Free Kingdom: The Complete Series by Steven William Hannah Page A

sound, broken only by the
dying cries of the second bodyguard. The entire corridor stinks of burnt
powder. Jamie moves forward as though he is sleepwalking, still clutching the gun.
The second man is whimpering, and as Jamie comes closer his tearful pleas
resolve themselves into words – he is crying out for the King, begging for
help.
    Standing over him as
though he is wounded animal, Jamie's face breaks into a hollow eyed mask of regret.
    “ I
didn't want to -” he tries, and is cut off by the King shouting:
    “ Put
him out of his bloody misery!”
    The wounded man looks
up at Jamie, who levels the gun at his head. He is breathing in quick, short
wheezes – he whimpers, his voice shaking,
    “ I
don't want  -”
    “ I'm
sorry,” says Jamie.
    The bullet pins his
head to the stairs like a nail gun. His legs twitch straight out and his arms
spasm before he goes limp.
    Heavy breaths from the
wounded King fill the silence. Jamie is as still as if time had stopped again,
looking at the dead men before him with a confused expression on his face.
    “ You,”
he turns the gun to the King. “They were just men doing a job, just like me. I
wanted to retire.”
    “ Jamie...”
Chloe's frightened voice whispers behind him. She is on her feet and walking
towards him whilst he points the gun down at the King, who lies prone on the
staircase, vulnerable and helpless. He looks more curious than afraid, as
though he is anxious to see what Jamie will do.
    “ Jamie,
killing me won't change anything,” says the King.
    Jamie says nothing
back. He takes a shuddering breath in, fighting down the urge to scream. He
feels as though something is building up inside of him, something painful and
hot that needs to come out before it burns a hole in him.
    The King continues as
Chloe approaches.
    “ You
don't seem to understand, Jamie: I'm not the King.”
    Jamie's eyes widen in a
mixture of confusion and horror.
    “ Really,”
the false King goes on, chuckling, “you think one man could run an empire like
this? He's got offices all over the place. Sub-divisions. Body doubles. I'm
like a member of some huge council: all these Kings, all running their own
little cities as part of the greater whole. Nobody knows who he really is. Who
knows, maybe he's not even a real person? We just get our orders from the top
and make sure it all runs ok.”
    The false King grins,
though he is sweating visibly, shaking as his face has gone red. He keeps
giggling to himself.
    “ Kill
me, and they'll just replace me. It's pointless Jamie. You can't fight
something this big – it's ingrained into the very city, it's a part of it. You
can't destroy the King without destroying Glasgow.”
    “ You're
the only King I've ever known.” Jamie's voice is hollow and distant. “I'll
settle for you. Then I'll leave this shit-heap city, and anybody who comes
after me will die just like you.”
    He jumps as Chloe's
hand rests on his shoulder. The sudden fright makes the King tense as though
the shot had been fired. Only now, in the silence, does he realise how loud the
crowd outside is.
    “ Jamie,
stop,” she whispers, trying to calm him.
    There is shouting and
screaming; the sirens fight for dominance over the sound of crackling fire and
explosions.
    He levels the pistol at
the King's head.
    “ Chloe,
close your eyes sweetheart.”
    The world explodes into
sound and debris, and the dry scent of ash fills his lungs. Jamie clutches
Chloe's arm and swings her into his embrace, protecting her with his body. He
backs away from the explosion, a blast that has punched a hole in the hallway
and let the murky sunlight filter in from outside. Jamie points the pistol at
the plume of smoke lazily filling the hall.
    A gangly, skinny man,
naked except for some tattered, yellowed Y-fronts, emerges from the smoke.
    “ Where's
the King?” he slurs.
    Jamie is still staring,
the gun raised to greet this new arrival. Coated in dust, purple and yellow
with bruises, the naked man's