River City Blues
Chapter 9: Rolan's Rage
I stayed awake that night, while Oz was sleeping on the futon. We had cleaned and dressed our wounds earlier. Basically I did what I normally did to keep myself busy, I cleaned our weapons and wiped them down. Then I went out into the shop area. As he had said, Gohlke was an insomniac. The pawnshop was open 24/7 and there he sat, reading Rolling Stones again. It was raining outside as usual, and it cast the shop in a greenish glow. As I walked out into the shop area, Gohlke greeted me with a simple nod, I returned it. I walked over to the gun counter, to see what he had to offer. In a glass display case there were a few .45's and a few revolvers, and not much on the gun rack except for a few shotguns.
" How much for Ithaca 37?" I asked him.
" Huh?" He asked looking up from his magazine.
" I asked, how much for the Ithaca 37?" I repeated myself.
" Oh that, it's not for sale." He replied, going back to his magazine.
" How come?" I asked. " It's on the rack."
" That's mine." He said. " I put it up there to attract business."
" Oh." I said, I scanned the display case. " Alright then how much for the Smith and Wesson Model 659?"
Gohlke got up and peered into the display case, he looked up at me and tapped on the case. " That one?" He asked.
" Yeah." I replied.
He slid back a plate of glass behind the glass and pulled to gun out. He handed it to me, the grip facing me. I took it and checked it out, seeing if the sights were lined up. I aimed at a Tv sitting on a nearby self and asked:
" How much?"
" 200." He replied.
" I'll take it." I said back lowering the weapon.
" Yeah but how will you pay for it?" He asked me. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a diamond ring. I offered it to Gohlke, he took it and looked it over.
" Nice ring." He said. " It's worth about 400."
" Alright." I replied. " I'll pay with that. Load the gun."
He nodded and took the gun from me, putting a box of nine millimeter shells on the counter. He ejected the gun's magazine, and loaded it. He reinserted the mag and handed it back to me.
" It's a nice gun." He said handing it back to me, I took it and stuffed it in my waistband next to my .45. " 14 rounds, one in the throat."
" Yeah a friend of mine loves the model 659." I replied. " Says it's on of Smith and Wesson's finest."
" Heh yeah." Gohlke replied looking up from his magazine. " When I ran with Grant's crew, I carried a model 4006."
" Really?" I asked. " What did you do in Grant's crew anyway?"
" Hits, car bombings." He replied nonchalantly. " Anarchist type stuff really."
" Interesting." I said nodding my head. " Hey what time is it?"
" 1 in the morning." He said going back to his magazine.
" Right, well I'm going to go watch some TV."
Roland walked into Stoggy's pawnshop at 8:00 that morning. There were black rings under his eyes, and he was pale as hell. Gohlke was still sitting on his perch behind the counter. Roland walked up to the counter and leaned on it on his elbows.
" Ah, Roland." Gohlke said. " You look like hell."
" Where's the Oz man Gohlke." Roland said bitterly.
" I've no clue." He replied, slowly reaching for the Ithaca 37 under the counter.
" Stop shitting me around and tell me where that good for nothing gun runner is you maggot." He said slowly reaching into his coat.
" I'm right here dumbass." Oz said walking into the room, his revolver in hand. " Listen Roland, stop wasting your time and run back to R.H. to tell him what we did."
" I want revenge you punk." Roland spat at him, standing up right. Under his coat, the hand wrapped in the bloody rag rested on the street sweeper grip. " You killed my friends, I'm gonna kill you, you piece of sorry shit."
" I don't think so Roland." Gunner said, he stood in the door way with his Glock drawn on Roland. Roland had a few run-ins with Det. Gunner in the past.
" Listen pig I'm not in the mood to deal with the RCPD today." Roland turned his head to look at Gunner. " Now just go back to the precint, this ain't your call."
" Yeah domestic violence isn't why I came down here." Gunner said. " I came down here to track down some killers. You know that quadruple homicide in the mission district. But now I've been dragged into your childish scuffle."
Roland hated to be referred to as childish.
" STUCK PIG!" Roland screamed whipping the street sweeper out from under his coat. He let loose a barrage of automatic shotgun blasts at Gunner, Gunner ducked behind the shelves and fired back around the corner blindly. Oz jumped behind the counter with Gohlke. Roland seeing this pulled his handgun and fired at the counter in rage. The 9mm's tore through the wood barely missing Oz and Gohlke. Gohlke racked a shell into his sawn off and jumped up from behind the counter, firing at Roland. Roland ducked and fired his street sweeper back at Gohlke, which he ducked back behind the counter. I was watching this whole gunfight from the backroom.
