The Revelator

by D W Bell

  “Actually,” he gazed off into emptiness as if in contemplation, “perhaps the nature of the sin warrants one final just injustice be done to the man; manifested in this case by the removal of one particularly offensive part. How about it, son?

  Those dead, inscrutable snake-eyes held John’s for a beat, waiting for an answer. “Yes, sir,” he finally managed to croak out from a horror tightened throat.

  “Good man. I knew it would be right up your alley. A bit more methodical and cruel than your last bone crushing session back home, but I reckon you agree this boy deserves it.”

  “Yes, sir.” His voice stronger now John felt his trained detachment and separation coming to the fore.

  “Superb. There is one final item on the list. The target area is soundproof, but for security reasons the subject will be gagged throughout the procedures; no need to deal with all that annoying screaming and begging, but as he is to be an example to others his final moments must be witnessed and heard, a harbinger of potential doom should the message not be heeded. As the proceedings come to an end you will remove the gag allowing the subject’s last breaths, and whatever he may choose to say with them, to be recorded by the other asset. You got all that, John-boy?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Fine, son. You’ll do just fine.”

  ―

  With wait staff, under the threatening vigilance of Tie Quan, clearing the remnants of molecular mixology and many different herrings, salmon, and shellfish littering the table Xing made his move. “Since you are new to Hong Kong I must insist that you see the magnificent skyline around Victoria Harbour from the best possible vantage point. Its beauty is quite breathtaking, but not nearly so as yours.”

  Even after an hour or so of detached, cat-and-mouse banter his palms began to sweat as he tried a soft close to get the yes’s flowing. The randy schoolboy in him wanted to lunge at and wrap himself bodily around this faux version of his erstwhile au pair paramour and profess his undying love, but the calculating businessman in him knew whoever spoke first came last in this deal, so he nonchalantly picked up his glass and studied the cognac’s quality as he swirled it in its snifter; as if he had said nothing at all.

  A little girlish giggle escaped from her now smiling, blushing lips and he knew he had her. “Did you get me drunk just to drag me off to your evil lair and have your way with me? You’re so silly, I’m not that easy.” She gently caressed the back of his non-cognac bearing hand as it rest on the table. The tiniest, trembling jolt ran through the schoolboy, which the businessman tried desperately to suppress, and she knew she had him. “I barely know you, and where would we even go for the right view?” The traps snapped shut.

  “For this, I fear, I must suggest a somewhat scandalous solution.” All lusty confidence now, Xing could barely contain his leering grin. “I happen to know that the preeminent panoramic view in all of Hong Kong belongs to The Peninsula Hotel; the Grande Dame of the Far East,” he swirled and sipped his cognac again reminding himself to let the longing linger. “More specifically the Peninsula Suite atop the Peninsula Tower,” pause again for effect. “My suite.”

  “You little cad!” her laugh was music as she playfully swatted at his lapel and leaned closer to rest her head on his shoulder. “I bet you take all the new girls up to see your little light show.”

  “No. Truly I have not shared my secret with anyone, but perhaps you are the right person to experience the midnight neon blossoms I have been so jealously guarding,” Xing nervously cleared his throat; having her so close with her scent in his nostrils was addling his brain and sapping his bravado. “Besides, my chaperone will attend us to ensure your virtue remains intact, should you wish it to remain so,” an anxious laugh and it was back to the cognac for greater courage.

  “In that case,” it was her turn now to string him along with portentous pauses, “the view sounds lovely. As long as your scowling champion will rescue me when you fall madly in love.”

  “Tie Quan!”

  “Yes, master?”

  Xing uttered a few assertive sounding words to his escort in Cantonese, then, conspicuously switching to English, “and summon the Phantom.” Back in control and feeling smug he pretended to pick a bit of lint off his lapel close to where her head rested knowing she couldn’t resist asking the question.

  “Summon the phantom?” The look in her eyes was cutely quizzical and intensely alluring.

