The Chronicles of Starwind and Hawking - 5
His eyes slowly opened, when he heard the slamming of a door echo through his room. It was soon followed by a soft muttering. It was something about not being able to find a job. He thought it was quite funny how it was *he* who had always worried about their business, and the money. Now it seemed all responsibility was falling heavily on his partner. Maybe it would give Gene Starwind a greater appreciation for the other half of Starwind and Hawking Enterprises.
Jim Hawking's eyes quickly shut, however, when he heard the door open, and footsteps that followed the creaking. "No need to pretend, Jim. I know you're awake." One of the ten year old's eyes opened. "And no, I did not find a job." Gene Starwind signed, as he walked over to Jim's bed, and sat in what seemed to be his new favorite chair.
"Hm," grunted Jim, as he turned over on his side, so he could face Gene.
"Do you even care?" Jim nodded in response. "Whatever. Could have fooled me."
"...The story," muttered Jim. Gene sighed, as he ran his hand through his hair.
"Jim, I've got to figure out a way to get money. You know that."
"C'mon, Aniki..." To this, Gene sighed in annoyance.
"Well, okay, but on one condition. After I finish the whole story, you won't bother me about another one again."
"'Kay."
"Okay. Now that I've made myself clear, I'll continue..."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Well...it looks like my suspicions have been confirmed," chuckled Edward Knight, as he showed no signs of putting what looked like a tranquilizer gun down. "I would have thought Jayward would have come up with something more...cunning...if he wanted to get back at me for whatever it was I did." Gene bit his lip, as he pulled Jim closer to him. "Don't even think about running away, kid, or else you'll be fast asleep, like Jayward here." He motioned towards the still slumped over Jayward.
"Why are you doing this? It really doesn't make any since. Look, it's not like I told anyone about this."
"That's true, but what about the future?" Gene was silent, as the old man smiled. "It is very hard to predict, isn't it?" Gene honestly wanted to tell the guy he wouldn't report him, but he was too prideful do so. He probably wouldn't have believed him anyway. "Now tell me...what brings you here?" When Gene didn't respond, Edward decided to answer for him. "Well, from what I can tell, Jayward did not shoot you." He glanced down at Jim. "And from the looks of that kid in your arms, it seems he shot him instead. And now you want the antidote."
Gene growled as he debated in his mind whether he should reach for his pistol or not. "Well, what was the point of that? You're certainly not going to give it to me. Why tell me something I already know?"
"You shouldn't come to conclusions so quickly, kid," he said softly, as he pulled a vial of blue liquid from his pocket.
"That's..."
"The antidote," he finished, as he tauntingly waved it. "I really don't want to see the boy die. His father and mother? Feh...they had it coming. As for the boy? No. He doesn't deserve to die like this."
"But you're not going to just give it to me. It'd be too easy that way."
"What did I tell you about making conclusions?" Inquired Edward, with a smirk on his face. "That's okay, though. You were right this time."
"Okay, guy. What do you want?" Edward laughed at the teen's question.
"You're making it sounds like I'm asking you," he eyes Gene with a knowing smile, "for 1,000 wong. Of course...this whole thing wasn't worth 1,000 wong, now was it?"
"You still didn't answer my question," said an irritated Gene.
"All right. I suppose you deserve to know," sighed Edward. "I wish for a duel of some sort from you. I want a challenge. Not like that lame excuse for a fight you put up last night." He slowly walked over to the side of the car. "If you win, you get the antidote."
"And if I lose?" Gene wanted to get all of the facts straight.
"What does it matter? If you lose, you're dead. Common sense." Gene bit his lip in both anger and frustration.
"What weapons do I get?" He queried.
"None; I decided to make this interesting. Neither of us will have any weapons."
"Fists only."
"Yes," chuckled Edward, as he leaned against the car door, gun in hand. "You catch on quickly." Gene appeared to think for a moment, as he slowly, yet casually reached into his coat pocket, revealing a black pistol. In a flash, he aimed the weapon at Edward Knight, and he thought he had it made, as his finger was about to pull the trigger.
