Part 45

Alastor finally removed his staff from the handles of the studio door and stepped inside the broken, shattered, bloody room. Bullet holes were everywhere, and furniture was smashed and splintered. When he stepped inside, he began to hum and spin on his heels, almost like he was dancing.

"Hush, little radio~ don't say a word," and he stopped on his heels, his smile growing wider, almost sinister, when he spotted Valentino's body lying on the ground next to a cracked concrete wall. A circle of blue blood was under him and around his body from where Alex lay only a few feet away on his side. "To stand against me is absurd~" He whispered to the body, "Well, that is a shame."

Alex lay on his side, his eyes closed. He smiled as if he were dreaming, peacefully sleeping away.

A chuckle came from Alastor, and he held his stomach, "Finally, someone gets it! Ahahaha!" He gave Valentino's body a swift kick in the jaw. He had never seen those eyes when they weren't glowing, now just a dull grey, "you see, old sport?! Someone else finally got it! Ahahaha!" He smiled at Alex's corpse, "someone else finally started to have a good time." His face darkened as he walked over and knelt beside Alex's body, brushing away some stray hair on the boy's face.

The radio static grew louder in the room, and Alastor took another look around before his eyes fell to the sutures, still wrapped around Alex's wrists, "well...waste not want not, I suppose."

Reaching forward, the radio demon began to unwrap them from the lizard's wrists, humming to himself as he began to remove them from his body. Slowly, each of the thin strips of bright red and white cloth slithered up and out of his sleeve, coiling around his fingers. They seemed alive somehow, almost anxious to be taken from the lizard and into the Radio Demon.

Licking his sharp teeth, Alastor could almost taste them and the power they could give him before the threads in his hands frayed. The cloth in his hands began to turn the same dull white and grey as the carpet and eventually turned into nothing more than ash, flaking off the lizard's wrists and forearms.

Alastor laughed again, his disappointment evident. "Well played, my boy. And you got the last laugh on me, haha!" The deer rose to his feet and then twirled away with a laugh as if nothing had happened. He was about to leave when the door opened, and Vox stepped inside.

The TV demon looked around the room at the damage they had done, the two bodies on the floor, and his one red eye pulsed momentarily, "Well, would you look at that? The little spit fuck actually did it." A resounding 'awww' from the studio audience spread through the room. "Congratulations, Al. Your pet didn't disappoint, after all," Vox said before looking around the room again.

"Hmm? Oh yes, the boy performed perfectly. Shame he is not here to enjoy the fruits of his labor now." Vox walked past him to the body of Valentino, nudging it with his foot, "Stupid son of a bitch. Gonna miss him a little, if I'm being honest. Always the life of the party." He nudged the body of the lizard, "that him?"

"Was," Alastor corrected. "Bit of a letdown if you ask me. It must've been fun watching through the cameras, hm? Did you watch the whole thing? I want a copy of it when you are done, for fun." He glanced at Valentino's corpse, "I wonder if, at any point in time, he was questioning why no one was coming to help. Did he ever feel a moment of betrayal, or was he too busy thinking with his little head again?"

Vox turned to look at the destroyed set, "fuck me...look at this mess..." he walked into it, kicking a broken camera, "who the hell is going to clean all this up" Alastor tucked his staff under his arm, polishing his monocle, "that is your concern now, my dear Vox. I believe our little agreement is complete, yes? Valentino is dead, his empire being divided between you and the remaining Velvette. All in all, I would say you have done quite well for yourself today. Good for you."

Alastor was about to depart when he paused at the door. The faint sound of radio static tickled the ears of everyone present as he slowly turned his head back to the broken doorframe. His red eye fell on the lizard's body, which lay on the ground lifeless. It was a shame. Alex had been entertaining.

The demon's red eyes fell to the cell phone in his hand, and with a curl of his finger, a black and green tentacle rose from the boy's shadow and curled around the phone, tossing it to the appendages' master. Valentino's phone: "I'm taking this, Vox."

Vox shrugged as Alastor exited the door and made his way out of the studio. Vox glanced over at Val's cell phone, and his expressionless face and simple red eye scowled, the glow fading to the more animated face: " All those poor souls without a home." He began to chuckle, "And desperation breeds production. Oh, we are going to be busy tonight, folks!" Again, the studio audience began to applaud. The news would be lively tonight.

Making his way down in the elevator, Alastor scrolled through the contacts on Valentino's phone until his thumb landed on Carmilla Carmine. He tapped the screen and held the phone out in front of him, not wanting the blue blood of his former associate on his face.

It rang and rang, and rang and went to voicemail.

He ended the call and tried again.

It rang and rang and rang and went to voicemail

He tried again, picking a piece of lint off his sleeve. It rang and rang,

"What do you want, Valentino?" A stern woman's voice finally came over the phone.

