The Chronicles of Starwind and Hawking - 4
Gene grumbled a bit as he poured a bag of chips into a blue bowl. He grabbed one from the heap, and stuffed it into his mouth. With several crunches, he chewed on it slowly. It was hard for him to believe that he was still telling Jim his tale. After all, shouldn't he be looking for a job? It was nice to go over happenings of long ago, but money was important too!
He could not believe he was actually telling his ten year old sidekick a story. There were other things that needed to be done - and entertaining Jim was not one of them! He scowled as he entered Jim's room, the bowl of potato chips in his hand.
He opened his mouth to tell Jim he would not finish the story for the rest of the day, but go off to find a job. To tell him they needed money, so perhaps he could try to get medication to help ease the sickness that plagued Jim. But the words did not come, as he saw Jim laying on his bed, his eyes close, a small smile across his face.
This child had too much of a grip on him. And he didn't like it.
He sighed, as he sat down next to Jim's little bed. "I'm back," muttered Gene, as he set the chips on the bed side table.
"Knew you would be," said Jim quietly, as he opened his eyes.
"You look tired, Jim." Gene leaned forward in his chair, as he tried to hide the concern from his face.
"I'm sick, Aniki," Jim said hoarsely, as he showed signs of being annoyed
"I know *that*!"
"The story."
"You still want to hear that?"
"Yes..."
"What am I going to do with you?" Gene sighed, as he grabbed a handful of chips from the bowl. "Let's see..."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"What?! What do you mean he'll be dead within 12 hours?!" Gene stared at the other man in disbelief.
"Just as I said. The poison will kill him within 12 hours," replied Jayward grimly.
"Is there an antidote?"
"I think so," said Jayward slowly, "but I think Edward Knight has it. He said something about thinking someone would shoot him, so he keeps it on him." He took the limp child into his arms. "We can't go to him, though. That injection was meant for you, and he would know I failed if I asked for an antidote. If not that, he would think I joined you, and that I was going to poison him."
"Then there's only one thing to do," said Gene grimly, as he took Jim away from Jayward's arms. "We steal it from him."
"Do you have any idea what you are proposing!?" Jayward stared at Gene.
"I'm not proposing anything," muttered Gene, as he stood up, with Jim in his arms. "I'm demanding it."
"What?!" Jayward also stood up from the floor. "I want Jim to live, too, boy, but it's risky to get the antidote."
"Risky? Since when were *you* afraid of taking risks? Just coming over here was a big risk for you! You're just scared of Knight!" Jayward scowled. "Besides, this kid took the bullet for me. I need to try to save him at least!"
"You mean needle."
"What?"
"Took the needle for you." Whether Jayward was trying to be humorous or not was beyond Gene.
"Don't be cute with me," said Gene angrily, as the child in his arms wheezed for air.
"Who's being cute?" Jayward looked at Jim, and his face softened. "Jim means a lot to me, boy. I don't want to lose him."
"Look who's talking. You're the one who shot him!"
"Correction - You allowed him to be shot." Jayward turned away from Gene, angrily. "I will not be blamed. After all, the only reason why I punched him was so he wouldn't get in the way." Gene had to refrain from tearing apart the blond man.
"Listen, pal, we both want this kid to live. He has 12 hours to live, and arguing isn't going to get us any closer to the antidote. I'd cooperate with me if I were you."
"Is that a threat?" Inquired Jayward, who was still turned away from Gene.
"Well, are you going to cooperate or not?" Jayward clenched his fists at Gene's question.
"I'll have to think about it." Gene's mouth slightly hung open.
"Think about it? This kid is dying over here, and you're going to think about it."
"We've got 12 hours," defended Jayward.
"Yeah, but did you think about how long it would take for the antidote to work?"
"The poison worked instantly. Why wouldn't the antidote?"
"Look; either way we do this, we're taking a big risk. Get over it. I'm not going to sit around and wait for you to make up your mind. I'll just ask around on where Knight is."
"It won't get you anywhere. He left his home last week." Jayward turned to Gene, a smirk on his face, after he made the comment.
"Then where is he?"
"I'm certainly not telling."
" Mister...Jayward..." A weak voice called out from the bundle in Gene's arms. "Help...him. He's not...a bad...person."
"Jim?" Jayward stepped towards Gene to get a closer look at the boy. Gene, however, pulled away from the other man.
"He saved...me...Mister...Jayward." Jayward raised an eyebrow as he looked at Gene, as he listened to Jim's advice. "He's...not bad..." Jim gasped for breath, as he clutched Gene's shirt. Jayward's gray eyes narrowed, as he bit his lip.
