Chapter Seven – Partners
(Hope this comes through all right – my computer was being a little weird. Anyway, thank you to everyone who's been r+ring!
BansheeCat, I'm sorry you don't like Beat (you philistine!) but then, I'm not that keen on Yo-Yo (although I've never seen the JSR Yoyo, so we may be thinking of completely different people). I hope you don't mind r+ring all the same!)
Mew stepped onto the bus. It was going to be another hot day. She was already starting to sweat under her uniform.
She looked round, and saw Isas. Isas sitting with Suki.
Tears burnt her eyes.
Stop it, she told herself. He's a cop's kid, you're – you were – a rudie. This is for the best.
She sat down on the last spare seat, and stared out of the window as the bus rattled away from the kerb.
Isas and Suki were a little way behind her. She could hear them whispering, their voices echoing in the thick, stuffy air.
I don't care, she told herself. I don't, I don't.
I want to scratch his eyes out.
I want him to like me.
I think I'm going crazy.
Suddenly she saw one of Suki's friends get up and walk past her, catching her on the head with her bag. Mew turned, and saw the girl whispering to Suki.
The driver screeched to a halt and yelled at her to sit back down again. She did so, rolling her eyes, and started whispering to the girl she was sitting next to.
Mew swallowed. They're not talking about you, she told herself. Why would they be? No one is noticing you.
She could see half the bus whispering now.
She opened her bag, and started searching for her maths book. Maybe if she read something, she'd be able to ignore all this.
She heard a snort of laughter, and spun round automatically.
No one was looking at her.
Stop it, she told herself. Stop being so damn paranoid. She returned to her books –
There was a folded piece of paper on top of them.
She opened it out, and gasped.
It had been scribbled, biro pressing deep.
We don't like you, rudie. You tried to kill Isas. Get out of our school.
Underneath someone had drawn a hangman figure, head lolling from a one-line rope.
Mew crumpled up the paper, but that didn't help. So she uncrumpled it again, folded it up, and began to rip it in two, ignoring the stares of the other pupils. I hate you, Miyamoto Isas, she thought. I hate you, I hate you, how dare you tell them all this?
And what are they going to do with me?
She flung the pieces onto the bus floor, and saw the stick figure staring up at her, its limbs slack, its neck snapped –
Don't get scared. Get angry.
Isas told them I tried to hurt him? The fury bubbled, faintly, in her stomach.
Some friend he was!
She was sick of this.
Mew got to her feet and stormed towards Isas.
"How dare you tell them I tried to kill you?" she screamed.
Isas jumped, then narrowed his eyes. "Go back to the ghetto, rudie."
"Don't try and avoid it," Mew shouted, clinging to the seat as the bus turned a corner. "You can't take it that I didn't want to turn in one of my friends? You could at least stick to the truth! You have no right to make up stuff about me!"
"I don't know what you're on about," Isas said, sliding down in his seat a little. "Just get a life and stay out of mine."
"Yeah, Miyako," Suki said. "Leave Isas alone. He's told me all about what you did."
"How dare you?" The view rocked as the anger swirled round Mew's eyes. "You – you Keisatsu pig, you're no better than your bastard father!"
Isas turned to face her, his eyes blazing. "Shut up!" he yelled. "Shut up! Shut up! I didn't tell anyone any lies, all I said was you were still a rudie supporter and cop hater and you damn well are!"
The bus screeched to a halt, and the driver came storming up the aisle. "Off," he said, glaring at Mew and Isas. "Now."
"But –"
Isas stopped speaking, picked up his bag, and shoved past Mew. "Dumb rudie," he muttered.
"Dumb Keisatsu," Mew retorted, following him off the bus.
They stood on the kerb and the bus roared away, sprinkling them both with dust.
***
Garam stood in the shadows with Saburo, watching as the two kids stumbled off the bus.
"They the ones?" he whispered.
Saburo lowered the binoculars. "Yep. Go in and do your stuff. He's a cop's kid and she's a witness."
Garam hefted the sniper rifle and tapped the button on the side of the scope. It zoomed in on the girl's face –
a victim's face –
a familiar face –
Mew's face.
"So that's why Cube didn't ice the Miyamotos," he said, slowly, the rage building inside his chest.
"What was that?"
"Here." Garam flung the rifle into Saburo's arms, then pulled off his Skull T-shirt. "You can keep your stuff. I quit."
