The Adventures of Kid Combat 3: Jones Strikes Back

by Christopher Helwink

  Jones walked right up to the Boy in Blue. “You’ll get your money, boy. But, don’t for a second think you have bested me or think you will get away with this again.”

  “Deal,” said the Boy in Blue. He let out a half smile. “Now, call for your assistant to bring you a computer.”

  Within a few minutes Two returned back to the warehouse carrying a laptop. He set it down on one of the tables near Jones and the Boy in Blue and turned it on. The Boy in Blue walked over to the computer, inserted the flash drive, and brought up a folder with one file in it.

  Jones, intrigued, walked over and joined the Boy in Blue. With a double-click, the one file was opened. Within a second, the blueprints for The Playground were displayed in front of Jones. Jones, was a bit confused.

  “What exactly am I looking at here, boy?”

  The Boy in Blue turned and faced Jones. “This,” he pointed at the screen, “is what is below those trees in Maple Forest. It’s some sort of base. I was in it earlier today. And when I left, two boys came after me.”

  Jones stood there and thought for a minute. “What did you see when you were in there? Was there anything that gave you an idea on who Kid Combat is?”

  “Not exactly, but there is something going on down there. And you can bet, this is his base,” the Boy in Blue answered.

  “And these two boys that were after you. Do you know who they were?”

  “Not exactly.”

  Jones stood there for another moment in silence. He walked a few steps away from the computer and into the darkness. Two and the Boy in Blue stood there – wondering what could be going through his mind.

  “Seems these kids are more of a threat than even I expected,” Jones started. Two nodded behind Jones’ back, but the Boy in Blue did nothing. Jones then turned around quickly and walked back up to the laptop. He studied the blueprints closely.

  “No kid could build this base on his own. Who could be helping him?” Jones questioned out loud. There was no answer from his audience.

  “Seems my enemies in this town are growing in number. We’ll need to flush them out,” Jones thought out loud. He walked up to Two. “Two, start work on Maple Forest – immediately!”

  “But, sir!” Two let out. “We don’t have the proper clearance yet!”

  “That is a formality, Two – don’t concern yourself with it. Just get the crews to Maple Forest – I want work started within a few days. No one will stop us. No one will dare stop me,” Jones barked out at his assistant, “now go!”

  Two turned, didn’t say another word, and left the warehouse.

  Jones turned his attention back to the Boy in Blue. “As for you, you came here with what you thought was valuable information. Information you thought I could use – and demanded more money from me,” Jones said to the Boy in Blue in a tone that would scare most kids. For the first time in the evening, a small amount of fear could be seen on the Boy in Blue. As Jones approached him, he took a few steps back.

  “Well, you were wrong,” Jones said. “This information is useless to me. This leads me no closer to Kid Combat than I was a few minutes ago. All you have done, boy, is make yourself look like a fool,” Jones finished his statement with his finger in the Boy in Blue’s chest. The boy looked down on the finger poking him hard in the chest, then looked up at Jones.

  “You will get no money for this,” Jones said in a low, deep harsh voice.

  “We had a deal, Jones” the Boy in Blue said back.

  “I’ve altered the deal,” Jones said and backed away from the Boy in Blue. There was a pause of a few seconds in the air and the Boy in Blue was very anxious now.

  “Well, what is the new deal?” he asked of Jones.

  “They most certainly will come for you again,” Jones started. The Boy in Blue could see Jones’ mind working overtime. “I will agree to pay you what you have asked, if you do one more thing for me.”

  “And what is that?” the Boy in Blue asked. Jones turned back around with a huge grin on his face.

  “Help me set a trap…”

  Chapter Eleven:

  Trapped

  Today is the day.

  The trap has been set.

  Today is when I get Kid Combat…

  8:14AM

  Jones wasn’t used to this. He wasn’t used to riding on public transportation with the common people. But, here he was – in the first car of a commuter train, leaving from Elmcrest to downtown.

