#26

Eli wasn't even shocked when whatever Jack was up to included some dramatic, and villainous, speech. Or threat. Eli wasn't really sure what to call it.

All he really knew was that he did not like it.

Probably because it involved his possible death. Then again, that wasn't a new thing for him. Seemed like all the evil asshole wanted him dead, which, rude. Still, Eli would at least admit that the guy really put on a good show. And it wasn't like Matthew was any better about not being a showoff.

Eli was starting to wonder if he'd ever noticed he was missing. What with his attention being held by his adoring fans and all. Honestly, it was kind of funny to think of Matthew just not even noticing Eli was gone. If only because the possibility of that being the case was pretty damn low.

Focus, damn it, Eli reminded himself. He'd always had the habit of letting his mind wander at the worst times.

"Sorry to crash the party," Jack was saying, sounding very much not sorry at all. "But it's time for the main event. And what would be a better way to celebrate your beloved hero, than by seeing him in action?"

At that moment, something told Eli that this would be worse than he'd hoped. Something in the guy's words, in his very tone, made a feeling of dread rise in him. He wondered if Matthew felt the same way, wherever he was.

"See, most of you might not be aware of it, but Vigilante himself has decided to be a part of the celebration. So, I've arranged for a little challenge. Behind me, is someone very important to your hero. I'm sure he's just dying to come to the rescue." Eli wished he could glare at Jack for his very poor word choice. "But that would be too easy, and besides, why not have his fans also participate? Why not have Vigilante show what he really cares about."

Eli heard Jack move, clothes shifting as he walked and steps echoing as they hit the metal floor. Even though he couldn't see him, Eli could tell Jack was standing right by him. A second later, he felt the cool metal of what he could only guess was a knife pressing against his throat, and it took all of Eli's self control not to jump and make it easier for Jack to slit his throat.

"You have one hour before I get rid of your friend here. One hour to make it here and stop me. But before that, you have to make a choice," Eli felt his heart beating wildly in his chest as Jack's tone switched to something infinitely more dangerous than the placid yet mocking one he'd had before. "The Convention Center where all your little fans are has been locked down and you'll find the event will have a more explosive end than planned, but only if you abandon them. The moment you step out of that building, the moment you run to the rescue, the explosives I've planted in the building will go off."

Eli felt faint. Which was funny because he was practically unharmed. He still felt like he was going to pass out from the knowledge that Matthew and all of his friends were inside a building set to blow up.

"Or you can just keep your fans company for one hour. After that, you have my word that you'll be free to leave. Of course, your friend here won't be so lucky. So, make your choice Vigilante." The knife pressed up against Eli's neck at the same time as he thought he heard Jack let out the slightest chuckle, quiet enough that it would go unheard by his audience. It was a laugh just for himself and Eli found his true glee more frightening.

Jack was done with his little speech. Or threat. Whatever it was, Eli didn't want to think about what it meant for him. Mostly because he knew damn well Matthew wasn't about to let a whole convention's worth of people die just to save Eli.

Actually, his mind supplied, and Eli had to shut that shit down because he didn't want to think about Matthew seriously considering saving Eli over a shitton of people.

"This should be interesting," Jack said. He strolled over to Eli and removed the hood covering the redhead's head. The first thing Eli saw was the irritatingly pleased look on Jack's face. Eli wished he could punch him. Even if that would most likely end with Eli being horribly murdered. Past him, he could see Mikey putting away the camera they'd used.

"Oh, so you really are a sadistic asshole," Eli said, and promptly realized that'd also probably end with him being horribly murdered. Maybe Matthew was onto something when he asked Eli to stop trying to get murdered.

"Guess some might see it that way," Jack said with a shrug. Eli was just glad he hadn't stabbed him out of spite.

"Can't imagine why," Eli deadpanned while weeping on the inside at how his mouth refused to work with his brain. Thankfully, Jack didn't seem to mind too much. He just smirked, but made no move to hurt Eli.

"Call it a bad habit." He shrugged, painfully casual considering he was talking with a guy he'd just kidnapped.

Eli was surprised—not sure if he'd go as far as calling it pleasantly surprised—that Jack didn't seem too bothered by Eli's terrible choice of words. He hesitated for a moment, considering his options and the likely outcome of questioning Jack, and decided he might as well risk it. After all, it wasn't like Eli had that much control over his stupid mouth, and Jack was already planning on—very possibly—killing him.

"Is that how you're explaining all the crap you've put us through?" Eli said, and waited to see if this was how he died.

"Were you expecting some deep, philosophical reason as to why I want to kill your little boyfriend?" Eli didn't really appreciate the mocking tone in Jack's voice. He sighed, head tilting to the side as he studied Eli. "You want to know why I'm doing all this."

Eli nodded, though it wasn't really a question. Jack huffed, amused, arms crossed over his broad chest.

