Wake Me Up When It's Over

PART 1

Looking at the numbers.

  My eyes never leaving the numbers.

  0 0 0 0 0 0 

  NO!

  What is this?

  Where are the numbers?

  Watching the numbers - watching the numbers...

  

Time to take a break!

I will make some coffee.

  I will look out of the window:

  There they are again, that old damn tramp.  He's always sat under the railway bridge...

  Watching the numbers - watching the numbers

  CAN'T TAKE A BREAK!

  That old tramp never moves!  Crouching in his dirty patchwork clothes, warming his raw fingers over a fire bin.  He is the living dead...

  0 0 0 0 0 0 

NO!  

  Why are there no numbers?

  Yes.  You are right.  I am talking to myself.  But it is not madness, I swear.  

  It's just the numbers, that's all...

  It's all I have.

  And I used to have everything...

  Someone was knocking on the door.

  'It's open!'

  It was my old compatriot Rees!  What adventures we have had in the days gone by.  We built an empire, he and I.  I would be nothing without him.  He took me out of the streets, built me up, put me on the right road.  He was an old man now, fat and tired after doing everything right.  

  I should have listened to him.

  I could have retired.

  Instead I was just sitting in my chair, looking at the numbers.

  BUT with his help things could change...

  They had to change!  He was the one to help me.

  Rees.  I need you.

  'Things are not looking good,' was the first thing he said when he walked into the living room.  

  He poured himself a brandy and then sat in the chair beside the screen and watched the numbers with me.

  'You are sinking fast,' he continued.  'I can't bail you out of this one.  I want to, but the risk is too much.  And quite frank, I wouldn't touch you with a barge poll, not these days.  NO offence, old friend.  We won the world together back in the day, you and I, and it should have stayed that way.  But you were never content.  You had to keep pushing things.  And here we are.  Or, to put it more rightly, here YOU are.  You should have listened to me...'

  'I don't wan to hear this,' I returned.  'I just want to see the numbers.  You can help me get the numbers, right?  You are the man for the job.  That's why I hired you?'

  'You haven't hired me, I am here as old friend,' said Rees.

  0 0 0 0 0 0 

  'Look at this mess,' said Rees shaking his head.  'This is down to you!  I warned you.  But you never took heed despite my years of experience.  You are a hot head, a gambler.  And gamblers are fools as far as I am concerned.  Tisk!  You were never content.  Always chasing the clouds, looking for the end of the rainbow - but there is always another rainbow.  One pot of gold is never enough for a man like you.'

  

  0 0 0 0 0 0 

The numbers were still not changing!

  Those dreadful abhorrent numbers!

  I curse them!  Let them Change!

  Please.

  Let them save me!
  There is nothing else except the numbers.

  0 0 0 0 0 0 

  'There has got to be something you can do to help me, Rees?  

  'I tried to help you six months ago.  I gave you the best slice of advice a friend could give a friend: stay away from the Gustav Deal.  I told you.  I told you so many times.  This deal was too much of a risk.  It could kill you.  You couldn't tackle it by yourself.  The reward was not going to be worth - the injuries you were going to endure in the meantime would last forever.  I was right.  Men did no tackle mammoths by themselves back in the day - they needed a good loyal team.  You didn't have that.  You have always been a solo force and you have done a lot of amazing things working that way for over twenty years.  I'd like to say i admire you, O definitely used to.  but now all i can say is good - I would not want to be you right now.  You are going to have to fix your own problems by yourself from now on - I am out of this mess.  Goodnight.'

Yeah...

  Goodnight and get lost - loser!

  

PART 2

Every time I look out of the window I see shadowy shapes in the mist.

  I don't see their eyes.

  But I know they are watching me.

  I dread every minute that slides into infinity.

  Every minute.  Every second.  With each drop of time the shadows draw ever closer.

  0 0 0 0 0 0

Why do those cursed numbers never change?

  EVERYTHING CHANES

  Except:

  0 0 0 0 0 0

'It's not going to change.  Now is the time to give up...'

  NO I CAN NEVER GIVE UP.

  A grave looking man in a suit had allowed himself into the apartment.  He was sitting in a corner on a chair and pouring himself a glass of the last reserve of the whiskey.

