"Every story must begin somewhere."
Droplets trickled down the outside of the glass. Summer had arrived, the ice didn't last long enough to savour anymore. It had all but disappeared, eroded away into tiny seeds of chill soon to be no more. The taste of the scotch too had diminished, diluted by the ice's demise. Footsteps echoed through the dark. "Was he agreeable to the meeting?" he asked. His hand quivered and quickly began swirling the remnants of his drink; as if to hide it. His eyes never rose. His voice was calm, deep and firm.
"No Mr. Drake," replied a considerably sweeter voice. "He refuses to meet with any of our representatives, let alone you. He feels that anyone who sits down with you miraculously signs over the deal of a lifetime. 'Far too many deals and lifetimes to be above board' to use his words Sir," replied his young assistant as she stepped into the room.
Alicia Carter had bouncing curls of amber-blonde hair tumbling down to frame a fresh, innocent face. Her white dress left little to the imagination, clinging to her body and flowing shadows along her seductive size fourteen curves, oozing womanly charm. It was her eyes though, which truly stood mens' minds and bodies to attention. Large, deep portals of haunting grey which hypnotised and sparkled more and more the longer one gazed into them.
She was exactly Mr. Drakes' type, mind numbingly beautiful and round in all the right places. It was only an image though, a facade. Nothing more than a stereotype she had devised as a very effective cover. People often dismissed her upon first meeting, focussing on her appearance and pegging her as a 'dumb blonde' or a 'mindless fashionista'; a fatal mistake. Alicia was ruthless, conniving and brutal. She knew what was required of her and wielded intellect and charm as weapons. Career progression was her goal and failure was never an option. In the early days of her employment Mr. Drake had tried to seduce her, an offer she had flatly refused. "That's not the part of you I am paid to impress," she scolded, "Though impressed it would be if it ever got the chance."
"He's intuitive," mumbled Mr. Drake into his glass, still swirling to mask the shakes. "Shame. I want that contract signed. If the rhodium deposit is even half the size the geologists predict, it may as well be a never ending bucket of money."
"Its price per tonne has been dropping sir," reminded Alicia.
"It can still drop by half again and be worth more than anything else we pull out of the ground. Don't forget, I have the only other major rhodium lease. The customers are simply holding off, waiting for Grovern Industrial to start digging. What do you think will happen to the price once I own his lease as well?"
Drake appeared an ageless man; someone time had never seemed to catch up to. His hair was thick and black, his skin smooth, his build broad and muscular. However, his hands were mapped with fine criss-crossing scars and his eyes....his eyes spoke of countless years lived and of heavy burden. His strong hands still seemed to shake too with every drink, as if the glass were too heavy.
He gave Alicia a look, a slight raise of the eyebrows over prompting eyes, a silent command. "Would you like a vessel brought in sir?" asked a nearby shadow. A slim man oozed from a shadowed corner of the room. Alicia gave a jolt at the sudden emergence, but quickly stifled it to no more than a fuss of her hair. She burned a glare at the newcomer. A white dagger adorned the chest of his black security uniform, a pistol and blade hid together in the small of his back.
"Who do we have around at this time of night?" asked Mr. Drake.
"There's a janitor, a new guy. Douglas," breathed the shadow, his words whispers on the wind.
"What do we know about him?"
"He was chosen for the position with this in mind. He's part of the re-integration program from the Arthur Gorrie Correctional Centre."
"What did he do?" asked Alicia.
"Convicted of raping two sixteen year old girls in a park." She twisted her face in disgust.
"Perfect, bring him up." Mr. Drake turned to his assistant. "We'll take care of it from here, go call Douglas' facilitator and ask why he hasn't shown up tonight." He paused briefly. "Oh and take care of the cameras." Alicia sauntered out of the room.
The young assistant crossed the moonlit marble floor toward the elevator with the security officer and his silent footfalls close behind. They paused briefly before boarding an elevator car and descending to the office levels below.
