Chapter 16 – Lead Striker
When Geoff woke he found himself in the medical ward, again. It was already late in the afternoon, the last few hours of sunlight.
Geoff's stomach growled and he climbed out of bed.
Across from him, slumped in the chair, Sky also woke.
"I'm hungry?" he said.
"I'm starved," Sky agreed.
In the cafeteria, Geoff and Sky sat next to each other on the bench and picked at their food, utterly uninterested.
Sky looked over to Geoff. "Not hungry?" she asked.
Geoff dropped his fork onto his tray and sniffled.
He reached out to her and put his arms around the teen girl. In almost no time at all, they both began crying, leaning on each other.
Across the room, Hambone saw them. He stood with Kaz, Jones, Rudy and Taylor. They finished a few minutes ago and were leaving.
They stood there, silent, looking at the ground.
Other kids started to notice and started to stare.
The guys watched Sky and Geoffrey crying and with each passing moment, their fury grew, violence seemed imminent.
Soon the entire cafeteria was silent in respect for Sky and Geoff.
Eventually they looked up.
Assembled before them stood some exceptionally angry teenagers.
At first Sky was scared, but these were her friends standing before her.
Kaz, Hambone, Jones, Rudy and Taylor seemed angered by Sky and Geoff's emotional reaction.
"What did we do? We were just crying." Sky said.
Kaz stepped forward, nodded to Sky and Geoff, and then left the cafeteria. He looked angry enough to kill someone.
A good number of kids went back to their food, but a bunch followed him out, curious… Lead Striker Kazimov was going to do something.
Sky and Geoff watched them stream out of the cafeteria.
Soon they were practically alone.
A couple minutes later, several kids came rushing back into the cafeteria, asking for Sky and Geoff. They walked outside to discover a massive crowd. The kids stood with their backs to them, facing the screaming and yelling which could be heard from somewhere ahead.
The kids who'd come back to get them cleared a path. "It's her brother," they explained. The word brother rippled through the crowd, punctuated by requests for clarification, but the crowd parted.
At the center, Kaz stood over a three-man patrol, shouting and waving a stun baton. The largest of the trio lay face down, bleeding from several head wounds. Kaz stood on the broken leg of another soldier, who writhed in pain.
An officer waited on his knees, his hands cuffed behind his back. Kaz wore the officer's handgun tucked into his belt. The weapon made the fifteen year old look ten years older, as did the blood splashed across his arms, chest and face.
Sky noticed that the front audience members held most of the guards' gear; shields, helmets, batons.
Kaz gestured with the baton to the radio in his other hand. He screamed into the radio. "Can you hear me now, motherfucker!! Wanna hear some more?”
Kaz glared at the wounded soldier and increased the pressure on his broken leg. The soldier screamed.
Kaz held the radio out for the citizen on the other end of the line.
The radioman yelled, "How do I know that you aren't just a bunch of kids who got a handset?”
"I told you how I got it," Kaz replied. He increased the pressure on the guard's leg. The soldier instantly started screaming again.
"I swear to god," the radio operator laughed over the handset. "If this is Jenkins... Jenkins, if this is you, I'm shifting-6 in your ass!!”
Kazimov turned to Geoffrey. "What's your name kid?" Kaz held the handset out to him.
"Geoff. Geoffrey Fox.”
"Okay. What's going on here, Geoff?”
"Uh, it looks like you beat these guards up," Geoff said. "I think that one is dead.”
"He might be." Kaz laughed. "He might be at that.”
Kaz handed the bloody baton to Geoff, who took it warily. Kaz drew the Light-9 and waited for a response from the soldier on the other end of the radio.
"So, what's your lucky number then, you fuck?" the radio operator barked.
"I am not a number!" Kaz shouted.
"I'm a free man," Geoffrey answered.
"That's right," Kaz smiled. "We are free men," he said into the radio. "I'm gonna tell you one more time. Release Ashley Fox.”
"Not happening," the dispatch officer replied.
Kaz tucked the pistol back into his waistband and traded Geoff the radio for the baton.
"Press the key." Kaz gestured for Geoff to key the mic and hold it out.
He did.
