Disorder Ch. 04

"Pent up?"

John rolled his eyes.

"Shut up."

Just another game to them. But it passed the time well enough as Donnie surveyed the street, bracing himself back in the seat as John screeched to a halt outside a swanky office building: a block that should have been composed of several different companies all under the control of a single, global empire. It was the head office, of course, where all that was of any importance in a tech empire went down, in every news headline of late and then some. Donnie scowled at the sign, although the name was one that only served to bring a foul taste to the back of his mouth.

Master Tech. How sublime. Not. Well, that was a bone he'd buried and wasn't all that particularly keen on digging up again, so he would do what he could to not dwell on it, following the dark shadow of his brother as he loosely tied his hair back, strands still cupping the curves of his ears as he kept the tie loose, just a scrap of leather that had, once, had some manner of meaning to him. Maybe he'd have to cut it shorter again, if it was going to go and get itself in the way when he had work to do. But that would be his choice, not anyone else's 'input' in his appearance and just how he should be.

In the front entrance, everything had been laid out to impress and Donnie shifted his weight back onto his heels as if he had suddenly become a small child who was intent on dragging their heels, pulling back and away from something that brought up bad memories. Of course, it was more the fact that he'd not been able to get in on it in its younger years and early stages, but that was by the by when it came right down to it. If he had not been drawn in himself to the languid 'employment' (hey, a job was a job regardless of whether it was a legal one or not) and the water features dotted with smooth pebbles flowing, continuously, with a supply of water - the source was hidden beneath the surface, like with so many other things - that mocked those who could not afford such gaudy extravagances. It had no purpose to be out there and, still, it turned Donnie's lips down in a frown.

Maybe that was why he hadn't made too much of a fuss when John had roped him in on the job, all to save his own back and bacon, of course. Although it had been a surprising one, Donnie had had to admit, regardless of what John usually snarled himself up in with wise comments that got his fast feet nowhere at all. It gave him the chance to have his revenge and payback nice and neatly all wrapped up, packaged and handed to him: what man wouldn't like such an opportunity, after all, to come a-knocking?

"Such a front..." John shook his head, entirely unimpressed at the display of wealth and grandiose before him. "You'd think that they'd be more subtle when they're hiding something behind the scenes...don't you think so?"

Donnie knew that if John had been in charge of such a crime empire, drugs and all manner of illegal goods passing through the hands of those beneath him in power, he would have had just the same. A lavish display of luxury that meant nothing at all, a folly that was merely pretty to look at without having any true purpose. It showed off what he had to all who may or may not have sought to oppose him, assuming that everyone was looking even if no one was.

Maybe the CEO, Jaunt, and John were not all that different after all and it was just a shame that they had butted heads when they could have worked together. Lord was just one of his cronies, someone who had thought he was higher up the chain of command than he actually was but provided a nice little lead-in to begin the start of the destruction, although Donnie hadn't considered it worth his presence to go there himself - not when Charles was so easily manipulated into stealing a scrap of tech that had all the code required to do the job and do it well to start off with.

John, however... John was different, covert with his influence and power in the 'public' eye, the one thing that he knew not to flaunt, as much as his connections and negotiations did well by him. He could very well have worked with Jaunt and they would have destroyed the city...if John had been so inclined to take what was offered to him. Of course, that would have gone against everything that John stood for and gotten him to actually get his head together to do some actual work for a change. Dragging Donnie out with him didn't really count as work, which Donnie knew well and understood, as he had quite a fair part of the deal in his own hands too, or so he thought. But he wasn't going to be so crude as to let John know what when the taste of his cum lingered in his mouth, a sense of masculine musk that could not so simply be wiped or washed away.

Those scorned, however, sometimes didn't like to leave their so-called opponents out there to plan a further attack. And that was just why Master Tech and all that went on behind the scenes had come due to meet a timely untimely downfall. Donnie smiled minutely. So sad.

John did not wait for an answer to a question that had, of course, been strictly rhetorical to begin with, striding up to the elevator doors as if he was expected: an important visitor to a place that, truly, should have been fawning over him and offering him beverages, both hot and cold, for the sheer good will of gracing it with his presence. If it had been in daylight hours, the office and building itself would have been streaming with people, whether or not they were working on the tech available or the background trafficking that it was all a front for, although Donnie doubted very much that John himself would find himself centre attention, as much as he wanted it to be so.

The lighting remained dim, emergency lighting strips glowing with an oddly blue hue along the ceiling, although the screens depicting their products and every last one, seemingly, of the achievements of the company were plastered over the biggest wall, the front foyer so tall that the main staircase, lined with glass and even more, smaller screens for those passing by, showing off all as if it simply had to be on display. Every surface gleamed, reflecting the light of the emergency lighting strips, and Donnie's fingers, inadvertently, itched to turn on the main lights and see just what this tech empire had in store when all lit up as it was supposed to be. It must have been a sight to behold indeed even if he had never really been invited to be part of it, which was something of a shame still.

No matter. He had work to do. John caught his eye, flashing him a winning grin that did all sorts of strange things to his insides.

"You did disable the cameras, right?"

Donne sighed and rolled his eyes where his brother could not see.

