“You don’t have to do this.” Turner put his hand on the suitcase. “We don’t have to do this. It’s over. Let’s just let it be over.”
James Redfield looked at him and smiled. “Yes, Dave. It’s over, and this is how we end it.”
“You’re sure?”
“Look at me, Dave.” He dropped his eyes to the suitcase. “This is what I want, how I want it to end.”
“You’re sure?” Turner sat in the chair, defeated.
Redfield nodded his head. “This way no one will ever forget and no one will ever have to know the truth. It’s over and no one else has to suffer.”
“I can’t do this alone.” He half begged, half tried to convince himself.
“You’re not alone, Dave.” Redfield turned his face back to the darkness. “It will all just be different. We’ll all have to get used to it, but it’s for the best. You’re in control now.”
“But I don’t want to be in control.” Turner reached out and grabbed Redfield’s arm. “I don’t want it. I don’t want all the deceptions and the lies…Jamey, please.”
Jamey put his hand on Dave’s and gently pulled it from his arm. “There are no more deceptions, Dave. All the lies are gone. We don’t need to tell them anymore. We don’t need to look over our shoulders. All that died with Lucille.”
Dave was trying hard not to let his heart break. “She took my son.”
“We’ll find him. That’s my job now, and this is the best way to do it. I’ll find him and bring him back to you.”
Turner nodded his head. “Why did this all get started and how did it all become such an ungodly mess?”
“We did what we had to do to survive. It’s the name of the game in this town. We didn’t write the rules.”
“We just broke them.”
“We didn’t break any rules, Dave.” Redfield hissed at him. “We beat them at their own game. They said we couldn’t do it. They said we didn’t have the talent and they were wrong.”
He had to agree. “Then they said we’d never do it twice, and ten years later we’re still here and they aren’t.”
“And we own this town.” David could see Jamey smiling in triumph even in the dark. “People barely remember Four Stars Studios.”
“In ten years, with they remember HRT?” Dave asked.
“Of course they will.” Jamey said confidently. “It’s all up to you. You call the shots. We created a company, David Turner. Now, go. Create a legend.”
“We’re do we go from here?”
“Where do you go from here?” James Redfield turned to stare at him with a smile.
“I guess this is it then.”
“Yes. It’s been fun David, but this is what I want. The world will remember me the way I was.”
“But they can fix your face, Jamey. You will work again. We own the most powerful film company in the world.”
He shook his head. “No. Lucille was right.”
“Lucille was an idiot, an idiot and a coward.” David spit.
The fire in Redfield’s eyes ignited the room. “She gave us the out. She knew it was the only way to end it without losing it all. She sacrificed everything, everything for this. She wasn’t a coward, she was a genius and the only one smarter than her is you. Now stop acting like a frightened ten year old and get out there and make it all worth while.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry.” The remorse in David’s voice was finally real. “What am I going to do with out you or Lucille to keep kicking me in the rear?”
“Oh, things will be different, but whenever you need it, I’ll find a way to deliver a good swift kick now and then.”
Turner nodded his head and stood. “Well, I guess it’s my turn to go and clean up the mess.”
He heard Jamey laugh. It made him smile. He hadn’t heard a genuine laugh from the man in a long, long time. “Just where are you going to start?”
“Well, Lucille bought all these new companies. She claimed they were our future. I guess I’m going to go in the office and figure out what to do with a bunch of television stations. You’re starting a new adventure. I guess I’ll do the same.”
He walked to the door of the hospital room. “Goodbye, James Redfield, it was an honor knowing you.”
“Until we meet again, my friend, until we meet again.”
It would be the last time he ever saw James Redfield, but it wouldn’t be the last time he regretted not disappearing with him.
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