The Velvet Collar

by C. P. Mandara

  "This is the last round, Matthews. Doesn't look good, does it?" Kyle clucked his tongue in mock sympathy. I roared and knocked the chair from one leg to the other as the bastard chuckled. My grief was all-consuming, and the little spark of hope that had begun inside me slowly began to extinguish itself. Still, I couldn't give in to the murderous rage that wanted to eat me up alive. Jen still had a chance. A small one, but there was still a chance.

  The third and final shock was delivered. The silence afterwards was deafening as all eyes and ears turned to examine the prone form on the floor. There was nothing. The longest two seconds of my life passed, but I waited for some kind of sound. There would be a sound. There had to be. More seconds ticked by. One after the other. Then the boys closed the sliding door at the back of the pool room, and everything went quiet. I was aware of what that meant. I just wasn't going to face it right now.

  Turning to Kyle, I went ballistic, screaming and shouting every fucking swear word I could come up with. With a burst of almost inhuman effort I managed to get a single arm free from one of the leather restraints, and I dived for the bastard. I missed him by less than a hair's breadth, but it was a close-run thing. He wasted no time in diving for my arm so he could get me back where he wanted me, but I was too fast. I was already working the restraint on the other hand, and with a sharp crack of my elbow I caught him square in the eye and sent him flying. That was just a taster. All I wanted to do was wrap my hands around his neck and watch the life slowly drain out of him. Getting out of the chair I advanced towards him, but before I knew what was happening there was a gun in his hand.

  "On your knees, hands on your head."

  If Kyle thought I gave a flying fuck about dying after what he'd just done, he was sadly mistaken.

  "Go fuck yourself," I roared, and with my head down in front of me I made to ram him in the stomach. If he shot me I'd land on him like a dead weight, and so help me God, if I had enough strength left in my arms I'd do my damndest to make sure the bastard never walked the face of the earth again.

  The gun went off, but I didn't feel a thing. Ploughing headfirst into Kyle I did my best to make sure my head splintered a rib or two, and when I landed on top of him I whipped my wrists around his neck. My need for revenge overtook any rational part of my brain, and all I wanted to do was kill. In my opinion I was doing an excellent job of it, because a few seconds later he was making the sweetest strangling noises I'd ever heard.

  "Tell me why I shouldn't gut you and pour your entrails out all over the place?" I hissed. "Tell me why I shouldn't let you die slowly and painfully - because watching you try and scoop your innards up and shove them back in your body is an absurdly entertaining vision right now. Why, asshole? Why?" I shook him like he was a leaf, and his head rattled all over the place. He didn't respond to my question, due to the fact my arms were still wrapped firmly around his neck, and I didn't care. The time for questions was over. I just wanted him dead.

  Alas, this was not my day. The two goons burst in, and I couldn't fight three people off at once. That didn't mean I didn't have a damn good try, though. Lashing out with my limbs, I had a toxic adrenaline overload inside my body that needed to be expended. Using my feet and arms to the best of their ability, I made sure everyone felt my displeasure. There was a good chance there were going to be some fractured bones around shortly.

  Eventually they got me under control. They cuffed me hand and foot and shoved me in a room with a hood over my head. It took a further half hour before the rage and anger left me, and all that remained was pain and grief. Mostly because Kyle had just killed my wife, but I realised later that he'd shot me too. Thankfully his aim was crap and he'd only managed to take a chunk out of my arm, but it didn't make me feel any better. Nothing was going to make me feel any better, and I wished he'd just get on with it. If he was going to kill me, I wanted to be put out of my misery sooner rather than later because there was sod all left to live for now. Once again I had everything I could have ever possibly wanted in my hands, and once again I'd let it all slip away. To do it once was stupid, to repeat the same mistake twice was just plain sloppy. Now death was the only thing left, and I would happily fall into its dark embrace. Yes, it was a coward's way out, but the alternative was even worse. Life without Jen was not living at all. The first real tear of grief slipped its way out of the corner of my eye, and then the floodgates opened. The tears didn't help in the slightest, but they put a name to my pain.