"Fine. You have my cooperation," muttered Jayward as he walked towards the door. "I'll take you to where Edward Knight is. We're using my car."
"Fine with me." Gene followed Jayward to the door. "But let me make myself clear. What happens to me, happens to the kid."
"Was that also a threat?" Queried Jayward, as he stopped walking.
"I'll leave that up to you," muttered Gene, while he passed Jayward.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
There was no doubt about it - that car was definitely the same car Knight had used the night before. Gene frowned a bit, as he glared at Jayward, who was driving at the time. He wondered if the man was just playing dumb, not knowing about the murders. It wouldn't surprised Gene, if he was. At this point, however, he was desperate, and desperation was *not* something Gene enjoyed.
"How long is it until we get there? We've been driving for hours!" Jayward kept his eyes on the road, despite Gene's complaints.
"Actually, we've only been driving for 30 minutes," retorted Jayward. Gene observed the trees they drove by, and noticed that they were driving further away from any high populated areas.
"This Edward Knight guy seems pretty secluded."
"Oh, no. Not at all." Jayward smiled a bit. "He enjoys the city very much."
"Hm," muttered Gene. "Could have fooled me."
"He never made sense to me." There was a brief silence, as Gene looked down at the moaning boy in his arms. "We need a plan, boy, if we want to get the antidote successfully."
"I was planning on just busting in there."
"Bad idea," warned Jayward, as he pressed harder on the gas petal. "He isn't stupid. He'll shoot you the moment you walk in."
"He has the antidote on him, doesn't he?"
"Yes, he does."
"Then he can't be that smart!" Jayward didn't say anything to Gene's remark, as he continued driving. "Seriously! Who keeps something like that with them?"
"He's very cautious, but just as reckless. He doesn't trust me, to an extent, and he certainly doesn't trust you, so he keeps it with him. However, as I pointed out to him, it would be easier for someone to get the antidote if something happened to him."
"And what did he say?"
"No one would think he was stupid enough to have the antidote with him."
"I figured."
"I have a suggestion," said Jayward with thought. "Perhaps I could stall Edward, while you sneak in from a window. He lives in a rickety house somewhere out here. It's just me and him that hide there, so you wouldn't have to worry about running into anybody." He took a momentary pause. "After which, you could sneak behind him, and knock him out with the butt of that pistol you have with you. Then, we steal the antidote from him."
"Not exactly the best of ideas, to the point it's crude, but I guess it'll work."
"It has to work," muttered Jayward. Gene grunted, as he shifted Jim's weight in his arms. He slowly cast his eyes about the lovely landscape they passed. The sun had just risen a few hours ago, which made Gene realize just how early it was, compared to when he normally would get up.
He yawned rather loudly, as he just wasn't a morning person. After feeling a small hand reach for his own, Gene looked down to see Jim with his eyes halfway open, and looking straight up at him. "I feel bad," he mumbled.
"Well, you're certainly not going to feel like a million wong for awhile, that's for sure." Sighing, Jim shifted to get comfortable as best as he could. "Hey. Don't worry, kid. I'm tough, remember? I can get that antidote for ya', *and* get Knight out of the way."
"Feh...we'll see." Gene glared at Jayward for making the un called for remark. "What? You shouldn't be telling him not to worry. There's still a possibility that we may not be able to get the antidote."
"How hard can it be? There's two of us and one of him."
"Two of us, one of him, and a whole collection of Caster guns," corrected Jayward.
"*What?!*"
"You heard me. Edward has a whole collection of different kinds of Caster guns, and a stash of bullets for them. He usually carries one for bluffing, but don't always rely on that fact." Gene didn't seemed too worried.
"Oh, well. All the more stuff of his I can steal. Caster guns are very rare, and *very* expensive." He turned to Jayward. "How did he get so many?!"
"Same way you want to get his."
"Geez. He's been busy."
"He never did waste much time," stated Jayward. Again, there was silence for a few moments, until they heard a loud thumping noise, and smoke began to float from the front of the hood. Jayward looked a bit miffed, as he quickly pulled over to the side of the dirt road.
"What's up with this?" Inquired an uneasy Gene.
"This is an old car. You can't expect it to work all of the time," said an irritated Jayward, as he stepped out of the car. He opened up the hood, and was greeting by black smoke, which consequently made him cough.
"Anything you can do?"
"There's a set of tools in the back, but I'm no mechanic."
