Black Box 86ed

by Kjelland, Andrew

  “We’ll get Roger and Over and we will get out of Chicago tonight. I’ll make sure of it.”

  It’s like I’m not there, her eyes transfixed on the pool of blood on the floor. “Grace… Grace!” I yell. “We will beat this! This will be behind us in just a few hours. We’ll go to Canada, Mexico anywhere you want but I need you here, I can’t do this alone. I need you.” I see her coming back. The fire in her eyes slowly warming.

  “Ok.”

  CHAPTER…

  “We cross the, for now barren street, the wreckage of the mini nursing home laying still in the middle of the street.

  Walking into the house a huddled mass under a blanket lays on the couch. “You mother fuckers!”

  “What?!” Roger bolts up buck ass naked. Grabbing a pillow covering himself, as Over screams in surprise.

  “Ssshhhh do you want the whole city on us?” Roger scolds.

  “You’re gona watch the house huh?! Well Grace and I almost got taken away while you two were busy finger popping each other’s ass holes!”

  “What? We were just taking a break, what happened?”

  “We are going.”

  “No it’s too…”

  “I’m not asking Roger. Grace and I are going if you want to come it’s your choice.” The house shakes and briefly lit by the light of a helicopter.

  “God, wait.” Grabbing his pants he jumps into them.

  CHAPTER…

  We walk in silence.

  “I’m sorry Will, really we are” Over says almost pleading. “Roger watched for two hours and we didn’t see anyone except the helicopters.” I shrug off his apologies and continue walking.

  We get two blocks down when we’re spotted. A light form above strikes us. Like those alien abduction movies I always hated, the light never wavering. “Present your star and stay where you are,” a voice barrels down at us over the noise of the helicopter blades.

  “Fuck that,” Roger yells as he turns and runs.

  We follow in pursuit to the nearest alleyway. Nerve wrecked by the gunfire sure to follow. “Just keep running, just keep running,” the words screamed in my head as they reverberate off the walls of my skull. The only thing I can think as it repeats over and over. Roger making it to the alley with Grace and Over not far behind. I’m the slowest and as I just about make it to them, something jumps up and bites me in the ass. Yelling as I hit the ground holding what’s left of my right cheek. I scream and look to see blood streaming out of my back pocket. Roger is the first to notice my cries of terror and pain as he turns sprinting towards me; grabbing my shirt collar he drags me into the alley. O god if I die from an ass wound I’m going to be so pissed. I look at Roger who’s petrified.

  “Pressure! Put pressure on it!” He takes his shirt off using it as a bandage to try and stop the bleeding.

  “What does it look like? Am I’m going to die?”

  “It looks like it’s slowing down, here Grace I’m going to look at it then you take over.” He removes the impromptu bandage and immediately puts it back.

  “What’s wrong, is it bad?” I ask him.

  “No, I don’t think you’ll die, it’s just an ass wound. We have to get the bullet out but you’ll be alright. The thing is, I don’t know how we are getting out of here! You can’t walk and the army is literally on top of us! They’ll see we don’t have stars or God forbid they find that cop. We’re fucked we’re really fucked. And we won’t just get executed or jail time they are gona torture us.”

  “What no not the U.S army, that’s something the Chinese would do.” I argue trying to convince myself just as much as everyone else.

  “Are you fucking kidding me man we know they blew up the train, and those fucking boxes of dead people. And I didn’t tell you guys this but I met a guy at union station. Was a guard at one of the camps till he AWOLED. Shits fucked in those camps. People stripped naked chained to fences in the sun for hours no food or water. They are literally baking people for any info they can get.”

  The helicopter hovers over us but the buildings are too close together for them to get another shot off.

  “What about the sewer?” Grace asks. “There’s a manhole cover right there, we could get a few blocks away maybe, at least in the movies it works.”

  “That is the shittiest Idea I have ever heard,” Over interjects. “But I think we don’t have a choice. You still got the crow bar Roger? We could pry it open, take a look.”