  “Ah, yes. I realize that must sound odd, my apologies. Allow me to explain. The Peninsula has a fleet of new Rolls-Royce Phantoms to accommodate guests, but I always insist upon the 1934 Phantom II for my exclusive use. It is the emerald jewel of their jade collection, and it is much more private with the driver seated outside the cab.”

  He made his move and she did too, lips brushing lightly in a mutually stolen kiss. The kiss of death.

  Chapter 5

  The Peninsula‒Hong Kong had been featured in a couple of Bond movies in the 60s and 70s, so it was only fitting that a wealthy villain perched atop it now. It had been easy enough to procure a room in the Peninsula Tower, but the difficult portion of the plan would be accessing the Peninsula Suite itself. John, lacking the appropriate tits and ass for frontal assault, would have to make due with strength and guile for a stealthier incursion.

  What should have been an easy plan of ingress through the butler’s kitchen entrance was made untenable by the target’s use of a personal valet in lieu of hotel service staff. This precluded any attempt for John to disguise himself as Peninsula personnel, ruling out the classic room service ruse, and he just didn’t have the figure to pull off the maid service trick.

  When a door closes, a window opens. So out the window and scale the wall it would be. The two-toned façade of The Peninsula Tower was a blessing as it was composed of two vertical, light-stone colored bands; matching the historic, original hotel building below, jutting out from three dark-toned vertical bands to accentuate. The effect is quite stunning from the street. Lit up at night the cream-colored portions stand out in a pleasing manner from the shadowed, darker accent bands. The dark-toned and poorly lit center band runs directly underneath the balcony of The Peninsula Suite, nestled below the hotel’s private double-heliport, an easy and architecturally concealed climb.

  The balcony was the issue. To add to the prestige of the space, and facilitate a greater panoramic view for the guests, the prominent platform extended even farther out than the ornamental façade, thereby creating several feet of 90° surface that John would have to traverse upside-down and then grasp the handrail for the final swing out and over that would be twelve to eighteen inches out of reach in the best of scenarios. Determining that such a feat was beyond his vigorous but fledgling climbing skills they had devised a work-around. Now he waited just below the deck, stuck to the wall like a Hulk-angry Spiderman. Improvise, adapt, and overcome.

  ―

  The spirited jaunt back to the hotel in the venerable old Sedanca de Ville was made more so by a sublime bottle of Dom Ruinart 2004. Luminous yellow with pale green reflections it was the flagship cuvée of the oldest champagne house in the world. Xing appreciated classic, fine things. Aside from the prestige, it was for the appreciation of classic, fine things that he insisted upon the vintage luxury car normally held in reserve by the hotel for weddings and the like.

  It was his appreciation for the automobile and the champagne that made the normal six-minute trip from FINDS to The Peninsula inadequate, necessitating a longer, more circuitous route through the busy late-night streets of Hong Kong. It was his appreciation for the classic beauty sharing the private cab and bubbles with him that had him tell Tie Quan to order the driver to go around twice. “I can’t believe I found you at FINDS!” His cheeks were flush with alcohol and desire as he laughed at the unintended pun.

  “You may have found me at FINDS, but I chose you.” She giggled like a schoolgirl as they clinked champagne coupes, Xing preferred their retro feel to modern flutes and reveled in the delicious m
yth that they were originally modeled from Marie Antoinette’s left breast. This pair that he had procured from 34 Mayfair in London were patterned after the left breast of fashion model Kate Moss; delicious indeed. “When do we get to see this breathtaking view you promised me? It seems like we’ve been drinking champagne for hours.”

  They had been furiously kissing and petting since Tie Quan had closed and latched the door to the private cab, and Xing truly ached for her. Straightening his clothes and smoothing back his disheveled hair he reached forward and slid the partition between driver and passenger aside. Plucking the bottle from the built-in ice bucket, he held it up to the light pretending to gauge its contents. With a satisfied grunt upon confirming its emptiness he thrust it back into the vessel, neck first. “Home, Tie Quan.” The schoolboy, who seeking had found, and his Valkyrie who had chosen him, relaxed back into their seats, prim and proper, all ruddy lips and suppressed giggles.

