I took one long swig from the bottle of champagne that stood on the marble-topped table in front of me and smiled inanely. I didn’t feel any pain; there was no emotion and no feeling. When I decided to be Messidinho, a ruthless, unfeeling playboy, I was well aware that there was no turning back. To fully accept my identity, there was something I had done; something I would never have considered as the gentle, loving and sweet man of my previous self, something my old identity abhorred but one with which the new me fell in tandem with and gravitated towards with undying love and passion — revenge. Oh, yes, the sweet savoury equalizer, one served cold. I chuckled and dropped the bottle on the counter. It was a low horrible grinding sound and my smile was like death. You see, my heart no longer existed. In the space it occupied was something else — something dark and thrilling which brought with it a dark form of excitement and seemed to bring me a little relief. Something… oh, something that filled me with the energy of the darkest form. One that made me draw immense pleasure from blatant ruthlessness and debauchery — from others’ pain and tears. My heart was dead and replaced with hate. And so, as I thought of Remy’s betrayal and the losses I incurred as a result, I knew so deeply that I was down to get a lot of pleasure. Dark pleasure but a pleasure nonetheless. I took out my phone and dialled the Rasta’s number. It rang without being picked and so, I dialled again. “Listen, Paddy, I’m sorry. Look, man, I’m so sorry. I… I don’t know how it happened. I can’t tell what came over me, bro!” Remy’s stuttering voice came through the phone as he picked up the call. I smiled wickedly. “Listen, Remy. How about we put the past behind us? I hold nothing against you, okay? Look, let’s meet at the park tomorrow at 7 PM like we used to do”, I said and smiled again. “Okay, man! I’ll be there. Trust me, Paddy, I just wanna make things up. Please, bro. Just forgive me, okay? It was a mistake.” “Hey, man. Put it behind you. We are good.” I said and chuckled. “Tomorrow, 7 PM. We meet at the park, Remy. I’ll see you then.” I said and ended the call. I picked up the glass of sparkling wine and drank deeply, draining the glass to the last drop and then, I adjusted my tuxedo and leaned into my seat. The thoughts of the events that will follow the next day filled me with Glee — one so great that I shuddered alarmingly. Of course, I had the perfect plan for Remy, a beautiful idea that I had chosen out of a thousand others to teach the numbskull a lesson. And unfortunately, I had decided, rather coldly, that it would be a lesson a human can only learn once. I am Messidinho, the soulless, handsome player but one who could become a monster. Remy played with the tail of a tiger and bit more than he could chew. I didn’t just have the will to deal with Remy. I had all the resources ready to give him a painful send-off and that was what I was going to do. I took my phone and dialled a number. There was a click and I smiled when a gruff, deep voice responded with a cold cadence. “It’s me, Shadow”, I said and licked my lips. Shadow was one of those crazy, soulless, super-strong men. He had no qualms about breaking a man’s neck for a few bucks and I relied on him because of his expertise in handling issues without flops. “I got a few fucks to straighten out and I’ll need your help. Look, you’ll be free tomorrow? Say, 6:30 PM?” “You talk too much. What’s the pay?” His gruff voice cut me off rudely, unintentionally intimidating and brazenly domineering. “You’ll get three times the usual, boy” “Alright, sounds good. I’ll take the details.” He said. “It’s an old pal of mine, Remy. You remember, him?” “Remy Bolanle?” Shadow said and scoffed. “Sounds like easy money”. “I want him, switched off, man”, I said desperately and licked my lips. “He’s a dead man.” The other man reassured and I smiled. “That’s what I wanted to hear. Tomorrow’s the deal. See you at the park”. I hung up and smiled. It was a perfect setup for Remy Bolanle. Truly when a man brings ant-infested faggots into his home, he should expect the visits of lizards. I wish Remy knew that but it was too late. I am Messidinho and I don’t go back on my word. Having made the call to Shadow, I relaxed, assured by him that everything would go smoothly. I called the barboy over and asked for a refill of my glass. I was about to gulp down when the theatre suddenly erupted with a blast of music and I smiled when I heard the lyrics. “And you thought I would let it go… I dug two graves for both of us”. It was XXX Tentacion’s music about revenge, a cold one. I watched the exotic dancers gyrate about on the metal poles that were erected on the stage and I pulled out some crispy currency notes from my pocket and placed it on the counter table. “How do I get a chick for the night?” I asked the barboy, slipping him the notes. I watched his eyes widen and shine with greed as he stared at the minty notes. He licked his dried lips and spoke hurriedly. “Sophia’s the best around here”, he said without taking his eyes off the money. He tried to reach for it but I pulled it back teasingly. “Half info takes us nowhere, Paddy.” “Alright.. alright, there she is between the two dudes at the back.” I looked in the direction his index pointed and immediately got