Chapter XVI: 'Jak's Alive?'

LES: Keira chapter. It's short, and kind of pointless. But there probably won't be another for awhile, so get used to it!

Muse: Geez… you're grumpy today.

LES: Schoolwork… grrr…

Keira and Carla sat at the table for dinner. When Keira had a fully functioning racing team, it had been easier to get ends to meet. But now that her race team was down in the dumps, it was significantly harder.

"So… have you found a racer yet?" Carla asked casually.

Keira sighed… as always. "No, I haven't." She said. "I've gone as far as to ask Krew to keep a lookout for me. Tigran once worked for Krew, so maybe Krew will be able to find a replacement."

There was a long pause in the conversation. Finally, Carla said. "Did you hear?"

"Hear what?" Keira asked.

"Someone escaped from the Fortress Prison!" Carla said.

"What?" Keira asked, amazed. Breaking out of the prison was supposed to be impossible.

"Yes, it's big news. I've never heard of someone escaping before!" Carla said. "Apparently, the Baron is obsessed with his recapture. He's offering a huge reward in return for information leading to his capture. Fifty thousand units of Eco… or the exchange of a loved one out of prison!"

"This prisoner must be either very valuable… or infamous." Keira said.

"I doubt 'infamous'." Carla said. "I've never heard of him before. He must be valuable. We should be careful while a man with fifty-six counts is running around."

"Fifty-six?" Keira asked. "Fifty-six counts of what?"

"Murder." Carla answered.

Keira gasped. "How could anyone purposely kill that many people?" She asked, horrified.

"It is a pretty high count." Carla admitted. "But some people are just like that. They don't care about anyone or anything… apart from themselves. They just get some sort of sick pleasure by killing other people."

"What's this man's name?" Keira asked.

"It's strange. It's a well-known name, named after an ancient hero, I guess. His parents were obviously at fault naming a murder after such a great legend." Carla mused.

"But what's his name?" Keira asked.

"Jak." Carla said. Keira gasped. "It's strange too, that is your friend's name, isn't it?"

"Jak?" Keira asked, unable to believe. Is it possible? She wondered. Is it possible that, after two years, Jak is still alive? She hadn't even gotten around to thinking about his murder charges.

"Yes, interesting coincidence." Carla said.

"Yes… interesting…" Keira said slowly. There was only one way to find out for sure if this mystery man was, in fact, her Jak. There was only one person she knew that worked in the prison. He had to know about this mystery 'Jak'. She would find out, even if it meant paying a little visit to Erol, the Commander of the Krimzon Guards.

(Stadium, Race Garage 1: Erol's Team.)

"Erol?" Keira asked as she walked into the Garage, which was in a lot better condition then Keira's was at the moment.

Erol walked out of one of the back rooms. As soon as he saw Keira, Erol strutted over towards Keira, giving Keira the impression of an extremely proud cock. "Keira! So, have you come to your senses and come to join my team?"

"No." Keira said. "Actually, I want to talk about the man who escaped from the fortress…"

Erol blinked. "I know you must be very worried, but you shouldn't be afraid. The Krimzon Guard are hunting him down now even as we speak. He'll either be dead or behind bars soon."

Keira sighed. "I don't want to hear rehearsed lines. I want to know about the prisoner."

"Most of that is classified information." He said. "But, I guess there is no harm in some questions. The more you know, the safer you'll be."

"First, is 'Jak' his real name?" Keira asked.

"As far as I can tell." Erol said.

"What did he do to get in prison?"

"I'm sorry, but that's classified information." Erol said. "Only the Baron and I can know that."

"Hair color?" Keira asked. It would be the final straw. How many people walked around with bi-colored hair? Bi-colored hair was almost as rare as twins.

" Bi-colored." Erol answered. "Blonde with green roots, very unusual."

Keira suddenly felt like her world was closing in on her. She sat down on a near-by workbench, gasping for air like she couldn't breathe. "Oh my Precursors!" She gasped.

Erol seemed concerned. "What's wrong?" He asked.

"I—I knew him!" She gasped. "Oh Precursors, I KNEW him!"

"You knew him?" Erol repeated unnecessarily. But he was surprised. The Baron said that the boy wouldn't know anyone, that he was alone, or so the spy said…

"How could he? Fifty-six counts of murder?" Keira turned to Erol, shaking her head in disbelief. "No! That's not my Jak! He would never kill anyone! Never!"

"Fifty-six is an accurate count." Erol said factually, then he paused. "Wait, no it's not. He killed… no… completely OBLITERATED a whole legion of Krimzon on his way out of the prison."

"A—a whole legion?" Keira repeated. Her brain was barely able to process the information. She could never in a thousand years imagine HER Jak as a murderer.

"You say you once knew him?" Erol asked.

Keira nodded. "Two years ago was the last time I saw him."

Erol thought. Two years? The date fit with the day of that freak's arrest. So, he could only assume that she was telling the truth about knowing him. He came to prison with no records of any kind so, on paper, he basically didn't exist. This made him a prime candidate for the Dark Warrior Program. And since he didn't even exist on paper, Keira couldn't have just found him out in old records, she had to know him. But… just how well did she know him? Were they friends? Were they dating? Were they lovers, perhaps? "I happened to have… uh… met this man on several occasions." Erol said. "At first, he was innocent and naive. Perhaps that's the man you're thinking of? But, now he's a cold-blooded, calculating creature that would kill you as soon as look at you." Erol paused. "He never gave those fifty-six plus Krimzon Guards or prisoners a change. I have personally witnessed several of those murders. There's no heart there. There's nothing except a creature hell-bent on bring as many people as he can down with him…"

"What do you mean, 'down with him'?" Keira asked.

Erol paused dramatically. "I've said too much. That is classified information." Then, he decide to tell her, just to see how deep this friendship went. "Let's just say, however that, unless there is some miracle, he doesn't have much longer."

Keira didn't say anything of almost a full minute. "You mean he's… dying?"

"Our scientists are 99.9998 sure." Erol said. "There's every evidence that he'll eventually die, wither in a few days or in a few years, it's hard to tell, I'm not a scientist."

"But there's still a chance." Keira said desperately. However, she knew she was grasping straws. .0002 is nothing.

Erol seemed to agree. "There's no chance for him."

He watched the beautiful she-elf closely. Suddenly… a single tear ran down her face, and that was all Erol needed. So, she was in love with the freak, eh? What if the feelings are mutual? Could I use that to my advantage? Was he in love? Did he ever mention a girl? AUGH! I don't know! The only thing I ever heard coming from his mouth was screams.

"Keira…" Erol said, injecting as much sympathy in his voice as he could without sounding fake. "He is no-longer capable of caring for anyone but himself. He is out for self-preservation only. He doesn't care for you anymore… he only cares about himself."

Keira didn't say anything. She desperately didn't want to believe a word that came out of Erol's mouth, but he had no reason to lie to her. Why would he? "Thanks, Erol." Keira said, getting up to leave, her emotions all over the place.

"Anytime." Erol said, smiling as Keira walked out of the Garage. He knew now that she had feelings for the freak and, with any luck, the feelings would be mutual. And if they were… not only would he get Keira for himself, but he would deal a telling blow to Jak at the same time. That stupid little boy who had the nerve to escape from prison! "I'll get you, Freak!" Erol hissed quietly, in case Keira was still within hearing range. "I swear on the Ancient Ones that I'll get you!"

LES: Man, this is a short chapter.