The Fall Guy (Eastward Prison Story)

2. Kaden

CHAPTER 2

KADEN

I wake with a pounding headache which is going to take more than a few paracetamols to relieve. Why did I drink so much last night? It’s almost like the banging isn’t just inside my head. Wait. My eyes widen as realisation overcomes me. It isn’t just in my head.

“Police,” someone shouts, followed by a loud thud.

It doesn’t sound like they’re giving us a chance to answer their knocking. Carnage breaks out within our shared house, and I scramble from my bed. The window’s stiff, but I push it up the frame, ready to escape, but not fast enough. A gust of wind fills the room as my door barely stays attached to its hinges. It crashes against the wall, revealing two armed cops. Unless I want to be shot, I need to consider my next move very carefully.

My gaze darts between the law enforcement and the window. If they take me in, they’ll likely charge me with drug possession. Maybe they’ll find a few illegal weapons and some extra strong bootleg liquor. If I run, they could shoot me. Is a few drugs, weapons and homemade moonshine really worth it?

“Hands up,” the cop on the left says. My eyes shift from them to the window and back. “Don’t make me ask you again.” He raises his gun with confidence.

I’m going to regret this, but I’ve never been one to take the easy option.

Head first, I launch through the small gap, escaping the confinement of my room. Grappling onto the drainpipe, I slide down the wall. My knees bang against the bricks on my way down, and I hit the floor with a thud.

I struggle to regain balance. When I’m finally back on my feet, I start to sprint like the guys in blue are already on my tail, and I’m running over hot coals.

Any injuries I’ve sustained are irrelevant at this moment. My legs are working, and I’m racing away from the hazard. That’s what matters.

Stones pummel against my bare soles, but nothing’s going to slow me down. Quickly, I make my way to the bottom of the garden, leaving by the back alley. Pushing over a few wheelie bins, I head to the main road.

Sirens ring out all around, making the sound distorted. I’ve no idea which way to go.

A cop car pulls around the corner, putting me in full view of the enemy.

With a tumble, I roll into a hedge, working my way into a garden. A couple are sitting in deckchairs while having a smoke, and I hold my hands up in an apology. Before they can alert anyone to my location, I slip into the next hedge, leaving one garden for another.

I continue to invade people’s space until I can rejoin another alleyway. Dogs bark, but luckily, I didn’t come too close to any of them.

I’m looking over my shoulder to check I’m not being followed when I slam into a car bonnet. My feet leave the ground as I free-fall through the air. The car screeches while it breaks heavily.

Someone swears loudly, but I’m struggling to focus. The world spins around in front of my eyes. My back hits the floor first causing a jolt of pain to radiate along my body. Tiny stones stick in my hands as I try to lift myself up. By the time I’m back on my feet, I have a taser aimed at my chest and a slim chance of getting away.

“There’s nowhere to go. Put your arms up, and this won’t get any more painful,” the cop with the weapon says. He’s tall, lean, and has a nervous glare. I don’t think for one second he doesn’t mean what he is saying.

Looking around, I check for a way out. More cops and more tasers are all I see.

“Fuck,” I mutter before doing as he asks. The game is up. Let’s hope they didn’t look too hard while they were in my house.

With force, he pushes me back onto the car bonnet, making me curse under my breath. My arm is bleeding, and my T-shirt is drenched in sweat.

He secures my wrists in cuffs as someone reads me my rights. The charges are a blur of overcompensating words that don’t make much sense. From what I can figure out dangerous weapons and illegal substances don’t seem to come into it. It sounds more like a stitch up than something I’ve done. All I can do is glare as I’m shoved into the vehicle’s rear seat.

Someone closes the door behind me, and when the cops are back in the car, we’re racing away from any chance of freedom.

“Where were you between the hours of ten and twelve yesterday evening?” Sergeant Miller says to me for the sixth time.

I watch him walk back and forth across the interrogation room but keep my lips sealed. I’ve no idea what they think they know, and my alibi isn’t the kind that would keep me out of jail. He pounds his fist down on the tabletop but I don’t flinch.

His interview partner, Officer Perkins, sighs like she’s already had enough of this. Me too. Hopefully, they tell me what this is about so we can all fuck off home.

Another twenty minutes of pointless questions pass while I stay tight-lipped. My head falls off my hand as I almost pass out from boredom or exhaustion.

The door opens for the first time since I was shut in here. Taser cop breaks up this party by waving his sergeant out of the room. I blow the young, petite cop a kiss before she decides to turn off the interview tape and join her team. I’m thankful for the few minutes without pointless questioning.

While they’re out of the room, I adjust my position. My ass has gone numb, and the shirt they lent me is doing nothing to keep me warm. A shiver ripples down my spine. I jump up off the chair and take the opportunity to stretch. Once I have better circulation, I drop back down into my seat.

The door opens once more, and they re-enter the interrogation room. Sergeant Miller has a brown envelope under his arm and a massive grin on his face. Whatever he’s got in there can’t be good.

