Kage

A Story by Spoon

A couple of street-wise crooks find themsleves in an explosive situation...

At approximately eleven o’clock last night, the city was rocked by a devastating explosion that originated in a section of the old underground train tunnels near the East End Bridge, collapsing several blocks of the Wyre St. multi-storey housing complex as many occupants slept. The most recent reports have the official death toll at 243, but it is expected to double before noon today. The rescue effort is still at a critical point, as with every passing minute the chance of finding more survivors decreases. This is a disaster on a scale never before witnessed by this city, and its source is still unknown. There are speculations circulating that suggest this is the result of a terrorist attack, but no extremist groups have claimed responsibility at this time. Anyone seeking information about missing family or friends can find the emergency hotline number on page 3.
The Lower City Report, front page, 18/5/2004 (morning edition)

“That's the phone,” Gerick said. “Answer the f*****g phone.” He didn’t even open his eyes.

Kage answered the phone. There was heavy breathing on the other end, but no voice. At least not right away. Kage’s finger was resting on the button, ready to hang up, when finally he heard a voice.

“Kage? Is this Kage?” a man asked, his voice broken and jittery.

“What do you want?” Kage mumbled past a cigarette.

“Kage?”

“Yeah, it’s Kage. What do you want?”

“I hear you have something special. Something… big.”

“You hear correct. I’m not sure if I can help you. There’s been a lot of interest,” Kage said, tapping his fingers on the frayed arm of his chair.

“I… I can pay well. I can pay very well.” The stranger’s voice was steadying.

“How well?” Kage brushed some hair from his face. He sucked the last of his dying cigarette, and blew the smoke to the roof.

“For the lot. Fifty for the lot.”

Kage sat forward in his chair, his stubbled jaw shifting slightly.

“Fifty what?”

“Fifty thousand. Dollars.”

Kage grabbed a pen and scribbled ’50 GRAND’. He then stuck the note to Gerick’s forehead.

“For how much?” Kage said into the phone.

Gerick sat up in his couch and took the note.

“For how much?” he whispered.

Kage threw a deck of cards at him and signalled with his finger to shut up.

“For the lot,” came the voice on the other end of the phone.

“Fifty thousand for fifty pounds? Just name the time and place.”

“Don’t… Don’t f**k with me, Kage. I know you have more than that.”

“So, how much do you want?”

“I want it all! I want… Jesus, I want the whole god damn f*****g train,” the stranger said, giving away his frustration.

“Who said anything about a train?”

“Ok, look the guy who gave me your number told me… he said it was on a bloody train. I don't give two s***s if it’s on the back of a bloody camel. I just want all of the… all of it.”

“All the military grade C4 explosives.”

The stranger coughed and hushed his voice.

“Yes. Yes, all the C4. All the… yes.”

“That's a lot of explosives,” Kage remarked casually. “What else did the guy say?”

“Nothing. He said nothing. I met him in a bar across the river. He said you had… a lot… enough… and gave me your number.”

Kage could tell, despite the distortion of the phone, that the man had been shaken by the meeting in the bar.

“You seem a little uneasy. How about we meet, face to face. Normally I wouldn’t give a s**t where my stuff goes, but I don't normally sell C4. Tomorrow’s the 17^th, yeah? I’ll meet you at eight. Donovan’s, on the corner of Lester. I always liked their coffee. My associate says it's the way they roast their beans, but I say it's the whiskey. He’ll be there too. You’ll understand, this a joint venture.”

“Yes, my colleagues�"”

“You’ll come alone. Sit at table eleven, and we’ll know who you are.”

And with that Kage hung up. He sent the phone clattering through the maze of bottles on the table, and turned to his counterpart who was leaning forward, expectantly.

“Well?” Gerick asked.

Kage pulled another cigarette from inside his tattered suede jacket to replace his first one.

“Fifty grand for the lot,” he said with a laugh. “You know, I think we should plan a holiday.”

