Kid walked up to the table in the room. He muddled through a bunch of the pieces that were on the table. “Meh. Mechanical difficulties are forcing them to shut down the project for now. They just feel it’s too much effort to get it going. They would have to spend every day, all day on it for months to get them working right. We just don’t have the man power for that. Not if we are going to get the Speeders ready for the cold.”
“What about the tunnel Mr. Thompson’s men were supposed to dig for us – leading to Pepper Creek?” Sam asked.
“That’s scrapped too. For now. That reminds me, I have to call him,” Kid said snapping his fingers.
“Uh huh,” Samantha said, “what else is going on around here?”
“I was doing some reading online. Seems our friend Jones is set to make a comeback to Elmcrest.”
“I heard that too. Isn’t there some big parade tomorrow or something for him?”
“Probably,” Kid said. “Will this town ever learn?”
“Probably not,” Sam returned. “They are too blinded by their own greed. They don’t see what it’s doing to the kids. Nor do they care by the looks of it.”
There was a silence in the room for a few moments. Samantha finally broke it.
“So, we going tomorrow?”
“Where?” Kid asked.
“To the parade, silly,” Samantha answered.
“I guess we have to, Sam…”
Chapter Three:
The Return of Jones
10:00AM
Elmcrest used to love a good parade - back in happier, simpler times. The town would have many throughout the year. It seemed the town could not go more than a month with out celebrating something.
All the usual parades were held. May and July would bring out big festivals for celebrating Memorial Day and the Forth of July. They were award winning parades. People from towns and states far away would come out to see the parade, eat good food, and watch a spectacular fireworks show.
March saw big crowds for St. Patrick’s Day. Everyone that came would wear green and drink green punch and eat green pies. The parade was the largest of the year and would go on for hours. Bands would play, people would sing, and children would enjoy the huge carnival.
Elmcrest would also have some unusual parades, just for their town. In June, it was the Pet Parade. Children of the town would take to Main Street and walk their pets – of any kind – down the street. You would see dogs and cats. Lizards and bunnies. Even snakes and spiders were walked down the street in cages. After the parade, there would be a big picnic in town and all the towns people would discuss and share their pets with each other.
Elmcrest, in the olden days, ran first-rate parades and used any excuse to have one. The biggest excuse was the kids of the town loved the parades. But, that was all in the past. Ever since Jones came to power, people came focused on money and power – and the parades stopped.
Today, the tradition returned. But, instead of celebrating a national holiday, or spending some time with their families, the people of Elmcrest held a parade to celebrate the return of their favorite citizen – Phillip Arthur Jones.
In true Jones fashion, it was big, expensive, and all about himself. Down the entire main street, people from all over town lined the sidewalks. They stood three, four, even five deep and waited for the parade to start.
Big red banners, with the Jones Industries logo, hung from light poles, sides of buildings, and were even being waved around in miniature by the people in the crowd.
Clowns were sent out by the dozen into the crowds to entertain the people with their antics and make balloon animals for the kids.
Every food you can imagine was found on a stick, and the beverages flowed out from men pushing carts around. Music blared through the speaker system that was set up years ago for each parade that came through Elmcrest.
It was quite the scene. And in the center of it all, was Jones.
Kid Combat, Samantha, and the rest of the SOCKs group pushed, wiggled, and fought through the crowds. They made their way down Main Street and looked for a good vantage point to watch the parade – even though each one of these kids loathed being here. Not a one wanted to see Jones return to Elmcrest.
“Man, it sure has been a quiet few weeks without Jones around. I guess that’ll all be in the past now, eh?” Wedge said – scarfing down some cotton candy.
“Yeah. Summer of fun is just about over. In more ways then one,” Rocket said. He referred to the fact summer vacation, itself, was almost over. In just a few weeks, the kids would be back at Lincoln Elementary.