Kaz walked over to the broken-legged guard and kicked him in the face. "You want my number, huh?" Kaz yelled to the radio.
Kaz stood on the guard's broken leg and yelled to the microphone. "That is Officer Hodges you hear screaming! His number is 7262.”
Kaz kicked the officer and then began to hit him with the baton. After a full minute of beating him, Kaz grew tired and paused.
He looked over to the radio. "Did you get all that?" Kaz took the guard's badge. "That was Officer Hodges, badge number 7262.”
Kaz moved to hand Geoff the baton, but Geoff hesitated, it was covered in gore.
Kaz gave it a few good raps on the ground and most of the bloody chunks fell off.
Hodges began convulsing and foaming at the mouth. His eyes rolled back and went white.
Kaz pushed the baton into Geoff's hands, distracting him from the dying soldier. Geoff took it and gave up the radio. On the other end a great commotion could be heard, several people talking, arguing.
"Who's he kicking?" someone asked.
"What guard?" another voice inquired.
Kaz rolled the other unconscious guard onto his back and pulled his badge from his chest. Kaz then took the badge from the kneeling officer.
"Let me talk to him," an older voice demanded and then came on over the radio. "This is Major Watrous. Whom am I speaking to, please?”
Kaz spoke into the handset. "If you release Miss Fox, I'll let this last one live.”
"Who is this?" the major asked.
"I've just sixed two of your citizens and I'm about to make it three.”
Kaz put the gun to the back of the kneeling officer's head and held the radio up to the man's mouth. "Tell daddy your name, bitch.”
The subjugated guard kept his cool. "Sir, this is First Lieutenant Grey. Fleming is dead. Hodges is dying. I've been handcuffed and my weapon has been stolen.”
"Pull it together man! I need you to stand your ground!" the major barked.
Kaz grinned and keyed the mic again, holding it before Grey's face.
"Ahem, sir, I'm not in any position to put up a fight," Grey explained.
"Goddamn, son! Did you say those monkeys have a firearm? What the hell is going on down there?" the major screamed.
"Sir, there's three hundred kids here. Corporal Fleming hit a young girl, and, well... It's become a rather serious issue now, sir.”
"What the hell do you expect me to do about it Corporal?"
"Lieutenant, Sir. My name is Lieutenant Grey.”
"If you don't find a way out of this mess you've made, it's gonna be Inmate! Do you understand me, son! Wakarimaska? Goddamn it! Do I have to speak another fucking language for you?" the Major screamed from the communicator.
"Sume'masem. Watashiwa wakarimas, Gozimas," Grey answered, cool and levelheaded.
"What the fuck did you just say to me?”
"I said, Excuse me. I understand, Sir.”
"Well, you just hold fast, Captain. We're gonna get you outta there. Let me talk at the screwball," the Major demanded.
Kaz and the other kids watched, impressed with the Lieutenant's calm and fluid command of Nihongo.
"Listen up," the Major shouted over the radio. "I don't know who you think your dealing with here…”
"I'm dealing with the Colt Firearms Company," Kaz interrupted. He lifted the gun from the back of Grey's head and admired the weapon, reading the embossed type. "Of the Light-9 Variety, it would appear. Hey, look at that, that's really just how they spell it," he said, amazed.
The Major's voice sounded weary. "What is it that you hope to achieve with this little display?" he inquired.
"That's the trouble," Kaz snapped. "No one listens until you do something drastic. Sometimes; not even then. You haven't been listening have you, Major Shit-heel? I want Ashley Fox free, right now!”
Kaz lowered the gun to the officers' head again. "Right this very moment, in fact.”
In the headquarters a dozen guards studied the five hundred and twelve monitors. They switched between the A and B channels, scanning for the incident occurring over the radio.
"I'm holding my nine to the back of this cat's head and I swear I'm gonna dust his cheese if you don't let her go.”
"Dust his cheese?" Hambone said, rolling his eyes and laughing.
Kaz shrugged, grinning.
"What? Wait! Just a second, Son! Please, don't hurt anyone. I'll get you whatever you need," the Major seemed to have come to his senses.
"Whatever you need. I'm going to help you. Maybe we can get Miss Fox released. From what I understand, there are just a couple, some court proceedings to be followed." The major was stammering, stumbling through his words.