Kage and Gerick arrived at Donovan’s on foot around seven forty five. The place was empty, as they’d expected. They approached the counter and seated themselves on stools. There was a slight clink as the revolver in Kage’s belt tapped the metal stool. He lit up a cigarette as Gerick peered searchingly through the storeroom door.

“Donovan, you lazy a*s. You’ve got customers!” Gerick called.

A crash of metal and a string of swearing was his reply. A young blonde-haired man wearing a coffee stained apron came limping out of the storeroom. Neither man recognised him. Kage turned on his stool and faced the street.

“Who the hell are you? Where’s Donovan?” Gerick demanded.

“I am Donovan. Well, ‘THE’ Donovan’s my dad. Name’s Jason.”

“A round of Irish, kid.”

Jason went to work. Gerick turned to face Kage, who was staring darkly at the quiet street. He looked at his watch.

“Reckon he’ll show?” Gerick asked.

Kage made no movement.

“How’d he sound on the phone? A nutter?”

“No, just nervous.” He took a breath through his cigarette. “He’ll come.”

They sat in silence until eight. Jason served their coffees and disappeared back into the storeroom. Five minutes after that, an old, scarred car spluttered around a bend, stopping across the street. A short, jittery man wearing a suit two sizes too big for him got out holding a folded newspaper. Kage and Gerick eyed him passively, taking their time with their drinks. They paid him little attention until he took a seat at the round table numbered ‘11’. He fumbled his newspaper open.

“You’re right, he does look nervous. Practically shitting himself already,” Gerick commented.

“F*****g amateurs. Ready to go over?”

“Sure.”

They both stood slowly and made their way towards the table. Kage wandered around behind the man while Gerick, the heavier of the two, approached him directly.

“Excuse me, but are you done with that paper? I’d like a read if you wouldn't mind.”

“Are you Kage?” The stranger gripped the paper tightly.

“Kage? No, I’m not Kage. I just want that paper,” Gerick said, and sat down opposite the stranger. “That man is Kage,” he said with a slight gesture over the man’s shoulder. The stranger spun his head up to see Kage’s face leaning over him, framed by his shoulder-length brown hair.

“We spoke on the phone,” Kage said.

The man shrank into his suit and his jaw hung loosely before any words came.

“Ah, yes we… yes we did,” he stuttered, shooting a fearful glance in Gerick’s direction. He twisted the ends of his paper again.

Kage dragged a chair from another table and sat, facing the man.

“You still seem a little jumpy. How about a drink?” Kage asked.

“Jason, get us another one!” Gerick ordered.

The storeroom door opened and Jason came out again. The stranger eyed Jason suspiciously. He made to speak, but the other two had their attention elsewhere. The silence lasted a full minute, broken only by the sounds of the coffee machine. Small beads of sweat began to form on the man’s forehead, dampening his slightly greying fringe. His face was full of stressful anticipation, and he sucked his lower lip behind his teeth.

Finally he broke.

“I can pay, really I can pay. Do you want me to prove it to you? How can I prove it to you? Please… look you have to believe me, I have the money. Really.” He had suddenly become quite animated, his face and hands flailing wildly above the table while his feet shuffled below. Kage looked away across the street, his face once again dark.

Gerick took the lead. “We don’t doubt that you can… sorry, what’s your name?”

The man opened his mouth, but hesitated.

“Ah, screw names.” Gerick continued. “I’ll call you Leonard. It’s not that we don't believe you, Leonard. We wouldn’t be here otherwise.” He leaned back in his seat.

“It’s ready,” called Jason from behind the counter.

Kage turned to him. “Well, bring it over, you lazy prick.”

“So… why are you here?” Leonard continued as Jason brought the coffee to the table.

“Fifty grand is a lot of money to be throwing around, especially for explosives. You either have some dumb delusion of re-selling it, or you reckon you can use it. Thanks, Jason.”

