Same Old Song

It took Kid a long time to figure out what exactly was happening. One second he'd been strolling along with Lou's hand looped through his arm, and the next he was lying flat in the dust, the secure weight of her hand gone from his body.

Of course, there had been events in between, but they had happened so fast that he wasn't sure of their order.

A shout from somewhere, an ear shattering roar occurring simultaneously with a blinding explosion of bright white light, that lit the street as if it had been midday instead of close to midnight. And then, the blast.

A fire ball had struck out at them with the speed of a rattlesnake, curling over the ground and stopping just short of burning them horribly. The onslaught of debris and hot air had not graciously pulled up though, and the force of the air alone had hit him in the face and chest like a train, taking the air from his lungs as it lifted him off his feet and blew him backwards several feet. He remembered watching burning wood fly past his head.

Was he dead? He wondered, only slightly interested in the answer for the moment. Surely not, for he wouldn't feel the pain in his head, little knives of torture sticking him behind the eyes were the flash of light seemed to replay itself.

The street, which had been completely silent after the blast, was now coming back to life as terrified screams and groans of pain filled the air. The air itself, cool and refreshing moments-or had it been hours?-ago, was now pungent with smoke.

He lifted a hand and groped at his side, hoping to find Lou there, but his hand found only dirt. He tried to lift his head to check on her, but the pain that shot through his skull was too much, and he dizzily crashed back against the dirt, taking deep breaths and trying to get his bearings.

"Kid? Kid, you okay?" Jimmy's voice drifted through the sickening light show performed on his closed eyelids.

"Yeah," Kid muttered, keeping his eyes shut tight as he brought a hand to his head, "Where's Lou?"

"She's right behind you. Lou? Lou, you okay?" He asked her. She was sitting up already, her back to them.

"Uh," her voice sounded funny to both of them, "Uh, I don't know…I think I-um-I think I need some help."

Kid's eyes shot open instantly and ignoring the splitting of his head, he turned over and crawled to her in the dust, Jimmy right behind. He tried to hide his grasp when he came around to face her. She was very visible in the middle of the street, some of the buildings further down had caught fire, and provided good light.

"Does it hurt bad?" Jimmy finally managed to say, looking a bit green.

"Not as bad as you'd think, but all the same, I'd like to have it out please," Lou murmured, her eyes not leaving the wound.

Apparently Lou hadn't been so lucky-if that was the word for it-in only getting the air from the blast. A board, complete with four protruding nails had struck her in the leg, and was now imbedded there. Two of the nails were bent, giving the boys an idea of just how long the two in her thigh were.

"Do we pull it out?" Jimmy asked Kid, noticing Lou was turning a sickly shade of gray, not from pain so much he didn't think, as from the shock. Her teeth were beginning to chatter, as were his, and her calm voice was rapidly beginning to break up.

However, she was still noticeably calmer than either one of them when she said through clenched teeth, "Yes, you pull it out. I already tried," Kid thought that explained the green tinge mixed with the gray, "Just get it off of me, please…"

"Right," Jimmy said, and scooted back, patting Kid on the shoulder, "Better get to it."

"Me?" Kid asked incredulously, "Why me?"

"Because," he saw that wasn't good enough and thought hard, finally pointing out, "she's your girlfriend, that's why."

"Not for long if you don't get this thing off of me!" Lou's voice was trembling with anger now, "Just do it! Now!"

Kid sighed, and seeing she was about to have another go at the board herself, gritted his teeth and placed a hand at either end of the foot long scrap of wood. "On three," he said, taking a deep breath.

"On one!" Lou insisted, then growled, "Now!"

More scared of her wrath than any damage he might do to her, Kid sighed and pulled on the board, gently at first, and then when he heard her shriek with pain, gave it a mighty tug and fell over onto his back when the board popped out of her flesh.

Lou sighed with relief, sat still a moment, then put a hand to her forehead.

"I think I'm gonna be sick," she said, covering her mouth, and turning her head, she staggered to her hands and knees before she fulfilled that prophecy.

Finally, she crawled a few feet away and collapsed on the dirt, noticing idly that Kid had thrown up too. Probably just as much from the smoke and force of the blast as from the gruesome surgery he'd just performed.

"What the hell was that?" Lou finally wondered, stiffly moving her leg, and hoping desperately that she wouldn't get Lock Jaw. She allowed her eyes to drift around the street for the first time.