However, before he got to make his move, he felt a painful prick in his shoulder, which began to burn without mercy. He felt the pistol fall out of his hands, but he was too dizzy to retrieve it. Despite Jim's soft cries, Gene slumped forward in his seat.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Ugh..." Though the voice was soft, it rang through his head, shattering the quiet that had claimed him. "Boy...you okay?" His head ached, as did his shoulder. Seeing was also difficult, as he soon discovered, when he opened his eyes.
"Nothing I can't handle." Gene Starwind sat up, as he rubbed his eyes. When he could finally see clearly, he saw Jayward sitting right in front of him. Gene looked around the dark room they were in, and noticed cob webs in the corners of the room, as well as the grease stained wooden floors. Crates were everywhere, filled with long forgotten items.
"Looks like we're in the basement," observed Jayward, as he also glanced around.
"Yeah, I sort of figured that out." Gene took a brief pause, as he rubbed his aching temples. "Did Knight come down here yet?"
"Yeah," replied Jayward. "You woke up right after he left." Gene's eyes darted around the floor. "What are you looking for?"
"The kid," said Gene quickly. "Where's the kid?"
"Edward has him."
"How long have I been out?"
"Several hours."
"What?!" Gene stood up, as he began to examine the walls.
"There's no way out of here, boy. I checked." Jayward also stood up, as he faced Gene. "Look...the kid has a few hours. Several, actually. Edward will be back down in a few minutes. You can talk then."
"Jayward...exactly how long have I been out? Give me a rough estimate," demanded Gene.
"I don't know! I just woke up myself. I'm only going by what Edward told me." Gene frowned as he leaned against the dirty, concrete wall.
"Then we don't know if we've really been out for only a few hours or an entire day. So, we have no way of knowing whether the kid is dead or alive."
"I think you've pretty much summed it up," sighed Jayward as he also heavily leaned against the wall. "There are no windows as well, and as a result we have no idea what time of day it is."
"I know that," muttered Gene. "Sort of obvious, isn't it?" He sighed in exasperation as he once again sat down, his back leaning against the cold wall. "Great. I'm stuck in a basement, with *you*, and to make matters worse, some crazy old guy has that kid!"
"Well, I certainly had no say in the matter," growled Jayward, as he remained standing.
"Oh?" Gene looked up at Jayward with a glint of anger in his eye. "What if you did? What if this whole thing was set up between you, and Edward Knight? What if you're still working for him? Huh?" Jayward scowled, as he glared daggers at Gene.
"Listen, boy," he said angrily, "if I were in cahoots with that man, I wouldn't be wasting my time down here, now would I? Especially with you!" He folded his arms, as he looked at the ceiling. "Besides...Jim and I are close. I don't want him to die. If we really want to save him, we must trust in each other...as impossible as it may seem."
"Easier said than done." Just as the statement had left Gene's mouth, the two heard a door slowly creak open, and slam shut. The loud noise bounced from wall to wall. Gene looked over to the wooden set of stairs to the left of him, as he saw his captor walk down them.
"Ah, you're awake. I figured as much, as I heard arguing down here." Edward Knight smiled, as he stood on the final step. "My...you look groggy."
"I think we all know who's responsible for that," snarled Gene. Edward laughed, as he stepped onto the concrete floor.
"Indeed." Gene quickly stood up, his hands clenched in fists of rage. "Now, now. We mustn't fight...not in here, anyway."
"What do you mean, 'not in here'?" Inquired Jayward, as he looked at the old man. Edward glanced at Jayward briefly, before turning back to Gene.
"Jayward, I'm in no mood to speak with you."
"I didn't think so. Obviously you're in no mood to look at me, either."
"Aren't we observant?" Jayward grunted in response, as he resumed looking at the ceiling. "Now...as I was saying. I still want that fight with you, kid. You're too prideful to go down easily, so I want you to have a chance. If not a large one, a small one at least."
