Episode 3: "I know more than just your name."

Episode 3: “I know more than just your name.”

I’m not afraid anymore. Now I’m pissed off. You can only poke a dog so much before it bites you.

I cannot wait for the moment when I have Kavanagh’s throat inside of my hands. Just to see him suffer and watch the life go out in his eyes. I have never wanted to kill a person so badly before. I’m not afraid of Kavanagh anymore. I’m afraid of myself.

I clean myself up and walk out of the bathroom. I walk back to the hospital room and Shrader is standing outside the door. He nods and opens the door to let me inside.

Now it’s just Mr. Johnson and I inside of the room. He’s in a coma. I can feel his pain and suffering. I walk to the end of his bed. The entire room is completely silent. I can only hear the machine measuring his heartbeat. I stand there and dread the moment when that machine shows a straight line. A lifeless line. I move next to Mr. Johnson. He’s breathing so softly. I slowly lean into his ear.

“You deserve better than this. I’m so sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen. Whoever did this. I will find them. And they will pay. They will suffer like you did.”

I stand up and walk out of the room. I walk back to the elevator and punch the button in for the ground floor. I start thinking to myself. I’m alone in here. This enclosed space. Is this where I belong? Is the world a better place without me? I really need answers, man.

The elevator doors open and I feel a cool breeze flow in from the lobby. There are people walking around everywhere. Everybody has somewhere to go. They all just fit in with each other. They just blend in. I wish I were one of them. I wish I could blend in with the crowd. The only thing I blend in with is the shadows in the night when I’m out on the run. Why do I feel like everybody is staring at me? I think I’m going crazy. No, I KNOW I’m going crazy.

I walk to the parking lot and get into my car. I turn on the ignition and take the highway back to good old La Jolla.

I just feel like my whole life is silent. All I ever hear is silence. I’m trapped inside of my thoughts. My feelings… and I can’t escape. There’s no way out. Except killing Kavanagh.

I should just run away and leave everyone. Change my name. I want to go to Ecuador. Yeah, and see the Galapagos Islands with all of the turtles. That would be nice.

I get off the exit to La Jolla to go home. I need to find a different place to hide out. I’ll tell my foster mom that I’m going on a school trip with Sean or something. Yeah, that sounds good. There’s a shed in the canyon where I can stay a while and keep my gear. Having me at home is too dangerous right now. I can’t put those kids in danger.

When I come to think of it. I really love those kids. They’re so innocent. I wish I could save every child in the world. I always see myself in them. I wish I could just save them before bad things happen. Before they lose their innocence. Before they fall off the cliff and I can’t protect them. I can’t pull them back and tell them everything is all right.

 I know the realities of the real world and I never want these children to face it. I was robbed of things early in my childhood. That’s what made me who I am today. Could it be a good thing? Could it be a bad thing? Or does it make me evil or wicked? Then again, all things truly wicked begin from innocence. Will any of these kids become evil? It could be any kid. Any kid you see could grow up to be the next world leader and nuke everything. I hate that thought. But that’s how the real world is. I’m not a pessimist. I’m a realist, and I know what to expect of things.

As I stop at a stoplight, I keep thinking to myself about my childhood and why I am who I am today. That flashback I had at the comic book shop shooting has had me thinking for a long time now. Why was my mother crying? Before I can think any more about my flashback, I hear a car honk aggressively behind me and cut me off. I look up and see that the light is green. It’s probably been green for a while. Sorry.

As the car pulls in front of me, I see that it’s a white Cadillac SUV. The bumper sticker on the back says “LJ Bandit.”

This has to be a trap. Does this person want me to know? The driver doesn’t even look inside of my car or notice me at all.  Does this driver even know who I am? Doesn’t seem like it. If he knew who I was, he would have tried to kill me by now. I know I would have. Maybe they’re lower level gangsters. I see them on the streets the most. The higher-level gang members hire the lower level gangsters to do jobs for them so there’s no connection to them at a crime scene. I have an idea.

Now I should do what I do best.