"What about Cube?"
"She can do what she wants. I've had it with this."
"Garam, it's one girl, she's not your friend any more –"
"I don't kill people I know, and I shouldn't have killed anyone!" Garam yelled. He pulled off his sunglasses, and crunched them underfoot. He was shaking all over, but yet he wasn't scared. Suddenly it was obvious what to do.
"Garam, you're crazy."
"No." Garam squinted in the sunlight. "I was crazy. Now I'm sane again." He reached into his backpack and pulled out his fly-eye goggles.
"You can't just leave. What about Cube?"
"Tell her what happened," Garam said. "Tell her she can get out of this. Tell her to meet me in the factory yard, by the relay tower, tonight, ten p.m. Tell her she doesn't have to be like you."
"Why don't you tell her yourself?" Saburo's voice was icy quiet.
"Because I'm not going back to the HQ. I don't trust you."
"You're right not to. Garam, Skulls are honour bound to assassinate those who defect."
"Then kill me," Garam retorted. He shoved his goggles on. "It'd still be better than being one of you."
***
Saburo didn't look at Garam, instead turning to stare at Mew and Isas. They stood, side by side, their shadows stretching out behind them.
He raised his gun, his own shadow lengthening.
Suddenly he felt something dig into the back of his neck.
"Don't even try it," Garam said, and fired the stun gun.
Saburo yelped as he felt electricity race down his spine, and then – mercifully – his consciousness cut out.
***
Mew picked up her bag and started to walk.
"Miyako…" Isas called.
She turned.
"I didn't tell them any lies."
She shrugged. "All right."
"We're leaving tomorrow."
"All right." Mew was glad she was facing away from him. It meant he couldn't see her blink too hard, or bite her lip.
"Bye, Miyako."
"Bye."
***
Beat heard the door rattle open, and forced himself to wake up.
"Get ready," the guard said. "You're being moved."
"Huh?"
"Grow a brain, rudie. You finally decided to be sensible last night, so you're going to go live out the rest of your sentence away from the station. Now move it."
Last night…
Beat looked down at his arm, which was in a sling. Of course. He'd cracked and told them everything.
Like where the garage was.
Like where all the GGs were.
No.
"What time is it?" he said.
"It's seven a.m. Now move it or you'll get your other arm broken."
Seven a.m. Surely they hadn't done anything yet…
Come on, Beat thought. Onishima'll want to act on it all as soon as possible, he's probably got them all by now.
But there's got to be something I can do, there's got to. He closed his eyes a moment, tried to hold down the panic forcing its way up his throat.
Maybe he hasn't got them yet…
He started to get ready, awkwardly, one-handed, trying to remember exactly what he'd given away. Thinking about last night at all was an ordeal, but he tried to ignore the humiliation and focus on what he'd actually said.
The garage. He'd told them where the garage was. Which meant Gum and Yo-Yo were in trouble. What else? He'd mentioned Mew, and they knew where she was already so she was out of it.
Think. Think.
Yes…Onishima had known there were ten of them…he'd made sure he'd got all the names. Piranha and Slate…Beat had told him they'd left. That they had a child. But that was all he knew, wasn't it? There wasn't anything else he could say. They had to be okay.
Combo was in Grind City. Well, that was all he knew, and so that would be all Onishima knew.
And Cube and Garam in the Skulls? If they got caught, being rudies would be the last thing on anyone's mind. Beat had seen the guards' faces flicker with rage at the mention of the Skulls, and Onishima had gripped his broken arm, fury in his fingers…
Tab. What the hell had he said about Tab? He had to have said something. That the guy had joined the Noise Tanks? Well, big deal. He didn't know where the Noise Tanks' base was now that a bunch of Skulls had chased them out of it. Tab was safe. He had to be safe.
But what about other things? The secret passage from Benten Square? The fact that rudies escaped down train tracks, through the half pipe, into the sewers? That they bought their skates from Shibuya Hardware Store, because the owner was sympathetic to teenage kids and sold them skates on the quiet?
He could have single-handedly screwed up the life of every rudie in Tokyo-to.
Had he told about that stuff? He honestly couldn't remember. Onishima had got the fates of the other nine GGs out of him, and then – and then – asked him if there was anything else he knew, and he'd been saying no, and the pain had been so bad by now, made it hard to breathe, and then what had happened…
He followed the guard out of the cell, along the corridor.
Onishima had told him he wouldn't get any help for his arm until he did speak, and one of the guards had made like he was gonna say something…Onishima had told him to shut up…and then…then it all blurred into a mess of dimly remembered agony and a few still shots of the shadows on the walls. He had been saying something. He didn't know what.
What if Piranha and Slate were still living under their rudie names? Finding them would be easy then. He'd told Onishima those names, he remembered that.
If only he knew what had happened. If only there wasn't this horrible wondering. He could feel his mind dashing around inside his skull, grabbing up worst-case scenarios and miraculous escapes. It was tiring him out, and he kept thinking how could you be so stupid?
Well, in a few hours he'd be out of Tokyo-to for good. Then he could forget the GGs, forget he'd failed them, forget that they were the closest friends he'd ever had. Because he was a traitor to them. And there was nothing he could do.
***
Tab skated towards the garage, his vision green-tinted by his Noise Tank goggles. It was humid and the air wrapped around him like a blanket. He yawned. The heat always made him sleepy and usually he was glad about that. Not least because sleep helped you to stop thinking. But today he didn't want to.
Today there was a chance. If not today, then tomorrow, if not tomorrow, the day after. Hope was good. Hope woke him up like cold water through his veins.
He pushed open the garage door, and looked round. It was empty.
"Gum? Yo-Yo? Oh, well, must've gone out…"
He strolled over to the sofa and sat down. It was like falling into the past – for a moment. Then he felt like a guest. A guest in the place that'd been his home for, like, four years or something. How dumb was that?
And yet it was so familiar…it felt right being here. Coming home after a long holiday. He leant his head back against the sofa, and closed his eyes. It was safe. No surprises.
The door opened, and he sat up. "Gum? Where've you been –"
He stopped as he saw the paratrooper standing in the doorway, and then his heart rate sped through the roof as the man spoke.
"Freeze, rudie."
***
Cube opened her eyes. The air was thick and sweaty, dampening her skin.
She pushed back the bedclothes, which were tangled round her body. She'd been running last night, in her dream, one of those ones where you couldn't stop. It hadn't been restful. She felt wrung out, sticky, stupid in the heat.
Suddenly the door flew open, sending a puff of cold air through the room, delicious on her hot face. Cube sat up a little and saw Saburo storm in.
"Right," he snapped. "Listen up. Your boyfriend's gone renegade."
"Huh?"
"Garam's quit the Skulls. If you see him, you put a bullet through his brain."
"What?" Cube tried to shake the sleep out of her mind. "Why?"
"He wouldn't ice your little pal, or the Miyamoto boy. Threw down his weapon, stun-gunned me, and legged it."
"He – he's left?"
"Yeah. He said he didn't want to see you again, thought you were a wimp or something."
"What?" Cube felt her strength start to melt. "He – he's dumping me?"
"Yeah. Sorry, babe."
Cube pressed a hand to her mouth to stop her lip trembling. It didn't work.
"Oh, Cube-chan…" Saburo came to sit next to her, put a hand on her shoulder. His palm was dry, rough on her damp skin.
I'm all on my own…He did think I was a monster, he knew it all the time…
Saburo gripped her shoulders, turned her to face him, kissed her, then started pulling off the T-shirt she wore at night.
No! Cube's mind yelled. No, I don't want this, not now!
But her body felt too tired to do anything, and her mouth was covered with his. She closed her eyes, head pounding, and waited for it to be over.
***
Tab swallowed. Everything seemed very quiet. Shibuya street sounds whispered on the edge of his hearing, but inside the garage the air was silent.
"Put your hands up," the paratrooper said.
"You wouldn't shoot me," Tab said, his voice seeming too loud. "Onishima would have your hide."
The man shrugged. "That ain't my concern. Come on. You're under arrest."
Tab glanced round the garage, trying to gauge the situation. He couldn't see anyone outside the window, not rudie, not cop. He was on his own.
"Move it!" the man yelled, and then there was a shot.
Tab was flung back against the sofa. Staring down at his arm, he saw blood eating up the white of his sleeve.
"Oh, shit," he whispered.
Okay, his mind hissed, don't get scared, don't get scared, don't get scared…
I'm scared.
His arm was starting to throb – it felt numb and painful at the same time. For some reason that freaked him out almost as much as the rest of the situation.
He got to his feet, slowly. There didn't seem much else he could do.