  A soft bump gently shook the car as it mounted the hotel drive and made the turn around the gushing fountain jostling longing limbs together again, but only for the briefest brush. “We have arrived, master.” Tie Quan spoke with his usual unamused finality and stepped down from his perch next to the driver to open the sedan door.

  “Splendid.” Xing emerged first from the rolling bordello and extended his hand to the lady inside, “Shall we see the sights, as promised?”

  “Oh, do let’s,” another musical laugh as she took his hand and he escorted her into the hotel, passing between the protective stone lions and past the gilt door gods warding in vain against evil spirits, the watchful Tie Quan in tow.

  Chapter 6

  “Imust apologize for my humble accommodations, I do not often entertain guests,” Xing feigned embarrassment as they stepped onto the beautifully inlaid floor of the foyer and paused for a moment to appreciate the fluid lines of the large wooden sculpture taking center stage in the space.

  “Will there be anything else, master?” Tie Quan stood in the entryway with his hands folded before him.

  A quick look exchanged with his guest gave Xing all the information he needed, “No, I think we will perhaps skip the tea for now. I will summon you should we require anything further.” His voice trailed off as his beguiling guest gracefully leaned forward to more closely examine the sculpture, thereby fortuitously brushing her lace brocade-sheathed bottom against his already swollen member.

  “Yes, master. I will await your bidding.” The powerful young man bowed sharply as he backed through the portal and closed the door. His phone bleeped as he moved down the hallway to his post indicating that his master had used the touchpad system built into the accommodations to activate the Do Not Disturb lockdown mode.

  ―

  “Finally! I thought that grouch was never going to leave us alone!” She turned to face him and grabbed his collar yanking him close, stopping just shy of their lips touching, “Show me the rest of your little hovel.” With a sprightly twist she escaped his hunting lips and eluded his snatching grasp as she traipsed through the double doors into the vast living room and dining space.

  Now it was her turn to be captivated by beauty. With a little gasp she was stopped dead in her tracks, enthralled by the exquisite Lasvit Bohemian glass chandelier that seemed to soar overhead in the double-height suite. This momentary misstep allowed her pursuer to close the gap and envelop her from behind, hungry hands seeking her breasts, but she slipped the noose with a tittering elbow to the solar plexus, glided coyly over to the baby grand piano, and tickled out some random notes.

  “Oof! Perhaps we should have a little drink. I am suddenly parched after our long journey.” An exceedingly loud musical tone rang out from a rumpled trouser pocket as the stymied Xing crossed over to the dining room bar and poured them each a snifter of cognac. Suddenly urgent in his movements he plucked the vibrating smart phone from his pants and silenced it with some frantic gestures.

  “Who was that? Your wife?” Her lips coiled into a provocative smirk as she stood fists on hips in mock jealously.

  “Oh, no,” he laughed nervously, “that’s just my bodygu…my valet checking in on us. We keep a private protocol in place for general security when I travel. Had I not disarmed it within the proper interval he would have come storming in here and wrecked our good time.”

  A snifter in each hand he leisurely strolled, regaining his poise, across the marble floor to join her where she now stood in the corner accented by a brass telescope. “But not to worry, my dear. I have now banished the evil Tie Quan from the kingdom. For at least the next few hours.” Xing passed the left-hand snifter to her with a rakish wink.

  She accepted the drink, taking a sip and drawing close. “It is quite a palace, but you lied about the view,” playfully dejected she spun the telescope on its tripod causing it to bump his shoulder.

  “Ah! Please forgive, your beauty is fogging my reason. You will learn I always keep my promises,” Xing’s body surged forward pinning the girl to the wall behind her, eliciting a startled squeak from his prey. He hovered there showing her who had power and who did not, lips lingering less than a breadth apart. He traced the outline of her body as his left hand caressed her from hip to shoulder. Holding her captive with his eyes, like a bunny hypnotized by a snake, he reached just beyond her lovely clavicle and accessed the touch screen on the panel behind her causing the entire outer wall to rise up and away into the ceiling, revealing floor-to-ceiling windows and a private terrace. Smiling now with a little laugh he withdrew, extricating the woman from the wall with the gentle grasp of his hand. “Please, come.”