The boys and Samantha made it to the corner of Main and First and settled up on a small clearing right near the bike path that ran through town. They stood there in a small semi circle, with Roller situated in his wheelchair in front of them. It wasn’t more than five minutes before the parade started.
The parade was more of a spectacle than Kid Combat imagined it would be. It started from his left with a fireworks show – in mid day. The loud, thunderous booms let everyone know for miles around that the parade was starting. Then, the music came. A piercingly strong orchestra played through the speakers in town. The music was fast, quick, and inspiring. It was so loud, though, that some of the onlookers covered their ears to muffle the sound.
The first act that proceeded down the street was the gymnasts. Tumblers, both male and female, did flips, turns, and other tricks as they made their way down the street. Not too far behind them, were the jugglers. Ten of them, some working in teams, juggled various objects. Balls, bowling pins, and large handkerchiefs were thrown up in the air in pairs, caught, and thrown back up by the performers. One man was even brave enough to juggle small poles – about two feet long – whose ends were on fire. The crowed looked on in amazement as he passed by. They applauded him the loudest.
After him, the clowns reassembled from walking in the crowds, to walking down the street. They carried a bunch of items in their hands and threw them out to the crowd. From small foam footballs, to balloons – each item was stamped with the Jones Industries logo.
Right behind the clowns, the cavalcade of cars which included Jones came. Side by side, two police cars, in pristine condition, slowly rolled down the street. Their police lights were on and flashed as they continued down. Every once in a while their sirens would go off, giving the town another cheap thrill.
Next, were the fire trucks. Hook and Ladder Company 31 took to the streets in their bright red fire trucks. First was the smaller of the trucks, known as the “pumper truck.” Named for the pump on the truck that increased the pressure of the water in the hose so the water could shoot out further, the small red truck rolled on by. With its sirens going off every once and awhile, and the firemen waving to the crowd, it was a hit with the crowd.
Next up were a set of ladder trucks. The red and white trucks rolled down the street, side by side, and had their ladders slightly up and extended. Firemen stood at the end of the ladders and waved to the crowd.
The town loved the parade. As they watched the different parts go by, they hooted, hollered and cheered loudly. Kid Combat and the members of the SOCKs group just stood there, silent, not making a noise. Kid would turn to Samantha every once and awhile and shake his head in anguish. Kid loved a good parade, but in this case – he found it sickening.
As the fire trucks rolled by Kid Combat, he noticed that nothing followed them. He looked down Main Street to where the parade started, and saw nothing there. Finally, after the fire trucks were about two blocks away, out came the star of the parade.
Flanked by jet black SUV’s with tinted windows you couldn’t see in, Jones emerged on a parade float. The black SUV’s lumbered down the road at a snail’s pace – leading the way for Jones.
Jones’s float was all black. It was hard for Kid to figure out what it was made out of, but looked to be shiny pieces of plastic all intricately placed and put together. The float was massive in size – way more than it needed to be.
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On top of the float, Kid noticed, were small gray tubes sticking out about a foot. There were about 10 of these pipes on each side of the float. He wondered what they were for, and that’s when the confetti started shooting out of them.
Blanketing the crowd in a thick haze of paper, the float shot pound after pound out of the small pieces of paper, making it look like a hard, deep winter’s snow.
Jones sat on a bench and waved to the crowd. Kid couldn’t figure out if the smile on Jones’s face was real or fake, but it was big. Jones sat back, and enjoyed how the town’s people cheered for him as he got closer to them.
Jones didn’t sit alone on the float. To his left sat Two – his second in command. Two sat there in his typical black suit and didn’t wave, smile, or do much of anything. He just sat there, making sure not to take any of the spotlight off of his boss.
To Jones’s right, a third figure sat. It was the Boy in Blue.
“What’s he doing up there?” Samantha asked to Kid.
“I’m not to sure,” Kid responded back, a bit puzzled. “He must be tighter with Jones that we thought.”