  'You are in a dark dark place, a pit of the kind where these is no way out,' he said.  'And NO.  I won't lend you anymore money.  It isn't happening.  You have messed up good and proper.  You don't deserve help.  you have done what you have done and that is where you are going to stay.  You have dug this pit and now you can die in it.  Because trust me you are going to die...  There are people out there in the streets that want to get you.  You owe a lot of people a lot of money.  People can only take so much, and you have broken every promise you have ever made.  And people in this town do have a breaking point.  You have played a dangerous game with people rich and poor.  Now the game is over.  And everyone has lost.  The poor people will want to get you because they can't feed their children... and the rich, ell, that is na whole different story.  You have ripped off a lot of powerful people.  Don't deny it!  I can see it in your eyes.  You want to fight me on this.  But you can't.  There is nothing to fight.  Yes.   Could help you.  But are you going to help me?  You can't even help yourself.  NO.  Our business is done.  You are going to have to face the shadows all alone.'

  After he made his speech he finished his whiskey and left.

I CAN'T GIVE UP!  THE NUMBERS WILL CHANGE...

  THEY HAVE GO CHANGE!

  

  0 0 0 0 0 0

PART 3

There was somebody knocking on the door.

  It was Jim.

  Jim declined the offer for a drink and a smoke.  He looked shifty and stressed.  There might have been several specks of sweat on his brow.  He walked the length of the room and pressed open the window blinds.  

  YOU BETTER HAVE GOOD NEWS FOR ME JIM.

  'The streets are massing against you.  It is not safe here,' Jim replied.  'My advice to you is to run, while you still can.  Look, this is the situation.  There is no situation.  The money is gone.  All of it.  Maybe if I was a magician I could make more, but I am not and so I can't.  Look.  I don't want to be a part of this business anymore.  I look at it like this:

  'I cannot help you and you can't help me.  We are done.  A year ago we might have been able to help one another.  I have my business, and you have yours.  Yes.  We could have worked something else.  But you threw everything into Gustav Deal.  I don't you not to do.  And so did everyone else.  What were you thinking?  Were you mad?  Were you drunk?  And you burrowed all that money...  You know what the people of this town are like?  There are people out there perfectly willing to kill you.  And me as well.  That's why I want out.  I wanted to do business with you.  Like I said it could have worked.  But not anymore.  Take my advice and run.'

  LOOK INSIDE THE DRAW OVER THERE.

  Jim did so.  

  Jim sighed and shook his head when he saw what was inside.

  There was a gun sitting at the bottom of the draw.

  'And what is the point of this?' said Jim.  'I told you already!  I am done with this.  I don't want to be part of your business.  I am done.  NO!  I am not shooting anybody form you.  There was a time I would have helped you.  Look at it from my point of view.  I need money just as much as you do, but this is not the way to do it anymore.  Look.  That idiot you runs the shop has security cameras.  I can't get to him.  And I am not a robber.  I am no the guy to do this.  You need to get somebody else.  Please, I beg of you to give up and run away!  Don't drag me down in this madness!  I know I owe you.  You have helped me a lot in the past.  I want to help but...  But no.  It's over.  I am out.'

  HE HAS MONEY - YOU KNOW THE COMBINATION...  HE'S AN ENEMY.  IT'S HIS FAULT THE GUSTAV DEAL TURNED OUT THE WAY IT DID.  EVERYTHING I WORKED FOR IS IN ASHES BECAUSE OF THAT MAN...  END IT NOW JIM.  YOU OWE ME.  TAKE THE JOB AND DO IT...

  

PART 4

The man in the suit sitting opposite him that morning was a detective.

  He started to speak:

  'Everything 

  WHAT WAS THE POINT IN THIS?

  'This place is a bomb.  The timer is ticking down.  Soon it is going to go - and there is going to be an explosion here like no one has seen before in this town town.'

  GET OUT OF MY HOME!

  'We know things are going bad for you.  You are at the top of the list.  There are people out there who do not like you - powerful people.  You should be careful.  Call me if you need any help.  There is a way out for you - but you cannot stay here.  I can find a place for you to stay, for a few days, till you can straighten yourself out - but I can see that you are not interested. Fine.  Well, listen to this:

  'We found a dead body in the shop three days ago. They are saying you are involved - everyone is, not just the force, but most of the people who know you.  They are saying you owed the victim a lot of money, and that they were threatening you.  Now I don't believe you had anything to do with us.  I know you from old.  I think you have had a lot of bad luck lately, but I don't believe you are a murderer.  I don't think you would have ordered it, either.  I don't like tot think you would do that.  But the clock is ticking Mr, and you are sitting on a bomb.  You need to get up and walk away.  I can see what you are doing.  You are not listening to me, are you?  Fine.  I have said my piece.  Now I will go.  Those numbers are  not going to change, sir - but that bomb is going to go, finally, and when it does it is going to go real bad for you and lot of other people involved in your business.  Goodday sir.'

