Such is life

Mark sat on the beach one day, reflecting on what had just happened. How could this have gone so tragically wrong? Sure he was rich, he had toppled a government which only 3 years earlier had dominated the world, but how could he feel happy when his beloved Alexandra now rotted at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea. He contemplated for a moment, was she too much of a disruptive element for this life, was she designed for the legitimate business world rather than Mark’s world, perhaps he will never know, but one thing is for sure, it wouldn’t change anything.

It seemed only three days earlier, Mark was on top of the world. The take-over had gone over without a hitch, the energy supplies of the world were now either under the control of one of Mark’s friends or under his direct control. He was now the richest man in the world. So why not celebrate, it is the logical thing to do in this situation, so he and Alexandra had taken their yaught for a sail around the Greek islands. A magical journey, they were now the wealthiest and happiest couple in the world (An odd combination at that). How could Mark have not seen the other ship coming? It was right there the whole time, moving slowly toward their yaught so as not to arouse attention. Then the unthinkable happened. A sniper shot caught Alexandra before either her or Mark had a chance to think. How could he be so stupid? He thought. When you’re in Mark’s position you don’t just stand around waiting for the end, what happened was a result of carelessness, nothing more. As the ship moved away, he saw the insignia on the side, a ship owned by his former best friend. A man he thought he had killed not three days before because of his misgivings toward Alexandra. How dare he dishonour the name of the woman Mark loved? It was an outrage and in the world of organised crime, if you don’t establish a veneer of respect, particularly among the people you trust most, you would be looking at a fall through one of the two endings that anyone in Mark’s position receive: a messy death or a life-time in jail. What else could Mark do? You have to maintain order and this was the way to do it. And now it had cost Mark dearly.

So lying on the beach, he thought to himself, what good is all this money and power with no-one to share it with? So in his hand he held a letter. A letter addressed to the family and friends of himself and Alexandra. He had changed the world, now it time to hand it so someone else. He hoped that by dividing the world between people who respected and loved each other, the old ways that Mark himself had to go through to get where he was three days before, would no longer exist for his friends and family. This was it, the final act, his signature on the bottom of the page. Just one act and the world would be out of his hands. This was what he wanted, this was his way out of this life, but suddenly, he hesitated as another woman came up behind him. "What are you doing here? Someone in your position shouldn’t be hanging around here waiting for the end, you saw what happened to Alexandra!" said the Woman.