The parade went by the group of friends and Kid Combat forced himself and his group to fake some excitement as Jones went by – as to not gain any suspicion. Everyone participated, except for Wedge, who was defiant in not giving Jones any applause. He stood there, arms folded across his chest, saying nothing.
The crowd continued to cheer – with honesty – all around the group of friends. Chants of “Jones! Jones!” rang out from behind Kid Combat. Parents and kids held up signs saying “Welcome Back!” and “We missed our leader!”
Elmcrest was truly blinded by Jones and did not see the terror that lied right beneath Jones’s surface.
“Let’s get back The Playground, I’ve had enough of this,” Kid Combat said as Jones’s float made it past him. Silently agreeing unanimously, the group of friends turned, and started walking back down Main Street.
“With Jones back, I have a feeling things won’t be so quiet for us anymore,” Rocket said to his friends as they made their way back to The Playground. The walk was long, and with little chatter as the members of SOCKs were all not to happy to see Jones back in town.
“You got that right, dude,” Wedge said back to his brother.
“And what’s with that boy?” Gears asked. “Why is he riding with Jones?”
“He’s the same one I saw at the museum,” Samantha said. “Not too sure of anything else.”
“One things for sure,” Kid Combat said. “If he’s with Jones, then he’s no friend of ours.”
“I wonder what Jones has plotted this time,” Samantha said with a curiosity.
Chapter Four:
Time for the News
5:00PM
“We return with a story that is starting to cause some panic and fear with the people of Elmcrest,” a news reporter from channel 31 reported. He sat at the anchor desk in his suit and tie reading the evening news. “With inflation rates increasing at an all time high and with real estate taxes climbing by leaps and bounds every year – and only a small percentage of that money going to them – the educational districts throughout Elmcrest are feeling the crunch. With a lack of funding, repairs, and a disgruntled work force, Elmcrest may be forced to shut down some schools and double up occupancy if something is not done about this soon. We will be right back,” the reporter finished with. He then disappeared as the TV was shut off from across the room.
It was a few hours after the parade that Jones, Two, and the Boy in Blue made it back to Jones’s mansion. Now nestled up on the second floor office, the two men watched as Jones turned off the TV.
“There’s something to that story that is very intriguing,” Jones said.
“How so?” asked Two.
“I saw a slight variation of that commentary about a week ago, prior to my decision to return to Elmcrest, and it got me thinking,” Jones said as he got up from behind his desk. He walked out and paced back and forth in front of his two guests. “You see, the schools are an untapped resource that I have never ventured into. Why you may be asking. It’s simple,” a pause as Jones looked at the men in front of him. “There’s no money in it for me. None. Not a dime.”
“That’s true, Mr. Jones, I’ve heard you say that many of times,” Two answered back, almost sucking up to Jones.
“Yes. I know, Two. But now, I’m thinking, that might have been very foolish of me.”
“Why is that, sir?” the Boy in Blue finally spoke.
“You see my boy, the greatest way to find your enemies – it to hit them where it hurts most and flush them out. That’s what I need to do now. That’s how I will get Kid Combat to come out of hiding – is to hit him where it hurts.”
“And how do you expect to do that? There are a dozen schools in Elmcrest – and you don’t know which one he goes to,” the Boy in Blue countered.
“I’ll do it one by one if I have to. But, I will find him. And I have a pretty good idea where to start.”
“What’s your plan, Mr. Jones?” Two asked.
“My plan?” Jones answered with an inquisitive look. “It’s already in motion. I started working on it last week. They should arrive today. Schedule a news conference for tomorrow afternoon.”
“Where? Where should I schedule this conference at?” asked Two.
“Lincoln. Lincoln Elementary. And get a report to the news channels by tonight. I want this on the late news. I want him to know what is coming to him…”
“Yes sir, right away, sir,” Two answered. He bowed slightly and turned around and exited the room. As he did, he closed the large doors behind him.
