Kylie awoke to find Alex pacing back and forth in her room. "Hey, stranger. Penny for your thoughts?"
Alex glared at the tanned woman. "My thoughts? Well, I think I'm a terrible boyfriend and a horrible person."
Alex knew what he had done the night before was more nuanced than that. He didn't seduce and sleep with Kylie because he wanted to. In fact, he found her more repulsive than ever. He had to save the world. He needed her for information. Still, the guilt of sleeping with another woman lay heavy on him. He technically cheated.
Kylie sat up in the bed and stretched. Alex could smell the scent of her perfume, still as fresh as it was the day before, from across the room.
"We all have our weaknesses," she said soothingly. "You're not the first man to fall victim to womanly wiles."
"I have a girlfriend," he said. "I slept with another woman."
Kylie stood up from the bed. With a yawn, she lazily walked to her closet. Alex couldn't help but notice the jiggle of her butt as she did. Is that fake too? He wondered.
"Hey, where are my clothes?" Alex called out.
Kylie emerged from the closet wearing a dainty robe. She held Alex's clothes in her hands and pouted. "Aw, Alex. I hate to cover up my favorite view."
Alex stared at the woman, suddenly feeling more naked than ever. He held out his hand, and Kylie threw the clothes to him. He got dressed, very aware of the fact that Kylie's gaze never left him.
This was all necessary, he reminded himself. Even good people do bad things sometimes, especially if it's for the greater good.
"Alright. We screwed, so I have to uphold my end of the bargain, right? Shall we discuss business proceedings?" she asked, plopping down on the edge of her bed.
"I guess we don't have time to change into suits and call the lawyers. I'm all ears," Alex said confidently as he wiggled into his jeans.
"Very well," she said. "Riley plans to end the world. The pharmacy, the philanthropy, it's all a show. He does it entirely because he wants to be viewed as a hero, without the effort it takes to be one."
She paused, and Alex considered what she had said as he threw his shirt over his head.
"That seems very Riley-like," he said. "What does he intend to do?"
"Something involving cyborgs," she said. "Whenever he talks about it, my mind goes blank. Too much technobabble for my liking."
Alex stood up tall, fully dressed. He pressed the wrinkles out of his shirt to the best of his ability. "Go on. What else is he doing?"
Kylie paused, playing with her hair. "He has spies all over the country. In high places, like Washington, and low places like a cafe on River Street in Baltimore. They're everywhere. You can't take a dump without Riley knowing about it. That's how he knows where to market his suppositories." She gave Alex a grim smile.
"Invasive," Alex said, grimacing.
"That's just scratching the surface," she said, then paused. "He has a folder filled with creative ways to kill you."
Alex's heart pounded against his chest at the thought. Filled with nervous energy, he started pacing again. To an extent, he had known that Riley wanted him out of the picture. Their bitter rivalry was more than just rival competitors fighting over the same market. The media painted it as warring pharmaceutical conglomerates, but Alex and Riley hated each other for much more than that.
"As you know, Riley's goals are not solely business-related," she said. "See, he wants something bigger. Much bigger."
"How big?" he asked, tapping his finger on his chin.
Kylie paused. She held out her hands dramatically, "The world."
Alex raised an eyebrow. "As in, he wants to be the sole provider of pharmaceuticals for the whole world?"
"No, Alex. Not everything in life is about pharmacy," she said. "He literally wants the world. He's currently building an army, and showed it to me as well, actually. The lab he built has everything. Super soldiers, healing serums, I think I saw a robot dragon once. I can't keep track. At one point, he got really into French history, then he built a cyborg. It's a lot of really weird stuff."
"It sounds like it," Alex said, raising both eyebrows.
"It's no secret that we are an incredibly old family," she said. "The Naysmith name goes all the way back to when Baltimore was founded. We had power, once, and we still do, to an extent. Riley or I could run for president, and gain control of the country. I'd personally be fine with that, but Riley has never liked small potatoes."
"Potatoes are potatoes," Alex agreed.
"That may be," Kylie said. "Unfortunately, Riley doesn't see it that way. He thinks that if he brings the world to its knees by ending it, and saving only a handful of people, he can literally gain control of it."
"He'd create the only monopoly," he said, thinking of the implications. "The people would see him as their savior, revere him like some sort of god, and he would be able to do whatever he wanted."
"Bingo," Kylie said as she motioned for Alex to sit next to her on the bed. "And this is where you fit into my brilliant scheme." She tented her fingers and smiled wickedly.
"What do you want?" Alex asked. He walked to the opposite side of the bed and sat down, keeping a safe distance. He didn't want to give Kylie the impression that he was actually interested in her.
"I want partnership," she said. "You and me. We combine forces and merge our businesses. If Riley dies, everything he owns gets transferred to me. Your resources, my wit, my brother's work. We could become an unstoppable empire. And who knows? Maybe after a few years, if you're still single, and I'm still single, we tie the knot!"
Alex immediately shook his head. "No to tying the knot." But then, he paused to consider the rest of it. He looked away for a few minutes, going over the details in his mind. This was a big demand Kylie was making. He had never in his life imagined he would team up with a Naysmith. Any Naysmith. Let alone Riley Naysmith's sister.
A lot of what she said made sense. Alex knew that Riley wanted him dead, and had wanted him dead for years. Whether that was to buy out his company after the fact or simply to get revenge for something that happened a long time ago, it was simply a fact of life. That was one of the many reasons he had wanted to hole up in the safehouse for a while. Not just to generate ideas for the business, but to get some peace and quiet from all of Riley's nonsense.