  Lying there on the floor, my blood slowly dripping on to the splintered wood beneath me, I dropped in and out of consciousness. It had been an exhausting day, my body had been taxed to the max, and I hadn't slept in twenty-four hours. Besides, what else could I do except sleep? Kyle would come for me eventually, and when he did he'd better put an end to this nightmare. If he didn't, I'd take matters into my own hands.

  "Get him up." I had no idea what time it was when Kyle barged into the room, but it was light. Though the hood I wore didn't let me see very much, there were subtle differences between night and day, and right now it was somewhere nearing midday.

  "You've got my money. Just shoot me already. Why is it so important to play with your toys?" Stumbling forward as they yanked me upright, I swayed all over the place as they led me back down the creaky wooden stairs. What new kind of torture awaited me today? What could be worse than yesterday? I was about to find out.

  "Want to know what's in store for you, Matthews?" Kyle sounded particularly pleased with himself as he pushed me with a hand in my back, making me stumble a little more than I was already.

  "Hell no. I love surprises." The words contained no inflection. Kyle wasn't getting any more emotion from me. I'd cried my tears yesterday and made peace with my maker. Today he was dealing with a robot.

  "Suit yourself, Matthews. But I should warn you that Redcliff is here, in a roundabout way. He's going to tell you a little story."

  "Sounds fascinating. Can't wait." Desperately needing water, I refused to give in to the urge to ask for some. Kyle wasn't likely to grant my request, so I didn't see the point. My stomach was also rumbling in protest because I hadn't eaten in a while, and it was just reminding me that I was still alive. Ignoring it, I figured I wouldn't be for too much longer. These were just small inconveniences, and very soon none of them would matter.

  Kyle and his thugs herded me into one of the downstairs rooms, slamming me into a chair where they then used my handcuffs to restrain my wrists to the wooden arms. Clearly they weren't going to trust leather after yesterday's fiasco. It didn't matter to me in any case. I had no intention of escaping. I just wanted Kyle to finish what he'd started.

  When they had me in place they pulled the hood off my head, and I found I was in a darkened room with no windows. A basement, probably. The floor beneath me was concrete, the walls made of grey uneven stone, and there was a series of archways leading off to the right. Above my head were old decaying wooden beams, peeling white paint. The air smelled musty and damp. There hadn't been a lot of life down here for some time.

  Harry and Freddie were wheeling in a trolley, on top of which sat a laptop. Ah, this was how I was going to speak to Redcliff. God forbid he came to see me in person. He wouldn't want to reveal his hidey-hole, now would he? Come to that, I bet Kyle wasn't in the country legally either. Redcliff would make sure he had an alibi, too. The thought that both of them would get away with this monstrosity would normally have made my blood boil, but I felt so numb it would be difficult for anything to penetrate the cold shell that resided around my body.

  The laptop was fired up, and the necessary connection was made. In less than three minutes Redcliff's yellowing, watery eyes were staring at me intently, and he seemed pleased with what he saw. I didn't care. If the smug, self-righteous bastard thought I was going to beg for my life, he was much mistaken.

  Clearing his throat, he coughed and said, "You don't look so good, Mark."

  I bared my teeth in a vicious smile. "It's due to your son's careful
handling, Michael. You don't sound so good." He didn't look good, either, and I suspected he didn't have long left in this world. It was a comforting thought.

  "How are you feeling?" The wrinkly old bastard raised an eyebrow at me.

  "Let's dispense with the pleasant chitchat, Michael. What do you want?" There had to be a reason for this call, and I figured we might as well get it over with. I also couldn't bear to look at the bastard for any longer than necessary, so he needed to get on with it.

  "Well, it's your funeral, I suppose. If you're in a hurry, I'll get straight to the point." Redcliff looked amused, as well he might, although I didn't understand how he could have lived with Jennifer for all those years and then been able to order her death so mercilessly. Did the guy not have an ounce of compassion? Did family mean nothing?

