Escape

CHAPTER 3: ESCAPE

When Jimmy awoke sometime later, he found himself sitting on a wooden chair in the middle of a large room filled with crates. His hands were bound together behind his back and a trickle of blood ran down his forehead.

"What the..." he began.

Just then, an older Japanese gentleman entered the room. He donned a white shirt and vest with his suit jacket slung over his back like a cape. He was accompanied by a tall, bearded man whose shirt sleeves were rolled up, exposing his Yakuza tattoos. The large man stood near the door while the older man approached Jimmy.

"Tetsuo Hiromoto," Jimmy spoke through his teeth, "You slimy motherfucker..."

"Like moths to a flame," Tetsuo said, lighting a cigarette.

"You knew we were coming, didn't you? You fuckin' set this all up. Even that goddamn prisoner we tortured!"

Testuo knelt down so he was at eye level with Jimmy.

"A sacrifice that needed to be made," said Testuo, blowing smoke in Jimmy's face, "Oh, come now. Do not pretend your precious Don is any less cavalier with your lives."

"Whatever it is you want," began Jimmy, "I..."

"You know exactly what we want," said Testuo, "That bomb you planted is now disarmed and sitting in my office, but I do not plan on holding onto it forever. Give us the address of your compound so that we may find it a new home."

"I ain't tellin' you shit..."

"Ah, but we have ways of making people talk."

With that, Tetsuo took a deep, long puff of his cigarette before pressing the hot tip firmly against Jimmy's neck, causing him to scream out in pain.

"Kenshi-San?" Tetsuo stood up and beckoned his assistant over.

Kenshi cracked both of his knuckles and began making his way over. However, before they could proceed, a random man came running into the room. Jimmy couldn't understand what he and Tetsuo were saying, but whatever it was, it sent Tetsuo into a rage. Tetsuo and Kenshi promptly left the room, leaving the man behind to stand guard.

"Lucky break, I guess," Jimmy thought to himself.

The guard watched Jimmy for a few moments before turning to light a cigarette. With his gaze focused elsewhere, Jimmy got to work undoing the ropes that bound his hands.

"Bowline, eh?" Jimmy thought, "Fuckin' amateurs. This was the first thing they taught me in basic."

Within less than a minute, Jimmy had undone the knot. He quietly stood up and approached the guard, who was busy speaking into his own short-wave radio. When close enough, Jimmy pounced on the man and choked him out, then immediately searched his pockets.

Jimmy pocketed the man's revolver, a knife, and some spare bullets. He also grabbed the man's radio and changed the channel.

"Guys?" Jimmy spoke into the receiver, "Louie, Manny? Anyone?"

Jimmy suspected Louie and Manny were dead, but gave it a try anyway. To Jimmy's surprise, a response came through after a moment.

"Jimmy?" Louie's voice came through, "What the...You're still alive? I though they grabbed ya!"

"I could say the same about you," said Jimmy.

"Manny and I managed to escape," Louie explained, "We've snatched one of their trucks and are makin' a break for it. I suggest you get outta there, too."

"Not before I find the bomb," said Jimmy.

"What are you, nuts? Get outta there!"

"These cocksuckers killed our boys and tried to torture me for info. I ain't leavin' before I burn this place to the ground, ya hear?

After a short pause, Jimmy could hear Louie over the radio ordering Manny to turn the truck around.

"You fuckin' crazy?" Manny could be heard yelling over the radio.

"You heard me," said Louie, "Jimmy's gonna need a distraction. Let's go and wipe these fuckers off the map!"

With that, Jimmy ran out of the room. As Jimmy navigated the main floor, it became clear he was not in the same building that he was in earlier, but an adjacent warehouse in the same lot. It didn't matter. He would find the bomb and complete his mission. He decided to start by searching Tetsuo's office.

The distractions provided by Louie and Manny outside kept resistance in the warehouse low. Jimmy stalked his way through the shelves, avoiding workers and quietly dispatching any Yakuza he came across. Once he reached the stairs, he climbed to the second floor where Tetsuo's office was.

"Found it," Jimmy whispered to himself.

There was a Yakuza standing in front of the office speaking into a radio. As soon as the man's back was turned, Jimmy approached from behind and stabbed him in the throat. He then dragged the body into the office and shut the door.

Inside, Jimmy searched through several desk drawers before finally finding the bomb on a shelf. The clock had 3:53 remaining on it, which was presumably the exact moment the Yakuza disarmed it. After resetting the clock, Jimmy decided to initiate the countdown. It was a very risky move, considering he didn't have an exit strategy, but he knew he was going to need a distraction.

"I found the bomb," said Jimmy into the radio, "I planted it and am making my escape."

"Where are you?" demanded Louie.

"Uh," began Jimmy, "Not sure. Not the same building I went into before. I think it's the building next door."

"Which building? There's a whole bunch of 'em on this lot!"

"I'm gonna head outside via the garage where you can see me. Just keep them off my back so...Fuck."

A Yakuza was standing at the door way of the office staring straight at Jimmy. He turned around and screamed for his colleagues, forcing Jimmy to fire his revolver at him. All this noise had surely attracted company, forcing Jimmy to get a move on.

As he left the office, he snatched the dead man's Tommy gun, then ran off. He encountered several more men on the stairwell going down. As they fired their weapons, Jimmy took cover behind a railing. Being at the top of the stairs gave Jimmy a height advantage. Jimmy sprayed bullets from his Tommy gun, nailing several of the Yakuza below.

