by Brian Cotton
Chapter .12
The woman stopped the motorcycle in front of a small, one bedroom house. Kaspar recognized it; he made frequent visits to that old piece all the time. It was Danny’s house. What were they doing here? Did this have something to do with that man he said he knew? Kaspar lifted his right leg over the seat. Once on his feet, struggled to take the helmet off. He placed it on the seat cushion and followed the woman. She kept looking from side to side to ensure that nobody followed them here. After two rings on the door bell, Danny arrived and hurried both of them in.
Once inside the woman took off her helmet. She shook her jet black hair loose. She had to be that same woman from the alley earlier in the morning. No doubt about it. Just what had Danny gotten into? More importantly, why did he lie about it? The woman looked over at Kaspar then to Danny.
“Here’s your boy,” she said. “He’s a real butch.”
“Just who in the hell are you, anyway?” Kaspar demanded.
“The name’s Krysta, but you can just call me Krys.”
“Well, Krys,” Kaspar said. He bowed his head, “It’s nice to meet you, you fucking lunatic.”
“I just saved your life, Thumbelina. How about a thank you?”
“Well, thank you all the same. But with that crazy driving you could’ve gotten us both killed.”
“And,” Krys said, “If I hadn’t have saved your sorry ass they would’ve killed you. So, what exactly is your argument here?”
“Krys,” Danny said. He walked over and rubbed at the woman’s shoulders. “He’s under a lot of stress, why don’t you let me talk to him?”
“Sure,” Krys said. She turned towards the door. “I have to get back anyway.”
“You watch yourself out there.” Danny said.
“I’ll be fine.”
Krys walked out the door, holding her helmet in her left hand. Kaspar watched as Danny stared down her backside. It was confirmed now; Danny had lied to him earlier. He felt like punching the old man in the face. Outside of Mother, Danny was the only person he thought he could trust. He couldn’t trust anybody now.
“Danny, what is going on?” Kaspar asked.
“Have a seat in the living room.” Danny replied. He looked around the neighborhood before he shut the door and locked the dead bolt.
Kaspar walked into the living room and took a seat on the couch. His nerves calmed, but the anger burned inside of him still. He rubbed his fists together while he rocked his upper body back and forth. Confusion joined with anger and sorrow in the consummation of his mind. Her death not fully sunk in, all he could think about were her eyes. Her wide open eyes…
In an attempt to get his mind off of Mother, he looked around at the old pictures that Danny had posted on the walls. He saw pictures of Danny and Ruth on their wedding day. That stupid grin on Danny’s face made him look like the happiest man on the planet. There were also pictures of the fighters that he trained in the old days. Kaspar noticed one with a mean looking black man, with some kind of tattoo on his face, holding a title belt in the air.
Danny entered the living room, which broke Kaspar’s thoughts from the pictures on the wall. The old man had two mugs with steam shooting up from the tops. He handed one to Kaspar before he took a seat on his recliner. Kaspar put the mug to his lips and let the bland tasting coffee burn down his dry throat.
“What the hell is going on? Why did you lie to me?” Kaspar demanded.
“Lied about what?”
“That woman. The woman you said you didn’t know. Why did you lie about that and just who in the hell are you anyway?”
“Easy, boy, easy.”
“Don’t you tell me to take it easy. I just saw my mother lying dead on the couch—just had my life flash before my eyes with that crazy woman you said you didn’t know…”
“I’ll give you some answers once you calm your wily ass down!”
He sipped at the hot coffee once more. Danny was right, no matter how hard it was to agree with him. Calm down, get the answers, and then beat the shit out of him. Getting all hot and bothered right now would serve no purpose. What was done was…the answers would come. He just needed to know who killed Mother so the favor could be returned.
“You calm now?” Danny asked.
“Yes,” Kaspar replied.
“Good. First things first, I guess. I’ve been dishonest with you for a while…a long time actually. Pretty much from the day we met.”
“I knew it…” Kaspar replied. He had to force himself to not lose control again.
“I haven’t been training you just to fight and win money. I’ve been working for someone else…someone who is deep within the resistance.”
Kaspar took another sip, “The resistance? Who is this person?”
“He’s a leftover, just like me. He’s known nothing but war. So, needless to say, he started his own little war once the USR started getting bigger.”
“Unbelievable.”
“Well, believe it, son. You’ll be the third person that I’ve trained for him. One of my guys just bit the dust. You see that on the news?”
Kaspar did remember the news broadcast from the other day. The Consul held up a tattered American flag. He remembered, to a round of applause, the Consul vowed to hunt down and kill all the resistance members. He remembered Mother making a comment about what that flag meant to her before she spaced out on him and forgot what she was saying. The spacing out increased with each of those pills she was forced to take.
“This is crazy,” Kaspar replied. “Danny? You of all people?”
“That’s right. But, you’re not ready, yet. You’ve still got your own personal shit that you need to take care of first.”
“Do you know who killed my mother?”
“Not specific people, of course. But, we do know that the USR was responsible for it.” Danny said. He sipped at his coffee.
“The USR? Why?”
“From what we were able to dig up, someone being interrogated—tortured—implicated her as sympathetic to the resistance. That, plus her age, and you’ve got a recipe for arrest or…well, you know.”
“That’s bullshit. Bullshit. All she did was watch TV all day and knit and…” Kaspar paused. He felt a warm tear roll down his cheek.
“Krys was sent in to save your mother, but she didn’t make it in time. You’re just lucky she was able to get your patty ass outta there.”
“I’m glad,” Kaspar used his arm to wipe away the tear, “that you guys have an excellent sense of timing.”
“I’m sorry. I liked her and I know how much she meant to you. If there was anything that could’ve been done…”
None of this made any sense, Kaspar thought as Danny’s words started to fall on deaf ears. Kaspar started to rock back and forth on the couch once more, his arms folded across his chest. Nothing but questions filled his mind now. Questions that needed answering. Answers that he started to doubt would come.
“Did you give her up?” Kaspar asked without looking at Danny.
“What?” Danny replied, shocked at the question.
“You know,” Kaspar looked over at Danny. “As a means of getting to me?”
“No.”
“You sure about that?”
“What’s gotten into you? We tried to save her.”
“What about me? The USR knows who I am now. They’ll come looking for me.”
“They rely too much on their technology,” Danny replied. “We’ve erased you from their system. You’ll be fine.”
“Erased me?”
“They no longer have a file on you. So, unless you are face to face with anyone who saw you today, you’ll be fine.”
“Who’s the leader? He’s that guy you talked about who might have work for me, right?” Kaspar demanded.
“Yes. I was going to introduce you to him in due time, but like I said, you’re not ready. But, they just lost a man, so maybe.”
<
br /> “Maybe I should go it alone. You know? Find the killers myself. Nobody to get in my way.”
“You’ll be dead within the hour,” Danny said. He fished a cigarette out of his chest pocket and pulled out a lighter. “The resistance, they have the tools necessary for you. I just don’t know if right now is the right time.”
“Could there be a better time?”
Danny nodded. “I see your point.”
The smell of burning tobacco attacked Kaspar’s nostrils. He looked over and saw Danny held one out for him. Kaspar accepted it and placed it in between his dry lips. The old man lit the cigarette for him. A deep breath forced a violent cough. It drew a laugh from the old man.
“When can I talk to him?” Kaspar asked. He ignored the laugh.
“I can arrange a meet up tonight. Just be on your best behavior. Don’t go messing this up.”
“I’ve already done enough of that.”
“Meet him at the corner of Fifth and Main. Eight-thirty: sharp.”