"When you get good enough at something, things get real boring real quick." Well, Eli wasn't expecting that to be what he opened with. "I get all sorts of idiots asking me to get rid of people for them. Business rivals, business partners, witnesses, random idiots who've pissed off the wrong person—I get all kinds of requests. And do you know what they all have in common?" he asked, pausing for a second and staring at Eli.

"A zest for life and shit luck?"

Eli wasn't surprised when Jack reached over and smacked him over the head. To be honest, he would have done the same thing.

"They were useless," Jack said. "They were defenseless—boring. And then Fisk contacted me with a job he said was interesting. I thought he was full of shit. Imagine my surprise when he actually turned out to be right." Jack actually chuckled at the thought.

"Well, aren't you lucky." Jack ignored him. Eli figured that was probably for the best. "But again, why do all this? Why get Fisk thrown in jail when he was paying you?"

"Money doesn't matter. I took over his territory, I took over his city. Do you think money is an issue?" Well, when he put it that way, Eli supposed he could see his point. "Fisk was just an easy way to get a certain someone's attention. Now that I have no use for him, what do I care if he's stuck in jail," he said with a shrug.

"So you just want to kill Vigilante because it's fun?" Eli was sure that was the dumbest reason anyone would have to kill Matthew. And sure, he didn't want Matthew dead, but Eli was realistic enough to admit there were a lot of reasons why someone would want him dead.

"It's as good a reason as any," Jack said simply.

"It's a terrible reason." Eli really had to work on thinking before speaking.

"Oh really? Then what's a good reason for killing?" Jack seemed amused, brows rising in expectation and his lips tilted into a half smile.

"Well, if there's an asshole trying to kill you, I figure that's a good enough reason."

Jack actually snorted. Which, again, was better than him stabbing Eli. He still took a couple steps closer, looming over the redhead with a smirk and a wicked gleam in his eyes.

"That is a good reason. So, are you going to kill this asshole before he kills you?"

Eli did his best to look up at him defiantly, even if he felt his poor heart trying to keep it together. Honestly, if Jack didn't kill him a heart attack might do the trick. Thankfully, Jack took a step back.

"I still don't get it, why do all this?" Eli asked. "If you wanted to fight Vigilante you just had to wait for him to find you. It's not like you didn't have a chance before anyway."

"Oh, you mean that time at the docks?" Jack said, sounding almost like they were having a casual talk. "Unfortunately, I had some things to do at that time. I needed him out of the way for a while."

"So now you're putting on a show?" Now Jack was grinning, teeth flashing and eyes shining with malicious glee.

"Now, I'm trying to get the most out of this." He leaned closer to Eli, making the redhead wish he could lean back. "Which is where you come in."

"Forgive me if I'm not as excited as you," Eli muttered.

"I noticed something after fighting Vigilante a couple times. The first time, it was fun, sure, but I could have killed him if he hadn't managed to run away." Well, that was doing nothing to make Eli feel better. "But then the second time—you might remember that time."

"Oh, the time you stabbed me?"

"That's the one." Eli wished Jack didn't sound as amused at the thought of stabbing Eli. "Now, that was interesting. That was Vigilante being downright vicious. Shame the cops had to interrupt."

"Yeah, how rude of them," Eli was smacked over the head again.

"So I wondered, what made him so different then?" Jack went on, pretending Eli hadn't spoken. Until he looked straight at him, that evil glimmer back in his eyes. "And I realized—he had something to lose."

Eli didn't like that. He didn't like Jack knowing that. He found himself scowling, wishing he wasn't tied up even though he knew there was nothing he could do.

"Or more like, he thought I had taken something from him. Loss, that's what made him worth my time."

Against his will, Eli found himself thinking back to what Adria had told Matthew that night they'd gone to the docks. "Are you ready for what he might take from you?" That's what Adria had asked, and now Eli wished they actually listened to her.

Before Eli could say anything else, he heard someone approaching from outside. Sharp steps grew nearer and stopped right past the door.

"Looks like our other guest is here," Jack said, motioning to Mikey to open the door. The large man did as told and Eli watched, hoping their guest wasn't as bad as Jack. When Mikey stepped aside to reveal the newcomer, Eli wasn't sure that was the case.

"You really are a fucking drama queen," that was the first thing Adria said to Jack as she stepped inside, immaculately dressed as always. Her sharp gaze settled on the redhead tied to a chair.

Eli had never wanted to throw her out the window more than at that moment.

# # #

Listen guys, I literally just finished writing this. I may or may not have procrastinated because I had the chapter outlined only to realize two days ago that my outlines are shit and consist of stuff like, "Jack's an annoying shit, him and Eli talk, Adria shows up".  Anyway, hope you all liked this and if you see and mistakes or typos, now you know why, lol.  Feel free to point them out, because I'll eventually get to fixing them and your comments will be really helpful!

So yeah, as always, thanks so much for reading and for your continued support! If you want to, you can also check out my Tapas profile where I'll be posting more stuff soon. Other than that, hope you all have a great weekend. Stay safe everyone!

Oh, and since they're still stealing my stuff: