Chapter Ten – Gunshots

(Uhhh…don't own JSR, don't own GGs, do own Isas, Saburo and Suki. Yay. Please r+r!)

Cube curled up on her bed, and tried not to start crying again.

Her eyes stung from all the salt. The skin around them was tender.

Garam had betrayed her. He'd left her. He'd left her in this darkness, walked out, gone back on his word. Left her with Saburo.

She was frightened of Saburo now. Oh, he hadn't done anything – yet – but she knew if he decided he wanted to, she'd be powerless. She felt powerless.

"Why don't you walk out?" she asked herself.

"I can't…I can't…" She heard her voice rise in panic, echoing up to the dark ceiling.

"I wish Combo was here," another voice in her mouth said.

"He'd laugh at you," she snapped. "He was right, wasn't he? You shouldn't have started this. And now he won't take you back because he knows what you've done. All those people. Those kids."

She sat up a little, looked at her hands. They were nothing special, ten fingers, pale skin, broken nails. And they'd dealt out death like – like something.

Cube laughed. This was so stupid. She was in such a dumb situation it was almost funny.

There was blood on her hands.

No, there wasn't.

She blinked. Her eyeballs were pounding. In fact, she felt really dizzy. She dropped back onto the bed, tangled hair spilling over the pillow, and stared at her hands again.

She honestly couldn't tell if there was blood there now.

She got up and walked over to the fridge, took out a can of Coke.

Red washed over her vision, deep, dark, almost black. So much red. All those people, dead, completely dead, and she'd done it.

She snapped the Coke can open, and took a gulp of drink.

Like everything she ate or drank these days, it was like drinking liquid nothing.

The door opened, and Saburo walked in. He had a scar on his head, he'd said Garam had given it to him in the Kogane factory area last night.

"Cube-chan? Are you all right?"

Cube looked at him, and heard herself giggle. "I'm fine," she said. "Is there blood on my hands?"

"No." Saburo looked puzzled.

Cube shrugged. "Then I guess it's my eyeballs. Or maybe I'm just going nuts."

She giggled again, and found herself unable to stop. Her mind sat there, watching her body shriek with laughter, and started to become just a little bit worried.

"Cube, calm down," Saburo said. "Look, your boyfriend's not dead yet. If you see him – or Mew – you kill them. Okay?"

Cube decided not to answer.

"Cube!"

"Um…"

Saburo slapped her. Cube stumbled back, Coke dribbling over her hand, knowing she should be angry, but finding herself wanting to laugh again. Or cry. Or something.

"Do it," he said. "I'm not gonna get arrested because you're having a funny five minutes."

He's just told you to kill two of your friends, Cube thought. Why aren't you angry?

I don't really care.

She stared at her hands again, trying to make out the blood. It had gone. She wondered if it would come back.

The Coke can slipped from her fingers, and the liquid started to spread over the floor. Dark. Ruddy.

Blood. Cube nodded, and smiled. There it was.

***

Mew tried to break free, but every move she made resulted in agonising scalp pain as Suki gripped her hair.

"Stop it," Isas said. "Come on, leave her alone."

"Isas, you don't get it, do you?" Suki said. "She's a rudie. Rudies want to kill you and your family. That's why you're with us. She didn't help you when that Skull came, did she?"

"That's a lie!" Mew yelled, wrenching her head free from Suki's grip. "If I hadn't been there she would have –"

Suki shoved her free hand around Mew's throat.

"Kill her, Isas," she said. "Come on. Do it."

Fingers shaking, Isas took the gun one of the other Crossbones handed him, and released the safety.

"Help!" Mew screamed, feeling Suki's nails digging into her neck. "Someone help me!"

One of the Crossbones walked over and shut the door.

Suki let go of Mew, who fell onto the ground. It knocked the breath out of her, and as she tried to stand up, Suki kicked her.

"Isas," Mew gasped, staring up into his face, "Isas, please. I didn't want to hurt you, I never have. Please, don't hurt me. Please."

"You never wanted to hurt him?" Suki screamed. "You rudies always want to hurt people!"

Mew was taken aback by the fury in her voice.

