Unexpected
Circumstances- An OLS fanfiction by masamune
Warnings:
Yaoi, not graphic, angst, language.
Disclaimer:
No, I don't own Outlaw Star, ch!
Archive:
Anyone that wishes to archive any of my fics is welcome to.
Note:
For anyone that is just picking up here I'd like to inform them on something.
In the last part the Power Company cancelled Gene's phone lines since he had
built up such huge debt. Also Jijomi is a man hired by the Kei pirates to kill
Gene.
Part
4- Lack of Communication and Bar Standoffs
"You
just can't get in touch with him?" Harry MacDougall shook his head, his sea
green hair falling over his shoulder. Currently he was very confused, but there
was one clear thing he could make out, Ron wasn't happy. "He just, like,
disappeared? Fell off the planet? Gone?"
"Yeah,
I don't know Harry…" Ron said, putting his head in his hands and looking over
at his brother. The two notorious mercenaries sat around the luxurious marble
living room table. "I checked a few of the places Starwind's known to hang
around, nobody'd seen him recently…"
/Kuso!
This is just great…/ Harry thought cynically to himself. /What the hell is that
clown think he's up to? From the way Ron told me it sounded like the guy even
cancelled his phone number. But why would he run away at a time when his friend
is in danger? / Harry's thoughts were turned back to Jim, still down in the
basement, and it was a minute before he realized his brother was still talking
to him.
"…After
all he's known around there, but they had no information on him." Ron was
gazing off, concentrating on some distant point. "Maybe he changed addresses or
phone lines or something like that?" The older of the two asked aloud,
wondering to himself.
"Maybe
he got rubbed out by someone else…" Harry said the idea as it formed in his
head. "The Kei Pirates may have finally caught up to him ne?"
"Iie,"
Ron replied firmly, standing up and removing his rain-slicked coat and casting
it aside. "Starwind isn't that careless. If the Kei Pirates had gotten him they
would have had to come down real hard, and we would have heard about it. Hai,
he's still alive," Ron breathed the last sentence as if trying to reassure
himself.
/Oh
my God! Jim!/ Harry thought quickly, his composure breaking and as he became flustered. /If we can't find
Starwind then what will happen to Jim? Who knows what could have happened to
the XGP? This throws all our plans out of whack…/
"What
are we going to do with Jim?" Harry asked then.
"Who?"
Ron raised an eyebrow. It was clear his thoughts had been fixed on problems
that had nothing to do with Jim. Harry wondered if his brother gave half a damn
about the frightened boy that they were holding prisoner.
"Jim,"
Harry said, expecting Ron to catch on. When a vacant stare answered him he
continued, "Jim, the kid we're holding hostage. What are we going to do with
him?"
Ron
looked away for a second in thought and then spoke, "We'll just have to hold
him here until the exchange can be carried out. Can't just give him up, iie,
I'll find Gene Starwind. I got a feeling that he's still on this planet."
/Could
this guy have abandoned Jim? / Was Harry's thought. /What if he did run away
and Ron can't track him down? What happens to Jim then? /
Thoughts
of dark, cold nights flooded into the young outlaw's head. Cold, alone,
shivering under half torn blankets and rags, by the embers of an expired fire…
Iie. Harry pushed the bad memories back into the closet of his mind and shook
his head as if trying to clench a lock on the door handle. It never locked.
Ron
yawned and stood up, glancing over at the ancient grandfather clock. It was
almost 4 in the morning. He stretched and yawned again, appearing to start to
relax. The only thing that spoke otherwise was the light in his eyes that told
Harry when Ron was thinking seriously about a problem.
"We
might as well get some sleep ne?" Harry suggested, beginning to feel his own
weariness. "We'll figure something out in the morning."
"Hai…"
Ron nodded, more to himself than to Harry. Ron walked off towards their room
and stopped just in the doorway. He turned to his brother, "You coming to bed?"
"Huh?
Err…iie, not yet," Came the unsure answer from Harry.
"Hey,
something bothering you?" Ron asked his brother. Even in his tired state the
professional mercenary knew his younger brother and partner. Something was
obviously eating at him.
"I'm
fine," Harry said right away, his response coming just too quickly. His mind
raced for something to say. "I've got to grab my jacket from downstairs. I left
it when I went to check on the kid." He motioned to his bare shoulders; he
really had forgotten his vest in the basement. "I'll probably hit the sack soon
though."