  Today wasn’t your typical day, though, at least for Jones. He hoped that this was the day he had long waited for. The years of the unknown. The years of frustration were about to end. Today was the day when he would get Kid Combat.

  The train started up from its scheduled stop at Elmcrest. Jones sat in the first row of the commuter train and waited. His fists were clenched at his side as he sat in his common seat, with the common people.

  Where is that blasted kid? Jones thought to himself. He referred to the Boy in Blue.

  Jones looked around the train car. He looked at all the ordinary people around him. His face was distorted with anger as he scanned each one of them up and down.

  Idiots. All of them. He thought. I control them all.

  Finally, Jones’s cell phone went off. He glanced down and it and then put it away. Jones got up from his seat in the first car of the train and started to walk down the aisle between the rows of seats. Dispersed throughout the train car, waiting for direction, were a large group of men. They all wore Jones Industries uniforms.

  “It’s time,” Jones said to the men, and started to lead them out of the first car. The men got up and followed Jones two wide.

  Jones just received the call from the Boy in Blue that he had been waiting for. Jones didn’t work too hard on this plan, but he was sure it would work and capture his greatest ill. He would use the Boy in Blue as bait. He was perfect for this situation. Jones knew that Kid Combat was after the Boy in Blue – trying to figure out who he was. With all the events Jones had planned around town – the uniforms at Lincoln, the plans for Maple Forest, the break in of The Playground – Jones knew Kid Combat would have to figure out how the Boy in Blue was connected to all of it. He knew if he dangled the Boy in Blue in front of him, Kid Combat would follow. Judging by the text message Jones just received from the Boy in Blue, it appeared that Kid Combat had fallen for the bait.

  Jones’s stride was long and determined as he made his way into the second car of the commuter train. He opened the door with such a great force, that it startled the passengers in the next train car. As he passed by them, the passengers looked up from their books or daydreaming and watched Jones, and a battalion of his men, race through the train car.

  Two more. Two more cars and I have him. Jones thought to himself. I have waited long for this day…

  Jones made his way into the car adjacent to where the Boy in Blue was. The plan was simple – get Kid Combat somewhere were he couldn’t escape. That’s why Jones picked the train. Then, Jones could swoop in and unmask his greatest ill.

  The Boy in Blue purposely let himself get exposed this morning and hoped that Kid Combat and his band of friends would follow him. Seemed the Boy in Blue made a good worm on a hook.

  Jones didn’t know what Kid Combat would do, or how he would approach the Boy in Blue, but the Boy in Blue was instructed that if a chase was to ensue, to lead that chase in Jones’ direction. There, and then – Jones would finally get Kid Combat.

  One more car…

  Samantha peered up and glanced at the Boy in Blue. She noticed him turn slightly around, as if he knew they were coming. And even though he wore thick silver sunglasses that shielded his eyes from Samantha, she knew that Kid Combat and herself were being targeted.

  Samantha stood there puzzled and didn’t move. Kid Combat didn’t move for another reason. As the door swung open – Kid noticed something worse than the Boy in Blue. Through the windows, and into the next car, Kid noticed a man walking towards him. He walked very determined and was fol
lowed by a row of men walking two wide and three deep.

  It was Jones and his body guards.

  “Oh no,” Kid exclaimed to Samantha. “It’s a trap!”

  Kid grabbed Samantha by the arm and turned around and opened the door to the train car behind him. The two friends walked very quickly through the next car and opened the rear door, leading to another foyer between train cars.

  Jones opened the door leading to the car with the Boy in Blue. As he entered the car, he noticed the Boy in Blue sitting alone in his seat. There was no sign of any other kid around him. Jones walked up to the Boy in Blue with a puzzled look on his face.

  “Where is he?” Jones snapped.

  The Boy in Blue looked back to where he saw the two kids entering into the train car. “They were right there,” he said as he pointed towards the doors. “They must have ran. They must have seen you coming,” the Boy in Blue answered. Jones didn’t like that answer. His face distorted and anger was stretched across it. He pointed harshly at the Boy in Blue.

