http://xwf99.com/showthread.php?tid=14047

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A Continuation of the Meeting Between Griffin MacAlister & Your King of Darkness

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I've succeeded in easing the tension, at least for the time being. Jake was put in his place and I'm sure he'll be acting like an insolent child later on. Griffin lowered his weapon and is willing to listen. That's the first step in this road to recovery between Griffin and I. To be quite honestly, I don't care one way or the other if he and I ever speak again after this. But at the same time, I think that after all he and I have been through, I owe it to him to tell him the truth.

Things may never be all sunshine and rainbows again but he did save my ass, and I saved his. That should account for something. No matter whether he winds up putting a bullet in my skull when we're through here or not, what I'm about to tell him is something that needs to be said. Something that he really does need to know.

We walk along the shoreline, away from Olive, Jacob and the car with Clyde Baker secured in its trunk.



GRIFFIN MacALISTER: “So we gonna take a leisurely stroll on the beach or are you gonna tell me whatever the fuck it is you wanna tell me?”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “You need to understand something here.”

GRIFFIN MacALISTER: “The only thing I need, is to put a bullet in your fuckin' skull.”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “You could do that, and I wouldn't even fight you. Hell, you'd be doing me a favor at this point. Of course, if you do, you sign your own death warrant.

“Look around you. What do you see?”



We stop along the shoreline of Lake Darkness. He stares me dead in the eyes and doesn't bite at first. I start to look away and around at our surroundings. By the time I turn back to Griffin, he's staring into the woods, looking around, not really seeing anything.



GRIFFIN MacALISTER: “I don't see a damn thing, Duke. Get on with it.”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “Light him up!”



Within two seconds, about a hundred red dots cover the head and chest of Griffin MacAlister. He looks down at his chest then slowly looks up at me.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: “I say again, you could cut me down right here, but you'll be signing your own death warrant. And Ms. Pendershores.

“By now, Jake has made it back to your car and has his sights set on your girlfriend.”



He has a look of defeat on his face. Maybe defeat is the wrong word, maybe more a look of having met his match is more likely.



GRIFFIN MacALISTER: “How 'bout you stop wastin' time and get to the point.”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “I've always wanted to tell you, but things went south for us before I had the chance.”

GRIFFIN MacALISTER: “Just tell me whatever the hell it is you wanna tell me!”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “Rhys MacKay.”



Griffin is fuming right now as he paces quickly back and forth. I have to tell you, I'm kind of enjoying it. Watching him try not to blow his top is entertaining to me.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: “He wasn't your brother.”



Griffin stops pacing and immediately pulls out his pistol and points it toward my face. As soon as he does so, his head and chest are lit up with red dots. My men are ready at any given second. Instead of backing away or trying to ease the tension, I bend forward and place my forehead on the end of the barrel.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: “You know you want to pull the trigger, Griff!

“Do it.”



Griffin starts to tremble in absolute rage.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: “DO IT!

“PULL THE FUCKING TRIGGER!”










POP!













SEBASTIAN DUKE: “I knew you didn't have it in you.”



Griffin pulled the pistol away from my skull just before firing, expelling the round into the air over the lake.



GRIFFIN MacALISTER: “Nah, I have it in me, Duke. I'm just tryin' to figure out what your motive is here. If I kill you now, I won't ever know.”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “You want the truth?”

GRIFFIN MacALISTER: “What kind of stupid fuckin' question is that? No, I want a lie.

“Of course I want the fuckin' truth!”



I pull out my Newports and light one up.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: “These Newports taste funny.”

GRIFFIN MacALISTER: “It's because they're KOOL's, not Newports.”



Intrigued, I relight my Zippo and look at the cigarette package. Indeed, they're KOOL's.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: “The fuck! That's the last time I send Matthew for cigarettes.”

GRIFFIN MacALISTER: “Damn it Duke! How long are you gonna avoid tellin' me why you brought me out here?”



I've made him wait long enough.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: “As soon as Rhys entered the picture, I had my boys do some digging.”

GRIFFIN MacALISTER: “Why? What would make you do that?”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “Because at the time, you were still my best friend and I still felt the need to protect you from yourself.”

GRIFFIN MacALISTER: “I'm capable of protectin' myself Duke.”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “Obviously. But since the day you entered my Brotherhood, I made an oath to cover your ass. I made it a mission to make sure you were protected at all cost. It was part of our deal.”

GRIFFIN MacALISTER: “A deal that ended the day I left.”



For those in XWF land that have no idea what we're talking about, here's a little history for you. I once asked Griffin MacAlister for help in a meeting we had that was very similar to the one we're having now. A dark, lakeside meeting with my Brotherhood stationed just feet away, waiting within the woods.

