The Ballad of the Red King: Chapter 4 – Prison Shootout

Chapter 4 – Prison Shootout

I manage to wake up early and I haven’t forgotten about yesterday, so I go over to Jackie and put my face close to his. This has to get some kind of reaction out of him. Alright. He’s waking up.

“…what is it, Sargrantina?”

Oh, come on! How about I feign a kiss? That should-nope. He just puts his hand on my mouth and pushes me away.

“Come on, stop messing around. We have to get going.”

I’ll eventually find a way to get to him. We get our stuff and go downstairs. Hmm. Something doesn’t seem right. The guy at the desk is the only one downstairs and it isn’t even that early in the morning.

“Wait,” I say while grabbing the Red King’s arm and whispering to him.

“What is it?”

“Isn’t it strange that no one is here?”

“Yeah, but the best way I found to get out of traps is by triggering them first.”

“What kind of stupid plan-”

Ah! The owner grabs me from behind and puts a gun to my head.

“Surrender, Red King or she dies,” the owner says.

Jackie just stares at him as if not threatened or doesn’t care about what’s happening to me. Fine. I’ll show him that he shouldn’t care. I stomp on the owner’s foot with the blade in my heel that gets him to release me. I then stab him in the chest with one of my bunny ears then slowly lay him on the ground.

“You didn’t think he had anything to tell us?” Jackie asks.

“He wouldn’t hold me at gunpoint by himself with you here. He must have backup outside. Let’s take a peek.”

We take a look outside to see groups of officers with a jail wagon.

“Look at your fans out there. They never give us a break.”

“They’re your ‘fans’ too now because you’re with me. Do you have a plan to deal with this?”

“I don’t have one right now. The whole place is probably surrounded, so we can’t slip out from under their nose, and drawing them in here could just back us into the corner.”

“This is why I just walk into traps. It makes things less complicated.”

“What if they just shoot you when you step outside?”

“I have bulletproof armor for that. Don’t you?”

“I do, but isn’t as good as yours, and we don’t have enough ammo to deal with these people.”

“We would’ve if we went my way.”

I’m not going to say he’s right. I’m not going to say he’s right.

“Is that the chief of the law enforcement of the state out there?”

“Looks like it.”

“Then you really do have fans in high places.”

“Look in the distance. Are those cannons manned by mobsters?”

“Yeah. We’re really in trouble now. Get down!”

The cannons fire on the inn and destroy quite a bit around us. What happens after is a series of gunfire, yelling, and explosions that I get caught up in. After all that action, I find myself in a jail cell with my arms chained to a wall. Jackie isn’t here. I don’t think he was killed, so he either escaped or he’s in a different cell. This is a bit of an awkward situation, but I should be able to get out of it without his help. First, I have to deal with the officer of the state first. He’s probably here to question me.

“Hello, Ms. Sargrantina. Today’s not turning out to be a good one for you so far, is it?” the officer says with a tip of his hat.

“Save the pleasantries. Just ask me whatever you want.”

“Straight to business just how I like it, but I don’t think I’ll get the answers out of you that I want without making a deal with you. I’ve read your record and you have a history of being a profitable businesswoman if you could call yourself that.”

“I sometimes use that title. Money and making deals is my specialty.”

“It’s a shame that you ended up this way. You should’ve stayed with your family on your farm and you would’ve been plenty rich.”

“I don’t need to hear that again. My family was shortsighted and wanted me to live in the dirt my whole life. I’m happier without them and their useless advice.”

“Your current situation says otherwise.”

“Get to the point.”

“I’m going to offer you a deal that will clean your record and ten million dollars, as a starting price.”

“Oh, really? What’s the offer?”

“Tell me where the Red King is heading to face Black Jack, and what’s the Red King’s name?”

That’s simple information to ask for, but why am I hesitant to give it?

“You didn’t catch the Red King at the inn? I thought those mobsters were with you.”

“They weren’t. Instead, one of my men hired them and made the mistake of telling them I was there, so they turned on him and tried to kill us along with you two. The Red King escaped in the chaos despite our best efforts. He’s too good of a man to leave you, but just in case he did, he would head off to finish his bounty with Black Jack. He’d need to in order to get the money needed to free you from here.”

“He’s headed to a casino by the shore. He didn’t tell me which one.”

“There aren’t that many, so it shouldn’t be too much trouble searching them all with the number of forces I have.”

“Alright, so I can have my clean record and payment.”

“Not so fast. I still need to know his name.”

“What makes you think I know that?”

“When the owner of the inn called us, he said that you two appeared to be close and he heard you call him something that sounded like a name. He guessed it was either Jack or Jackie. What is it?”