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Gunner stalked behind the shelves cautiously, he peered out from behind the TV's and saw Roland, both guns drawn and looking around the room wildly. He could kick himself right now for forgetting his radio in his car. Roland spun around and fired a few more shots from his shotgun in Gunner's direction. The shots hit the TV's in a shower of sparks. Ryan returned fire from behind the TV's. His shots hit Roland in the chest, but didn't phase him. He was kevlar padded and doped up on painkillers. Roland aimed and fired at Gunner, this time one shot hit Ryan in the knee. Gunner fell back and clutched at his wounded knee in pain, his gun dropping to the floor.
Roland dropped his empty street sweeper on the floor and walked around the shelves. He saw Gunner lying on the floor and felt no sympathy for him. Gunner looked on in horror as Roland raised his handgun and spoke:
" Nighty Night you stuck pig." He cocked his weapon.
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Just as he pulled the trigger, I barreled into his lower back knocking him over onto his stomach. I hefted up a TV off the shelf and lugged it over his head. I looked down at him, he was curled up and cowering with his arms in front of his face. I threw the TV off to the side and picked him up by the scruff of his neck, throwing him through the front window. Gohlke walked over to me, brandishing his shotgun. He took a look at the window and smacked his forehead. Sirens screamed towards us off in the distance.
" I think we should get out of here." Oz said walking out from behind the counter.
" What about him." I said motioning to the cop on the floor.
" Don't know." Oz said scratching his head. " We still need money, so we should go check if Zaibatsu has any work for us. Gohlke you coming?"
" You two go on ahead." Gohlke said pulling on his jacket. " I'm going across the river to the Southside, go check up on Couri. Man and I thought I was finally settled with this place, but oh well."
" Where's Zaibatsu anyway?" I asked Oz.
" In upper West Heights." He replied. " We can take the L to get there."
We walked out of Stoggy's pawnshop, Gohlke caught a cab while we ran up the steps to the L train platform. The train hadn't arrived yet so we waited on a bench.
" Man I should've never volunteered to work with you." Oz said tapping a pack of ciggaretes on the palm of his hand.
" Wait a second you volunteered?" I asked puzzeled.
" Yeah. I did." He replied planting the sin stick in his mouth and lighting it. " Only to meet the legend."
" Oh so I'm a legend now huh?" I asked.
" Yeah, hell I heard what you did in the Liberty City Mafia." He said puffing on his fag. " You beat the shit out of a SPANK dealer with a Louisville slugger, you protected Tony Cipriani, Luigi and Joey Leone' from a Triad hit squad. And in the end you killed the Don of Liberty City; Don Leone' himself. But now I find out legends can ruin your life."
" Kid, I'm gonna get you some work in Vice City ok?" I said. " Your life ain't ruined yet."
" Oh and how would you know?" He said bitterly.
" Kid let me put this straight, I'm going to hell." I replied. " That pusher I killed down in Portland docks? He had a kid, he was pushing spank to support a family. And frankly I ruined that kid's life."
" Oh." Oz said.
BAM!
A gunshot rang out on the platform. People ran to and fro screaming hysterically. I looked over at the stairs. And there stood Roland aiming his Sig Sauer at me. I reached for my weapon.
" Don't even think about it Vercetti." He said. He cocked the weapon again and pulled the trigger.
SCREECH
The sudden noise of the train squealing to a stop caught Roland off guard. His shot missed, bouncing off the wall behind us. I grabbed Oz by the arm and ran for the train, Roland regained himself and ran after us. We ran through the dismal train cars past all the other passengers. Roland began firing at us again, his shots missing us wildly. The car before the last car was empty as well as the last car. I pushed Oz into the last car, and drew both my guns. Roland walked into the car. He saw me and raised his gun. I took the first shot, emptying my S&W at him. He ducked behind the seat next to him and the doors closed. We were in for the ride.
I put my .45 into my coat and pulled open the side door. Cold wind rushed in from outside, the train was going pretty fast, so I couldn't jump out. I ducked behind the seat next to the door and checked the clip on my .45. 8 rounds with an extra in the chamber, and then one more magazine that made 17 rounds in all. I sighed and poked my head out from behind the seat. I pulled it back quickly as Roland took a potshot at me. I fired back but missed him as he disappeared from behind the seat as well. That's when I noticed the steel ladder bolted on the wall next to the door, it led up into a trap door in the ceiling.
