Darque Wants

by Diana Steele

  “What if he doesn’t need a lawyer?” Thena asked as they walked through a bustling business district, with men and women in pristine suits and briefcases coming in and out of buildings. “It’s a good job you’re wearing a suit.” Thena herself, felt pretty underdressed, but she supposed she would pass for Dorian’s assistant or secretary if needs must.

  “He’s a high up government man with fingers in lots of pies, according to our pal the assassin. People like that always have lawyers. Even if they’re not using them right at that minute, they have them on the books, so to speak, trusted people they can turn to when they need to. Besides, it won’t get that far. Once we’ve actually seen him and made the fake introduction, I can get a really important phone call and then cut the meeting short, promising I’ll come back soon.”

  It sounded like something of a risky plan to Thena, but she agreed to go along with it for want of a better one, and once they’d arrived at the right building, they strode on confidently inside, trying to pretend they knew exactly what they were doing and where they were going.

  There was a large, long panel with a list of names, offices and floors on it. A quick look confirmed that Montgomery Shackleton was on the seventeenth floor. Needless to say, they took the lift.

  When the doors opened, they emerged out into a small reception area. It would appear that Mr Shackleton had the entire floor to himself, an indication of how well to do the guy really was, and they soon found out that this wasn’t his only office either.

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” said the receptionist. “He’s at Whitehall today. Let me just check when he’ll be back. He does move around a lot.” She gave them an apologetic smile then got up from her desk and walked off to a room at the back. She opened up the door and walked on through, disappearing inside and leaving the door wide open.

  It was only a glimpse, but it was enough.

  Through the open door, they could see the wallpaper of the office beyond, the corner of the desk, the green leather chair, the lamp.

  Dorian and Thena both looked at each other, eyes wide.

  That was the office from their visions; the very same one that Harvey Jenson had stood in when he was given the orders to carry out the murders.

  That could mean only one thing; Montgomery Shackleton was definitely their man.

  “He’s at Whitehall all weekend. He’ll be back here on Tuesday,” the receptionist announced as she returned, carrying a large leather backed planner. “He’s got a meeting with the Prime Minister on Monday.”

  “Could you give us the address of the Whitehall office?” Dorian asked. “You said he’ll be working there all weekend?”

  “On a part time basis, yes. He does normally pop in for a few hours to sort out things, even on a weekend. The country doesn’t stop just because it’s a Saturday or a Sunday, you know.” She gave them a pleasant smile.

  “Oh, don’t I know it,” Dorian sighed.

  The receptionist happily wrote down the address for them and handed it over, then they said their goodbyes and walked out.

  Little did the two of them know that, as the lift doors closed behind them, the seemingly friendly receptionist dropped her smile in an instant, her eyes darkening as she picked up the phone off the desk, fingers hurriedly dialling a number.

  “Where to now?” Thena asked once they were outside. “Whitehall?”

  “No…” Dorian frowned. “We know that it’s him now. We don’t need to. Not until we know what we should actually do next. And in order to do that, we need more information.”

  “Yeah,” she had to agree. “Can’t just go barging in there accusing him of stuff.”

  “He’d most likely have us killed if we did. Seems a dangerous man.”

  “Definitely.”

  “We’ll go to the apartment now,” he said then, taking hold of her hand and giving it a squeeze. “Forget all about this Montgomery Shackleton for the rest of this evening and just enjoy our time together.”

  That sounded like a wonderful idea.

  The apartment was in the heart of Soho. Thena didn’t really have the first clue about these kind of things, but she imagined it would have cost him a lot; London was always pricier and to be right at the centre of everything cost even more. The size of it too, was impressive. It was at least double hers; with plush, wooden floors and stylish modern furniture, high up in a classy building that overlooked the city.

  “Wow, this is amazing!” She swooned, rushing to the window and taking in the views. It even had its own private balcony. She pushed back the doors and stepped out. The sounds of the busy city below reached up to her ears and sent a rush of excitement through her chest. “What a great place.”

  “It really is,” Dorian agreed with a chuckle. “I should stay here more often.”

  “Well, we might be doing if I get the job,” Thena squealed, hugging him. She was rather sold on the idea now she’d seen the place, almost forgetting all about her previous embarrassment.

  She went back through into the main section of the apartment and bounced herself down onto the luxurious black leather sofa.

  Dorian laughed at how excited she was reacting. “You’re like a child at Christmas.”

  “And you’re the best Christmas present ever,” she shot back a cheesy line. It seemed to work. He came over and slid himself down onto the sofa beside her, pressing his lips to hers in a sweet kiss.

  Soon, the clothes were coming off as eager hands fumbled at shirt buttons and jeans and jackets.

  Thena leaned up and nipped at his neck, sucking the skin up between her teeth and wanting to make a mark on the flesh; wanting everyone who saw it to know that he was hers.

  “Mm…” He closed his eyes and tilted his head, exposing more of his neck to her and allowing her to continue.

