𝐏𝐇𝐎𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐗 (𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐀𝐔)

Prologue: A Bet's a Bet

Since this is based off a rare, not so well known movie, I will try and include the soundtrack if I can find any of it on YouTube. There was an official soundtrack CD released but I guess people haven't really uploaded it to YouTube except for maybe a couple songs. Also in this AU, Freddie can drive. 😁 This chapter is kinda short but enjoy anyway and please excuse mistakes I don't catch in proofreading. 

*****

Deaks, please tell me you didn't do this.

I'm sorry, Brian.

The rain was nonstop as Brian drove with one hand while the other was pressed up against a gunshot wound on his stomach. His mind was spinning out of control and he was in a world of confusion and pain as he thought about everything that had gone so wrong within a matter of seconds. His partner was dead and he hadn't even seen it coming, didn't even have the chance to save him. He felt betrayed by his colleagues and his best friends, who by now were most likely hunting him down this very moment. 

Brian took his hand off the wheel for a moment to wipe the sweat and angry tears from his face and run a hand through his mess of wet curls, when all of a sudden, he lost control and skid into a cluster of construction barrels. The tires squealed on wet pavement as he slammed on the brakes, ultimately causing the car to stall out. 

"Fucking hell, come on!"

Jamming the key into the ignition, the car's engine sputtered before dying out completely. With an anguished groan, Brian climbed out of the car, instantly getting soaked again in the pouring rain. He needed to find someplace to hide and he needed to do it quick. He looked around, his eyes instantly landing on what looked like an abandoned warehouse just across the way. He took a few deep breaths to try and gather his wits and focus around the intense pain in his gut.

*****

In the passenger seat, the blonde loaded up his police issued shotgun as anger boiled deep within him. "I swear if that fucking bastard is still alive, I'm gonna kill him."

"Roger darling, just calm down and take it easy," the dark haired driver says. "We don't know if it was him that did it--"

"Of course it was him that did it, Freddie!" Roger shouts at him. "I've told you this before. Never ever trust a gambler with a compulsive addiction. And him killing Deaky is the last straw."

Freddie glanced over at him, noticing the fiery rage in Roger's blue eyes as he cocked the pump action shotgun into place with a loud click. He absolutely hated it when his partner got like this. It was like he became a completely different person. But after knowing him and working with him for so long, Freddie was used to it and knew to keep his mouth shut to avoid serious blow ups when the blonde got like this.

*****

Holding his stomach, Brian limped his way into the abandoned warehouse. Inside it was dark with just enough shadow for him to stay hidden and out of sight for the time being as well as keeping dry from the nonstop rain. He took small steps but each movement was like intense stabbing pains from his gunshot wound. He winced and squeezed his eyes shut as he sat down on the concrete floor. From his coat pocket, he fished out his pack of cigarettes, along with his police badge that he tossed onto the floor. It wouldn't be needed anymore. If he survived this, he was going to quit Detective work and leave town for good.

Placing the cigarette into his mouth, Brian suddenly noticed a small cockroach run past him. With fast reflexes, he reached out and caught the bug.

"Whoa there little one," he says to it. "You're quite fast. I bet I could make a lot of money off you." He glanced around the floor, then at an old work table littered with dusty tools and other various things. "Where's all your friends at?"

Figuring he would have to search around, the curly haired Detective momentarily struggled to stand back up as he made his way over to the table. He moved around some of the junk and when he pushed aside a toolbox, he found the jackpot of more cockroaches.

"Ok, ok," he says, picking another one up that was slightly bigger and more fatter than the other bug. "You two will work." He limped back over to his spot as he pulled out a hundred dollar bill, placing it on the floor a good few feet away from him. "$100 on Estify vs Betsy's Revenge. I'm counting on you, Betsy" 

Lowering the two cockroaches he named Estify and Betsy's Revenge to the floor, Brian let them go and they scurried away together. 

"Come on, Betsy," he says to the smaller cockroach as Estify ran ahead. "Come on love, you can do it, come on!"

 Betsy suddenly stopped and Estify was the first to reach the $100 before scurrying off into the darkness.

"Bloody hell," he mumbles, disappointed. "I lost again."

The amount of bets he had lost lately had been baffling to him and the fact that he was in debt over his head made everything much more worse. Betting was what landed him in this situation in the first place and if he didn't do something soon, he would be forever fucked.

Lighting his cigarette, Brian held the lit match up to the blood stained $100 and watched it slowly burn up. He chuckled and took a long drag of the cigarette. 

"Well..." he says with a sigh. "A bet's a bet."

And I'm paying the price...