Stop being so hesitant to say anything! What is he to you?

“A bounty hunter’s name is one of his most precious possessions besides his guns. Can’t that stay a secret?”

“We think he’s connected to Black Jack in a way that may condemn him to a greater punishment and ruin his status as a saint among bounty hunters, so no. We need to know to bring justice to him.”

“He’s a God-fearing man. Why don’t you ask a priest that he confesses to?”

“We already have, and they’re not allowed to tell because of the seal of confession, and if you’re not willing to confess, then I’ll give you a reason to. I’ll wait for three hours for you to make a decision since you seem to know the answer and are hiding it for whatever reason. Did you grow a conscience in the past couple of days?”

“Hmph.”

“Suit yourself.”

With him out of the room, I can finally free myself. My sleeves have padding in them so my arms seem bigger than they are and so I can slip out chains like these. Let’s see, ah! They may have taken my bunny ears, my boots, and the little lockpicks inside them that can double as knives, but I do have more. These people wouldn’t dare put their hands near a lady’s private parts. After freeing myself from the chains, I take a look outside the room to see if it’s clear before freeing myself from the room.

This isn’t my first prison break, so I use my typical strategy of going through the vents to make my escape. Most of the doors here are tightly locked with some having an electronic lock on them, so the vents are the only real escape. They may be mazes, but they can lead to some places to overhear what the officers, guards, and other prisoners might say. This vent is a little more linear than most. I hope it doesn’t end up anywhere-! What the? It’s shaking. Maybe it hasn’t been repaired in a while-ah! The bottom of the vent fell out and now I’m in a room surrounded by the officers and the officer of the state.

“This isn’t my first prison break. Everyone knows to go for the vents. Even a unique bunny like you,” the officer of the state says before I’m beaten by the other officers and taken back to my cell.

In the cell, they chain my arms and legs to an uncomfortable bed.

“Now that we got that obvious escape attempt and show of what will happen if you try it again, we can go back to the question. What is the Red King’s name?”

I still can’t answer, and I don’t know. I don’t know how many hours pass after that with times where he brought in people to try to beat the answer out of me. A day passes then another. The beatings no longer have any effect on me to the point where they almost thought they killed me. Part of me wishes I was, but there’s another that doesn’t. I don’t know why that is just like how I don’t know why I haven’t given them Jackie’s name yet. He’s probably not coming for me, and yet, I wish he was.

“Why haven’t you given us his name yet? It’s such a simple thing and your records show that you’ve betrayed others for much less,” the officer of the state says.

“I’ve been thinking that for longer than you have, and I think I have the reason figured out. It’s because he’s one of the few honest men that I’ve met that I’ve made a promise to. No one else has treated me the same way he has and so I will never tell you his name.”

“…I like your integrity and determination. For that, I’ll give you a break and some actual food, but my kindness ends after today. You’re blessed to have someone like me here, you know? Some of my other coworkers would’ve cut off your arms, legs, and had their way with you or sold you to the nearest brothel.”

“Good to know.”

I’m about to fall asleep until I hear the noise of an explosion. Gunfire then breaks out as alarms start to blare. It’s probably mobsters trying to break out their friends because they couldn’t get the government to accept their terms. That usually happens. I guess my “real” meal is going to have to wait a while. After trying to fall asleep for twenty or so minutes, I hear my cell door open. Who is-!

“Jackie!”

“Save your strength, Sargrantina. Here, I got your equipment and everything they took from you. What are you doing?”

I gave him a kiss on the cheek and as expected he doesn’t blush much.

“Thank you for saving me.”

“Don’t mention it. I’m sorry for making you wait so long. Oh, do you want me to carry you or do you want to walk?”

He really remembered that?

“I wouldn’t mind getting carried.”

“Okay. Just hold on and I’ll get you out of here.”

Jackie picks me up and starts to escort me out of the jail. He uses Vash and Murphy’s Law on the officers that come after us. Vash is a revolver that was taken from a famous bounty hunter that never actually killed anyone and just had a toy gun on him the whole time. To keep his legend going, Jackie modified the toy gun to be a real magnum so that people would be fooled into believing the legend. Murphy’s Law, on the other hand, is a burst pistol that was taken from a cop who was also a bounty hunter.

The gun looks somewhat dull and unappealing but is actually made to look that way to hide its deadly nature. People think that the better the weapon looks, the better its damage, but Murphy’s Law proves differently. I wonder if Jackie is using it because he’s fighting against officers and wants to show them what he did to one of their most deadly members. Vash breaks through the heavily armored officers while Murphy’s Law manages to kill three officers in one burst.