Jason set the coffee down on the table. Leonard’s fear had been replaced by confusion.

“I have the money. I swear. Isn’t it enough?”

Kage rounded on Leonard.

“Jesus Christ, man, it’s not that hard. Fifty grand is more money than I’ve ever had, more than I’ve ever seen. It’s enough. The reason we are here is because we don’t want a s**t-load of explosives in the hands of a lunatic. You could blow up a whole god damn building with all that.” He stood up. “Come on Gerick, we’re out of here.”

Gerick stood too, snatching Leonard’s newspaper from the table.

“I don’t understand! I can give you the money. I can give you more. Sixty thousand! Sixty-five!” Leonard got to his feet.

Kage approached Leonard, his hands on his belt giving Leonard a clear look at the weapon concealed there.

“I bet you can. But I bet none of it is yours. See, you come down here in that piece of s**t parked over there, with a suit that clearly isn’t yours, and offer us sixty-five thousand dollars. Do you think we’re stupid? Where is the money coming from?”

“Money is money, isn’t it?” Leonard interjected.

“And business is business.” Gerick retorted. “It’s our C4, so we get to say who we sell it to. Plenty of other people willing to buy it. In reasonable amounts too, none of this ‘the lot’ s**t.”

Leonard’s fists could just be seen beyond his long sleeves, and were clenched so tight that the knuckles were going white.

“You’ll have to get your explosives somewhere else. Why don’t you just go home?” Gerick reasoned.

Leonard just stood where he was, his rage forming an unstable balance with the realisation of his failure. In turn he stared both men in the eye, but said nothing.

“This is bullshit,” Kage said, and began to turn away.

As soon as their eye-contact had broken, Leonard’s hand had shot towards Kage’s belt and seized his gun, which he then dug into Kage’s neck. He laughed a broken laugh, and threw a maniacal grin at Gerick.

“Holy s**t, what the f**k are you doing?” shouted Gerick, a sudden streak of panic bursting onto his face.

“Gerick�" ” Kage gasped breathlessly.

“Shut up!” shrieked Leonard, “Shut up and listen. I’m going to get that C4, and you are going to show me where it is. You, do you have a gun?”

“F**k you.”

“I said do you have a f*****g gun!” Leonard yelled, his stolen weapon flailing a little in his excitement.

Jason had approached unnoticed, and stood by Leonard’s side.

“What does it look like?” he said, jabbing the side of Leonard’s head with a lengthy shotgun. “Your move.”

Leonard stared at him out of the corner of his eye, not daring to move his head. Slowly he let go of Kage and raised his hands above his head. Kage grabbed his gun back out of Leonard’s hand and pointed it back at him. Leonard’s face had never shown so much fear.

“You little f**k. I should shoot you where you stand,” Kage threatened through clenched teeth.

“Not in my dad’s shop,” Jason warned, but he didn’t take his eyes off Leonard. “You get to live, but only if you leave right now.”

Leonard hesitated, not wanting to turn his back on the two gunmen, before shuffling backwards towards the street. Once he had left the confines of the café he abandoned caution and sprinted as fast as he could across the road to his car. Another man had emerged from the passenger side, stockier than his counterpart.

“You’ve made a mistake, Kage,” he shouted across the road. “How many trains do you think there are lying around in this city? We’ll find it.” He climbed back into the car and, with a squeal of the tyres, they left.

Kage returned his gun to his belt and his cigarette to his mouth, taking a deep puff. He turned his back on the road and placed a hand on Jason’s shoulder.

“You did good, kid. You take after your father. Now put that away before anyone else sees it.”

Jason, with a hint of a smile, rounded the counter again and disappeared briefly into the storeroom. When he returned the shotgun was nowhere to be seen, and Kage and Gerick were sitting at the counter. Both men’s faces were tense, as they knew what the man had said was true. If they didn’t do something soon the C4 would be discovered, and then it would be gone.

