Kane's Day-out

The day as dazzling as ever. Diamonds falling from the sky, splintering the white sunlight in a hundred shades. The white star cool as ever, flooding the streets with its bright white light. Kane wondered why the word sunlight stuck to this star. It was not the sun. Nor could it ever be. From what he had learnt in history, sun was a young star for the planet Earth from where the earthlings hailed. It didn’t matter. At-least not to him. He had accepted all things earth. The magnetic roads, the concrete dome houses, clothes, the internet. Even their school of thought, Socrates and Plato and the lot. They, the aliens on their own planet, were few in number and the ones left were mostly half-bloods. Demiliens! He pushed a button on the dashboard of his hovercraft and a thin fiber box sprang around him, like an enclosure. Within seconds a roof stretched across it and the clatter of diamonds crackled as it hit the plastic. The thunder of the red storm clouds called out to him, roaring through his body, raising the hairs on his arms. The cold, careful and chilling serpent inside Kane reared its head and watched. It made him watch. He had been keeping tabs on the Assistant Engineer for ten days now. And he had worked hard to make sure the engineer was the man for him. He had tailed him, filmed him even watched him make love to cheap whores near the shuttle stations. Time spent to be certain he was right. He couldn’t be wrong. Not after he had made himself a vigilante on the darknet, an email away. He didn’t charge anything for the service he provided to law abiding demiliens. But the request should be genuine. He made sure of that. In the 45 cases in the last six and a half years, or may be 55, he didn’t keep count, he had always made sure. He couldn’t afford to be sloppy. Every step must be perfect. And tonight it was the engineer. His name was Nicky Darre. He managed the power plant for the city. He loved managing the purchase of lithium for the ion exchange chambers. Oh very much indeed. He had for fifteen years now, devoted his life to the city’s energy needs and upgrading its power plant. Everything he did was for the city. Kane watched him pause at the plant doorway and press the remote to call his vehicle and wait for it. A young woman slithered out and he turned to talk to her. The woman said something and the two laughed. She took a step back waved. Then she smiled and held out her hand. The engineer kissed her hand and touched her hail. She smiled and said something. He said something back. A black hovercraft floated across, scattering flecks of diamond dust on the steps. The engineer fumbled for his keys, opened his car door and got into his car. The hovercraft swayed before speeding out into the main road. Kane followed. A tiny dot activated on his console and he put the craft on autopilot. Hardly anyone would be out in the diamond showers. He went straight for a mile and turned left in to a side road that was barely visible. He turned again three times before stopping before a canal of liquid methane. Blue flames adorned the swamp. Kane would have rather enjoyed being here in the diamond rains. The melting diamonds fanned the flames so that an eerie blue glow engulfed the small log cabin on its front. By the time Kane reached, the engineer had entered the cabin, storing the cash he had amassed for the day’s payload. A small ravager growled at something chittering away on the porch. Kane killed the engine and entered. There he was, scratching his head, looking around his haven of cash. Kane creeped up behind him and grabbed his throat. He coughed and lurched away, jerking his head but was no match to Kane’s seven feet frame. Kane punched his face. A window rattled with the diamonds crashing against it. Blood pounded in Kane’s head drowning away the sounds of the storm. Silence so deep it almost drowned out the pounding of blood itself. Kane slapped him to stillness and threw him out on the floor. He kicked him pulled him to see if he wasn’t feigning it.

“Do as I say” Kane said.

The engineer looked around and saw the towering piles of stoners all around him. And he understood.

“Get up” Kane said.

He got up like a diseased goat, with his eyes on Kane.

Kane yanked him into the middle of the cabin and closed the door behind.

“How much is all this?” Kane asked in his silky voice.

He froze. “I’m sorry” he pleaded.

“Yes?” Kane asked?

“Oh yes”

“It’s important that you answer me, how much is all this?”

“You can have fifty percent of it” he trembled even before he finished speaking.

Kane’s eyes met his once again and in that instant both of them knew their fate.

“Forty three million” the engineer said sobbing and closed his eyes.

“Open your eyes, Nicky Darre”

“Please,” he said in a whimper. Kane slapped a hand on his neck and lurched him high in the air and slammed him into the floor. The engineer thrashed and coiled into a lump, howling like a child. It made Kane go madder. He pulled his hair and slammed him again face first into the wall opposite. There was a trickle of blood on his lips.

“Open your eyes” he growled, “Open or I’ll cut your eye lids off your face”

He opened his eyes.