"Isas," she said, "All rudies don't hurt people any more than all cops do."

"Do it, Isas," Suki said. "Now."

The gun wobbled as Isas pointed it at Mew.

"Help me!" she screamed. If someone was in the upper library, maybe they'd hear…oh, please, maybe… "Help me!"

"Shut up!" Suki yelled, kicking out. "Isas, move it!"

Several things then happened at once.

The door was flung open, and the librarian yelled, "What's going on?"

Isas shoved the gun down the front of his shirt.

The Crossbones scattered to grab their school jumpers.

And Mew leapt to her feet, and ran.

And as she ran, the thought thrummed through her head – would he have done it? Would he?

Would he have killed me?

***

Future Gum knelt on the sleeping bag, the afternoon sunlight spilling over her face. She was reading Onishima's notebook.

She'd expected it to be some sort of legal mumbo-jumbo police record, but it wasn't. Not that that made it easy to understand.

Scribbly writing, sometimes too untidy to read, spilling over the pages in a black, angry flood…

And a lot of mention of rudies.

Gum sighed, and flicked back to the beginning of the book. The first page was dated 2nd June, 1999.

They want me to start writing down how it all feels. They say it'll help. Yeah, like hell it will. It's a waste of time. The only thing that'll help is getting out there and putting those punks behind bars for what they did.

Rudies, Gum figured. But what did we do? Surely tagging wouldn't freak him out like this.

There was a gap on the page, then another entry, dated 1st February, 2000.

This should get some stuff done. The Rokkakus at least have the skills to really hurt those kids. Had the first meeting with the Security Director today, that is, the guy who'll be working with me. He said the rudies were becoming a serious problem and desperate measures needed to be taken. Yeah, right. If they'd done that eight months ago she might still be – but I'm trying not to think of that. It's not professional.

But it'll be sweet to hurt them at last.

Gum swallowed. This must have been when they founded the 21st Century Project. She knew that rudies weren't popular. But actually reading the venom unnerved her.

She pushed back her sleeve, ran a finger down the scar the paratrooper had left. The memory of that made her brain wince.

Yo-Yo had been kind then. She remembered how he'd sat with her as she waited in casualty, how he'd tried to make her laugh to take her mind off it, how he'd held her hand…how strong his fingers had been…

Stop it! Stopitstopitstopit. You don't need a man. You don't want a man. And you especially don't want him.

How he'd run his fingers through her hair, how he'd kissed her…

"Arrgh!" Gum yelled to clear her head, then stared down at the notebook and started ferociously reading again.

It's no good! It's just no damn good! Those kids are gonna get away with it and I can't do a thing. I'm failing her. Just like I damn well failed her back then – no. I've got to be able to do something. There's got to be something I've missed. Right? I'm gonna get them in the end, I have to. I have to.

Why? Gum asked him. What did we do? This is nothing to do with tagging. This is personal.

She read on, until she arrived at the entry dated 24th September, 2000.

If this don't stop them nothing will. Damn human rights activists. Don't they get it? Those punks don't deserve rights! They know what they're risking. Only fair I should provide it.

The three-strikes law. Gum glowered at the notebook.

"We're still human," she said. "Whatever you think. You don't have the right to not give us a fair trial. Not that you'd listen to rudie scum."

Suddenly the door flew open, and Past Gum, Yo-Yo, Garam and Beat hurried in.

"Lots of news," Yo-Yo gasped.

"What?" Gum shoved the notebook under the sleeping bag.

"Well, first of all, the Crossbones struck. They killed a Noise Tank early this morning."

"They're serious, then?"

"You bet. He was shot in the back of the head, and someone drew a black cross on his chest. Sounds about right, don't it?"

"So we found that out," Garam said. "Then we headed round town – to warn the Love Shockers – and then we checked out the garage."

"And?"

"The cops are waiting for us," Garam said. "They've got it under surveillance. I don't think we're gonna be able to go back any time soon."

Gum felt an ache in her throat. She missed the garage. She wanted to be somewhere she knew.

"What, never?" she said at last.

"Not as long as the cops know about it, I'd say. But look. We were thinking. We've got five GGs now. Why don't we seek out the other five?"