PART 5

  0 0 0 0 0 0

There we go again...

Bailiffs at the door!

Bailiffs at the door!

I hear them knocking.

I hear there threatening voices.

DON'T LET THEM IN!

  0 0 0 0 0 0

PART 6

'I see you have stopped checking the numbers.  Finally.  Common sense has been achieved.'

  Jim had let himself in through the back door.  He was a rascal for doing that!

  It was like he had keys to the building - but he did not.

  He just knew how to get inside places - that's what made him good for certain tasks...

  'I did what you wanted,' Jim started.  

  Jim walked around the room till he found the whiskey decanter, and then he freely started to pour himself a drink.

  He took a seat.

  He didn't care.

  You could see it in his face, in his eyes.  He was pale.  He was broken.  His eyes were full of darkness.  

  Once he had finished drinking he pulled out a gun.  

  What was he doing with that thing?

  The police were everywhere!

  Had the man gone mad?

  Maybe he had...

  Maybe they were both mad.

  Maybe it was the end of the world for the both of them.

  'It's been a long day,' Jim continued.  'Its like that at this time of year.  Morning and night bend into one - with only a splash of day, but that is the way, this time of year.  Forgive my mild attempt at forcing poetry.  It just helps pass the time - help to keep the mind straight and on the task.  We are all survivors in this world, no matter where we are, we are all trying to keep our heads above the waves.  It is a hard business.  My grandfather was a sailor, back in the day during the war.  He had to weather every storm imaginable and I feel I am doing the same thing in my own way.  The hardest route to take on the seas is the straight route.  I tried to do it.  I tried to avoid the rocks - and head straight for port.  But I couldn't do it.  You know what I want in my life?  A quiet beach.  I never found it.  I am mostly to blame for my mistakes.  I am stupid.  I have done a lot of ridiculous things.  I tried to be like my grandfather - it did not work out...  PTSD and all that.  It's real you know?  It is not must something clever people in nice suits talk about.  I see it nearly every day - the horrible things... we did.  But well.  Thank you for the whiskey!  The drink helps keep it all at bay.  As long as I can still drink I am sailing straight for the calm beach!  And it is a most pleasant thing.  This is a sad meeting.  Like many people who have promised me that quiet beech, you burned the flag of my ship and you sunk my dreams beneath the waves.  But it is my fault at the end of the day.  I should not have listened to you.  My dreams were nothing except paper boats, lost in the waves.  There was nothin for them.  Nothing for me.  But well, sad as that all is, here we are.  Now there was a time when you were the king, and I bowed my head and kissed the ring.  It was the thing.  My pockets were empty but yours were full.  I was grateful to you, when the business began.  You helped me a lot.  I thought you were great.  A fine king!  I was proud to serve thee.  But now it is over.  Those buildings are empty.  And the place where I used to live is empty.  Now all I have left is the open road, and it is cold this time of year.  How did it ever get to this?  Maybe we will never know, not you not I.  But here we are and this is what the situation is.  

  'Another man is dead because of me.  I got him to open the vault before he died.  Lies work so well when one has a weapon at hand and defenceless head behind it.  You can be the nastiest man alive, but nothing backs down to the flame and to the steel.  He did everything I told him to do.  The money is in a suitcase.  I can bring it over.  But here is one thing you h ave to do first, and you have not done this yet.  You have to pay me for my work.'

  PLEASE.  IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE THIS WAY.

  'Well that is a pity.'  Ralph raised the gun.  'I wanted things to go well this evening, but I do not work for free, and I need money.  Ah well.  Goodnight fine fellow.  I wish things could have been different.  But sadly this is how it is.  You had your chance - and you smoked and drank it all away.  Long live the king.  I hope you enjoyed it.  I hope you had a good time.'

  0 0 0 0 0 0

They 0 disappeared.  

  There was simply nothing left...

(Remember!  All spelling errors and grammatical mistakes are intentional - the author 😆)

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Dead Man's Eyes

 IN my eyes,

Are a dead mans eyes.

