The King (7 page)

Chapter 30

The last thing Billy Stone had wanted was to go to the corporate offices of PushThrough that morning, but Josh had said it was an emergency, and they needed him to get down there right away. Once he did, though, all that was waiting for him was a big pile of paperwork he needed to sign, and meeting after meeting on the new mobility applications for PushThrough. What he thought would be an hour turned into four, and he hadn’t been able to reach London all day.

In their short time together, London had made him re-think who he was and what he wanted. When he started PushThrough, it had been all about impressing people and meeting girls, but it had turned into a monster that took over every second of every day, with endless problems and fixes and options to be added. When Tom Francis and The Agency had kidnapped him, it was actually the break that he’d needed. Looking back, he didn’t know how much longer he could have kept up that pace. When Francis had started pushing him to develop his image, it had helped him shift his focus away from PushThrough.

Being the Internet King – the clothes, the cars, the apartment, running around with the models – had been the kind of self-indulgent fun that he’d needed to give him perspective. When London had stood up in that crowded auditorium, everything had changed.

Meeting London was like having a switch turned on in his head, with a neon sign – he realized suddenly that none of it meant anything if you didn’t have someone to share it with. When he was around London, the rest of the world ceased to exist. It was just the two of them. Her radiant smile as she cracked stupid jokes and they laughed and laughed. Her stories of growing up with a father who treated her like a princess. Watching her mind work as she asked him smart, thoughtful questions about PushThrough and they traded ideas about mobility. The sweet, soft skin of her body as they made love – sex would never be the same. Now, he realized that it would be a connective, shared, spiritual act: two individuals transforming into a single, loving entity.

He loved her – that’s what it came down to. He wanted to sell his interest in PushThrough and start enjoying his life with her. It felt like the right thing to do, and he knew that it would make her happy.

“London!” he said as he burst in the door, excited to share his realization.

“She’s not here.” Tom Francis sat at the glass dining table.

“What?”

“She’s gone. And she won’t be coming back.”

“Why? I don’t understand.”

Francis shook his head. “Look, Billy,” he said, “PushThrough hired The Agency to protect your image–”

“Fuck my image! Where the hell is London!”

Francis stood, and pointed an angry finger at Billy. “Look,” he said, “you’re too damned young to understand that you can’t just neglect your company because you want to shack up with some little slut!”

“Don’t you fucking call her that!”

“Billy. This is your first long term relationship, so you–”

“You’re fired!”

Francis sighed. “She took the money....”

“What?”

Francis shook his head, speaking as if he were talking to a child. “I offered her money to leave, and she took it.”

“What?” Billy dropped into a chair. “Why...Why would you do that?”

“A man in your position must always be skeptical of his relationships. Most of the time, the women – the people – that you meet have no interest in you as a person, no matter what you might think, or how they might act. When it comes down to it, they’re interested in you because of the money.”

“She... was different,” Billy said softly.

“She was just another girl, looking to marry up.” Francis put a hand on Billy’s shoulder.

“She wasn’t like that...” Billy shook off Francis’ arm.

Francis knelt down in front of him. “Billy,” he said, “I’ve got a lot of famous clients, and I learned a long time ago to protect them. This is my test.”

“Test? What the hell are you talking about?”

Francis smiled thinly. “You dangle a check in front of them, and see how they react. It’s been my experience that they do one of three things. They throw it back in your face, they take it and run, or they say you need to add a zero. Option one is the keeper, Options two and three you're glad to get rid of before they take you for more than you can easily give them.”

“And she took the money?” Billy asked, slumping.

“She took the money.”

“So I’m better off?”

“She was just another girl...”

“Just another girl...”

Billy got up walked towards the bar. He needed to forget everything. He’d been ready to throw it all away for her, and she’d only been in it for the money. He looked back at Francis, the man had kidnapped, broken and rebuilt him. Billy had every reason to hate the man, but he was closer to Francis than he’d ever been to anybody in his life. Francis might be the only real friend he’d ever had. If Francis said he was better off without London...he was probably right.

But it didn’t feel right, so Billy picked up a bottle of Patron, ripped out the cork and slammed down a huge drink that made him gag until he bit into a lemon. He took another shot, and then another. While the tequila burnt in his gut, his eyes teared and his senses dulled. How could he ever trust anyone again... except Francis?

Chapter 31

Russell Scott was lost in his own house. He didn’t know what to say or do. Two large men had dropped London off the day before. Since then, every attempt to talk with her had resulted in her telling him to leave her alone, and a retreat back to her room. He knew she was in pain, he knew she’d been hurt, but it killed him not to be able to do anything about it.

This was Billy Stone’s fault. When he’d talked to her on the phone just three days earlier she’d been so happy. And now... He shook his head. Even after the whole Tommy Healy dating disaster, London hadn’t been this upset. His fists bunched into white-knuckled balls. His hands were still aching from punching the wall. He turned to see where he’d moved the new bookcases behind his desk, to cover up the holes. Russell gritted his teeth as he thought about getting his hands on Billy Stone.

He needed to get those thoughts out of his head. He needed to be calm so he could be there for London. He tried to distract himself, tried to work, but all he could do was shuffle papers around in his office as CNBC played on the wall-mounted T.V. opposite his desk, while he fought back the urge to run upstairs, break the door down, and hug his little girl. And then he heard her.

