Chapter 2
Kenneth's Peril
The day was going good for Kenneth. He had woken up after all, and any day that he did that, he considered a good one. He stumbled into the kitchen hoping to find his wife there, and then the startling reality once again hit him that he was now single. How long had it been since she had left him, now? A year? A year and a half? He had lost count. All he knew was that he was alone. He threw together some pancake mix and started to heat up the pan.
He lumbered into the bathroom and started brushing his teeth. Then he was messing with his hair when he heard a crashing sound. Startled, he threw on a pair of jeans to cover his boxers and went into the living room and froze in horror.
Standing in the middle of his living room, in front of his now busted front window, was a pretty healthy looking lady wearing a ski mask, dressed in all black, and holding an Uzi level with his face.
"Don't move." She said.
"No problem there." Kenneth said as he raised his hands.
The lady went over and unbolted Kenneth's front door and let in a second person, also wearing all black and a ski mask. This person looked to be a huge guy that was fully capable of putting up one hell of a fight with Kenneth. He too carried an automatic Uzi. He also leveled his gun on Kenneth.
"Walk slowly back to your bedroom." The large guy said to Kenneth. "One false move and you will not live to see tomorrow."
Kenneth did as he was told. On the way back he thought of the only weapon that he had access to in his bedroom. There was a crowbar in the closet. If only he could get to it.
They walked into the bedroom and the girl turned to him. "Sit on the bed, we have some questions to ask you."
Kenneth sat down and they proceeded. "Where does Ryan Dunaway live?" The girl asked. She had lowered her weapon to ask the question. No doubt an act of kindness in her eyes. The other guy had not taken the common courtesy to do the same.
"Why do you want to know?" Kenneth asked and met her stare.
"We ask the questions here, you just answer them!" The guy interjected.
"Fine, then the answer is that I don't know," Kenneth said and looked away.
This did nothing but piss the lady off. She turned abruptly and faced the masked accomplice. "I told you he wouldn't be of any help." She yelled at him.
"Fine, we will do this the hard way then...." With that the guy picked Kenneth up and threw him in his closet. "Go through everything until you find something that will lead us to him." They closed the closet door, and Kenneth breathed a sigh of relief. In a few moments he would have his crowbar.
He cautiously stood up and reached for the weapon above his head. Once he had it he got ready with a hand on the door to swing it open. The two thugs, side by side, came around and stood right in front of the closet door. Kenneth got ready. The girl turned to make sure that the closet door was still shut and that was the last thing she did before Kenneth stormed out of the closet and swung his crowbar. He managed to hit the Uzi out of the woman's hands and side kick her into the wall. She sat dazed for a second. Kenneth then turned his attention to the big guy who was turning toward him on his heal. With a combination round kick and crowbar swing, he disarmed him and bashed him in the head with the weapon.
Suddenly, Kenneth felt a sharp pain rip through his body and all of his muscles tensed up at once. As he fell to the ground he spun around and the girl was standing there with one arm draped across her stomach and the other one held a stun stick. Then the bug guy gathered his thoughts again and jumped on Kenneth and started beating the shit out of him.
"That's enough!" The woman yelled and pulled him off of Kenneth. "Just tie him up and throw him in the closet, and make sure you tie him up good!"
Big 'un went over to a bag that they had brought in and pulled some rope out. Then he proceeded to tie him up and throw him in the closet.
Kenneth's body ached all over. There was nothing that he could do now. He just sat and listened to the thugs trash his room. "Why were they looking for Ryan's address?" Kenneth couldn't understand why.
Then he heard them start talking. "I found this.." It was the guy talking.
"Hmm, it isn't Ryan's address, but it may prove useful."
"How's that. I don't recognize the name or the address on this.."
"Trust me," she said, "I do. You go out in the living room and keep watch, while I stay in here and look around some more, K?"
"Alright" With that, Kenneth listened to the big guy leave and sat and waited.
**********
When I pulled into Kenneth's driveway, his door was wide open and his front window was busted out. A guy wearing all black and a ski mask was standing in the doorway. There was no way I could escape and go for help, I had already been spotted. The guy in the doorway was a pretty big man. I now knew there was at least two people in the house that shouldn't be, because the guy turned away from the window and yelled, "We've got company!!"