"This isn't Valentino," Alastor replied, smiling.

A beat of silence, the sound of moving fabric from the other end of the line, "Alastor? What the hell are you doing with Valentino's phone?"

He adjusted his monocle on his face and shook his head. With a wave of his staff, the doors to the elevator opened as he continued on through the main lobby of the tower and towards the exit. " That is a rather complicated answer, Carmila. I will give you three guesses, though I assume you can answer correctly in one."

She made a small 'hmm' and then paused. There was a click over the line. "Oh, my lord. Are you at the studio now?!"

"You are half correct, dear lady. I just left. And guess who came out on top? Hmm?"

"Alex is with you? No, is he not? Did the two of you finish your business?"

Alastor sighed heavily, walking the sidewalk in long strides, smiling as the sky seemed to shine just a little brighter for him. " The boy did not make it, I am afraid. Though he played his part beautifully, I must say." The smile grew wider, almost splitting his face in half. He could hear her teeth clench, almost chattering together as she spat, "YOU LET HIM DIE?!"

The voice that escaped the deer was something otherworldly, twisted, and profound, "I made sure he had his chance. Security was lessened, the halls were clear, deals were struck, and the boy faced his demons. I gave him every opportunity he needed. And he came through. But, he is no longer with us."

The phone reply was Carmilla hissing into the microphone, "My friend, you may find this amusing. I do not."

"I'm the contrary, my dear; I am positively ecstatic about his results. You got what you wanted in the death of Valentino by training the boy a little, I got what I wanted in the fracturing of the Vees by ensuring Alex was left alone with him, Angel got what he wanted in being free of his contract, and Vox got what he wanted in the absorption of Valentino's empire into his and Velvette's. If anything, you should be thanking me. You're welcome, by the way."

"Alastor. Do not push me," she hissed into the receiver.

"Come now, dear lady. Is that any way to speak to me after we had such a lovely and productive project together? Are you not pleased to hear that the beast is slain and we can all move on? We've accomplished so much, and all it cost was two demons. I would say that is as significant as the tides, wouldn't you?"

There was a pause in the conversation as Alastor rounded a street corner, and she asked, "Is he really dead?"

"Valentino's eyes are dull and grey, and the spark was gone from our little lizard, but he did go out with a smile."

There was an exhale from the other end of the line and the rustling of papers, a sigh, and her voice. "Poor boy. What about Angel? Is he alright?"

"I am afraid I have not seen him since I let him off his lead to play in the halls while Alex and Val disagreed. But if he is alive, and knowing him, he is just fine; I would say he is feeling exactly what you think he would be."

The woman sighed over the phone, "will I see you in the morning I suppose. Perhaps We-"

"Lunch. Tomorrow. Your place. I may even show you the video of them fighting." Alastor didn't turn off the phone as he stepped around the last corner and headed for the hotel, dropping the phone into a garbage can.

He hummed as he walked across the property and up the stairs to the hotel door, passing a smiling Charlie on the stairs, oblivious to anything that had just occurred. He gave a cheerful and jolly greeting as he made his way up to the bar, his newspaper sitting and waiting for him.

"Husker, my good man, a martini please. I'm in a good mood today."

"Like that's a fucking shock," huffed Husker as he went to fetch the ingredients and get to mixing. Alastor continued to hum a happy tune, tapping his fingernails on the bar, "special occasion, boss?"

"Oh my, yes. Quite the eventful morning." He took a sip and looked the cat in the eyes. " You will never believe what our little friends got up to. Still, it's not really my story to tell. Perhaps if and when Angel returns here, he may regale us with it."

"You spent the morning with the kid?" The cat asked, and Alastor was already halfway down the paper.

"Yes and no, my good fellow. Yes and no. For me, it was an enjoyable way to spend the morning. I don't know if he enjoyed it quite as much, but in the end, the goals were accomplished, and there are no more loose strings in sight. In fact, the future appears very bright for some and dark for others," he took a sip of his drink, "the usual."

Husk arched a brow and pointed his claw out behind him at the clock. " It's barely nine in the morning," the cat said, and the radio demon slammed his empty glass down.

"That's the problem with you people today: Never looking on the bright side. Well. I will leave you to your morning then." He stood up, tucking his paper under his arm, "Oh, and when Angel gets back, do let me know before he begins to tell us of his day. I wish to be there for it. Ta ta~"

Charlie came downstairs smiling, and her cheer was catching. She noticed his grin a little wider, his face a little brighter than usual. As the deer brushed past her, she raised a hand, "Good morning, Alastor. Looks like a pretty great day today, hm?"

The deer placed a hand on her head, ruffling her hair, "Don't count your chickens, my dear, but today is quite spectacular indeed."