  "I'm in a hurry," I confirmed. "Death waits for no one." Oh yes, I couldn't wait to hear this story. It had better be good.

  "Fine. Have it your way." Redcliff pulled a pair of black-rimmed spectacles off his face and made a great show of cleaning them. I waited patiently. We'd get where we were going eventually, and to be fair, I was in no rush to be tortured.

  Looking up at me, he said, "Do you remember a company you purchased a while back? I think it went by the name of Amatech."

  I shook my head. I'd purchased a lot of companies in my time, and though it was more than possible I'd bought this one, I didn't remember the exact details of the acquisition.

  "That's too bad." Redcliff gave me a lazy smile. "It was my company, as it happened. We made AI chips for cell phones. You know, the ones that can learn things outside their original programming."

  I did. "I know what you mean. Zystrom develops them for the Strontium X," I said.

  "Yes, I'm aware of that, but I wasn't when you bought Amatech. I thought you'd grow the brand, put a little money in the research and development side of things and generally do wonders for the product. At least, that's what your guy assured me you'd do."

  Things were now beginning to slot into place. One thing bothered me though. "Who runs this company? It isn't you, is it?" If Redcliff's name had been anywhere on the company files Khalil would have found it. Whoever ran this company was not directly associated with Redcliff in any way.

  "It's a sister company of mine, run by a close friend, although I haven't actually seen him in years."

  That would explain it then.

  "Anyway, we're veering off course. You bought it, and you liquidated it. Immediately. You went back on your word, and not only did you destroy a company of mine, but you managed to destroy all the credibility for the new cell phone I was creating that would use that chip. Overnight three of my most profitable businesses had turned to dust. Just like that." He clicked his fingers to send his point home. "Of course, I understood your business acumen. You annihilated the competition to pave the way clear for your tech, and in doing so quickly rose to the top of the charts, staying there for the past five years or so, I believe?"

  I nodded. What he was saying was correct - well, for the most part. "As I didn't attend the meeting I have no idea what my representative said, but I can't imagine he would have lied to the owner. We are usually upfront about what we plan to do." Although there had been a case a while back where I'd had to fire one of our representatives because he'd gone rogue, only motivated by the money he'd earn on each commission. Although Zystrom makes it clear that honesty and loyalty rule the day if they want to have a long and promising career, there are some that just want to make a quick buck, but we usually weed them out pretty quickly. My heart sank. So all of this was just a case of sour grapes? By the look of things I'd sliced off a large chunk of his fortune and credibility, and now he felt honour bound to have his revenge.

  "Let me assure you that Zystrom was not upfront in this case. Your man, Timothy Greene, managed to half the value of my stocks with just a day's work, and in less than a month they'd dived to rock bottom."

  Fuck. Tim Greene was the man in question. "You aren't going to believe me when I say I had no knowledge of that, but that is the case. I do remember Tim Greene later being fired for misconduct, though. I'm afraid my organisation is just too big for me to keep tabs on everyone." Zystrom was a minefield. We had over five thousand employees in hundreds of different divisions. I couldn't keep tabs on my own personal staff, let alone everyone else.

  "You nearly bankrupted me. I had to call in a lot of favours after that little fiasco, one of which means that I'm indebted to some very unpleasant people. They want their money. I don't have it, but I will. Shortly, after I get rid of you."

  Something didn't add up. If I died all my money would go to Jennifer, not Redcliff. As Jennifer was no longer alive, it would go to my family, unless there was something else in that will I was unaware of. If there was, I was pretty sure someone would smell a rat. I change my will and then immediately disappear and die? It wasn't going to look good.

  "How much do you owe them?" I didn't need to know, but I was curious.

  Redcliff smiled. "A lot. That's not a problem, though, because I don't intend to pay them back. I intend to get rid of them, but I need the funds to do so."

  Adding the dots up, one by one, I came to a rather ghastly conclusion. "You borrowed the money from Laurel?" There was no money in the world that would get rid of Laurel without extremely unpleasant consequences. Surely Redcliff had to know that? I mean, I didn't think much of my mother-in-law, but I did at least realise that killing her would not be the answer to my problems.