Oz walked into the car, his Revolver drawn. He looked around but didn't see Vercetti or Roland in sight.
" Did that asshole Michael ditch me back at the last stop?" Oz played through his mind. He walked to the other end of the car, and then suddenly-
WHAM!
Roland slammed into him, Oz's gun flew into the window shattering and fell to the ground below. Roland stumbled back into the seat as Oz gave him a right hook, his gun flew out of his hand skidding across the floor. Roland wiped the bloody off of his mouth and pulled a butterfly knife from his coat, slinging it open. He held it blade down motioning towards Oz for a fight. They circled around each other; like rabid dogs, Oz lunged for Roland. He caught him by the knees and lifted him up draping him over his shoulder. Roland raised up the knife and plunged it into Oz's arm. He reeled back dropping the Scot and clutched his arm, falling backwards. Roland picked himself up off the floor and charged at Oz. The Ozman reached down to his ankle and pulled out a .25 auto, and pulled the trigger aiming for Roland.
BAM!
Roland stopped in his tracks and quickly clutched at his ear. He pulled back his hand finding it bloody, Oz had shot his ear off. He looked at Oz with insane anger
" Oh you're going to pay you sick twisted." He was interrupted as the barrel of a .45 dug into his neck.
" Oh so you go around slinging blades now? Huh Roland?" I said to him digging the gun deeper into his neck.
" Oh fuck off Vercetti." He scorned bitterly at me. " Look at my fucking ear!"
" Oh by the way nice shot there Oz." I said acknowledging him. " Listen Roland I'll make you a deal. You leave Oz alone, and I never see your face again and you get to live. Or I pull the trigger on my gun and you get aquainted with what your voice box looks like splattered on the walls."
" Go fuck yourself Vercetti." He spat blood at me. " You ain't gonna get off this train any more alive than me."
" Oh yeah?" I asked him. I tossed Oz Roland's P226 and a pair of handcuffs. " Oz cuff this clown to one of the seats."
" Gladly." Oz replied snapping open the cuffs.
TO BE CONTINUED
Chapter 9: Rolan's Rage
I stayed awake that night, while Oz was sleeping on the futon. We had cleaned and dressed our wounds earlier. Basically I did what I normally did to keep myself busy, I cleaned our weapons and wiped them down. Then I went out into the shop area. As he had said, Gohlke was an insomniac. The pawnshop was open 24/7 and there he sat, reading Rolling Stones again. It was raining outside as usual, and it cast the shop in a greenish glow. As I walked out into the shop area, Gohlke greeted me with a simple nod, I returned it. I walked over to the gun counter, to see what he had to offer. In a glass display case there were a few .45's and a few revolvers, and not much on the gun rack except for a few shotguns.
" How much for Ithaca 37?" I asked him.
" Huh?" He asked looking up from his magazine.
" I asked, how much for the Ithaca 37?" I repeated myself.
" Oh that, it's not for sale." He replied, going back to his magazine.
" How come?" I asked. " It's on the rack."
" That's mine." He said. " I put it up there to attract business."
" Oh." I said, I scanned the display case. " Alright then how much for the Smith and Wesson Model 659?"
Gohlke got up and peered into the display case, he looked up at me and tapped on the case. " That one?" He asked.
" Yeah." I replied.
He slid back a plate of glass behind the glass and pulled to gun out. He handed it to me, the grip facing me. I took it and checked it out, seeing if the sights were lined up. I aimed at a Tv sitting on a nearby self and asked:
" How much?"
" 200." He replied.
" I'll take it." I said back lowering the weapon.
" Yeah but how will you pay for it?" He asked me. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a diamond ring. I offered it to Gohlke, he took it and looked it over.
" Nice ring." He said. " It's worth about 400."
" Alright." I replied. " I'll pay with that. Load the gun."
He nodded and took the gun from me, putting a box of nine millimeter shells on the counter. He ejected the gun's magazine, and loaded it. He reinserted the mag and handed it back to me.
" It's a nice gun." He said handing it back to me, I took it and stuffed it in my waistband next to my .45. " 14 rounds, one in the throat."
" Yeah a friend of mine loves the model 659." I replied. " Says it's on of Smith and Wesson's finest."