  “You have failed me, again,” Jones said and walked off with his men, hoping to keep on the trail.

  “Get this door open, Sam – it’s our only hope!” Kid exclaimed to Samantha. He referred to the side door that led off the train.

  “I’ll try, but I don’t have any tools,” Samantha replied. She walked over to the circuit box that housed the controls for the door. With a quick tug, the panel opened up. In it were an array of wires and screws leading to the doors. A short circuit, Samantha thought, could override the controls and force the doors to swing open.

  As Samantha tinkered with the wires, Kid Combat went to the inner door and peered through the window – looking for Jones. Still gaining ground, Jones was in the neighboring car and walking faster than ever.

  Kid turned and spun towards Samantha.

  “Sam, you have about three seconds to get that door open!”

  As Kid Combat said that, he looked out the exterior window – the train was slowing.

  “Next stop, downtown,” came a voice over the PA system.

  “We might have caught a break here, Kid,” Samantha said. “I can see the platform approaching.”

  “Keep working on the door, Sam,” Kid said back to her. “This is going to be a close one!”

  Jones was in the next car. The train was down to a crawls pace as the platform for the train was mere feet away. Jones and his men made it to the doors. Almost simultaneously, both sets of doors opened. Within a nanosecond of those doors opening, Kid Combat and Samantha were off for the races.

  Walking through his set of doors, Jones saw the backsides of the two figures running out of the train.

  “Follow them!” he barked out to his men. One by one, each man filtered through both sets of doors – and after the children.

  Kid Combat and Samantha had a good two hundred feet lead on the men to begin the chase – and they would need ever inch of it. The two flew down the dark platform. There were on platform 12 of the downtown station. The long sheet of concrete was starting to fill as passengers of the train they were just on started to file off of the train. Being smaller, Kid and Samantha had an easier time navigating through the crowd then the men following them.

  Kid and Sam made it to the end of the platform and made their way through the revolving door – leading them into the train station building.

  A large open building presented itself to them as they made their way though the door. Passengers from many other platforms were coming into this building and there were many different ways to go.

  “Which way? Which way?” Sam asked of Kid. They both turned their heads in many directions as they made their way deeper into the building.

  “This way. Follow the largest crowd,” Kid answered back. He grabbed Samantha’s hand and led her down an escalator. The two fought their way through the crowded, small walkway.

  Just then, Jones and his group of men filed off of the platform and into the building themselves. Jones and his men too stood in the large open room and wondered which way to go. Jones scanned back and forth around the room saw a small commotion on the escalator leading down.

  “There,” Jones said to his men and pointed in the direction of the escalator. “Go!”

  Kid and Samantha made their way off the escalator and out the doors – leading to the streets of downtown. The first thing Kid noticed was the noise. The city was loud in the morning as commuters made their way off to work. Taxis, cars, and busses whizzed by him and Samantha.

  Kid led the two to the right of the building and continued to run down the street.

  Jones and his men fought through the escalator full of people and emerged from the building. To Jones’s dismay and anger – there was no sight of the two kids.

  “Split up and fan out,” Jones said to his men. “Do not lose them…”

  A group of Jones’ men went in every direction. Some went to the left, others went straight ahead. Jones and the few men that remained went to the right – the same direction as Kid and Samantha.

  Kid and Samantha had about a half a block lead and continued to run as fast as they could. Jones and his men started to gain ground.

  Where are we heading, Kid?” Samantha barely puffed out. The two kids dodged traffic as they ran across the intersection. Kid never answered Samantha.

  Jones and his men continued their chase. Jones, leading the pack, could see the two figures he was chasing. Every once in a while he would see a head or an arm or their legs pumping through the crowd of people. Jones determination could be seen in his face. This is the closest he has ever been in capturing Kid Combat. He was a mere fifty feet away. And he was not getting away this time…

  Kid Combat ran. He ran faster than he did the last time he faced Jones. Samantha followed closely behind him. Their legs burned, they sweated from the summers heat, and they started to fade.

