The Shoot  (Part 4)

'Mean Max' was a nickname he had earned for himself after years of notorious behaviour in school. Most of the teachers had taken up the 'ostrich mentality' in dealing with him - what they don't see can't hurt them. The few teachers who had dared to face him down were labelled as either 'ignorant' or 'suicidal'. For not only was Max huge - a bigness of thick, heavy bone and sinewy muscles - he was also the undisputed king rat of the rag tag bunch in school. All those who were rebels against authority looked upon Max as their leader. Max had taken sadistic pleasure in terrorizing the students in the school and would have continued to do so if Shang had not appeared.

The strange, quiet boy with the deceivingly frail-looking body was the only new student who was able to stare him down. Thinking that Shang was easy meat, Max had decided to help 'integrate him into the school' by personally ragging him. His decision cost him a week in the hospital. With Shang to champion them, the student population no longer feared him and thus, was freed from his tyrannical rule. Only a handful of his loyal subjects remained. Dethroned, Max had sunk into a life of debauchery to nurse his wounded pride.

"Chief, there's a cute chic here to see you. She said she wants to employ our services."

Broken out of his reverie, Max irritably signaled to have the girl ushered in. Uncorking his second bottle of brandy for the day, he poured a generous measure into his cracked glass. He traced the crack with a nicotined finger, reminding himself that he would have to buy a new one once he pulled this deal off. Business had been bad since Shang's entry into the school. Shang. The name itself was enough to make his blood boil.

The girl wore a woolen cap which neatly concealed all her hair and shades which hid the colour of her eyes from him. It did not surprise him as most of his customers preferred to remain anonymous. She sat on the couch in front of him, giving him a look one would normally reserve for things that crawl on the ground or in garbage heaps. Max shrugged mentally. His clients need not like him, they just need to pay up.

"So, what brings you here?" Max tried using a friendly approach. A bit of courtesy never killed anyone.

"Cut the crap." Her barbed words made him grind his teeth in anger. Before his temper got the better of him, the girl threw a thick wad of credits on the table between them. Max could not keep his astonishment from showing. He was willing to bet his right arm that the amount of money she offered was more than his teacher's salary in a year. A photograph was placed next to the credits. "I want you to do your worst with this person .... and I expect a job well done." Her voice held an edge of cold, deliberate cruelty.

* * * * * *

"What is wrong with you, woman?" Laila's voice was filled with reproach. "It's been two days since your first date with Hojo and you haven't even talked to him all this while?"

Next to her, Doyce added on to the reproof. "Yeah, you have been openly avoiding him since then. Why?"

‘The Three Musketeers' were on their way to the canteen. Duo wished they could get off his back. He was getting tired of their inquisitive interrogation and unwanted 'help' in pairing him up with Heero. "It is perfectly normal for us not to meet in school. He studies in a different class, takes different subjects and has a different timetable. I have my own ...."

"You're not answering my question." This from Laila. "Why have you stopped seeing him all together? I thought your relationship with Hojo started on an auspicious note."

Duo sighed. How could he even begin to explain how he felt about the whole thing? Heero was fixated on Katherine Kane. He was a bit slow in detecting this fact as he had never deemed it possible for Heero to care so much about another human being. He had always thought that Heero's heart was made up of the same material as his face - solid rock. That day at the arcade had proven him wrong more than once. Not only had Heero made known his desire to be  with Katherine Kane, he had also initiated a kiss with her. Heero had revealed more facial expressions to Katherine Kane in one day than to Duo Maxwell in six months. 'Disturbed' was a gross understatement of how he felt upon discovering this alien side of Heero. What was even more alarming was his own physiological responses to Heero's touch. Duo knew that he himself had taken the first step down the slippery slope leading to 'queer behaviour'. His code of ethics would not allow him to go any further and that was why he had been avoiding Heero .....

Heero stood at the locker area just in front of them, his eyes darting about as if searching for someone. Duo quickly took a 180 degrees turn and walked in the opposite direction. Heck, he could survive without lunch for one day.

"Katherine! Where are you going?" Duo winced as Doyce's loud voice rang in the corridor. He increased his pace and did not look back.