"Did you know that she's going to have a hearing and a fair trial? Did you know that? Now, listen to me, it's all very legal and all that. Do you understand what I'm saying?
“Please don't shoot the lieutenant, that's First Lieutenant Grey, there, son. He's one of the good guys. Come on now. I know he's cooperated with you. Just let the lieutenant go. We'll sort everything out.”
More noise in the background, it sounded as if the other guards were explaining the situation to the major. "Ashley who?" the muffled Major asked.
"The girl from the fights," a young soldier answered.
"What fights?”
"The pit fights. She won. She killed Kid Lethal.”
"That hot girl?" the Major replied. "That was this district?”
"The colonel had her arrested.”
"For what?”
"Murder," the soldier answered.
"It was self defense! Even I know that," the major exclaimed. "She's a goddamn hero. Kids all over the country love her. My own goddamn kids love her. Has the colonel lost his fucking mind?”
Kaz interrupted their not so silent background conversation. "I'm going to shoot this man in the back of the head and blow his face off.”
Kaz set the weapon directly against the back of Grey's head and addressed him directly. "You hear that, motherfucker? Closed casket for you!" Kaz cocked the pistol.
Grey closed his eyes.
Kaz keyed the radio again. "Major Watrous, what's it gonna be? Yes or no? Can you release Ashley Fox right this very second?”
"Well now, just hold on a second," the Major stammered. "These things take time.”
"That sounds like a no.”
Inside the command center, the Major and other soldiers were startled by the sound of a gunshot from over the radio.
"I've got like a thousand more bullets in this gun. I suggest you release her before I find some more of your guards," Kaz snapped.
The radio erupted with horrible screeching feedback from the stomped handset. The major and other officers covered their ears until one of the techs turned the volume down.
On the athletic block, outside the cafeteria, the radio lay smashed to bits. Grey lay on his side, his head bloodied but intact.
A couple moments later he came to and sat up.
Kaz squatted next to him, holding the weapon in one hand and the cuffs in the other.
Grey's hands were free. He sat up.
"Lucky you," Kaz smiled.
"What happened?" Grey asked.
"I pulled the trigger, but I guess I missed. I don't know what happened. Anyhow, you're okay. Looks like the bullet grazed your grape a little, but you're fine. Genuine battle scar.”
Grey touched the top of his head. His hand came away wet with blood.
Kaz helped him to his feet.
All the kids stood by, holding their newly-seized riot gear, waiting for the signal to beat the standing guard into mush.
Grey saw the badges pinned to Kaz's shirt, his own among them. He considered his options.
The lieutenant moved to exit the ring of fierce children.
They stood firm against him and didn't open the circle.
Kaz waved his hand, gesturing for the kids to let Grey go.
"Good day, Citizen," Kaz said.
"Good luck." Grey counted his blessings and exited through a sea of growling orphans.
Hambone stood next to Kaz. "What the fuck are you thinking?" he asked.
"Letting him go?" Kaz replied.
"No, asshole, killing them?" he asked, gesturing to the dead soldiers.
"They're not dead," Kaz explained. "Besides, I got three badges and a fucking 9. What have you got?”
"After they're through with you, another dead friend.”
Kaz kicked Fleming. "He beat the shit out of three kids, just this week!” Then he kicked Hodges, eliciting a fresh set of convulsions. "Far as I'm concerned, if they're walking around here, dressed for fucking battle, then I'm gonna give them one.”
"But we're gonna lose, idiot. They've got the guns." Hambone said.
Kazimov winced. “We’ve got the numbers?”
Hambone glared.
“Fuck, Ham! What are we going to do? Wait for another super-girl to come along and start breaking heads. If you want something done, do it yourself. You can't just wait, hope, and worry.”
Rudy held up a fist. "Amen, brother," he said.
"Fuck you, Rude," Hambone replied.
Rudy spoke loudly, for the whole crowd. "I don't call it violence. When it's in self-defense, I call it intelligence.”
His words rolled through the crowd, partially repeated with choruses of laughter.
"Give peace a chance, Buddha," Hambone countered.
"I have not yet begun to fight." Kaz yelled, raising the weapon into the air.