"Thanks a lot." The remark was obviously sarcastic.
"Oh, you're welcome." Edward smiled. "Shall I give you time to wake up from you little cat nap, or should we go out into the field?"
"Wait...how long have I been asleep?" Edward thought for a moment.
"You'll find out as soon as we reach the field we'll be fighting in."
"Okay, then." Gene ran his hand through his red hair, as he fit his lip. "Fine. We fight now."
"Excellent." Edward grinned, as he looked at Jayward. "Jayward, I will allow you to watch from the porch. However, if you try to help this kid over here in any way...I'll be forced to make sure you never try again."
"Fine by me, Edward," replied Jayward curtly. He turned to Gene.
"I'm game. Let's get started." Gene smiled as he noisily cracked his knuckles.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Gene Starwind squinted at the brightness of the setting sun, as he walked onto the rickety porch of the old country house. As he glanced at the sky, which was smeared with the most magnificent oranges and purples. However, Gene wasn't thinking about the beautiful sunset.
"You made a wise decision, boy," muttered Jayward, who was standing right next to Gene. "It looks like we've been out for most of the day. If you had decided to wait, the stakes would have been much higher."
"They'd still be the same, either way," said Gene, as he turned to the older man. "We'd just have less time if I had waited." Sure enough, it was 5:00 PM...approximately 10 hours after Jim had been poisoned. "Or none at all."
"Good grief! We're cutting this close, boy!"
"Indeed." Edward walked between the two, a gun in hand, and a weak, sleeping Jim in the other. "But that's all the more reason to finish this quickly, am I correct?"
"A fist fight like that could take hours, though," said Gene.
"That's true, but I have no intention of letting it last that long, though. I'll be through with you in 10 minutes."
"Yeah, we'll see, old man." Gene stepped off of the porch, and onto the hard, grassy ground.
"We walk out to that field over there." Edward pointed to a large, spacious area that was covered in grass. "Well...except for you, Jayward. You will stay on the porch." He turned to his former friend. "And if you step in...well...your little friend will suffer the consequences." He motioned his head toward the little boy being held by his right arm.
Jayward grumbled as he sat on the steps. "Fine. You have my word. I'll simply watch." He looked up at the teen, his expression grim. "Good luck...Gene." Gene nodded in response, as he began to walk to the field. Edward followed close behind, with the gun and Jim.
It only took a few moments to reach the field, however, it seemed much longer to Gene. Earlier, he had checked to see if he had any weapons at all with him, but unfortunately, they had been taken from him. He knew that his opponent would have something up his sleeve, and he wanted to be prepared. If it weren't for the antidote, he would have tried to attack Edward. He figured if he made a move too early he would lose all chances of getting that and Jim back, however, and as a result, he decided to save it for the field.
The older man smiled as he stopped walking. "This will be fine." He tossed his gun to the side, as well as Jim, who landed with a painful thud. Gene scowled, as he got into a fighting stance. "You are certainly eager for your death, kid."
"No," muttered Gene as he lunged towards him, his fists ready to meet his captor's face. His enemy made no mover, however, as he stared straight ahead, his hands clasped behind his back. "I'm eager for YOURS!"
~*~*~*~*~*~
"Aniki," whispered Jim, "you can't stop there."
"Well, I am, so deal with it," snapped Gene, as he hastily got up from his chair. Jim didn't understand why his partner was suddenly so upset. Was it hesitation he saw in his eyes? Could it possibly be that his aniki was keeping something from him? The idea was unthinkable! What could be so upsetting that Gene couldn't tell his partner?
"You said you'd finish." Gene grumbled as he made his way to the door.
"I need some air. That's all." Something was clearly wrong. But...Gene wouldn't keep anything from Jim...
...right?
Jim sighed as he heard the door slam shut. "Aniki..." His eyes trailed over to the window. "...What's wrong...?"
