King of New York (42 page)

“Love isn’t for
men like us, Chad. It’s weak and will ruin your empire if you allow it to. This
is coming from a friend and not a foe.”

Chad laughs,
mockingly.

“Before I have
you as a friend, I’d rather have a thousand genuine enemies. At least if they
stab me they’ll look me in my eyes and not disappear before I turn round to see
who they are. I know love isn’t for me but power and money are. They are my
only loves. So when you fuck with me you fuck with my first loves. They are the
only things that I will always care for. And you allowed people outside our
clique to fuck with me, Mikey.”

Chad is calm and
collected, but his tone suddenly changes.

“Let me tell you
why you told them not to kill me, Mikey. It’s because I have people in higher
places that will dispose of you in ways that even your nightmares cannot comprehend.
You’re merely a puppet in my city. I allow you to live, you fucking pig.
Because of me you are police commissioner! I made them hire you. Did you really
think you were worthy of your post?

“No!

“I put you
there. I made you who you are, Mikey. Me! I did it, yet you chose to bite the
hand that feeds you.”

Mikey begins to
beg Chad for mercy. He appears comical to Chad, and he laughs at him. Chad
almost feels pity for his old friend but he knows that he can’t forgive him.

“Calm down,
Mikey. Now you’re the one acting like a bitch.”

Chad begins to
pace around Mikey once more as he smells the fear in him.

“You reek of
terror, my dear friend. I thought you said I can’t do shit to you. Oh, but you
were so wrong. I’ll make the city publicly strip you of all your medals, your
honour, and all that you are. I made you into a somebody, and I’ll turn you
back into a nobody.”

Chad’s breathing
is heavy and muffled as his anger enrages him. He cools down and so does his
tone.

“I take care of
my own, Mikey. I told you that before. But I can’t have traitors like you in my
city. You were like a brother to me, but your betrayal is far too grave for me
to dismiss. My blood will not run in my own kingdom. I am king. I am the
motherfucking King of New York.

“This is my city!”

A silver bullet
passes into his flesh.

Chad stumbles to
the floor but he doesn’t feel the pain of his severe wound. Blood gushes out of
him. He feels a rush of adrenaline flow through his body. He feels alive but
his breathing is strained.

Chad regains his
breath and looks up towards the door.

“A king does not
die even when he is killed. This is still my fucking city.”

His voice is
shaky but he still forces a smile as he spits out blood.

****

A tear falls from Mikey’s eye as
he watches his friend’s fall from glory. He chokes with emotion but his
feelings are swiftly extinguished as the man at the door holding the weapon
begins to speak.

“Well, Mr Perry,
I’ll be sure to tell the people that the king still lives! Even when he is
dead.”

A dark figure stands
at the door. The green eyes stare directly into Chad’s blue eyes as he falls
into a deadly slumber.

“Clean him up,
Mikey. It seems that we have a new King of New York. Me!”

****

Babylon has
fallen. Its king is dead. The Statue of Liberty limps, Times Square stands
still, the wealth of the city is no longer glistening. Wall Street looks gloomy
as the city’s elite hear of the tragedy. Even the poor are sad to see a wealthy
man pass.

The
death of King Perry is a harrowing ordeal for New York. The beggars wail in
mourning. The old woman is distraught as she crosses the road. The little boy
is upset as his balloon flies away. Malik sheds a tear for the man that changed
his life by giving him a diamond watch.

The
city is cold, though it is summer. Even the sun loses its ferocity. The street
musician plays a solemn sound as he remembers Chad Perry.

Babylon
has fallen!

The
death of a king, whether he was bad or good is a great tragedy. New York is in
deep mourning.

But
there are those that are ecstatic to hear that the king has fallen.

None
other than Sebastian Benoit. His cold green eyes sparkle with happiness.
 

Chad is dead!

****

Sierra gets a letter from
Sebastian and carefully reads the four words. Her mind and body fails her and
she faints from the news.

****

Sebastian is by Sierra’s side
when she regains consciousness.

“Oh Seb, I just
had a nightmare.”

Her voice is
shaky and tears fall from her eyes.

“What was your
nightmare, my love?”

She looks at him,
sensing that her dream might be more than a figment of her imagination. The
tears come faster at such a realisation.

“I had a dream
that Chad was … he was …”

Sebastian
finishes the sentence for her.

“You had a dream
that Chad was dead. It’s not a dream, my love. Chad Perry is dead!”

Sebastian has no
remorse or sympathy in his voice for Sierra. He casually disregards her grief-stricken
state and walks out of the room to make her tea. She is left in disarray with
hot tears flooding down her face as she remembers the man she loves.

Sebastian is
furious. Angry that she will cry tears for Chad in his presence. He loses focus
and drops a mug of hot tea. It scalds him and he swears in frustration.

Although Chad is
gone, he is still an obstacle in Sebastian’s love affair with Sierra.

He knows she
will never love him like she loved Chad. Even now, she doesn’t love him and the
truth pulls at his heart. He begins to lose his calm. He tries to pick up the
broken ceramic glass off the floor, but it only leaves him with more cuts. By
the time he’s done, the floor is spattered with his blood. He calmly washes his
hands in the sink and plasters his cuts.

Sebastian
returns to the room with a fresh cup of tea and places it on the table next to
Sierra. She quietly drinks it.

“When’s the
funeral, Seb? I want to go to it. I need to go to it.”

“You’re not going
to his funeral. I won’t allow you to go. That’s an order!”

Sierra closes
her eyes.

“But I love Chad
Perry, not you,” she says quietly.