I should follow them and tail them to where they are going. I need to find out where they go on a daily basis or where their hideout is. I think luck is finally beginning to move in my favor now.

They make a left turn onto La Jolla Boulevard near my school. They keep going straight down the road. This is so scary and nerve-racking. I love it. After a few minutes, they make another left into the parking lot of a bar less than 100 feet from the ice cream parlor. I turn right across the street into a parking lot of a scuba diving store. There are three men in the car. They all get out and enter the bar. I have my eye on them. Now I play the waiting game.

I play the waiting game a lot to catch suspects and targets I need to take out. Tailing them and knowing their daily routine is one of the best strategies there is and it really gives me the advantage sometimes. With information about their daily routine, I can choose the perfect time to take them out and get further information on their operation.

After about two hours, I see the three men walk out of the entrance and get back in their car. Looks like they’re going home. They back out of the parking lot and I start my engine. Game time.

They drive north on La Jolla Boulevard and make a right turn on Pearl Street. They take the road that goes into the mountains. The roads start to get really windy. The houses up here are really nice and the views are amazing. It’s so beautiful at nighttime. The city is shining bright colors and it all just looks great. But the city REALLY isn’t that great. Maybe this view is just an illusion and it’s lying to me. It wants me to go inside and see the beauty, but really it will suck me in and crush everything. Just a thought I guess.

It’s starting to get hard keeping track of them because the turns are very sharp. I also don’t want to look suspicious following them. After another 6 or 7 minutes, we’re near the top of the mountain at what looks like a multi-million dollar house. They pull into the driveway and I keep driving straight like a normal car would. When I get to the end of the street, I turn around and turn off my headlights. I stop the car across the street from the large house. The men inside the car have gone inside the house. Is this Kavanagh’s house? That would make some sort of sense.

I write down the address and take a few photos of the house and begin driving away. Time to go home.

After a good 18-minute drive, I arrive home and look for my foster mother. She’s gone of course. I think she took the kids to the movies. Maybe I should leave a note. She can text me later.

I find a pad of paper and write out what I need to say. I write that I am going on an astronomy trip to go spend the night at the observatory and go camping in the mountains after. It seems legit. I get ready, pack my things and go.

There’s shed in the canyon I use for a hideout sometimes. I only use it for emergencies and when loved ones are in trouble. I need to let the LJ Bandits know somehow that I’m living somewhere else now. So I don’t have to worry about them coming to the house and hurting the people I live with. Maybe this will work. It will definitely help at least. Time to pack up.

I ride my motorcycle to the canyon where the shed is. The shed is a 10-foot by 10-foot structure. About the size of my room. I can’t really take my car here because there’s no driveway. Everything around the shed is dirt and shrubs. It’s hidden. I’m hidden. I feel like this is my own little batcave.

It’s 9:45pm and I’m ready for the night. It’s a cold night tonight. This night, the Red Falcon will come back. Time for me to go out on patrol and see if I can find anything. I need something. Or maybe they’ll see me and I’ll attract attention to them and they will come to ME. That could make things easier. I should set up a trap or something. So many things to think about. This shed is cold and it’s really dark out. I can see the whole city from here. It pollutes the night sky with light. It looks so full of life.

I put on my gear for the first time in a while. I have my whole suit on except for my helmet now. I walk outside and look at the view. My cape flows softly with the wind just like Superman. It’s a cold and crisp night and I can see my breath. The view is so clear and I can literally see everything. I slide the helmet onto my skull. Man that feels good. I place my hand on the visor. And slowly shut it onto my face. I’m not Alfredo anymore. I am the Red Falcon. I take a last look at the view in my helmet as a different person and get back on my bike. I start the engine, get off of this dirt road, and ride off into the city.

Damn, I missed this bike. It feels so good to ride it again. I feel like I’m invincible. Man, the speed and handling… I feel adrenaline rush through my body. The Red Falcon is back.

My first stop is the house where I followed those men. I need to scope out and do some recon. I need to take more photos and maybe even get into the house and see if I can find anything useful.