Jones and the Boy in Blue stayed in the room. Jones turned to him.
“You have everything you need?” Jones asked.
“Yes, sir. I’m all ready,” the Boy in Blue stated. He stood up a little bit taller, confident in himself.
“Good. Begin your assignment…”
Chapter Five
Playing the Pawn
9:00PM
The big LCD screens that were in MR1 were void of their usual research data. The newsfeeds from the all news cable networks were no longer present on the wall. The local news channel, which ran the news of the day right now, was shut off.
Instead, a large chess board ran across all the screens. The computer game that was running showed a regulation size chess board with alternating blue and orange squares. The imaginary board hovered on the screens as a fake outer space background sat behind it. The background, mostly showing a foreign moon of a planet, was gray in color and showed the deep craters of the moon.
The black and white pieces were of the classic design and hovered above the futuristic board that was on the screen. Many pieces sat off to the side, as they were eliminated from the game.
Sitting in one of the chairs in front of, and off to the left was Gears. He was in charge of the white team of pieces. He sat there, in silence, contemplating his next move.
Off to his right, and controlling the black side of the board, was Kid Combat. He sat there, patiently, waiting for Gears to make his move.
After years of vowing never to play each other, the other week, the curiosity had gotten to them. Gears was becoming very good at chess, Kid Combat was noticing. And Gears felt it was time to play for bragging rights of The Playground.
For a week, the two friends would badger back and forth to each other and trash talk one another. Even though it was all in good fun, both kids knew that eventually they would have to put aside their agreement, and sit down to a game of chess.
Today turned out to be that day. Even with the return of Jones looming, the boys decided not to postpone their game. It proved to be a small distraction from all the Jones talk, and the boys tried to make the best of it. Kid and Gears sat in the newly redesigned MR1 – sequestered from the rest of the members of The Playground. No one was allowed in – unless it was an extreme emergency. Neither boy wanted any interruptions – nor di
d they want a cheering section.
The game started and with a few good moves, Gears was in the lead. He captured both of Kid’s Knights, as well as one of his Bishops. He also had a majority of Kid’s Pawns. Kid, on the other hand, just had one of Gears’s Knights, and a few of his Pawns.
The game was approaching the hour marker. The two friends didn’t set any time limits and didn’t even set a turn time limit, they simply let the game play out.
Gears sat there, and thought about his next move. He looked over at Kid – who appeared calm and collected. On the inside, though, Kid was a little bit nervous. Gears had gotten better than he thought.
Gears finally made his move, advancing one of his Pawns closer to Kid’s Rook.
“Hmm,” Kid said at the move. Gears looked away from the monitor on the wall and over at Kid.
“You didn’t like that move?” Gears asked.
“Not at all,” Kid answered back as he studied the board. “I just thought you had a better move than that one.”
“Really?” Gears said a bit puzzled. He turned his attention back to the game. “And where would this better move be?”
“I can’t tell you that,” Kid said with a small chuckle.
The room went silent again as Kid looked for his next move. It had to be calculated and strong. Kid was on the ropes here. He was, in his estimation, about twelve moves from being checkmated – if he didn’t do something about it.
Kid paused. And paused. Even though they set no time limits, to Gears, the move was starting to take too long. He grew a bit nervous and was very fidgety now that he was in the lead.
“Well,” Gears said, “come on and move!”
“I am. I am,” Kid said quickly back.
“No you’re not. You know you are behind. You are stalling!”
“Am not!” Kid said back. He looked over at Gears with a smug look on his face. Although, deep down, Kid knew that’s exactly what he was going. In times when you have your back to the wall, you sometimes need to find your enemies weakness, and exploit it. That’s what Kid was doing here. He could see the nervousness and excited energy coming off of Gears. He knew Gears was very anxious and used that to his advantage to distract Gears from the game.
The Adventures of Kid Combat 3: Jones Strikes Back Page 2
