Iago Incarnate

Perception Becomes Reality, part 21

Am I more than you bargained for yet?

I’ve been dying to tell you

Anything you want to hear

Mark Stevens, the name on the faked Pennsylvania ID, enrolled in RippedPHL, a gym Nick knew had monthly locker rentals. No gym cared if you never showed up, or never used your locker as long as the card went through each month. The card in question, also taken out in the name of Mark Stevens, was a reloadable debit card easily purchased from WalMart with cash. Nick had a gym he loved, and visited regularly, but this one was simply a shell membership whose only purpose was to provide a storage locker for the untraceable handgun he had purchased. There would never be any way to tie either the gym membership, or the card used to pay for it, back to him, which allowed Dr, Malvagio access to the weapon if needed without any risk of it ever being found at home. Emelie was an incredible wife, and he did truly love her, even though Nick constantly manipulated her, and he didn’t want to risk any trouble for her if anything ever happened to him, which meant nothing incriminating would ever come into their home. 

As the world grew more fascinated with the opinions of strangers online, Dr. Lawrence Kim found himself unusually popular as a “retired” psychiatrist who spoke in weekly vlog sessions about the struggles of mental health, for both those suffering from it as well as those trying to treat it. The doctor was a fairly attractive man and while his charm was more glib than disarming, it spoke to those who believed in the wisdom of strangers, particularly those deemed to be valuable experts. While never speaking of his own patients, Dr. Kim did occasionally speak of his colleagues and their interactions with both peers and patients in more general terms. In doing so, he became rather well liked, though never quite achieving the fame and riches he had hoped for. Of course, not having to toil through the work he studied so long for seemed satisfying enough.

“The most dangerous type of people are unknowingly toxic. We all know those people who rock the big egos, loud mouths, and they're not the ones I mean. They're aggressively compensating for… something. No, I mean those guys who seem like good friends, colleagues, neighbors, but they're unreliable, dishonest, selfish. I have heard so many times that relationships fell apart and it was never clear why…. but it's these guys. They're just clueless. I worked with a guy who was pretty cool, until he wasn't.” As Dr. Kim went on with his monologue, the likes came in from his twelve thousand subscribers. Among them was Dr. Malvagio, who enjoyed Knowing that his former colleague had to be talking about Dr. Cassius.

Fortunately, Dr. Kim still had the same phone number, which Nick only found out when the reply to his text came in. “I won't tell anyone if you were talking about Mikey.” the text went out. What came back in was short and sweet. “The King of Blissful Ignorance? Yeah…” Nick laughed as he read it, though his grin curled into more of a smirk when the next message came in. “Hey, you want to be my professional consultant and make an appearance on the vlog?” There wasn't any doubt that he did, but it would mean just a couple days to prepare his spontaneous thoughts to share with Dr. Kim. 

Nick knew his former colleague well, and thought highly of Dr. Kim for doing just as he needed him to in helping to bring down Dr. Cassius. This could prove to be a useful connection to cultivate and Nick was sure to stop by a highly regarded market in Koreatown to find the snack he remembered Dr. Kim often kept in his office, Jinju cheese sausages. There were several flavors, and Nick only remembered what Dr. Kim had by the colors of the packaging, so he stuck with what seemed to be right. When he arrived at the shared media studio that housed Dr. Kim’s YouTube show, Nick was all smiles, greeted by the aspiring “celeb shrink” who he both missed, but was glad to have gone. They shared an almost sincere bro hug and immediately began reminiscing about the fun they had in the office, and then Dr. Kim needing all the new office gossip.

When the livestream began, there was a very clear mutual respect among the two. Their conversation, which ended up lasting an hour, hit on mental health trends and treatments, personal experiences, and some recollections of their time together at the Center. The only somber moment of the show came before they signed off, as the two shared their memories of Dr. Castro, Dr. Cassius’ apprentice. They raved and gushed about her, all in tribute, without either ever mentioning Michael by name. “As we sign off here, let me thank the remarkable Dr. Malvagio once more, Nick, it’s truly a pleasure to have you on board… and as you well know, navigating the gauntlet of mental health challenges can get really difficult. If you or someone you know has contemplated suicide, there is help out there, I promise you. I will add links and phone numbers to the description of the video for anyone who needs them. Take care of yourself, Philadelphia.” Dr. Kim signed off with a heartfelt statement.

Once clear, the host’s expression began to grow more serious as he leaned in toward a smiling Nick. “I’m not a narc, I can’t prove anything, so I’m not saying a word…. But wow, you did it. This was you, right? I mean, as we were talking just now, all of a sudden.” Dr. Kim stopped himself, smiling a bit as he shook his head. “Wow, the whole fight… I got fucking canned because you got me to fight Mike. Motherfucker… and that girl, you got in her head too. Shit, it’s because…”

Suddenly still and silent as a statue, it all rushed into Kim’s consciousness. “Mike got the job, you didn’t… it’s all been Vendetta City. Shit… wow… but look, I almost can’t be mad, I ended up making more money, and so I have no beef with you, only impressed. You’re a sociopath, but a fucking genius sociopath. I’m almost proud, man.” Nick rolled his eyes and smiled as if he found it all amusing. “If I was that kind of mastermind I would have gotten the job in the first place, right?” The two shared a chuckle and stood for a handshake and brief embrace before Nick left to head home. Dr. Kim really had ended up better off than had he stayed with the Center, but he was now the only liability, and he was sure to talk, which meant Nick needed to make sure he wouldn’t have the chance.

Speeding home through the bustling city, Nick began strategizing, making a mental list of the things he was going to need. A pair of Bianca’s panties, a disposable burner phone, several doses of OxyContin, and someone who could manipulate video. . .