Chapter 20
Marx has insisted that Jonathan joins us, and he’s sitting uncomfortably close to me in Marx’s large car, two in the front, three in the back, with Jonathan in the middle and edging closer and closer to me as we move. He grips my arm, “Oh, this is jolly exciting” he says, smiling, and I shake my head. Who uses the word jolly, really? On Jonathan’s other side is the sensual, enigmatic Nadia, Jonathan’s ignoring her as she looks forward, alone, uninterested. Marx and Jason are in the front, Jason navigating, giving the barest minimum of directions.
We pull up outside the abandoned warehouse, and Marx regards it suspiciously. “This is it?” he asks. Jason nods. “We’re hardly going to advertise, are we?”
Nadia touches Marx’s arm. “It’s OK. Come on” she says and we walk together to the hidden entrance, which is open. Instead of blackness this time we can see inside, a large room opening up, and The General standing there, arms behind his back, cigar in his mouth, with two guards, dressed in black, one on either side, both holding serious looking weaponry. The General nods at Jason, gives me a look and then focuses on Marx and Nadia, standing side by side, almost touching, silent.
“You better come in” says The General, gruffly.
We’re all in a large, unfurnished metal room somewhere deep inside the building. Despite the warmth outside, it’s utterly freezing in here, and I keep having to wrap my arms around my chest to keep warm, though no one else seems to notice. There’s a large, oak table in the middle of the room, and The General motions all of us to sit down. We end up like adversaries, Marx and Nadia on one side, Jason, me, and for some reason Jonathan on the other side. The General sits at the head of the table, and the click, click, click of shoes reveals Sara Marks, appearing from the darkness at the edge of the room. She nods at Jason, and takes a seat at the other end of the table. The guards stand by The General, looking forwards, motionless.
“Well” says The General, putting his hands face down on the table, “it seems that we have a situation here.” He’s looking at Marx.
Marx doesn’t look up as he talks. “Not really. It’s quite simple. We had a deal with Mr John Paris here. He broke the deal. We will make him pay. And also Mr Friedmann, who appears to have helped Mr Paris along the way. You can do a deal with us if you like, by giving us Mike Paris, in return for, shall we say, reducing the punishment for Paris and Friedmann. I believe you have Mike Paris with you.”
The General looks questioningly at Jason. Jason raises his eyebrows. “Mike Paris is Zoltan Draman.”
“Ah” says The General. “And John Paris?”
Jason nods at me. “That’s him. At least, you know, his essence, transferred to Mark. That’s why he’s been acting so weird recently.”
“So you… have gone through the process?” Sara Marks is looking at me. I nod, uncomfortably.
“And you didn’t think to tell us? And you didn’t think to mention it?”
“Well, er, it got a bit complicated” is all I can manage.
“Ha!” says The General. “That’s certainly true. And I take it Draman, or Mike Paris, is actually your brother?”
I gulp. “Yes, that’s right” sighs Jason. “He is.” Sara nods. “Which would explain why he is refusing to talk to anyone except for you.”
“So” says Marx, “do we have a deal?”
The General puffs on his cigar and looks over at Marx. “Look. This guy” ne nods at me, “you can do what you like with. Not my concern. Jason, you leave alone. And you can have Draman as soon as he reverses the procedure on Four Ways West.”
Marx looks at Nadia and she puts her hand on his and glances at me. He nods. “OK, that’s fine.”
“Hang on a minute.” That’s me this time. The General looks at me. “What?” he asks, curtly.
“Well, what about me?”
“What about you?” asks Marx. He has his knife out again, he’s lain it in front on him on the table and he’s looking directly at me.
“Well…” I start.
“He has a point” says Sara. “If he’s the only guy Draman talks to, then we’re not going to get very far without him. And, if he really has had the procedure then…”
“It will be hard to destroy him” nods Marx. “Well, what do you suggest?” he asks, looking at Sara.
“What procedure?” asks Jonathan. “Mark, are they going to hurt you?” He grabs my arm. “Don’t worry, I’ll look after you.” We all turn and look at him, it’s like we’d forgotten he was there. I’m not entirely sure what to say.
“Shut the fuck up” says Jason. That seems to work.
Sara taps her fingers on the table. “All right, look” she says. “If I understand it right, you want revenge on Draman because he walked out on you, taking this secret with him. He’s unlikely to give it up easily, so you may get revenge on him, but you won’t find out how it works. Am I right?”
“I’m listening” says Marx.
“We” says Sara, nodding at The General, “we could find that sort of power very useful too.”
Nadia laughs. “Oh, really? Everlasting life? What a surprise.”
Sara sighs. “Yeah, all right, fine. But look. We have serious facilities and resources here. Let’s work together. We have Mark Forth here who has actually been through the procedure, we can investigate, we can experiment, we can find out how it’s done…”
“Okay…” says Marx.
“And we’ll do a deal with you” she says, looking at me. “Let’s say, three months. You help us out here. Then after that you can go free. For that, all you have to do is convince your brother to reverse the procedure on the band. We’ll take the rest from there.”
“And we get Mike Paris?” Marx asks.
“Once he’s reversed the procedure, yes, you can do to him as you see fit” Sara replies.
“So… I have to betray my own brother?” I ask.
Marx laughs. “Well, you’ve done it once already.”
“No!” says Jonathan suddenly, “I know Mark. He’s a kind, decent, loving person. He wouldn’t do that. There has to be another way.”
“Who the hell is this guy?” asks The General.
“He seems to be Paris’ boyfriend” says Marx.
“Mike Paris is gay?” asks Sara.
“No, no, no, this guy here, John Paris”
Sara turns to me. “You’re gay?” she asks, surprised.
“No?” I say. “No. It was just once… and it wasn’t even me. It was Mark Forth when he was, erm, Mark Forth.”
“So you don’t love me?” asks Jonathan. He grips my hand, but he looks crestfallen.
“Well” I reply flustered, “erm, no, not really.”
He looks down. “Oh” he says in a flat voice. “All right. I understand. At least you’re being honest.” He looks over at The General. “Can I go now, please?” The General and Sara look at each other. “Best you stay with us for the time being” says Sara and she glances at the guards. They step forward and take an arm each of Jonathan’s, hauling him upright with surprising ease. “But…” says Jonathan, “Mark… Mark? Help me? Please?” as they walk him towards a door in the far wall.
“Erm” I say to no one, to anyone who’ll listen. “What are you going to do with him?”
Sara smiles. “We’ll find some uses, I’m sure.”
“But you’re not going to harm him? I mean, he didn’t really do anything…”
The General gets up. “The world is full of people that didn’t really do anything. That is hardly the point. Now, we need you to talk to your brother.”
Kings of the Night Page 39