Dahlia - The Velvet Witch and Her Dark Spirit

PART 24 - METAL AND MAN, GO HAND IN HAND

Having stepped onto a path that'll see me leave this world, I've never been so aware of my mortality. And I'm happy. Everything that was holding my heart here has gone. And I'm ready for the journey to get it back. The fog's lifted, and the beacon's close enough to touch.

The strange thing is I know I must take a life, and it doesn't seem to bother me. And not because this animal has blood on his hands, and I'm just meting out justice. It's because of the payoff at the end—a ticket back to Dahlia.

Doctor Cross, this is the end, my rat fuck friend.

I want to see Ruben one last time for an unofficial goodbye. Plus, I need something of his. I stroll to his flat and devise a plan to kill as failure will be eternally catastrophic. When I arrive, I hit the buzzer and wait. After a minute, a groggy Ruben belches from the intercom.

"Hello?" he mumbles.

"It's Levi."

"Ohhh," he says, clearing his throat. "Hey, sorry, I wasn't expecting you, was I?"

His mouth is working faster than his brain.

"Was in the area. Thought I'd say hi," I say, trying to be as cool as possible.

He answers the door doing up his fly, then grabs a shirt from a basket on the floor and pulls it on.

"It's backwards," I say with a grin.

He curses himself as he spins it around. His brain's still waking up, which will help my cause.

"So, what are you doing here?" Ruben asks.

"Nothing. I just wanted to see you, I guess. Say thanks for the other week. I'm so grateful you were there at the funeral with me. I wouldn't have gotten through it alone."

"Don't sweat it. You want some coffee?"

"Yeah."

He turns and puts a cup under the nozzle of the pod machine, loads a capsule and hits the button. The pump whirs, and after a few seconds, rich brown liquid oozes into the porcelain.

"Watch these for a minute? Need to use the John."

"Of course," I say, knowing this is my chance.

Above the fridge, immediately next to the front door, is where Ruben keeps his gun. I reach up and hunt around with my fingers. They glide through a thick layer of dust and find nothing. I make sure the bathroom door is shut, then turn back and jump to get a better view. Thank Christ it's still there. It's just pushed right to the rear. Stupid Ruben, he's shorter than me—he'd never reach the gun in an emergency.

I move in close and rear up on my toes. I stretch and just manage to reach the cold metal. It slides along with a slight squeak until I'm able to seize the stock in my hand. It's beautiful and sleek with a powerful weight. Yet elegant with its floral etchings along one side of the barrel and 'METAL AND MAN, GO HAND IN HAND' engraved on the other.

I wrap it in my jacket and set it carefully on the buffet next to the door. I return to the breakfast bar and wait, glancing at it repeatedly to make sure none of the weapon can be seen.

There's a pack of menthol cigarettes on the bench.

"You smoking?" I call to Ruben.

"Yeah, quitting again tomorrow."

"Smoking inside?"

"Yeah, but if Maggie smells it, I'm blaming you."

I light one. The head rush forces me to sit and makes me feel like vomiting. The bathroom door opens as I double over.

"You right?"

"Yeah, just a rush from the fag."

I swallow it down and look up at him. He's onto me, the look in his eye, concern, knowing, suspicious of my unannounced presence.

"What?" I ask as I stand and get ready to run.

"I don't know. Nothing."

But there's something. I've never just popped in on him, not once in twenty-three years of loyal service, and it's thrown him off.

As we stare at each other, I get the sick impulse to tell him the plan. I'm proud that I'm now capable of making the ultimate show of love. Ruben would have bet his life that it just wasn't in me before Dahlia came along.

Ruben takes a cigarette from the pack. I slide the lighter down the bench, but his hand misses the catch when he refuses to take his eyes off me. It hits the deck with a loud chink. The lid separates from the body and scatters across to where the smuggled gun hides in plain sight.

My heart races so hard that I'm about to pass out. His eyes tighten and look even deeper into mine. He can see into my soul and is picking up on something he knows is there.

Then he smiles and winks.

"Nice pass dickhead," he says as he turns and picks up the pieces of his Zippo.

He clicks the lid back on, then snaps it closed before quickly reopening it to roll the striker wheel along his jeans. The flame sways as he brings it to the tip of the cigarette.

Say something, anything. Break the silence. Distract his inquisitive thoughts.

"Good as new, eh?" I say.

Dumb, but it'll do.

"This old thing is anything but new. So, what've you been doing?"

"Sleeping mostly or trying to anyway. My dreams are so lucid I needed to get out and check on reality."

"Poor guy. They should settle as you move on."

My head sinks. "I don't want to move on."

"No, of course not."

Silence floods the gap between us. He doesn't understand, and I don't think he ever will. I'm alone on this path which is why I need her so bad.

"Anyway, I just wanted to say hi. I'll leave you to it. Got the urge to keep wandering."

I force a smile then step in for a hug. He grabs me like a bear and squeezes hard.

"You're going to be OK, big fella," he says warmly.

"Yeah, I know," I say, just not in the way he suspects.

"Can I take a smoke for the walk?" I ask, nodding towards the pack.

"Sure."

While he's distracted with the cigarettes, I take the opportunity to scoop up my jacket and fold the loose material down to ensure the gun remains a concealed weapon. I take the fag from his hand and tuck it behind my ear.

"Thanks."

"Welcome. Give me a call. We'll do dinner soon with Maggie."

"Sounds good."

I turn for the door as sweat builds on my brow. Any longer in here, and he'd out me for sure.

A hand lands on my shoulder.

"Hey, what's that?" Ruben asks.

"What?" I stutter.

Oh fuck.

He steps up behind me and takes a long sniff.

"What is that cologne?"

I clear my throat and try to hide my relief, "It's Davidoff, Cool Water."

THANK YOU FOR READING PART 24 OF DAHLIA - THE VELVET WITCH AND HER DARK SPIRIT.

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PART 25 AVAILABLE  14th JULY, 2021