NINETEEN

.

Its tyres squealing on the smooth surface, the Black Beauty slowly drifted into the garage. As it came to a rest Kato cut the engine. Both men sat back in silence for a whole minute.

"Wow, dude," Britt managed quietly.

"Where do we put her?"

Britt sighed, taking off his hat and scrubbing his hand through his hair. "I dunno, man… Wine cellar? I mean we only have to hold onto her while we think of something."

"She said her brother will die Friday morning," he urged.

He shoved his hat back on. "Benedito's her brother?"

"Yes!"

"Ok - alright - calm down," he soothed. "How's this for a plan: we keep her in the trunk until I can get Lenore to tell us what to do."

"Do it."

Britt climbed out of the car and stretched, shaking his head and searching through his pockets for his phone. He took a deep breath, calling the number and hoping it wouldn't go to voicemail.

The line clicked. "It's after one in the morning."

"Hey," he said, relieved. "So… we have a situation here and we need you to tell us what to do next."

"Of course you do," was the arch reply. "What now?"

"Well… we let the DA go - she like head-butted me and made a break for it - I made like I was going to shoot her and she just sprinted. It was awesome," he grinned. He wandered further away from the car, glancing to make sure Kato was still in the driver's seat. He appeared to be slumped back, rubbing his forehead. Britt cleared his throat. "And then… we hit a snag."

"What kind of snag?" she asked.

"Well… Amy appeared. She was trying to get more footage of us."

"What?" she gasped. "Where is she?"

"We stopped her - she was filming us on her phone. We got it off her, but… I had to gas her."

"Just delete it and let her go."

"We can't do that." He swallowed. "I don't think we know the whole story but… if she doesn't get this footage to someone in like twenty-four hours then whoever it is will try to kill her brother. And… and Kato."

"What?"

"I know, right?" he said weakly. "We've got her in the trunk and we're back at the house. She's gassed and Kato's trying to keep down whatever he ate last, so—"

"What are you talking about?"

"She kinda booted him in the nuts," he winced. "Man it was savage. Poor dude couldn't breathe for like five minutes."

"Does she know who he is?"

"No!" he said quickly. "He didn't say much - I was trying to stand in the way - and I gassed her before she could cause a problem." He paused. "What do you think?"

"I think… you two are the most problematic vigilantes that ever existed," she sighed.

"Hey it's his girlfriend's fault."

"Alright, just… keep her in the car till I get there, ok? We're going to have to find out her side of the story here. And she can't recognise you, or Kato, or the inside of your place, ok?"

"Got it."

"I'm serious - wait for me."

"Ok - yeah." The line cut and he sighed, putting the phone in his pocket. He walked back up to the car. He leant to look in the driver's window. "Can you walk now?"

"Screw you," Kato protested.

"Hey - that was an all-star punt she gave you, ok? I was just asking, dude," he said, somewhat defensively.

Kato looked at him for a long moment. "Sorry."

"It's ok, buddy," he said, reaching in the window and shaking his shoulder. "Getting sacked in the jewels like that always makes me cranky for like a whole day. Anyway… Lenore's on her way over. She'll sort this whole mess out."

.


.

The door to the wine cellar, very thick and soundproofed, watched in aloof amusement as the three humans standing not too far from it exchanged furtive looks. The woman, taller and more serious, had her arms folded in a show of either leadership or plain old one hundred percent done-ness at the situation. A man in a brimmed hat and a long coat looked to be listening very intently, and the shorter man in black had his arms folded in a way that suggested he had given up on life a few hours ago.

Lenore cleared her throat. "Britt, it's up to you."

"Why me?" he asked, surprised.

"One, you're the Green Hornet - the one with the name, remember? Two, Kato can't go in there."

"Why not?" Kato asked.

"Because she'll recognise you," she said.

"But she won't see us," he argued. "She has a thing over her head."

"She'll recognise your voice, dude," Britt said. "She met me like once, right? She's not going to know it's me. But all it takes is like you to say something she's heard you say a few hundred times before and she'll work it out straight way, right? She's a brainy one."

Kato huffed. "Then be careful. She is smart - and she will try to make you let her go with the film on her phone."

Lenore turned Britt round, pushing him toward the door. "Not a problem. I'm coming with you," she said.

"What?" Britt asked.

"I won't speak, idiot. I'll help you."

"Oh. Ok." He put his hand on the door, then looked back at Kato. "You've been beaten up enough these past few weeks. Take a break, Glass Balls."

"Glass what?" Lenore asked, confused.

