Chapter 14: Return to Port Murkish

Chapter 13 Voting Results:


66% of readers voted for Option A: that Luke and the Pocket-change Gang should return to Port Murkish and find Jack Holley.


34% of readers voted for Option B: that Luke and the gang should head to the Capital in an attempt to find a way to plead their case to the Prime Minister.


***


Luke looked up and scanned the shadows for Andreas who was well hidden on a nearby rooftop. When the time was right, Andreas would give Luke the signal and there would be no stopping the tumbling dominoes then.

The gang had been in Port Murkish for just under two weeks. Dalton’s sophisticated knowledge of the city and surrounding countryside allowed them to bypass the many security checkpoints set up as part of Governor Baines’ new Safeguard Act. They hit the ground running, setting up shop in an abandoned taffy factory and devising a plan to turn the tables on Jack Holley and the Gravehounds.

It didn’t take long to find the long metal warehouse acting as the Gravehound offices. No longer confined to a life of hiding from the law (as he was as a member of Luke), Jack Holley was eager to stroke his ego by plastering his face all over the city. By noon the first day, Luke knew exactly where Jack’s offices were.

The remainder of their time was spent doing reconnaissance outside the offices. Though no longer lurking in the shadows, Jack Holley’s paranoia had lost none of its potency. The Gravehound offices seemed more like a fortress.

Their two weeks of surveillance revealed one weakness. A weakness named Kal Benji. Kal had been a former member of Luke’s Pocket-change Gang and was a borderline narcoleptic. Kal was on security detail every night from midnight to six in the morning and despite his noblest efforts, Kal rarely made it past 1:30 before falling asleep.

So the plan was simple. From Andreas’s vantage point, he could see the guardhouse and Kal nodding off. As soon as Kal was sawing logs, Andreas would signal Luke who would sneak in and grab the man’s keys Mickey was waiting in a nearby alley with a toolbox fool of goodies, ready to make duplicates of the keys as soon as Luke handed them off. After the copies were made, Luke would return the originals to the slumbering Kal Benji and the crew would return the following night and proceed with the second phase of their suicide mission.

Luke had insisted to be the one to grab the keys and had Dalton, Julian and Annie on different rooftops surrounding the warehouse, ready to give Luke the signal in case they saw any Gravehounds heading toward the front gate. Even if he were caught, the others would be able to get away.

Kal had been on duty for about an hour now. Luke squatted in the shadows, waiting for the signal from Andreas. The sound of a bottle smashing broke the tense silence. It was Annie’s signal, not Andreas’s. Someone was coming his way from the East exit that Annie was keeping an eye on.

Luke’s mind reeled as the Cobbler strolled past Kal and left the premises. What was he doing there? Luke’s memory during the night of his interrogation was fuzzy at best but he did recall the Cobbler mentioning Jack Holley. How was he mixed up in all this?

Panic suddenly seized Luke and his eyes shot from the Cobbler to the rooftop where Andreas was hiding. Barely visible through the shadows, Luke watched Andreas stand up and start jogging toward the fire escape staircase.

Luke immediately knew what was happening. Andreas had seen the Cobbler as well and he had revenge on his mind. After what McMurchy brothers had gone through, Luke couldn’t blame Andreas for wanting to be the man who met the Cobbler in a dark alley but without Andreas, Luke had no way of knowing if Kal Benji was awake or not.

Time was marching on and Luke needed to get those keys as soon as possible so Mickey could duplicate them before Kal woke up.

The Cobbler walked past the mouth of the alleyway Luke was concealed in and the dominoes started tumbling.

What should Luke do?
Cast your vote at the top of the page.

Option A: Keep to the plan to get the keys duplicated. Head for the guardhouse and hope that Kal Benji is asleep.

Option B: Knock out the Cobbler and hide him in an alley before Andreas gets to him first and wakes up the whole neighbourhood, including the Gravehounds.

Option C: Get to Andreas before he gets to the Cobbler and stop him from making a scene. Let the Cobbler walk away and get Andreas back to his post.


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