I take the same route up the mountain to find the mansion. I wonder if that place is their command post or something. I’m going to find out.

I park in front of a house next to the mansion and find my way to the backyard. All of the lights are off except for the basement light. I take a perimeter and scope every single angle of the house. It doesn’t look like anybody is on any of the floors. But it does look like somebody is in the basement. Whoever is in this basement could lead me to Kavanagh.

I sneak up to a window next to the back door that goes into a kitchen. All I need to do is cut the screen open and raise the small window so I can get in. I take out a pocketknife and silently cut the screen open. It’s an easy little task. Now I need to open this window without making any sound whatsoever. The window opens with ease and it doesn’t make enough noise for anyone close enough to hear. Good deal.

The house isn’t as nice inside as I expected it to be. There’s trash lying around and plastic wrap everywhere, looks like they’re remodeling or something. I hear some banging noises coming from the basement. I should get down there and see what’s going on.

I sneak over to the stairs that lead to the basement. I’m surprised this house even has a basement. If I go down the stairs, I feel like I’ll get caught. I need to go back outside and see if there are any windows leading into the basement. As I walk toward the window in stealth mode, I see that it is closed. I think I left it open when I came in. Or maybe I closed it. I can’t remember. What the hell…

As I try and open the window, I hear footsteps behind me.

“You.”

I hear a man’s voice behind me. I slowly turn my head to look at his dark shadow, but there’s nobody there. I thought I would see a silhouette or something. I freeze and stand still. My heart is pounding and I can even see my vest moving up and down. I’m completely frozen. Who is this man?

“All you’ve done is hide from me. Show me who you really are.” I say in fear.

“Are you looking for Kavanagh?” the voice said almost jokingly.

“ARE you Kavanagh?”

“Haha, no. You should come downstairs and have a little CHAT with him. We’re playing a little game down in the basement. We’ve been anticipating your arrival here.”

I see a dark shadow appear from around a corner. I see a tall figure. Looks like a man wearing a suit. For some reason I feel like I should be extremely scared, but I don’t really feel fear. Let’s be real though, I’m probably going to die tonight.

“What makes you think I’m going down there?” I objected.

“Kavanagh has been following you for the past three and a half months. I suggest you don’t go outside right now. Come on. I’ll walk you downstairs.”

I have no choice but to follow him downstairs now. If I make any sudden moves, I’ll be dead for sure. I’m not that stupid. I just need to play it cool for now. At least I still have my weapons. I don’t think I’ll be able to use them though.

The mysterious man walks in front of me and it looks like he’s wearing something over his face. Maybe it’s just a mask.

We walk slowly down the stairs and something interesting strikes me about this man. His smell. His scent seems so familiar. For some reason I still feel somewhat calm around him. I can’t explain the feeling. The stairs don’t make much noise as we walk down.

When we reach the bottom into the basement, I see a large opening with a high ceiling. There’s a small crowd of people and there is a giant cage that looks like a fighting ring. There is a man sitting in a chair high above everyone else. The crowd of men surrounds the white wrestling ring. The crowd is loud and yelling as I walk in. Things are thrown at me and gang members spit and say they want my head off. Oh god…

I think I have just arrived at my own execution.

The mysterious man leads me up the few stairs up into the fighting ring. I look up at the man in the chair. He slowly gets up and begins to speak.

“Well well well. We were JUST talking about you.”

I stare him in the eyes through my helmet and remain silent.

“Hmm, I always thought of you as the quiet type.”

He waves two thugs behind me to take away my weapons. After they do so, they push me down on my hands and knees. I drop my head down and they begin to take off my helmet. The helmet slowly slides off of my skull and I become Alfredo Gordon. The typical high school geek. The REAL me.

I keep my head down and close my eyes. I feel so much anger and adrenaline flow through my veins.

“Let’s see that face. Let’s see your REAL face.”

I look up and the man stops talking for a second. Finally to make eye contact with me, this moment, the moment when the Red Falcon irreversibly makes eye contact with the evil Kavanagh.