Nowhere else to go,

With my eyes,

With my dead mans eyes,

There is no place left to go.

No.  Not with my eyes,

My dead mans eyes.

It's done ...

Its's done...

Time to go.

Go!

Like the thing you thought you were:

You know?

No...

O yes now I know!

know

It's time to sink the dream - It was a ship that was never meant to sail -

No sea was ever going to hold it - 

So off I go - 

GO!  

With  my dead mans eyes there is nothing else left to know...

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From My Windows Eye

  From my windows eye I see thee,
  The one thing I need to be...
  The thing that will forever be there,
  That thing that sings in the air.

  I hear the song in the air - calling...

  Flying up to my window

  Flying, calling me to my window.

  There is no light quite like you,

  before the sun has risen,

  no light quite like you, on the dew,

  flying up to my window.

  No light kinder than you,

  Flying up to my window...

  I will always think of you,   

  like something new,

  making your way up to my window.

  There is no glass fairer than thee, 

  Nor will there ever be,

  As the scent of thee flies in the draft,

  Flying up to my window.

  

  The memory of thee, will always be,

  Something I hold in reverie,

  As the smell of thee returns to my window.

  

  There are no colours about thee,

  Except the colours that are in thee,

  and in the reflection of thee - 

  thy imagery echoes without time.

  And in a line side by side, thy lights shake with life,

  As I see the reflection of thee,

  Right there at the side of my window.

  The light of thee is what I see,

  Forever and ever,

  Whenever I decide to look out of my window.

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Who's in the Back Rooms ?

Secrets revealed...

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How NOT to hunt a T REX

Do the opposite from what I do and you should be alright.

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Welcome back to the 90s

The good old days!

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Prehistoric Hunt : Dino Hunting Game

Let's hunt some dinosaurs!

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Jim's Subway 45: The Dark Room

 ‘Now that business with Grey is over we are finally free men,’ said Michael.  ‘Now I am off to seek my mountain!’
  ‘Best wishes to you in your new adventure,’ Jim replied.
  Before leaving Michael asked Jim about his future plans.
  ‘I shall stay and be the Banker, of course!  There is nothing else for me to do,’ Jim replied.

  ‘Do you have any family in the area?’ said Michael politely.

  ‘No,’ Jim replied.  ‘What’s left of my family live in Wales.’

  ‘Good lord!  Say it is not so!’ Michael cried in response.  ‘What happened?  were they sailors?  Did they fall into the sea?’

  ‘No!  Michael!  I mean Wales - the country!  Not whales the animal!’ said Jim.

  When Michale heard this he swiftly apologised.

  ‘O bless me and forgive me, sir,’ Michael responded solemnly.  ‘I was worried that your family had fallen victim to those pesky beasts of the sea!  You remember the fourth Star Trek Movie?  Ooooh.  Gave me nightmares for years watching that as a child!  But well, that’s enough of that kind of talk for one day.’  The mere mention of whales had turned him all pale and shaky.  ‘I’d better be off!’ off he finished.

  After that the two men shook hands and never met again.

  When that bit of business had been settled Jim wandered the streets of Fenwick by himself.

  He he had decided he was going to stay in the strange old town, forever.

  There was nowhere else for him to go, really.  Fenwick was the only place on Earth where he had prospects.  

  But it was ever so quiet in the town without the likes of Huey, Ted, Tipsy and Shaky about.  He was going to miss that pack of oddballs and lunatics!

  In fact as Jim walked he never saw anybody.  Not a soul in fact.

  The streets were quite empty indeed.

  Strange.  

  There was no breeze, there were no sounds.  

  There was one house that Jim decided to examen out of boredom.  The door was unlocked so out of boredom he decided to go inside and have a little gander.

  The house was empty, and all its rooms, its floors walls and ceilings were one single colour.

  Nothing interesting to see not at all.

  So Jim just kept on walking.

  It looked like he had the WHOLE town to himself!

  How nice.

  There was another building just round a corner.

  The door leading into it was wide open - so Jim decided to walk in and take another nose about.

  He could hear music playing faintly from somewhere, but from where he would never know.

  There was a photo on a table, near a sink.  It was a picture of a family, but Jim didn’t recognise anybody in it.

  Jim had brought a bottle of G-Juice with him and he lifted it up and took a good long swig.