Moments ago it had been a charming side street with long rows of shops and cafés. Now, it looked like an enemy army had marched through, taking no mercy.

Debris, from long twisted steel spikes to pieces of furniture, bricks, and wood littered every square inch of the street, some of the less fortunate victims still twisting under the heavier pieces. Directly in front of them, what used to be the Treasury Building was in ruins. A giant black hole from the second floor up provided a backdrop for the stars, which were obscured by the flames still destroying the building and the smoke billowing up and over the town. Two other buildings had caught fire, and huge wagons, drawn by draft horses thundered up from another side street to try and battle the flames.

People rushed around madly, panicking lest another building explode for no reason. Citizens from other parts of the city were rushing over, and doctors rushed around to check the victims. One such doctor stopped by them.

"Are you kids alright?" he asked with urgency.

"We're fine," Kid assured him, although Lou's leg was bleeding and his head was killing him still. It was obvious that compared to some of the other victims on the street they were relatively fine. At least, so far, there seemed to be no casualties.

"Explosives, you think?" Jimmy wondered suddenly, "Deliberate?"

"Well, unless the Treasurer just likes a good scare, is a bad cook, or is fond of dynamite, I don't think it was his doing."

"Do you think there are any more explosives?" Lou asked suddenly, sighing and trying to see if the blood from her leg was bad enough to penetrate all of the petticoats and reach the outer satin. She was relieved that the wound was not serious enough to have bled that much.

Jimmy stood up and offered Kid his hand, and Kid stood slowly, weaving from side to side, "Let's get out of here, just in case," he said reasonably, "you'll need to clean your leg anyway."

Before he leaned to help her help, he picked up the board and studied it with a fascinated, "hmm," as he contemplated how it had flown directly into her leg. Just for good measure, he slowly distended it from himself, toward Lou, and watched its progress closely in experiment. Then he caught her staring at him. He held it out to her, "A souvenir?"

Her glare caused him to quickly to drop the board and mumble, "guess not."

Looking at Kid, who could barely stand on his own, he sighed, "Guess you're riding with me," he told Lou, and reached down to pick her up.

"I can walk!" She protested.

"No you can't. That leg has got to be sore as the devil, and you might make it bleed worse if you do. You've already done a fine job of ruining the dress we just bought you with dirt and soot. I'll be darned if you're gonna get blood on it too."

"I'm fine! You can't carry me all the way back to the hotel," Lou snapped, her throbbing leg and head making her irritable, "Just put me down! I can do it!"

Jimmy listened to her complain for about a block, with Kid tottering alongside his elbow, before, with a deep sigh, he abruptly dropped her onto her own two feet.

"There!" He hissed, wanting to choke her, "Happy?"

She wove unsteadily for a minute, and Jimmy thought that if a deputy happened to walk by and see her and Kid weaving so he'd lock them up for public drunkardness.

He was ready when she attempted her first step and instantly started to crumple to the ground. He grabbed her to keep her from falling, none to gentle with his grip.

Then, with one fluid motion, and a look that told her it was at the risk of her life if she uttered another word about walking on her own, he hoisted her rather carelessly into his arms and they resumed their journey.

Lou glared back at him before averting her stare, but wisely said nothing.

When Jimmy carried her into her hotel room after Kid, Lou looked right into Jimmy's eyes and said with sarcastic sweetness, "Thank you for such a lovely evening Jimmy. You really know how to show a girl a good time."

Kid's eyes widened slightly, and he watched Jimmy. He couldn't, in all fairness, blame him, after that comment when he released her high over the bed, and let her fall a good three feet on her own, bouncing slightly and falling over.

A loud "thud" was the only sound that either of them heard. Jimmy nearly choked on his own laughter, having not intended for her to take a tumble onto the floor. There was a faint groan and Kid and Jimmy watched as one hand appeared on the bed's mattress…followed shortly by another hand, and then, ever so slowly, a face appeared. A face that was stricken between anger and frustration…and somewhere in there was the overwhelming desire to choke the living daylights out of someone.

Had Kid's head not pounded and brought upon a dizzying sensation whenever he shifted slightly, he probably would have run from the room. There was no way that he could hide the laughter in his eyes when he saw Lou's skirts Lou's skirts fly up briefly, revealing dusty petticoats, as she fell from the mattress. But, he knew at the same time that if he valued his life, he was better off remaining silent on the subject.