The kids cheered.
"Are you all retarded?” Hambone had to get loud to be heard over all the noise. "Have you lost your fucking minds? They will destroy us! Not just some of you, all of us!”
Kaz backed up a step. "Okay. Fine, for the sake of argument, I fucked up. I can't declare war on all of Angel City by myself. But don't you think you could offer something constructive, maybe?" he asked.
Hambone rolled his eyes.
Kaz stepped forward. "Look, Ben Franklin ain't on the talent for nothing. Stand together or hang apart.”
Hambone looked at the bashed and bleeding guards and then at the waiting crowd of kids. "Fuck, man," he muttered. "We have to move them over to the elevators.” Ham addressed the younger orphans nearby. "Set up look outs and diversions.”
The kids stood there, staring at the mess, perhaps waiting for Kazimov to ratify Hambone's instructions. Kaz, however, was not the leader of the Iron Fist, and in Tanaka's absence, Hambone held the reins.
"Fucking Now!" he ordered.
The kids scattered. They knew these procedures well. Scouts positioned themselves at key points and supplied a steady stream of information. Kaz and crew would have no trouble avoiding the patrols.
Kaz and Ham, assisted by Jones, Rudy and Taylor, lifted the guards by their shoulders, belts and legs. They carried the bodies over the fields toward the elevators at the center of the level.
The lookouts ahead signaled that it wasn't clear. The carriers paused, setting the broken citizens down behind a berm and kneeling beside them.
Hodges began to moan; Jones beat him back into unconsciousness.
Ahead of them, the younger kids harassed the posted elevator guards with rocks. They continued pelting them until they couldn't take it anym
ore and gave pursuit.
Once the guards were gone, the younger kids disconnected the level's camera feeds by accessing a panel running alongside the elevator shaft.
The gang leaders dragged the unconscious men to the elevator bank. When they reached the doors, Hambone had the guys set the bodies against them. The kids propped up the critically injured citizens so that when the doors next opened, the bodies would naturally fall in.
Kaz hit the button and the elevator car began its approach.
"What if someone's in there," Hambone whispered.
"Fuck it," Kaz said, drawing the weapon from his waistband.
The boy stood alone in front of the carriage doors. His friends crouched behind cement structures and pressed up against the walls.
The elevator arrived.
Kaz took a deep breath and swallowed.
The doors slid open; the car was empty.
The bodies leaning against the doors fell forward into the empty car with two distinct thuds.
Kaz tucked the pistol into his belt and stepped forward to push the solders the rest of the way into the car. Soon they had moved the guards into sitting positions against the half-closed doors. Kaz hit the Red Cross button and they climbed out.
"This isn’t going to fucking work," Hambone said as they made final adjustments.
"Mr. Positivity," Kaz replied, holding the unconscious guards back as the doors closed.
A moment later and the wounded men were gone.
The kids laughed as they drifted away from the elevator bank.
"We have to call a Council," Hambone said.
"What? Why?" Kaz asked.
Hambone turned to Rebound, Rudy, Jones and Taylor. "That's the deal. We have to. We promised," Ham said.
"Why?" Kaz asked.
"After the last riots, we all promised that if any zero ever got their hands on a heater, we promised to let each other know.”
"What kind of stupid shit is that? That was almost three years ago," Kaz replied.
"And besides, you aren't even in the gang anymore, I know." Hambone said.
"And besides, I'm not even in the... Fuck you, Ham."
"Whatever," Hambone replied.
"You're gonna let Dante know?" Kaz asked.
"I give my word, I keep my word. I'm going to let him know.”
"You're such a bitch, Hambone," Kaz sighed.
"Can't have it both ways, Striker. Besides, it's only you and your fucking wanna-be sponsors who think you're not in anyhow."
"I'm not in," Kaz insisted.
"You don't take a cut," Ham argued. "That's not quite the same thing. And now you're packing," Hambone gestured to the handgun. "If you're not a gang member, you're a fucking terrorist.”
"Fine! How about we launch our campaign then?" Kaz snapped.
Hambone smiled. "Load the cannons, we've got the gold.”
Kaz smiled, "We need to get us some terillium-vests and a bunch of machetes.”