"I...can...fix it..." Gene looked at the sick child in his arms. He looked no better, but at least he was speaking from time to time.
"*You?* But you're just a kid."
"Don't underestimate him, boy. His father was a good mechanic. He was bound to pick up a few things from him."
"Well, that doesn't help us much now. He can barely breathe, much less move."
"For once, you may be right."
"Oh, thank you. I'm so glad you think so," said Gene, sarcastically. Jayward coughed, as he slammed the hood down.
"This is no time to be acting like that. If we want to help Jim, we've got to take this seriously."
"Who's not taking this seriously? At least I wasn't the one who shot the kid," said Gene casually, as he looked down at Jim.
"You're still on that?!" Yelled an aggravated Jayward.
"Yeah! I am!"
"I didn't have to help you, you know! I *care* about Jim, so I'm just gonna leave you out here to rot, while I get the antidote myse-" Jayward abruptly quit speaking, as his breathing became hard.
"What?" Gene looked up, only to find Jayward, standing straight, with his eyes open wide. There was, however, one detail that stuck out the most. There was a man standing behind the shocked Jayward; a man named Edward Knight.
"H-hello, Edwar-" Again, his sentence was cut off, as he slumped forward, his body landing on the hood. The only one who now stood was the old man, with a face of disgust, as he held up what looked like a tranquilizer gun.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Jim! Are you okay?" Gene Starwind leaned forward in his chair, as his partner was doubled over, coughing. "Jim!" He pushed the boy back upon the pillows.
"Yeah..." Jim didn't resist Gene pushing him back down. "...Continue..."
"No. I'm going to go look for a job to do, while you sleep," said Gene sternly.
"...But Aniki..."
"No!" And with that, Gene got up from his chair, and left the room. "I'm going to bring you a glass of water," he called over his shoulder. "After that, I'm leaving." Jim sighed as he looked out of the window from his little bed. He didn't like all of those interruptions. Listening didn't consume *that* much energy!
Besides, he wanted to listen to the rest of the story, even though it didn't look like Gene was enjoying telling it.
All of that didn't matter, however, as he fell into a peaceful sleep.
Sleep had claimed his body so hard, that he didn't even feel a hand brush over his forehead, as a glass of water was placed on his bedside table.
End part 4
Gene grumbled a bit as he poured a bag of chips into a blue bowl. He grabbed one from the heap, and stuffed it into his mouth. With several crunches, he chewed on it slowly. It was hard for him to believe that he was still telling Jim his tale. After all, shouldn't he be looking for a job? It was nice to go over happenings of long ago, but money was important too!
He could not believe he was actually telling his ten year old sidekick a story. There were other things that needed to be done - and entertaining Jim was not one of them! He scowled as he entered Jim's room, the bowl of potato chips in his hand.
He opened his mouth to tell Jim he would not finish the story for the rest of the day, but go off to find a job. To tell him they needed money, so perhaps he could try to get medication to help ease the sickness that plagued Jim. But the words did not come, as he saw Jim laying on his bed, his eyes close, a small smile across his face.
This child had too much of a grip on him. And he didn't like it.
He sighed, as he sat down next to Jim's little bed. "I'm back," muttered Gene, as he set the chips on the bed side table.
"Knew you would be," said Jim quietly, as he opened his eyes.
"You look tired, Jim." Gene leaned forward in his chair, as he tried to hide the concern from his face.
"I'm sick, Aniki," Jim said hoarsely, as he showed signs of being annoyed
"I know *that*!"
"The story."
"You still want to hear that?"
"Yes..."
"What am I going to do with you?" Gene sighed, as he grabbed a handful of chips from the bowl. "Let's see..."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"What?! What do you mean he'll be dead within 12 hours?!" Gene stared at the other man in disbelief.
"Just as I said. The poison will kill him within 12 hours," replied Jayward grimly.
"Is there an antidote?"
"I think so," said Jayward slowly, "but I think Edward Knight has it. He said something about thinking someone would shoot him, so he keeps it on him." He took the limp child into his arms. "We can't go to him, though. That injection was meant for you, and he would know I failed if I asked for an antidote. If not that, he would think I joined you, and that I was going to poison him."
"Then there's only one thing to do," said Gene grimly, as he took Jim away from Jayward's arms. "We steal it from him."
"Do you have any idea what you are proposing!?" Jayward stared at Gene.
"I'm not proposing anything," muttered Gene, as he stood up, with Jim in his arms. "I'm demanding it."
