TWO
.
The car rumbled into the warehouse, the green headlamps seeming brighter in the dingy surroundings. Kato cut the engine and waited. He looked over the back seat at Britt.
He was already pushing at the man's shoulder. "Ok, out. Find your boss. Introduce us."
"Ok ok - I'm going," he said, sliding out of the car.
Britt opened his door but paused. "Stay here. If anything hinky starts, you take this place out with all the weapons this car has."
"Be careful," Kato nodded.
Britt climbed out of the car, looking round. Puddles of engine oil, dank water, something vaguely smelling of fuel - they littered the broken up, used concrete surface of the open warehouse. Iron railings went around the four walls at twice head-height, supporting some kind of walkway all the way around. Large concrete stanchions blocked certain views as Britt turned in a circle, trying to take in as much as possible.
The man was pointing at Britt as he backed up toward a ramshackle, corrugated iron shed in the far corner, just by the only ladder up to the catwalk. "You stay there. I'll get the boss."
"How about I just come with you?" Britt announced. He put a foot out.
A chorus of guns being cocked made him pause. He tipped his head up to see shapes appearing on the upper catwalk, with suspiciously dark items that continued to make metal sounds as he swallowed.
"Or I could stay here? I don't want any of you to touch my car or anything," he warned.
There was a muffled banging and he realised a black and white glove was hammering on the inside of the Black Beauty's passenger window. "I told you so!" came the equally stifled after-shout.
"Yeah, yeah, you told me so," Britt muttered. "Just once I want to be right."
The man went into the shed and it was quiet for a long moment.
Britt sniffed and looked up at the ominous shapes above. "So are you guys like freelance or are you under contract right now?"
No-one moved.
He cleared his throat and shrugged to himself, as if he cared neither way.
The door to the shed opened. He watched as a black-suited figure came out, trailing the man from the street. As the suit got nearer Britt's eyes narrowed on what he realised was a woman. A wave of dark green hair set into a chin-length bob caught of all his attention, but then the tattoo down the side of her neck made him wonder how far it went. The white shirt with the open collar, the skinny black suit - and the large, chunky Doc Marten boots in shiny black - made him re-evaluate many of the plans going through his head.
This chick looks super tough. I'll just have to be tougher. "Olá," he called out. "Word is you run these people."
She slid her hands into her pockets, wandering closer until she was a car length away from the bonnet of the Beauty. "And who might you be?" she asked, sounding as if boredom had set in hours ago.
"Your man there didn't tell you?" he asked. He looked at the person in question behind her shoulder. "Dude, you were supposed to introduce us."
She smiled faintly, turning to look at the man from the street. She nodded and he stumbled back, heading for the safety of the shed. She turned back to Britt. "He told me the Green Hornet was here. Are you him? Because quite frankly I'm underwhelmed."
"We just haven't had a chance to get to know each other yet."
"Something tells me we never will." She lifted a hand from her pocket, her index finger going up in the air and describing a circle. Guns were cocked and feet shuffled on the upper walkway as her hand dropped back into her trouser pocket.
"Why don't you tell your squad up there to take five and we'll talk about distribution in this city," he said firmly. "You may be underwhelmed but I'm Shania Twain lady - those men don't impress me much."
She let out a wider smile, glancing at her feet before flipping her long bangs to one side to look at him again. "You do amuse me," she said. "And people normally don't. However, I am running a business here and I don't need you."
"Now that's where you're wrong," he said, folding his arms. "If I'm not with you then I'm against you, right? You think you can distribute drugs in my city without my say-so?"
"Yes."
"Yeah? Well - uh - well check with Chudnofsky, see what he says about that."
Her smile faded and she sniffed to herself. "What you're saying is, if I don't take you onboard as a partner, you'll make my life difficult?"
"I will make things very hard for you," he warned. "Sure, you might get around road blocks or cops getting the drop on you, and you might cope with me and my partner beating the crap out of your men every night and still have some dudes left to work - but all that takes time and effort. It'll be so much easier when we're partners and I'm working with you, not against you."
"Or I could just kill you. Here. Now," she shrugged.
"You could," he nodded. He thumped at the roof of the car twice. "Or I could just kill you."