“Shall we try again?” he says.

I pick the dried skin next to my thumbnail, unimpressed he wants to carry this charade on any longer. It would be so much easier if he just explained what was going on. He repeats a few of his questions, although I don’t engage.

“Show him the pictures, Serg,” the policewoman whose name I’ve forgotten says.

He strokes the envelope like he’s won a fucking prize. I raise an eyebrow, waiting for whatever he thinks he’s got on me. The drugs weren’t in my room, I can deny those charges, and maybe I was peeling an orange with the knives.

If he has evidence of me on the street doing a crime, I can pick away at whatever he thinks he has. I’m not a violent man; yes, I’ll defend myself, but other than selling drugs, I’m a model citizen.

A grainy picture is thrown onto the desk, and I can’t resist taking a peek. A face similar to mine is behind the wheel of a black car. I scratch along the length of my nose, covering my mouth as I let out a low chuckle. They have nothing on me. I’m not the guy they think I am.

“What am I supposed to have done?” I ask, staring at the one person I thought was too good to be mixed up in a crime— Kai. How the tide has quickly changed, I think gleefully. What was it he said to me last time I saw him? Something about not being there for me when I fall. Karma’s going to be a bitch when he finds the shoe on the other foot.

“You know what you’ve done,” the policewoman says. She leans in, gritting her teeth.

I scratch my earlobe not ready to tell them they have the wrong suspect just yet. “I have a bad memory. Please remind me.”

“Do you think this is funny?” Sergeant Miller asks. The corner of his eye twitches.

“You got me out of bed for this. I want to ensure a few things are clear in my head.” I smile, and Miller obviously wants to knock the humour right off my face with his glare.

“Last night, between ten and twelve, you committed a crime,” the policeman says.

Amusement dances across my face as I turn to look at her. “Oh yeah, what was that?”

Why does nobody ask a direct question? The police department is so frustrating. Spill the tea so I know what we’re talking about already .

“Stop messing around, Kaden. You know what you’ve done. There’s a boy in critical condition in the hospital. This is no laughing matter. Quit with the bullshit and explain what happened.” The Segreant spits the words out giving me my first clue to the crime.

This sounds serious, but I still need the final pieces to understand what they’re accusing me of. An injured boy is no joke, especially for my brother, he loves kids. “How did that happen?”

“You were seen driving through Eastward like a drunk asshole, and you hit him with your car.” The policewoman’s voice cracks with emotion. If the image of the crash wasn’t so repulsive, I’d find her loss of patience amusing.

“Now, now… I don’t think you should be speculating. What if I was on drugs?” I ask.

I’m not trying to be funny or maybe I am, mainly I’m trying to buy myself some time to think. Kai and I might not be on the best terms, but if he did the crime in question, he’s in so much trouble. Everything is going to change for him in the blink of an eye.

The sergeant isn’t impressed with my smart mouth. He lets out his frustration on the table again, pounding his fists loudly.

“This isn’t funny. He could die, and then you’ll be facing murder charges.”

Oh, Kai, you have been a naughty boy . For once, his shoes aren’t looking so pretty to walk in. A boy is fighting for his life, which is tragic, but when it comes to my brother, I won’t show weakness. I wonder if his wife knows what he’s been up to? The situation is dire. No one should be caught in such a sad crime, but I’m going to enjoy telling Sonia, that’s for sure. My brother’s life is about to go up in flames. I pump my fist a few times. The way I feel is both toxic and frantic. The crime in question is rotten to the core, and there aren’t going to be any good guys by the end of it. Not in my family anyway.

“I need my phone call now,” I say.

“Just tell us the truth,” Sergeant Miller says in a plea.

I hold up my hand, pointing my thumb up and my pinkie down like a telephone. “Phone call.” Each word comes out slow and crisp.

“We already have you behind the wheel. There’s no way you’re getting away with this,” the policewoman says.

“What happened to good cop, bad cop? I thought that’s how you pigs worked. Phone. Call. Now.” I make the phone sign again with my hand giving it a little shake.

They argue with me for a few more minutes before they finally give in and take me to a phone.

I’m not left unsupervised, but it doesn’t matter. I’m going to enjoy breaking the news to Sonia in person. I dial the number, hoping she’ll answer. I’ve lost track of time and no idea where she’ll be. Life has been going on as normal for everyone except me. She might be at work or on the food shop. Either way, I’m going to bring her world to a standstill.

“Hello?” she asks wearily.

“What’s your favourite scary movie,” I ask.

“Kaden, stop being a dick. I’m at work. Why are you calling me?” she huffs.

“Eastward Police Station, in twenty minutes or my face and your car are going to end up on the evening news.” I’ve never driven her vehicle, so hopefully, she’ll understand what I’m trying to say.

She’s silent for a few minutes. “Do I need to ring your brother?”

“And spoil the fun?” I let out a wicked laugh. “Just make sure it’s you that comes. Not him.”

She thinks for a few more seconds. “Fine. I’m on my way.”