on his vice. He didn’t miss the way that she avoided touching him, undoubtedly repulsed by his intoxication. He considered taking another drink out of spite, but even he wasn’t bold enough to push her buttons. Besides, they had an audience.

Xander’s gaze shifted toward Brogan, studying the man’s expression. Though he would never admit it, Xander very much cared what Brogan thought about him, and he was growing exceedingly uncomfortable as two separate parts of his life collided. He waited for Brogan’s opinion on the matter, but Lennox beat him to the punch. His eyes instantly narrowed into a judgmental look as the rugged outlaw allowed a young girl to cut him off. Perhaps he wasn’t the one who should be feeling embarrassed.

He reluctantly heard Lennox out, feeling his stubborn resolve start to melt away in response to her desperate pleas. Frowning, Xander subconsciously closed the lid of the flask and carefully tucked it away back into his jacket, attempting to appease her. The guilt returned full force, reminding him of the moment he was sure that Lennox would be taken away from him. After witnessing such a blatant threat on her life, off course his first instinct was to retaliate against Roman; how could they ever live in peace with such a threat looming over their heads? But hearing the fear in Lennox’s voice was enough to make him reconsider.

Xander rubbed a hand over his swollen face in exasperation as her speech took a turn, “Okay,” he interjected, but it wasn’t enough to stop her spiritual rambling, “Okay!” he raised his voice just enough to end the rant, avoiding looking in Brogan’s direction. He didn’t need the man thinking he’d gone off the deep end, entertaining such fanciful nonsense. Sooner or later, he needed to steer Lennox from her distorted, and quite frankly dangerous, belief system.

“Look. I won’t go after Roman, but I have to be prepared if he decides to come after us, okay?” He looked to Lennox, trying to make her see that they were backed up against a wall, and needed to start making difficult decisions. “My priority is still finding out who is responsible for my mother’s death, but Roman could very well be involved, right?” His attention returned to Brogan, seeking guidance, “Have you found any answers?” he asked, daring to be hopeful.

Finally, Xander asked the question that Brogan had been wanting to answer. The reason he'd come to seek Xander out. He glanced at Lennox as the girl fell silent with Xander's soothing response. It irked Brogan that the boy was backing down so easily, but he said nothing on the matter, sure that what he had to say would make the boy eager to follow the plan he'd laid out- to use Roman to eliminate Amara.

"I found out what happened," Brogan confirmed and rose, going to a cupboard to reach for a bottle of rye. He poured himself a glass, hesitated, then poured one for Xander and Lennox as well. He didn't approve of whatever was in Xander's flask, but a good old bottle of alcohol was an acceptable vice in his opinion. He brought the glasses over, not really expecting Lennox to drink hers, but it would have been rude not to offer her one. He took a long sip of his drink before he went on, the pain evident in his eyes. But there was more than pain- there was wrath, seething and shifting in the darkness of his pupils like a giant snake. "Amara," he spit out her name like poison. "I got ahold of my men who escaped the ambush. I... prompted them until one broke and told me he had been bought by Amara to reveal Sahara's location, and to lead her into a trap." It made him feel sick to admit that one of his own men had turned like that. In response, Brogan had dismembered the man and strung him up, along with his various parts, outside the Green Jester, a well known haunt for those in his and Sahara's businesses. A place where Amara went. And now, it was her turn to suffer.

Brogan watched as Xander absorbed the information, and took another drink. He could tell the boy was going to exact revenge, and Brogan wanted to help him do it. Xander might choose to forget or ignore it, but Brogan had loved Sahara, as much as someone like him could love anyone. Her death had ravaged him too.

"She wanted to take over the operation for herself. She knew if Sahara died while you were young, she could easily take over operations. She'd been close to your mother for years- she knew the clients, she knew the ins and outs. "I know who it was who turned on us. I've been following him, learning his routine." Just like he'd taught Xander to do. "If you want to take what's yours, if you want revenge, if you want power, I will help you get it."