Well, what an enthralling journey this has been! With that stunning revelation by Silvius, something tells me we’re in for a grandstand finish! Let’s get into it!

Mel’s jaw clenched tightly, anger and disbelief flooding her system in no time flat.

Unbelievable!

To think that she had been given a sob story about Morton’s ingratitude toward him and it had invigorated her to bring Morton to justice, only to discover that it was a lie and it was only for his selfish purposes!

She gazed over at Morton’s lifeless body, riddled with many bullet holes. She didn’t like him at all, but… he did not deserve to be snuffed out like that. The only kind of hurt she wanted for him was that ass-kicking she had prepared to give him once he was tied up and at her mercy. Not for him to lay dead like that.

“Wait, wait, I don’t get it, I…” she trailed off.

He laughed. “Yes, Agent Mel. I’m the one who messed up the reservation at Marina Vale so you could come here. I’m the one who had the surveillance devices in the entire hotel deactivated. I tracked Morton and you as you came here. Yeah, I have men on the ground working for me, and they did their work to perfection.”

She shook her head. Now it made sense where those interferences came from. What didn’t make sense, though, was why he lied to her and made look so stupid.

“So… so why did you deceive me?” she demanded. “Huh? If it was all about getting his empire for yourself, why didn’t you say so? Why sell me a fake story to elicit my sympathy? Why did you tell me you had no intention to kill him when you really did?”

Silvius stood before her, his demeanor calm and almost detached, as he looked at her with an air of superiority.

“Agent Mel, you were simply a means to an end—a pawn in a much larger game,” Silvius replied, his tone cocky and high of heart. “I had no obligation to reveal the truth to you. In my world, power is the ultimate currency, and deception is a necessary tool to get what I want. Besides, I didn’t think you’d be up for killing a man. You’re a woman. Women don’t do that kind of work. They’re for… you know, bait work. String along the idiot with their bodies and then let the men hack him down when he’s on the spot.”

Melitta seethed with rage inside. Either this man had no idea the kind of work she had carried out before, or he just wanted to be a misogynistic prick. She was guessing it was the latter, and that really pissed her off.

“Listen, woman, you remember what I said when you took this assignment, didn’t you? Only the best and the finest will do for me. No second place, and I don’t want anybody near second place to begin with. I need to be at the top, all by myself. Because you give a rival a chance, and he becomes a thorn you can’t get out of your flesh. I already did that with F.A. Chylton, and I’m not letting that happen with Morton. I will be the most powerful man in Ruthington! At all cost!”

Melitta shook her head in revulsion at the man who stood before her. “I thought you were a man of integrity. A man of loyalty. A man with values. Honestly, Silvius, I…”

Scornful laughter cut her off. “Values? Values, you say? Hah! Values, my dear agent, are but illusions. In the grand scheme of things, they hold no weight whatsoever. You see, in the wild, a lion who desires power does not concern itself with the feelings of those it manipulates. What matters is power. Power and power alone. And that is what I’m about. Wielding the power, and nothing less than that.

“Why do you think I rate Scar so much? We know these Disney movies will make him the villain and all that shit, but he knew what the fuck he was doing, with no apologies! He wanted power, and everyone was a pawn! Whether his own brother, his own nephew, even the damn hyenas working for him, they were all pawns! That’s how you roll when the ultimate goal is power! Fuck everyone else!”

Shaking her head, Melitta simply stared at him, lost for words. This job never failed to introduce her to some shady and twisted characters, and this was most certainly one of them. A typical twisted, greedy billionaire who knew the art of pretense, and was happy with only getting richer and richer.

“Well, the job is done. Your work is over now. Thanks a lot for sticking to my script and doing exactly what I expected you’d do,” Silvius concluded, readying himself to walk away. “Later tonight, you can pass by for the rest of your money. As for me, it’s time for me to work on ridding Ruthington of that other asshole. I swear, the shocker he’s gonna come home to… he’ll never see it coming. See you later, Agent!”

