Angst Bingo 3.17

[telaryn]

Title: A New Way
Author: telaryn
Word Count: 600
Fandom: Leverage
Characters: Jimmy Ford
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: No ownership implied, no profit obtained.
Summary: Safe in Galway, Jimmy begins planning his revenge.
Author's Note: Written for angst_bingo, for the prompt "aging". Lauren O'Donnell is an original character created by lemonpunch for a leverageland challenge. I'm merely borrowing her for purposes of fleshing out the story and lay no direct claim to her awesomeness.


He’d taken two weeks off, before starting to plan his revenge. The break did him good in mind and body, taking the time to reconnect with family without the distraction of business weighing him down.

And Galway was beautiful this time of the year – he had that, at least. Welcome home dinners had been largely held outside. Most evenings he joined his brothers and uncles for the walk down to the pub, where they drank until most of them had trouble standing for the walk home.

As exiles went, Jimmy decided, life could definitely have been worse. Ultimately the lure of vengeance was too strong to resist, however. He could be proud of Nathan for having been canny enough to play him, but he would never allow such disrespect to go unpunished. He would find a way to return home, and he would be there when his son was brought low – all so he could savor the moment when Nate finally realized once and for all which of them was the better man.

His own generation was disappointingly unsupportive, when he finally broached the subject. “Let it go,” Michael said, one night at the pub. “The business is a young man’s game. You should be happy that your Nathan finally stepped up and decided to be a credit to his upbringing.” The others had been in agreement, so Jimmy had nodded along and pretended that he agreed his older brother had the right of it.

And then when all their backs were turned, he began talking to the younger generation. Most of them believed he was too old to recapture and hold the power he’d once wielded, but he finally found his ally in Lauren O’Donnell – his youngest sister’s oldest daughter, and Nathan’s closest friend in the family.

“The larger problem, as I see it, is that you let a good chunk of the world pass you by, when you were in prison,” she observed one afternoon over drinks at the pub. “Your deal with the Russians was impressive, but nothing like what you could have made happen in your prime.” She took a sip of her Guinness. “And if you don’t mind my saying so, Jimmy, you’ve always been a bit blind where darling Nathan was concerned.”

“Tell me how you would do things differently,” he said, inviting her to share whatever insight she thought she might have into him and his.

An elegant finger traced the line of her glass, as Lauren considered her response. Jimmy appreciated her caution. Despite his personal opinion of the younger generation, he didn’t object to learning from them so long as they weren’t arrogant about it.

“I wouldn’t have wasted so much time keeping Nathan at arm’s length,” she said finally. “He’s always wanted your approval, Jimmy, ever since we were children. The problem is that whatever you tried to teach him, Aunt Katherine was usually whispering the opposite in his other ear.”

In times past, he wouldn’t have stood for her questioning him. Age and some significant defeats had softened his outlook, making him more willing to admit that his niece might have a point.

Reaching into her briefcase, Lauren withdrew a stack of folders and spread them on the table. “You agree to follow my lead, and together we will teach Nathan how to respect you. And if all goes according to plan, we will restore you to your proper place in the world.”

Jimmy considered what his niece was saying. The deal she was proposing was something he wouldn’t have considered taking even five years ago.

Now? “I’m in.”