“Yeah, I know,” replied Jasmine, “all the guys trying to kill you, the MegaTech mercenaries, the US agents and blah blah blah. No one is going to find you here, relax.”
KC put his jacket hood on, he wanted to take no chances. They left for the store, he kept looking up at the streetlights.
“Relax, I told you they were no cameras here,” stressed Jasmine.
“Fine. I was just looking,” said KC.
“Quit looking around. Just enjoy the walk,” she said. “Listen to the birds sing, look at those lovely tall trees and the green grass everywhere. It is so beautiful.”
“Yes, Jasmine, it is,” said KC as he looked at Jasmine.
She took her hand out from her pocket and held his hand, “Are you alright KC?”
“Actually, I am feeling very good,” replied KC. “I feel like I am free again.”
They walked in to the convenience store. To KC’s relief it wasn’t crowded. Jasmine quickly went to the food section to pick up her supplies. In the meantime, he waited at the cash counter relishing his new found freedom, looking at the people around in their colorful dresses and the tree leaves outside moving to the silent breeze. Two little boys were playing with their new gifts, a cell phone, they were taking a video of their parents and running around the whole store.
“Hey, Mister, smile for the camera,” said one of the kids as he ran past KC.
Just then the other kid ran by focusing the cell phone’s camera on KC, taking a video, “Hey, Mister, smile, you are live online.”
“Oh crap!” said KC as he ran behind the kid.
“Hey, kid, come here,” said KC finally catching the kid after chasing him for a little while.
“Show me your cell phone?” said KC.
“No, it’s mine,” said the kid hiding the cell phone in his pocket.
“Look, kid, I don’t want it. I just want to see it,” explained KC.
“Okay, Mister, you can see it,” said the kid smiling. “Mine is blue in color, my brother’s is grey.”
KC looked at the cell, the video recorder was on and the cell was connected to the Internet.
“You are online?” asked KC, getting up and handing the cell back to the kid.
“Of course,” said the kid. “Whatever video I shoot it gets automatically uploaded to our computer at home, isn’t it cool!”
“Thanks a lot kid,” said KC and called out Jasmine’s name.
“Jasmine where are you?” he shouted again.
Jasmine totally embarrassed held his hand, “KC, why are you making a scene, I thought you wanted to be as discrete as possible.”
“I did, Jasmine, I did but that kid has recorded my video,” said KC pulling her out of the store, “and that video has been online for at least five minutes now. Every agency in the world would have zeroed in on me now. Come on we got to get out of here.”
“Come on, KC. It has been just five minutes, even if they have found you it will take them hours to get to you,” said Jasmine.
“No, Jasmine. It doesn’t work like that. Everybody who is looking for me knows that I was last seen in this city, they probably have their teams all over the city. In fact, I am surprised that they have not got to us already, those people monitor all radio frequencies, mobile’s online feeds and data,” he explained, walking as fast as he could back to her clinic.
“Wait, Jasmine, wait,” said KC abruptly stopping in the middle of a narrow street, short of breath. “You got to leave me and go back, I’ll have to go some place else.”
“What are you saying?” said Jasmine trying to support KC as he could barely stand up straight after that brisk walk. “I can’t leave you alone here, you can barely walk, those guys will kill you. I didn’t save you just to let you die again.”
“Jasmine, please understand I was alone in that video, nobody knows that you were with me, this is your chance, be smart, run while you can. If they see you with me, they will kill you,” explained KC. “They need me, they will keep me alive. But, they will kill you. Trust me on this one. Please go. I will contact you, please Jasmine, just go. Now.”
“KC, come on you can’t be serious,” protested Jasmine.
They could already hear the noise of a helicopter and it was getting louder every second.
“You hear that, Jasmine,” said KC pointing up, “they are here. You have to go.”
“I am not leaving you alone. We can hide inside one of these houses here,” she suggested.
“Come on, Jasmine, they will find us. They will kill you and take me with them, that is what exactly is going to happen,” he explained.
“I am not leaving you,” persisted Jasmine as the chopper was almost over them.
“Jasmine, I am sorry for doing this.”
“Doing what?” asked Jasmine.
In an instant he got behind her and chocked her with his arm as she opened her mouth due to the lack of oxygen in her lungs.
“Relax, Jasmine, don’t resist,” he said maintaining his grip. “I am sorry but this is for your good, you will be out in the next 5 seconds but will regain consciousness in the next 10 minutes or so. Don’t try to find me. Lay low, I will be in touch soon.”
KC quickly placed Jasmine behind a few boxes in the street and covered the boxes with an old cloth lying nearby. He made his way out of the street on to an open space where the chopper could land easily, with his present condition there was no point running. He placed his hands behind his head and lied down on the ground wondering who had got to him first, was it the American agents or the mercenaries from MegaTech or the Indian spies. Whoever it was, it was going to be a long night indeed.
