Death on Two Legs // Shyan

6. Headstrong

Two years later,
Late November, 2018

Shane bit his lip as he listened to Sara heatedly monologue about the plan.
Three sleepless nights after that coffee shop "date" he and Ryan had, they were still far from figuring out how to get rid of Fear.
Her dark curly hair was messy, the distress on her face was apparent.
It was stressful to work with criminal geniuses, especially when there were lives on the line.
"Shane, are you even listening?"
"Yeah."
He wasn't. She inhaled sharply and continued talking.

The literal manor Shane lived in was quite serial killer like, if you really tought about it. He had an entire room for taxidermy animals and butterflies in glass frames, his favourite book was 'Satanic Verses', and all in all the decor was really gothic and victorian.
It didn't line up with the way Shane looked like at all; a lanky, hipstery guy who wore flannels and jean jackets.
The madness was hidden within.

"...there has to be a way to track him, have you spoken with the tech team since Chigago? We could really use their expertise."
Shane snapped out of his haze as he heard Sara mention Chigago. That city, his home, he had refused to think about it all for a long time.
His gut had an odd twist as he tought about that night Devon got killed.
"No, I haven't."
That was all he had to say about it. He never quite figured out what happened to her back then, and he had always blamed himself for it. It was, after all, his operation. He knew who did it, he just didn't know why. But it was all in the past now, why scratch open the old wounds?
"We don't need them though. We kill Tinsley in the next suitable location, and afterwards Fear will come to us. All we need to do is to stay alive until then."
Sara was a bit bitter over the fact that Shane didn't listen to a word she had said about her plan, but agreed anyway.
"Call Ryan. Let's get this over with before it's too late." She said, getting up from the armchair she had been nested in the past three hours with a mug of coffee and a laptop, making calls and trying to figure out a pattern in Fear's actions like a madman.
Shane murmured some sort of a protest under his breath, but she was already gone.

"Ryan." That mellow voice purred on the phone, Ryan could see the smug smirk behind his eyelids as he held the phone on his ear, rushing trough the busy street. It brought back bitter memories.
"What do you want?" He mumbled from under his scarf.
"We got a lead on Tinsley, and with 'we' I mean my tech guys here, so I have a simple offer for you;"
Ryan sighed in defeat as Shane began.
"You and I, we take Tinsley out together, we both get the profit, and afterwards as our pal Jesse gets all pissed off, we take him out before he can pull the trigger."
He sounded so pleased with himself, it was sickening.
"You came up with this in five minutes, didn't you?" Ryan sighed, annoyed.
"What happens when his folk get us off guard? Dude, this is the dumbest plan I've heard of in years- no, actually this is the dumbest plan I've EVER heard of."
Shane was silent in his end, searching for words to build a witty comeback with.
"No. No way. I already refused my client anyway. Before you ask why, it's because I'm not either dumb or suicidal like you."
Then he ended the call.

It was sometimes like Shane forgot about the general way Ryan was;
Headstrong, bitter, stubborn.
But he was also damn pretty, and that was the most painful part.

Persuading him wasn't easy.
It took until the end of the week, and Shane had to use all the cards he had.
'After all we've been trough?' Was the first one, followed by money offers each bigger than the previous one. But Ryan didn't need money.
After that, Shane offered some of his many real estates. Ryan refused them all. On Saturday, Shane started the begging. And by Sunday afternoon, Ryan was so sick of it he said yes just to make the man stop calling him.

"Don't worry Ry Guy, it's gonna be so much fun!"
Shane smiled as Ryan sat down in the limo that Shane picked him up with. Theatrics were his area, and he wasn't holding back anymore. He was, after all, the Freddie Mercury of the underworld.
"Just shut up before I punch you again." Ryan had to bite his lip to restrain himself, and that just fueled Shane's fire.
He wanted to say 'make me'.

Tinsley was staying at the Stay On Main Hotel in downtown LA, the drive didn't take too long.
It was just the two of them now, ready to make the biggest mistake to date.
"You ready, little guy?" Shane's grin was evergreen, making Ryan's nerves scream like sirens.
"Yeah." He grunted trough his teeth.
It was well calculated;
The staff was bribed, the third floor was empty. There were no cameras. It was perfect, and Shane had never been more proud of his own work.

They stood side by side in the lobby, Shane towering over Ryan, even their outfits complimented each other.
"In and out, clean and quick."
Ryan spoke his toughts, recieving a reassuring nod from his partner in crime.
"This is one man's job, Shane. You sure about this? I'm fine with only one of us going."
"Whimping out, Bergara?"
"Shut up."
And with that, they got into the elevator, beginning their journey towards destruction.

Three knocks.
It was said that demons knock three times, mocking the holy trinity.
Shane's eyes were glittering as the footsteps came to open the door. Hungry, menacing grin on his lips. Tinsley was just a pawn in the grand game, and Shane was the king.
Jesse Fear, of course, was the king of the other side.
Did that make Ryan the queen? Yes, oh yes it did.

"Can I help you gentlemen?"
A kind, older man's voice asked as the door opened fully, and Shane's smile turned from frightening to charming in a millisecond.
"Oh, yes. Me and my husband are on our honeymoon and we locked our keys in our room, can I please use your balcony to climb over there? I'd ask the front desk but we've been bothering them so much this weekend, I'm simply too ashamed to."
Ryan's mouth hung winde open as he listened to the smooth flow of stinking lies coming from Shane's mouth, so intensely that it took him a good five seconds to realize that the tall man had linked their fingers.
Ryan's first instinct was to yank his hand off, but that would ruin the cover. Also, Shane had nicely big, warm, smooth hands.
"Oh, of course." Tinsley seemed a bit bummed, but let the 'couple' in anyway.
"Thank you kindly." Shane smiled, hand reaching for his belt-
The door clicked shut, and seconds after Tinsley stood away to open the balcony door, a "chomp" kind of sound broke the air, followed by the thud of the man's body falling against the back wall. Shane had cat like reflecses when it came to shooting people, his hand moved with seemingly supersonic speed from relaxed to action, grabbibg the gun from it's holster and pulling the trigger with a pitch perfect aim.
It was breathtaking to Ryan.
Like watching an artist at work.
Shane bended the frames of Ryan's reality.

"What do we do with the body?"