"What?!" Jayward also stood up from the floor. "I want Jim to live, too, boy, but it's risky to get the antidote."
"Risky? Since when were *you* afraid of taking risks? Just coming over here was a big risk for you! You're just scared of Knight!" Jayward scowled. "Besides, this kid took the bullet for me. I need to try to save him at least!"
"You mean needle."
"What?"
"Took the needle for you." Whether Jayward was trying to be humorous or not was beyond Gene.
"Don't be cute with me," said Gene angrily, as the child in his arms wheezed for air.
"Who's being cute?" Jayward looked at Jim, and his face softened. "Jim means a lot to me, boy. I don't want to lose him."
"Look who's talking. You're the one who shot him!"
"Correction - You allowed him to be shot." Jayward turned away from Gene, angrily. "I will not be blamed. After all, the only reason why I punched him was so he wouldn't get in the way." Gene had to refrain from tearing apart the blond man.
"Listen, pal, we both want this kid to live. He has 12 hours to live, and arguing isn't going to get us any closer to the antidote. I'd cooperate with me if I were you."
"Is that a threat?" Inquired Jayward, who was still turned away from Gene.
"Well, are you going to cooperate or not?" Jayward clenched his fists at Gene's question.
"I'll have to think about it." Gene's mouth slightly hung open.
"Think about it? This kid is dying over here, and you're going to think about it."
"We've got 12 hours," defended Jayward.
"Yeah, but did you think about how long it would take for the antidote to work?"
"The poison worked instantly. Why wouldn't the antidote?"
"Look; either way we do this, we're taking a big risk. Get over it. I'm not going to sit around and wait for you to make up your mind. I'll just ask around on where Knight is."
"It won't get you anywhere. He left his home last week." Jayward turned to Gene, a smirk on his face, after he made the comment.
"Then where is he?"
"I'm certainly not telling."
" Mister...Jayward..." A weak voice called out from the bundle in Gene's arms. "Help...him. He's not...a bad...person."
"Jim?" Jayward stepped towards Gene to get a closer look at the boy. Gene, however, pulled away from the other man.
"He saved...me...Mister...Jayward." Jayward raised an eyebrow as he looked at Gene, as he listened to Jim's advice. "He's...not bad..." Jim gasped for breath, as he clutched Gene's shirt. Jayward's gray eyes narrowed, as he bit his lip.
"Fine. You have my cooperation," muttered Jayward as he walked towards the door. "I'll take you to where Edward Knight is. We're using my car."
"Fine with me." Gene followed Jayward to the door. "But let me make myself clear. What happens to me, happens to the kid."
"Was that also a threat?" Queried Jayward, as he stopped walking.
"I'll leave that up to you," muttered Gene, while he passed Jayward.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
There was no doubt about it - that car was definitely the same car Knight had used the night before. Gene frowned a bit, as he glared at Jayward, who was driving at the time. He wondered if the man was just playing dumb, not knowing about the murders. It wouldn't surprised Gene, if he was. At this point, however, he was desperate, and desperation was *not* something Gene enjoyed.
"How long is it until we get there? We've been driving for hours!" Jayward kept his eyes on the road, despite Gene's complaints.
"Actually, we've only been driving for 30 minutes," retorted Jayward. Gene observed the trees they drove by, and noticed that they were driving further away from any high populated areas.
"This Edward Knight guy seems pretty secluded."
"Oh, no. Not at all." Jayward smiled a bit. "He enjoys the city very much."
"Hm," muttered Gene. "Could have fooled me."
"He never made sense to me." There was a brief silence, as Gene looked down at the moaning boy in his arms. "We need a plan, boy, if we want to get the antidote successfully."
"I was planning on just busting in there."
"Bad idea," warned Jayward, as he pressed harder on the gas petal. "He isn't stupid. He'll shoot you the moment you walk in."
"He has the antidote on him, doesn't he?"
"Yes, he does."
"Then he can't be that smart!" Jayward didn't say anything to Gene's remark, as he continued driving. "Seriously! Who keeps something like that with them?"
"He's very cautious, but just as reckless. He doesn't trust me, to an extent, and he certainly doesn't trust you, so he keeps it with him. However, as I pointed out to him, it would be easier for someone to get the antidote if something happened to him."
"And what did he say?"
"No one would think he was stupid enough to have the antidote with him."
"I figured."