Two long slits opened in the bonnet of the Beauty to allow slim gatling guns to lift up into place. They began to rotate.
She looked at them, just a car length from her waist. Her eyes went back to Britt. "Is that your partner?"
"No, he's in the car," he said, confused.
Her hand went back up but this time made a cutting gesture. The guns on the upper catwalk clicked and slid again - before feet shuffled back. Her hand went back into her pocket.
Britt looked up to see the armed welcoming committee had disappeared. He thumped again twice. The gatling guns stopped spinning - but they stayed in place.
"How about we talk about this merger in a more comfortable setting?" she asked.
"I heard that," he said, rubbing his hands together. He started to walk toward her.
"And bring your partner," she said. "I don't do business with people I haven't met."
Britt stopped by the passenger window. He knocked on the glass and the driver's door opened slowly. Kato climbed out, looking up at the catwalk then around at everyone as if he had all night. He closed the door with a single index finger and then walked around the bonnet to stop in front of her. His weight on one leg, his gloves out as if waiting for applause, he just looked at her.
"Damn you can wear a suit," she smiled. "With me, gentlemen - step into my office."
.
.
Lenore picked up her glass of wine, taking a sip and laughing at the antics of the Three Stooges on TV. She heard a buzzing and realised she had left her phone on the adopted work table. She paused the TV and jumped up, hurrying over and snatching up the phone.
'Kato
2 messages'
She frowned and unlocked it quickly, going through the menu to get to the news.
'I need a date for the party. Please help'
She smiled and shook her head, then scrolled down to display the next message.
'Also if I die tonight then please kill Britt for me'
She giggled and took the phone back to the sofa, picking up her wine. She sat slowly, thinking things through.
And then she unlocked her phone and went to Facebook, searching for a certain lady in Support and Admin.
.
.
The door was held open for them and they wandered into the small shed, Britt as if it were a cute pet store and everything fluffy were on sale, Kato as if every item were venomous and held a grudge.
"This way," a voice said. They turned to look - and found a man nearly seven feet tall and built like a skyscraper.
"Oh-kay," Britt managed. They were shepherded through another door - that left them on a six foot square platform with the boss and the skyscraper.
She pulled a lever. The platform went down.
"Whoa!" Britt cried, his hands grabbing the railing. Kato's hands went out for balance but he did not make a sound. "Holy shit, lady! This is so cool!" Britt gasped.
The platform cut through the darkness until it slowed and came to a graceful stop. She waved a hand out and Britt went first, eager to see more. Kato looked at her, then the huge man, and then followed Britt at a careful pace.
They found themselves in what appeared to be a half-finished open office. Sheets of plastic were draped from doorways that were simple wooden frames with no attached walls, electrical sockets had wires trailing from them, plasterboard and paint cans being used as trestle tables. Dotted around them were at least twenty people wearing face masks and counting money using machines.
"Looks like we came to the right person," Britt announced. "I like a businessman who can run a tight ship."
"Businesswoman," she said mildly.
"Oh yeah - same," he nodded quickly.
She looked at Kato. "And you. Do you have a name?"
"Totally," Britt said, stepping forward. "He's the Blue W—"
Kato's fist went into the base of Britt's back. He coughed and stopped talking. Kato smiled at her in a way that put her in mind of a shark sensing a vibration. "Do you?"
"You can call me Sapphire," she said.
"Sapphire," he said quietly, his head tilting as if trying the name on for size. "Like the stone?"
"Like the stone," she smiled. "Come, gentlemen, let's have a drink, shall we?"
"He's driving," Britt said, stepping in front of Kato again. "But I'll have one, sure."
"You are amusing," she said, turning away.
They followed her further into the office environment, finding more people counting - except this was no longer money. Bullets were being lined up, counted into packaging, then bundled into small cardboard boxes. On the next table small plastic resealable bags half full of white powder were being sorted into groups of five and sealed into slightly larger ziplock bags. Still more bags, this time containing assortments of coloured pills, were being sealed into small boxes. Everything was being sorted and taken to a growing city of stacks made of boxes at the end of the office.