  Jim stared into space, until he heard the sound of something wet and soggy slapping on the floor.

  And all of a sudden there was a character standing in front of him who Jim had not seen in a long time:

  It was Toddy the man who looked like a large strutting toad!  

  The last time he and Toddy talked the toad-like man was full of big talk, but that night the toad never said a word.  Instead he handed Jim a package, and then he slowly walked away from view.

  Jim opened the package. 

  There was a letter inside.

  Jim read it.  

  It was an invitation to the castle!

  So Jim left the building and walked towards the castle - where the gates were finally open to him…

THEN

EVERYTHING

GOES

DARK

Jim couldn’t remember what happened next.

  The horrible sensation he was experiencing was similar to a blackout proceeding a very nasty binge drinking session he had long ago…  

  Where am I?  What am I doing here? 

  Jim was standing in a room with no lights.  If there were any windows they were blacked out.

  Feeling utterly helpless Jim starting shouting in his loudest voice:

  HELP!  

  He stopped shouting when he heard the sound of footsteps - the sound of the steps grew louder as they came closer till finally they stopped.  

  Then there came a light.

  There was a man not far away from Jim and he was holding a torch.

  He was shining the light of the torch up to his face.

  Jim slowly started to recognise the man…

  NO…

  It was Ivan Gustav?

  Jim stammered, utterly lost for words.

  It took a few minutes before he could find the strength to speak - and it really did take all his strength.  The sight of that man standing in front of him left Jim utterly shook:

  ‘How is this possible?  I mean…  the police…  I thought they…’

  ‘I have been in prison for three months now,’ Ivan replied.  ‘And NO.  They did not let me go.  I escaped.  You want to know how?  Luck, my dear Jim.  Luck.  Luck is one of those nice little commodities some people are lucky to have.  A bomb went off not far from the prison.  The Brazilians planted it there, probably hoping to kill off some of the Tailors locked up in the prison with me. It is very likely I was their intended target.  If that was their plan it did not work.  The walls came down and I got up and ran away.  And here I am!’

  ‘And here you are indeed,’ Jim replied.  ‘So, what do you want from me?  I presume you sent the invitation?’

  ‘Yes.  I would just like to have a conversation with my good old friend Jim,’ Ivan returned, calmly.  ‘When I was rotting in my nice cold dark cell I often thought about you, my good old friend Jim.  How have you been?’

  ‘Good, thank you.  Better than that, really.’

  ‘I heard you have done well for yourself.’

  ‘Well yes I have!  I am the Banker these days.  And I am proud of my success.’

  ‘There are a lot of stories about you, Jim, floating around the streets of Fenwick,’ Ivan pressed on in his dour voice.  ‘These stories were so interesting to me.  Before I was arrested, Jim, you were just a doser, and a failure.  But now you are an entrepreneur and an elected member of the elite…  This story fascinates me!  You have accomplished so much in such a short space of time.  Some people live their whole lives trying to be what you are right now, and typically they fail.  Yet here you are, a winner.  How nice that must be for you, Jim’

  ‘Are you angry with me?’ Jim replied.

  Jim could not tell Ivan’s mood.

  Jim was actually starting to think, beyond hope, that Ivan had no idea that he sold him out to the police all those weeks ago…

  It was a fools hope…

  ‘Why ask such a thing?’ Ivan returned.  ‘I like you, Jim.  That is why I brought you in.  I woke you up and showed you my trade.  I like what you have done with my G-Juice formula.  Yes!  I have heard about your business here in town.  I know that you have done very well for yourself with my formula!  And I imagine you have had a lot of fun along the road to success?’

  ‘Well, I wouldn’t call it fun, exactly.  It has been a scary journey, I have almost been killed a couple of times.  But I made it, as you say, with luck.  I think you had it easier, Ivan, being in prison.  At least you were out of the way.  As you know there is a war going on in the streets.  I have been a soldier in that war from the start!  It’s been a nightmare if you want to know the truth.  Being locked behind bars saved you form the war, Ivan.’

  ‘Until the bomb exploded almost killing me,’ Ivan spoke up.

  ‘Yes.  Indeed.  That is a sad business.  But you benefited from it in the end.  Look at you!  You are free now!’

  ‘Yes.  I am free,’ Ivan replied.  ‘And now I am free, the fun ends for you Jim.  G-Juice is mine.  It is my recipe.  I want full control of it again.’

