book 2:Goodbye Is Forever?

Strolling down pristine corridors still clad in clothes he'd spent the last two days travelling in, Mark felt out of place. A few people glanced his way… then did a double take when they realised who it was. `Wish someone would tell me,' he thought, `cause I sure as hell ain't sure anymore.'

At the familiar nickname, Mark turned to face the large man striding towards him. "Hi Kane," he responded with the mans nickname. His best friend and business partner, Glenn, gave him a quick up and down glance, head tilted to one side as only he could. Obviously deciding that it really was him, a huge grin spread over Glenn's face and Mark found himself on the receiving end of a huge bear hug.

"Six months since we last saw ya and just about a month since ya last called, Deadman." Glenn tagged along as Mark continued his journey to his office on the top floor. Despite all the questions he was dying to ask, Glenn managed to hold his tongue.

Mark's first trip, once the door was shut, was to grab a glass and pour himself a shot of whiskey. He took a small sip, then downed the rest in one gulp, savouring the burn of the potent liquid as it burned a trail down his throat to crash land in his empty stomach.

Pouring another shot of whiskey, Mark stripped off his bandanna and threw himself down in the big leather chair behind the huge leather topped mahogany desk.

In a split second Glenn's eyes went through a whole range of emotions; shock and disbelief just been the mildest.

Leaving out parts that he felt were no ones business, Mark filled Glenn in on what he'd been doing since they'd last talked. Throughout it all, the incredulous look stayed on Glenn's face.

Finally Mark was done yet all Glenn could do was stare at him. Giving himself a shake Glenn went over to the bar and poured himself a generous shot of whiskey. Eyes locked with Mark's he downed it in one.

Glenn sucked in a calming breath at the look of hurt on Mark's face. What right did he have to feel hurt; Mark's loss had been greater.

"I could have been there for you, helped you! Instead you blocked me out… hell I didn't even know until the trial was nearly over! Even then you wouldn't let me in!"

"I'm sorry." Mark didn't know what else to say. Hell until Glenn's outburst he hadn't know he'd had a problem with how things had gone. Caught up in his own grief and hatred he'd blocked himself off from everyone around him… and hurt his best friend in the process.

Pouring them both fresh drinks Glenn handed one to Mark as he retook his seat. Glenn studied his friend while he sipped on his drink.

He hadn't really slept much before then either. Each time he closed his eyes he had trouble sleeping as he missed the feel of her body against his. And when he finally did manage to fall asleep, he dreamed of Kat; nightmares brought about by his confusion. In an effort to distance himself he'd pushed himself to reach home, and the familiarity of his usual routine, before he gave in to the temptation to go find her. Not for anything so noble as putting her behind bars where she belonged, but just to hold her again, loose himself in her body over and over again.

Glenn waved his hand in front of Mark's face in an effort to snap him out of his stupor. Green eyes blinked then finally focused open him but his mind was still somewhere else.

"You need to go home. Come on," with a bit of prodding he persuaded Mark to leave his chair, "I'll call down for a driver for you."

"'Taker you've had a couple of drinks, no doubt on an empty stomach?" his friends stomach growl in response. "And there's no way I'm letting you drive. Now go, get some sleep, then tomorrow you can come back and take control again."

It had taken a couple more drinks before Mark had finally managed to find a couple of hours sleep. The alcohol had kept the dreams at bay but he found that he missed them, especially when they were of Kat and not Zoë.

Back in his usual casual but smart suit, Mark repeated his journey through the building towards his office. Within seconds of sitting in his seat his personal assistant had a coffee sitting on the desk before him.

Picking up the cup he sipped at the bitter liquid. It was made with the finest fresh coffee beans money could buy, yet it didn't taste as good as a mug of freeze dried instant had when Kat made it for him.

Setting down the cup Mark switched on his computer, pushed the sleeves of his shirt up over his forearms and started sifting though all the emails, memos and reports that had accumulated in his absence.

Swinging open the door without even knocking, Glenn flung his huge frame down into the chair and stared across the width of the desk at his friend. He looked better, dressed as he was in less road weary clothes, but the signs of stress were still there in the tight lines around his mouth and eyes. "Feel better?"

Looking up, Mark caught Glenn chewing on his lip and fiddling with the cuff of his shirt. A sure sign that he was about to ask something that he knew he wouldn't approve of. "Hmmm?"

Sitting back in his chair Mark clasped his hands together thoughtfully and stared at Glenn over the tips of his fingers. His friend started to squirm under his scrutiny. "And why would you want to look at them?"

"I took the only picture with me and lost it," he lied. "You're welcome to read the file… as long as you promise not to go looking for her."

