The Dark Star - Descent Pt. 02

I push him too far and he lunges clumsily forward, I step out from behind the desk to confront him. Braced for a punch that he can't even muster despite how far I push him. His eyes I note are wet. He shakes his head.

"It's over." He states.

"For you.... Yes... and for me and Ali ... most likely you'll see to that" I nod my head in agreement with him. "Her life will become even more of a misery ....I've brought that on her I appreciate that but ..... she won't hate me for that."

I watch him metaphorically shrinking before my very eyes.

"Cunts like you don't deserve girls like her." I snarl.

Reaching inside my jacket pocket I take a cigarette, I've given up recently but the stress of the day coupled with the confrontation triggers me. Placing the cigarette between my lips I light up. Inhaling deeply and exhaling a lungful of smoke.

"I've lost her" I offer on a downturned smile "So have fucking you"

Walking past him towards the door.

"Ali is better than you ...... She is better than me....I've abused the trust I built; lulled her in ..... played on her insecurities..... and led her down a path she happily followed... Your treatment made her a perfect submissive for my wanton lust."

I shrug my shoulders.

"I'd have only burnt her new found wings in time... but who's the real Monster... me or you?"

"She's my Wife." Mark stammers again taking on board my ice cold comments.

"I know .....She'd admit that while I was fucking her." I sneer before I reach out and place a hand on his shoulder squeezing it insincerely.

"She's not mine....She's not yours... I pray the next man... and there'll be a next man because if nothing I've opened her eyes... the next man she meets... that's the man she'll leave you for... and I pray he treats her with the respect she desperately deserves"

I take a deep drag on the cigarette, taking my hand from his shoulder.

"Ali's a Rose and you and I we are just thorns ....although some of us are closer to the flower than others."

Mark stands there shaking his head and I watch a single tear fall down the face of the man I thought I knew to be and emotional void. Mark Matthews doesn't want to believe a single word I tell him, but he knows my every word to be the truth. Deep down he knows the truth; just the same as I do.

"You're a poison... a virus" he states as I open the door.

However, he'd intended this confrontation to play out it hasn't gone the way he planned.

His shoulders visibly slump.

He's broken.

I laugh out loud.

"I'm not a poison or a virus .....I'm a Dark Star... my names above the door in red neon lights"

I take one last heavy drag on the cigarette before dropping the butt in an empty metal bin.

"Go home Mark and lock her in your Tower... the Tower that faces the wrong way across the City.... just know that you've lost.... and you've lost your Alison"

He doesn't say a word he steps unrequested from the office his head hung low.

"Security meet Mr. Matthews at the bottom of the staff stairs please and see that he makes it to the main doors." I state into the mic on my jacket.

I sit back down at my desk sliding open the bottom drawer I take out a bottle of Brandy, my hand hovers over one of the tumblers sat in the bottom drawer but I decide against it. I crack open the seal of the bottle and take a swig.

From my inside pocket of my jacket I take a silver case opening it I tip the white powder on the desktop before cutting two thick lines of the pure cocaine. Rolling up a twenty note I inhale the two lines back to back.

As I sit there feeling the Coke take a hold of me I reach out and pick up the memory stick, turning it once in my hand I plug it in the side of my laptop. The screen fires up and I enter a password. From the desktop the USB fires up automatically the grainy image of Ali's close up face before she walks towards me and hands me unseen the cuff links. The video captured from the same bookcase she'd reached up to hours earlier.

I raise the Brandy bottle up as I watch what plays out on the grainy image "To you Alison."

I take a heavy swig of the Brandy washing away the acrid taste of the coke in the back of my throat as my teeth begin to tingle a little.

**************

The Bar Staff, the Door Staff, the Hostesses, Kelly and Mack the Resident DJ for the night all crowd around the main bar, which I stand behind. Each and everyone one of them holds a drink in hand.

The room harshly illuminated now under full lights; the place seems different in this light. More sterile. Less alive.

I look around them; the evening had passed off without barely a hitch, the numbers had dropped a little past midnight but there'd been very little to report. A small scuffle here and there and security had highlighted and dealt with a number of drug dealers trying to muscle in on virgin territory. In truth there had been a few too many Lager heads for my liking, but our reputation would be formed in the long term, not in one night. My ambition for the place would grow and develop; footfall paid the bills in the short term.

I raise my glass.

"Ladies.... Gents you'll get to know I'm a man of few words... Thank you for all your efforts. Cliché I know but without you I couldn't have done this....We put on a good show tonight"

I chuckle.

"Actually... We fucking smashed it"

Collectively everyone cheers.

"See you back here tomorrow to smash it again."

I raise my glass, "To the Dark Star."

"The Dark Star." Is the collective response that echoes through the room.

I drain my Brandy and head for the staircase back up to my office. Kelly's hand falls on my arm. "Couple of us are headed to a late bar if you wanna join us."

"Thanks." I state sincerely. "I got something to attend to here ....enjoy yourself."

I head through the bar up the stairs, considering Kelly. Diligent and unquestioning in carrying out her duties but there's something about her that doesn't quite fit. Passing as the red head from earlier squeezes past me behind the bar.

"Shauna...... I'm sorry if I was a little short with you earlier." I fix her with a weak smile. Reaching out I take her hand. "That was unfair of me."

"Ah think nothing of it ...." she meekly states "but thank you."

I step past her and look back. "Perhaps some time we can ...."

I watch her cheeks flush a little. "Sure." she nods as I walk away.

Halfway up the stairs I feel my phone vibrate against my thigh in my pocket. Pausing I see I've missed a dozen missed calls from Ali and a voicemail message.

Dialing into the voicemail I press the phone to my ear. Her words lost in angry tears and sobs I can't make out a word she says. There's heavy background noise as well adding to the difficulty understanding her furious rant. "What have you done....what have you fucking done" I hear before the message ends.

Slipping the phone back in my pocket I enter the office. Turning I lock the door behind me and pull down the blind over the window

"You took your time." She says.

"I've been busy" I reply on a cheeky grin.

"And now I'm you're release am I?"

"If you think you can handle" I pull her close to me my right hand immediately pulling down the zipper at the back of her dress

"Oh I remember how to handle you Mr. Hughes" Gemma says as she presses her lips to mine as I peel the white dress from her.

*************

The Uber driver pulls up to the kerb a little after 4am on the far the side of the Plaza to my apartment block.

"Dunno what's going on ....this about as close as I can get you." He states with a heavy West Indian accent. "Place on lockdown man."

I thank him and step out the car my eyes drawn to whatever's going on.

So late at night, or early in the morning, there's utter chaos all around. Blue lights of Ambulances and Police Cars strobe the surrounding buildings.

Moving between the crowd I lead Gemma by the hand approaching a young looking Police Officer; obviously tasked with keeping back the crowd.

"I live here" I say "Are we going to be able to get in?"

"Not for some time I'm afraid Sir."

As he speaks I see Ali over his shoulder; being escorted into the back of one of the two waiting Ambulances. She looks upset her face anguished and drawn even at this distance. I want to call out but no words form as I stand there watching with all the other gawping onlookers.

"What's happened?" I turn back to the young Officer.

"Not at Liberty to say Sir."

A young dark haired guy I recognise as a fellow resident stands to my left and says in a somewhat unsuitable upbeat tone;

"Some poor bloke topped himself..... Threw himself off the fucking roof."