Heero turned just in time to see Katherine's back disappear in a sea of students who were freshly out of the lecture hall. He felt something inside his chest squeeze tight and hard. Does she hate me so much?

* * * * * *

Both Doyce and Laila breathed out gustily, shaking their heads sadly from side to side.

"You saw how the situation is like, Laila. What can we do?"

"I'm not sure whether we should do anything at all. Katherine certainly doesn't look as if she welcomes our interference in this matter."

"Of course we should do something!" Laila was slightly taken aback by Doyce's outburst. "You weren't there in that day, so you wouldn't know. I was. I saw how ..... how they looked at each other when they kissed. They make such a perfect couple .... It is totally unacceptable for them to break up like this for no apparent reason! Katherine is just a bit shy, that's all. I know that she truly bears feelings for Hojo. Isn't out motto 'All for one and one for all'? So how can we not help her ...."

"Okay, okay. Calm down." Laila could see Doyce practically quivering with emotion. "To solve this problem, we will have to provide an opportunity for them to be alone together. That's the most we can do."

"Alone together ..." mumbled Doyce to herself. She clapped her hands with glee. "I've got an idea!"

* * * * * *

"What? Polishing basketballs?" asked Duo, thinking that he had misheard Doyce.

"That's right. I've been assigned to clean the basketballs in the sports equipment room this evening - all sixty-eight of them. I can't do it alone. I need your help."

"But I'm not even in the basketball club."

"So what?!" Duo nearly jumped out of his skin. Doyce was definitely not her usual self today. "I'm asking for your help here. I know you have nothing on after school, so you'd better give me a damn good reason if you don't plan to help me out."

Is this the proper attitude of a person asking for help? It sounded more like a threat. "I still don't know ...."

"Katherine, you heartless woman!" bawled Doyce, crying into Duo's shoulder. People within a fifteen metre radius stared at the pair curiously.

"Jeez! Doyce, you're making a scene here!" Duo tried to push Doyce away gently but the girl refused to budge.

"I'm not letting you go until you agree to help me." She did not sound the least bit teary.

"Okay then," sighed Duo in resignation. "I'll help." As Doyce's face was still buried in his shoulder, Duo did not notice her triumphant smile.

* * * * * *

"Hojo Tsukasa."

It took Heero a moment to identify the girl who had called him. The brunette who hung around Katherine. What was her name again?

"You can call me Laila," said the girl, as if reading his mind. "I'm a friend of Katherine."

"Oh." Katherine. Katherine. Katherine. Can't a guy suffer a heartbreak without other people reopening his wounds? After she had so obviously indicated her reluctance of ever seeing him again .... "What do you want?" The words sounded bitter to his ears.

"The question here should be what you want and not what I want." Seeing that Heero did not comprehend her, Laila continued, "Katherine is now alone in the sports equipment room. Here's your chance to sort out whatever that needs sorting out between the two of you."

Alone? With Katherine? It sounded like a dream come true ... but ... "Did she ask you to come here and tell me this?"

"Well... not exactly," said the girl, slightly abashed.

Just as he expected. "Then I won't go." Heero sidestepped Laila and continued walking down the path leading to the boys' dormitory.

Laila replanted herself squarely in his path. "So you're going to give up on Katherine just because your big, fat male ego does not allow you to make the first move?"

Even though Heero knew that arguing with this Laila was just a waste of time, he retorted anyway because he badly needed to talk to somebody to ease his emotional turmoil. He was being rent by a force which he had no experience in overcoming. "If Katherine does not want my attentions, what's the point of hounding her only to make her hate me even more? If she's happier with me leaving her alone..."

"If you're truly serious about her, you won't care how she responds to your overtures. Love is not a business deal where both parties get what they want after the transaction."

"So, you're saying that I'm doomed to this futile, unrequited..." Suddenly, as if realizing what he just said, Heero snapped his mouth shut. How could he let those words - the products of his inner fear and despair - roll off his tongue so easily? And to a complete stranger at that! He should keep a shorter rein on his mouth. He was no Duo Maxwell!

"You really like her, don't you?"

"I don't have to answer your question." Why couldn't this girl just leave him alone? "You're blocking my path."

Laila did not move. "Don't you even want to find out what's her reply before you give her up? You're giving up before the fight has even begun! How do you expect to win her over this way?"

