Loyal [boyxboy]

Gangsters Don't Cry

Lucas tried to calm his nerves with a swig of alcohol, but his hands were almost shaking too much to do even that. The bartender gave him a wary look as e cleaned glassware, and Lucas was trying to wait it out as everyone else decided his future.

He bounced his foot against the rail underneath the bar, staring down into his drink and realizing how much he didn't actually want alcohol. He never liked it to begin with, and then Nick trying to convince him to try mixed ones he might like—Lucas let out another slow breath as he tried to keep from breaking down.

He'd woken up who knew how much later after Nick—Elliot didn't feel right—had left. His side had been sore and he still had a killer headache, but he'd called Alex as soon as he could, giving the majority of the truth of what happened.

Alex had had to call a meeting then, and Lucas had been asked to sit out for the first part—but not to go very far. He knew they were trying to figure how accountable everyone was for this situation. It was affecting more than just Lucas. Tom, Alex, and Joshua were all in question as well, and so was Marvin that had recommended Nick in the first place.

They were clamping down on their businesses and shutting down what they could until they could figure out how much damage had been done.

Lucas pushed his drink away and propped his elbows up on the bar top. Joshua slipped up the stairs, joining Lucas at the bar briefly but not sitting down. "You can come downstairs, now," Joshua informed, shooing away the bartender.

"How much do they know already?" Lucas questioned. It wouldn't do him any good if they knew he and Nick had been involved, even if he had done his best to keep it all separate. They might really decide to kill him then, and he felt sick at the thought.

Joshua was silent for a long minute, glaring down the bartender until he was even further away. "Alex and I made no mention of your relationship," Joshua finally said. "You approached us a number of times, regardless of your feelings, and sensing that he wasn't exactly right for this. He and I both feel you did your best to keep him out of the details. The others wouldn't understand that much, but..." he shrugged stiffly and gestured towards Lucas' drink. "Are you going to finish that?"

Lucas pushed the last of it in Joshua's direction. "The most he knows is about me. The money laundering, my bank scheme—but I guess in the end that would all fall back on me; not anyone else," Lucas theorized, hesitating. Nick could send him to jail. Had he been telling the truth when he said he didn't want to see Lucas go there?

Maybe he should have gone with Nick anyways, unless Nick wanted to be bad at his job and wanted to keep Lucas out of trouble. Lucas craned his head and went with Joshua downstairs then.

The tension in the small meeting room was palpable. Alex wouldn't meet his eyes, and Joshua took a seat at Alex's side. Lucas sat at the end of the table, feeling like a child in trouble for fighting at school. It was similar but also a lot worse than that.

"Tell us everything from when you first met this Nick," Tony demanded without pleasantries.

Lucas went from the beginning, Joshua bringing him in after Marvin's recommendation and training with him. Knowing that Nick didn't have the stomach or heart for their kind of work, he'd voiced his concerns to Alex and to Joshua. He followed up right to the end and sighed. "He said his name was Elliot," Lucas said, watching them perk up. "He tried to talk me into going with him, to talking. He said I had enough information and knowledge to get into witness protection, but I... couldn't." Lucas tried to stay confident in his seat. "I told him that I killed the last person that we thought was talking to the cops, which I guess was pretty stupid. Either way, he got the hint. He overpowered me to get out."