The White Shadow 1: The Dancer

Chapter 20

Laid out upon the same operating table that had once housed a small boy, Verez was unmoving, with a light shone directly into his gruesomely deformed face. It had not suffered the brunt of the explosion; that distinction went to his right arm, which had been raised in reflex; but his face still bore significant scaring. Deep cuts ran along his eyes and over his nose and mouth. Large, jagged pieces of metal protruded from his cheeks and much of his once perfect flesh had melted like molten steel.

Nia winced at the sight of her boss. She was stood beside the Doctor, who held a solemn air about them. Song, poised over the body, straightened back to full height and turned to face his audience, placing his scalpel and scissors back and removing his mask.
"He will be permanently deformed," He stated cooly, "But Verez will survive."
Nia nodded in affirmation. The Doctor exhaled a long, satisfied breath through their mask. "Thank you Professor Song. Your work does not go unappreciated."
Song lowered his head in gratitude. "Verez had two announcements he wanted to pass on to you in light of Diane's capture." He said, turning to a shelving unit behind the operating table. "Nikola Swigovich," He turned back with a file in his hand, "Congratulations on your promotion." He handed a file of papers to Nia, who took them with a twitch of her fingers and lips. Song continued, "You are now his second secretary next to the Doctor- He has given you responsibility and control over the territories in the file, as well as a portion of the pay that each source of revenue provides. The details are enclosed in the papers."
Nia flicked through the papers excitedly. She had a vague idea of what the numbers meant, and they ment that she would be able to sustain her business even under the new liberal reforms. She would have to give the numbers to Flores to calculate, so that she could figure out exactly what to do with the new revenue, but it was definitely a step in the right direction. She looked up and smiled at Song, and then at Verez upon the table. "Thank you, Verez," She replied, "I am grateful for this opportunity."
That Doctor stood patiently.
Song continued, "Secondly, Verez has one request for his secretaries.
"Kill Darryll Caldwell."

Diane found Darryll alone upon a bench nearby to Verez mansion. She tried to greet him, bit her friend said nothing, and simply watched as an ambulance passed underneath the morning glare. Finally, after what may have been a few minutes or a few hours, he spoke. "Still wanna kill Nia?"
Diane thought for a few seconds. "Yes." She said assuredly.
Darryll patted her on the shoulder. "Well then," He said, facing away from her, "Let's go get her." He turned back, smiling, "And it'll work-"
He stopped, and then turned away again.
"Cause I'm a bloody genius."

Darryll slumped down in the seat of the restaurant he and Diane had stopped at to eat. Diane looked through the menu for something vegan while Darryll sighed, soaking in as much rest as he could in the wake of the eventful night. His eyes were as baggy as they used to be, body weak and frail. It was something of a return to form, he thought. He looked up from his slump to peer through the menu. The waiter came, and asked for their orders.
"May I have the jacket potato with peas, please?" Diane asked.
"Nothing for me." Darryll asked, without eye contact.
Diane waited politely as the waiter left, and then shook Darryll by the shoulders. He shot up, groaning. "What?"
"You need to eat something!" Diane cried, trying to keep her voice low to avoid making a scene. "You had no sleep last night and you've eaten nothing in a week! Do you want to die?"
"Diane," Darryll replied, "I tried to shoot myself in the head last night. Twice. What do you think?"

Diane furiously shovelled her potato into her mouth as Darryll sat in silence, sunk deep into the murky depths of thought. Suddenly he looked up. "I'm gonna go to the toilet," He said, "Be right back."
Diane nodded and Darryll slowly rose to full height and left.

Diane watched Darryll stumble like a drunk out of the toilet, trip over tables, chairs, and his own two feet as he staggered over to her table. "Diane." He started talking before he was even a metre to the table. He stopped, stood over Diane with her half eaten plate, his mop of shaggy hair hanging overhead. He continued, "Finish quickly. I'll start the car."
Diane quickly swallowed, "But we don't have a car-"
And Darryll was already headed for the exit. Diane put her fork back on the plate and raced after Darryll who seemed to be beside himself with some kind of jittery, restless energy. He threw the doors open and Diane followed as he ran through the parking lot, found an empty car that didn't belong to him, and kicked the widow with as much force as he could. The window did not smash open because Darryll was simply a weak kicker, but it certainly garnered some unwanted attention from several other people in the parking lot, who peered over with great intrigue and concern at the small boy kicking a car seeming at random.
Darryll noticed as Diane came up from behind him and asked, "Diane, would you mind if I asked you to break this window for me?" He gestured with his thumb over to the window, "I'm apparently not strong enough to break it."
"Darryll," Diane pleaded, "That is very, very illegal. You promised me we wouldn't do things like that."
Darryll grabbed Diane by the shoulders and looked her straight in the eyes, "So you want to show Nia that manipulation and kidnapping don't deserve a promotion?"
Diane shrunk back, "I mean, yeah, but-"
"Then we need to break the law," Darryll explained. "We need to get arrested."