/As
much as I don't like hiding things from Ron/ Harry was telling himself, /It
would make such a mess if he knew how attached I'm getting to Jim. I don't want
to disappoint him…/
He
gave Ron as reassuring a smile as he could muster, but it came out as a weak,
flat feint. Although he was concerned about his only brother, Ron knew he
wouldn't get any answers tonight. It was impossible to help Harry when he
refused to talk about his problems.
"Well
goodnight then," Ron walked into the room and slowly closed the door.
"Hey!
Some guy was jus' in here tonight lookin' for you pal," The bartender leaned
forward and gave Gene a probing stare. "He was all serious an' business type
too, ya know?"
"He
wasn't an old, wrinkled ugly guy with a heavy drawl was he?" Gene asked, hoping
that the answer would be a no. Running into a trained assassin would be the
extra kick in the ribs.
"Yep,
that's him alright!" The bartender said casually, turning to place a newly
cleaned glass on the counter, missing Gene's frown as the young outlaw hung his
head. "Oily lookin' bastard he was too! Just between you and me pal, I wouldn't
want to run into him, he was packin' heat. At leas' a few guns and I think I
caught a glimpse of a sword or somethin' like that under his coat."
/I
guess that Zorlin guy wasn't bluffing on the phone a few days ago…/ Gene
thought, recalling the late night phone call from the aged assassin. /The Kei
pirates hired him to kill me and take the Outlaw Star… Doesn't that mean that
the pirates aren't behind Jim's disappearance? Who was that then? Shit! This is
all getting too complicated, what a mess…/
The
smoky bar sounds surrounding him, Gene just looked vacantly ahead. The front
door swung open, a few eyes wandered to the man that entered but quickly
returned to their respective glasses or the TV over the bar. Gene was consumed
by his own thoughts, trying to pick through all of the many problems. Owing
money to Fred and the power company wasn't anything new… But he was worried
about Jim, and about his own life.
/What
a terrible week… I promised Jim I'd see that new movie with him…/ Gene gazed at
the wooden crest of the pub's walls. /I can't believe I didn't act sooner.
Sitting on my ass like a lazy good for nothing while he's out there somewhere;
what kind of friend am I? What kind of shit am I pulling sitting here wallowing
in my misery? /
Snapping
his head up from his deep reflection, the red haired adventurer found that the
bartender was looking at him strangely… or…
"I
think you need somethin' to drink buddy," The man said seriously, "A good drink
always helps me when I'm down ya know?"
"I
can't drink tonight," Gene answered and immediately his hand pushed into his
pocket and pulled out his wallet. Pulling out a faded, dull picture of Jim he
showed it to the bartender and asked, "You wouldn't have happened to see anyone
that looked like him lately? Like just in the past few days maybe? I guess he's
a little older than in this picture but…"
"Nope,"
The bartender shook his head. "Can't remember seein' anyone like that lately.
Ya know…" He paused and Gene tracked the man's line of sight to something just
behind him. "…stuff like this happens all the time, sad really."
Intensely
alert, Gene tucked the picture back into its place in the wallet and sighed.
Putting it into his pocket Gene grabbed a hold of his gun and swung himself
around in his seat, shooting at the cloaked man a few feet behind him. The
bullet smacked into the light screen, a familiar ringing sound echoed through
the bar, contrasting the gunshot's crackle. Gene looked up to face Jijomi
Zorlin. The young outlaw aimed directly at the short man's head.
"Don't
move asshole!" Gene shouted, standing and keeping his gun trained on the
cloaked figure.
"Mr.
Starwind…" The assassin drawled gruffly, his tone calm amidst the chaos in the
bar as people threw themselves behind tables and bumbled about in drunken
stupor. "You just fired a bullet from that 9mm gun which was deflected by my
light screen. Your next shot will have that same effect. You hold absolutely no
advantage and therefore should not be making any demands of me" He took a
confident step forward. Gene didn't fire.
Stepping
closer, Jijomi's hooded face came into the light. It was still the same
wretched, wrinkled atrocity, except enormous goggles covered his sunken brown
eyes. Gene cursed under his breath and slowly lowered his gun. Against a light
screen like that, this gun was useless.
/But
I'll bet that old fart won't be very confident when I pull out my Hollinger on
him/ Gene thought, referring to the larger, much more powerful gun that was
still concealed under his yellow cloak.
"Your
'24 Hollinger R-series won't be of much use either," Jijomi added, making
Gene's face go empty of color. "My light screen is a level 6, the same level as
the one you're wearing right now."