“Will you look at that…” Kavanagh says as silence fills the room.

I hear the gates open and five other men step inside the ring with me.

“Let’s have us a little show shall we?”

I stand up and I know what’s about to happen. I prepare myself.

“You psycho. You’re gonna regret this.” I say angrily.

“Haha, yeah we’ll see.”

The men stare at me and smile while they roll up their sleeves. I construct my hands into fists and hear the red leather of my gloves cringe. I am ready for the fight of my life. I know for sure that it’s life or death right here. When I finish these five guys off, I know more and more men will keep coming. So I have to stay on top of my game to even have a chance at survival.

“Any final words?” Kavanagh added.

It can’t just end like this. With this a*****e just killing me like I’m nothing. I’ve done way too much to deserve this. This can’t be the end. I will NOT let everything conclude like this. I smirk a little bit and say.

“Welcome to hell, b***h.”

“Ah, he speaks his final saying. Now you guys may kill him.”

“You want some ice cream, little boy?! I’ll have mine… with a side of teeth! HAHAHAHAHA!” screeches a man in the ring with me.

The man standing behind me takes the first swing. I dodge it and counter his strike with a powerful left hook. Bam. He hits the ground. The man to my left attempts to strike me in the face and I quickly grab his fist, twist his arm, and break it within 3 seconds. I need to stay on the defensive and wait for the right moment to counter another punch. They attack me almost one at a time so that makes it easier for me. I can tell things will only get harder though. This is almost like a video game. But it’s not. It’s real life.

Two men left to fight in the ring. I can take them. They’re just typical street thugs. I’ve trained all my life to handle these guys. They’re so predictable. Two of the men run straight to me simultaneously at full speed. As they run, I bend my knees, slightly duck down, and lunge forward with all of my strength and trip both of them. They lie on their backs and I jump toward them, kick them in the faces, and crack their skulls. Permanent brain damage.

One man left and I haven’t even been touched. They can’t hit me. I feel like MC Hammer up in this b***h. I can tell he’s scared, but now he’s calling in others for help. What, too scared of the falcon? What a coward. Come and face me.

He brings in 6 more guys and I think I can take them. I think I can go on the offensive here. If I move fast enough, these guys should go like a breeze. I run to the first guy, jump over his head, distract him with my cape, and roundhouse kick him on the side of his skull. I turn quickly and give a good right hook to the second man behind him. As I finish my swing, I slide to the left, dodge a punch, and counter another man’s fist only to break his nose.

Another man swings a bat at me. I duck and dodge the bat. I quickly jump up and kick him across the face with my boot. I need to be very aware of my surroundings now. I see his blood mist into the air out of his mouth as I feel the crunch of his skull through my thick boot. I pick up his bat and get ready for the rest. The other men pick up baseball bats and now it looks like a retarded sword fight.

Three men left in here. They both run toward me. The first man takes a good swing, I block his bat with mine, run past him, and swing my bat at the other guy’s face. He’s unconscious. Now it’s just the last guy and me. I take a look at Kavanagh and I can tell he’s a little worried.

“It seems I have underestimated you, my dear falcon. My trained men haven’t even laid a finger on you. But, I’ve already prepared for this moment. Time to fight the BIG guy. HAHAHA. Bring him out!”

Kavanagh signs one of the men outside the cage to open the doors to let a certain man inside with me. I see a huge shadow emerge from the dark corner of the room. It’s wrapped in chains and I can hear it breathing like a bull. I feel the floor of the room vibrate after every step this thing takes. I hear the few men left cheering on the giant thug walking toward me. I see the dark shadow turn into a giant man as he walks into the light. He has mime makeup on. Maybe I should have that makeup on too. I’m always trapped in the invisible box of my life. He’s so freaking creepy though. This whole situation feels just like a movie. I see the thug give Kavanagh the death stare. Whatever that means.

The giant thug walks into the ring and doesn’t take his eyes off of me for one second. It’s like he has his target locked onto me. I’m his prey. I’m smart prey though.