  Over and Roger run to the manhole cover and get to work on removing it. My ass is throbbing but it has for the most part stopped bleeding.

  “This is probably one of the worst first bases I have ever gotten.” Grace says the words shaking out of her mouth as she tries to rise above the situation. I try to laugh but it comes out halfhearted.

  Dear God please... please get us out of here. I know I haven’t been any sort of good person but please let us make it out I pray.

  “What’s going happen to us?” Grace asks. I see her slowly breaking down. “I killed a cop I know something is going to happen. You can’t just kill a god dam cop and get away with it.” Tears cascading down her face as she starts to shake.

  “We’ll find a way.” I say the words not really making any sense.

  “Shitters open,” Roger says as he and Over run back and helps me to my feet.

  “God I’m going to get an infection,” I moan.

  “Better than your ass baking in the sun all day,” Over tells me as he takes my arm over his shoulder. “Grace you go first, tell us what it looks like down there.”

  “You have to be fucking kidding me,” she says as she stoups down to take a look. “It’s not very big and smells like shit what did you expect?”

  “Well shit or not we need to get our asses in there,” Roger orders.

  “Jesus, just drop me in,” I tell them.

  “Wait I’ll go first and catch you.” Over says as he sits down, swinging his legs into the manhole. He drops down with a slightly larger then what I wanted splash and yells the all clear.

  “Ok lower me down.”

  My arms around Roger and Grace they slowly start to lower me in. A sudden flash of light hits us from the end of the alley.

  CHAPTER…

  “Hold it right there!” A voice bellows at us. The light making it impossible to see who or how many people there are.

  “Present your stars and lay face down on the ground or we will fire on you.”

  Terrified Grace cries, “what do we do, what do we do!”

  “Stay hidden,” I tell Over as Grace and Roger lift me out of the sewer.

  “How many bullets you got left?” Roger asks.

  “I got a full clip n Grace’s got bout half of one. But that don’t matter we are fucked man we can’t get out of this.”

  “I think we are gona have to surrender and hope for the best. Not one word about that cop.”

  “Present your stars immediately and lay face down on the ground or we will fire on you,” the light repeats.

  “Just lay me down and we’ll see what happens. Grace you need to throw that gun into the sewer right now.” She drops it behind me, Over catching it and slinks out of sight. Roger and Grace put me down and lay next to me.

  “Do not move,” the light tells us as it slowly gets bigger and more blinding. It comes to a stop just a few feet in front of us.

  “Well, well look what we got here, couple Americanos not a spine in em.” The voice from the light says, carrying with it a heavy southern drawl. “You know what the government is gona do to you in those camps?”

  “What are you talking about, you guys aren’t military?” I ask.

  “No sir, now Imma have to ask you to take off your stars and roll over as to get a better look at cha.”

  “We don’t have any stars, we are just trying to get out of Chicago man, please just let us be.”

  “Say what now?” He turns around to his partner “Louie you hear that
? Butt hole over here seems to got a lil spine in him. How bout the rest of yawl? You see the govment for what it truly is?”

  “None of us have stars if that’s what you’re asking. We just want to get the hell out of the city.”

  “Say what, you fellas need a way outta here? Ha, shit when I volunteered to fight in Chicaga they told me it was a near death sentence, not a way out even through the shit lines.” He says pointing to the sewer. “And by the looks of your ass you ain’t gona be waltzing your way down I55.”

  “We’ze gonna kill em or what Bill I’m not liking just standing here, gotta keep moving.”

  “God dam it Lou can’t ya see? Thay'ze brothers in arms, our next of kin caught in all the misfortune the government can bestow.”

  “God dam it what I tell you about getting all hypothetical on me.”

  “It means we got to help em, you thick shit.”

  “Vacate the alley with your stars showing and hands in the air.” The voice from the helicopter barrels down.

  The man standing in front of us looks back down at us reaching out his hand. “Names Billy.”

