Great Power and No Responsibilities by Elliott Kay

Author:Elliott Kay [Kay, Elliott]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-06-28T00:00:00+00:00

Kyle pulled his bike up to the corner and stared at the house across the street. The sun was down, with little traffic in the residential neighborhood. Most of the houses were nice, if humble. Until the last few days, Kyle never put much hope in owning one of his own. Even now, with his financial swerve, he gave it little thought. Other things occupied his mind.

“It’s really this easy?” Nobody was around to hear him talk to himself.

[Easy is not doing this at all. But yes, I can cover for you. Try to be indistinct. That helps. The less memorable you are, the less I have to cover.]

Figuring the bike might be an identifier, Kyle passed the corner and parked it outside the street lights. Somebody walked by on the sidewalk with a dog, paying him little mind. Kyle hooked his helmet onto the clip and pulled off his leather jacket. Jeans and a t-shirt would make less of an impression too.

The only thing he needed came from his saddlebag, wrapped in white grocery store plastic.

Upbeat music drifted from one of the windows as Kyle came to the door. [K-Pop. It’s from the man’s son. College-aged, moved back in when money got tight. There is also the wife and a teenage daughter.]

“Can you limit this?” Kyle asked.

[Yes. Of course.]

“Thanks.” He took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

The answer didn’t take long. As Xinn assured, the right person came to the door: Korean, in his fifties, still in office clothes. “Yes?”

“Mr. Choi?” Kyle asked.

“Yes.”

“Sir, you don’t know me, but I heard what you went through a few months ago. I know about the kidnappers and the ransom.” Kyle watched Mr. Choi’s eyebrows rise. The older man was immediately wary, but kept listening. “I know the police weren’t much help, and your family had to give over a lot of money to get you released.”

“How do you know all this?” asked Mr. Choi. “Are you with the police? A reporter? Do you know those men? What do you want?”

“I’m none of that.” Kyle shook his head. “I had my own run-in with them and made sure they took a fall. They’re going to jail. Look up the gun bust in Long Beach yesterday. You might recognize them. They won’t hurt anyone else. If you want to follow-up on your own case now that they’ve been caught for other stuff, I sincerely wish you luck.”

“They took eighty thousand dollars from us and two weeks of my life,” Mr. Choi replied. His anguish was clear, but he held back enough to listen, and to speak. “My wife had to beg our friends and family for help. Of course, I want them to answer for it.”

Kyle nodded. “Then I hope it works out, but I can’t get involved. I can’t give back the time they took. But I can give back the money.” He held out the shopping bag, using both hands to keep it open for Mr. Choi. The older man’s eyes snapped wide at the wrapped stacks inside.

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