I look down to my left and see my helmet. I walk over to it and place it onto my head. I am the Red Falcon.

Kavanagh signals the men to unlock the man’s chains to let him free. He’s probably 7 feet tall and 400 pounds. If I play my cards right, I can out smart him and maybe win. He’s the bull and I have the red cape. I am the matador.

He runs in my direction at full throttle as he screams like a monster. He’s the creature every kid fears under his or her bed. I jump high enough and distract him with my cape. I jump over his body and land behind him. As I turn around, I jump on his back and punch his ears with my metal fists as hard as I can so I can deafen him. Left hook right hook over and over again.

10 seconds of punching goes by and he yells into the air and flings me off of his body. I fly across the ring and hit the gated fence and land on my back. I get up and see he’s covering his ears like he’s hearing a loud noise or something. Then he stops and looks at me. This man is a psycho. He may be stronger physically, but I’m stronger mentally. And mental strength always wins.

He runs at me again and thrusts his large arm at me like a construction crane. I run and slide under him like in an action movie. The bull man spins around and runs at me again. I roll over in a fast motion and doge him again. I jump, run toward his back, and latch onto his muscular neck and attempt to choke. It doesn’t really work, so instead I gouge my thumbs into his eyes. He yells and throws me off again. Not as bad as last time. I land softly on my hands and knees. This bull man is done now. I just have to finish him off. I run toward his face, roundhouse kick, and continually punch as hard as I can. Left hook, jab, jab again, left cross, right hook.

The bull man falls onto his stomach and I hear Kavanagh yell in anger.

“God d****t! You were supposed to let the guy kill him! How the hell does this happen!? Get in there and rip his head off!”

I see four more men run into the ring armed with bats and crowbars. I get ready. I was born ready. Ready for this moment. I think I just might survive this tonight. I may live to see another day.

A few seconds go by and I start to feel the ground shake. The men around me look in the direction the vibrations came from. I look over just to see that the giant thug has wakened. The men around me rush out of the ring.

“What are you doing!? Kill him! Don’t run from him! I knew you were all p*****s from the start! You’re making me look bad you idiots!”

I run out of the ring and the giant thug runs toward Kavanagh. Is he mad at Kavanagh for something? I stop for a minute and think. Oh my god, I see it now. This giant thug is a prisoner. They keep him here for fights. He’s wanted to kill his boss all this time. Jesus… man luck just loves me right now. I can use this giant to my advantage.

This thug is extremely angry and he’s probably jacked up on testosterone shots. I see Kavanagh run through a back door and I make my way back upstairs to the window I came through. I can here more yelling coming from the giant in the basement. Man what a night… I need to go home. Maybe the thug will take care of Kavanagh for me.

I run outside and go to the front yard. I see a black car storm down the street. Damn. That was probably Kavanagh. At least he knows my power now. I can tell he underestimated me. I haven’t been able to fight like this for over a year since the big street wars.

I walk toward my motorcycle and bring out my keys. I hear something walk behind me. I turn fast to see who it is and I quickly see a dark figure pull out a tazer and taze me.

I fall to the ground. Holy s**t this freakin’ thing hurts! The man is wearing a doctor mask and has evil in his eyes. He’s the mysterious man that led me into the basement. He brings out pliers and opens my mouth wide. I try to fight, but he’s too strong.

“I should have murdered you when I had the chance!” hissed the man.

“Go to hell, you psycho!”

He puts the pliers into my mouth and grabs a molar. He twists and I hear my gums rip as he does it. He has the evilest look in his eyes. I fight more and more.

            He continually punches me in the face as he rips out my tooth. After a minute I just lay there in silence. The road is silent. The sky is dark. And the trees cast a shadow over me. But the moon shines onto this man.

            The man stands up and holds my tooth into the moonlight. I stay there and look up at him. I just wait until he says something.

            “Hm… looks like you haven’t been flossing, Alfredo Gordon.”

            I spit blood out of my mouth and say, ”How do you know my name?”

            “Hahaha. Little boy.” The man leans closely into my face. “I know more than just your name.”