"I have a suggestion," said Jayward with thought. "Perhaps I could stall Edward, while you sneak in from a window. He lives in a rickety house somewhere out here. It's just me and him that hide there, so you wouldn't have to worry about running into anybody." He took a momentary pause. "After which, you could sneak behind him, and knock him out with the butt of that pistol you have with you. Then, we steal the antidote from him."
"Not exactly the best of ideas, to the point it's crude, but I guess it'll work."
"It has to work," muttered Jayward. Gene grunted, as he shifted Jim's weight in his arms. He slowly cast his eyes about the lovely landscape they passed. The sun had just risen a few hours ago, which made Gene realize just how early it was, compared to when he normally would get up.
He yawned rather loudly, as he just wasn't a morning person. After feeling a small hand reach for his own, Gene looked down to see Jim with his eyes halfway open, and looking straight up at him. "I feel bad," he mumbled.
"Well, you're certainly not going to feel like a million wong for awhile, that's for sure." Sighing, Jim shifted to get comfortable as best as he could. "Hey. Don't worry, kid. I'm tough, remember? I can get that antidote for ya', *and* get Knight out of the way."
"Feh...we'll see." Gene glared at Jayward for making the un called for remark. "What? You shouldn't be telling him not to worry. There's still a possibility that we may not be able to get the antidote."
"How hard can it be? There's two of us and one of him."
"Two of us, one of him, and a whole collection of Caster guns," corrected Jayward.
"*What?!*"
"You heard me. Edward has a whole collection of different kinds of Caster guns, and a stash of bullets for them. He usually carries one for bluffing, but don't always rely on that fact." Gene didn't seemed too worried.
"Oh, well. All the more stuff of his I can steal. Caster guns are very rare, and *very* expensive." He turned to Jayward. "How did he get so many?!"
"Same way you want to get his."
"Geez. He's been busy."
"He never did waste much time," stated Jayward. Again, there was silence for a few moments, until they heard a loud thumping noise, and smoke began to float from the front of the hood. Jayward looked a bit miffed, as he quickly pulled over to the side of the dirt road.
"What's up with this?" Inquired an uneasy Gene.
"This is an old car. You can't expect it to work all of the time," said an irritated Jayward, as he stepped out of the car. He opened up the hood, and was greeting by black smoke, which consequently made him cough.
"Anything you can do?"
"There's a set of tools in the back, but I'm no mechanic."
"I...can...fix it..." Gene looked at the sick child in his arms. He looked no better, but at least he was speaking from time to time.
"*You?* But you're just a kid."
"Don't underestimate him, boy. His father was a good mechanic. He was bound to pick up a few things from him."
"Well, that doesn't help us much now. He can barely breathe, much less move."
"For once, you may be right."
"Oh, thank you. I'm so glad you think so," said Gene, sarcastically. Jayward coughed, as he slammed the hood down.
"This is no time to be acting like that. If we want to help Jim, we've got to take this seriously."
"Who's not taking this seriously? At least I wasn't the one who shot the kid," said Gene casually, as he looked down at Jim.
"You're still on that?!" Yelled an aggravated Jayward.
"Yeah! I am!"
"I didn't have to help you, you know! I *care* about Jim, so I'm just gonna leave you out here to rot, while I get the antidote myse-" Jayward abruptly quit speaking, as his breathing became hard.
"What?" Gene looked up, only to find Jayward, standing straight, with his eyes open wide. There was, however, one detail that stuck out the most. There was a man standing behind the shocked Jayward; a man named Edward Knight.
"H-hello, Edwar-" Again, his sentence was cut off, as he slumped forward, his body landing on the hood. The only one who now stood was the old man, with a face of disgust, as he held up what looked like a tranquilizer gun.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Jim! Are you okay?" Gene Starwind leaned forward in his chair, as his partner was doubled over, coughing. "Jim!" He pushed the boy back upon the pillows.
"Yeah..." Jim didn't resist Gene pushing him back down. "...Continue..."
"No. I'm going to go look for a job to do, while you sleep," said Gene sternly.
"...But Aniki..."
"No!" And with that, Gene got up from his chair, and left the room. "I'm going to bring you a glass of water," he called over his shoulder. "After that, I'm leaving." Jim sighed as he looked out of the window from his little bed. He didn't like all of those interruptions. Listening didn't consume *that* much energy!
Besides, he wanted to listen to the rest of the story, even though it didn't look like Gene was enjoying telling it.
All of that didn't matter, however, as he fell into a peaceful sleep.
Sleep had claimed his body so hard, that he didn't even feel a hand brush over his forehead, as a glass of water was placed on his bedside table.
End part 4