Part 1:

"Liar!" screamed Vin Tanner, his face red with rage as he once more slammed Josiah against the corrugated wall of the warehouse. Lifting, he could feel the weight of the large ATF agent clear the floor. "You fucking liar!" he exclaimed, tears beginning to form in his eyes as the emotional pain he hadn't known for years came back full force. "You took everything!"

Gasping for breath, Josiah marveled at the slender man before him. He'd known the potential that lay within Vin, but thought he would never see it resurface, had prayed he'd never see it resurface.  He should have known his good luck wouldn’t hold. Early on in their current case, Josiah had recognized one of the players from his and Vin’s past, a past that Vin knew nothing about, at least he hadn’t know then. Something about the man triggered a long-suppressed memory response within Vin, causing the young man to have severe headaches, a result of returning memories.

Josiah had initially lost touch with Vin when Vin’s mother died, but since the young Texan had reappeared in his life, it had become imperative that Josiah know everything he could find out about Vin Tanner.  And everything he knew about the man he’d come to think of as a brother, had just been recalled by Vin Tanner himself. That knowledge and Josiah’s presence had been the only reason the sharpshooter had been able to continue on living his life freely.  Now Josiah needed to find a way to explain the full extent of the situation to Vin before the young man choked the life out of him.

"Let me explain," Josiah managed to gasp out as he lost his fight for breath. The edges of blackness began creeping into his vision leaving him only able to pray Vin would release him. Suddenly he dropped, collapsing on the floor. Gasping for air, Josiah looked up and met the deadly eyes of the longhaired Texan.

Looking at the man he had trusted, one of six he called brother, Vin felt only rage and betrayal. "It better be damn good," he hissed. "Speak!"

Josiah shook his head. "Not here," he whispered, his voice roughened by the punishment his throat had endured.

"Let's go," Vin commanded, pulling the older agent up and heading out.

"Vin, we have to finish this bust," Josiah protested. "What I have to tell you can wait." He stopped short as Vin spun to face him. Holding his hands up in surrender, Josiah tried to reason with the irate man. "Vin," he said in as soothing a voice as he could muster, "it's waited so many years, a few more hours won't matter."

Taking a deep breath, Vin knew Josiah was right. His memories had returned in a rush. With those memories, the knowledge that if he hoped to ever have a normal life, he had to keep his secret from everyone else. That meant he had to act as if he didn't just remember that the life he'd been living, the past he had known and come to terms with, was nothing more than a lie, a fabrication. Closing his eyes against the emotional distress threatening to overwhelm him, Vin took a deep breath and slowly released it. Nodding his agreement, the two men headed back to finish the bust.

On to Part 2
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