"What – get them to come back?"

"Yeah," Yo-Yo said. "Maybe not Piranha and Slate – they're doing the family thing, after all – but Mew. Combo. Those two'd probably come."

"What about Cube?" Gum asked Garam.

He shrugged. "She didn't come when I asked her. I doubt she will for you guys."

"You sure?"

"I asked her to meet me. She didn't. That's about it, really."

"With Piranha and Slate…" Past Gum said. "How old is their kid?"

"Uhh…Hang on…" Yo-Yo's face contorted as he worked it out. "About four, I guess. Three or four."

"They might want to join in with us again," Past Gum said. "They needn't be full-time rudies, but they might like to be asked, at least."

"Okay. Someone can go try and find them. Beat, you said you didn't see Mew any time during the last five years."

Beat, who wasn't looking too happy, shook his head. "But…just cos I didn't see her doesn't mean she's not there."

"And what about Combo?" Future Gum said. "Someone gonna go to America?"

"It's a pity Cube's not here," Yo-Yo said. "She'd be best for that. She'd know where to find him."

Garam shrugged. "I don't want to see her again. If she prefers being a Skull to being here…"

"Well, you did," Past Gum said.

Garam glared at her. "I changed my mind, didn't I?"

"She might too."

"She won't. I seen what she's done."

"Oh, killing cops?" Past Gum said. "Let me think – who else does that?"

"Hey, calm down," Beat said.

"Why? We're all welcoming him back but he's still a murderer!"

"Of cops," Garam snapped.

"And they're not people?"

"They don't treat us like we're people," Garam snapped. "Why should we do it to them?"

"That's just stupid," Past Gum said. "I bet the Crossbones are saying the Skulls don't treat cops like people so they shouldn't treat rudies like people! We're all damn people, it's just some of us are worse than others!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Garam said through gritted teeth.

Past Gum shrugged. "I don't like murderers."

"Fine!" Garam yelled. "Then maybe I should just quit if that's what you think of me!"

"Stop it!" Beat yelled. "Both of you, shut up!"

They both turned to stare at him.

"Look," Beat said, "just give it a rest, okay? You're both GGs and that's what's important at the moment."

"Yeah," Future Gum said, wondering if she'd ever been as pushy as Past Gum appeared to be. "We've all done nasty stuff. Let's forget about it, okay?"

Past Gum pressed her lips together for a moment, then sighed. "Fine."

Future Gum wanted to slap her. "Listen," she said, "You're the kid in this gang. We've all had a lot more experience than you, and –"

"I know, I know, I know." Past Gum marched over to the door. "You've had a lot of shit in your lives, so I have to shut up and let you live out your various crises. Or run away from the truth. Well, I'm going out. Censorship sucks."

"Grow up!" Future Gum yelled as she watched herself walk out. "Grow up and get a life!"

"Same to you, conscience," her past self said, before walking away. Gum kicked the wall, and then snarled, "Stop staring at me, okay?"

The other three GGs stepped back a few paces.

"Come on," Garam said. "Let's go back out."

He and Beat headed outside, but Yo-Yo didn't move.

"Go away," Gum said.

"Oh, come on. You think I'm gonna leave you on your own?"

Gum shrugged. "You've known me what, six years? You know I get mad. Learn to live with it."

He still didn't move.

"Why are you hanging around here?" Gum yelled.

"Because you're cute when you're angry."

"Oh, geez!" Gum looked round for something to throw, realised there wasn't much, and finally snapped, "I know you, Yo-Yo. You just want to have some fun."

"Don't you?"

"No!" Gum realised she was blushing. "Of course I don't. I'm through with you, remember?"

Yo-Yo sighed, walked forward, and kissed her.

I'll push him off in a minute, Gum thought as lightning jolted down her body.

Well, soon, anyway.

Soon.

***

You should be happy, Past Gum thought, tears running down her face. She'd stopped, looked back as Beat and Garam hurried past her – and now she couldn't stop staring.

Her future self had one hand on Yo-Yo's back, the other on his shoulder. Her hair hung down, glinting in the sunlight, and her black clothes clung to the suppleness of her body.