"Okay, I promise." Glenn made a crossing motion across his heart. Mark reached into a desk drawer and passed him a plain brown envelope stuffed full of papers. "Thanks," he stood up to leave then remembered one of the reasons he'd come to see Mark in the first place. "When do you want to meet and go over what's been happenin' around here?"

They'd both changed since they'd first met just about ten years before when they'd both been mere employees of the business he now owned. Though Mark was the only one that was known far and wide more by a name he'd used to hide who he was than by his real name.

Undertaker, `Taker for short, was a character created for him while he'd been a wrestler with the World Wrestling Federation. Kane had been Glenn's character; Undertaker's half brother and sometimes nemesis. Mark had hidden behind his character while Glenn had been forced to hide behind a mask; a choice he'd regretted on hot days and whenever he'd had to hide himself behind balaclavas and towels just to keep up the mystery of the supposedly scarred Kane.

His journey to where he was, had begun long before then. On a school trip to the great glass building that housed the great minds that made sure the WWF worked, Mark had become enraptured with the business he saw, the skill of the people that he watched putting their bodies on the line to entertain others, that he'd become separated from the group while looking at the giant posters lining the walls.

He'd entered an elevator, intending to take it down to the lobby and wait there. A man had entered before the doors could close. A floor slipped by in silence, but Mark was aware of the man's gaze upon him.

"Yes sir." The doors slid silently open as the elevator reached the ground floor. Mark paused as the man called out to him.

"Son… if you're really serious, find out everything you can about the business. Work your way up from the bottom. Then you never know what might happen."

He'd done as the man had suggested, not knowing until many years later that he'd actually told the owner of the WWF, Vince McMahon, that he wanted his company for himself.

Vince had never made any direct mention to their first meeting. But there had been many veiled comments over the years and he'd seemed to take particular delight in throwing challenges his way and asking him to make decisions on things matters, as a wrestler, he should have had no say in.

Then, just a couple of years before, Mark had been called into a meeting with Vince and his family. He'd informed them that he was dying of inoperable cancer and, as he wanted to enjoy what little time he had left, he was handing full control of the company over to… Mark.

The reactions of Vince's family had been mixed to say the least. For years the WWF had been a family run business handed down from generation to generation the way most families passed on a clock, ring, baseball, quilt, or any other heirloom. And going completely against tradition he was giving it away to one of the wrestlers.

Vince had held steadfast, despite the protests of his daughter, Stephanie and her husband, Hunter. Mark was the one he wanted. The best man for the job as he cared deeply about the business and the people in it.

And he liked to think, that over the years, he'd steered the WWF, renamed Deadman Inc. in the direction Vince would have wanted and taken it from strength to strength while he'd done so. Expanding into many different areas while still keeping a firm grasp on the wrestling business.

The one thorn in his side, business wise, was Stephanie and Hunter. A week didn't seem to go by when they weren't talking about taking over what they considered theirs. And although it was mostly posturing on their part, Mark had to make sure that there was no way his business could fall into their hands. He'd spent a good part of his life getting where he was, while Stephanie had expected it to fall right into her lap.

Mark dragged himself back to the present and turned his attention once more to his business. He could see by all the reports that Glenn and the others, his extended family, had been taking good care of everything whilst he'd been off chasing Zoë.

Reaching into the desk drawer he pulled out the picture he'd claimed to have lost. He stared intently into the eyes of the woman and tried to see the woman he'd… what? Fallen in love with?

He thought about her and all they'd shared. The way she'd taken care of him when he'd been ill. Her warm smile and the loving look in her eyes as they'd talked. He tried to find the slightest glimmer of that in the picture before him… and failed.

Mark quickly folded up the picture before Glenn could see it and looked at his watch. "Little early for lunch isn't it?"

Mark shook his head with a smile. He could always count on Glenn to make him smile whether he wanted to or not. His little brother had been the cause of more retakes of a promo that he'd care to remember.

"Come on then," climbing from behind his desk Mark slapped his friend on the back. "Lets get you fed." Shouting out to Lita that they were going out Mark paused long enough to put the photograph in the shredder.

It was pointless keeping it, as his memory of Kat was far more real to him than the cold-eyed woman staring at him from the picture.

With a sigh Mark closed down the computer file and stared at the empty desk before him. He was surprised that he managed to do any work at all. His mind had definitely been elsewhere. More precisely it had been up in the mountains with the woman that had captured his heart.

He wanted her back in his life. To feel her arms around him and dive into her beautiful giving body was all he craved. Just the chance to talk to her again.

"Mark!" Rushing into the room Glenn swung open a carefully concealed cupboard to reveal a huge entertainment system within.

