Role play Group : The Death Club
A New Cold war.
The last days of Superman
Writer : CharlotteCarrendar.
-A street corner in Prague and the newsagent is opening the shutters on his shop front, as the delivery truck stops out the front, parking parallel with the street. The driver door opens, and the delivery driver hops out, as the morning traffic is just starting to build up around him. Jogging around the back he undoes the hook lock and rolls up the back roller door, reaching in and taking out a pile of newspapers. Hauling it up to the newsagent, he drops it just inside the door, then has the delivery docket signed, then going on his way. Taking out a Stanley knife, the shop keeper cuts the binds that hold all the newspapers in the stack, and then reaches for the top copy. The headline says. “Superman fan blamed for 8 dead at DC attack” On the front page, a picture of Kraus Zimmerman, dressed as Superman. Unfurling the newspaper, the shop keeper reads the first paragraph, outlining that Kraus worked for that particular newspaper, and that he was also the fiancée’ of Miss Inga Snoggleblom; Swedish porn star and Hello Kitty’s European Ambassador. The shop keeper notes the picture of Inga, in one of her page three style bikinis and makes a low wolf whistle, since she is quite the beauty. The article itself, is sketchy on details, but does mention, that the police would be investigating the matter further, once Kraus recovers from injuries he received in an attack on him at the Coffezz cafe, just across the road from the infamous Death Club. Knowing this paper would be going quick, he sets up a black board stand out the front of his shop, heralding the latest scandal. As he returns to his counter, a man in a black hat, suit and tie, with black raybans, is the first person to buy a copy of the day’s paper. Placing down some coins, the man in the black hat tuts softly under his breath, while the shop keeper pressing in the keys of his register.
“Who is going to save Superman, I wonder?” The man in black asks, a sneer on his face, as he folds the newspaper under his arm, about to leave the shop. The Shop keeper hands the customer his change and shrugs. “If he is responsible…nothing can save him from the law.” The Man in black tips his hat, while placing his change into a blind dog donation tin. Walking back out of the shop, passing more people who are rushing in to buy the day’s paper, the man in black gets into the back of a limousine, its door held open by his driver. The man in black, once settled inside, gets on the cell phone, where his call is picked up, by a white van that is stationed outside of the Prague Private Clinic, where Kraus is under the care of Doctor Warehouse, and Nurse Lola.
“Jackal….we have been monitoring the phones incoming and outgoing from the Hospital exchange. Nothing as yet about the police coming to place the mark under arrest, however, with the latest hacked calls from one friend, Hermon…we do not have much time to act.”
The Jackal unfurled the newspaper, as his limousine pulled out from the curb, and he snarled, seeing the headline, along with the small article. Clearly, this was now a dangerous situation. If Kraus spoke to the police, then they would get intelligence on not only Ayalah, but possibly further on the operations of the Israelis in Prague. Tossing the newspaper on the seat, he barked into the phone, so loud that the operator in the white van would jolt in his chair.
“That fat bastard has alerted the newspapers. I have today’s paper here, and Kraus is all over the front page. Thankfully, there is little intelligence about my Ayalah, but of course, you are right, it is a matter of time.”
The Jackal started to crack his knuckles, while squinting hard, thinking of how to proceed. Should he eliminate the threat to their organisation, by murder right under the Hospital staff’s noses, or would he have to come up with another plan, to gain the silence of Kraus. Easing back in his plush black leather back seat, he stared out the tinted window, to see a large billboard, of none other than that Inga Snoggleblom. The woman; who was the reason behind the employ of Ayalah in the outset. Course, it was all a cover, so that it would grant Ayalah the chance to get in close to the real mark, Mia. The Jackal remembers listening to the taped conversations between Ayalah and Kraus; the desperation in his voice to keep Inga safe after the attack on her in the toilets of the Death Club. The lengths that Kraus went to; all for the love of a woman.
On the other end of the cell phone, the operative was waiting for the Jackal to speak, to give advice on how to proceed. The silence had the operative on the edge of his seat. In behind him, were two other agents, that had been assigned to the stake out, for when the Jackal made his call. All three sat waiting. One of the agents was wearing a nurse’s uniform, and carried with her a fake I.D. to the hospital, while the other, was dressed as a detective for the Prague police department.
“Jackal?”
The Jackal reached up and removed his sunglasses, and played with the arm, hearing the operative as for him to respond. How to proceed? The life of the Superman fan, was now in his hands. All of this to protect Ayalah, and their own backs.
“Have a surgical gown and gear ready for me. Contact Dimitri, have him get the ambulance ready. I want Freda ready as I arrive in the hospital car park. I am on my way, and I plan to meet this Kraus, face to face.”
The Jackal hung up the call, as the limousine sped along. In the white van, it became a flurry of activity, as the nurse got her bag ready, along with the change of clothes for the Jackal, and the plain clothes detective, got on the cell to Dimitri. Operation Kryptonite, was about to be launched.
