TEN SECONDS , The Kenny Ackerman Story BOOK ONE~ ORIGINS ,by Melly O'Hara

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CHAPTER 11 JUMPED

"Hey, what the fuck do ya think your doin' ?" my muffled voice yelled at no one in particular.

"Hold him, boys!", came a deep controlled voice from outta the shadows. " Keep the gun on him - he's an Ackerman", the voice continued.

The gun dug harder inta my temple an' I heard the revolver barrel click.

If I hadn' been so deep in thought. If I hadn' let my guard down while I were in with Grandpa, I never would have fallen for such an obvious trick; bein' jumped from the roof top , an' attacked from both sides o' the house.

"Ya wanna kill me? Good luck! 'Cause I'm not jus' an Ackerman..... I'm Kenny the Ripper, Ackerman! So's enjoy your fun, boys, 'cause afore long, I'll be havin' a little fun o' my own; jus' like I enjoyed myself with y'r commrades a couple o' hours ago!" I laughed inta the grass, as another body stomped my head inta the ground.

"Yeah,yeah, we know who you are. That's why we're here, Kenny. You've become mighty easy to track down, since your take over of the Mitras underworld. I knew that sooner or later, you'd be back to visit your kin, and this would be the best way to 'convince' you to 'have a little chat'. After all, with the mess you made of the Military Police guards last time, I could see that you weren't one for conversation, and it's not like a person of my standing, could come into one of your hovels, amongst the rabble and the riff-raff and 'book an appointment!'" he laughed. " So when word came through that more of my guards had been, shall we say , 'relased from their duty early ' tonight, I knew you were here and we could have ourselves a nice little 'talk', about your unique set of skills. And your skills are exactly what's needed for this job. So, just slow down, Kenny", the voice from the shadows continued. "And just you hear me out, before you started jumping to....'conclusions'?!

"Then ya'd betta hurry up an' tell me what ya wanna say, 'cause as soon as I'm free, I'm gonna give everyone here the Kenny Special an' make taday's effort look like a fuckin' afternoon tea-party", I hissed through gritted teeth.

"My name's Reiss", the shadow voice announced. "Does that name mean anything to you?"

"Reiss....ya mean like the King? You're the King?!" I asked, now completely still.

The voice laughed. "No,no. W ell....not yet!"

"Well you're, sure as Hell, not Uri! So what the Hell are ya talkin' 'bout, with your 'not yet'? Everyone knows that Uri's next in line. So's who the Hell are YOU?" I asked.

"Well, let's just say, I'm the black sheep of the family, too far down the line to inherit the throne, so I just serve on the Council. But, like you Kenny, I don't think that life's quite fair - that some people don't deserve the power they've been given and that other, cleverer, wiser people should have that power instead. Because they'd know how wield it – how to make life better; free the Ackermans from persecution, for example", he finished.

"I'm listenin' ", I said.

"Well Kenny, you wouldn' know this, but in the next few years (sooner if l get my way), there will be ceremony and a new king will be crowned", said the voice.

"What... is the King sick or somethin'?" I asked.

The voice laughed, "No. Well, not the way you mean it! But just believe me when I tell you that I know, a new king WILL be chosen and .... The choice isn't me!"

"An' let me guess....You want me ta kill the heir...An' then you get the throne, right?!" I drawled, sacastically. " Well, don' bother! 'Cause I already had that job, an' I decided I didn' wanna do it!"

"So, your loyal to Uri?" the voice asked.

"I ain' loyal to no one but myself, ass-wipe. I jus' don' want the job", I answered.

"You know that nothing would change under Uri's kingship, don't you , Kenny?" the voice slimed.

"You don' know nothin'!" An' I don' know nothin' . I'm not a fuckin' fortune –teller an' neither are yaself. I ain' hold much with this royalty bit, but Uri's got somethin' the rest o' ya sure sure ain' got - he don' care 'bout power or money. An' who's ta say ya'd be any betta? Ya wan' me ta kill for ya so's ya can have your power?! Ya sound like a shit-bag ta me!" I finished.

"Kenny , you're the only one who can make life better for you and your clan. The Ackerman's will still be hunted and persecuted under any new king, that I don't choose. You will see that nothing will change with Uri as king, and you'll remember this conversation, and then you'll come to your senses and come looking for me", the voice said.

This guy were a whack-job; mus' be all that in-breedin' that goes on with the Royal blood - an' he came out two-cents o' dollar.

"And when that time comes", he continued, " you'll need this. Any member of the Military Police that see this, or civilian will not attack or arrest the bearer", he said, as he threw something small and shiny inta the grass near my face.

"Alright boys, let him up!" the voice commanded, as he threw Siver Lady a couple o' feet away from his horse, an' the bodies left mine, an' I heard the gallopin' o' horses goin' further inta the distance.

Alone an' upright, I wriggled 'cross the grass, 'til I found Silver Lady an' cut the ropes from my wrists an' ankles. An' then feelin' all through the grass, I searched for the shiny thing the voice had thrown down. Touchin' metal, I held it up ta the moonlight an' saw it were a small gold ring with the Royal insigna on it.

"Shit! The guy weren' bull-shittin'!" I laughed. "Maybe a can short- o'-six-pack, but he weren' lyin' 'bout bein' a Reiss!"

Makin' my way back through the shadows, I entered the Underground; with it's dirt an' it's crowds an' it's stench an' it's song, an' made my way ta the nearest bar.

'This had been one, fucked - up night', I chuckled ta myself, as I downed the whiskey an' called over the perdy dark whore, ta show me her charms.