  Once she was satisfied, she pulled back, her lips plopping loudly as the skin slid out. Then she slipped her arms around him and dragged him in for another passionate kiss, their tongues clashing as they met halfway.

  Now almost entirely naked, or at least enough to get at the parts they needed to get at, Dorian thrust his hips forwards and entered her quickly, with Thena wrapping her legs around his waist and urging him onwards. Condoms were all but forgotten about. She would deal with the consequences later. For now, she just wanted him. She had to have him. In a flurry of passion, they commenced their lovemaking, a short and fast session that barely lasted five minutes but set the fire racing in both their bellies, and the sweat prickling the backs of their necks by the time they collapsed into one another, clinging to each other’s tired bodies and panting.

  That night, they went out to eat at a local Italian restaurant, and wandered around Soho, Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus, taking in all the sights and sounds, popping into various places to get a quick drink and returning home to the apartment late in the evening and more than a little tipsy, laughing and stumbling over themselves to get the key in the lock and falling into bed, happy and in a relaxed mood, ready to start their weekend.

  The following day – Saturday – they awoke late, and Thena had a little bit of a hangover from their night out. She made them both coffee and a piece of toast from the bread that was in the freezer. She wasn’t sure how long it had been in there, but it seemed alright once she had defrosted it. They would need to get in some basic provisions if they were going to live there for the next couple of days; even if they ate out for lunch and dinner, being able to cook breakfast would be nice.

  “I think I’ll see my agent today,” said Dorian thoughtfully as he sat up in bed and munched on his toast.

  “Yeah?”

  “Well, it’s been a while since I’ve been in London. It might be worth doing some kind of promotion for my last book whilst I’m here.”

  “Me and Deme saw a copy in the bookshop,” she blushed. “Back in Dorchester. She wanted me to buy it and get you to sign it.”

  “Why didn’t you?” he laughed.

  “Because it’s embarrassing.”


  “Ha, not really. I’m hardly a famous superstar or anything.”

  “More famous than me.”

  “Do you want to be famous?” He looked at her seriously for a moment.

  “Not really,” she shrugged. “I just want to be happy.”

  “Good answer.” He leaned in to kiss her, then they finished their breakfast and got showered and dressed to go out.

  It had been a long time since Thena had caught the tube, but she managed to find her way and not get on the wrong line, ending up at Russell Square and near to the British Museum in plenty of time for her interview. She wandered around the Square for a while and got herself an ice cream, then sat down on a bench to eat it, watching the people walk by and wondering what they were all up to in their busy lives.

  When it was time to go in, she crossed the road, took a left, then a right, and walked through the large iron gates and across the dusty courtyard towards the British Museum. She marched right up to the reception and told them she was expected for a job interview. They had her name already down on a list and she was shown through a staff only door, then led down a long corridor to the very bottom, where a door was opened by a friendly looking woman with a firm, confident handshake. Thena tried to return the shake as best she could, and not feel too nervous about the whole thing as she stepped in and closed the door behind her.

  “Please, take a seat,” the woman said, offering her the chair that was set up just in front of her desk.

  She introduced herself as the assistant curator and began by asking Thena a few questions about her CV, going into some specifics about the work she had done in the past and particularly the work she was currently engaged in at Dorchester Museum.

  Thena answered all the questions as succinctly but also as thoroughly as she could, remembering to speak clearly and allow her own natural enthusiasm for the topic to shine through. Soon, she had forgotten all about the fact that she was in an interview, and was just chatting happily as if talking to an old friend, passionately talking about their latest exhibit at the museum and how much she enjoyed the work she did.

  She wasn’t entirely sure what the outcome would be, but Thena felt the whole thing had gone very well, and her interviewer certainly seemed pleased with her responses, nodding and smiling throughout, occasionally taking notes.

  Once it was over, she spent a couple of hours wandering round the museum and looking at everything, absorbing the information and getting lost in history before she was interrupted by a phone call, her mobile phone shrilly ringing and echoing round the large hall she was currently walking through, and causing her to glance about her in embarrassment as she hurriedly took it out and rushed outside.

  It was her sister, Deme, calling to see how the interview had gone.

  “Quite good, I think.”

  “You think?”

  “Well, it’s always hard to tell with these things, isn’t it? I mean, she asked me some questions and I answered them.”

  “When will they let you know?”

  “By the end of next week.”

  “Great. I really hope you get it, Thena.”

  “You do?” She was a little surprised. She’d been expecting some kind of resistence at her moving away from Dorchester. She knew her sister would miss her, or at least, she had thought she would.

  “Yeah. I think it’s for the best, you know…after you and John…”

  There was an awkward silence on the line. Deme had always approved and encouraged her relationship with John and, although she was supportive no matter what decisions Thena made, she had tried to convince her from the beginning that Dorian was only a phase, a silly crush she was going through. Now that silly crush had become her boyfriend and there was a serious possibility of them moving in together if they job came off.

  “Yeah, I think you’re right,” said Thena. “Things have been really awkward at work recently.”

  “I can imagine.”

  Another pause.