“What was with that guy?” Jason remarked. “The f**k does he want with C4?”

Both men looked up at him. Of course, he had overheard.

“How much do you know, kid?” Kage questioned, his eyes roaming over Jason.

“I heard pretty much the whole conversation. Fifty grand for some bombs,” he replied, polishing an empty cup. A look of realisation spread over his face. “I won’t tell anyone. Well, maybe Dad, cause of the guns, but no one else. I won’t even tell him about the bombs.”

“Relax kid, you’re dad already knows. He told us where to find them.” Gerick explained to Jason before turning to Kage. “We’ll have to move the whole train. It’s still wired.”

“Yes,” said Kage, deep in thought. “The sooner the better, too. I say tonight. Ten thirty, when we won’t be noticed. We’ll use the Harley Street entrance and take it down to the end of the line, near East End.”

“East End?” Jason asked, confused. “There are no trains at East End.”

“Above ground, no. During the war there were supply tunnels built under the city. You know, just in case. They run from here right up the coast. That's where our train is.” Gerick explained.

“You’ll get to see it tonight, Jason.” Kage added.

“What? You want me to come with you?”

“Yeah. You got guts, and a good head about you.”

“Are you serious Kage?” Gerick protested.

“Why? He already knows where it is.”

Gerick laughed. “Yeah, suppose you’re right. Meet at ten thirty then.”

“Meet at ten thirty. And Gerick, carry your gun. At least till we get rid of this s**t.”

***

Kage and Gerick arrived at the Harley Street entrance around ten twenty. It had been dark a while already, and the street was full of people. They stood against a wall and watched the people and traffic pass until, at ten twenty-five, Jason arrived. They led him to a grey wooden door set in a solid concrete wall and stepped inside. Once the door was closed behind them, Gerick switched on a torch and led the way down a cold and narrow staircase. The air was thick and stale, but mostly it was still. At the bottom they passed through a large open room filled only by dust, with empty windows through to a train line.

“It’s this way,” Gerick said, gesturing with the torch along the rails. Again he led the way, the other two walking in silence behind. Before long something could be seen on the tracks ahead, and Gerick shone his torch to reveal an old train carriage, the neglect clearly showing in the peeling green paintwork and rotting wood structure. They climbed through the back door and into a carriage. It was filled with insignificant stacked crates and boxes stamped with military coding and insignias. They passed these and crossed through to the next carriage, the contents of which mirrored the first. The one to follow, at first, seem the same as the other two, but Gerick stopped in the middle. Jason hadn’t noticed Kage drop off behind him until the carriage lights were switched on.

The sight that greeted the three was one of twisting wires running from crate to crate, many of them with lids removed. Inside, piles upon piles of small explosive bars could be seen, all connected with metal rods and wires.

“There it is, a train load of C4.” Kage said, joining them in the centre of the carriage. “Now you must be careful. All the crates are wired to a switch on that wall.” He pointed to a red hinged box to the left of the door.

Gerick switched off his torch and headed towards the front of the carriage.

“We should get it moving, Kage.” He pointed at Jason. “You, don’t touch anything. Come on.”

Kage followed Gerick through door at the front of the carriage, and Jason followed him in turn. The door lead out onto a thin ledge that ran alongside the engine of the train to the engineer’s compartment. Kage and Gerick pulled on levers and flicked switches haphazardly, grunting as they did so, dispelling any delusions Jason had that they knew what they were doing.

“Kage, pull that one.”

“I already did. Bloody hell, how does it work again?”

“Ah, the brake is on. Jason, yank that one would you?” Jason braced himself against the wall and set his weight against the lever. As he pushed, a loud clanging came from far off back down the train, but the lever had not moved. It was the sound of a door.

All three men stiffened as it echoed up the tunnel. Kage pushed his way past Jason, drawing his gun as he did. He left the cabin and headed back towards the sound. Gerick took a deep breath and raised a weapon of his own. He turned to Jason, his eyes as cold as stones.