“Do exactly as I tell you, do you understand?”

He nodded.

“So, answer me. Tell me why?”

“Please…” he begged.

Kane chuckled at the earthling. “Is this the only stack you got? Are there more?”

“No. No more. Please let me go…” he spattered.

“Oh I’ll let you go all right” Kane rasped with clenched teeth.

“Please, I couldn’t help it. I was made to…”

“…made to?”

“Yes, I was made to accept on their behalf”

Kane thought he saw a mad gleam in his eyes. It died as soon as Kane smiled at him. That vicious, maniacal smile that took over him whenever he was hunting.

He hit him hard on the head. The engineer sunk below, his face rolling.

Kane secured him to the table in the middle of the cabin and went to work on his clothes. Then he waited. Waited for him to wake up again. The engineer stirred and Kane jumped into action.

“Why?” Kane asked.

The engineer whispered “I couldn’t help myself. I wanted it all. I was disappointed in me”

There it was. A confession at last. Kane had been looking for that very answer these past seven years. But he had gone too far now. He had to finish the job. He started the work. Before he started, he whispered a silent thank you to this vain earthling who had given him the answer.

***

Kane packed all his things in the engineer’s car and drove it to the middle of the swamp and killed the engine. He saw the hovercraft settle down. Kane was starving! The rain had lost its ferocity and he had cleaned up too. He drew his overcoat tighter, turned up the collars and shoved his hands deep inside his pocket. He had a long walk ahead, back to his hovercraft at the abandoned cabin, a couple of miles at the least. Diamonds crunched under his feet and hissed as they dissolved into the air in a curl of smoke. He felt better now and somewhat exhausted. The avenger in him took the back seat and the slave trader Kane, the Kane with one billion net worth came back again. He walked slowly, head pushed down, thinking what he must do next. He did not want to face Sati. She would jump on any excuse to fight with him.

He was a creature of tranquility and his wife was no less than a banshee. He shivered thinking of going back to her. No! She would have to wait. When was the last time they had grubbly root drink together?

The curly blond face of Effie with her thin lips floated in his eyes. Yes! He could go check on her! Find out more about the slaves that attacked her! He smiled and quickened his pace. His slave database had all the records of shipment and finding her address was a piece of cake. Although he had followed her around a couple of times last week, he had failed to announce his presence.

It took him fifteen minutes to reach the old fashioned complex she lived. Her grandmother’s place. It was a huge estate but sold out piece by piece. And now all that the family owned was a three thousand square feet of space inside a closed complex.

Kane knocked. Effie answered the door, “Hello Mr. Morgan” she said in an ecstatic voice.

“Hello Effie” Kane said, “Just checking in. Hope the slave is troubling you anymore”

“Checking me out huh?” She said biting her lip. She wore a candy white skirt and a black crop top. Her blond hair were askew and she was bare feet.

Kane felt his ears turn red. “I was just…”

“Come-on in. Let’s have a drink” She said grabbing his arms and tugging him inside. She banged the door shut and went into the kitchen. Kane slumped on the living room couch. A woman in purple headdress and black robes was twerking to a fast conga beat on the aerial screen. She walked in a second later with two steaming mugs with a strong aroma of cinnamon.

“Thanks for taking my advice” she said and sat down beside him.

“Advice?” Kane asked.

“Your adverts! No more of that silly dance routine”

“You are a dancer, eh?”

“Yes” she said, smiling.

“Well I play the yota”

“Do you? My father used to play it too. Tricky stuff! You need to blow and strum all at the same time. I could never time it right” she said.

“It does need a little practice. My old man made me play a harmonica and a guitar together." he added, " To get the hang of it” Kane downed half the drink in one go, the heat searing through his throat.

She was so easy to talk to, he thought. He could speak free, without the fear of thinking what she might interpret. They talked on the ancient art of music, singing and dancing. It turned out Effie was a student of arts in St. Luso’s school of fine arts (renamed Canneti school of arts). An hour later they had downed six cups of grubbly roots and two whole tropical pakana fruits. Kane thought of leaving but her smile made him stay quite a few more minutes. Then her comm lighted. A wire frame image of an elderly man with a mustache glowed and Effie rushed to answer. “Mr. Lasek! Yes. Fire? Is everyone all right? Are you sure! Nobody got hurt! I’ll be there in a jiffy.”

Kane looked up at her.

“My house was set on fire tonight. I’m leaving.”

“You mind If I come?”

“I’ll appreciate if you can.”