  Kid knew Jones was behind him. He never turned around to actually see, but he knew they didn’t lose him yet.

  Another block went by. Buildings started to merge into one and the faces all around Kid became a blur. He had no plan or direction that he headed, he turned down streets that allowed him to turn, and went with the flow of traffic.

  Jones just followed the commotion. Every once in awhile, in front of him and his men, he would see people scatter, or someone would yell out “hey!” or “watch out!”. Jones followed those small clues to lead his men towards Kid Combat.

  He was getting close. He could feel it. It drove Jones faster. A right turn here, continue going straight, over there near the river. Jones followed with rage. Kid Combat ran with courage.

  Kid and Samantha rounded another intersection. There, rounding the corner of the block in front of them, was a group of Jones men. With Jones closing in behind them, Kid and Samantha couldn’t turn back the way they came.

  “In here, in here!” Kid exclaimed out to Samantha, grabbing her arm and pulling her down a small alley. The two friends ducked behind a few garbage cans and waited.

  “This is crazy, Kid,” Samantha said sitting and leaning up against a garbage can. She faced away from the street and breathed heavily. “We can’t keep this up all day.”

  “I know,” Kid said, turning towards Samantha. He was out of breath himself and gasped for air. Slowly, his body started to regulate itself down to a normal pace.

  Kid looked up and peered between the two garbage cans he hide behind. There, he could see the street, and more importantly Jones’s men rushing by them. It appeared they might be safe.

  Jones’s men continued past the small alley. They almost got to the intersection of the street when Jones rounded the corner.

  “What’s your report?” he asked of his men.

  “Nothing. We’ve seen nothing since the train, sir,” one of the men said to Jones.

  “That’s impossible,” Jones said, clenching his fist. “He was right in front of us. He had to of come this way.”

  “We didn’t see him, sir,”

/>   Kid Combat left his hiding spot and made his way up to the edge of the alley.

  “Come on,” he whispered back to Samantha. “We can’t stay here, we’re pinned down.”

  Kid took a small chance and peaked his head around the corner. There, off in the short distance, he could see Jones and six of his men standing in a small circle near the intersection of the street. Even with the distance, Kid could hear Jones yell the next order to his men.

  “Fan out, all of you!” he barked. “He’s here somewhere – search every inch. Find him!”

  Kid returned back into the alley. He didn’t look good.

  “What? What is it?” Samantha asked with a sense of urgency in her voice.

  “Not good. Not good at all, Sam.” Kid said back to her. “We need to get out of here. Now.”

  “Where do we go?”

  “Not sure yet,” Kid responded. He went back and peaked his head around the corner again. He saw Jones’s men split up in multiple directions and start to search up and down the street – even inside the businesses. Kid knew he only had a minute or so before they came to the alley.

  “No time for a great plan here, Sam,” he said back to his friend. He went back and turned to his friend.

  “We’re gonna have to run,” he said. Samantha knew there wasn’t too much more of an option. They were pinned down in the alley and would be found for sure if they stayed here. Samantha nodded.

  “When I say go, we run,” Kid instructed Samantha. He reached down and grabbed her hand. Clasping it hard, Kid went back and looked around the corner again. He waited for a time where most of Jones’s men were not looking or inside a business.

  “Go!” Kid finally rang out. Samantha, took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and pushed off against the wall. The two friends sprung up and exited their hideout.

  Their legs pumped, their hearts raced, and they never looked back. Kid, holding Samantha’s hand the whole time, was just hoping they could make it to the intersection and turn before anyone saw them.

  “There he is! I can see him!” one of Jones’s men rang out. He pointed in the direction of Kid Combat and Samantha. Jones turned around, and to his surprise, he saw a boy running around the corner of a large brick building with a girl.