“Stay in here. Try to get that lever down. Once you do I want you to start the train by pushing one of these up, I forget which one.” His voice was hushed and urgent. “We’ll be back for you.” Gerick then left the cabin and followed Kage back to the carriage.

Kage was peering through the window in the first door.

“See anything?” Gerick asked.

“Torches. They are in the next carriage.” He turned to Gerick. “We were followed.” Slowly and soundlessly he opened the door and, bending low, he crept into the carriage and crouched behind a pile of crates.

Gerick followed his lead, moving to the other side of the train. An idea occurred to him, and he signalled to Kage not to take any action.

The door at the back of the carriage squeaked as it opened, and soft footsteps entered. Kage sat still, his eyes fixed on Gerick across the train, who was breathing heavily. Slowly and cautiously the unknown men crept through the carriage. Gerick held his breath as the first of them past his hiding place, failing to see either of them. He seized the moment and leaped at the man, grabbing him around the chest with one hand and burying his gun in the man’s jaw with the other to a courus of profanity. Gerick held the man up between himself and counted four others. Amongst them was a familiar face.

“Leonard,” he said through clenched teeth.

Kage had risen to his feet and held his gun forward, flicking his hair from his face. Leonard eyed them both nervously, a gun in his own hand, and the hands of his partners.

“You fuckers have got some nerve, you know that?” Kage said accusingly. “You’re all insane.”

“We wouldn’t be here, Kage, if you’d just sold it to us.” Leonard retorted. “We were willing to do this fairly.”

“F**k fair, Leonard,” Gerick began, but he never got to finish his sentence for at that moment the train jerked forward with a shudder.

No one had been expecting it, and everyone stumbled. Gerick and his hostage fell on their faces, Kage blundered into a stack of crates and two of Leonard’s men fell backwards onto the floor. Kage fought free of the collapsed crates and opened fire on Leonard, who was still standing, but very off balance. Gerick grappled with hostage on the ground, knocking his gun from his hand and gaining the advantage. The other three attackers stumbled for cover from Kage’s erratic fire. The rocking of the train and the adrenalin pumping through his body threw Kage’s aim off and he succeeded only in shattering a window.

Gerick had struggled to his knees and held the other man to the floor. He positioned his gun at the back of the man’s head and fired. In the middle of the carriage he was exposed and vulnerable; a fact one of the attackers took advantage of. A couple of bullets whizzed over Gerick’s shoulders before one finally caught him in the chest. With a howl of pain he fell backwards and rocked helplessly, a hand on the bullet wound. Kage saw this and made a dash for his friend, firing blindly. He reached Gerick unscathed and with one hand pulled him back to safety. However, as soon as they were behind the crates again one of the men leaped upon them and fired three shots. Two dug harmlessly into the train floor, but the third entered Kage’s ribs. As a reflex he fired back, emptying his last bullets at random. By chance he scored a hit on the man’s kneecap, causing him to fall back heavily, with a squeal of agony, behind the crates.

Kage knew it was over. The only bullet he had left was between his ribs, and Gerick’s condition was worse. He arched his back in pain and coughed up some blood, twisting to spit it onto the floor. As he did, he noticed Jason’s face in the door window.

“Run,” he tried to scream, but the word didn’t come out. The kid should get away, he thought. He wasn’t part of this.

Jason did the opposite. He burst open the door, completely unarmed, and slid across the floor towards the fallen two. Kage grabbed him by the shirt.

“Get out of here, kid. This is over, just run,” Kage spluttered.

“But they can’t get it,” Jason said, panicking. “What if they get the C4, Kage?”

“Leave the city,” Gerick wheezed. “You and your dad. Leave the city.”

Jason got to his feet and scrambled back towards the door, but instead of exiting, he flicked open the red box on the wall, and slammed his fist into the switch beneath.