"How
the hell could you possibly know what I'm carrying?" Gene said, trying to sound
bold but ending up absolutely confused.
"These
goggles can see through anything except certain metals," Smirking, the old man
tapped the weather beaten goggle frames. "I can see every single item you're
carrying."
"That's
really pretty disgusting you old letch," Gene said in response, gaining a few
laughs from drunken onlookers. "God knows you're sporting a huge boner under
that ratty cloak of yours. Shame on you Jitototo! Looking at young men in a bar
with…"
"JIJOMI
Zorlin is my proper name you rude, stupid young baka!" Roared the ancient
killer in anger. "be silent and listen
well before I spill your blood all over this sickened disease filled dump!"
"Nani?
I love this place!" A very drunk orderly yelled from somewhere, making Gene
smirk a little.
/This
guy said he would use similar equipment to me/ Gene recalled the old man's
words. /Which means he can't use anything bigger than my Hollinger, which my
own light screen is more than enough to handle… Phew, it's a lucky break I
decided to bring my light screen with me today/
A
strange stagnant quiet filled the entire bar, a nervous tension gripping the
more sober citizens. All but the two experienced outlaws were expecting a
frenzied gunfight to ensue.
"Well
then!" Gene said enthusiastically, smiling wickedly at his adversary. "Looks
like you can't do much to hurt me then ne? You could kill me with a gun
powerful enough to break my light screen, but that wouldn't be honorable ne?"
He decided to lay the sarcasm thick because he thought he was relatively safe.
"You
remember my rules! I'm impressed Mr. Starwind. But you are wrong," Jijomi
answered solemnly, reaching into his pocket and pulling out what looked like a
remote control. He pushed a red button and a faint humming sound emanated from
both he and Gene. "No neither of us has a light screen, I've disabled both of
them."
/…………shit!
/ Gene said to himself but kept his smile. /Looks like it'll be a good-old
fashioned gun fight now… I'll bet I'm ten times faster than this dried up
prune/
"Iie,
I won't kill you here," Sighing softly and letting his arms drop to his sides,
Jijomi stared straight ahead at Gene. "It would be so…so…ugly… A shootout in a
dirty bar, a place for whelps and hooligans…. Iie… Even you deserve a better
death than that Mr. Starwind."
"If
you're not here to kill me then what the hell do you want?" Gene shouted, his
annoyance at the old man growing increasingly. "This isn't a game to me you
know!"
"Of
course it's not a game!" The wrinkled assassin spat. "It's a hunt! A
challenge!" He stopped and removed his goggle, exposing his sunken brown eyes
to the dim light. "I merely came here to finish telling you my terms and rules.
Every man, no matter how ignorant and rude, deserves to know what he's up
against…"
"An
ugly, wrinkly old geez," Gene snickered under his breath, just loud enough so
that Jijomi could hear. "Listen Jijumangi…"
The
movement was fast, the wrinkled killer going for his gun with frightening
speed. Gene quickly tried to react, reaching for his own gun, but he was too
late. Even as his hand found the butt of his pistol he heard the cocking sound
of Jijomi's own gun.
/He's
got a fast draw… /
"My
name," The old man said, screaming at the top of his voice, "is JIJOMI ZOR…"
"NOBODY
MOVE!!!"
The
tavern door was kicked down and two police officers came running in hurriedly,
their guns already drawn. The sound of sirens screaming came from the streets
outside. Jijomi shot one last, dark glance at Gene, still with his hand on the
grip of his gun, and then whirled around.
Bullets
flew, sirens wailed, people screamed, furniture snapped under stampeding drunks
and hell broke loose in the small space of about four seconds. The interrupted
killer fired only two shots, the bark of his gun sounding instant death as the
two men crumpled to the floor. Another police officer appeared in the doorway
and was immediately dropped to the wooden floor by a precise bullet. The bar
patrons began running about, knocking over anyone and anything in their
paths.
Turning
and making a fast break for the back exit, Jijomi Zorlin glanced back at the
bar. Gene was nowhere to be seen.
-end
part 4
Note:
I could not for the lift of me think of a way to end the standoff between Gene
and Jijomi! I was going to add another scene with Jim and Harry to this part
but I figured if I didn't get this thing out I'd be eaten alive. I have to
thank everyone that's sent feedback to me. You guys, the readers and especially
the people that write back to me are what keep me going. Don't worry, the next
part will have much, much more of Harry and Jim.
Send
feedback to MasamuneEHS@hotmail.com