Chapter 5
The Unsaid Truth
As the dust settled down, KC got up to see who had come to get him this time. He read the logo on the chopper “Lurton & Co”. That rang a bell. He thought for a moment, ransacking his memory to recall where he had seen that logo before. Then he remembered, he had seen it on the knife that The Dozer used in the prison. Lurton was the big shot underworld kingpin who ran an empire in drug trafficking and arms smuggling.
Oh Crap! Said KC to himself, this keeps getting better and better.
Two armed men got down from the chopper and guided KC towards the chopper; they took out there semi-automatics and pointed towards the chopper.
“Hop in,” said one of the guys.
KC with crunching pain in his ribs climbed into the chopper. There was a well-suited man, somewhere in his fifties, sitting in the chopper. He had a red handkerchief in his top left coat pocket and a stick made out of ivory, which had a gold plated design, and he was smoking a Cuban cigar.
“You got nerves, kid,” said Lurton taking a puff from his cigar.
“Yeah, glad to see you too,” said KC making himself comfortable in the chopper as it took off.
“I heard you took down three of my toughest guys in the prison all by yourself, that too in a matter of seconds. Your actions made me lose a lot of money, for the first time in so many years,” said Lurton looking at KC through his shades, only moving his eyes and not his face.
“What do you want from me?” asked KC bluntly.
“I started off at your age boy,” continued Lurton covering the whole place with the smoke from the cigar. “All I had at that time was a three-inch knife and a lots of guts, when I see you, I see myself.”
“Thanks, but I don’t use knives,” said KC moving his hand to drive the smoke away.
“Hahaha..,” chuckled Lurton, “I have worked day in and day out for the last 40 years, bit by bit, piece by piece I have built my empire.” He pulled back his coat’s sleeve to expose a bullet wound, “You see this scar, I got this in the 70’s when I was stealing a box of drugs from a local gangster, the bastard caught me and shot me in my arm. He thought that would stop me. I came back two days later and gave him a bullet hole
in the middle of his head; his business was mine from that day. I was only 16 then.”
Lurton got up and pulled up his shirt and showed a big scar on his stomach.
“You see this one! I got this in the 80’s when I was hijacking a ship off the coast of Cuba. The baby was full of rocket propelled grenades, I made fortune with that,” said Lurton smiling and sitting back on his couch. “Since then, there was no looking back, I kept moving further up the ladder, soon I was not only taking guns and drugs but stripping countries off their fortunes. I got the whole world at my feet, boy. And, I see the same spark in you, I have a feeling you and I are going to go places together.”
“We are sure going places, but, not together,” said KC looking at Lurton in the eye. “How long before the government cracks down on your operations.”
“Ha! The government?” laughed Lurton. “Who do you think is keeping me in business boy, it’s the dear ol’ government itself. They need me more than I need them. Don’t you get it?”
“What do you mean?” said KC surprised.
“Kid, I am the man who does all their dirty work, you think the governments all around the world are clean? They are worse than I am. At least I openly say who I am, but these governments are the real criminals. In white suits they shake your hand with a smile, then turn around and stab you when you are not looking.”
“Really, you think so?” said KC. “You’re paranoid.”
“Paranoid, me? Kid, you don’t know the first thing about reality,” said Lurton smiling and lighting up his cigar. “If you have been listening to the news you would have heard about some fighting in Africa. Something about two tribes fighting with each other over cows. Forty thousand died. They killed each other with AKs and RPGs.”
“Yeah, I read about it,” said KC. “So, where do you fit in? You supplied the arms, didn’t you?”
“Hell Yeah. I supplied the arms. I am the bad guy! But have you considered where could I have procured the arms from or even why did those people have to fight in the first place?”
“Indulge me,” said KC.
“Some government, no names of course, they are my business partners, haha..,” laughed Lurton. “They were transferring their shipments of RPG and AKs across their states. It was a top secret transfer but as luck would have it the word got out, through some inside man of course, and the funny part is that the word got straight to me,” said Lurton.
“So the government tipped you off so that you could steal their shipment?” asked KC.
“Yes,” said Lurton, “they could not have openly given them to me so they let me steal it.”
“And you sold the RPGs and AKs to the country in Africa making a fortune,” said KC. “But how does it help the government in any way?”
“Well, that’s the best part,” said Lurton smiling, “once the people started to kill themselves to their heart’s content, the same government who had covertly handed them the weapons, sent their troops in ‘officially’ to control matters. Needless to say very soon the troops were not only controlling the people but also the country’s internal affairs and its policy, the country is damn rich in oil and other natural resources, now the foreign peace-keepers own it all. All in the shadow of goodwill. Hahaha.., so, kid, tell me, is that the government you are taking about that will take me down?”
KC kept quiet.
“Kid, it gets worse, much worse than what you can imagine. The governments across the world need me to do their dirty business. Somewhere it’s because of oil, somewhere it’s because of gold, somewhere it’s because of religion. I get a bad name but in the bargain I make a lot of money and so do they, everyone is happy,” said Lurton smoking his cigar.
“Everyone happy?” said KC. “What about the people who die due to all of this?”
