Free The Adventures of Kid Combat 3: Jones Strikes Back by Christopher Helwink Page A

down the street.
    Jones and his men fought through the
escalator full of people and emerged from the building. To Jones’s
dismay and anger – there was no sight of the two kids.
    “Split up and fan out,” Jones said to his
men. “Do not lose them…”
    A group of Jones’ men went in every
direction. Some went to the left, others went straight ahead. Jones
and the few men that remained went to the right – the same
direction as Kid and Samantha.
    Kid and Samantha had about a half a block
lead and continued to run as fast as they could. Jones and his men
started to gain ground.
    Where are we heading, Kid?” Samantha barely
puffed out. The two kids dodged traffic as they ran across the
intersection. Kid never answered Samantha.
    Jones and his men continued their chase.
Jones, leading the pack, could see the two figures he was chasing.
Every once in a while he would see a head or an arm or their legs
pumping through the crowd of people. Jones determination could be
seen in his face. This is the closest he has ever been in capturing
Kid Combat. He was a mere fifty feet away. And he was not getting
away this time…
    Kid Combat ran. He ran faster than he did the
last time he faced Jones. Samantha followed closely behind him.
Their legs burned, they sweated from the summers heat, and they
started to fade.
    Kid knew Jones was behind him. He never
turned around to actually see, but he knew they didn’t lose him
yet.
    Another block went by. Buildings started to
merge into one and the faces all around Kid became a blur. He had
no plan or direction that he headed, he turned down streets that
allowed him to turn, and went with the flow of traffic.
    Jones just followed the commotion. Every once
in awhile, in front of him and his men, he would see people
scatter, or someone would yell out “hey!” or “watch out!”. Jones
followed those small clues to lead his men towards Kid Combat.
    He was getting close. He could feel it. It
drove Jones faster. A right turn here, continue going straight,
over there near the river. Jones followed with rage. Kid Combat ran
with courage.
    Kid and Samantha rounded another
intersection. There, rounding the corner of the block in front of
them, was a group of Jones men. With Jones closing in behind them,
Kid and Samantha couldn’t turn back the way they came.
    “In here, in here!” Kid exclaimed out to
Samantha, grabbing her arm and pulling her down a small alley. The
two friends ducked behind a few garbage cans and waited.
    “This is crazy, Kid,” Samantha said sitting
and leaning up against a garbage can. She faced away from the
street and breathed heavily. “We can’t keep this up all day.”
    “I know,” Kid said, turning towards Samantha.
He was out of breath himself and gasped for air. Slowly, his body
started to regulate itself down to a normal pace.
    Kid looked up and peered between the two
garbage cans he hide behind. There, he could see the street, and
more importantly Jones’s men rushing by them. It appeared they
might be safe.
    Jones’s men continued past the small alley.
They almost got to the intersection of the street when Jones
rounded the corner.
    “What’s your report?” he asked of his
men.
    “Nothing. We’ve seen nothing since the train,
sir,” one of the men said to Jones.
    “That’s impossible,” Jones said, clenching
his fist. “He was right in front of us. He had to of come
this way.”
    “We didn’t see him, sir,”
    Kid Combat left his hiding spot and made his
way up to the edge of the alley.
    “Come on,” he whispered back to Samantha. “We
can’t stay here, we’re pinned down.”
    Kid took a small chance and peaked his head
around the corner. There, off in the short distance, he could see
Jones and six of his men standing in a small circle near the
intersection of the street. Even with the distance, Kid could hear
Jones yell the next order to his men.
    “Fan out, all of you!” he barked. “He’s here
somewhere – search every inch. Find