Damian paused at his office door waiting for Jay to catch up. He swung the door open and let Jay in first, before closing the door tightly behind them.

Jay, the asshole that he was, went right for Damians chair behind his desk and eased himself into it. As he got comfortable, he flashed Damian a smirk.

Damian shook his head and went for one of the much less comfortable chairs placed for visitors.

They both sat there in silence for a few minutes, before Jay broke the quiet.

“That sucked.”

Damian scoffed. If anyone could understate the day they had any more than that, Damian would invite them to try.

“You didn’t haul that bum leg all the way up here just to tell me something I already knew. What are you thinking?”

Jay looked pensive, starting down at the bandages on his leg.

Damian could be patient, but this was unusual behaviour for his friend.

The pair had known each other for many years as they worked to survive on the streets. It had been a tough go for two kids, especially trying to avoid the more unsavoury criminals that also called The Prims their home.

They were lucky to have met when they did. Damian couldn’t count the number of scrapes and close calls they had wiggled out of by working together.

That had gotten even better when they were able to gather their crew. Today was just one example of how close some of their jobs could be.

Today did stand out as a huge disaster. If anything had gone a bit differently, they wouldn’t have made it home at all.

Studying Jay again made that ember of anger flare in his chest. It should not have been a close call at all. His lieutenant, best friend, partner, should not be sitting here with a swollen face and a fucked leg. His team should not be nursing their wounds that some might not recover from.

Someone was going to answer for today. First thing tomorrow morning, he was going hunting.

“Damian,” Jay interrupted his swelling rage. “Something about today doesn’t sit right with me.”

He was worrying his lip between his teeth, re-opening his cut.

“Stop that. You're making yourself bleed again,” Damian snapped.

Jays tongue darted out to prod the wound, catching the drops of blood that were welling up. As he wiped the rest of it off his lip, Damian leaned forward.

“We both know that was not how it was supposed to go today. What exactly are you referring to?”

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Jay paused again, gathering his thoughts once more.

“I think we have a rat,” before Damian could interrupt, he continued. “Kith was right. From everything I know about that kid, Seth, he's too smart to get involved with the Rissi like that. No way the kid feeds Kith false information or double crosses us somehow. The only explanation is that someone who was in on the plan spilled the beans.”

“No. I trust every one of our team members. With my life.”

“I know. That's the problem. You still trust too much. Remember why me and you make a great team and take a moment to think it over. I hate the idea just as much as you do, but logically that is our only explanation.” Jay looked troubled by his own words.

“Jay, I can’t consider that right now. I think we are both too close to this tonight. I will think on your words, but remember that there are still things that we don’t know. Until we have more information, I will not suspect one of our own. Go get some rest and I will talk with you tomorrow.”

Jays face went blank.

“Yes, boss. As you command.” Jay slowly got up and began limping towards the door.

“Don’t be an ass, you know what I meant.” Damian got up to help him to the door.

Jay waved him off and opened the door, glancing back on his way out.

“Yeah, I got it. You think on that. Talk to you in the morning.”

The door closed behind him and Damian listened to his uneven footsteps as they disappeared down the hallway.

Damian moved into his own chair and ran a hand through his long hair, his fingers getting stuck part way through due to the viscera that had now firmly dried in it.

He leaned back, groaning as his side burned in protest.

“Fuck.”

—

The early morning came with the same grey tint as every other in The Prims.

A familiar, rapid tattoo sounded on his door, rousing Damian from sleep. He sat up, stretching his arms, doing his best to not pull his side open again.

“I have got to stop sleeping in this chair,”

He looked over his desk again, his notes sprawled along the top from the night before. After Jay had left, he had gone over everything they had planned for yesterdays operation. As much as it pained him to do, he had to consider all the angles. He owed it to Jay to take his words seriously.

He rose from his chair awkwardly, still stiff and in pain. He glanced down at his side to find still pristine looking bandages. He figured that was as good as it would get and he reached for the door knob.

Pulling it open revealed Shadow.

“You should be asleep after all that healing you did yesterday,” Damian said disapprovingly, eyeing the dark circles under his eyes.

The mild mannered orc looked pointedly at him and then his desk, slowly raising one eyebrow.

“Yes, point made. What do you need?” Damian asked.

“Just giving you an update on Rem and then I am going to sleep,” Shadow looked wearily at Damian.

Damian took a slow deep breath, working to stay calm. He gestured for Shadow to continue.

“I have stayed up with him to monitor his condition and it is not looking good. He has slipped into a coma. I don’t have the means to treat him here if he does not wake up in the next couple of days. I wish I could do more.” The words weighed on his shoulders as he hunched in on himself.

“Could he wake up in the next few days?” Damian demanded.

“It is possible, but I just don’t know enough.” The orcs eyes began to mist and his lip trembled.

Damian reached out and laid a hand on his arm. He reeled his own anger and grief in and focused on his friend in front of him.

“Then you have done your best and that is all I could ever ask of you,” Damian met his eyes. “If it comes to the worst, I will handle it from there, but we must hope for the best outcome.” He patted the large arm a few more times.

“Thanks boss. Since you weren’t there, I got Scarlet watching over him for now, but if you wanted to go-” Damian cut him off before he could finish that thought.

“I appreciate the thought, but I need to focus on figuring out what happened yesterday.” Damians tone came out harsher than he had meant, but he wasn’t about to take the words back when they were true.

Shadow gave him a searching look and opened his mouth to speak. What he was going to say, Damian would never know, because at that moment Lacey came down the hallway.

She paused in surprise at Shadow standing there.

“Is this a bad time, boss?” She looked a bit uncomfortable.

“No, Shadow was just going to bed. Come in, we have a hunt to plan.” Shadow looked a bit upset at the dismissal, but turned and quietly walked down the hall towards his bedroom.

Damian felt a pang of regret. First he ordered Jay around and then he was an ass to one of the most genuinely nice people he knew. He needed to figure this shit out so he could get himself centred again. He could already picture the disapproving look Rem would give him once he heard about this.

But Rem may never give him that look again.

He stopped that thought. It was still possible he would wake up. If there was anything he was certain of, it was to never count the fae out, especially with uncertain odds. Plus, once this was all over, Damian would call in any and all favours owed to him if need be.

Whoever caused this would pay and their group would once again come out stronger for it. Damian would make sure of that.