"What's wrong?" Mark pushed his chair back from his desk as Glenn snatched up the TV remote and switched on the concealed TV.

"… to recap. After a shoot out at the Municipal Bank a couple of hours a go, Police have been involved in a chase with one of the suspects believed at this time to be one, Zoë Franklin."

The screen was filled with live footage of the chase, such as it was, taken from a helicopter hovering high above. The car was travelling no faster than any other on the road while further behind, much further behind, travelled a lone police cruiser, its light flashing intermittently to clear a path through the traffic.

"Fearing for the safety of the public the police have pulled back, leaving only one cruiser in pursuit while they set traps on the roads ahead. So far she's managed to stay ahead and avoid the stinger traps. Wait!! Something's happening! The car seems to be pulling over!!"

A flashing blue light filling the rear-view mirror, Kat cursed as she pulled over to the side of the road. She didn't think she'd been going fast enough to draw attention to herself but obviously she hadn't been paying enough attention to the speedometer as she should. Fixing a smile on her face she watched as the patrolman climbed from his car, hitching up his gun belt as he did so.

Kat reached for the handle as thick acrid smoke billowed in through the vents, filling the car in an instant. Tugging on the handle she coughed as the smoke burned her throat and stung her eyes.

She pulled and pulled then finally remembered that she'd locked the doors when she'd started off on her journey hours before.

Screaming in terror and pain Kat watched it creep ever closer. A demon of black and red consuming everything in its path.

The remote fell from Glenn's hand, landing with a dull thunk to the thick carpet as they watched the car burst into flames. "Oh God!"

Risking his own safety the policeman smashed in the window of the burning car. Anxious seconds past as he beat at the smoke before reaching into the car. Finally he emerged… empty handed.

Before the screen went blank the camera zoomed in on the bundle. Finding, in perfect focus, a pair of brown eyes amongst the burnt black face.

"Mark… I…" Glenn stared at his friend, unsure of what to say. Knowing that there was nothing he could say that would offer him the comfort he needed. His face was set in the cold unfeeling mask that he'd worn to the ring for so many years. Yet his green eyes spoke of the unbearable pain he was holding desperately inside.

If he'd taken her in instead of falling for her seductive charms, she would have been behind bars and all this would never have happened.

"I've found out where they're taking her but they won't let anyone other than immediate family in to see her." Mark bowed his head as he absorbed the latest blow. "It doesn't sound good… I- I don't think they expect her to live."

Glenn walked at Mark's side through the hospital. Ever since that day Mark had barely said a word to anyone. And everyone was desperately worried about him. Hopefully this visit would help. Say goodbye, then he could start to heal.

At Mark's signal, Glenn stayed and talked to the young woman while he walked down the corridor and slipped into the room. Closing the door behind him Mark waited for his eyes to adjust to the dim light. The lone bed in the room was dwarfed by the machines that surrounded it. Beeps and squawks filled the air as the machines struggled to keep the woman they were attached too alive.

Pulling a chair up to the bed Mark eased himself down into it. It was hard to believe that the figure upon the bed was Kat. Bandaged from head to toe any flesh that did show was red raw while the flames had done their damage upon her tender flesh. Gently, Mark slipped his hand under hers and cradled the fire twisted hand in his.

"Sorry `bout that." Her eyes found his and widened slightly. "I didn't mean to disturb you. I just wanted to see you again." Her hand flexed under his… and pulled sharply away. "I'm sorry…"

Even talking sounded unbearably painful. Her usual soft husky voice sounded stripped raw from the smoke and fire she'd breathed in. He was so overjoyed to actually hear her speak that it took a few moments for her words to sink in. "You're not… sorry? About what?"

Mark staggered back from the bed at her words. Her eyes were filled with such loathing. Not the love and understanding he was used to. "You don't mean that?"

His back bumped against the wall as he stared in shock at the woman in the bed. She started laughing at him. The evil sound quickly deteriorating into a bone shaking coughing fit.

Mark stood there in shock, unable to take in what was happening. She'd enjoyed killing his wife? He didn't, couldn't, believe that of her, not Kat.

Dodging out of the way of doctors and nurses pushing trolleys full of emergency equipment towards the room, Glenn went to stand at Mark's side. "Mark?" Glenn fell silent as Mark looked at him with dead eyes. He looked like everything he'd believed in had been destroyed. "Lets get you home."

"It's too late for her Mark… her injuries were too severe." All Glenn could do was stand by and offer his support as Mark withdrew even further into himself. He didn't know, and probably never would, all that had happened when they'd been snowed in together. But whatever had, had affected Mark greatly.

The doctors and nurses started to appear from the room, the defeated look on their faces told Mark what he didn't want to know. Kat was dead.