  They stepped anxiously through the crystal-clear glass doors and out into the muggy Hong Kong night. They stood at the rail and she nuzzled close, “You were right. This view really will take your breath away.”

  ―

  John had been hanging under the shadowed eaves of The Peninsula Suite balcony for so long he started to worry that the operation had gone sour. There was no Plan B. If the op progressed as planned there would be swift and reliable extract upon confirmation. If the plan got fucked he was burnt, just some guy who fell out of a hotel window. He had wedged himself into a corner of the façade to conserve his strength and for greater concealment, but he was beginning to lose the battle with fatigue.

  He thought briefly of trying to clamber back down the wall and through the window of his room, but the simplified climbing spikes fitted to his boots were really just good for going up and he was much too tired to rely solely on arm strength to get down. So, he held fast and waited. He almost lost his grip as he heard the massive, wall-sized shutter whir to life and ascend, but he felt his flagging strength refresh with the exhilarating thought of imminent action. It was show time.

  ―

  “Now you understand why I insisted you see my Hong Kong from this vantage point. Spectacular, isn’t it? Quite brilliant, really.” He turned to face her, the youthful smile and naïve charm had returned, arms wrapped around her waist, “My gift to you upon your first night in Hong Kong, and to thank you for a glorious evening.”

  “Absolutely magnificent and perfect in every way. Now,” she kissed him and pressed her body against his until he was leaning against the edge of the balcony, “please allow me to show my appreciation for all your generous hospitality.”

  She gently removed his hands from her hips and placed them on the reinforced glass railing to allow him to steady himself for the gift to come. Staring intently into his eyes she slowly lowered herself to her knees before him. As she began to stroke his cock through his trousers Xing raised his face to Heaven, closed his eyes, and muttered something in Cantonese that might have been a prayer of thanks to the God or Goddess of Glorious Blowjobs.

  Overcome with eager ecstasy, his eyes fluttered open to gaze down at his prize to watch the story of their dirty little fairytale unfold as his zipper descended. It was a plot twist he never saw coming, the moral of the fable took him by surprise, on the chin.

  His lovely Valkyrie be
stowed her favor upon him with a vicious uppercut, thrusting up from her kneeling position, that sent him teetering over the railing like some fleshy seesaw, her iron grip on his belt the only thing holding his body on the fulcrum of the railing.

  From the darkness below a light rope looped out and around the neck of the unfortunate lever and John quickly hauled himself up the last couple of feet onto the balcony to the music of strangled gurgles. Improvise, adapt, and overcome.

  Once his boots hit the deck John yanked the choking target back upright, locked his arms around Xing’s neck, and sent him crashing to the unyielding concrete of the terrace with a cravat suplex; stunning his opponent and robbing him of his already restricted breathing.

  Swift and smooth as greased lightning John transitioned to the mount and pinned the smaller man’s arms to the floor. This proved unnecessary as Xing laid limp as a ragdoll, eyes rolled back in his head and blood dripping from the corner of his mouth like a bad kung fu movie.

  Freya knelt down and slipped the noose from the neck of her former paramour allowing him to breathe again, although shallowly. She then retrieved a ball gag from the backpack of tools John had ascended with and placed it in their captive’s mouth. Lightly brushing a stray hair from his forehead and slicking it back into place she gently kissed him on the temple and whispered, “Oh baby, was it good for you?”

  Chapter 7

  It was gruesome work. The tools he was able to bring had been limited in size and weight in deference to the requirements of the climb, but they were serviceable if not efficient. This man, now just a piece of meat to be broken down, tenderized, and carved on, truly deserved this bloody justice for his transgressions against those innocent little girls, but John couldn’t shake the eerie feeling that this was somehow wrong as he went about his work; something in the eyes, and later just the eye.