He turned to move away, then briefly glanced back at her, eyeing her up and down with that very lustful glint in his eyes. “And uh, when you come over, do wear these shorts. Or, you know, anything else that gives me a good view of those damn luscious legs. Who knows, maybe I’ll give you fifty percent more, or you can… break the rules and get with a client for the first time. I can definitely take you down real good.”

Sniggering, he turned and walked toward the door, a victorious swagger in his step.

“Umm, I don’t think that’ll be necessary.”

Silvius turned around in confusion. “What?”

The next thing he heard: the sound of a pistol fired.

Followed by a searing, blinding pain in his stomach.

“AAAAAAAGHHHHHH!” he screamed as he fell to the floor.

Melitta, arm outstretched with the pistol in her hand, had a wicked grin on her face.

“SIR! SIR!”

“MISTER RIVERS!”

The voices of the two gunmen could be heard from the corridor, as their hurried footsteps rushed toward the open door, ready to come to the defence of their boss.

Two seconds and three gunshots later, they both lay in a heap on the floor, downed by a ruthlessly efficient Melitta.

“Aaaaarghhh! What-what the fuck!” he groaned. “Are you that pissed, woman? Did you have to shoot me?”

Melitta’s grin grew wider. “Oh, yeah, I’m that pissed. Pissed as fuck at your misogynistic shit. But, also, I got a surprise for you.”

She took out her phone and dialled a number, all the while keeping the gun pointed at the injured Silvius.

The dial tone hummed about twice before it was answered.

“Heyyyy!”

“Hey AZ, my sweet.”

“Melitta my little baby! What’s good?”

“Oh well, you know, just… striking while the iron is hot,” she quipped, her evil grin still plastered on her face.

“Wait, you mean it’s already done?”

“Almost, AZ, almost! I didn’t think it would be on a silver platter like this, but damn, did I strike quickly!”

In the midst of his devastating agony, Silvius frowned. That nickname had some familiarity to it. It was like he knew someone who used that term a lot.

Aarrgghhh! Ahhhh, what the fuc… uh, uh, who says that, who calls himself that?

Then it hit him.

The words that bastard always used whenever he laid a threat at his doorstep.

Listen here, Silvius Rivers. If you think you’re gonna pull me down, you are one deluded motherfucker. You hear me? I run this town! I run it, from top to bottom, beginning to end, A to Z…

A to Z… A to Z… AZ…

“AZ?” he gasped. “W-w-wait a minute. Y-y-you mean…”

The gun still pointed at him, Melitta was now the one with the cocky smirk.

“Mr. Rivers, allow me to reintroduce myself. My name is Melitta Page, chief undercover agent, and loving girlfriend of the one and only Frederic Arnold Chylton. Or as we like to call him… F.A. Chylton.”

***

It was pretty heated in the back of the limousine parked at the airport, as Melitta kissed Frederic as passionately as she could, doing her best to squeeze out every last drop of love from him before he had to leave her.

“Whoaaa, slow down, babe,” he laughed, holding her at arms’ bay. “At this rate, you’re asking for those cheeks to get a hit.”

Breathing in and out, she grinned mischievously. “I wouldn’t mind that, you know. Right here right now.”

“Mel! Chad can hear us. I don’t think he needs to know that, much less be a witness to that.”

She covered her mouth. “Ooops, sorry.”

He snickered. “Whatever. Now listen, honey, take it easy, alright? We shouldn’t be away from each other for too long. As we agreed, once you complete the hit on that Rivers dickhead, I’ll have a jet fly you straight to Bermuda to join me. At least, we all get to fulfill our jobs, right?”

“Right. And once I come, we get to hang out, go to beautiful places, make sweet intense l…”

Catching herself, she grinned at Frederic, and then the chauffeur, who already looked quite flustered at what he had just seen and heard. “Sorry, I did it again.”

Frederic shook his head. “You owe Chad a big ass apology when I’m out of the car, you know. Tryna destroy the young man’s innocence like that.“

“Yes, please, sir,” she replied sweetly.

Still shaking his head, he kissed her on the forehead. “And as to how the ruthless, professionally-minded, witty-mouthed, ass-kicking Agent Mel turns into this lovey-dovey, super-attached baby around me, I’ll need a couple of scientists to do some major research on it.”

