Secret Prey

ODELL CAME AND WENT.

Bone came and went.

McDonald went up to the bedroom, found a bottle of scotch hed hidden in the closet, ripped off the top and took a long pull. Jesus fuckin Christ, he bellowed. Whats wrong with me? What the fuck is wrong?

Audrey cowered in the doorway. Are they right? Are they right, Wilson? Shed been back to the lazy Susan, this time for a full glass of the vodka.

That motherfucking Brandt, that traitor, McDonald screamed. He took another long pull at the bottle, two swallows, three, four. When he took the bottle down, he seemed stunned. How could the fuckers do that?

And suddenly he was blubbering, his face red as a stop sign, the bottle hanging by his side.

Call your father, Audrey offered. Maybe he

Fuck that old asshole, McDonald screamed. Im dying. Im fucking dying. He began pulling at his shirt and when it came off, threw it in a wad on the floor. Audrey retreated to the hall, saw him trot into the bathroom, heard the water start in the oversized tub. A moment later, his trousers flew out the door, followed by his shorts.

Wilson, we really dont have time for this. Weve got to get ourselves together. Just because they said

They were right, you stupid fuckin cow, McDonald screamed. And he ran out of the bathroom, nude now, his penis bobbing up and down like a crab apple on a windy day. Im gone. Im out of it. Im dead in the fuckin water…

He spun around, looking for booze, found it in his hand. He was already drunk: hed finished half a fifth downstairs before he ran up to get the new bottle. Audrey, desperate, tried to rein him in. ODell and Bone couldnt be right. The job couldnt be gone. He couldnt be out of it.

Maybe ODells offer, the chairmanship…

Id be out of there in a month, he shouted. Id be nothing…

Wilson, I think if we

And you, you bitch. McDonald turned, his small eyes going flat as he moved toward her. You sure as shit didnt do anything to help. Weve got some planning to do, he mimicked, quoting her from early in the evening. Weve got yellow pads to fill up… And then they waltz in and tell me Im done.

Theyre wrong.

Shut up, he bellowed, and he hit her, open-handed. The blow picked her up, smashed her head against the doorjamb, and she went down, dazed, tried to crawl away. You fuckin come back here, youre gonna answer for this. He kicked her in the buttock, and she went down on her stomach. He stopped, nearly fell, caught himself, grabbed one of her feet and dragged her toward the bedroom.

Wilson, she screamed. She rolled and tried to hold on to the carpet, then the doorjamb. Dont, please dont. Tried to distract him Wilson, weve got to work.

Shut up, he screamed again, and he dropped her foot and grabbed the front of her blouse. Made powerful by the booze, he picked her bodily off the floor and hurled her at a wall. She hit with a flat smack and went down again. Crazy fuckin bitch… he mumbled, and he took another pull at the bottle. When I get fuckin finished with you, you wont be able to fuckincrawl…