Using the bed frame for support, he slowly made his way to her side and helped her situate herself. "Lou, you all right?"

Lou glanced up at him, using his arm for support as she plopped back down and felt her leg. Jimmy came over and propped a pillow behind her, apology in his face…but knowing that the "I'm sorry" look in his eyes was not completely sincere. And, she figured she had deserved it…although would never have admitted it.

"Yeah, I'm all right, for having an all expenses paid horrible evening."

Trying to prevent her from sticking her foot in her mouth once again, Kid gently pushed her backwards and went to get some supplies to clean her wound…returning a few moments later. "Lou, this is going to sting a little bit," he bit his lip, not wanting to hurt her more than she had already suffered.

"You mean it hasn't already?" She bit her own tongue…now she was getting carried away and needed to drop it before she really blew it. "Go ahead," she mustered, preparing to flinch from the sting of the alcohol.

Gently, he wiped some on with a towel and she gripped her fists until her knuckles turned ghostly white. Jimmy sat on the bed, and waited until Kid gave him the signal to place a bandage across the wound. It would at least cover it enough to keep it from becoming infected. "There, I'd say you're back in shape," he smiled at her.

Kid put down the antiseptic and sat in the nearest chair. He rested his head back and placed a hand over his stomach. Perhaps it was the unrecognizable food not settling…which combined with the horrible music and explosion…finally leading up to Lou's injury, that made him feel as lousy as he did. Either way, he was dead set on sitting there and not getting back up again until it passed.

"I hate to bring this up, Kid…I mean I know you aren't feeling all that great." Jimmy said, walking over to stand beside his friend. Lou turned her head in their direction…also feeling a bit queasy from the motion.

Kid looked up at his friend through parted fingers and slumped further down in his seat. "That's putting it mildly." Resolving himself that he needed to hear Jimmy out, he forced himself to lower his hand and gently lift himself up.

"I think we better see what this is all about. I mean after all, we were almost killed out there, and I'd like to find out who did this. The people in this town seemed a little helpless."

Although he hated to admit it, Jimmy was right. If both of them went out now and investigated themselves for about an hour, they'd have approximately five hours of sleep before they were supposed to meet the journalists for their interview. Lifting himself with stiff arms, he stood up and watched the room spin. At least this time it only went around twice, as opposed to the last time when the bed circled for four complete turns.

"You're right," Kid replied, "Let's go."

Lou sat up and turned herself around. "Where do we start?" She slowly pulled her shoe back on and tried to stand up, not revealing how much her leg hurt.

Kid reached her in two steps, "No, you're not going anywhere…not in your condition."

"MY condition! You're the one with the headache, remember?" Lou snapped back, watching him flinch at how her raised voice caused a throb to pulse through his head. He lifted his hand to his forehead and she lowered her tone. "You can't do this to me. We're all in this one together."

Stepping forward to help her sit back down, Jimmy interceded, "Oh yes we can, Lou. You're in no shape to go out there. If we find anything, we'll promise to tell you right away. Besides, we won't be gone long."

Lou glared at both of them. It seemed that no matter how hard she tried, they never found her capable enough to be their equal in everything. She hated being left behind…but at the same time, this was one of those events in which she truly wasn't up to it.

"You can't do this, but I know that you're going to anyway." Lying back down on the bed, she threw a blanket over herself and motioned to the door. "So, I'll just tell you both to be safe and not do anything foolish, like getting caught in another explosion."

Kid breathed in relief, although he was a little curious as to why she had given in so easily. It wasn't like her…but he did have to chalk it up to the basic fact that she had been knocked pretty hard. Maybe it had done something to her head. He leaned down and placed a kiss on her cheek, squeezing her hand gently. "We'll be careful…and I'll look in on you before we turn in."

Jimmy smiled at her as well, offering the same words of encouragement. Then, he patted Kid on the shoulder and pushed him towards the door. "The sooner we do this, the sooner we can get back."

Turning toward the door, the two men headed down the stairs, and into the streets of the town where more activity was beginning to brew than either of them were prepared to experience. The silence that settled over the town would prove to be deceiving, as would their sense of security.

To be continued...Chapter IV