She laughed. “It’s you, AZ. You bring out the lovey-dovey in me. Because I love you so much.”

“And I love you too, baby. So take care, alright? And get in touch with Blythe. I’ve paid him a good amount to recommend you to Rivers.”

She nodded. “Alright, alright. But AZ, you’re totally sure this will work?”

“Absolutely, babe! I told you, I’ve got friends in many corners, and they’ve given me all the info I need to know exactly what he’s planned. There might be a few details in there left to him alone, but believe me, at the end of it all, it’ll be you and him in a space where he’s vulnerable. And once you get that chance, take it! I know you’ll do the rest.”

“Alright, my love. I trust you. After all, you own this city. Top to bottom…”

“Beginning to end…”

“A to Z!” the two excitedly completed together, laughing. Frederic then kissed her one more time, then opened the door. “Time to go! Goodbye, Melitta!”

“Bye, Frederic!”

****

Horror filled Silvius as he lay there, still in agony over his gunshot wound, with Melitta still aiming her gun squarely at his temple while Frederic laughed triumphantly over the phone.

How in God’s name did he not see this coming? How could he have not been privy to this?

“You thought I was just clapping my gums whenever I said I was a step ahead of you, didn’t you? I told you, you no-good, greedy ass son of a bitch! I run this city! Whatever you pay Blythe, I pay twelve times more! I have ears in places you never thought I could have! I’m better than you, Silvius Rivers!”

Silvius could feel his consciousness slipping, the victorious gloat of his enemy not doing him any favours. This really sucked, getting sucker punched like this by your rival. Looked like he hadn’t been bluffing at all; he was a step ahead of him.

“You know, I thought there was space for two eagles in this city, I really did. I thought the sky was big enough for all of us, and we could even become friends. But from the moment you made it clear there’s no space as long as you’re around, I switched up. Nothing was gonna stop this eagle from rising up, and if that gave rise to a battle, then fine, so be it. Because only one eagle will be crashing to the ground, and it certainly won’t be me! Enjoy your descent into hell, you old dickhead!”

Melitta smirked, knowing that was her cue to finish the job. She looked at Silvius. “Mister Silvius Rivers! You know something?”

Silvius was getting too weak to respond.

“Your beloved role model. Scar. He was killed by his pawns too. So hey, at least that’s one thing y’all share in common. Nice thought before you die, ain’t it? Can’t say I never did anything nice for ya.”

She waited for a moment… then pulled the trigger.

POW!

It was over. A bullet in the head, and Silvius had joined Morton and his two gunmen in the great beyond.

“I always hated Scar, anyway,” she muttered to herself.

“It’s done?”

“It’s done.”

“Nice shot.”

“Thanks, love. Now can I get my private jet and meet you in Bermuda?”

“Hahaha! Yes, yes, it’ll be waiting for you. You do know how to get out of there, right?”

“Honey, I’ve done this shit for years. I’ve already spotted all the vulnerabilities and potential exit points and stuff. Should be outta here in no time.”

“Cool. And the bodies?”

“Ehh, simple. Frame it to look like a shootout that ended in a double K.O. like back in the Tekken games. I’ll find something to make it look like Morton’s little friend got caught in the crossfire, too.”

Frederic laughed. “Great. I’ll call Gary and tell him to get the jet ready for you. You know how to reach Gary, so you’re good with that.”

“Perfect. And uh, baby? You do know that Morton twat tried touching my thighs, right?”

“What? The son of a bitch touched my queen’s legs? Damn him! Mel, you better get here quick so I can rectify that nonsense.”

Melitta grinned excitedly. “That’s what I love to hear, AZ. I’m coming!”

THE END

Dear reader, if that wasn’t a grandstand finish, I dunno what is. Who saw it coming that AZ was F.A. Chylton and that Mel was working for him? This was one heck of an ending! And I guess the answer to the title is simple: nobody! Nobody is to be trusted. Even Agent Mel herself.

Thank you for reading, and continue to enjoy yourself around the State!