Gerard continued dozing on his desk. Stacks of papers piled all around him submerging the man in scribbled ink. His head swayed clacking against his desk. Bitterly, he woke up cursing and rubbing his forehead. The grandfather clock in his abode struck midnight coinciding with the throbbing pain in his head. He went to his kettle that started screeching from being burned. A faint rush of air shook came from downstairs alerting him. The kettle dropped and he proceeded slowly downwards pointing the barrel of a gun into the dimly lit space. Damien was sprawled on the ground bloody and bruised.

"By gods," Gerard shouted.

The older man rushed to Damien's side helping him off the ground. His clutch was weak and his breaths were even weaker.

"Who did this to you?" asked the older man.

"Seems we don't have friends in Vienna anymore."

Damien leaned on the corner of a wall as Gerard swung a chair around for him. Red streaked in his wake like claws. He disintegrated into the chair making full use of the comfort that had been void from him. Gerard came back in with a bucket of hot water.

"Move forward so I can clean those cuts."

Damien relented though he attempted fanning away the help. The cuts were deep and healing poorly. The younger man hissed as the hot water creeped into the cuts.

"I'll need to stitch these wounds up."

"Anything else you recommend?"

"I see your sarcasm is still intact. What happened?"

Gerard went to get stitching materials while Damien changed his seat to the front of the fire place. The heat felt good, more cleansing on his wounds than the water had been.

"Noah's deeper in their grasp than we thought he was," Damien surmised. He sneered as more water was poured over the wounds on his arms. "I was in Vienna searching the site of the incident with Noah, when he turned on me. He said we weren't working for the same people anymore. A gang of his thugs jumped me all using watches. One I recognized, Bale. He had been kicked out of the Ministry a while ago for his brutal nature."

Damien didn't notice the needle threading his skin back together. His head swam with thoughts to detailed to notice anything presently.

"Are you suggesting that Noah has gone rogue?" asked Gerard.

"If he has, he is not alone."

Gerard resumed his medical work while Damien stared at the fire. The silence with thick.

"If I know anything about Noah, I would say he has his reasons," Gerard quipped.

Damien faced the older man who was unwilling to match the ferocious eyes piercing him.

"The Noah I knew wouldn't sacrifice a friend for anything," fumed Damien. "So fatherly of you to protect the son."

Damien picked himself off of the chair and stormed towards one of the bedrooms. Gerard was speechless as he knelt near the lonely flames. The door slammed muffling the grunts and shouts coming from Damien. Betrayal was bitter. Betrayal by a childhood friend was unfathomable.

I hope you know what you're doing, Noah, thought Gerard.