After instructing Joseph to up the dosage for the weekly acid in the water supply, the three idiots soon found their way to the madhouse as their behavior became increasingly more erratic. It, of course, did not help that I woke them up with a tune that was now forever linked to the trauma they went through in my basement. I honestly felt like they could do better, considering the kind of torture they had willingly dished out. I am not a morning person, but I was out of the house at the crack of dawn, excited to once again come face to face with my aggressors. I wondered how differently our conversation would go this time.
I cranked up the music in my car and sang along loudly to Rihanna's "Only Girl in the World". My spirit felt light despite how progressively darker my thoughts became. The door was opened for visitors when I finally made it to the Psychiatric hospital. Despite having no real credentials to prove why I should be allowed to see them, I had five thousand shillings that would open the doors for me.
True enough, in less than twenty minutes, I was sitting across from the three boys. The one on the far right was barely awake despite his wide-open eyes. He was drooling on himself as his blank eyes shifted rapidly across the room. Despite sitting right in front of him, he did not acknowledge my presence, it was as if I were invisible. I could have been a wall for all he cared. To be fair, I doubt he even realized he was still alive.
The one that sat in the middle was leaning on the table, yet his body seemed to be on the verge of falling. He could barely hold himself upright, let alone make any accurate observation. He had a scar running across his forearm, jagged and open as if he had traced along his arm with a broken glass shard. Sunshine was right, he seemed more eager to end his life than the other two.
The man on the left had his head on the table, lacking the energy to even raise his head. A pool of drool was slowly forming next to his cheeks. The table and chairs were the only things holding him upright…barely. They all had matching white pajamas, and judging from marks on their wrists, they had probably been restrained in their beds, probably to prevent them from harming themselves.
Any other person would have seen it as a win, not me. Although there were no visible marks on my skin, I had lost the ability to be vulnerable or intimate with others. Nothing I could ever do to them would bring back what I had lost. Therefore, no amount of punishment would suffice, not until they were dead. I took out my phone, having stayed long enough in the room to ensure there would be no interruptions. I held it underneath the table so that it wouldn't be caught by the camera that was directly facing me.
It took a minute to find the shepherd's tone, and just like magic, the previously lifeless boys sprang to life, twitching and jerking as if they were being electrocuted. I wanted to laugh, but I knew the hysterical sound that was bubbling at the base of my throat could be used to incriminate me. My disappointment with having to contain my laughter was appeased as the boy on the right lounged at me with wide, manic eyes. I halted his airborne body by driving a fist as hard as I could into his stomach and was rewarded with a pained groan as his body fell to the floor. I threw my body against the chair, causing it to topple over, just in time to miss the chair that was hurled at me by the middleman. I let out a scream from the floor, not out of fear, it was a justification for what I was going to do next.
Years of spending hours at the gym had made me nimble and strong, another reason I was grateful for Claire's role in my life. I rolled out of my chair and slid my body across the floor to the other side of the table, ending up at the spot the chair used to occupy. The drugs they had been given slowed down their response, giving me enough time to kick the man's legs, causing him to crash to the ground. He lay there on the ground, his blinking the only sign that he was still with us. The man could only take so much, his soul had been rattled, shown by the shifty, beady eyes that remained trained on the ceiling.
I heard footsteps closing in on the room and had just enough time to drive my head into the stomach of the left man and had the pleasure of watching pain sharpen his eyes before he crumpled to the floor like a heavy sack. The nurses stormed into the room just as I was silencing my phone, the tune barely registered above the chaos, which worked well in my favour. I stood to the side and watched as the three men were dragged from the room. I slowly limped out of the room under the watchful gaze of a nurse. He looked guilty, almost as if he shouldn't have allowed a visitor for patients who were on the no visitors list.
When I finally made it to my car, taking an extra ten minutes to play the role of the injured concerned friend, Thomas was waiting for me. The trip had not been purely a chance to gloat; with the boys out of their houses, there was no way to keep tabs on them. Thomas had first made a trip to their apartment and removed all the surveillance devices. While I distracted the facility staff, Thomas sneaked into the building and managed to plant the devices in the rooms from which the boys had been escorted. He also planted a few bugs in the common spaces, which had proved to be more challenging as these areas were under constant supervision. After stealing the patient's pajamas from someone's bed, he hung his head low and muttered to himself as he slowly made his way to the common areas. Not one attending stooped to question who he was.
