The business was in an old brownstone. Every bit of it, except the original architecture outside had been redone. The office where he sat was still dark. Everything was in the darker hues of the color spectrum, and after years of living with it, Deke preferred it. Kingsley Toulson worked all hours of the day and night here, leaving his wife to keep up appearances and his stepson to his partying ways. The windows were the latest thing, so dark during the brightest days you?d swear it was the darkest night. Then, in the evenings everything was sharper and clearer than it should be. The old man always joked, and called them ?The Predator?s Eyes.?

The desk was massive, with gold inlay and intricate carved designs that danced along the edges. Deke stared at the flat panel screen of his computer and watched as the mountain of muscle stood guard over the small, blonde woman. She turned and though he still couldn?t see her face he knew the form, the form that had spent many nights at his side. His eyes narrowed, wondering what was said between them, but the man walked away. She seemed to wait until he was gone before she just erased Kingsley Toulson, his father, from the world.

The door to the office flew open without so much as a knock. Deke shielded his eyes with one hand and simultaneously lifted the pistol with the other, pointing with deadly aim.

?Jesus, Deke!? Kyle?s hands went up. ?It?s me, lower that cannon, please.? Kyle stepped back around the wall, and peeked in.
?I?ve told you to knock, Kyle.? Deke?s voice was calm and the pistol never wavered. He flinched slightly and grimaced before his eyes fell to his lap. ?Easy on the teeth, babe.?
?Well the office was dark, and I was lookin? for? are you alone in there?? Kyle?s eyes moved from the big bore pistol, down to the bottom of the desk. There, sticking out just slightly were steel tip, stiletto heels. The light of recognition seemed to come on in Kyle?s eyes. ?Shit Deke, I?m sorry.?
?You?ve ruined the moment now,? Deke said as he laid the pistol on the desk. ?What do you want?? He asked as he stood and zipped his fly, before offering his hand to help the girl up from beneath the Brazilian Blackwood desk. He couldn?t tell in the dark, but he knew Kyle was blushing. ?She?s paid for another hour yet, would you like her??

Kyle was dumbfounded. There were too many questions and all he could do was stare at the woman who was barely dressed and beautiful with curves in all the right places. Deke was always good with the girls.

?Um.?
?Um? You disturbed me for um?? Deke?s eyes narrowed and he pushed a wad of money at the girl. ?Go on, I?ve got to deal with the mentally challenged.?
?Call me later?? She asked as she moved past Kyle, but watched Deke.
?Yes, of course,? Deke lied. ?Maybe tomorrow, I?ll be busy tonight.? He had never bothered to ask her name, let alone get her number.

Both men watched the woman as she walked away. Her heels clicked on the wood floors of the hall, and hips swayed seductively. She knew she was being watched, and she put on the best show that she possibly could until she reached the landing of the stairs and disappeared from their sight.

?Close the door, Kyle.? Deke turned on the desk lamp and reclaimed the seat behind the nearly black wooden monstrosity.

Kyle did as instructed and turned to take a seat that faced Deke. ?I?m sorry man, I thought you was alone.? He started apologizing before he even started with the reason behind his intrusion. ?She is pretty, new girl??

?Blow and go,? Deke answered as he opened the desktop humidor for a cigar. The bone box kept the expensive tobacco just right and while expensive itself, he knew there was nothing finer to keep his smoke in. Fingers danced across gold leaf foil emblazoned with his initials, then he stopped on the long Arturo. ?So, are we getting to the reason you are here, or are we discussing a whore all night?? The end was clipped and placed into the crystal ashtray before he struck a wood match to flame.

Kyle watched his friend with the cigar, and then shook his head as Deke offered one to him in declination. ?Uh, what?? Kyle wasn?t a smoker, but the fire he did love. He?d been responsible for several blazes in the places that he and his boss had been in, and made good money for them.

?Damn it Kyle, focus for Christ?s sake!? Deke slammed the top of the desk with his hand.
?Oh, right. The old files, we had a backdoor user and they are wiped out. The copy you have is the only one.? Kyle seemed proud, reporting on news that was over a year old. When Deke?s eyes narrowed at him, Kyle sat up a little straighter. ?They don?t show her face though, Deke. We can?t prove it.?
?I don?t need to prove it, Kyle.? Deke said evenly after blowing out a thick cloud of smoke. ?It is nothing more than leverage, I?m bored with Sarah.?
?I thought we were going to kill her, and the big guy she?s with.?
?The guy she was with, Kyle. He?s literally dropped off the grid. You know how she is, bouncing between guys and all.?

Kyle nodded in agreement. ?Also, the girl??

?Which girl??
?The one you hired? The Secretary, she took a message from Samuel Wylie, and you got a letter from his office.?

Deke had been gone for a while setting things up in other towns, just to get the pain of this one to leave him alone. He was part owner in two dive bars, had started a small, poorly funded, thinly disguised blood bank and had enough dealers working the streets that his cash flow had increased ten-fold.

?Sam, the lawyer?? Deke knew the answer, but watched his associate?s head nod the affirmative. ?Where is it?? He held out his hand as Kyle fished a letter from his jacket pocket to pass over.

He flicked across the document, reading quickly. The words he wanted to hear were typed out in black.

?Due to the investigation of Kingsley Toulson?s criminal associates the property and other assets held by Toulson Inc. were held by the courts until there were no connections found, and no trails leading back to any of Mister Toulson?s businesses to prove any funding of illegal operations. There were no ties to illicit gains, thusly as per Kingsley Toulson?s personal wishes and stated in his will, signed before me, Samuel Wylie, on the Twenty-Third, May, Two Thousand and Two, all assets are to be awarded to his son, Deacon. A small trust fund, has been set aside, as was the manor in which they shared for his wife, whom he loved deeply.?

Deke folded the letter back up and looked across at Kyle, trying to read his friend?s face. ?Well, that took long enough.?

?How long was it??
?Too long, Kyle. Much too long.?