End part 5
His eyes slowly opened, when he heard the slamming of a door echo through his room. It was soon followed by a soft muttering. It was something about not being able to find a job. He thought it was quite funny how it was *he* who had always worried about their business, and the money. Now it seemed all responsibility was falling heavily on his partner. Maybe it would give Gene Starwind a greater appreciation for the other half of Starwind and Hawking Enterprises.
Jim Hawking's eyes quickly shut, however, when he heard the door open, and footsteps that followed the creaking. "No need to pretend, Jim. I know you're awake." One of the ten year old's eyes opened. "And no, I did not find a job." Gene Starwind signed, as he walked over to Jim's bed, and sat in what seemed to be his new favorite chair.
"Hm," grunted Jim, as he turned over on his side, so he could face Gene.
"Do you even care?" Jim nodded in response. "Whatever. Could have fooled me."
"...The story," muttered Jim. Gene sighed, as he ran his hand through his hair.
"Jim, I've got to figure out a way to get money. You know that."
"C'mon, Aniki..." To this, Gene sighed in annoyance.
"Well, okay, but on one condition. After I finish the whole story, you won't bother me about another one again."
"'Kay."
"Okay. Now that I've made myself clear, I'll continue..."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Well...it looks like my suspicions have been confirmed," chuckled Edward Knight, as he showed no signs of putting what looked like a tranquilizer gun down. "I would have thought Jayward would have come up with something more...cunning...if he wanted to get back at me for whatever it was I did." Gene bit his lip, as he pulled Jim closer to him. "Don't even think about running away, kid, or else you'll be fast asleep, like Jayward here." He motioned towards the still slumped over Jayward.
"Why are you doing this? It really doesn't make any since. Look, it's not like I told anyone about this."
"That's true, but what about the future?" Gene was silent, as the old man smiled. "It is very hard to predict, isn't it?" Gene honestly wanted to tell the guy he wouldn't report him, but he was too prideful do so. He probably wouldn't have believed him anyway. "Now tell me...what brings you here?" When Gene didn't respond, Edward decided to answer for him. "Well, from what I can tell, Jayward did not shoot you." He glanced down at Jim. "And from the looks of that kid in your arms, it seems he shot him instead. And now you want the antidote."
Gene growled as he debated in his mind whether he should reach for his pistol or not. "Well, what was the point of that? You're certainly not going to give it to me. Why tell me something I already know?"
"You shouldn't come to conclusions so quickly, kid," he said softly, as he pulled a vial of blue liquid from his pocket.
"That's..."
"The antidote," he finished, as he tauntingly waved it. "I really don't want to see the boy die. His father and mother? Feh...they had it coming. As for the boy? No. He doesn't deserve to die like this."
"But you're not going to just give it to me. It'd be too easy that way."
"What did I tell you about making conclusions?" Inquired Edward, with a smirk on his face. "That's okay, though. You were right this time."
"Okay, guy. What do you want?" Edward laughed at the teen's question.
"You're making it sounds like I'm asking you," he eyes Gene with a knowing smile, "for 1,000 wong. Of course...this whole thing wasn't worth 1,000 wong, now was it?"
"You still didn't answer my question," said an irritated Gene.
"All right. I suppose you deserve to know," sighed Edward. "I wish for a duel of some sort from you. I want a challenge. Not like that lame excuse for a fight you put up last night." He slowly walked over to the side of the car. "If you win, you get the antidote."
"And if I lose?" Gene wanted to get all of the facts straight.
"What does it matter? If you lose, you're dead. Common sense." Gene bit his lip in both anger and frustration.
"What weapons do I get?" He queried.
"None; I decided to make this interesting. Neither of us will have any weapons."
"Fists only."
"Yes," chuckled Edward, as he leaned against the car door, gun in hand. "You catch on quickly." Gene appeared to think for a moment, as he slowly, yet casually reached into his coat pocket, revealing a black pistol. In a flash, he aimed the weapon at Edward Knight, and he thought he had it made, as his finger was about to pull the trigger.