"Fight? Win? What are you talking about?" Despite Heero's iron-strong will, jealousy still managed to creep into his voice.

Knowing what was required to catch Heero's attention, Laila continued, "Well... Katherine is merely the most popular and attractive girl in school. She won't have any problems finding other boys to hang out with. If she really wants to, there is a wide variety of willing guys for her to handpick from. In fact, there's this particular... oops, I think I've said too much already. After all, it doesn’t concern you one bit." Laila pretended to walk away and her arm was soon seized by Heero.

"Is Katherine seeing anyone?" Laila could detect desperation in his voice.

"I don't have to answer your question."

* * * * * *

Meanwhile, Doyce was tapping her foot in impatience. Where in the world is Hojo Tsukasa? Laila was supposed to have persuaded him to come fifteen minutes ago.

Doyce was waiting behind the bushes outside the sports equipment room, making sure that Katherine did not leave before Hojo arrived. I hope he comes soon. Katherine should be getting suspicious already. It was then that she heard the sound of footsteps approaching. At long last! Her relief did not last long as she realized that the sound of footsteps was too loud to be made by a single person. Who ....? Doyce peeked through the parted leaves of the bushes that hid her and what she saw chilled the marrow of her bones.

* * * * * *

Where has that girl gone to? Doyce had said that she'll be back in a few minutes. Duo had been scrubbing away at the basketballs for about twenty minutes already and there was still no sign of the girl who landed him in his present situation. Could she have escaped? Leaving him behind to do all the work for her? The thought made him increase the force of his attack on the basketball he was wiping with a rag. When would he ever learn to say 'no' to the requests of cute girls?

The door creaked open behind him and he swiftly turned around, an angry scowl on his face. "Took you long enough ...." His angry scowl was replaced by a look of bewilderment. He was confronted by at least fifteen juvenile delinquents with punky hairdo and nose rings. One especially muscular, big-sized and mean-looking guy who stood out from the rest was apparently the leader of the group. The leader snapped his fingers and one of the gang members went to secure the lock of the door.

Uh oh, trouble. Duo thought hard but could not recall any actions of his that could have indirectly offended the bunch of troublemakers in front of him. Why was he always getting into trouble with people he hardly knew? It seemed that the only crime he committed was to exist. "I'm sorry, but can you please unlock the door? I'm expecting a friend of mine to return and help me with this chore over here ......."

The ruffians were too busy ogling at him to answer him.

"Man, she's a looker," commented one salivating guy in admiration.

"Chief, can I have the first go at her? Can I, huh?" another chirped enthusiastically.

"Let's roll a dice to determine who goes first."

"Quiet! All of you!" The mean-looking leader had spoken and the rest of the groups silenced themselves immediately.

Hmm ..... the leader was both respected and feared in the group. Duo's mind was already thinking up various ways to tackle the problem. If he crushed the head of the snake, the rest of the demoralized followers would be easily taken care of. He placed the basketball he was holding on the floor and stood up.

"None of us holds any personal grudge against you. But orders are orders .... Don't hate us for what we're about to do." The leader took the first menacing step forward and ended up catching a basketball with his face. The momentum caused him to stagger back, hands clutching at a bleeding nose. "Bitch!"

Duo did not give him a chance to recover. A kick in the groin followed by a right hook floored the leader. "If you have time to hurl profanities at me, you might as well use that time to get into a defensive position."

The rest of the gang members stared at their fallen leader in disbelief. One guy, having more guts than the others, stepped out and yelled, "Don't worry gang! There's so many of us against only her - a mere girl! We can't possibly lose!" The words were shouted as if reassure himself as well as the other gang members. Pant legs went up and switch blades came into view.

Finding the school skirt too cumbersome, Duo tore it until the slit went up to his thighs. While the boys were transfixed with the sight of the exposed flesh, Duo took the opportunity to incapacitate a few more of their number.

* * * * * *

Doyce ran as if the hounds of hell were at her heels. Why had Max and his gang appeared at the sports equipment room? They had an air of purpose, all of them, which hit her like a gust of cold wind and frightened her. Katherine was in serious trouble. Doyce began sobbing uncontrollably. She had run away like a coward, leaving her friend to the mercies of the likes of Max. She knew that she would be of more help running away to seek help instead of staying there to fight alongside Katherine ... but she still felt as if she had betrayed Katherine.

