For most of Wednesday afternoon, Ten drifted in and out of a drug-filled haze. Whatever they had used to knock him out that morning served as a hazy filter between his brain and the real world. At one point, he thought he saw his cousin Jay's face hovering over him, but a moment later the vision disappeared and Ten passed it off to a dream.

"How is he doing?" a semi-familiar voice asked. Ten blinked as most of the fog seemed to finally recede. 

"He's waking up." There was no sense if familiarity attached to the second voice. "He should be just about ready to wake up all the way. That stuff lasts for about eight hours, and he hit that about twelve minutes ago."

"Good," the first voice said back. "You two can go ahead and leave. I can handle it from here."

"You sure, boss?" a third voice asked.

"I'm sure. Your money is in the glove box of the van."

"Thanks!" the third voice said, and then there was silence.

Ten opened his eyes and sat up. The lights were rather dim, but he could make out some details. By the size of the building, he was in a warehouse of some kind. He found it surprising that he wasn't restrained, but he was grateful that he wasn't bound to the table beneath him. He scooted tot he edge and slid off carefully, still feeling the drowzy after-effects of the drug.

"Ah, Tennie! Glad to see that you're awake." Ten turned his head sharply, eyes widening when he saw his cousin staring back at him.

"Jay?" he asked quietly. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to make sure that you don't go back to Seo before tomorrow. Tell me, Ten. Was it a coincidence? Or did Daddy set it up for you?"

Ten frowned at him in confusion. "I don't know what you're talking about."

His cousin made a considering sound. "Maybe you don't. Go ahead and climb back up on the table, Ten. I have a story to tell you, and I think you might want to be sitting when you hear it."

They stared at each other for a moment, cousins separated by a measly four years of age, but twenty-plus years of dislike. Finally, Ten's shoulders slumped and he climbed back on the table. 

Jay smiled condescendingly. "Good boy! Now, be silent while cousin-Jay tells you all about Johnny Seo."

^*^*^*^*^

It was the end of the work day when Johnny finally figured out the reason for the sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. Once the feeling started, he couldn't get rid of it, which was probably for the better. He went in search of the cause for the feeling, recognizing it for what it was: a natural instinct for when things went wrong.

He called Irene into his office. His assistant had been busy running around all day, and they hadn't had opportunity to talk since that morning.

Irene opened the door, face set. "You wanted to see me?"

Johnny was standing at the window and looking out over the city, one hand pressed against the glass and the other against his stomach. "He knows, Irene."

"Who does, sir?" she asked, confused. She was shocked when Johnny turned around and pinned her with a dark, hagard look.

"Leechaiyakul. The father. He knows. He's not a fool, Irene, and I've been acting as if he is. He has to know. Jay is pretty good at what he does, but even he can't run that kind of dupe on his uncle. If Leechaiyakul was that easily fooled, he wouldn't have been in power this long."

Irene's eyes narrowed. "And you're just now realizing this? Where has your head been, Johnny?"

"It gets worse," Johnny warned. She snapped shut and waited. "If he's let us get this far without stopping us, he must have a back-up plan."

"You've been watching our stocks. We're still the majority, the holding power. All of our assets are safe. What can he have?" Johnny closed his eyes and turned back to the window. In that instant, she realized the path his own thoughts had taken. "But he's with Jay, Johnny. Leechaiyakul can't use Ten to get to you."

"If he knows abou