"You know how some people have a glass jaw?" Britt grinned. "Well poor Kato has glass—"

"At least I have balls," Kato shot back.

Britt tutted, appalled - and then realised Kato was trying not to smile. He grinned abruptly.

Kato waved a hand up in resignation, stepping back. He watched them go into the room, closing the door behind them. Then he sighed and wandered off down the corridor, finding the stairs to take him back up to the main house.

He peeled off his gloves, took off his hat, and released his mask to amble through to Britt's mancave. He dropped himself into the couch and his things to the seat next to him. He let his head lean back and pretended he was waiting, but then he had to admit to himself that he was actually just really really tired. His eyes closed for just a second.

.


.

Amy's head, dressed rather fashionably in an ice hockey jersey that was wrapped around more times than strictly necessary, turned toward the sound of a door opening. Her wrists pulled again at the zip ties keeping her secured to the chair. She swallowed and her feet clenched themselves together in her black Converse.

"Ok," Britt announced. "Now you're going to do me a huge favour and tell me what the hell is going on here, lady."

She kept her mouth shut, listening to him walk round behind her.

"What is this, the silent treatment?" he asked with a smile. "I thought you said you were running out of time. Are you gonna explain what that was all about?"

She huffed but said nothing.

Six feet away, Lenore waved her hand to get Britt's attention. She pointed at her, then the phone in his gloved hand. He nodded.

"I'll just go ahead and delete this footage then. I mean, if you're not going to tell us anything then it can't be that important."

"No!" she blurted, her voice muffled. "Please - I've told you all you need to know. I need that footage or two people die. And then probably me."

"Who are you trying to give it to?"

"Please - just give me the phone and I'll disappear," she said. "I won't even use it at the paper - I'll just hand it over and move. You'll never see me again. I'll go to Canada, Australia - even Florida. I don't care."

He looked at Lenore. She waved her hand round in a circle.

"Tell me or I delete it," he said simply.

"No! You'll kill them!"

"I think you mean you'll kill them by not telling me," he corrected smugly.

She huffed through her nose. "I have to give her that film so she can identify you, find you in real life. If I don't she'll kill my boyfriend and then my brother. I've got till about eight a.m. Friday. How many hours is that now? I don't even know how long I was out."

He flicked a look at his watch, found it nearly three in the morning, and walked around her slowly, making her tilt her head as she listened. "Tell me who it is. I mean I'm pretty sure I know, but… you confirm it for me. Then maybe you and me can make all this go away."

"What?"

"I can't have her roaming the streets of my city, causing havoc and making profit when that should be what I do. If you tell me where she is maybe I can get to her first. Keep your dumb footage; who cares? But I get to take her out, and no-one you know gets hurt." He paused. "Sound better than handing this over and probably being her bitch for the next ten years of your life?"

Her head hung slowly, and then it shook. "I can't trust you."

He looked at Lenore. She pointed at him, wavered her hand, then made an S shape in the air, wavering her hand again.

"You can't trust her," Britt said, nodding. "What if she gets this footage and tries to take me out - but when she fails she'll go and kill everyone you're trying to protect anyway? What did she promise you? That she'd let you all go afterwards with free cake and balloons?"

"She said she only wants a copy of the footage - I can keep the original, do what I want with it. She just wanted a few hours' head-start to find you."

"It's Sapphire, isn't it?" he asked. She didn't answer. He looked at Lenore, who was shaking her hands by her head in frustration. "Ah - see? Now I know it's her," Britt blustered. "Look, why are you protecting her when she's obviously going to kill you once she's got this film?"

"I'm not protecting her, I'm protecting them," she shot back. "What if you fail? How do I squirm out of that after it looks like I helped you? She'll kill them both."

"And you."

"If I get them killed… then maybe I deserve it," she said quietly.

He looked at Lenore. She tapped at an imaginary watch on her wrist. He nodded. "Ok, I'm out of patience," he huffed. "We're going to give you your phone with the footage still on it. You arrange to meet her, tell her you'll hand it over. We get there too, mess her up, you high-tail it out of there and she gets arrested or worse. How do you like them apples?"

She thought for a long moment. "And her assistant, Charlie?"

"Oh I think my partner in crime wants a word with him. He'll be lucky to be breathing by the time the police turn up."

"Is this the same partner in crime who was close to death because I kicked him in the nuts?" she asked smugly.

"You know what?" he said sadly. "I don't think you'll ever really understand how much that hurt."

"Must be a man thing," she said with a smile.