"Of course. But you didn't check until now."

"That's what I've got you here for."

And that was true, as objectifying as it was. John didn't need arm candy to make a statement or to show off a possession but sometimes Donnie felt as much on display as the gadgets that the company was proudly displaying and proclaiming the features of. That was his own mind working against him, however, and he couldn't let his naturally scatty brain jump about so much, for there was still work to be done, something to be taken care of so that he could go back to his nice, quiet sort of life. Maybe he'd lift the bank account of someone else high-up in the tech industry just to make himself feel better again about the whole thing, everything being a bit of a sorry ordeal.

A place like that had to have security but Donnie had had another contact of his scope it out beforehand. Guards were not so much guards at a place like that but hired thugs but they had been easy enough to buy off and replace, even if a little force had had to be utilised in strategic locations. The ones remaining simply thought they were short-handed that night and could easily be spotted in the break room, commiserating about the layabout slackers that had left them high and dry that night. Donnie had let himself into the security room lined with cameras and into the system itself without pausing to think, everything coming together nicely, just as he'd always known it would.

"So..." John whistled, eyeing the cameras. "Nice tech. You jealous? And how long is this going to take?"

Donnie rolled his eyes, shoulders slumping as he sighed lightly.

"Slow down. Your impatience will get you killed."

Yet he knew that he could be slow, as slow as a man trudging through a pit of sticky molasses, dragging out the moment as he tapped into the system and performed all of his usual checks. No surprises was the name of the game but it was a fun enough game too to see his brother shift and jostle himself, clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth as his impatience grew and grew more and more with the passing of each and every second. No, he was not a patient soul at heart and that was something that Donnie would always enjoy toying with, even if he had done it the most when they were much younger. But that time was long past and he was not one for dwelling, as much as the thoughts liked to rise up to the forefront of his mind as if they wanted to highlight to him that, one day, he would have to address the issue of their past.

But not yet. Not quite yet. There was so much more to be done, to be taken care of yet, more tinkering to be done, making light of the work he did on systems, a hacker at heart and someone well-versed in the intricate nuances of cyber-crime. John puffed out his cheeks with air and dramatically sighed, drawing attention to himself once more as Donnie chuckled lightly, swallowing his mirth down into the back of his throat.

"If you disabled the cameras, why can we see them here?"

"The cameras are offline, no one can see your mug," Donnie shot back - how dare he question? "But you want to see where the guards are at before heading on up to get this show on the road, don't you?"

Grimacing, John turned his back on his brother, eyes on the door.

"I haven't got the time for this."

And then he was gone, long legs stepping out in a stride that put many men to shame, covering the ground so swiftly that he was gone before Donnie could even mutter a curse, the glare of the cameras feeding back to the many screens in the small, cramped, dark room reflecting off his glasses: how annoying. Why couldn't John exercise just a scrap of patience? Donnie rushed, fumbling his way as quickly as possible through what he needed to do, setting up the alarm systems to come back online as soon as they would be good and gone, cameras with false footage - the whole nine yards. It was not as if he needed to cover their tracks quite so well, considering who they were working for, but Donnie was nothing if not efficient, keeping one eye on John through the cameras as he hustled his way through the building.

So impatient...

John, however, had quite a memory for directions, it had to be said, and he was halfway to the head honcho's office before Donnie was able to make tracks himself. He was not particularly athletic but his legs helped him along, sneakers pounding the smooth floors, carved from some fancy stone that he did not care to know the name of. What did he care for such finery when he already had everything he needed, could have asked for and more? It was not getting caught up in the rat race of modern living that Donnie sought to avoid and it seemed that he was well on his way to not having to even 'work' in the criminal sense of the word for very many years longer. He well and truly had a very nice nest egg going on there and it would have been a shame for everything to go to pot just because he was helping out dear John, his own brother...

But he had to move quickly to catch up and he found John at the elevator, haplessly bashing the buttons and cursing fluently as he struggled to get it to work. Only then did Donnie slow to a long-legged walk, brushing his hair back from where it threatened to come loose once again. That too was just another little annoyance to be dealt with but he'd have to, one way or another.

"Need some help there?" He drawled, one eyebrow lifted. "Maybe this will help..."

With one hand, for the other held a truly precious cargo that he just had to ferry a little bit further, he swiped the key card to allow access through the access point beside the elevator doors, the electronic pad turning red as the doors slid open. Grinning widely once more, John shoved his shoulder and dragged him in, mashing the button that would take them all the way up to the very top floor: the one place that they so very desperately needed to be.

"You saucy devil..."

As the elevator shot up, John smirked and pulled his brother into a kiss, the move surprising even Donnie, who very nearly lost his grasp on the USB stick in his hand. He didn't trust himself to tuck it away into a pocket when they were so very close to their end goal, the grand prize of the job that he'd been roped onto, and he kissed his brother back just as passionately without even thinking, losing himself in the moment as their bodies pressed up together as if on the precipice of something all the more intimate.