***
Future Gum walked down the street, furious with Yo-Yo. Past Gum was a little way behind them, and so Future Gum was forced to talk in whispers.
"Why the hell did you kiss her?" she hissed.
"Who?" Yo-Yo shifted the shopping bag full of cereal from hand to hand.
"You know who. My past self."
"Oh. Her. What makes you think I kissed her?"
Gum fought down the urge to hit him with the six-pack of Coca-Cola she was holding. "I saw you, Casanova."
"Oh. Well, why didn't you say something sooner?"
"Because I wasn't going to humiliate myself in front of myself, thanks very much. Why did you do it?"
"I thought you said what happened between us was just a fling."
"It was," Gum snapped. "I'm objecting to you corrupting my past self."
"Oh, come off it, Gum, it's not like you were an angel five years ago. You're just jealous."
"I am not jealous!" Gum yelled.
"Of course you're not. You're just pissed your other self is getting all the good stuff."
"Yeah, right." Gum felt herself blush. "Liar."
"It's tru-ue…"
"Don't make me hurt you, Yo-Yo."
He snorted. "Hit me baby one more time? Oh, yeah, go on."
"You are so immature." Gum walked on ahead of him, heart pounding with rage.
"Will you look at the way she swings dem hips?" Yo-Yo said from behind her.
"Shut up."
"I see you baby…shaking that ass…"
"Shut up!"
They'd reached the garage now, thank god. Gum marched over to the door, flung it open –
– there was a shot –
She saw the paratrooper, and clonked him over the back of the neck with the Cola.
The man crumpled to the ground.
"Excellent timing, Gum-chan," the Noise Tank standing facing them said.
"Tab? Are you okay?"
"Apart from the slight problem of the bullet holes, yeah, I'm peachy."
"What?"
"Look." He pointed, and Gum saw the red, crimson and beautiful against his suit, on his chest and his arm.
"Oh, shit!" she yelled. "Does – does it hurt?"
"I'm not sure." Tab carefully skated back and dropped onto the sofa. "It feels kinda weird. But maybe you'd better call an ambulance, just in case."
"I'll do it," Past Gum said, going pale as she saw Tab.
"What was he doing in here?" Gum flung down the Cola. "Did he just find us?"
"I have no idea. But if he's here, others may follow. I think we should vacate the premises."
"Good idea. Can you walk?"
"I'll try." Tab got gingerly to his feet. He skated a few steps, then staggered. Gum grabbed hold of him, and saw more blood soaking into his clothes.
"Oh, shit…"
"No," Tab said. "I can't. I'm feeling kinda dizzy…"
"Oh, shit…"
"Where…where were you guys, anyway?"
"We went to buy food. Yo-Yo being all alone, he decided shopping was out. Now you and Past Gum have turned up, we thought we needed some more breakfast stuff at least." Gum felt herself babbling. She was scared now.
"I've called," Past Gum said. "They're on their way."
Gum nodded. "Thanks. Where did you say we were?"
"Here."
"You and Yo-Yo get out, then. I'll wait with Tab. There may be more cops crawling around. Meet you at – uh –"
"The…the loft, 74…in the Benten residential area…" Tab said. "My place…"
"Okay." Gum didn't look happy – she glanced at Yo-Yo, and blushed – but she walked to the door anyway.
"No, don't go that way," Yo-Yo said. "Out the back window. Safer."
He and Past Gum hurried into the other room. There was the sound of rattling, something was kicked over, and Yo-Yo cursed.
"You guys okay?" Gum called.
"Yeah…yeah…it's too early for this…"
At last it all went silent.
"Tab," Gum said. "Are you – uh – okay?"
"Trying…to be. Don't worry."
There was more blood. Gum heard a dim ringing sound in her ears, and swallowed. She was not going to faint. This was no worse than the time Yo-Yo had got a nosebleed after 'accidentally' walking in on Mew in the shower. Honest.
"Hey, are…are you okay?" Tab said. "You're sorta…"
He stopped speaking.
"Tab?" Gum heard her voice growing unsteady with panic. "Tab? I'm sorta what? What? Tell me!"
Tab slumped forward.
"Oh – oh, shit!"
(Please r+r! Oh, and if anyone wants to see some of my pictures relating to this fic, go to www.side7.com and find me on the author list – I'm down as Tallulah Doret. Thanks!)