  ‘Things have changed,’ Jim replied.  ‘I have patented the recipe…’

  ‘In other words you have ripped me off…’

  ‘No.  Well, maybe…’

  ‘Okay.  Very well.  I am about to make a proposal Jim, that will benefit both of us.  I have examined the situation before our meeting tonight.  I know about your deal with the Kings.  I know your connection with the Tailors has granted you rights over the warehouse by the east dock and it is the perfect place to manufacture the juice.  From what I can see the setup is all very fine and sound.  In fact I like it.  So this is what I propose, Jim.  You give me 80% of the business.  Agree and you will keep a cut of the profits, while I take what is rightfully mine as creator.’

  ‘That is a ridiculous proposal,’ Jim pipped up.  ‘Damn you!  I fought hard to build this business!  I almost died!  No.  Make it 60% and we have a deal.’

  ‘But G-Juice is mine.’

  ‘On paper it is mine,’ Jim returned, violently.  ‘I have fought for this, Ivan, while you lay perched in your cosy prison cell.  While you have had it easy in his majesties service I have been out there fighting a war and building an empire.  I am not going to hand my work over to you Ivan, not for nothing.  Sure, you deserve credit for the recipe, and a decent cut of the business profits - I except that.  But I deserve my share as well for all the pain I went through to make this business work.  Without me this business would not exist.  In a year G-Juice will be worth millions, and that is all because of me and my sacrifice.  Do you know how much I have lost in this struggle?  I have lost friends, Ivan.  People I know have died.  Building this business has been a struggle of life and death and I am not going to give it up!’

  ‘But G-Juice is my creation!’ Ivan said again, pressing the matter as hard as he could.

  ‘Only you and I know that,’ Jim replied, aggressively.  ‘On paper, I own G-Juice.  But I acknowledge your work… you are a genius, Ivan Gustav, and as a result I am willing to surrender 50% of the business.  You will be a major share holder.  You will be in charge.  But I want a sizeable cut for all of my hard effort.’

  ‘Then it is a deal,’ Ivan replied, calmly.  ‘I will take 50%’

  Jim breathed a sigh of relief.

  ‘I will call for my solicitor and we will sign the paperwork tomorrow,’ said Ivan.

  Jim agreed saying that it was a good plan.  ‘We will meet at the Bankers House then,’ he said.  ‘We will sign the papers there!’

  ‘I would prefer to sign them here in the Castle,’ Ivan replied.

  Jim was surprised by Ivan’s response and he asked Ivan to explain himself.

  ‘I feel safer here,’ Ivan answered.  ‘This is MY home.  The Bankers House is YOUR home, and as far as I know, in the last week, five men have been found to be dead in that building.  So I will not feel safe there, Jim, in your house.  Weren’t the drinks poisoned?  O yes.  Not your fault, apparently but as the Banker I imagine you have the ability to shift the law about in your favour.  And then there was that other fellow who hung himself - and he was an officer of the law, good gosh!  No!  Jim, we will not do business in your house.  We will do it here, right in this very room, where I will be safe.  Where I am in control…’

  ‘Very well,’ Jim returned.  ‘I agree to that.  We will do it here.  Now.  Can we toast the day?  Ironically I have a spare bottle of G-Juice!  Care to share?’

  ‘No,’ Ivan replied, solemnly.  ‘Despite my trade I am non alcoholic.’

  ‘What a shame,’ said Jim.  ‘Well, will you permit me a tipple?  I feel a day as fine as this deserves a celebration?’

  Ivan did not respond right away.

  he looked so sad in the dim light of the room.  

  What was upsetting him so?

  Jim dared to ask the man:

 ‘Something upsetting you Ivan old boy?’ he said.  ‘Come on!  Cheer up!  We are friends now.  Business partners in fact.  We can talk freely with one another!  So what ails you?  Come on Ivan.  Unburden yourself to dear old uncle Jim!’