In the ward, that Kraus lay in his hospital bed, there were no flowers, no get well cards. The only visitor had been Hermon, and of course Steven, who had come in to find out why….why Kraus had brought that vile woman, Ayalah into the lives of the people of the Death Club. Kraus looked terrible, his face black and blue, swollen, with his jaw wired shut. He stared at the ceiling, with little or no life in his eyes. To him, his life was over. The costly mistake of his obsession to keep Inga safe from the hands of secret admirers, freaky ex girlfriends, and fans that got too close; had now cost him the very person he viewed to protect. He did not blink; his eyes were so red, crisscrossed with angry blood vessels. No more tears could come, for he shed them all. Kraus was refusing to take visitors, and even threw his notepad at the last nurse, when she tried to get him to write if he needed anything. If he could have taken back, all the things he said, out of fear, how he wished that he could. Had he truly lost Inga forever? His beautiful Swedish Kitty girl. She was worth more than all of this. He had her on a pedestal, but had turned it into a cage. He knew this now….but was it too late?
The door to his room opened, and Kraus did not even bother to look at who it might be. A nurse? That Doctor Warehouse? It was neither of those.
“And here we find, the man of the hour. The man of steel, no? No, you do not look like much of a hero to me.”
Kraus did not recognise the voice, and when he lowered his gaze, he saw what looked to be a surgeon, who had in behind him a nurse, that he had not seen before. Both appeared at his bedside, and Kraus swallowed his tongue, but was unable to speak, since his jaw was wired shut.
“They….really did a number on you. Tsk Tsk Tsk. Not very good people, those Death Club people, eh. OH, and that friend of yours. Hermon. *the surgeon moved in close, so that the mask was close to Kraus’s ear* “he dropped you in it. It’s all over the papers. You…my friend, are going to be arrested, and charged for the deaths of all those people.”
Kraus made a terrible sound, like a choking, as he blinked and his body shook. Like an animal about to be slaughtered, the fear in his eyes was haunting. The nurse, who had accompanied the Jackal, took up his chart, and then started to tick off some of the check lists, so to look from the outside of the room, that she was doing her job. There was not a lot of time, to do what must be done. The Jackal slowly lowered his mask, and then Kraus was able to see the face, that had terrorised many over the years. He showed a maniac like grin, as he reached out and gripped the face of Kraus, so he could not look away.
“I should just kill you here and now. Do everyone a huge favour.”
The Jackal shook Kraus’s face violently, so to get his point across, that the Jackal was certainly no friend. The nurse started to chuckle softly, obviously enjoying seeing this, till the Jackal turned his face side on and growled. “Do…you’re…job!” The nurse quickly put down the clip board, and exited the room, heading up to the ambulance bay, as the fake detective was posted outside. Now, it was just the Jackal, and Kraus alone in the room. Kraus was sobbing now, thinking that he was about to die, when the Jackal pulled his mask back up, and rummaged around in a doctor’s bag, taking out a needle. Kraus’s eyes near bulged out of his head, his muffled cries, like he was begging the Jackal, not to kill him.
Turning back to face Kraus, he pushed on the plunger, as a squirt of clear liquid went into the air. Readying to administer it into Kraus’s arm. But then, he laughed. It was a sick and cruel laugh, of a man who had great power. Today, he was playing God.
“As we are here, my Ayalah…my Viper, is somewhere in Russia. Yes, she was kidnapped from that Death Club, by the same people, who wanted Mia. Now….I am going to get my Viper back, and then we go on with our lives. But you see…if you….open that pretty mouth of yours to the police…then the governments will not be happy…at all.”
The Jackal made a move towards Kraus’s bed, when the doors to the ward opened, and two paramedics came in, with a gurney. Both the men were huge, dressed in the dark blue uniforms, looking official. When one of the usual nurses came passed, she peered in, but it all seemed above board, especially with the detective guarding the room. She shrugged, and continued on her way to the nurses’ station, unaware, of what was about to happen.
Kraus started to jerk and spasm violently, his head tossing to and fro, and then the Jackal plunged the needle into Kraus’s shoulder. The two paramedics took hold of Kraus as the drug started to take effect. Slowly, Kraus’s body went from full on fighting, to the odd twitch, and then he was out. The Jackal stepped back, allowing the paramedics to move him onto the gurney, and then unhooked all the machines. With Kraus strapped in, the paramedics wheeled him out, and down to the ambulance bay, where the special ambulance was waiting. The fake detective went to the Nurse’s station, and advised that he would be taking a break. But there was a sudden influx of calls into the nurses’ station that had all the staff reaching for phones. Little did they know, this was actually the operative in the white van, who was playing repeated messages, to stall and give the Jackal and his crew the chance to make their escape.
The Jackal, collected his surgical bag, and calmly walked to the front entrance, only removing his mask, when he got back inside the limousine, and then drove off, with the ambulance and the white operations van following along behind. Inside the limo, the Jackal removed his mask, and then the gown, tearing both off, and dumping in a bag on the floor.
“To the airport…it’s time for Superman…to fly.” <3>