She stopped by a filing cabinet that had a wooden tray on top. It was populated with a bottle of vodka and a host of shot glasses. She unscrewed the lid, filling two glasses. She paused over the third. "Are you sure you won't join us?" she asked Kato.
He nodded.
She shrugged. "Pity." She screwed the lid back on and set down the bottle. She handed one glass to Britt, picking the other up herself. "Now then. How much are we talking to keep you on my side and out of my way?"
"Out of your way?" Britt asked, eyeing the shot in his hand. "We could help."
"You're just two men, and we have sixty," said the huge man.
Kato looked up at him. "Yeah, and we took out Chudnofsky and DA Scanlon."
Sapphire studied him for a moment. "That you did." She tipped the shot back and finished it. Britt looked at his and did the same. "So what will this cost me?"
"Twenty-five percent," Kato said.
"Twenty-five?" she echoed. "You do think a lot of yourself."
The large man shouldered through everyone to stand close to Kato, sneering down at him. "I could squash you, little man. And all this goes away."
"Charlie, please," Sapphire said - but she was smiling.
"He will beat your ass till you scream like a little boy," Britt shot back.
Charlie looked from Britt back to Kato. "Show me why you're worth twenty-five percent, Tiny."
Kato's right foot moved so fast not one person saw it. It cracked sharply into his temple - twice - accompanied by an animalistic whoop. He paused, his knee still in the same high striking position, his foot bent back as if just waiting for a reason to snap out straight again.
Charlie toppled to the floor. He lay still.
Kato let his knee and therefore foot down to the ground cautiously, adjusting a glove. He looked at Sapphire.
She frowned, snapping her fingers. A man hurried over and she gestured to Charlie's insensate body. "Take care of him," she growled. The man nodded and immediately went over to him, kneeling and rolling him onto his back to assess the damage. She looked at Britt. "Twelve percent."
"Twenty," Britt countered, folding his arms.
"Fifteen."
"Done." He put his hand out.
She passed the shot glass to her left hand and shook his firmly. "Your job is to protect the docks as we conduct our import and export. That gets you fifteen percent of the takings."
"Done and done," Britt said proudly.
"One thing first," she said. "An easy job for you, considering your resumé."
"What's that?" Britt asked.
"This new DA - Jennifer Park."
"Yes?"
"Kill her for me. Do that, and this whole deal is sealed."
"What?" Britt spluttered.
"Easy," Kato said, stepping forward. "We already have her under surveillance."
"Right - yeah," Britt said hastily.
"Then we have an agreement, gentlemen. Straighten out that little wrinkle and you will have my undying gratitude - and a comfortable protection job."
Kato eyed her for a long moment. Britt nodded and shrugged. "Yeah. Easy. Come on, let's go," he said, waving at Kato.
The two of them went back to the platform. Sapphire snapped her fingers at the man checking that the blood over Charlie's face was just from his nose. "You," she said sharply. "Take them back up. Make sure they leave."
"Yes boss," he said smartly. He pulled off his face mask and went after them, heading for the platform back up to the surface.
Sapphire went to Charlie. She knelt down and slapped gently at his face. "Come on," she breathed. He jerked and blinked around, confused. "You're ok," she said quickly. "Just a K-O."
"Little shit," he grunted.
"Take it easy. Get up when you're ready."
He nodded, letting his head fall back to floor as she straightened up again.
She pulled out her phone and scrolled through contact names before pressing 'call'. It rang and rang. "Evening," she said, a smile in her voice. "And how's my favourite police informant?" She listened for a moment. "Right, well - if you want to make some money tonight then you'll forward me all the info you have on the Green Hornet." The voice answered back. "Yeah but whether you get caught for this or not doesn't interest me - the crap I have on you going way back should be all the reason you need to just get it done. Tonight. Usual channels." She cut the call and thought for a moment. Then she scrolled again, finding another name. She pressed the green button and waited. "Find me all you have on the Green Hornet. Send it over. No, I don't care. Just send everything you have." She paused. "Because if you don't, I'll put together a special email to your boss at the Daily Sentinel and he can have the pleasure of firing you for gross misconduct, stealing company files, and releasing sensitive information to a criminal gang for personal gain." She paused to listen. "I thought so. Usual channels. Tonight."