He's kissing you, isn't he? He's kissing the person who is you.

He likes her. And why shouldn't he? They're both grown-up. You're a stupid kid. Look at you. With that dumb pinafore dress and your helmet and your hair like a bird's nest. No wonder he likes her better.

But she's me.

But he's not kissing me.

Life sucks.

She turned and walked down the stairs.

Benten-cho was closed for the day, doors shut and windows dark with shade. Gum walked down the dusty street, and made her way out of the residential area to Genkijomae.

The square was empty. The air was so hot Gum wasn't surprised. Everyone had probably gone home to sleep.

She stood on the central platform in the square, and yawned.

I'm stealing the guy I fancy. How confusing is that?

I want to go home. I really want to go home.

Tears bubbled up under her eyelids again.

No! I'm not sitting here crying any more.

She leapt onto a string of dead lights and skidded down towards the billboard. Bursting through it, she hurried along the passage, trying to soak up as much shade as possible. The coolness eased the miserable ache in her head. Benten-cho was so quiet –

she turned the corner and saw the cops.

Three of them, leaning against the walls, one with his helmet off, his face flushed. And before she could even think to stop she'd slid into the middle of them.

She turned, skates catching on the ground, too slow, and forced her legs to run. She heard them shout, felt vibrations of footsteps rattle through the ground.

She'd just reached the line of lights when there was a bang, and a moment later, it felt like someone had shoved a red hot poker down through her skin to touch her shinbone.

"Shit!"

She leapt for the lights, but her leg was going dead and it wouldn't listen to her.

And she fell.

***

Beat heard the shot as they entered Genkijomae.

"Onishima?" he heard Garam mutter.

He stood, his heart pounding, praying it wasn't.

Coward, his mind jeered.

And then, suddenly, he saw Gum fall out of the billboard.

"What's with her?" Garam said.

"I think –" Beat squinted in the light. "I think she's hurt…"

"There's cops in the secret passage!"

Beat felt his heart stop for a second. They knew. Damn it, they knew…

"Beat, move it, we got to help her!"

Beat began to dash without thinking, the world rushing past him like a speeded-up film. Gum was crouched on the ramp of the truck, and as he got closer he could see she was crying.

There was too much blood on her leg.

"Come on," Garam said, shaking her, then putting one of her arms round his neck. Beat did the same, and they struggled towards the railway entrance, Beat trying not to yelp as his broken arm was jarred.

Gum's breathing stumbled, sometimes turning into a whimper.

"It's okay," Garam said to her. "It's okay. Man, kids today…"

Beat wanted to try and cheer her up as well. But he couldn't, his mouth felt frozen.

He had said too much. Well, he'd said too much anyway, but now he'd really said too much.

"Oh, shit…" Gum's face was like white light. "Oh, shit…oh, shit, it hurts…"

"Think of your eyeballs," Garam said.

"…What?…"

"Try not to think about it hurting."

Beat wondered if Garam'd had the same thing happen to him.

They were on the platform now. Beat could hear the Keisatsu coming down the stairs.

"Down into the tunnel," Garam hissed. "They won't follow us there."

He jumped down into it, then put his arms round Gum's waist and hoisted her down too. She screamed as her leg touched the ground, and Beat quickly jumped down himself and took her arm again.

Hobbling, they made their way along to the nearest alcove, and dropped down in the darkness.

"What happened?" Garam asked.

"The tunnel…they were in the tunnel…with a gun, they shot me…" Gum's skin was shiny in the faint glow from the platform some distance away.

"They had guns?"

"Yes…no Onishima…Oh, ow, ow…"

"Ssh." Garam gripped her shoulders. "Lie down for a bit, okay? Lie down and relax. And keep thinking about your eyeballs."

Gum crumpled onto the rough ground and closed her eyes. It was cool in here, cool and quiet except for the clatter of faraway trains.

"That's not good, is it?" Garam said at last.

"What?"

"Cops in the passageway."

"I guess not." Beat focused on the wall. His heart was pumping properly now, too fast, making him feel sick.

"You think someone's been talking?"