  ‘I am grieving,’ Ivan replied, solemnly.  ‘Forgive me, Jim.  It is not often I open my heart to anyone.  But to a friend, like you, I will let my guard down for a change.  Seeing as we are going to be friends and business partners in the future, you might as well know a little bit about me.  Well here goes:  I created G-Juice as a weapon to help win the war.  Thanks to you, my creation is funding the war, but my original plan was to poison our enemies!  Make them weak and foolish.  I read about it in the old books.  Why did the Germans lose World War One?  For many reasons, but one in particular:  In their final push to drive the Allies out of their territory they found British rations of whiskey, alcohol that they had been denied up until that point by their masters.  After drinking the said whiskey they all became drunks, and in their drunkenness quickly became easy targets for the Allies when they finally launched their counter offensive.  So the mighty Germans lost the war because they became drunkards.  Interesting fact, hey?  So I applied the same logic to the present war - make the Brazilians drunk as fools and then we can drive them out of Fenwick for good.  Seemed liked a fine plan.  And my brother agreed with me…’

  Jim, then a little tipsy from the G-Juice, dared to ask Ivan about his brother.

  ‘So where is your brother now?’ said Jim.  ‘I bet he must be proud of your work right now.’

  ‘My brother was murdered,’ Ivan replied.  ‘My brothers death has weakened my heart and soul.  The old Ivan would have killed you Jim, there and then, knife in the throat for your betrayal against me.  I know you gave my name to the police.  I am not an idiot, funnily enough!  I spent three months in jail because of your treachery, Jim.  But I am willing to forgive you because I am so impressed by what you  have accomplished in the meantime.  I know your work will benefit the both of us.  Together we will defeat the enemy, and avenge my brothers name.  I have got a picture here,’ Ivan started moving his hand around his inner coat pocket. 

  Ivan finally drew the picture out, and showed it to Jim.

  When Jim saw the photo he gasped with horror so much as so that he actually came within a hexadecimal of having a heart attack!

  There was the photo - and there were two people in it:

  Ivan and Mr Grey!

  Jim did not know what to say…

  But before he could become lost for words he decided to put on an act and talk whatever gibberish sprang into his mind:

  ‘Why you look so fine the both of you, so alike… sort of…’

  ‘He was killed in a bomb blast,’ Ivan responded.  ‘He was a casualty of the war.’

  ‘Indeed!  Sad business!  Must be avenged without doubt!’ Jim replied, savagely.  

  ‘I am going to avenge him, O yes indeed,’ said Ivan.  ‘I am going to find the one who planted that damnable bomb on his train.  And when I find that murderer, I will flay them!’

  Jim gulped.

  Ivan stared at him.  

  Jim didn’t know what to do.

  It was time to go home I think…

  Just then Jim woke up in his bed back in the Bankers House!

  Thank gosh!

  It had all been a dream?

  Marvellous!

  Time to sigh with relief, be happy and get on with things.

  Jim got up, showered, changed, washed his teeth and prepared for breakfast.

  What a day it was to be alive!

  Jim turned on his computer to check his socials - such things were important to a man of his status.

  The first thing he did was check his inbox.

  There was a new message waiting for him.

  Jim opened it.

  Waiting to see you in front of the Gates - Ivan.

  So it hadn’t been a dream…

  Damn!

  For the first time since a child after being told off for stealing from the sweet shop, Jim cried real tears of sadness and fear.

  

So Jim met Ivan later that day, by the gates, with a pen in hand ready to sign 50% of his business away.

  As Jim’s hand swept the ink over the papers presented to him, Ivan stood and watched as calm as a gargoyle.

  ‘It’s good to be back in business again,’ said Ivan.  ‘Now time to strike down our enemies, hey, Jim?’

  ‘Of course,’ Jim replied, shakily.  Jim did not feel safe in the shadow of the Castle Gates with that man…

  Ivan smiled, grimly.  ‘Good to be in business,’ he said quietly.

  ‘Of course!  And now it is a time for revenge!’ Ivan continued triumphantly.  He was winning and he was happy about it.  ‘We shall have revenge, my dear, Jim,  Revenge for my dear beloved brother.  And together we will make it possible, as one, united in darkness.  We have a war to fight you and I.  And yes, we may die in it, but such is life, hey?  Winners and losers, all must turn to oblivion.  So how about it?  Will you take the walk, Jim?’

  And so Ivan led Jim away back into the castle.  They walked together, side by side, Jim with his thoughts and Ivan with his knife in his left hand hiding behind his back.

  It was time to end the war.

  And in darkness, end them ALL.

  Goodnight Fenwick!  

  “May we never meet again…”  - Ivan circa the year unknown.

 

THE END

(Remember!  All spelling errors and grammatical mistakes are intentional - the author 😆)

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