Tripping over a stone, Doyce landed hard on the ground and skinned her knees. Blood trickled from her open wounds. Clenching her teeth, Doyce ignored the pain and pushed herself back on her feet. Help ... Katherine needs help ... As if in answer to her prayers, she saw both Hojo and Laila on the path some distance away. She doubted Hojo would be able to rescue Katherine alone but at least he would be able to buy some time for more help to arrive. Time was an important factor here.

* * * * * *

A dash of cold water woke Max up. Spluttering and cursing, he got up from where he had been lying senseless in the floor. The girl who was supposed to be the victim looked down at him contemptuously, an empty plastic bottle in her hand. The rest of his gang were sprawled all over the place, deep in oblivion.

"You said just now that you were following orders." The girl's demeanour now was totally different from the impression he got from the photograph. "And whose orders might that be?"

"I ....." It took Max tremendous effort to stand on his feet. The girl's kick was vicious enough to end his hopes of ever getting any descendants to continue his family line. "…don't know."

"I see." The girl took one step forward, a dangerous gleam in her eyes.

"It's true!" whined Max, backing away until his shoulder blades hit the wall of the room. "I swear on my grandfather's grave, I don’t know who gave the order! All I know is that..."

At that moment, the door of the equipment room burst open in a shower of wood splinters. One boy stood at the doorway, his face a mask of fear and fury.

* * * * * *

Heero took in the scene in a single glance. Apparently, Katherine was more than capable in taking care of herself. Just as he was about to let relief wash all over him, he noticed Katherine's ripped skirt. His abating anger suddenly flared up like an erupting volcano. How dare they lay their filthy hands on her! He charged at the only remaining culprit, fists flying with a vengeance. Heero felt as if he was possessed. He kept on landing hard and merciless blows on the scumbag even after the other boy had obviously lost consciousness. So blinded with rage was he that when he felt restraining hands pulling him from behind, he roughly elbowed the person who was trying to stop him. The crash and the cries of pain that ensued brought Heero back to his senses. Katherine was on the floor, massaging a head injury that he had just caused. Heero thought that he'd die on the spot. How could he commit the sin of hitting the girl he loved?

"Uh .... are you okay?" Heero had knelt down and was reaching out with a tentative hand. Katherine slapped the hand away and struck him. Not a slap, but a closed-fist blow that sent him reeling.

"You idiot! What were you trying to do?" she demanded in the tone of a mother disciplining her child. "You could have killed him! When will you ever learn how to use your brain instead of ...."

Heero muffled the rest of her scoldings with a crushing hug. He could feel every fibre in Katherine's body becoming taut but he did not - would not - let go. "Thank God you're alright." Katherine began to make sounds like strangled cat in his arms. Cursing himself for being such an uncouth barbarian, Heero quickly eased his hold on Katherine. However, he did not completely release her, forcing her to look into his eyes. She did not make any move to break free from his hold. Does this mean that she does not hate me? The best way to find out was to ask. "Do you hate me, Katherine?"

Katherine's face portrayed a riot of emotions upon hearing his question. Surprise, sadness, disgust, sympathy, worry - ? Heero could not tell which was the dominant emotion. "Of course I ...." Katherine paused as if still in a dilemma in choosing her reply. "I .... don't hate you. I mean, why should I?"

Heero could not remember the last time he had felt so happy and relieved. She does not hate me! For the time being, it was enough. He was about to hug her for a second time when she suddenly placed both palms on his chest and shoved him away. Her face had turned pink with embarrassment.

Only then did Heero realize that they were not alone. The doorway was crowded with a large number of spectators - the dean of the school being one of them.

* * * * * *

Sheila stood inconspicuously in the crowd, witnessing the failure of her plan. She should have known better than to trust those useless garbage to get the job done. There was not even a single cut on that despicable Katherine Kane! If things were to be done properly, she would have to depend on herself. It was time for plan B. Sheila reached into her pocket to feel for the spy camera she had prepared.

                                                                                                                             < To Part 5 >