Spoiler
By the way, this is nonsensical nonsense... (Or do the two negatives make it a positive?) And don't even bother to poke holes in this plot. It has more holes in it than swiss cheese. It's a suspension of disbelief, okay? 
“Die!”
“Stop being stupid, Archie. We both know you won’t shoot.”
“I will! You need to be gotten rid of.”
“I might, but we’re best friends, aren’t we?”
“Don’t use your pitiful persuasions on me.”
“If they’re so ‘pitiful’ why are they working?”
“They’re not! I’m going to shoot.”
“Are not.”
“Are too!”
“Are not.”
“Are too!”
“Are not times infinity.”
BANG!
“You should’ve shot, Archie...”
A soft sound wanders lazily through the bitter silence, ebbing slowly into nothingness.
--
My name isn’t any of your concern, but I’m telling you now, I’m not Archie. I’m that other guy. Yes. You know what I’m talking about. You heard what we were talking about before, didn’t you? Nothing to worry about, just a casual conversation between… old friends.
Because we were friends once. Before everything became twisted and before everything began to shift into a shape which let through the light of the obvious. The truth of the matter is I’m evil. Archie was always good. But as the saying goes: opposites attract.
We weren’t destined to destroy each other or any stupid thing like that. It wasn’t a fulfilled prophecy as to how we ended up. We weren’t “guided” by anything or anyone. There’s nothing the littlest bit of the romantic variety that can be given to our current situation. And don’t go thinking this is another one of those stupid fantasy stories, this is real.
We live now, probably somewhere you know about. I have it on good authority Archie used to live in Brisbane, Australia. Well, it is my own authority, but then again that’s the only one that’s worthy to trust nowadays…
I used to always drag Archie down to my level. He was always willing to go with me, because he was good. He was able to persuade anyone, everyone that what we were doing was right. Even when it was so obvious it wasn’t. And that was what had made us good friends in the first place. I revelled in the mischief and mayhem, Archie loved to supply the reasons.
We’re not supermen, we’re not magical, but we are bloody rich. Archie and I are the richest people on this Earth, no joke. No one would tell you that of course, otherwise they wouldn’t be able to speak ever again, that I would promise you. You probably think Bill Gates is the richest. Ha. Bill Gates borrows money off of us. Both our families owned the largest companies, but both our parents died during a party one night. I won't go into details.
However, we grew up without parents, with all the money in the world at our disposal. Archie always had aspirations to become the Prime Minister of Australia. I used to joke I’d become a hobo living in the street, so that he would have to pay for me. He used to laugh at me. And we used to laugh together.
But that’s all just memories now. And I’m reminiscing about things that will never come again.
Because now I knew the truth. I knew his parents killed mine. Because money is what corrupts even the purest souls. But it makes those with black souls even stronger. Which is why Archie lost and I won. Archie was never meant to have money. He didn’t know how to use it, or to live with it. He should’ve been born a farmer’s son and worked his way up to Prime Minister.
This was never a vengeance quest. I just wanted this rivalry gone. It had killed both our families. And I would kill for it to be finally over. For everything to be finished.
Enough of that now, Archie is gone, the rivalry is gone. Archibald Fitzgerald Eddings is gone. And everyone would just have to deal with it. Besides, no one would care I killed him… well, maybe they’d care, but they’d never be able to pin it on me.
For money was corruption.
--
“My lord. They were bitter rivals. After all, how can two of the largest companies in the world be in good terms with one another?”
“… I need time to think of this, Lewis. Go fetch me some tea.”
“Yes, my lord.”
A scream echoes through the halls of the mansion, full of grief and anger, slowly it dwindles away to be replaced with a sad different kind of release tinged with remorse.
--
It’s not possible. Archie’s alive. I thought this was over. That this would be the end of it. I shot him, didn’t I? Why hasn’t it ended? He’s at his own private hospital now. Damn. I can’t do it again. I can’t shoot him again. It took too much effort the first time.
That’s it. This is over. I don’t care anymore. I can’t bring myself to kill someone twice; it’ll be too hard. There was too much blood the first time; hard to clean out and forget. Too much death… too much of everything. I may be evil, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have a conscience. I became evil to do this. To end this. Evil meant the end.
Maybe I had been too evil. Maybe… there’s another way, where I don’t have to live with a ghost for the rest of my life. I thought I had been ready to kill Archie, but there would too many skeletons in the closet. Too much I would never be able to forget.
My god…
There is another way!
I don’t know why it never occurred to me before. Maybe I was blinded by my greed. Maybe I felt betrayed more than I should've. There is a way that doesn’t involve death or more blood or ghosts. Why didn’t I think of it before? Bloody hell. I’ll do it. Do it tonight. This rivalry will finally be over.
--
“Sign them, Archie.”
“What are you doing?”
“Just sign the goddamn papers.”
“… This has to be a joke. You’re scamming me, aren’t you?”
“Sign them already! Or I’ll take them away.”
“Okay, okay. Fine. Here, I’m signing them. You happy?”
The sound of scratching over paper starts and stops. A sigh of relief is heard, so profound that it sounds as if years of life are finally gone.
“I didn’t think you’d shoot, to be honest.”
“What?”
“And now it’s my turn.”
“What are you doing?”
BANG!
A scream of pain flies through the room. Some liquid spills onto the floor, a quick scatter against the floor first and then in slow dribbles and drops. A soft thump echoes across the room.
“Why?”
“I was always the coverer, wasn’t I?”
“What… what are talking about, Archie? Why… are you doing this? I just gave… the company to you… didn’t I?”
“And to think if I didn’t kill our parents we wouldn’t be here like this.”
A cough, sad and lonely. A soft splatter on the floor.
“What… do…” gurgle, “mean?”
“Oh, I killed them. I killed them all. Ha. You see they were signing a merger. And you were going to be the heir. I couldn’t let them do it. So I killed them. But, you know as well as I do, that I was always the best at hiding the true reasons. Wasn’t I?”
Another thump sounds. Harsh breathing, slow gasps. More liquid spills forth, splattering onto the floor.
“Why… Archie? ... Why?”
“I told you why. I planned everything. To this second. Smart one, aren’t I?”
A scraping is heard. Slow and painful.
“What you got there, my friend?”
BANG!
Sploosh, patter, patter. Thump. The sound of paper rustles through the air.
“And… I thought… I couldn’t shoot… you after I lost you once…”
--
My name isn’t any of your concern, but I’m telling you now, I’m not Archie. I’m that other guy. Yes. You know what I’m talking about. You heard what we were talking about before, didn’t you? Nothing to worry about, just a casual conversation between… old friends.
Because we were friends once.
--
A soft sound wanders lazily through the bitter silence, ebbing slowly into nothingness; it is the sound of someone crying.