Mr. Drake didn't like electric lights; he was old fashioned like that. He liked night to be night. He relied on the moonlight which drifted through the enormous glass skylight. Standing, he was an intimidating sight to behold. He was dominant and commanding, slick with charisma, but still his hands quivered. He climbed the stairs and stood on the rooftop terrace of his tower, the jewel of an empire he had worked a lifetime to build. An empire to make his father proud. He was a man of great knowledge, a man of great power and a man with a complicated history. Not a history you would read about in any book though.
He surveyed the heaving sea of lights before him, washing over an army of shadowed spires reaching for the stars, the skyline of the city. Far to the east, over the Pacific, the blue flicker and crackle of distant lighting flashed. "Deadly things always seem beautiful at a distance," he mumbled to himself.
The elevator chimed its returnto the penthouse. Mr. Drake let out a heavy breath, almost a sigh and descended the stairs again. The quivering had spread. Rebellion grew in his legs and on the bottom step they faltered. His shaky hand thrust out and desperately caught the railing, re-gathering himself; preserving his pride. Drake took a brief and dignified pause before continuing on. Douglas dry washed his hands beneath submissive eyes. He pretended not to notice the slip and followed Mr. Drake into an office.
"I really appreciate you giving me this chance Mr. Drake. Especially knowing what I done and all," Douglas grovelled, his hands still wringing and wrenching. Mr. Drake squinted slightly as his eyes adjusted to the room's artificial light; lit only for his guest's benefit.
"Well you've served your time, paid your earthly penance and such haven't you?" he asked in a soft yet commanding voice.
"Yes sir, I'll never even think about doing nothing like that again," Douglas said, nodding his head wildly.
"I'll be blunt, I need a favour of you Douglas," he said, carefully handing the jittery man a picture. He allowed no time to respond. "Look very carefully at this picture; lock the face into your mind. Do you know who he is?"
"Razeik Grovern," Douglas jittered, "I seen him on TV, he owns Grovern Industrial." The response received a nod of encouragement from Mr. Drake. Douglas' rat like features glowed at the praise.
"Close your eyes," ordered Mr. Drake. Douglas followed the directions. He was reluctant, but a man like him simply didn't question a man like Julian Drake.
Douglas twitched as a warm liquid touched his forehead. Only a trickle at first, but soon the flow was heavier. It was thicker than water. The stream split and flowed around his nose before curling and seeping into the corners of his mouth. Douglas clenched his lips tightly, but still he found himself tasting the warm flow. Salty, almost metallic, it tasted like blood. It smelt like blood. Maddened with curiosity, Douglas snapped his eyes open and wiped his fingers across his cheek. They were smeared with a vivid blue liquid. His chest pumped and heaved with anxious breaths. "Don't be afraid Douglas. Hold that face in your mind. You are about to find out what it's like to be one of the world's most powerful men."
"What? I-I-I."
"You will understand soon." Mr. Drake took a deep breath. "Vascustsus." The word was foreign, a blending of a grunt and a hiss.
Douglas threw himself back into his seat as an intense headache stabbed at his skull. The blue liquid ignited into a penetrating glow. Douglas pushed his thumbs firmly into his temples and grated his yellowing teeth. Just as his eyes started to quiver uncontrollably, the glow suddenly fell away and with it went the daggers. As the pain cleared he noticed his vision was wrong. Separated.
It took a few moments to decipher, but he saw two rooms before him, two separate rooms; as if he existed simultaneously in two places. They overlapped each other, but he could still clearly see each one. He could also hear double and feel double; the other room was much warmer. It was as if he was two people at once. Douglas knew instantly whose body he was sharing,he knew immediately what the other man was thinking. He felt the other man's memories and knew the other man felt his. Disgust rattled around their shared consciousness as the other man felt the things Douglas had done; details none alive but Douglas knew. Douglas began to sweat.
"Can he hear me Douglas?" asked Mr. Drake, clicking his fingers in front of the startled man's eyes, "Is it Grovern?"
"Y-yes sir," he replied.