After about two seconds, another person showed up in the broken window. This was a woman, I could tell.
I stepped out of my truck, hoping maybe I could talk to them and find out if Kenneth was still in there. That was a bad idea, as soon as I was out of my truck, both of the thugs opened fire. I dove back into my Dakota and waited for the fire to cease. I poked my head above the dash to see if they were still there. When I saw that they were gone, I reached behind my seat and grabbed the twelve-gauge shotgun I kept there. I loaded a round into the magazine and took the safety off. I slowly stepped out of the truck and approached the house. When I got about a hundred yards from the house, a blue Dodge Ram busted through the fence from the back with the two crooks in it. I fired one round into the tailgate of the truck as it sped off into the distance.
I entered the house to find it ransacked. Nothing was where it was supposed to be. I yelled out Kenneth's name and heard mumbling coming from the bedroom. He was alive.
Normally what I would have done, before the turn of the century, is called the police. Unfortunately, at the turn of the century, all cops quit, claiming that work was getting too hazardous. It was now every person for himself or herself.
I found Kenneth tied up in his closet with a crowbar that had blood on it. I undid the gag and the ropes and gave him a minute to catch his breath. While he did this, I helped him onto his bed.
"One......has a busted......head," he choked out finally.
"What happened?" I asked curiously.
"I don't know why, but they broke in here and demanded that I tell you where you live. They mentioned a "deal" that they had to close with you. They tied me up in the closet and........." Kenneth proceeded to tell me the rest of the story about what had happened, adding on the end that they had found something before I got there, but it wasn't my address.
As Kenneth finished up his story, I could only think one thing: "Deal? What deal?" I was talking to myself, but obviously Kenneth didn't think so.
"How the hell should I know?" He said. That snapped me out of my zone.
"I recognized the guy, but I can't place his features, it's really frustrating."
"Yeah, well, you didn't have to see how well the idiot can fight, now did you? Let's get this place cleaned up and head to work." Kenneth was aching and just wanted to get out of his house. There was no telling whether they were going to come back or not.
Kenneth's Peril
The day was going good for Kenneth. He had woken up after all, and any day that he did that, he considered a good one. He stumbled into the kitchen hoping to find his wife there, and then the startling reality once again hit him that he was now single. How long had it been since she had left him, now? A year? A year and a half? He had lost count. All he knew was that he was alone. He threw together some pancake mix and started to heat up the pan.
He lumbered into the bathroom and started brushing his teeth. Then he was messing with his hair when he heard a crashing sound. Startled, he threw on a pair of jeans to cover his boxers and went into the living room and froze in horror.
Standing in the middle of his living room, in front of his now busted front window, was a pretty healthy looking lady wearing a ski mask, dressed in all black, and holding an Uzi level with his face.
"Don't move." She said.
"No problem there." Kenneth said as he raised his hands.
The lady went over and unbolted Kenneth's front door and let in a second person, also wearing all black and a ski mask. This person looked to be a huge guy that was fully capable of putting up one hell of a fight with Kenneth. He too carried an automatic Uzi. He also leveled his gun on Kenneth.
"Walk slowly back to your bedroom." The large guy said to Kenneth. "One false move and you will not live to see tomorrow."
Kenneth did as he was told. On the way back he thought of the only weapon that he had access to in his bedroom. There was a crowbar in the closet. If only he could get to it.
They walked into the bedroom and the girl turned to him. "Sit on the bed, we have some questions to ask you."
Kenneth sat down and they proceeded. "Where does Ryan Dunaway live?" The girl asked. She had lowered her weapon to ask the question. No doubt an act of kindness in her eyes. The other guy had not taken the common courtesy to do the same.
"Why do you want to know?" Kenneth asked and met her stare.
"We ask the questions here, you just answer them!" The guy interjected.
"Fine, then the answer is that I don't know," Kenneth said and looked away.
This did nothing but piss the lady off. She turned abruptly and faced the masked accomplice. "I told you he wouldn't be of any help." She yelled at him.