  Redcliff's face was now suffused with anger, and I could feel the rage bubbling up inside him. "I've babysat her bloody daughter for years. You'd think it was the least she owed me, but oh no. All favours have to be repaid, apparently. It doesn't look good for the mob, elsewise. I was in love with that bloody woman, and look how she repays me!" Redcliff's face was mottled with fury, and his hands were waving about like a madman. Everything was falling into place; Jennifer's visit to Albrecht, for instance. Daddy dearest was out for revenge, and doing his best to get Laurel's attention. The pair of them were ideally suited for each other. And here was me thinking the old man was clueless.

  "So, do you think this will annoy Laurel?" I had a feeling it might.

  "I do, and I think she'll be mightily put out when we kill you."

  I didn't. He was probably doing her a favour. "There are just a few small problems with your plan, old boy," I said, giving him a long look. "How do you intend to lure Laurel to her death?" I didn't think Redcliff could have all that much collateral now, after what happened yesterday.

  "We'll threaten to kill her daughter, of course."

  Which brought me to the second problem and the fact that something didn't quite add up.

  "Won't that be rather tricky, seeing as how she's dead?" The word felt hollow in my throat. I still hadn't accepted the fact that my wife was not with us any more, although it was more a case that I didn't want to believe. The eyes did not lie, though. "It'll be a little hard to get your hands on my money, now that my wife is no longer of this earth. The money will not revert to you on her death; it will go to my family." This had been chewing at the back of my mind for a few minutes now. What was going on here?

  Redcliff looked confused for a moment. "What gave you that idea?" he said, narrowing his eyes. "She's alive and well, dear fellow, and I hear she's quite excited about watching your execution in a few minutes' time." If the old man was playing with me this was downright cruel.

  "I watched her die yesterday," I countered, although I desperately wanted to believe what he was saying.

  "Kyle, have you been playing with your toys again?" Redcliff's voice was stern, and he sounded unimpressed. I failed to see how Kyle could fake someone's death.

  Kyle came around behind me, so his face was in full view of the screen. "She's fine, Dad. You'll see her in a few minutes. We just had a little fun yesterday. You said I could, remember?"

  "Not that much fun. We will talk about this later." Redcliff nodd
ed at Kyle and then motioned for him to get out of the way. "Right, we're wasting time. Any last words, Matthews?"

  "I want to see my wife." If she was alive, and I didn't know who to believe.

  "Oh, you'll definitely be seeing her. She's going to need years of therapy after what we have planned for you today. I will have my revenge on Laurel. Even if it's mostly through her daughter." He began coughing repeatedly and waving his hand decisively at the screen, which went blank. I'd take that as goodbye.

  "Well, what are we waiting for?" Kyle said, striding forward so he could stick his face in mine. "It's time for the finale."

  Chapter Twenty-Five - Jennifer

  As I sank to the bottom of the pool for the last time, I remember a peaceful feeling settling over me. Maybe lack of oxygen does that to a person, I don't know. Then I remember a blanket of white crossing my vision, and a tugging feeling as if I was being pulled somewhere else. My life didn't flash before my eyes, and for that I was thankful. I had no wish to recount my early years with Michael. All I wanted to think about was Mark, but he was so far away right now. The tugging continued as if something was trying to rip my soul apart from my body, but I was stubborn. I clung on to it for dear life, and nobody was going to get the essence of what was essentially "me" without a fight. I had too much to live for.

  Lights and mists continued to swirl around me, and I thought I could see someone walking towards me in the distance, but they were too far away for me to recognise. Still, they seemed familiar. I was almost positive it was someone I knew. The mist around me slowly began to evaporate, and a field was then revealed. It was a lush green field, complete with summer flowers, blue skies, and warm sunshine. It was somewhere peaceful and relaxing, and I felt like I could have stayed there forever, so it was a bit of a shock when the bright light was suddenly ripped away from me.