Beat couldn't speak. He managed to shrug.

Garam didn't say anything else for a few minutes, then at last he asked, "How long you reckon we're gonna be down here?"

"We could carry on down the tunnel. Come out someplace else, the cops wouldn't follow us there."

"If it were just us two, I'd do that, but I don't want to risk it with her. If a train comes we'd all be dead."

"So…we're stuck?" Gum said from the ground.

"For the moment."

And it's all my fault, Beat thought.

***

Mew lurked by the headmaster's office, watching through the window. She should be in maths, but she had to know what was going to happen.

Isas, Suki and the other two Crossbones were standing in a line, staring at the ground.

Would they get expelled?

What was Isas doing here anyway? He was supposed to have moved with his parents. Had he run away?

She stared at him, looking at his dark nervous eyes, his shiny black hair, lit with the strip lighting of the office, the way he was nervously chewing his bottom lip…her entire body felt breathless.

He tried to kill you.

Did he really?

Yes. He would have shot you. Suki would have egged him on.

He's a schoolboy and he would have shot me. Blood all over the library books. Mew felt a stupid grin sparkle on her face. He's cute and he would have shot me.

She gazed up at the sky. It was three o'clock now, and the sun was blazing. The sky burned blue, cloudless, like a desert.

Good skating weather. The sort of weather where she'd learnt to do it, wobbling around Benten-cho while her parents screamed at each other or her grades plummeted to zero. She liked skating weather.

"There she is!"

Suki.

Oh, shit.

Mew turned to see the four Crossbones glaring at her.

"Haven't you been de-weaponed?" she called.

"We'll strangle you if we have to! Come on!"

They rushed towards her.

Mew decided to forgo maths for today, and ran for the school gates.

If she'd been on skates, there would have been no problem. But her shiny shoes, sticky inside, gave her no extra speed, and she could hear the others gaining on her.

She was still fit – rudies had to be fit – but was she fit enough?

Only one way to find out.

She sprinted faster, turned the corner, hurried into the bus terminal. Shoved past pedestrians. "Watch it!" "Hey!" Well, that was something from the old time.

She stopped running, gasping for breath, tried to think. She could see the Crossbones sprinting up the road towards her. Just running wouldn't work. She had to lose them, how, how?

Think, Mew, think…Miyako was gone. Rudie brainpower needed now.

She ran for the bridge, then stopped. No skates now. You'll be trapped on there.

Think!

They were almost there.

Mew turned and ran for the square, heard Suki yell, "There she is! Get her!" Geez, the girl sounded more like Onishima every day. Okay, now time it right, time it…

The Crossbones charged towards her.

She tensed to run…

"Excuse me, ma'am?"

Someone grabbed her arm.

She turned to see a tall guy dressed in black, with sunglasses.

"Let go," she said. "I'm busy."

"I can't do that."

"Why?"

"You're coming with me."

"What the hell?"

He started dragging her.

Mew opened her mouth.

"Get away from me, pervert!" she screamed, and wrenched her arm free.

He began to run towards her.

Suki and the others dashed forward.

Mew ran, breath sobbing in her throat, reached the stairs to the bridge. She started to climb, then one foot miscalculated, and she fell. She jumped to her feet, feeling blood warm on her knee, and carried on running –

Bang

Mew swallowed as chips of stone flew off the bridge above her. The Crossbones? The dark guy? Did it matter?

"What did I do to deserve this?" she yelled to the sky.

She reached the top of the bridge. There was another bang, and she ducked, but not before she noticed Crossbones blocking the foot of each staircase, and the dark guy prowling towards her.

"Oh, shit, oh, shit, oh, shit…" Mew heard herself whimper. "Okay, calm…"

She got up again, and forced her aching legs to keep running.

The dark guy was on the bridge now.

Bang

Mew ran towards the end.

Bang

"Oh, shit…"

She was out of options. Desperately she stared down to the bottom of the staircase, where Suki was waiting, her eyes narrowed.

And he'd reached her.

"Help me!" Mew screamed. "Help! Help me –"

There was a thud on the back of her neck, and even as she carried on screaming the world went dark.