“Survival of the fittest, haven’t you heard that one before?” said Lurton. “Those who have to survive, survive. This is a big business, kid, few hundreds die, but thousands are saved too.”
“Thousands saved? How is that?” said KC.
“Well an international government mission goes in a backward country, for which a few hundred people have to die first, of course, because that’s the only way in. Then these governments rape them of their resources for a decade or so, but, when they leave, they leave them with an ideology, roads, hospitals and schools for the coming generations to follow,” explained Lurton.
“Yes, follow indeed, exactly what the government wants them to follow,” said KC. “You impose your rules, your ideologies on the locals and that’s how you spread your religion and influence the world.”
“Hell yes, now you get the big picture,” said Lurton. “Sacrifice a hundred, to save a thousand, isn’t that the purpose that armies serve for since hundreds of years when they fight in wars?”
“Who are you to sacrifice them?” said KC.
“If we don’t the others will,” said Lurton. “These people are like small fish in a pond, sooner or later they are going to be eaten, either by the West or the East, one way or the other they are going down. So we act as fast as we can,” said Lurton as he puffed his cigar again. “Religion is just a tool boy for making money. Since man learnt to make the wheel, for centuries religion has been used to manipulate people. You really think the guys sitting high up care about religion? Hell no, they don’t give a damn. They just use it to gain control of people and then get those people to kill the people that they want dead. That’s all it truly is, a means for getting money and power.”
KC looked at Lurton, he knew that every word that Lurton had said was true. It was true now, it was true in the past and it was going to be true in the future as well. He was from the 29th century and humans were still fighting, what drove them to fight was the same reason, to be powerful, whether they wanted power for making more money or for controlling the oil supply of the world or for creating the latest technological weapon. The ultimate reason was power.
“So, kid, I see I have got you thinking. That’s good,” said Lurton. “So, whose side are you on? Me or the government?”
“I need time to think,” said KC looking out of the chopper.
“Boy, whether you work for me or the government, rest assured you will be working for the same cause in the end,” said Lurton. “All the people working a so-called honest job and the soldiers dying for their country, that’s just a screen. It’s something that the governments use to fool their citizens. These people pay their taxes honestly only to have people like me, who are also funded by the government, come and rob them later. That is the truth of it.”
“You know there was another shipment that I looted in the international waters over the Atlantic. It was protected by a platoon of soldiers. They all fought bravely, very bravely for their country, but they all died. They died thinking that they fought for their country,” said Lurton. “Ironically, it was their country who hired me to kill them and loot the weapons. And then, to soothe public sentiment the country gave them bravery medals. Now truly, tell me, boy, whose side are you on, the government or mine?”
KC looked down, he was flying at at least 5000ft. He asked Lurton, “Okay, let me know what do I have to do?”
“Now that’s my boy, I knew you were a smart boy. I am going to drop you exactly where I picked you up from,” said Lurton.
“But there are others too who are trying to hunt me down,” said KC.
“Don’t worry you’re with me now, no one is going to touch you. Wait for my contact, he will tell you what you need to do. And, here keep this, you will need it,” said Lurton handing over a small packet to him.
An hour later the chopper touched down as KC got off it alone. He looked around, it was pretty much the same place from here he was picked up.
“Stay put,” said Lurton, “I like you already.”
KC waved his hand and moved back as the chopper took off. He looked into the packet Lurton had
given him. It was full of money.
About time, thought KC as he headed back to Jasmine’s place.
* * *
“Hey, sweetheart. I am back home,” said KC keeping few things he had brought in on the way back to Jasmine’s house on the cabinet by the main door.
Jasmine got up from her sofa where she was sitting crying with the tissue still in her hand. She stared at KC as he walked in. She could not believe what she was seeing; KC was back so soon and for that matter the fact that he was back at all.
“What the hell,” said Jasmine.
“What?” said KC sounding surprised.
“You were just taken away by God-knows-who and I thought I’ll never see you again. And now you just walk in out of nowhere and you’re asking me, what?” she said visibly upset.
“Yeah, about that,” said KC, trying to think of the right words to convey everything to Jasmine, “Lurton and I kind of reached an agreement.”
Jasmine just looked at him expecting to say more but he said nothing.
“You just disappeared. I was so worried that I couldn’t stop crying. Now you suddenly appear and all you have to say is that you reached an understanding and that’s it,” Jasmine was now shouting at KC.
“Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m saying,” he said trying to calm her down, “they hired me. I’ll be working for them now onwards. Everything is okay for now.”
Jasmine moved closer to KC, she moved her hair away from her forehead and tucked them behind her ear then she kept her arm on his shoulder and gave him a swift nightmare of a punch in his stomach. He hadn’t seen that coming. He held his stomach with both his hands and went down on his knees.
“That was for knocking me out in the street without asking me,” said Jasmine as she stood in front of him with her hands folded.
“Aaaaahh,” cried KC in pain, his broken ribs hurt like hell after that punch.
“Did it hurt?” asked Jasmine
The Time Traveler Page 9