However, before he got to make his move, he felt a painful prick in his shoulder, which began to burn without mercy. He felt the pistol fall out of his hands, but he was too dizzy to retrieve it. Despite Jim's soft cries, Gene slumped forward in his seat.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Ugh..." Though the voice was soft, it rang through his head, shattering the quiet that had claimed him. "Boy...you okay?" His head ached, as did his shoulder. Seeing was also difficult, as he soon discovered, when he opened his eyes.
"Nothing I can't handle." Gene Starwind sat up, as he rubbed his eyes. When he could finally see clearly, he saw Jayward sitting right in front of him. Gene looked around the dark room they were in, and noticed cob webs in the corners of the room, as well as the grease stained wooden floors. Crates were everywhere, filled with long forgotten items.
"Looks like we're in the basement," observed Jayward, as he also glanced around.
"Yeah, I sort of figured that out." Gene took a brief pause, as he rubbed his aching temples. "Did Knight come down here yet?"
"Yeah," replied Jayward. "You woke up right after he left." Gene's eyes darted around the floor. "What are you looking for?"
"The kid," said Gene quickly. "Where's the kid?"
"Edward has him."
"How long have I been out?"
"Several hours."
"What?!" Gene stood up, as he began to examine the walls.
"There's no way out of here, boy. I checked." Jayward also stood up, as he faced Gene. "Look...the kid has a few hours. Several, actually. Edward will be back down in a few minutes. You can talk then."
"Jayward...exactly how long have I been out? Give me a rough estimate," demanded Gene.
"I don't know! I just woke up myself. I'm only going by what Edward told me." Gene frowned as he leaned against the dirty, concrete wall.
"Then we don't know if we've really been out for only a few hours or an entire day. So, we have no way of knowing whether the kid is dead or alive."
"I think you've pretty much summed it up," sighed Jayward as he also heavily leaned against the wall. "There are no windows as well, and as a result we have no idea what time of day it is."
"I know that," muttered Gene. "Sort of obvious, isn't it?" He sighed in exasperation as he once again sat down, his back leaning against the cold wall. "Great. I'm stuck in a basement, with *you*, and to make matters worse, some crazy old guy has that kid!"
"Well, I certainly had no say in the matter," growled Jayward, as he remained standing.
"Oh?" Gene looked up at Jayward with a glint of anger in his eye. "What if you did? What if this whole thing was set up between you, and Edward Knight? What if you're still working for him? Huh?" Jayward scowled, as he glared daggers at Gene.
"Listen, boy," he said angrily, "if I were in cahoots with that man, I wouldn't be wasting my time down here, now would I? Especially with you!" He folded his arms, as he looked at the ceiling. "Besides...Jim and I are close. I don't want him to die. If we really want to save him, we must trust in each other...as impossible as it may seem."
"Easier said than done." Just as the statement had left Gene's mouth, the two heard a door slowly creak open, and slam shut. The loud noise bounced from wall to wall. Gene looked over to the wooden set of stairs to the left of him, as he saw his captor walk down them.
"Ah, you're awake. I figured as much, as I heard arguing down here." Edward Knight smiled, as he stood on the final step. "My...you look groggy."
"I think we all know who's responsible for that," snarled Gene. Edward laughed, as he stepped onto the concrete floor.
"Indeed." Gene quickly stood up, his hands clenched in fists of rage. "Now, now. We mustn't fight...not in here, anyway."
"What do you mean, 'not in here'?" Inquired Jayward, as he looked at the old man. Edward glanced at Jayward briefly, before turning back to Gene.
"Jayward, I'm in no mood to speak with you."
"I didn't think so. Obviously you're in no mood to look at me, either."
"Aren't we observant?" Jayward grunted in response, as he resumed looking at the ceiling. "Now...as I was saying. I still want that fight with you, kid. You're too prideful to go down easily, so I want you to have a chance. If not a large one, a small one at least."