  “He um…he called me…today.” Deme’s voice was almost a whisper. Thena had to put her finger in her other ear so she could hear her properly over the noise of the capital.

  “He did?”

  “Yeah, he’s been calling me pretty regularly, actually.”

  “I blocked his number,” Thena admitted. “I thought he might try to ring me.”

  “He says he has been trying. He sounded pretty…mad.”

  “Yeah, that’s why I blocked him.”

  They talked for a few more minutes, then Thena said she’d have to go, as she was in the middle of a museum and didn’t want to disturb too many people. They promised to have a proper get together when she got back from London and that was that. Little did Thena know, it was the last time she would speak to her sister before the incident.

  Later that evening, she met up with Dorian again for some dinner and a catch up, telling each other all about what they’d been up to. He had been to see his agent and had arranged a book signing for the following day. It was a last minute, impromptu decision, and Thena was totally unprepared for the response.

  *****

  Fliers had been handed out the night before, posters had been put up, word had been spread via the internet and on Dorian’s mailing list, which had well over 50,00o subscribers worldwide.

  When they turned up at the book store in the centre of the city the following day, Thena felt like most of them had turned up that morning to meet him. She was astonished by the turnout.

  “I told you you were famous,” she whispered to him as she linked his arm, walking through the crowds towards the back. The staff in the bookstore had reserved them a special corner, and set up a table for Dorian to sign at, with banners on either side that displayed pictures of his book cover.

  "This is very well organised considering it's last minute," Thena remarked.

  "Well, I had a signing here before, two months ago when the book first came out," said Dorian. "These banners are from then."

  He took his place at the table and sat down. The sizeable crowd that had gathered surged forward, and the staff members arranged them into a more orderly line, so that each of them could queue up and wait their turn. There were a few other shoppers in the book shop, just browsing and looking at books, probably wondering what on earth was going on.

  "Where shall I wait for you?" asked Thena nervously, feeling a bit out of place just stood there behind Dorian's shoulder. Perhaps she should go for a coffee and meet up with him after it was done.

  Dorian didn't get chance to answer, as a determined and self confident businesswomen with an air of importance pushed through the crowd to get to the front, raising her eyebrows at Dorian in greeting.

  He stood up and shook her hand, then introduced the stranger to Thena. "This is my agent, Patricia Wilkins. Patricia...this is Thena, who I was telling you about over the phone."

  "Pleasure to meet you," said Patricia smoothly, holding out her hand.

  "You too," Thena smiled and clasped it. She wasn't prepared for the jolting vision that followed.

  Blood. Hatred. Deceit.

  Unlike previous visions, they weren't clear or specific. They were emotions, rather than images, but they were powerful and disturbing none the less. She didn’t know what it was about this woman, but she was certainly not all she seemed. There was something not right about her, despite her apparent friendly exterior and happy smiles. Thena got the impression that Patricia Wilkins was hiding some kind of dark secret, perhaps just like her very own Dorian was.

  The entire incident left her shaken up and in a darkened spirit. She watched Patricia loom down on Dorian and give him advice, then wave towards the first person in the queue to come forward, and Thena felt completely left out. A third wheel, unneeded. It was probably silly of her, but that was how she felt. She retreated as far into the corner as she could manage, and just stared towards the main doors of the bookstore, keeping her focus on them and trying not to look around her. She felt too self conscious to look into the faces
of the ‘fans’, if that was what they were.

  As the signing continued though, she began to grow bored, and her eyes wandered. She glanced about and watched some of the people in the queue. That was when she started to notice they were staring at her. Not all of them, of course, but one or two…here and there. At first, she thought she was just being paranoid, but then it happened one too many times. They were looking over at her, whispering to one another, obviously wondering who she was and what she was doing there, what connection she had to Dorian. She could feel her cheeks burning red with shame and embarrassment. She looked down at her feet and wondered what to do. Should she just walk out and go somewhere else and wait for him? Or stay exactly where she was and suffer through it?

  In the end, her decision was neither.

  She moved out from her hiding place and walked round the back of the table, unseen by Dorian as she slipped away and through the crowd on the right hand side. She grabbed one of Dorian’s books off the display shelf the staff had purposefully put up in front of the main entrance, and joined the queue to get it signed, weasling her way in so that she was more near to the front than the back, and politely smiling at the people around her as if she had been there the entire time. A couple of people tutted and stared, but nobody asked her to move or called her out for pushing in. She just didn’t want to have to join the queue right at the back, and she didn’t want to have to stand where everyone could see and stare at her either.

  Fifteen minutes later, she got to the front of the queue and handed her book down to Dorian.

  He glanced up to offer his ‘fan’ a smile, then did a quick double take and laughed. “Thena…what are you doing here?”

  “I got bored,” she shrugged. “And I didn’t want people staring at me and wondering who I was.”

  “Who cares what they think,” he whispered. “It’s only you I care about…you I want.”

  She blushed, suddenly feeling foolish for having been so childish about the whole thing. “I know, but…”