Cold Siblings (Discontinued)

Part 3: Coma

"You know what I miss?" Len asked as he shuffled the deck of cards in his hand. He gazed at the machines in front of him as he continued to practice the 'Hindu Shuffle', the cards falling gently into his palm. His black shoes settled comfortably on the edge of the bed. His dark green jacket laying over the back of the chair and his gun holstered its weight reassuringly pressed into the side of his blue jeans. "I miss you calling me every night. I miss you being a pain in my butt." Len whispered as he looked his brother over once more. Focusing on his shuffling again he grew quiet, Iris gazed up at him from where she sat on the other side of the room shifting uncomfortably in her seat, a silent witness to the sorrow and pain of the man in front of her.

Where his blood sister was, he didn't know and at this point it didn't matter. It had already been six months and his little brothers condition wasn't getting better. Patiently he split the deck and prepared them for the 'weave' shuffle.  The cards sang in his hand before cascading down into his palm, separating them into two decks he began again.

"You know, I can't keep doing this." Len muttered as Iris shifted her brown eyes meeting his blue ones. He could see the concern in them as she studied his movements, as she tried to decipher what he needed. Leaning forward she brushed impatiently at the soft brown hairs that escaped from the bun she wore.

"Doing what?" Iris questioned.

"I can't afford this. I've pulled off so many jobs but I still barely have enough to pay for another week." Len whispered as he returned the cards to a pile on the table beside him and ran a hand over his face. Six months, six months of him sneaking in here every night. Six months of Iris doing everything she could to keep her father away when he was here. Six months of her lying to her family and her friends.

He needed a distraction, he thought as he picked up the cards again. His fingers starting to work, as he listened to the heart rate monitor softly beeping in the background. He had heard it too much, it's constant rhythm echoing in his head and haunting his dreams. He had watched his brother die so many times and heard that monitor go flat before the doctors would bring Barry back and the soft beeping would start up again.

"Lenny?" Iris whispered, her voice pulled him back. She could see the tears he refused to allow to escape his eyes and she rose to her feet. His normally cold and distant nature breaking apart as he stared at his brother laying in the hospital bed. I was supposed to go before any of you did, he had always told himself. His heart nearly lurched at the thought of burying Barry, what would he do if the doctors couldn't get him back one day. Walking over to him Iris knelt in front of him, taking his hands. "It's okay. We'll figure it out, my dad offered to pay."

"He can't know. He can't know, Barry will lose his job. If he knows that I'm his brother, it's going to go to hell. He'll be interrogated, he'll be taken away from us." Iris wiped at her own tears before wrapping her arms around him.

"Am I interrupting something?" A voice said as the two pulled apart. Len was on his feet in seconds. Iris rising just as quickly as she gripped Len's shoulder with her right hand her fingers digging into the white shirt. Yanking the pistol out, Len pointed at the door, putting himself between whoever was there and Iris and Barry. The emotion that was running rampant through his body moments ago, was quickly pushed aside. His face unmoving, an emotionless slate, a trick he had mastered over years of practice. His muscles tensing as he prepared himself to attack if the circumstances required. His gaze locked on a man in a black wheelchair. The man slowly raised his hands, his gaze focused on the gun and face as neutral as possible. His face was framed by black glasses and dark brown hair neatly cut covered his head. As he held his arms up beside his head the sleeves of his black shirt fell away from his wrists but he did not move as he waited patiently for Len to decide what to do.