  I shake it, “Will.”

  “Now we can’t get you outta here, we got work that needs doin. But we can probably get your ass back to the right number of holes. Maybe set you up with a lil food, shelter for the night till all these helicopters get tired chasing mice like yourselves.”

  I look to the group who all give a general how the hell would I know look. “I suppose we don’t have much choice right now.”

  “Well, all right then; it’s not more than a few blocks down.”

  “Puts your hands up you sons of bitches!” A sudden voice from behind them yells. I can’t see him past our new friends but I know it’s Over. Billy and Louie spin guns drawn.

  “Wait!” Grace yells, “They’re helping us.”

  “What!? You sure?” Over asks.

  “Ya, best chance we got,” Roger yells at him.

  Louie and Bill part in my vision, a shit drenched Over stands a gun in each hand and Ecoli dripping from his chin.

  “God dam, were you in the sewer that whole time?” Billy asks.

  “Fuck ya I was, had to go a goddamn block till I found a way out.

  “How’d you get it in your hair?”

  “What you expect it’s not built for walking down there.” He pauses and sheepishly says, “I might have fallen a few times.”

  “God dam a few times? Didn’t learn your lesson after the first one?” Roger cries out almost laughing.

  “Well looks like you’re gona need a shower.” Bill says, “or a hose then a shower most likely.”

  “I’ll take both,” Over replies. Roger and Billy hoist me up by my arms as a shot of pain radiates through my ass.

  “Damn it boy you lost more blood than it looked like we better hurry”.

  In all the tension I had almost forgotten about the bullet wound.

  “What are you guys thinking? We can’t just walk out of here with that helicopter,” Grace points out.

  Billy breaking out into uncontrollable laughter. “You obviously don’t watch the news do you miss? Louie would you do me the honor of solving our little pest problem.”

  “It’d be my pleaser.” He starts to rummage through his duffle bag and comes out with what looks like a grenade launcher. He loads it running into the street screaming “YYYEEEEEHHHHAAA, you bastards think yawl safe up there, but you gona die down here!” He fires the grenade a direct hit causing the helicopter to spin out of control and out of sight followed by a loud crash.

  Louie waves us out of the alley. After three blocks of hiding behind dumpsters and store front awnings every time a helicopter gets close, we finally make it to where ever the hell it is we are going. It’s nothing special just an ordinary two story grey house.

  “Here we are. The brand spanking new white house,” Louie exclaims with a smile.

  “Goddamn it Louie what I tell you about saying shit like that all out in the open and what not. God knows what the government has flying around. For all we know we could be helping em find him”.

  “Him, who?” I ask.

  “Our official semi democratically elected vice commander in chief. Mr. Landen Paul himself” Billy almost whispers to us.

  “That Ronald Paul guy?” I ask.

  “No, no but the next best thing, his son.”

  “Why is he in Chicago, didn’t he know it what was going to happen?”

  “Now you see, that train exploding is what caused all this. When they blew up that train they were able to lock down the whole city. All we can figure is they musta knew Landen was here and that catching him would be a great blow to us. And with blaming innocents getting killed in mass on some crazy rebel group would sure help their diplomacy and support. That’s why we’re here. Not only to protect Mr. Landen and hopefully find him a way out, but also to set the record straight about that train. God knows you do not put words in a rebel’s mouth. We don’t kill civilians weather they agree with our ideology or not, just ain’t right.”

  We get to the door.

  “Do the knock Louie.” Billy orders.

  “Shit you do it, don’t feel like getting us all shot over a wrong knock.”

  “I got my arms full with Mr. Assholes, just do the knock.”

  “I don’t wanna do the knock ya hear?”

  “Goddamn Lou grow a pair or get your ass to Canada.”

  “Fine, fine I think I remember it.” He does the secret knock and the door immediately opens. A large man maybe two hundred and fifty pounds stands there his face looks like the kind that has a perpetual scowl on it. “Get inside.”