He bounced the phone in his hand. "Doesn't change the fact that you're now working with the Green Hornet - there's nothing you can do about it, and it might just get you free of all this."

"And what's in it for you?"

"I just want Sapphire gone, I told you. I couldn't care less what happens to some lowly junior reporter over at that crappy rag."

She took a deep breath, sighing it out. "Ok, fine. I can't stop you following me to the meeting. But I warn you - if you try anything - if you get either of my boys hurt - I will find you and I will end you."

Britt grinned, looking at Lenore. She put her hands over her mouth, smiling and giving a nod. He wiped his face straight. "Same goes for you, lady. You warn Sapphire we're coming, or tip off the cops? You won't live long enough to worry about 'your boys'."

Lenore waved at him, toward the door. He nodded and they hurried out, closing the door behind them.

Britt waited until he was sure the soundproof padding was sealed. "Dude - awesome!" he grinned. "Wasn't I awesome?"

"You were," she giggled. "But… let's never tell Kato how happy she was at kicking him in the nuts."

"Yeah I don't think he would enjoy knowing that," he said - then burst out laughing.

"Stop," she grinned, pushing at his shoulder. "Now we have to work out the meeting - like, really carefully. If we get this wrong she could lose her brother - and we could lose worse."

"Hey, chill," he soothed. "We got this. You're the master strategist and Kato will wipe the floor with everyone."

"And you?"

"I have a smart mouth and the Hornet gun - what could go wrong?"

.


.

Britt opened the back door, helping her out of the back seat. "Right. You got a burner phone here, alright? Untraceable." He pushed it into the front pocket of her jeans, being careful not to touch her. "You make the deal for tonight - that's Thursday night, ten p.m. We'll take care of everything else."

She pulled on her hands. "Can I get this off my head now? It stinks."

He pulled out a pocket knife, cutting the zip ties round her wrists before he backed up to the open car door. She was pulling the ice hockey jersey off her head, blowing air from her face. She found herself by the rear of the car, on the passenger side.

"Get ready for the meet," he said as he got back in the car, pushing his hand through the open window. "Don't do anything stupid. Remember you have people depending on you to get through this whole thing and come out the other side."

She tossed the jersey at him and he caught it, pulling it in the car. "Whatever. Just go. And do not mess this up. Remember I'm counting on you to get me through this and out the other side."

"Well alright," he nodded with a smile. He tapped the back of the seat in front.

The car roared into life and she squeaked in fright, stepping back quickly. She peered through the car, trying to see the driver, but it moved away and she was left on the kerb, under a rather too bright streetlamp.

She looked around, getting her bearings. Finding a street corner she recognised, she hurried along, her arms round her to keep the chill off. As she turned the corner and caught sight of her house she grinned in relief.

It lasted until she got to the front door and slid her key into it. Then she frowned in sudden realisation.

"Shit," she breathed. "That means he knows where I live too."

She opened the door and went in, closing it securely behind her.

.


.

A strange sound of almost sizzling made him pause, and then turn around to go back past the inside door to the garage. He poked his head in to see sparks flying from the front bumper of a Black Beauty, punctuated by the occasional metallic thump. A large welding helmet hovered around the far side, mostly obscured by the headlights, and Britt folded his arms, walking in. "Whatcha doing?" he asked hopefully.

The sparks did not stop. "Working."

"I can see that… I meant what are you working on?"

"One of the back-ups."

Britt sighed, his hands falling to bury themselves in his jeans pockets. "Can I help?"

Now the sparks stopped; Kato knelt up by the bumper, opening up the helmet and looking over the bonnet at him. "What now? I'm busy."

"Yeah and I'm trying to help, dude," he said. "Literally everyone has been using you like a punchbag this week and I just…" He sighed. "I wanted to help. But… if I'm in the way then I'll go." He turned and took a step.

"You really want to help?"

He paused, not turning around. "Yeah. I mean I know I'm a complete klutz but… yeah, I do."

Kato pushed himself to his feet, looking at his large heat-proof gloves. "Then… go check the screen over on the workbench."

"Cool," he breathed, crossing to the other side of the room. He slid round the workbench, sitting on the stool and looking the screen over. "What's this?"

"The burner phone you gave Amy. It's tracking it."

"It's not moving." He pointed at it, then looked at the reams of data underneath it. "Uh… I think it's been in the same place for like… it says here since zero three forty-two." He sat up. "Is that the time this morning?"

"Yes. She called in sick to work, stayed home," he said.