" Heh yeah." Gohlke replied looking up from his magazine. " When I ran with Grant's crew, I carried a model 4006."
" Really?" I asked. " What did you do in Grant's crew anyway?"
" Hits, car bombings." He replied nonchalantly. " Anarchist type stuff really."
" Interesting." I said nodding my head. " Hey what time is it?"
" 1 in the morning." He said going back to his magazine.
" Right, well I'm going to go watch some TV."
Roland walked into Stoggy's pawnshop at 8:00 that morning. There were black rings under his eyes, and he was pale as hell. Gohlke was still sitting on his perch behind the counter. Roland walked up to the counter and leaned on it on his elbows.
" Ah, Roland." Gohlke said. " You look like hell."
" Where's the Oz man Gohlke." Roland said bitterly.
" I've no clue." He replied, slowly reaching for the Ithaca 37 under the counter.
" Stop shitting me around and tell me where that good for nothing gun runner is you maggot." He said slowly reaching into his coat.
" I'm right here dumbass." Oz said walking into the room, his revolver in hand. " Listen Roland, stop wasting your time and run back to R.H. to tell him what we did."
" I want revenge you punk." Roland spat at him, standing up right. Under his coat, the hand wrapped in the bloody rag rested on the street sweeper grip. " You killed my friends, I'm gonna kill you, you piece of sorry shit."
" I don't think so Roland." Gunner said, he stood in the door way with his Glock drawn on Roland. Roland had a few run-ins with Det. Gunner in the past.
" Listen pig I'm not in the mood to deal with the RCPD today." Roland turned his head to look at Gunner. " Now just go back to the precint, this ain't your call."
" Yeah domestic violence isn't why I came down here." Gunner said. " I came down here to track down some killers. You know that quadruple homicide in the mission district. But now I've been dragged into your childish scuffle."
Roland hated to be referred to as childish.
" STUCK PIG!" Roland screamed whipping the street sweeper out from under his coat. He let loose a barrage of automatic shotgun blasts at Gunner, Gunner ducked behind the shelves and fired back around the corner blindly. Oz jumped behind the counter with Gohlke. Roland seeing this pulled his handgun and fired at the counter in rage. The 9mm's tore through the wood barely missing Oz and Gohlke. Gohlke racked a shell into his sawn off and jumped up from behind the counter, firing at Roland. Roland ducked and fired his street sweeper back at Gohlke, which he ducked back behind the counter. I was watching this whole gunfight from the backroom.
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Gunner stalked behind the shelves cautiously, he peered out from behind the TV's and saw Roland, both guns drawn and looking around the room wildly. He could kick himself right now for forgetting his radio in his car. Roland spun around and fired a few more shots from his shotgun in Gunner's direction. The shots hit the TV's in a shower of sparks. Ryan returned fire from behind the TV's. His shots hit Roland in the chest, but didn't phase him. He was kevlar padded and doped up on painkillers. Roland aimed and fired at Gunner, this time one shot hit Ryan in the knee. Gunner fell back and clutched at his wounded knee in pain, his gun dropping to the floor.
Roland dropped his empty street sweeper on the floor and walked around the shelves. He saw Gunner lying on the floor and felt no sympathy for him. Gunner looked on in horror as Roland raised his handgun and spoke:
" Nighty Night you stuck pig." He cocked his weapon.
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Just as he pulled the trigger, I barreled into his lower back knocking him over onto his stomach. I hefted up a TV off the shelf and lugged it over his head. I looked down at him, he was curled up and cowering with his arms in front of his face. I threw the TV off to the side and picked him up by the scruff of his neck, throwing him through the front window. Gohlke walked over to me, brandishing his shotgun. He took a look at the window and smacked his forehead. Sirens screamed towards us off in the distance.
" I think we should get out of here." Oz said walking out from behind the counter.
" What about him." I said motioning to the cop on the floor.
" Don't know." Oz said scratching his head. " We still need money, so we should go check if Zaibatsu has any work for us. Gohlke you coming?"
" You two go on ahead." Gohlke said pulling on his jacket. " I'm going across the river to the Southside, go check up on Couri. Man and I thought I was finally settled with this place, but oh well."
" Where's Zaibatsu anyway?" I asked Oz.
" In upper West Heights." He replied. " We can take the L to get there."
We walked out of Stoggy's pawnshop, Gohlke caught a cab while we ran up the steps to the L train platform. The train hadn't arrived yet so we waited on a bench.