Anyhow, I had this adversary that was hellbent on destroying my Illuminatus and he'd kidnapped my father. In retrospect I probably should have let Jonathan kill the old bastard, but that's another story. Griffin was on the run at that time and we weren't exactly friendly.

I had him come here, and I promised to protect him from those that were chasing him in return for his help in reclaiming my father. He stood true to his word and I stood true to mine. He assumed the name “Silas” and lived a quiet, safe life here for as long as he could.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: “I protect my friends, Griffin. You should know that.”

GRIFFIN MacALISTER: “I want you to tell me what you found out, Duke!”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “Rhys MacKay was your brother, but not the Rhys MacKay you met.”



He looks confused, as well he should.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: “The Rhys MacKay you believed was your brother, was an imposter.”



Griffin lights a blunt as he continues to stare off into the lake.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: “He was ordered by DRW to take out your brother and assume his identity. The reason for that was to contain you, capture you, and most likely kill you.”

GRIFFIN MacALISTER: “Why are you tellin' me all this shit now, man?”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “Like I said, I wanted to tell you before the shit hit the fan, but I didn't get there fast enough.

“We went to war with each other...”

GRIFFIN MacALISTER: “A war I won.”



Smart ass.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: “You needed my help for something and I followed through, like old times

"I thought the truth needed to come out.”

GRIFFIN MacALISTER: “If he wasn't my brother, then why go through all of that trouble to burn him alive right in front of me?”



It's a good question, but at the same time if he just thinks about it for a minute, he'd see that the answer to that question is an obvious one.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: “The reason was two fold, actually.”

GRIFFIN MacALISTER: “You wanna hit?”



I resist at first, then take the blunt and inhale deeply before handing it back.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: “The first reason was because he was a lying cock sucker that infiltrated my defenses.”

GRIFFIN MacALISTER: “And because you thought he was gonna kill me.”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “Of course.

“Fuck, man! I wanted to kill you myself.

"Plus at the time you thought he was your brother, so making you watch him die was an enjoyable experience."

GRIFFIN MacALISTER: “You're a cold man.

"But, as you can see, I'm still standin'.”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “True, but so am I.”



We're silent for a minute as we pass the blunt back and forth.



GRIFFIN MacALISTER: “What's next?”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “For what?”

GRIFFIN MacALISTER: “For this fuckin' saga we always find ourselves in.”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “Part of me thinks that you were never meant to kill me way back when.”

GRIFFIN MacALISTER: “Why? So you can play the role of my big brother and always protect me from shit?”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “I don't know if I'd put it like that, but I guess so, in a sense at least.”



More puffing and passing of the blunt.



GRIFFIN MacALISTER: “Why'd you do it?”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “Do what?”

GRIFFIN MacALISTER: “Why'd you help me? You could have said 'fuck you,' went through the motions and just had me and Olive lit up in an ambush like Bonnie and Clyde.”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “You saw my boys here right?”



He nods.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: “That was my original plan. But, sometimes my conscience...”

GRIFFIN MacALISTER: “You have one of those?”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “Not usually, but it showed up when I came out here.

“Anyway, it got the best of me. Besides, I had fun playing the stalker again and procuring that little sniveling piece of shit.”

GRIFFIN MacALISTER: “We definitely had some good times, that's for sure.”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “I think its time to just bury the hatchet. Let the past go.”

GRIFFIN MacALISTER: “That's a hell of a lot easier said than done, man.”



I can't disagree with that.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: “Look, I'm all for patching things up and working together again, but I just want to warn you ahead of time.

“Not many cross the King of Darkness and survive long enough to tell their grand kids about it. If you cross me again, I won't hesitate to put you down for good.”



In a way, I just challenged his manhood. Griffin MacAlister is not the kind of guy that swallows threats very well.



GRIFFIN MacALISTER: “I didn't cross you, Duke. If anything, you got that backwards.”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “Maybe I do.

“I do know one thing, we'll never see eye to eye on what went wrong, so it's best to leave it in the past.”

GRIFFIN MacALISTER: “You got that right.”

SEBASTIAN DUKE: “I'll see you soon.”



Without so much as another word, I start to make my way back to the Compound.



GRIFFIN MacALISTER: “That's it? You're just gonna turn around and walk away when I have a gun in my hand?”



I turn and start to walk backwards, still away from Griffin, as I reply.



SEBASTIAN DUKE: “If you really wanted to kill me, you would have done it by now.

“Besides, you left the safety on.”



I watch as he looks down at his pistol and realizes that safety is indeed still engaged.



GRIFFIN MacALISTER: “Damn it!”



Fade to Darkness.