He looked over his shoulder at Kylie. "I'll admit," he said. "It's pretty impressive."
Kylie chuckled, through a lock of bleached blonde hair over her shoulder. "Yeah, I guess."
"Can I ask something?" Alex asked.
"Go for it," she said, swinging her legs up onto the bed and relaxing. "No secrets here."
Alex thought carefully before he asked, "Why do you hate your brother so much?"
Kylie pursed her lips. "I don't hate him," she said. "It's complicated. I just don't think he's all there. He had these epic, crazy ideas, and while he can put them into action, he doesn't see the bigger picture. Sure, he sees the picture that he creates, but not the role that others play in creating the picture. Make sense?"
Alex nodded slowly. He knew a thing or two about having a complicated family tree.
"So," he started, tapping his knee. "What do I have to do to enlist your aid?"
"I'd say me," she said, grinning, "but that's taken care of. I want something much more binding, and significantly more permanent."
Alex felt a deep pang of shame. His stomach tied itself into knots as he realized the deadly error he had walked into. Was Kylie actually going to demand that they get married?
Kylie raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow, and the curve of her lips deepened as she spoke. Much to Alex's relief, she did not ask him to be her husband.
"I want what I proposed earlier," she said. "A merger. I wasn't joking. I get everything when he dies. I might as well use it and put it to good use, preferably with someone who actually has a good head on his shoulders. Riley is so obsessed with his success that he completely forgot about the family part of a family legacy. Well, I'm family, and I get to do the business that I want. What do you say?"
Alex thought about it, long and hard. On the one hand, he didn't want to taint Ambrose Pharma with the Naysmith name. It set too bad a precedent for the media vultures that would swoop in, demanding a tell-all story. He couldn't risk the affair getting out.
"On one condition," he said. "What happened last night doesn't make it beyond this room. I tell Debbie of my own accord. You keep silent. No media frenzy. I just can't deal with that. Not right now."
Kylie smiled. "You have my word."
"Great," he said. "So, business partners?"
"Business partners," she confirmed.
Alex reached out a hand for her to shake, but she grabbed him by the collar and kissed him. A very smart part of himself wanted to kiss her back and undress her all over again, but he pulled away and glared at her.
"A girl has to try," she said, shrugging.
They climbed off the bed, and Alex found his jacket behind the headboard. Kylie then escorted him out of her mansion. Alex stood outside the gates, patting Gary on the neck. His jacket pocket vibrated, and he pulled out his phone.
His heart leaped. He had almost two hundred missed calls! All of them were from Christopher and Louis.
"Oh my god!" he said, panicking. He fumbled through his phone, trying to listen to every voice message.
[SFX answering machine beep]
"Hey, Alex, it's Louis. I know you're busy and all, but we have a situation here, back at the house. Please give me a call when you get this, okay?"
[SFX answering machine beep]
"Alex, it's Christopher. Listen, I don't know how he did it, but Riley hacked the damn analog radio! For the love of god, call us back!"
[SFX answering machine beep]
"Louis again. Dear god man, pick up your phone!"
[SFX answering machine beep]
"Answer! Dear god just - oh god it beeped. This is Christopher. Dude. Please, answer! SCOT is malfunctioning and I don't know how to fix him!"
[SFX answering machine beep]
"I'm going to try one last time. This is Louis. Call us back. You wouldn't believe what happened even if you'd seen it for yourself. Just hurry up."
[SFX answering machine beep]
There were too many messages to listen to. A crushing sense of failure fell over Alex, and he found himself looking to Gary the super stallion for comfort. He rested his head against Gary's muscular neck.
He looked up at the horse.
"What have I done?" he asked. "I cheated on Debbie, I made a deal with a Naysmith, and I abandoned my friends when they needed me most. I'm a failure."
Gary nickered and swung his tail.
"I know," Alex said. "Failure helps us grow, but I'm really screwed up. I don't know what I'm going to do."
His phone buzzed. He looked down, expecting another missed call. Instead, it was a message from a private number.
It read:
"Hell, Mr. Ambrose. I hope you're well. I like to think of myself as a friend. You find yourself in quite the predicament. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. I shouldn't need to tell you that Riley Naysmith is out for your blood, I'm sure you're well aware of that. However, you should be warned that Naysmith has left his main facility in search of you. I do believe he intends to kill you, once and for all. If you act quickly, you might be able to get him before he gets you. I will send the address in a separate message. Get there before he does, and you will be in with a chance at victory."
Alex read the message multiple times until the words blurred together. A painful knot formed in his stomach. This was far too perfect. It was helpful information, but how could he trust it? There was no way to verify that this number was trustworthy, nor that it belonged to anyone.
His phone buzzed, and a second message followed, listing the address of one of Riley's minor facilities. It wasn't too far away from Kylie's home. He could get there quickly if he rode Gary fast enough.
There was still a knot in his stomach as he considered all the possible dangers of listening to an unmarked text message. He could very well be walking into a trap. Or, and he hoped that this would be the case, he could be walking into a chance to finally rid the world of Riley. He could be walking into a chance to save the world before Riley had a chance to end it. Alex could be a hero without having all the media attention focused on him like it usually did.
He turned to Gary the super horse.
"Do you think you have a quick run in you?" he asked.
The horse whinnied and trotted in place.
"Good boy!" Alex said. He mounted Gary, much more accustomed to the stallion's girth, and gave him a nudge with his heels.
Together, Alex and Gary sped toward the address Alex's mysterious benefactor had provided. They rode toward danger, they rode toward turmoil, and they rode toward fate.