Episode 137

                “Now clean that sh!t up. That’s right, get me a white boy, get
                 me a blonde-haired white boy so I can enjoy that sh!t.”
                                Chaka-Luca King, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back

                “So what’s the plan this time?” Edgar asked, looking at Everett. “You wanted the World Alliance involved, for fairness. But Marilyn’s backed out.”

                “What’s the big deal?” Roland asked, shrugging. “So we continued the interrogation after she left? So what?”

                “She’s probably mad about the lying and the torture.” Sydney said, looking at Everett. “You really dug yourself into a hole with this one.”

                “Yes the hell I did.” The black knight nodded. “As for the Alliance,” He said, sighing a doomed-man’s sigh. He looked at Edgar. “Screw ‘em.”

                “That’s my boy.” Roland nodded.

                “Speaking of boy,” Armand chimed in. “This does beg the question of who, when, and how do we go back into the corporate building. Not to mention what we do with him.” He added, thumbing over to the still-sitting Errol who sat over in the corner of the room next to the television.

                “I think he’s fine.” Edgar said. “I trust him about wanting to defect. And about everything else he’s said. The info he’s given us seems to correlate with what we’ve gotten so far.”

                Everett turned around from the knights and looked across the room at Errol. “Yo. We’re working on trying getting your boys and the reactor. Any suggestions?”

                “Honestly,” Errol said, looking at the knights as he stood up, nervously glancing out the window. “I’d do it tonight. Tomorrow, the reactor’s gone.”

                “Where is the reactor?” Everett asked clearly.

                “I don’t know.” Errol answered sincerely. “Believe me, if I did, I’d tell you.”

                “Who does know?” Edgar asked.

                “The only person still at the site,” The Investigator said, thinking. “Would probably be Organ.”

                “I can’t believe he’d do that.” Marilyn fumed as she headed away from Everett’s apartment. “God, that guy’s such a . . .”

                “He lied to us.” Victor said, feeding Marilyn’s anger. “He’s been lying to us the whole time.”

                “No he hasn’t and I don’t care.” Malcolm said from the back. “Marilyn, you don’t know that Everett did anything. For all you know, Tim may have just offered it. You saw that once Everett caught him in his own lie, he just broke down.”

                “Broke is right.” Marilyn said angrily.

                “Now if I was that guy,” Victor said looking at Malcolm. “I’d be working day and night to get back at them. They wouldn’t be safe nowhere.”

                The elevator’s doors parted and with concentrated and clear steps, the footfalls echoed down the dark hallway. The man walked with an angry purpose towards the back of the long hall of offices. But before he could get too far, a security guard appeared, moving to intercept him.

                “Can I help you?” Roland said directly, stopping the guard before he got close enough to effectively speak.

                “Sir, this is a restricted area.” The guard started.

                “Okay.” Roland said with a glare, his eyes never leaving the guard’s eyes. “Do you plan on strip-searching me?”

                “I need to see your ID card.” The guard tried.

                “I do not have an ID card. I’m from Ontario.” Roland bit. “I came down here, TODAY, at the insistence of Jericho. I have work to do that you are keeping me from.”

                “Sir, I’m sorry, but . . .” The guard tried.

                “I don’t have time for this.” Roland said, glaring at the security guard. “I’ve got more important things to do than be here.”

                “It’ll only take a minute.” The security guard said, with his hand still extended for the security card.

                “And that’s a minute I need to be doing other things.” Roland said, still glaring at the guard. “Now, go bother someone else. You’re wasting my time.” Finally breaking his glare at the guard, Roland kept walking forward, a pissed and annoyed look on his face. The guard was left standing at the doorway, uncertain what to say or do.

                “The threat of Jericho’s power is remarkable.” Errol explained as he sat across from Edgar. “Just mention his name and most people, especially people in the security field will fold. People have disappeared just because he had a bad day.”

                “That’s horrible.” Edgar said, shaking his head. “And of course, I beat quitting isn’t an option.”
                “Not in the Hand.” Errol nodded. “The Brotherhood, you can kind of quit, but I imagine it’s a lot like being a knight. Once you were one, everyone still treats you, and bases their expectations of you, on that past status.”

                “You said you had three cohorts that we need to try and rescue.” Edgar said, looking across his mug of coffee and the coffee table at the traitor. “Aaron, Ian, and Orson, right?” He nodded. “Where are they?”