One brave man rushed up the stairs, nearly reaching Jimmy. Jimmy turned the corner and blasted the man's shins, causing him to tumble backwards down the stairs and crash into another two men. With the men distracted, Jimmy emerged from cover holding the revolver and ran down the stairs, firing bullets into every man he encountered. By the time he reached the bottom, they were all dead. However, his revolver was down to a single bullet and his Tommy gun was nearly empty.

"Great," Jimmy muttered.

With his back against the wall next to the exit, Jimmy dumped the empty shells from the revolver's drum and began placing fresh bullets inside. At the third bullet, however, the door next to him swung open, revealing two more men.

Jimmy struggled with first man for a moment. Having managed to snap the revolver's drum closed in time, Jimmy forced the weapon under the man's chin and pulled the trigger, but it clicked empty the first two times. The the third time, the gun finally fired, killing the man.

The second man emerged from behind and struck Jimmy with his Tommy gun, knocking him down. Jimmy looked up and saw the man preparing to fire. Thinking quickly, he slammed his foot into the man's crotch, then kicked him in the chest, forcing him back. Jimmy then finished him off with a shot to the chest.

Jimmy grabbed the man's Tommy gun and ran out the door. By his mental calculation, he had just over one minute to get out of the building. Fortunately, the garage was right ahead of him

"Hell yeah," thought Jimmy, "I'm home-free!"

Unfortunately, the garage was filled with Yakuza, all pointing their guns at him. Without saying another word, Jimmy dropped the weapons he was holding and got on his knees, wondering if Louie and Manny were close.

"We underestimated you," said a voice.

Jimmy turned around and saw both Tetsuo Hiromoto and Kenshi standing behind him, blocking his escape.

"You macaroni-munchers have sure killed a lot of my men," he continued, "It matters not. The hell we unleash upon you once we're done here will make today's events seem like a bad joke. Now, good sir, are you ready to cooperate?"

"I am, actually," said Jimmy.

With that, Jimmy lay down, face first, and placed both of his hands behind his head. In reality, he was preparing himself for the explosion, which was to go off any minute.

"Very good," said Tetsuo, "Kare o tsukamu! Hana..."

Just then, the bomb went off, as planned. The entire building shook, causing every man in the room to stumble and fall. Lights, shelves and even chunks of the ceiling fell across the garage. Jimmy, who had braced himself for the explosion, immediately stood up and began spraying the men with his Tommy gun before taking cover behind a crate.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?" Testuo screamed, "SOMEBODY KILL THIS WOP BASTARD!"

As Kenshi escorted Tetsuo out of the burning garage, several of the men regained their footing and began firing back at Jimmy. With the whole warehouse rapidly falling apart, it was no longer safe to stay inside. Jimmy knew he would need to fight his way out. Fortunately for him, a large pick-up truck smashed through one of the garage doors at that very moment, granting him an easy exit.

"Get in, kid!" Louie yelled over the commotion.

Jimmy ran from cover and headed straight for the pick-up's cargo bed, where he lay flat on his face to shield himself from errant bullets. Manny put the truck in reverse and exited the garage. Within seconds, the trio were off the property and driving rapidly along the empty interstate.

"You came back for me?" asked Jimmy.

"You're welcome, Legs!" Louie yelled through the pick-up's shattered rear window, "Figured it was the least we could do for not squealin' under pressure."

"Lemme tell you somethin'," began Manny, "You got balls, kid. Can't believe ya pulled it off!"

"It ain't over yet," said Louie, "They're right on our asses. Look!"

Jimmy looked behind and saw several black vehicles fast approaching. Not only was their pick-up too heavy to outrun them, but it was in poor shape, having been shot at repeatedly prior to their exit.

"There's some ammo in the back, Jimmy," said Manny, "Mind keeping them off my ass?"

Jimmy nodded. Several drum magazines lay in the pick-up's bed. Jimmy immediately inserted a fresh one into his Tommy Gun and began firing at the cars behind them to slow them down. Periodically, they would fire back, but Jimmy was well-protected by the cargo bed's high wall. Eventually, Jimmy managed to strike the driver of one of the vehicles, causing it to spin out and crash.

"HA!" yelled Louie, "Nice shootin', Legs!"

Several more cars appeared, and despite Jimmy's efforts, the hail of enemy fire became too much for them to handle. One of the pick-up's rear tires blew out, rendering it difficult to control.

"Jesus!" cried Louie, "Do somethin'!"

"I'm trying, mannaggia!" screamed Manny, "Hang on!"

Manny drove the pick-up off of the road and into the surrounding woods, hoping to lose the Yakuza, but they pursued.

"Ma, sei pazzo?" demanded Louie, "The fuck are you..."

"I'm trying to lose these fuckers, alright?" Manny yelled, "Just..."

The forest path was uneven and littered with debris that made the ride incredibly bumpy. Eventually, the truck hit one particular bump that caused Jimmy to fly out of the cargo bed and land on the road outside, then tumble down a short, steep hill before hitting the bottom. There he lay, completely winded.

The Yakuza failed to notice that Jimmy had fallen out and instead carried on their pursuit of the pick-up, which was now long-gone. With his body in too much pain to move, Jimmy lay in the mud, staring up at tree-tops.