The Dark Before the Dawn

By RascalFlattsS

A/N: Thanks for all your wonderful reviews! And all the spelling helps with chapter 1. And here I thought the computer was supposed to be smarter than me! Aw well.

I apologize for not updating sooner. I have not abounded my Burn Notice stories and I will work hard to update them all soon-I promise.

Chapter II

Michael was desperately trying to get free but it was no use. The chair won't budge. The rope won't budge. He was trapped. And Michael Westen did not like being trapped.

He saw the bat being swung and he felt the bat hit his side. He gasped as the bat connected with his ribcage but the gag in his mouth muffle the sound. They continued to hit him with the bat. He felt the bat continue with his shoulder and he felt his shoulder popped out. He bit his lips to keep him from screaming out in pain. After they finished with the bat, they punched him in the face. He felt his head snap back.

"Alright Kent," said Marcus. "That's enough. Now take the picture."

Kent punched Michael one last time while Marcus grabbed the camera and started taking pictures.

The last thing Michael Westen saw before he passed out was the flash from the camera.

Nate Westen was whistling as he walked out of the airport. It was just a little after six am and the sun was just beginning to rise over downtown Miami.

Nate smiled. Now for a few hours of sleep before heading over to his mom's place…

"Hello Nate."

Nate turned. He sighed when he saw who was standing there, "Oh crap, it's you."

"Why Nate is that anyway to greet an old friend?" the tall Portuguese man asked.

"Last time I checked Victor," Nate spat, "we're not friends."

Victor put his hands over his heart, pretending to be hurt. "Now Nate that really hurt my feelings. I would really like us to be friends."

"Fat chance of that happening," said Nate. He turned and headed to his car.

"Now, Nate, why are you being like that?" asked Victor. "All I need is a little favor."

"You want me to commit a crime!" shouted Nate. He turned and walked away. Victor continued following him.

"I have a better offer for you," said Victor.

"I'm not interest in your money!" shouted Nate over his shoulder.

"It's not money," said Victor softly. Nate turned and looked at him. "It's something that I think you will find much more valuable."

Nate felt fear grip him. He knew Victor and he knew exactly how twisted Victor was.

Victor smiled. "Come Nate. Let's go for a ride."

"Where are we going?" asked Nate. As soon as Victor had him in the car, Victor had insisted that Nate be blind folded.

"If I told you that," said Victor, "there wouldn't be any fun in it."

Nate scoffed but didn't say anything. Victor was the craziest person Nate had ever met. But he was also a very dangerous man.

Nate tried to keep track of how long the drive was so that later he could give Michael and his friends a more precise location of Victor's face.

I should have gone to Michael right away when Victor showed up, thought Nate. He smiled at the thought of his older brother. I can't wait to see Michael kick Victor's ass…he'll be sorry.

"We're here!" announced Victor. He untied the blindfold. Nate blinked as his eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight. Nate stepped out of the car. He found himself at a deserted farmhouse.

"This way, Nate," said Victor. He motioned for Nate to follow him into the old farmhouse. Nate sighed and followed.

The old floorboards creaked under Nate's weight. He could hear the old rotted wood struggling to break. "Are you sure this place is safe?"

Victor turned back and looked at Nate. "There are worst things to be worried about than rotting wood," he said smiling, "Now c'mon Nate, we don't have all day."

Nate shook his head. "I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what is going on."

"Why tell you," said Victor, "when I can show you?" He grabbed Nate's arm and dragged him forward. "After all, what is your American expression? 'A picture is worth a thousand words.'" Victor dragged Nate into the interior of the house and down the stairs, leading to a basement.

"You don't know who you are dealing with!" shouted Nate. "My brother—"

Victor stopped when they reached the bottom of the stairs. It was so dark that Nate couldn't see his hand in front of his face.

"Your brother can't help you," said Victor softly. He flipped on a light. Nate blinked as the bright light assaulted him. Nate gasped when he saw the figure in front of him.

"As you can see," said Victor, smiling like the Cheshire Cat, "your brother can't help you because your brother can't even save himself."

"MICHAEL!" Nate screamed and tried to run forward towards his brother but Victor's two goons grabbed his arms and pulled him back.

"No!" screamed Nate as he struggled to break free. "Michael! Michael!"

At hearing his name called, Michael lifted his head up. Nate felt a sigh of relief once he saw that Michael was conscience and more importantly still alive. However when Michael lifted his head, Nate gasped as he saw all the bruises on Michael's face. Victor and his goons must have beaten Michael up quite badly. Nate could even image the other injuries that Nate could see.

Anger rushed through him. "What have you done to him?" he snarled.

"Nothing," said Victor. He walked around so he was standing behind Michael, "that he won't recover from." Victor grabbed Michael's hair and pulling his head up. Michael groaned but it was muffled through the gag. Victor pulled out a pistol and set it against Michael's temple. Nate felt his heart drop.

"But that can change very quickly," said Victor.

Nate paled. "What do you want?" he asked, his voice so quiet you could barely hear it.

Victor smiled. "See Nate? I knew we could be friends."

"Yeah sure," said Nate sarcastically. "We're the best of friends, considering you're holding a gun to my brother's head."

Victor shook his head. "Now Nate, play nice. Or else." Victor pushed the gun further into Michael's temple. Michael grimaced in pain.

"NO!" said Nate quickly. He tried to lurch forward but the two men held Nate back.

Victor smiled. "Hit a sore spot, didn't I?" Nate looked at him with pure hate in his eyes.

"I'll take that as a yes," said Victor. "Now Nate, let's talk about the details of our little transaction, shall we?"

"Let Michael go first," said Nate.

Victor laughed. "You don't really understand how this works, do you Nate? If I let Michael go now, there's no incentive for you to do what I want you to do. If you don't want to go through with us, we can just end it now." Victor cocked the gun. "Of course, it won't end very pretty for Michael. Or for you. So what do you say, Nate? Do you want to play?"

Nate nodded.

"Good," said Victor. "Now first some ground rules. Rule number one." Victor removed the gun from Michael's head. He then held the gun by the barrel and using the butt of the gun, struck Michael across the face with it. Michael's head snapped to the side and Nate heard a faint gasp of pain through the gag.

"Hey!" shouted Nate. He tried to move forward, but Victor's guys were still holding him back.

"Rule number one," repeated Victor. "You do anything I don't like or anything that makes me upset and I'll be forced to take out my frustrations on Michael here. Understand?" Nate nodded. "Good. Now rule number two, you do exactly what I say when I say it or I take it out on Michael. Understand?" He paused waiting for Nate to nod. "Good. And rule number three, you do not tell anyone-the police, Ms. Glenanne, Mr. Axe, your mother, anyone-about what you are doing or me or anything related to our friendship or I will be forced to take it out on Michael. Understand?" Nate nodded.

"Good," said Victor. "Now, if you do everything I say and follow my rules and bring me what I want, then you will get your brother back in one piece and you both can be on your merry way. If you don't, well, there are a lot of people who would just love to say hello to your brother and-"Victor paused, "they don't play nice."

Nate gasped in horror. If he didn't help Victor, he was going to give Michael to his enemies (Nate assumed that Michael had plenty of enemies around the world; he was always very good at pissing people off and he assumed that hadn't changed) and they would kill him.

Nate made eye contact with Michael. Michael was shaking his head; his eyes were screaming, don't do it.

Nate made his decision. "Okay Victor. I'll do what you want and play by your rules. Tell me what you want and I'll get it for you. Just don't hurt Michael."

Victor smiled, "I knew you'd see it my way. We're going to have so much fun."

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