This is it, the moment I've been dreading for the past 24 hours. As I watch my brother part ways with us, bearing an expression as strained as these accursed clothes I'm wearing, I can't help but connect with the feeling of impending doom that looms over us like a dark cloud. What's the expression...'It's do or die time'?
Indeed.
However, I feel at this point we've already been dying slowly and now the job is about to be finished.
"Okay," Trish began, her excitement apparent and ready to pop her like a balloon, "let's plan to meet up at around 7-ish?" her voice carried a few feet down the hall to Ari who stood at her and Vergil's room door.
"Sounds like a plan, see you guys soon!" Ari wasted no time sliding the key card into the lock release mechanism, waving at Trish and Dante before shuffling over the threshold with as many bags as she could hold.
Trish had bags in hand as well, as she unlocked her and Dante's room door and slipped inside, leaving Dante lingering in the hallway. Dante tightened his grip on the metal cart he had been pushing before slowly turning his head to gaze at his brother down the hall who also had not moved. They exchanged somber expressions as the two unsuspecting women were heard making excited exclamations from the rooms.
After a few beats, Dante squared his shoulders, his expression now one of determination as he held up a hand, mouthing the words 'five minutes' and pointing back in the direction of the elevator they had just come from. As he reached to replace his hand on the cart, he suddenly twitched and, almost instinctively, reached to the back of his pants to fumble with his unique underwear. Biting his bottom lip, he shook his head and slowly disappeared into the room Trish had previously entered.
Vergil responded to the sight with a silent scoff. Who was he kidding? Following Dante at this point seemed no different than being an animal led to the slaughterhouse. Deep in the recesses of his mind, he knew that if they had even a remote chance of softening the blow of the outcome he was sure was inevitable, he had to be the one to come up with a plan. Not to mention the fact that he still had not forgotten how it was Dante who initiated this dark domino effect to begin with... Vergil took a deep breath. Payback would be sweet, but he had to survive this next hurdle before he could get there.
"Just look at this place!" Ari's voice cut into Vergil's thoughts, bringing him back to the moment at hand.
Vergil reached down to collect the last of the luggage at his feet, not in any rush, before cautiously stepping into the hotel room. His mouth soon went as dry as a desert when he began to slowly take in his surroundings.
Very obviously the focal point of the room, a dark and shining metal pole was mounted on a small, round stage in one corner of the room, stretching all the way to the high ceiling above. The base had been decorated with what seemed to be deeply embedded glitter and generously lined with neon LED lights of various colors. Against the wall across the way, a king-size bed sat majestically adorned with deep purple linen, lined with gold trim that matched the bed's skirt and the pillows that rested against the beautifully crafted wooden headboard. By this time, Vergil's mind had gone utterly blank as his eyes followed Ari over to some very stately, cascading purple curtains. She pulled a thin cord, revealing a massive window giving them full view of the breathtaking city skyline.
"This is awesome!" Vergil could see the twinkle in Ari's eyes as she looked at him.
His heart plummeted to the deepest depths of his chest. Could intense guilt kill a man? Would it be easier to just go out that way versus what he could potentially face at the hands of his wife once she became privy to his folly?
"Vergil?"Ari had a look of slight concern as she stood across the room, gazing at him with those big, brown eyes of hers. Vergil could tell she was slightly uneasy, as it manifested itself in the way she scratched at one of her nails. "What do you think?"
Vergil didn't know what to say. The room was immaculate, but he was nervous about where the conversation would turn afterward; there was a stripper pole towering in the room after all. Vergil opened his mouth but words just wouldn't come out as he stood somewhat awkwardly trying to get himself together while not forgetting he had a deal to uphold.
Ari's shoulders dropped a bit and her smile got a little smaller, "...Is it too much?"
"No," the word flew out of Vergil's mouth as if he had not been speechless moments prior, "it's...amazing." He saw brightness return to her eyes. There was no way he could allow her to think her efforts were in vain. He could only imagine what it had taken to not only book into a place like this, but also planning a full itinerary of activities in such a short period of time. 'And all with my enjoyment in mind...' the question that followed cut him like a double-edged sword, 'is your pride worth it?'
Was it? Was triumph over his twin in a silly game really worth as much as he thought it to be? All he had to do was say two little words and the nightmare would be over: you win. How hard was that? How hard was losing to Dante? Vergil set the bags of luggage he was holding down at his feet before closing the distance between them. A smile tugged at his lips as she curiously stared up at him. No matter what he could experience in the run of a day, he could forget the world around him as he knew it whenever he looked into her captivating doelike eyes.
He slowly reached to take one of her hands in his own before raising it to his lips to plant a tender kiss, "Thank you."