"Good girl," he nodded. "Man, I mean - she's wild, right? Is she like that all the time? You heard her talking back to me, right, when she thought I was this mean mob boss?"

Kato sighed, pulling his gloves off as he walked round to lean on the opposite workbench, his welding helmet still pointing up at the ceiling. "No. I think you scared her. A lot. And scared people do extreme things."

"Oh," he said. "Not sure how to feel about that."

"Not good."

"But hey - this will all be fixed tonight, right?" Britt smiled. "I mean, we're going to take out Sapphire and end all this. Then me and Lenore go out and party all night with friends and you celebrate with Amy."

Kato pulled the helmet off slowly, ruffling his hair back. The white Steri-strips in his temple flashed up all too keenly under the garage lights before his hair fell over them again. "I hope so."

"I know so, dude! Come on, have a little faith. And hey - you get a chance to kick the crap out of that Charlie asshole - again."

"Hmm."

"Look, if it goes really bad then I'll just gas everyone, ok?" He paused. "What were you doing to the car, anyhow?"

"Reinforced plated armour," he said.

"What's that?"

"Should help stop armour-piercing bullets."

"Awesome," Britt nodded. He looked back at the screen, then over at Kato. "You know, it's a pity Amy doesn't know about all the cool shit you do on a daily basis."

"If she knew what I did at night she would not want to know me," he said miserably.

"I don't know," he said, wagging a sly finger at him. "I mean… she puts up a fight and all, but… she's prepared to break the law to save people. Isn't that what we do?"

"No - we choose to do this. She was forced to do this. It's very different."

"Not so much," he shrugged.

"We're prepared for it. She's just… desperate."

Britt eyed him. "Ok - let's change the subject. When we're all done here and Sapphire is locked up, are we finally going to go to one of the cool bars you know?"

"Definitely," he nodded.

"Cool, because…" He glanced at another screen, on his right. "Hey is this real TV? Live?"

"Yes."

"Holy crap - look! It's the DA!"

Kato came round the bench to look round him at the screen. "Turn it up."

Britt slid his finger across the bottom of the screen and the volume leapt up. The DA was standing outside a building, her hands leaning on the edges of some kind of announcement lectern. She looked more imposing than usual, her face hard with accusation, her black suit giving every impression she could quite happily throttle the next person who asked a stupid question.

She pointed at someone in the crowd of reporters in front of her. "Yes - go ahead."

A microphone was lifted higher than the others and a woman's voice called out. "Are you taking any action against the Daily Sentinel for breaking a news story claiming you were dead?"

"Not at this time," she said smartly. "They appeared to be acting on good intel."

"But they said they had photographic evidence of your dead body!"

"And they will be asked to print whatever retraction is needed, on top of every other news outlet already rubbing their noses in how bad they got it wrong. I really don't see the point in any litigation against them. That would be a waste of time - I'm here to see that actual criminals get prosecuted, not media outlets making an error in their fact-checking." She pointed to another hand. "Yes?"

"Are you certain you were held by the Green Hornet?" a voice called.

"That's already in my statement - there's no doubt in my mind. I saw him with my own eyes. And the next time I see him he will be in custody." She pointed to a slow-waving smartphone. "Yes, please."

A man's voice floated over the crowd. "How will you do this, DA Park?"

"I've convened a new task force specifically dedicated to finding and incarcerating this man," she said firmly. "It'll come into play in the next few weeks."

Kato slapped the back of his hand into Britt's arm. "We're in trouble."

"Sshh," he said, gesturing at the screen.

"But how will you find him in the city?" a voice called.

"That's literally what the team is for," she replied.

"Are you worried that this will look like you just want revenge on the man who kept you captive?"

"I don't care what it looks like - he's still wanted for the murder of DA Scanlon and for the destruction of a significant amount of public property that was replaced at great cost to the taxpayer. He's also waging a private war against other unsavoury underworld elements and that puts our emergency services personnel and innocent civilians in danger," she snapped. "It's time he was brought to justice and all this stopped."

Kato reached out and turned it down again. "She will find us and arrest us," he urged. "Now we're screwed."

"Not yet," Britt said. "We just have to get through tonight, ok? Then we lay low for a while. Take a holiday or something. Sleep in, rest up, eat pizza, have a pool party or five… that kind of thing."

"Tonight," Kato sighed, wiping a hand over his face. "Just get through tonight."

"Yeah, man - don't sweat it." He paused. "Hey - you know what we need?"

"More time?"

"No."

"Beer?"

"No," Britt smiled. "What we need on the car."