Sebastian
smirks. He is hurt, his heart bleeds. He knew that she didn’t love him, but she
had never said the words aloud. She had always denied it to him as he
manipulated her into believing Chad never loved her and sought revenge on her.

She had never
said the words he dreaded. But now she has and his world is in desolation, his
green eyes seethe with hate for her. He coughs a little to clear his throat, which
is choked with emotion.

“Have you ever
listened to a song of tainted love? Well I have, and I feel all the pain and
passion of it. Even after I’ve cared all I could for you and loved you the best
I could, you still manage to hurt me. But I took all the pain because I love
you.”

A tear escapes from
his eyes.

“Why don’t you
love me, Sierra?”

She tries to
look away from him, but he pushes her face so she has to stare directly into
his eyes.

“I don’t want to
give up on you, Sierra. Please don’t make me give up on you because I promise
you’ll regret it. I’ll break you down if you leave me. Do not take my love for
granted. I always had faith that the love I have for you will bring you to me.
So tell me, why don’t you love me, Sierra Malcolm?

“If it’s more
wealth you want me to accumulate, like Chad, I promise I’ll work towards it. I’m
rich already and my father is filthy rich. But I will accumulate my own
billions if that’s what you need. Just tell me what you want and your wish is
my command.”

“It has nothing
to do with money, Sebastian. I could care less about money that isn’t mine. I don’t
want you to change anything about yourself just for me. What do you want from
me?”

“All I ask is
that you love me in return, just the way I love you. Please, Sierra, just love
me the way I want and need. Is that so much to ask?”

“I cannot love
you, I do not love you, Sebastian.”

Sebastian
fidgets with the plasters on his hand before taking the mug from her and
smashing it on the wall.

The shy private
school boy that graduated from Oxford is now gone and his alter ego exposes
itself. Sierra pushes backwards and he lunges at her. He plays with her hair
and it takes all his might to restrain himself from pulling her hair from its
follicles. He takes in the smell of Sierra’s shampoo and he inhales loudly.

“I bought you
this shampoo. I’m glad you like it.” She pulls away from him. “Why are you
afraid of me, Sierra? Have I ever hurt you before? No! So why do shudder when
you look into my eyes? All I have done is try to make you happy and do as you
have asked. Have I not? Yes I have. You refuse to make love to me because Chad
Perry told you to, is that not true?”

He wipes the
tears from her face. He can see that she is frightened of him. “You used and
abused my love, Sierra. You loved and needed Chad so much that you used me as a
pawn to forget him when it seemed he did not need you back.”

Sierra hits
Sebastian with a magazine from the table. He just laughs at her futile efforts
to disregard his words and try to escape. He slams her head on the bed stand
and bellows thunderously at her. Blood slowly trickles down her face.

“Don’t insult my
intelligence, woman! I will not play second fiddle to a dead man, you fucking
whore! I know you slept with him before he died.”

His grip on her
neck is stern and harsh. She fights with him to release her but his strength is
too much for her. Fear shows in her eyes and he loves the sight of her terror.

He loosens his
grip as she begs for air.

Her body shakes
uncontrollably as he begins to reveal the truth about Chad Perry to her.

“Your precious
lover was not all that he made himself to be. If you ask me I’ll say he
deserved to die. He believed the city belonged to him because he was the most
corrupt man within this place. Everyone in high and mighty positions is corrupt
to the pits of their guts, but he is the most corrupt of them all. They are the
filth of the earth but they make people believe otherwise. Corruption is the
art of perfect manipulation and your lover Chad was the brains behind
corruption in this city.”

“Where do you
think he got his money? Why did you think the whole police force protected him
wherever he went when he’s not even a politician? A poor boy from the gutters
of New York does not become one of the most feared men in such a vast and
wealthy city. It is impossible!”

Sierra’s mouth
drops in shock.

“Allow me to
expose the truth of it all to you, my love. Chad Perry is a killer, a murderer.
But, oh wait, there’s more …” Sierra looks at him in disbelief and shock.

Sebastian sees
the hunger in her eyes to know the truth and prolongs the game he is playing
with her.

“Maybe I’ll tell
you another time. Today doesn’t feel like the right time to expose such intimate
details of a dead man. After all, he doesn’t want you and he never did, so it won’t
matter what I say about him because he never cared about your opinion of him.
They said he was with a sexy blonde before he died.”

Sierra punches
Sebastian on his jaw, clutching her hand after the impact of the blow. He
laughs at her weakness as blood trickles from inside his lips.

“The truth
fucking hurts, doesn’t it? You love a man that never loved you. I’m not
surprised. Look at you! You’re not even half as beautiful as the women he can
get whenever he pleases. Did you really think he would fall for a simple
British girl like you? You’re lacklustre, Sierra – an acquired taste. You don’t
reach the standards that Chad commands. Your delusion is quite commendable.
Nonetheless, it is very sad and makes you look pitiful.”

Silent tears
fall from her eyes.

“He told me
himself that you were only pussy for him. I’m only with you because I see your
potential and your intellect intrigues me. But you should know that I’m too
good for you, Sierra. Your parents may have money, but you are far too simple
for a man of my calibre, Miss Malcolm. Now do you see why Chad never loved you?
You are far too simple and bland for his liking. Money can buy you education
and class but it cannot buy you love, Sierra.”

Sebastian moves
his lips to her ears and softly whispers: “No one will ever love you. Not even
Tom back in London loved you. That is why he beat the shit out of you, because
you are simple.”

Sebastian
is precise and concise with everything he says. Every word is deftly chosen to
cause maximum impact on Sierra. His words are sharp and the cut is clean.
 But he can see that she’s dying inside as he
speaks.