Her smile widened as she circled her arms around his waist, drawing him into a hug. Vergil squeezed his eyes shut and rested his chin on top of her head as he returned her embrace; He knew this was only the beginning. They had a long weekend ahead and the thought of ruining it all continued to grow heavier on him. He was convinced however, that the resulting guilt would be much worse. Pulling back slowly, Vergil blinked down at Ari. She looked puzzled but he didn't understand why until she apparently repeated herself.
"Did you hear me?"
He obviously had zoned out, something he had been doing increasingly since the trip began, much to his chagrin.
"I said, can I ask you something?" Ari ran a hand along one of his arms before scratching at the fabric of the shirt and reaching up to push his hair back.
"Of course," he wasn't sure why she would ask that, "anything, love."
Ari flashed a soft smile before looking away, her voice low and barely above a whisper, "Can you...wear something else?"
Vergil's heartbeat quickened and he swallowed hard.
"I mean, it's just...I know you and Dante were planning something and I don't want to spoil whatever is it, but..." Ari chewed at her bottom lip, "...this just isn't you babe."
Vergil closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before locking eyes with her again. What she said next nearly shattered his composure like glass.
"I want my Vergil back."
Vergil could feel his face getting hot, though not from embarrassment but from anger. Anger at the way he inadvertently victimized the woman he would lay down and die for, treating her emotions like some play thing. He knew her aversion to him resembling his brother aside from the uncontrollable aspects that came with being a twin, yet, here he was, standing like the world's biggest fool dressed from head to toe in his brother's clothes, and mimicking his persona.
That sealed it; the final nail had just gone into the coffin. He had just decided to end this circus and if his twin would attempt to mock him for it, then he would deal with him until he relented...mercilessly. Vergil gently cupped Ari's chin, but just as he opened his mouth to speak, a loud knock resounded on their door, followed by a familiar voice.
"Hey, DJ!"
"Hold that thought." Vergil swiftly kissed her cheek and made his way to the door, leaving Ari slightly bewildered at how quickly he switched gears.
"But Vergil, what.."
"We'll talk when I get back, you have my word." Vergil had begun rustling through one of the luggage bags, picking the dullest looking T-shirt that Dante had packed for him and snatching off the one he had been wearing. Ari sat down on the bed, crossing her arms as she watched Vergil quickly put on the grey shirt before reaching to take off the pants he was wearing. He exchanged them for an old, worn pair of blue jeans with holes in the knees before shaking his head to make his hair fall back down.
Ari furrowed her brows "Okay..."
Vergil could tell she was puzzled, but he couldn't think about that now. He had to make things right and it could be delayed no longer.
Opening the door, he came face-to-face with Dante who had paused mid-knock, giving him a thoughtful once over before offering a lop-sided grin. "Hey Ari, I'm stealing DJ for a minute!" Dante yelled over Vergil's shoulder as Vergil coldly shut the door in the middle of his statement.
"Don't speak to her." Vergil's voice was quiet but the danger in his tone spoke volumes of warning, "In fact, you are not to speak with her at all for the duration of this nonsense."
Dante was slightly taken aback by his demeanor but soon realized what Vergil was probably peeved about. He stepped back to make a bit of space between them, "How bad was it, did she question you? That's one of my favorite band shirts by the way."
Vergil glared silently.
Dante shrugged, a smirk appearing on his lips, "You still have a chance to concede. But if not, I got a plan I think will help play this off without incident." Dante crossed his arms, "You want in?"
"Cut the dramatics Dante, I have next to no patience left for you. Either tell me what it is or stand aside." Why was he even still considering keeping up the charade at this point?
"I think I would say something along the lines of 'get out of my way' not 'stand aside'."
Vergil had to quickly remind himself that Ari was just on the other side of the door behind them. Surely if he opted to knock every tooth out of Dante's head at that moment, the commotion that would ensue could not be concealed. He took a deep breath and his fingers twitched slightly. Keep it together, just a little longer.
"Anyway, let's walk and talk, I don't want either of them to possibly hear us." Dante turned to make his way towards the elevator, pressing the button and stepping inside. Dante held the door as Vergil caught up and joined him. He waited until they closed before speaking again. "Two words: Performance competition."
Vergil waited a few moments before impatiently motioning for him to actually explain what he was on about.
"I found out they're having a kind of community entertainment night at the bar a few blocks away. It's not until tomorrow though." Dante scratched at his stubble, "Way I figure it, we can play it off as practice for an act. Y'know, to keep character and all that. Sure, they'll probably be a bit annoyed at what our 'roles' will call for, but I'm thinking that's more understandable than, y'know, the alternative."
"Have you lost your mind?" Vergil gave Dante the most disgusted look he could muster. "If you think for even a moment that would work, I'm sure you never even had a mind to begin with."
Dante frowned, feeling slightly offended, "And why wouldn't it, oh wise one?" he crossed his arms again, glaring pointedly at his twin, "Please, do share."