"Fine, we will do this the hard way then...." With that the guy picked Kenneth up and threw him in his closet. "Go through everything until you find something that will lead us to him." They closed the closet door, and Kenneth breathed a sigh of relief. In a few moments he would have his crowbar.
He cautiously stood up and reached for the weapon above his head. Once he had it he got ready with a hand on the door to swing it open. The two thugs, side by side, came around and stood right in front of the closet door. Kenneth got ready. The girl turned to make sure that the closet door was still shut and that was the last thing she did before Kenneth stormed out of the closet and swung his crowbar. He managed to hit the Uzi out of the woman's hands and side kick her into the wall. She sat dazed for a second. Kenneth then turned his attention to the big guy who was turning toward him on his heal. With a combination round kick and crowbar swing, he disarmed him and bashed him in the head with the weapon.
Suddenly, Kenneth felt a sharp pain rip through his body and all of his muscles tensed up at once. As he fell to the ground he spun around and the girl was standing there with one arm draped across her stomach and the other one held a stun stick. Then the bug guy gathered his thoughts again and jumped on Kenneth and started beating the shit out of him.
"That's enough!" The woman yelled and pulled him off of Kenneth. "Just tie him up and throw him in the closet, and make sure you tie him up good!"
Big 'un went over to a bag that they had brought in and pulled some rope out. Then he proceeded to tie him up and throw him in the closet.
Kenneth's body ached all over. There was nothing that he could do now. He just sat and listened to the thugs trash his room. "Why were they looking for Ryan's address?" Kenneth couldn't understand why.
Then he heard them start talking. "I found this.." It was the guy talking.
"Hmm, it isn't Ryan's address, but it may prove useful."
"How's that. I don't recognize the name or the address on this.."
"Trust me," she said, "I do. You go out in the living room and keep watch, while I stay in here and look around some more, K?"
"Alright" With that, Kenneth listened to the big guy leave and sat and waited.
**********
When I pulled into Kenneth's driveway, his door was wide open and his front window was busted out. A guy wearing all black and a ski mask was standing in the doorway. There was no way I could escape and go for help, I had already been spotted. The guy in the doorway was a pretty big man. I now knew there was at least two people in the house that shouldn't be, because the guy turned away from the window and yelled, "We've got company!!"
After about two seconds, another person showed up in the broken window. This was a woman, I could tell.
I stepped out of my truck, hoping maybe I could talk to them and find out if Kenneth was still in there. That was a bad idea, as soon as I was out of my truck, both of the thugs opened fire. I dove back into my Dakota and waited for the fire to cease. I poked my head above the dash to see if they were still there. When I saw that they were gone, I reached behind my seat and grabbed the twelve-gauge shotgun I kept there. I loaded a round into the magazine and took the safety off. I slowly stepped out of the truck and approached the house. When I got about a hundred yards from the house, a blue Dodge Ram busted through the fence from the back with the two crooks in it. I fired one round into the tailgate of the truck as it sped off into the distance.
I entered the house to find it ransacked. Nothing was where it was supposed to be. I yelled out Kenneth's name and heard mumbling coming from the bedroom. He was alive.
Normally what I would have done, before the turn of the century, is called the police. Unfortunately, at the turn of the century, all cops quit, claiming that work was getting too hazardous. It was now every person for himself or herself.
I found Kenneth tied up in his closet with a crowbar that had blood on it. I undid the gag and the ropes and gave him a minute to catch his breath. While he did this, I helped him onto his bed.
"One......has a busted......head," he choked out finally.
"What happened?" I asked curiously.
"I don't know why, but they broke in here and demanded that I tell you where you live. They mentioned a "deal" that they had to close with you. They tied me up in the closet and........." Kenneth proceeded to tell me the rest of the story about what had happened, adding on the end that they had found something before I got there, but it wasn't my address.
As Kenneth finished up his story, I could only think one thing: "Deal? What deal?" I was talking to myself, but obviously Kenneth didn't think so.
"How the hell should I know?" He said. That snapped me out of my zone.
"I recognized the guy, but I can't place his features, it's really frustrating."
"Yeah, well, you didn't have to see how well the idiot can fight, now did you? Let's get this place cleaned up and head to work." Kenneth was aching and just wanted to get out of his house. There was no telling whether they were going to come back or not.