She touched at the red button. And then she smiled.
.
.
Britt closed the door on the Black Beauty, sitting back in the seat. Kato climbed in the front, closed the door, and started the engine. He twisted to put his arm over the seat behind him to help him reverse the car out of the decrepit building and into the dark road beyond. He pushed it into gear and the car moved off slowly.
They drove in silence for five whole minutes.
Then Britt exploded with glee. "Did you see that, dude! We were awesome! How cool was that!"
"It was pretty cool," Kato nodded with a grin.
"Hurgh! We are the shit, dude! We just got her to let us into her gang and all we had to do was beat up a guy built like Dwayne Johnson!"
"I beat up the guy built like—. Who you said."
"Alright, you did," Britt said. He came forward and hung his arms over the passenger seat. "Man, that was cool."
"And we didn't die."
Britt laughed, shaking his head. "No we did not."
"But… now she wants us to kill the new DA. The one you want to come to your party."
"Which is… Friday, right?" Britt asked. "But that's perfect! We make sure she comes, we stage some kind of assassination, and we keep her at the Reid residence until this Sapphire broad thinks she's really dead."
"Keep her? She's not a pet, Britt."
"That's not what I meant. She'll think she's being kidnapped, but… the rest of the world will think she's dead. How's that for a plan?"
"And how do we do that?"
"Well it'll have to be after most of the party is done, I mean I have to try and flirt with her before then as Britt. Y'know - like, me-me."
"Typical."
"Hey - you'll need some time with your date too, right? Before you have to start Ip Man-ing everyone in the face to help me 'kidnap' her?"
Kato glanced at him in the rear view mirror. Then again. Finally he huffed. "Ok."
Britt clapped a hand on his shoulder, wobbling it. "See? It'll be fine. I'll make a plan and then we'll just do it Friday. We won't need to tell Sapphire it's done - she'll read all about it in the paper - our paper - the next morning."
"This isn't 1966, Britt. She'll get a news alert on her phone five minutes after it happens."
Britt chuckled. "Whatever, dude! She'll get told and we won't have to make anything up. She'll just see it in the press and think we did our part. Then we get to see the bit of her operation where the books are at, who else is in it with her, like any politicians and stuff - and then we get them all arrested in her secret underground villain's lair. —And after that we release the DA."
"You make it sound easy," Kato accused.
"Well—"
"Just promise me one thing."
"What?"
"That Lenore will help you with the plan."
Britt sat back in the seat, folding his arms. "Thanks, man," he pouted. "I thought my plans were pretty good actually."
Kato looked at him in the rear view mirror. "They are. But Lenore… can add things."
"You're right," he nodded. "You're right. Now let's get back. It's after one in the morning and I am exhausted."
.
.
Mike Axford took a long look around the rebuilt office, nodding to himself. He stepped back, closed the door, and made sure it was locked before he pocketed the keys.
He yawned and ran a hand through his hair, turning and walking toward the elevators at the end. He whistled to himself, jangling his keys in his pocket as he watched the lights above the doors tell him the elevator was getting closer.
There was a ping and he watched the door slide open. He was surprised to see a woman about to step out.
"Evening," he said, stepping back and to one side. She walked out, nodding her head in thanks. "Working late?" he asked.
"Oh - yes, Mr Axford," she said. "I just need access to some files - you know, the sensitive ones."
"Ah-hah," he allowed. He stuck his foot in the lift door before it could close. "And you don't mind me asking which files and how you're going to use them?"
She dug in her bag for a moment, then hauled out a pass. "Amy De Souza - Support and Admin," she said. "Sean asked me to check the background details on his new article before he sends you a draft."
Mike put a hand up. "Sorry but you know I have to ask, what with the possibility of leaked data these days."
"Sure," she said breezily.
"Well don't work too late," he smiled.
"Thanks."
He nodded and got into the elevator, pressing buttons. The doors closed and it whizzed away.
Amy was left looking around the mostly black office, all the lights out save the emergency one in the far end of the ceiling, and the ones on motion-detect from outside Mike's new office. She sighed, shoved her pass back in her bag, and stalked with determination toward the filing room.