"Sure, I can enlighten you, perhaps you might learn something." Vergil's tone was laden with sarcasm and was utterly condescending.
"Don't push me Vergil." Dante warned, "I'm not going to keep putting up with you talking to me like that for too much longer."
"Is that so? You say that as if I care at this point what you won't put up with. I believe I have put up with quite a bit from you, yet, here you still stand in one piece." Vergil's stare hardened, challenging him to fire back, "One thing you seem to have forgotten in your 'genius' plan was what happens after the competition ends."
"We can cross that bridge when we get there. In the meantime, we buy time to figure out the next piece." As the elevator stopped on the bottom floor, Dante stepped out the doors into the lively hotel lobby. Vergil followed suit.
"And what makes you think I would agree to join you on a public stage, looking like this?"
Dante shrugged, "The fact that we need a way to pull this off and, unless you got a better idea, you're toast. I'm doing it with or without you." He made his way towards the entrance doors, not caring anymore what his brother would decide to do.
"You do realize your situation is not something that is a spectacle right? What kind of 'performance' is going to support your claim?" Vergil concluded that this was nothing but a train wreck just waiting to exacerbate the situation but he was still curious as to how much thought Dante had actually put into it. He assumed not much and thus far he didn't seem too far off the mark.
Dante took a deep breath, annoyance obvious in his expression, "I'll figure something out." He had a hand on the glass door, ready to leave, but someone opened it before he could push it.
Vergil was about to respond when the man who had just entered addressed them both.
"Good evening guys." The police officer from earlier looked between both of them before continuing. "Is one of you named Dante?"
"Who wants to know?" Dante was suspicious of street cops who knew his name because of a few run-ins he had with them while investigating cases in the past. They didn't interfere as much anymore, but he still hadn't shaken the hesitation he developed towards them whenever they interacted with him at random.
"I'm Officer Raymond. You can call me Ray." He held out a hand.
Dante nodded, "What can I do for ya Ray?"
Ray pulled his hand back awkwardly after his handshake was rejected, "Well that depends on if you're Dante or not." The smile he offered was a bit strained.
"I am."Dante crossed his arms, tilting his head slightly.
"Well Mr. Dante, me and a few other guys are looking into some reports of a series of break-ins across this region."
"Okay," Dante began, "what's that got to do with me?"
"One of my guys got a tip in a while ago from someone who gave us your name, describing a man with white hair. Said you mentioned something about casing a few places." Now it was the officer's turn to cross his arms, "Know anything about that?"
Vergil's blood ran cold.
Dante frowned, "No, I don't." He scoffed, "You should probably look into whoever told you that. I'm no crook Ray."
"I see." Ray eyed Vergil suspiciously for a moment before redirecting his gaze at Dante. "Can I see some ID from you guys?"
Dante huffed, looking at Vergil as he shook his head and fished his wallet from his pocket. Vergil pulled his own out all the same and began feeling a strange pull of suspicion deep within himself; a sinking feeling soon followed.
No. It can't possibly be because of that. Could it?
Ray took the IDs they offered and examined them for a few moments before handing them back. "Mr. Dante, I'm going to need to take you in for a few more questions down at the station. Put your hands behind your back for me?" Ray pulled a pair of handcuffs from his belt.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Dante took a step back, "You're arresting me?"
"I just need to ask a couple more questions. Based on the information I received, I have reason to believe you may be a suspect. Hands behind your back please." Ray took a step forward.
Dante took another step back, "Then you can ask me right here. I told you, you got the wrong guy, I don't know anything about any break-ins. I'm just on vacation with my family; I'm not even from here. Tell him Vergil!"
Vergil could hear the panic slipping into Dante's tone and his heart began to race. If Dante got arrested, how would he explain that? Vergil suddenly felt ill as he thought about the conversation that he had with that red-head back at the diner.
"Officer, both his wife and mine are upstairs and can vouch for him as well. We just arrived here on holiday; this accusation is false." He knew it was a lie when he uttered it to the woman, yet he didn't think something like this would come of it. And the fact that there had actually been serial burglaries was crazy. Of all the times... Was this really happening? Vergil did everything he could to hide the fact that he was struggling to hold it together. This cannot be real.
"Are you resisting arrest?" Ray raised his eyebrows expectantly, almost daring them to get a charge stuck to them the moment things escalated.
Dante glared at Ray before clenching his jaw and reluctantly turning around, "I'm telling you, you're wasting your time."
Ray briefly patted him down, "We'll see." Securing the cuffs on Dante's wrists, Ray began to lead Dante out the door to his police cruiser.
"Vergil," Dante stopped briefly to turn his head, "I'll call you when they get done wasting my time. Let Trish know what happened for me." He said over his shoulder before Ray nudged him to walk.
Vergil silently and helplessly watched as Dante was put into the patrol car. Well, shit.