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

eyes travel from Jamie's raised pistol to the two
dead men on the floor, and back to Jamie. He then raises a hand as though he were
calming a wild animal.
    “ Put
the gun down man,” the man says, his wild red eyes filled with realisation.
    “ Who
are you?” asks Jamie.
    “ I'm...”
the man hesitates, running a hand over his bruised head as though he has
forgotten a line and is trying to remember. “I'm a janitor. Where's the King?”
    Jamie lowers the
pistol.
    “ He's
right here,” he pulls Chloe out of the way to let the naked janitor see the
prone figure of the King.
    His eyes have settled
on the two warm corpses.
    “ Who
were they?” he points to the bodies.
    Jamie says nothing, and
Chloe emerges from behind him.
    “ They
were his men. They tried to kill us.”
    The janitor seems to be
making a decision, rubbing his eyes as though it's been a long day.
    “ You're
not one of the King's men?”
    After a brief pause,
Jamie looks down at the King and shrugs.
    “ No.”
    “ And
this is the King?”
    Jamie nods.
    “ Wow,
that was easy,” the janitor shrugs and walks between them. The King tries to
shuffle away, but the janitor reaches down and grabs him by the collar. “You're
coming with me.”
    Jamie's nose screws up
at the reek of stale alcohol that pours off the heavily bruised, scar-riddled
man. His eyebrows are raised in disbelief as the janitor lifts the King
one-handed, and Chloe is watching the man in fascination as he begins to walk
down the hallway without a care, heading for the steel blockade.
    “ What
are you going to do with him?” Jamie watches the janitor sling the King over
his shoulder like a child, and the crime-lord sags and gives up.
    “ I'm
going to take him downstairs to be arrested by somebody,” the janitor turns
back, pausing. “I'll be damned if I can't find one honest policeman to take him
into custody.”
    “ Arrest
him?” Jamie starts forward before Chloe grabs his wrist
and holds him back. “The police are in his pocket, they'll ignore you.”
    “ I've
got to try.”  The janitor looks at the pistol hanging by Jamie's side and
raises an eyebrow. “What else can I do? Shoot him?”
    Jamie looks at the gun
in his hands and lets out a tense breath. He drops the gun and it clatters to
the floor.
    “ Look
–“ Jamie begins, but the janitor walks away. “Hey, that door is metal, you
won't get...”
    Jamie stops talking as
the janitor approaches the steel shutter and lifts a foot. His bare foot
crashes through the steel as though it were tin foil. He kicks it a few more
times and it crashes off the hinges.
    “ What
the hell,” Chloe begins, and Jamie pulls her forward, following the janitor.
    “ Hey,
wait -” Jamie starts.
    The janitor turns, an
eyebrow raised. His face, though slim and worn, exudes a stubborn kind of
friendliness – he has the look of a man who knows that he cannot be harmed.
    “ Yes?”
    “ You...”
Jamie tries to put it into words, but finds that all he can say is, “you too?
The fire, right?”
    The janitor's face
straightens, and he lowers his head.
    “ The
fire, yeah,” he says with a firm confidence. His eyes fall on Jamie's nose, and
he points. “You're bleeding.”
    “ Yeah,
I know,” Jamie says, wiping his nose absent mindedly. Only now does he notice
the crusted, dried blood around the janitor's nostrils and upper lip. “We both
are”
    “ I'll
be fine if I can get a drink,” he says, and Jamie frowns in confusion. “I
think. Let's get this bastard into a prison cell and then we can figure it all
out. If anybody starts shooting at us, just stay behind me.”
    The janitor steps over
the crumpled steel door and Jamie follows after him. Chloe pulls on his wrist,
making him pause.
    “ Chloe
-”
    “ Is
he drunk?” she whispers, her eyes darting to the janitor as he walks away.
    Jamie can't take his
eyes off the mottled and bruised back of the peculiar, fearless janitor.
    “ Uh
– yeah, I'm pretty sure he's