“Impressive and stylish as always Jackie,” I accidentally say out loud.

“Thank you.”

“Are you trying to amaze me because it’s working.”

“Not really, but I’m surprised to find you in such a good mood. I honestly thought you would’ve been yelling in my face about not coming sooner.”

“Did you kill Black Jack yet?”

“No, I kept thinking about you, and couldn’t continue forward, so I assumed it was God telling me to save you, so that’s what I’m doing.”

“You organized a crew to come to get me?”

“No, I just got a lot of people who hate me to chase me here where I heard you were. I wanted them to be a distraction, but I didn’t think they would blow open a hole in the wall for me.”

“Hahaha! What a plan!”

“It’s something that I thought you would’ve come up with.”

“Haha, I guess you’re right.”

He did all this for me. He really is a saint among bounty hunters. Oh, and the officer of the state is here waiting for us at the safest exit with his men to ruin our reunion. Wait, does he have a plate full of food in his hands?

“Red King, I’ve been taking care of your partner as best I can despite what her injuries might say. I have to say that you made an honest woman out of her even though she did try to break out of here once,” the officer says.

“Thank you for that, officer. Are you here to stop us?”

“I should, but my hands are full with the meal I wanted to give her for her dedication to you. I wanted to have this in my hand to prove my kindness toward her.”

Jackie looks at me as if to ask if he’s telling the truth and I nod.

“I’ll let you go then.”

Before we go out the exit, I snatch the sandwich the officer made for me off the plate.

“Huh. It’s actually good,” I say to him.

“I told you so,” the officer says as he tips his hat and walks away.

Once we leave the prison, Jackie finds a safe place for us to hide in a nearby cave in a mountain that overlooks the prison. I rest my head on his shoulders while we wait for things to quiet down and for my strength to come back.

“Jackie.”

“Yes, Sargrantina?”

“I’m sorry for all those times I annoyed you.”

“I forgive you.”

“I know you would forgive me somehow, but I want to explain myself more. I don’t like it when people help me because my parents raised me to be humble and live a traditional life with a husband and kids on a farm. Before they could set me up with someone, I ran away and tried to prove them wrong by making a good life on my own. I guess I proved them right by failing, didn’t I?”

“No, there’s still time. Black Jack should still be at the shore so you have time to claim that bounty on him.”

“Oh, that’s right, but…I don’t know. The money doesn’t feel worth it anymore.”

“I see. I actually have a story to tell you too. You were right when you said that Black Jack is my dad.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“So that’s why this bounty is personal and why you don’t want to claim the money.”

“It’s not just that. It’s because I’m actually Black Jack.”

“What? I guess it makes sense since your name is Jackie, but still, what?”

“I lived a life of crime, gambling, and killing the same way my dad did when he was young. I wasn’t happy with the simple life I was given because I saw how rich the other bounty hunters were, so I became one. He used my name, appearance, and convinced everyone that he was Black Jack.”

“Why?”

“My mom told me he did that because he didn’t want me to live the same life he did, but that’s it. The sorrow in her eyes and his sacrifice helped me to repent to God and turn me into the new man that I am today.”

“Where did the name Black Jack come from?”

“Black Jack was the name of the game that my dad won my mom’s hand in marriage in, and he won it with a black jack or rather a black jack of spades. It’s the reason why they named me Jackie. Despite hating them for the life they gave me, I couldn’t help but use the name to remember them by.”

“What about the name the Red King?”

“My dad always used to call my mom his red queen of hearts. My mom is special to me, so I took her nickname and turned it into the Red King. It’s also why I carry a red king and queen of hearts in my hat.”

“I get it now, but wait, you’re going to kill your dad still?”

“Not exactly. I want him to give me back the name and all the bounties and infamy associated with it. I want to pay for my own sins rather than have my dad do it for me.”

“Jackie…”

“Once people know that I’m Black Jack, you can kill me to claim your reward, Sargrantina.”

“What are you talking about? What about the wife and kids that you want?”

“I have my debts to pay to God first. A wife and kids are just a dream I keep in my head.”

“Jackie…”

I kiss him on the cheek, and he looks at me.

“I’m sorry, Sargrantina, but nothing will change my mind.”

“How about if we fake your death? We can fake both our deaths and live happily together.”

“I don’t-”

“Shut up! Your dad took your debts so you could live a better life and you’re just making it seem like it was all in vain! You’re not even sure if he’s going to make you take your old identity back.”

“I’ll make sure he does.”

Jackie gets up and heads out.

“And I’m going to make sure that you don’t make the wrong choice.”

“Do whatever you want. It won’t change what has to happen.”

Tch. Such a moody…I will change his mind.