NON EROTIC SORRY.
the bar carried a musky smell, the atmosphere was dank. the place was old, the furnishings badly needing repairs, the paint peeling of the walls and the lighting was bad. the bartender stood there, wiping the counter looking at the man sitting there with a drink in his hand.
the just sat there, contemplating over his whiskey, revelling in his own sordid thoughts.
‘this isn’t me tom, not me at all. I used to be te greatest, mind you, the greatest play actor in the country. I can still it,’ he said.
‘guess you ain’t the best anymore then, bub, the way they let you go,’ tom the bartender said.
‘i am the best! they just want young ones, is all. you wait tom, just you wait. i’ll rise up and leave this filth of a place. no offense, tom.’
‘none taken bub. guess you’d not be wearing those shabby things you call suit again huh. well, good luck.’
tom turned and went inside his office.
‘right you are tommy, right you are,’ the man muttered to himself. he drank his drink, grabbed the newspaper on top of the counter and skimmed through it. he stopped at one page, eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets. this is it! my comeback! he thought. what’s more, the playwright is him, gary lopez.
‘Fate! oh maiden so fair! your blessing come unawares!’
he stood and went to the phone in one corner of the bar, dialled a number and waited for someone to pick up.
‘hello?’
‘hello gary. it’s me.’
‘jim! what do you want? I’ve already sent you this month’s right?’ gary said.
‘well, i’m out already. I need more.’
‘more?! no jim. im tired of this. I dont care if you go tell my wife about julia anymore, go ahead and do–’
‘listen to me first you! I saw your new play. I want in.’
‘you want in?! no no no, jim. you.d just fluke it. i’ve seen you do that.’
‘this time I wont. and ill stop living off you once I get this part.’
‘y-you mean that?’ gary asked.
‘yes. just meet me at the usual. and bring a copy of the script!’
and he hung up. tom came back in, and saw jim with a grin on his smudgy face.
‘tom, tom, tom. this is it. my comeback! ill be saying goodbye to this miserable old place. a glass of cheateau bordeaux, tom! tonight we celebrate!’
tom raised an eyebrow and gave him a glass of the expensive wine. halfway through the wine gary arrived.
‘my salvation! the script. where is it?’
‘i still think you’d fluke it.’
‘nevermind that for now! give it to me! and the money!’
gary handed them over. jim read the part for the supporting role, mulled it over and looked up. what happened after made him drop his jaw.
‘a-amazing..i must say it, you got the blackmailer pat down jim..you’ll be keeping your promise right?’
‘of course I am idiot! be happy, you wont be feeding an extra mouth anymore,’ jim said.
‘i-i am. but there’s one other thing. you need to convince our major sponsor, mister tan. playwright though I am, I still cant get you in unless he approves. now he’ll be against it im sure, but once he declines, just do what you did earlier okay? show him the blackmailer, and I’m sure he’ll get you.’
‘i’ll do that gary. oh! to be on the stage again! you remember my othello gary?’
‘cant say I dont. that was your best role, jim.’
‘heh. it was. but this will be my crowning role.’
and he stood up, finished his wine and walked out of the bar. I need a new suit, he thought, and went to a tailor and rented one. I wont be renting them anymore after this. he also had his unruly hair cropped and combed, shaved his beard and bought a cheap perfume. he went home and took a shower and then changed. he stood in front of his mirror and looked at himself. nice, really nice ha ha ha! and with that, he went on to his appointment with mister tan.
frederick tan owned a major bottling company and a bar up town, and usually entertained guests there. jim stood there, frisked by mister tan’s security.
‘whaddya want to see the boss about?’ one of them asked.
‘i’m here for the play he’s sponsoring.’
‘well, up you go, and dont be disrespectful ‘kay?’
‘sure.’ and he went up, looked for tan’s office and found it to be the door at the end of the corridor. he patted his hair in place, checked his newly shined shoes and pulled off lints from his rented suited then knocked. another security guy opened the door and let him in.
tan sat on his chair behind an expansive narra beureau and had a cigar between his fingers. he looked at jim straight in the eyes and then spoke.
‘i hear you’re here for the play.’
‘indeed I am.’
‘sorry, but the casting’s full. we’ll let you know when someone flukes, maybe we’ll consider you.’
jim’s was smiling the whole time, but after tan spoke, his face became hard. his eyes were dark, and his stance was lax.
‘now you listen to me, punk. I know all about your illegal deals. you’ve been shipping off women to singapore and japan illegally you bastard. I also know about your stint with the killings in maguindanao, and how you sabotaged one of your competitors factory. you think you can hide them from me? you dont know who i am mister. I know everything about your operation. every detail of it. so you think you can just whisk me off like that? think again. im here to get you.’
perfect! it was perfect! not once did his face falter, his voice had the right timber and his demeanor was very convincing. and I didn’t forget one line! i’ve got it! I still got it! jim thought. he was breathing with excitement, with exultation only acting brings to him. this will be my best ever!
he looked at mister tan. he was looking down, quietly lighting another cigar. he looked up and stared directly into jim’s eyes.
‘i dont know where you got all of your information mister, but do you really think you can scare me like that? do you really think you can blackmail me? let me throw your words back at you. you dont know who you’re dealing with.’
what? jim thought. what’s he– and it hit him. gary did this. although it was true that the play is sponsored by mister tan, there was never a part for a blackmailer in it. the script he gave jim was a fake. gary planned the whole thing.
‘also mister, you were wrong to come here alone. do you think, after what you have said, that ill let you walk out here?’
touche, gary. he thought.
‘no.’
‘any last words?’
‘just..no no last words..’
and with that, tan pulled out a pistol from a drawer and pointed it directly between jim’s eyes, and without hesitation, squeezed the trigger.