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Betrayal

By Alison

D/C: I don't own anything except the plot. Everything else belongs to ABC and all the other people who are luckier than me.

~*~*~

FLASH.

It never took much to get Solomon to go to sleep; no, what some considered a luxury came naturally to him. He supposed he was still catching up after years of sleepless nights after his wife's death.

Those were what he considered as the "dark days". Yes, call him melodramatic, call him an overly sensitive poetic type. But if you were to say any of those things to him, chances are he's glare at you in the eye, and say slowly, "You lose part of your heart, then tell me what you feel."

It would've been so much easier for Solomon to get over his wife, but then there was Nikko. No, it wasn't that he hated his son; on the contrary, he was closer to him now than he had ever been.

But those eyes...

Every time he looked into them, he saw his wife's reflection looking right back at him. It was almost scary how much Nikko resembled his mother, how much emotion it brought out in Solomon whenever his glance passed by him.

But for now, in his sleep, he would not think of his wife, or Nikko, or Nikko's eyes.

He would dream. And it was with that dream where it all began, and it was with that dream that he would beg for mercy for it all to stop.

They say that when you dream your worst fears come to life.

Betrayal.

Solomon feared betrayal.

And betrayal was what he was to dream about that fateful night.

~~~

He was walking across the beach. This was one of his favorite places to go. It was quiet, soothing, tranquil, it let him forget about his job for a few precious moments and let his mind go loose.

But something about this particular day struck him as strange. Moments passed, and he noticed not as many birds were singing in the air, and that the sun was awfully low in the sky for this time of day. He didn't mind it, though. All things had to change sometime, and this kind of change was welcome to him.

Something caught his eye. He turned and that cold feeling of dread took over him. He'd never actually considered himself as a psychic, but somehow he always knew whenever danger approached.

He saw Nikko with a crowd of men dressed in dark clothing, and his heart immediately dropped to his stomach. Was he hurt? Were they torturing him? His legs started moving as if they were separate from his brain...

And then he heard the sound of Nikko's laughter.

His legs froze in the sand, and he listened to what was happening.

Something inaudible, then it was Nikko speaking:

"There's something about fooling a man like Solomon Zond that really makes life worth living."

Solomon couldn't help it. Every inch of him but his heart was telling him to run away, to get out of there, to not listen to anything else here.

And yet he stayed.

"And he has no idea?" A man Solomon couldn't identify.

"Of course he has no idea." Nikko again. "How should he know that his son would ever go against him? He may be smart in some areas, but he puts his trust in people way too easily."

It couldn't be. Not his son. Not Nikko.

But the facts presented themselves to him in such a way that he couldn't doubt them.

And the betrayal hit him, and all thoughts that had an ounce of intelligence in them left him.

He pulled out his gun (which he always carried with him nowadays) and walked straight up to the group of two men and Nikko.

"Freeze," he tried to shout, but no sound came out. It took him three more tries, and then it came out full force with emotion.

Nikko turned and saw Solomon standing there with his gun, looking completely incapable of shooting it. Solomon saw Nikko's face flash with...guilt? fear? or maybe it was just surprise that an old fool such as Solomon could ever find him out.

"Dad," Nikko whispered. "What are you doing here?"

There was no compassion in his voice, no heartfelt emotion, and it left no doubt in Solomon's mind that Nikko indeed betrayed him.

And somehow, that made him stronger.

Without thinking, he quickly shot the other two men. They went down without a struggle and Solomon realized he had never shot anybody before.

And slowly, the gun found itself aimed at Nikko.

"You betrayed me," Solomon whispered, but Nikko caught every word.

"I didn't have a choice..."

"You always have a choice!" Solomon shouted, and Nikko flinched, thinking the gun would go off right then.

But it didn't.

"You had a choice," Solomon whispered, getting himself under control. "You always have a choice, don't you remember Mom teaching you that..."

"Oh, just shut up about Mom already!" Nikko exclaimed. "Yes, she's dead, and yes, I miss her, but that was in the past! Why not just let her go and get a little closure in your life!"

"Maybe you'd do good with some of your mother's teachings in your life!"

"Oh, what, like you?! Yeah, if I'm lucky, maybe I'll be holding my kid at gunpoint, too!"

Solomon's eyes narrowed, and he huffed, seething.  "God, how I wish you weren't my kid.  I'd deck you so fast...."

"Why don't you just shoot me instead, Solomon?" Solomon winced slightly at the use of his first name.

His hands were becoming visibly sweaty, and he didn't think he could pull the trigger if need came to that.

Nikko sighed. "Look, it doesn't have to be like this. You should join me, join these people, they do so much good in the world..."

"Yeah, is that what they taught you?" Solomon asked. "What'd they do, brainwash you?"

"I'm too old to be brainwashed," Nikko said matter-of-factly. "I made this choice on my own."

"Why?" asked Solomon. "Why do you need these guys?"

Nikko glanced one last time in Solomon's eyes. "Because," he said slowly, "they're the only family I've got."

Solomon looked into Nikko's eyes, those eyes that caused him so much pain, so much regret.

Without a second thought, he drove a bullet right between them, and those eyes would never open again.

He slowly pocketed the gun and resumed his walking on the beach, not noticing that the sun had set early that day.

~~~

"AAH!"

Solomon sat straight up in his bed. The sheets were tangled about him, and his face and body were covered with sweat.

He only had one thought on his mind: Nikko.

"Nikko!" he shouted as he burst into his room.

"What?" murmured Nikko, not wanting to wake up. "Is it morning already?"

Solomon breathed a sigh of relief at seeing the form of Nikko's body underneath the covers. "No," he said. "N-never mind. It's nothing."

He almost made it out the door before turning again. "Nikko?"

"Yeah, Dad?" Nikko sat up in bed and opened his eyes.

Solomon looked into them and said, "You're always there for me. Thanks."

Solomon saw Nikko frown in the darkness. "OK. You're welcome, I guess."

Solomon quietly shut the door to Nikko's room and sighed happily.

For the first time, when he looked into Nikko's eyes, he saw not his past, but the future.

Nikko would be proud. Solomon had finally achieved his closure.

FIN

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