"Mr. Grovern, I gave you a chance to do this the easy way. I put forward a fair offer. You have forced my hand, forced me to use more controversial methods."
"He says you can, um...." Douglas paused, fear in his eyes.
"It's ok Douglas," said Mr. Drake.
"He says you can.....um....do your mother."
"He can say what he wants; I will get that contract signed." Douglas' expression changed. "What's he saying Douglas?"
"Just ranting about how crazy you are." Drake was not fazed. He remained a picture of calm and patience.
Douglas settled under the calm, non-threatening stare of Mr. Drake. He grew ever so slightly more comfortable with his situation, even pondering on what he had heard. "Mr. Drake, sir," he whispered, as if it would stop the other man hearing, "I am not sure I can make him sign the contract for you. I can't seem to make him do anything at all."
"Very astute Douglas," complimented Drake. "You have no control over him, just as he has no control over you. But your minds are now intrinsically entwined, inseparable."
"Grovern wants to know how long this will last?" A lie, it was Douglas who asked that question.
"Once the connection is made, it cannot be broken. You are of one mind now." Douglas' face drooped.
"So I'm gonna be stuck in his head for the rest of my life?" Douglas slumped like a beaten dog. The other man cringed, seeing Douglas was far from rehabilitated.
"Yes," answered Mr. Drake placing a sympathetic hand on Douglas' shoulder. "But all is not lost Douglas. It won't be a long life." Douglas' colour deserted him. "Should anything happen to one of you it would leave the other's body nothing more than a dead husk."
Douglas began to murmur and beg so fast it was all but indecipherable. "You have done a service to the world today Douglas. This is not personal. As for you Mr. Grovern, don't think us fools. We know you fund the militants which continually attack my African facilities, not to mention that accursed Half Man and his Pack. I have ignored it out of respect, but for far too long. My sources tell me that your second in command is much more open to dealing with me. Let him have his moment in the sun."
Douglas leapt from his chair and desperately scampered for the door. The stranger in his head drove this dash for survival, Douglas still pleaded loudly for his life. Mr. Drake turned to his security officer and waved two fingers toward the terrified, blubbering man. "Dagger."
With that the man in black drew his pistol and with one single shot silenced Douglas' begging and ended Grovern's fight. He collapsed with a slap onto the elegant marble floor. "Take care of that. However you feel best, I trust your judgment," he said waving a hand at the body. Dagger nodded a reply and went to work.
Drake returned to his rooftop garden where he slid into a deck chair and drew a string of laboured breaths. He enjoyed the wafting scents of the city below until Alicia reappeared at the doors. "It's all taken care of sir. The car is waiting in the car park to take you to the airport. We have begun the shutdown of the South African facilities. The remaining security teams will be reassigned over the coming months." He simply nodded as he rose and headed towards the elevator, Alicia at his side.
The hum of music filled the space as they descended the numerous floors. "You look lovely tonight Alicia," said Mr. Drake. His hands seemed steadier all of a sudden.
"Thank you sir. I..." The elevator car began to shudder and creak. The lights flickered. The two glared at each other uneasily as it settled and continued on its way. All was silent for a few long seconds.
"Get the service guys in to look at that tomorrow. It's been happening for days now," Mr. Drake said as he fumbled with his tie. "Scares the crap out of me every time." Alicia nodded and plotted a note into her tablet. "Has the car park been swept? Those tattooed savages have been bold lately."
"Yes sir, the others are down there now. Dagger will remain here with a few men to guard.....it." Alicia licked her lips uneasily.
"The Relic my dear. The Relic."
The doors glided open and the pair was met by three hard looking men and a woman whose gaze could crack stone. They displayed a calm exterior, but the way they held their weapons whispered of coiled taipans ready to strike. Their uniforms mirrored Dagger's, but all bore different symbols in place of his white namesake.
The squad escorted them to a black limousine. The woman climbed in with Alicia and Mr. Drake while the men followed out of the car park in a second vehicle.