  We all rush into the dimly light unfurnished house.

  “Got injured, needs a bullet removed from the hind side.”

  “Billy, we got enough troubles without you looking for charity cases on the street.”

  “Why the hell we here then? What we rebelin for if we just gona leave the people we’re fighting for on the streets to die, huh?”

  “I’m just sayin we can’t fix up the whole dam city, get him and his friends down stairs to the doc, he wants to talk to you anyways.” “Wait, wait hold on, are you covered in fucking shit?” He asks Over.

  “Ya he was goin all commando out there in the streets, be a good hostess an let him use the shower.”

  The man scowls in reply, as he takes Over to the other end of the house.

  “He’s a lovely piece of work ain’t he?” Billy rhetorically asks as he leads us down the steep wooden stairs. Opening the door at the bottom showing a brightly lit room with a long wooden desk in the middle.

  “How’s the mission Billy?” A middle age man with a strong southern drawl asks.

  “Well, transmitters in place, an got a guy here with a little too much led in his ass courtesy of Uncle Sam.”

  “Hello son, names Landen how are you feeling?”

  “Heads a little light other than that I suppose I could be worst,” I reply.

  “Well you’re in luck, just so happens I’m a doctor. Lay him on the table and we’ll see what the damage is.” They lay me face down, pulling my jeans to my ankles.

  “You got a pretty nice ass kid,” Louie smiles as he turns going back upstairs. I see Grace out of the corner of my eye getting a fair amount of enjoyment out of it.

  “Well it sure is pretty deep, but I should be able to get it out.”

  “Billy, where did you put your tackle box?”

  “What!?” I yell.

  “Do you see an emergency room here son? We aren’t a hospital and all we got is what Billy takes fishin with him at the moment.”

  “Here you go sir,” Billy says handing him the tackle box.

  “Good, you see nothing to worry about. Needle nose to get it out, and a hook and line to patch you up.” He pulls out a half gone fifth of jack. “You mind if we use some of this?”

  “Go right ahead sir, jack messes wit
h my aim anyways,” Billy replies pretending to shoot a gun in the air.

  “Could I have some?” I ask. “You know for the pliers you’re about to stick in my ass.”

  “Well son now I would, but since we’re going to be rootin around in there, it’s a good chance you’ll start bleedin again. And with the blood you have already lost it’s a bad idea to give you alcohol on account of it thinning your blood.”

  “Is they anything you can give me?”

  Landen looks to Billy, “it’s up to you Bill, I feel better with you not having too much of that on you anyways.”

  Obviously hesitant then deciding the karma just may be worth it he nods. “Well God dam it’s your lucky day son. Got some o this shit on my way though Milwaukee, and lucky for you I consider myself a true Hu, man, I, tare, iun.” He says giving each syllable its apparent due recognition. He drops a bag of white powder on the table and a credit card.

  “What’s that?” I ask.

  “That there is your anesthesia. Your top o the line painkiller, your numero uno”.

  “We get it Billy,” Landen says cutting him off.

  “It’s just some dam good cocaine son. Believe me, you won’t feel a thing”. Only consolation I got is when you come down, you don’t go getting yourself shot just for another snort of this shit. I’m only generous once ya hear? Plus I’m thinking not too many dealers are gona be sticking around these parts long, so I gotta make it last me.”

  He pours the powder on the table right in front of my face making two lines with the card.

  “I don’t know that seems like a lot,” I tell him.

  He busts out laughing, “Son, you only get one,” he says as he quickly leans over the table taking a line in one fluid motion. “Hooweee hell ya! Smells like college don’t it Landen?”

  Landen rolling his eye, “the only rocks I had in college where in my whiskey.”

  I slowly lift my head taking a sample hit. The powder enters my nose. I feel like I just inhaled a fire pit. “Jesus I don’t know, I’ve never done this stuff before.”

  “It’s probably not gona be that bad anyways, I’ve got a steady hand son” Landen tells me.