The doors closed as they shot up and up, the elevator itself seeming to move with haste as their hearts hammered, adrenaline turning nerves to lust as they worked together - so well too. They could have been lovers, if not for being brothers, but perhaps it was a better kind of relationship still that they had between one another for being family with some kind of benefits, although who knew just how far they'd be willing to go. With how they acted, they'd been mistaken for boyfriends out in public and Charles had some vague idea of what was going on (he just didn't care to know what they were into or up to) but nothing had ever been defined. For those who lived their entire lives undefined, it really was the perfect sort of relationship that, coincidentally, also lay outside what the law wanted of them.

Jaunt's office resided ahead, however, like the final level, the boss battle to rule them all. Donnie brushed off the thought that perhaps he'd gotten a bit too wrapped up in his last video game, pressing on with the little USB stick that held the key to success pressed almost painfully up into the palm of his hand, held there through a pincer-like force from his fingers. The office had no further security: a rookie error. Sometimes it was a wonder that crime bosses and the like got very far at all with how dismissive they seemed to be of security measures, although he probably supposed that the elevator and cameras and guards and the fact that no one else should have even known what was going on there would be enough. True, there were things in place that would have stopped most people (not to mention the nifty little trap on the fourth floor that Donnie had taken the initiative to disable in advance) but Donnie was far, far from most people.

"So... This is it. Is it everything you've ever imagined, brother?"

Scoffing, Donnie would have rolled his eyes if he was not busy sweeping the door and immediate area for bugs, the scanner in his hand flashing green, although he'd never enabled it to beep. That sort of thing was what would give them away in the very worst of situations and had been the downfall of many others, he presumed, who had been so callous as to go for something for aesthetic purposes only.

"As gaudy as I thought..."

The door rose before them, glass that was surely bulletproof but also frosted so that one could only see a blurry image of what lay on the other side: the semblance of privacy even if all could not be hidden. It was an oddly fitting nuance considering their aptitude for technology and the like, even though all that was swiftly to be crushed beneath their boots.

Only when he was quite ready did Donnie nod to John and enter the office, although he could not even bring himself to catch his breath in adrenaline. For once, it felt as if all of the groundwork had been good and well enough done, everything laid out beautifully, and he could relax in the scope and shadow of one who would, most likely, take the credit while he was repaid tenfold in private for his assistance in the matter. It was not an overly bad deal by far: like a virus, a programme in cyberspace, Donnie skimmed under the radar of what caught the public eye. And that was just how he liked it and how he wanted all to continue.

Everything about Jaunt's office oozed sophistication, although it all rang of a sense of being just a little too 'staged' to be real. It was quite clear to a discerning eye that he neither lived nor worked nor spent the majority of his life in that office, all simply a farce as Donnie slipped into the plush desk chair by the several computer screens, all of them black. If he had not known better, he would have wondered himself if they were even hooked up to anything but, of course, he was a man who had most certainly done every last bit of his research.

Plugging in, he got to work, fingers flying across the keyboard and his trusty little memory stick holding so very much that it was impossible to understand the entirety of the programme he had created from scratch. Of course, John wouldn't be able to understand the nuances of it but he well enough understood the importance of it, even if he was arrogantly careful to step back, hands thrust deep into his pockets as he quietly admired Donnie at work. His hair pulled free of the tie as he hunched over, appearing shockingly angular as his chin jutted down, eyes intent on the glare of the screen amidst the otherwise solely emergency lighting. He preferred to work in the dark but that was not something that he'd ever told anyone else and likely never would either.

It was no wonder his grudging respect for Donnie was in such full force as he worked, his presence not truly needed even if he'd felt that he had to be there, simply because he always was. If John did not involve himself, even in a scheme to save his own hide, all may very well go on without his existence and that was something that he could not have at all. It was not because Donnie at work drew a rise of need to his crotch, lust rising even as Donnie leaned back in the chair and sighed, what he had set out to do, at least for the moment, complete.

"There... Now it only has to run. You got a smoke on you?"

"Is this going to take long?" John said, ignoring the question as he scanned his eyes around the office. "Can't hang about for too long here..."

"Why, got a hot date, have you?"

Donnie's joke was timed just right and even John, strangely so for him, had the good grace to merely chuckle, although his eyes darkened swiftly, lips pressed together in the most sincere of smirks that drove Donnie's heart to leap and pound oh so very erratically. Ah, their relationship may have been mockingly tenuous but there would always be something about the other that drew them back together in all of the wrongly right ways over and over again.

"Yeah..." John advanced, step by threatening step, Donnie's heart skipping right up into overdrive. "You."

He could have said something, told John to get stuffed, to fuck off - anything - and yet he could not draw the words to his lips as his guts twisted and churned with raw need. Although he'd, of course, gotten John off in the car, his needs were still unsatisfied, desire throbbing up within him as if it had only been heightened further by his focus and work, the job at hand currently in limbo while all they could do was wait.

He tried to get up but then John was up against him, the eerie flicker of the computer screen glancing off his skin, his features cast into jagged, sharp shadows, the monster of the night made incarnate in the thudding beat of Donnie's heart. He couldn't breathe, couldn't move, but neither did he want to move, to flee or to run when it was that very dark soul that made such pleasure rise up inside him, simply demanding to be tamed and sated at any cost.