                The office door opened quickly and Ledger slipped in. A shotgun held straight out, he leveled the barrel right at the businessman who stood behind the desk. The man blinked at him for a moment, then turned back to his phone. “Ernesto, I’m gonna have to call you back.” Before the voice on the other end of the phone could protest, he hung it up. “Can I help you?” He asked to the black man with the gun.

                “We’re leaving.” Ledger said in a cold voice.

                “And you are?” The man said.

                “The guy with the gun.”

                “Try again.”

                Ledger held open his black jacket, revealing the red shirt. “That’ll work.” The man begrudged, coming around from the desk, picking up a briefcase of papers. “I’m Orson.”

“I’m Ledger.”

“Good.” Orson nodded. “Now let’s get out of here.”

                There was a knock at the door.

                “Who is it?” Ian yelled through the thick wooden door.

                “Chess’ pizza.” Came the answer.

                “I didn’t order a pizza.” Ian asked confused to himself, opening the office door.

                Armand stood before him, holding a pizza box that was obviously a week old right to his face. “I’ve got the rest of it out at my car.”

                Ian looked the man up and down, only finally registering the red shirt and black pants. “I’ll, I’ll get my coat.” Ian said, swallowing hard.

                “Soon this will be just a happy memory.” Jericho said, as he walked ahead of Aaron, the two heading into the deepest reaches of the underground corporate stronghold.

                “What are we doing down here?” Aaron asked, looking around at the corporate world’s lowest levels.

                “We’re coming to check on the reactor.” Jericho explained.

                “Great.”
                “And if everything’s ready, we’ll leave for the fortress immediately.”

                Aaron’s blood went cold. He looked at Jericho, stopping in his tracks. “What?” He exclaimed. “Immediately?”

                “Well, yes.” The Hand leader said, looking back at Aaron. “You didn’t think I’d wait for the actual date to ship it out. Too many people might try to stop it. No, no Aaron. It leaves tonight.”

                Roland opened the door to the office, adjusting his red tie as he stepped into the room. “Organ.” He yelled loudly. There was a sudden commotion behind the desk and a ratish little man snapped up, spilling papers onto the floor as he tried to wake up.

                “Yeah!” He shouted. He looked around, bleary-eyed and finally focused on the knight. “Who are you?”

                “I want info on the reactor.” Roland said clearly, as he crossed the room to lean on the corner of the desk.

                “Who are you?” Organ asked again.

                “Organ, we can do this the easy way or we can do this the hard way.” The knight explained politely.

                “What’s the hard way?” Organ asked with a gulp.

                “It’s hard.”

                “What is it?” He gasped. There was a loud shot as the front of his desk blew forward. The door suddenly shook as a bullet lodged into its frame. Roland looked back at the door for a moment, then looked at Organ.

                “Your gun is in the very middle of the desk.” Roland said scholarly, breaking the issue down to semantics. “I’m standing on the far right side, from your perspective. What in the world possessed you to do that?”

                “That’s what it’s there for?” The small man tried weakly.

                “Well, it does effectively bring us back to ‘the hard way’.” Roland nodded understandingly.

                With a panther’s speed, Roland grabbed the back of Organ’s head and slammed his face down onto his keyboard. “Nothing like a face full of desk to jog the memory.” He yanked Organ up and threw him back against the chair. “Where is the reactor?!” He demanded.

                “I don’t know!” Organ begged.

                “That’s a lie and you know it.” Roland said calmly as he reached for his dropped trench coat. He pulled out from a hidden pocket his katana. “Now, let’s try this again. Where is the reactor?”

                The door opened slowly and politely.

                Roland turned as the twin doors opened, revealing a stout Asian man in a black suit. His hair was cut short, while the katana that he held in his hands was frighteningly similar to Roland’s. “Hello.” The knight said. “This is a private party. Do you have an invitation?”
                “Right here.” Roji said, drawing the katana and discarding the sheath.

                "Oh, a katana.” Roland rolled his eyes. “That's original."

                "I warn you, knight, I have been trained by the greatest masters in Japan." Roji said, stepping back, taking up a traditional and authoritative stance.

                "Just because you trained in the country it's from doesn't mean you're any better." Roland sighed, pushing Organ off the desk as he squared himself before the swordsman.