" Man I should've never volunteered to work with you." Oz said tapping a pack of ciggaretes on the palm of his hand.
" Wait a second you volunteered?" I asked puzzeled.
" Yeah. I did." He replied planting the sin stick in his mouth and lighting it. " Only to meet the legend."
" Oh so I'm a legend now huh?" I asked.
" Yeah, hell I heard what you did in the Liberty City Mafia." He said puffing on his fag. " You beat the shit out of a SPANK dealer with a Louisville slugger, you protected Tony Cipriani, Luigi and Joey Leone' from a Triad hit squad. And in the end you killed the Don of Liberty City; Don Leone' himself. But now I find out legends can ruin your life."
" Kid, I'm gonna get you some work in Vice City ok?" I said. " Your life ain't ruined yet."
" Oh and how would you know?" He said bitterly.
" Kid let me put this straight, I'm going to hell." I replied. " That pusher I killed down in Portland docks? He had a kid, he was pushing spank to support a family. And frankly I ruined that kid's life."
" Oh." Oz said.
BAM!
A gunshot rang out on the platform. People ran to and fro screaming hysterically. I looked over at the stairs. And there stood Roland aiming his Sig Sauer at me. I reached for my weapon.
" Don't even think about it Vercetti." He said. He cocked the weapon again and pulled the trigger.
SCREECH
The sudden noise of the train squealing to a stop caught Roland off guard. His shot missed, bouncing off the wall behind us. I grabbed Oz by the arm and ran for the train, Roland regained himself and ran after us. We ran through the dismal train cars past all the other passengers. Roland began firing at us again, his shots missing us wildly. The car before the last car was empty as well as the last car. I pushed Oz into the last car, and drew both my guns. Roland walked into the car. He saw me and raised his gun. I took the first shot, emptying my S&W at him. He ducked behind the seat next to him and the doors closed. We were in for the ride.
I put my .45 into my coat and pulled open the side door. Cold wind rushed in from outside, the train was going pretty fast, so I couldn't jump out. I ducked behind the seat next to the door and checked the clip on my .45. 8 rounds with an extra in the chamber, and then one more magazine that made 17 rounds in all. I sighed and poked my head out from behind the seat. I pulled it back quickly as Roland took a potshot at me. I fired back but missed him as he disappeared from behind the seat as well. That's when I noticed the steel ladder bolted on the wall next to the door, it led up into a trap door in the ceiling.
Oz walked into the car, his Revolver drawn. He looked around but didn't see Vercetti or Roland in sight.
" Did that asshole Michael ditch me back at the last stop?" Oz played through his mind. He walked to the other end of the car, and then suddenly-
WHAM!
Roland slammed into him, Oz's gun flew into the window shattering and fell to the ground below. Roland stumbled back into the seat as Oz gave him a right hook, his gun flew out of his hand skidding across the floor. Roland wiped the bloody off of his mouth and pulled a butterfly knife from his coat, slinging it open. He held it blade down motioning towards Oz for a fight. They circled around each other; like rabid dogs, Oz lunged for Roland. He caught him by the knees and lifted him up draping him over his shoulder. Roland raised up the knife and plunged it into Oz's arm. He reeled back dropping the Scot and clutched his arm, falling backwards. Roland picked himself up off the floor and charged at Oz. The Ozman reached down to his ankle and pulled out a .25 auto, and pulled the trigger aiming for Roland.
BAM!
Roland stopped in his tracks and quickly clutched at his ear. He pulled back his hand finding it bloody, Oz had shot his ear off. He looked at Oz with insane anger
" Oh you're going to pay you sick twisted." He was interrupted as the barrel of a .45 dug into his neck.
" Oh so you go around slinging blades now? Huh Roland?" I said to him digging the gun deeper into his neck.
" Oh fuck off Vercetti." He scorned bitterly at me. " Look at my fucking ear!"
" Oh by the way nice shot there Oz." I said acknowledging him. " Listen Roland I'll make you a deal. You leave Oz alone, and I never see your face again and you get to live. Or I pull the trigger on my gun and you get aquainted with what your voice box looks like splattered on the walls."
" Go fuck yourself Vercetti." He spat blood at me. " You ain't gonna get off this train any more alive than me."
" Oh yeah?" I asked him. I tossed Oz Roland's P226 and a pair of handcuffs. " Oz cuff this clown to one of the seats."
" Gladly." Oz replied snapping open the cuffs.
TO BE CONTINUED