"Thanks a lot." The remark was obviously sarcastic.
"Oh, you're welcome." Edward smiled. "Shall I give you time to wake up from you little cat nap, or should we go out into the field?"
"Wait...how long have I been asleep?" Edward thought for a moment.
"You'll find out as soon as we reach the field we'll be fighting in."
"Okay, then." Gene ran his hand through his red hair, as he fit his lip. "Fine. We fight now."
"Excellent." Edward grinned, as he looked at Jayward. "Jayward, I will allow you to watch from the porch. However, if you try to help this kid over here in any way...I'll be forced to make sure you never try again."
"Fine by me, Edward," replied Jayward curtly. He turned to Gene.
"I'm game. Let's get started." Gene smiled as he noisily cracked his knuckles.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Gene Starwind squinted at the brightness of the setting sun, as he walked onto the rickety porch of the old country house. As he glanced at the sky, which was smeared with the most magnificent oranges and purples. However, Gene wasn't thinking about the beautiful sunset.
"You made a wise decision, boy," muttered Jayward, who was standing right next to Gene. "It looks like we've been out for most of the day. If you had decided to wait, the stakes would have been much higher."
"They'd still be the same, either way," said Gene, as he turned to the older man. "We'd just have less time if I had waited." Sure enough, it was 5:00 PM...approximately 10 hours after Jim had been poisoned. "Or none at all."
"Good grief! We're cutting this close, boy!"
"Indeed." Edward walked between the two, a gun in hand, and a weak, sleeping Jim in the other. "But that's all the more reason to finish this quickly, am I correct?"
"A fist fight like that could take hours, though," said Gene.
"That's true, but I have no intention of letting it last that long, though. I'll be through with you in 10 minutes."
"Yeah, we'll see, old man." Gene stepped off of the porch, and onto the hard, grassy ground.
"We walk out to that field over there." Edward pointed to a large, spacious area that was covered in grass. "Well...except for you, Jayward. You will stay on the porch." He turned to his former friend. "And if you step in...well...your little friend will suffer the consequences." He motioned his head toward the little boy being held by his right arm.
Jayward grumbled as he sat on the steps. "Fine. You have my word. I'll simply watch." He looked up at the teen, his expression grim. "Good luck...Gene." Gene nodded in response, as he began to walk to the field. Edward followed close behind, with the gun and Jim.
It only took a few moments to reach the field, however, it seemed much longer to Gene. Earlier, he had checked to see if he had any weapons at all with him, but unfortunately, they had been taken from him. He knew that his opponent would have something up his sleeve, and he wanted to be prepared. If it weren't for the antidote, he would have tried to attack Edward. He figured if he made a move too early he would lose all chances of getting that and Jim back, however, and as a result, he decided to save it for the field.
The older man smiled as he stopped walking. "This will be fine." He tossed his gun to the side, as well as Jim, who landed with a painful thud. Gene scowled, as he got into a fighting stance. "You are certainly eager for your death, kid."
"No," muttered Gene as he lunged towards him, his fists ready to meet his captor's face. His enemy made no mover, however, as he stared straight ahead, his hands clasped behind his back. "I'm eager for YOURS!"
~*~*~*~*~*~
"Aniki," whispered Jim, "you can't stop there."
"Well, I am, so deal with it," snapped Gene, as he hastily got up from his chair. Jim didn't understand why his partner was suddenly so upset. Was it hesitation he saw in his eyes? Could it possibly be that his aniki was keeping something from him? The idea was unthinkable! What could be so upsetting that Gene couldn't tell his partner?
"You said you'd finish." Gene grumbled as he made his way to the door.
"I need some air. That's all." Something was clearly wrong. But...Gene wouldn't keep anything from Jim...
...right?
Jim sighed as he heard the door slam shut. "Aniki..." His eyes trailed over to the window. "...What's wrong...?"
End part 5