The door at the top of the stairs opened up and she walked down the steps and into the kitchen. Not wanting to disturb her, Russell stayed in his office, listening past the noise of the T.V. He heard a cupboard opening, the water turning on, and then silence. A few minutes later she came into his office. He tried not to be shocked at how bad she looked, but it was hard. Her hair was matted, her face puffy and red, and the black rings under her eyes made him wonder if she’d slept at all since coming home.

From the look on her face, he could tell that he wasn’t fooling her. She broke down and started crying again, but this time raced across the room and threw herself into his arms. He held her tight as she shuddered through her tears. He wanted to tell her it was going to be okay, that she’d get past it, but no words came, and his own tears were threatening to fall at any moment.

Then suddenly she stopped crying, and turned to stare at the T.V. He hadn’t even realized it was still on until she looked at it, and he saw Billy Stone on the screen. The reporters were talking about PushThrough’s move into mobility applications. Billy was surrounded by reporters, outside of PushThrough’s, main headquarters, as they shot questions at him – mostly about when would it be available and what it would cost, but then one of them asked where the ‘Idea Girl’ was and Billy looked into the camera coldly.

“She’s gone,” he said.

“I thought she was helping with the app?”

Billy’s face turned bright red. “No,” he said. “She was just another girl...and she moved on.”

London’s breath sucked in and her body went rigid as she saw her face on the screen. Russell reached down to his desktop, picked up the remote and shut off the T.V.

“Baby,” he said, “it’s–”

She turned back to look at him, her face crushed. She was beyond pain, beyond embarrassment. She was totally and completely devastated. Seeing the look on his face, she fell apart. He reached out to hug her but she pushed him away and ran back up the stairs to her room, leaving him stunned.

He fell back against the desk and listened to the silence. He walked around to his chair and sat down, thinking back to when Tommy Healy had tried to get too hands on with her and London had broken his nose. He’d been so proud of her, then. What had happened in California?

Then he heard her, again. She was running herself a bath. Russell imagined her coming out, refreshed. She was always so happy after a long, hot soak. Maybe seeing that prick on the screen, being so dismissive, had been enough to turn her misery into hatred. Maybe she’d take it as a sign that she should move forward, realize that she was better than him. All Russell could do was hope.

He sat, alone in his office, listening to the water run and run, lost in his thoughts. He jumped up when it started to drip down onto his desk from the ceiling.

He ran up the stairs, through her door, blowing it off its hinges as he threw his shoulder into it and ran into her bathroom. All he could see was red.

After that, his life became a wash of nightmare images:

–pulling her limp, blood-covered body from the water–

–calling 911 – trying to do CPR–

–the crying – the screaming – pulling her close – hugging her–

–attacking the ambulance drivers as they tried to pry her away–

–the cops tackling him – the handcuffs digging in–

–the rage – the screaming – the shot in his arm–

–red stars, and night  – the leather straps – the white, rubber walls of the room–

–the rage – the screaming – the pain–

–the fall into darkness…

Chapter 32

The first article that had come up when Sarah searched for London Scott was titled, FAMILY TRAGEDY STRIKES GREAT FALLS. It gave the details of London Scott’s suicide and what happened to her father, afterwards. The paper quoted a local psychologist, saying that Russell Scott had experienced a “psychotic break.” He had attacked the ambulance drivers that had tried to pry London’s body out of his arms. One paramedic got his arm broken, the other had had his larynx crushed and nearly died. When the cops rushed him, Russell snapped one’s finger, and broke another’s ribs before they were finally able to subdue him. Russell was moved to the Virginia State Mental Rehabilitation Hospital, where he was eventually institutionalized.

A quick call by Stevens to the Hospital revealed that he had been released after nine months of intensive therapy, and after he had provided restitution to the paramedics and cops hurt in his arrest. According to the attending psychologist, Russell had a long-term problem with obsessive-compulsive behavior related to London, dating back to the tragedy of her birth and the death of her mother. After months of intensive therapy and a long list of medications, he had come to accept his daughter’s death and moved on, the details of which were included in the court summary given to the judge at the time of his release. Tax records showed that Russell went back to his job as a CPA in Great Falls, Virginia, twenty minutes outside of Washington, DC.

Stevens looked down at his watch. Russell Scott, the obsessive-compulsive father whose daughter had died in his arms, had had Billy Stone, the man he thought was at fault, in his clutches for eight, long hours.

As he watched the cars flying by, Stevens thought darkly that no matter how fast they got there, they were going to be too late.

Chapter 33

Russell Scott was breathing hard as he finished up the wall, took a step back, and looked at his watch. It had been three hours since he’d kidnapped Billy Stone. Forty-five minutes to stuff him in a laundry basket, roll him into a service elevator, and get him out of the hotel. After loading him into the trunk and driving him here, it had taken another fifteen minutes to prepare him, and two hour to build and secure the wall.

Billy’s head was strapped back against the metal chair, and he was still tranquilized. Billy was naked. Laid bare, he looked scrawny and small. By taking away the trappings of The Internet King, Russell had revealed the worm, hidden underneath.

The worm that had destroyed his daughter’s life. The worm that had taken away everything he had to live for. The worm that was going to suffer.

Russell took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. He had a plan. He’d calculated it all out, down to the last detail. It had been the focus of his every thought since he’d been released from the hospital. Now, he needed to remain calm, and make it last as long as he could. He needed Billy to understand the pain he’d felt. He needed to see Billy’s face as he realized that his hope was gone. He needed to see Billy draw his last breath in agony.

Then, and only then, would Russell finally be free.