His hand dropped and he watched him. "What?"

"Like proper heavy-duty gas for doing a whole room. I mean if we can shoot it out the front of the car and take out like twenty guys at once, that makes our lives easier, right?"

Kato was nodding, backing up slowly. "Yes," he hissed, starting to smile. "I have gas in reserve."

"Of course you do," Britt grinned.

"We just need gas masks so it doesn't get us."

"Oh. Well - yeah," Britt said hastily. "I was just going to say that."

Kato turned and walked back toward the car, his head to one side as he mused to himself.

Britt wandered after him, his hands in his pockets again. "So… can I help at all?"

Kato paused as he thought for a second. "Actually? I need someone to hold all the things still while I attach them."

Britt grinned, rubbing his hands together. "Awesome! Let's get started!"

"Just don't drop anything."

"Don't weld yourself to the wrong thing."

"That's not how welding works."

"And you'd know this how?"

"I was literally welding when you walked in, Britt!"

"I'm totally joking."

"You're a frustrating pain in the ass!"

"And now you're totally joking. —Right?"

Kato frowned at him so hard dimples appeared. "Of course I am."

Britt reached out and patted the side of his shoulder. "Come on, dude - what are we fixing?"

Kato appraised him for so long Britt backed up one, looking around in tangible uncertainty. But then Kato shook his head. "I think we fixed it. Now we just do the car."

"Excellent!" He slapped his hands together. "Where do we start?"

.


.

The Black Beauty rolled nearly silently round the side of the building. Kato peered through the front windscreen, eyeing the brick structure and letting his face twist into a thoughtful grimace.

Britt, in the back seat, resisted the urge to touch any buttons at all on the iPad-sized device next to him. He watched the flickering little blob on the screen as it hovered around a corner of white blocks. "She's stopped."

"Zoom in," Kato said quietly.

Britt took off a glove and touched at the blob - and a whole host of information came up. The perspective whooshed in close until the blob was nearly the size of the screen. Then it shrank into the new sized blocks, and he grinned. "Dude - you made this?"

"I adapted the app that came with the tracker."

"Well you adapt some crazy shit, man. You're like a magician." He shook his head. "And Lenore staging that whole music and lights thing at my place while we sneak out the underground Hornet exit? Genius. I mean, anyone watching is going to be seriously misled."

"I still don't get why she made us do that."

"Dude - Amy said they'd kill you, right? Well they must know everything about you - where you live, where you've been with Amy, what you do. So Lenore's right - they must have tabs on people. The only time they wouldn't be able to see what you're doing is when you go through the front door of my dad's house. They have to wait till you emerge halfway through the night, also through an obvious door, right? They can't know you're the masked man or they would have been onto us already. So let's go with it - let them think Britt Reid and Kato are pulling an all-night party at mine. Can't hurt to throw people off the scent."

"But why invite all those people?"

"Because it's a party. —Lenore deserves a night off. And hey, her cool niece Peony is there with her med friends, so it's a win-win, right? I mean when do med students get free drinks and a party?"

Kato 'hmm'ed. "Is she here yet?"

He studied the picture on the screen. "She's… moving. Like… I think she's on the next street. She's going pretty fast - in a car, maybe?"

"This might work."

"Hey - this is going to go brilliantly - just another challenge for the Green Hornet, his awesome partner Kato, and their rolling arsenal the Black Beauty!" he grinned.

"Sshh - look!"

Britt leant closer to the back of his seat, staring through the front windscreen. "She made it."

A taxi cab was pulling up at the kerb about ten yards in front of them. Someone moved round inside, then the rear door opened. Amy climbed out, black skinny jeans, some kind of dark t-shirt and a black hoodie protecting her from the night air. The cab pulled away and she turned in a circle, looking around. Her long brown hair had been tamed by first a ponytail and then by furiously twirling it into a tight flat circle, all of that pinned to the back of her head. She put a hand inside her jacket and pulled out a small black, handheld item. She lifted it a shade and then pressed something, causing sparks to dance over it.

"Is that a Taser? Dude, she plays to win," Britt gasped. "I'm going to be honest with you - I'm a little scared of her right now."

"I'm more scared she will get hurt."

Britt slapped a hand down on the back of the seat. "The moment we think she's made contact we swoop, ok? You get the car through the wall, we fire all the gas, get our masks on, and beat the crap out of every single person. Cops arrive, us and Amy get out of there - easy."

"Easy things never are," he grumbled.

"Ok, Confucius, let's go."