He left as soon as I handed him his money, not willing to stick around for a second longer. I followed suit. If my parents had cared about me enough to sit me down, I may have ended up in one of these facilities. Another unprovoked thought pushed past the first one. If my parents cared for I would not need the help of this facility to begin with. The boys, who had quite literally lost their minds, had it the easiest in terms of retribution. They were still intact for the most part, and being sane was highly overrated. If they survived this experience, their lives would be altered for the worse, and nothing made me happier.
I enjoyed a slow drive to my brother's office, singing along to whatever song was belting out of the radio. The bright sun lifted my spirits even though its sticky warmth was already settling in the city. Despite the obvious joy the three musketeers' demise brought me, this meeting would determine how successful I truly was. I hummed along to the elevator music, swaying in tune to the rather slow beats. Watching the boys break down and lose their sanity had me feeling lighter than I had in a long time. I strode down the now-familiar hallway, ignoring the scantily clad secretary who was chasing after me, yelling about a meeting.
I did not care about my brother enough to respect whatever he had going on. I threw his office door wide open and smiled at the resounding bang. My smile slipped as I took in the empty room, but I quickly turned on my heel as his loud voice carried to where I was. I followed the voice as the disgruntled secretary struggled to hold me back. She was the same girl I had found on her hands and knees servicing my brother. She could have been Mother Teresa for all I cared. I did not like her.
Sadly enough, as soon as I walked into the conference room where my brother was giving a presentation, I regretted choosing that course of action. My brother stood at the helm of the table, his body bathed in the light from the projector. His mouth was hanging open, probably startled by my rude interruption. I saw a few familiar faces, but the one that stopped me in my tracks was Joseph. I had planned to drop a shocking and embarrassing declaration that would force my brother to leave whatever he was doing. However, Joseph's presence gave me pause because I could not have him doubting my nature.
I smiled sheepishly and excused myself, but not before I threw a warning stare at my brother and hoped to the gods that he discerned my message. I did not make it to the door before Joseph called out to me with an unmistakable familiarity, causing some of the occupants in the room to throw accusatory stares my way.
"Melissa! Fancy seeing you here. Did you come to visit your brother?" The man asked loudly, not at all perturbed by the fact that not only had I stormed into the board room, but the room itself was still occupied by people who were currently staring at him.
"Why don't you join us? Your brother is currently taking us through the biggest case we have had in a while. Don't worry, I am not going to disclose any confidential information. We are more than capable of handling the case, it is the welcoming and hosting section that is giving us a pause." It was then that I realized that this room probably filled all the top executives in the company, and had no women present. The tolerance I had for Joseph fell under the obvious sexism that was on full display in this building. The two times I had been here had left a bad taste in my mouth. I felt a twinge of pity for the secretary who had been reduced to nothing more than my brothers whore. Thinking back on it, she must have had high qualifications to get a job here, only for her to be valued for her body.
I could hold back the chuckle that escaped my lips as I realized just how wild my imagination was. In the few minutes I had been here, I had gone from hating this girl to painting her as the victim without saying as much as a hello to her. Any other time, I would have banged the glass screen hard enough to shatter it. This time, I had a goal to achieve, and Joseph had unknowingly given me the key to his castle. Without needing to be told, I was certain Mercy would see this as a breakthrough.
My eyes wandered over to my brother, whose displeasure at my presence was glaringly apparent. I widened my lips into a bright smile and walked graciously to where Joseph was sitting at the opposite end of the table. I held out my hand, trying to be as dainty as I could despite wanting nothing more than to punch the man in the face.
"I would love nothing more than to help you take care of your visitors. At a fee, of course."
He roared in laughter before standing up to accept my hand.
"See, this is why I love women, they are as opportunistic as they come. Her very first thought was how she could make money from the favor I asked of her." He let out another grating laugh as he patted me on the back. If he were not a sexist man, then he would have noticed that after addressing him, not once did my eyes leave my brother's face.
Brian opened and closed his mouth with his eyes darting around as if he were being electrocuted. While I enjoyed his discomfort, it was too soon to celebrate this new development. Even without this new opportunity, I would only be satisfied when my brother broke down at my feet.