The former friends stood across from each other in the guest house, staring one another down.

“Just walk away Brian,” Nick suddenly spoke, “Walk away now and we won’t say anything. We’ll just pretend it never happened.”

“Oh, you’re ‘we’ now? Well excuse the shit out of me,” Brian laughed and shook his head, “You know Nick you’ve really impressed me this weekend. For years you’ve sat on your ass and done absolutely nothing but watch television, eat chips and play with your dick and suddenly you are standing up for yourself. I couldn’t figure out why, I’ve been wracking my brain thinking about it but now I know…it’s her! I should have expected it. You are such an easy con. You’d do anything for a little pussy. Look at Shannon! She said snort this, smoke that and I’ll help you find a vein and you did it because you thought she might blow you at the end of the night if she wasn’t passed out. I bet this chick had you eating out of her hand, probably found all of your many, many, weaknesses and exploited them. Did you tell her your life story, Nick? Did she make you feel sorry for her, the poor little girl that she is. She broke you when you saw that AJ had roughed her up a bit, didn’t she? She hit you right where it hurts when she saw how you reacted.”

“Shut up, you don’t know what you’re talking about!” Elena shouted anxiously, feeling like Brian was a little too close to seeing right through her. 

“I beg to differ,” he smiled, “I know Nick very well. He’s shit when it comes to talking to girls. The only time he gets girls is when they’re drunk or desperate. Since you hadn’t been drinking I’d say you were desperate. You did very well, you got out and he even let you come home! Also, I really have to know. How did you ever train him to lie so well? I’ve been trying to teach him since I’ve known him with no results but today he almost pulled the wool over my eyes – almost. I wish I had known that all it would take was some pussy and he’d actually put a little effort into it.”

Nick looked from Brian to Elena, wondering whether what Brian was saying was true. He wanted to say he was lying but the things he was saying felt like they could be true. Had Elena really been conning him? It wouldn’t be the first time someone would have convinced him to do something. He started putting together all of the pieces in his head all the way back from the first day he’d met the girl. She bossed him around, she had tried to dominate him the whole time then suddenly that ended and she became as sweet as pie, flashing her assets in his direction and telling him her deepest, darkest secrets. In his mind he had chalked Elena’s mood change up to her warming up to him, but what if in reality she was just using him?

“He’s lying!” Elena said strongly, watching the gears turn in Nick’s head, “You have to believe me!”

Brian merely smiled sinisterly, “Don’t you remember what I always told you, Nick: Who is going to believe a con?”

“Everyone,” he replied softly, sighing heavily as he turned to look at Elena, “If she’s good.”

“See? She’s just another person who uses you!” Brian shook his head, “I was the only person who ever took care of you and you ruined that!”

Nick ignored Brian, keeping his eyes trained on Elena, “Did you lie to me?”

Elena’s eyes filled with tears and she nodded her head, “You have to understand though! You had kidnapped me; I had no reason to trust you! I never thought that I would end up really liking you!”

Nick ran a frustrated hand over his face and through his dishevelled hair, “I don’t know what to think anymore.”

“I’ll help you out,” Brian offered, “We get rid of this bitch and you come back with me and we’ll sort this all out together.”

“I don’t know…” Nick replied sceptically.

Elena gasped, “You don’t know? You’re not actually considering letting him kill me! When the police get here he’s going to pin it on you!”

“The police aren’t here!” Nick grunted, his hands running through his hair again.

“You thought they’d be here full force?” Brian asked curiously, “The ransom drop is tomorrow at 7 in the morning, four hours from here. They’re more than likely in a hotel across the street waiting for us to show up for the money so they can arrest us.”

“I’m such an idiot!” Nick groaned, looking at Elena with remorse before making his way across the room to join Brian, “I’m sorry. You have to forgive me, it was a mistake.”

“Don’t apologize to him!” Elena yelled, “You’re going to go back and he’s going to kill you too! He just doesn’t want your body here because it’ll lead the police back to him! He’s not telling you the truth Nick; he’s not your friend!”

Brian rolled his eyes, “Shut up,” he snapped, pulling his gun from his coat. He held it up confidently, pointing the barrel directly at Elena. 

“What good is killing me?” she asked, her breath coming in pants as she realized how close to death she really was, “It defeats the purpose of kidnapping me in the first place.”

“You’re right, it does, but the kidnapping didn’t exactly go as I had wanted it to,” Brian explained, “So now I have to get rid of the evidence.”

He cocked the gun but just as he went to pull the trigger a hand came out and pushed his to the left, causing him to shoot a vase full of flowers.

Elena screamed, putting her hands to her ears. She had thought for sure she was done for and now Nick was on the floor wrestling Brian for the gun. If there was one thing Nick was better than Brian at it was physical force. It didn’t take too much to get the gun, and a few potent punches to Brian’s left temple left him unconscious for the second time that day. 

Nick sat on Brian, breathing heavily from the struggle. He never intended to let Brian kill Elena. He was upset that she had lied to him but he understood the kind of pressure she was under. She wouldn’t be the first woman to try and use her feminine wiles to escape a hostage situation. She had absolutely every reason to lie to him and try to get free, but Brian didn’t. Brian lied to him constantly, for no reason at all other than he knew he could. He wasn’t about to let him kill Elena and go back with the guys so the three of them could go to town on him. He may have been dim-witted, but not completely stupid. 

“I got the gun,” Nick said with a chuckle, standing up off of the floor. He made his way towards Elena who was still crying with her hands held tightly over her ears. Almost getting shot was just a bit too much for her to handle after her whirlwind week. 

“DROP YOUR WEAPON!” a loud voice suddenly rang out and in shock Nick turned, gun still firmly in his hand. He was wide eyed as a second shot rang out without warning, knocking him off of his feet and to the floor with a thud.