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New Jersey Report III
New Jersey Report - Dann Kopko's Story: Part III
by Sean Hope - cue@verizonmail.com
The first thing the two had to do was ditch the prison uniforms. This was
easier than Dann Kopko thought. The burnt out stores still had clothing
hanging on the racks with price tags. The problem became that Dann couldn't
find anything in his size. This was remedied though. The pawnshops and gun
store though seemed long cleaned out. It was getting closer to dark and the
old man's rat disguise was starting to fade. They were going to need a place
to hide, before the rat hunting parties started looking for them.
Dressed in $1000 dollar suits the two went to a theatre and hid in the
lighting booth until the sun came up. Dann couldn't sleep but the old man
slept soundly through the night. Dann tried to remember his former life, but
couldn't. He couldn't even remember what his parents looked like and this
started to bother him.
7 hours later the old man woke ip. He still hadn't spoken a word but he made
his way to the last row in the theatre. Where Dann Kopko stood watch. Even
as the old man approached Dann still hadn't moved. "OK, ol' timer lets move
out."
The old man turned and walked out the door and Dann followed. It was as if the
old fart knew where he was going the entire time.
The George Washington Bridge still stood. You couldn't drive a car across,
but it was certainly passable by foot. The old Man's new shoes started
bothering his feet so he walked bare foot the rest of the way across. Dann
almost pick him up and then realized what he had done to the rat. This old
man seemed normal but he was a terrible mutation of some sort. Dann stood his
distance. At the end of the bridge, there weren’t any guards. Even with the
quarantine lifted there still should have been some show of military.
Maybe just to protect New Jersey from the rat-men.
They must of walked 20 miles and still the old man seemed content to walk
barefoot. Dann saw a tattered sign for Tt. 17 and then the memories started
to come flooding back. Badda Bing was just around the corner. They made
their way to the boarded up nightclub. It looked as if it hadn't been used
in years. "This is where we make our stand old man. Are you still with me?"
The old man looked surprised and then wrote something in the ground. Dann
looked at it. It read HOPE. "You got that, we can use all the hope we can
get."
As they were admiring the view of the old nightclub a motorcycle came
thundering down the road and passed them. Dann knew he was spotted but if he
could get lucky maybe this was going to be their new mode of transport.
The Bike circled around and stopped. The Biker then started to walk towards
them, his pistol still in his holster. Dann braced himself for the attack.
Then the Biker spoke, "Hey..errr... friend... I... thought...you..umm
were..long dead."
Dann instantly recognized the soft-spoken Benny, but he had only been 8 years old
the last time he saw him. Dann couldn't believe he was all grown up.
This was more than he could of hoped for.
"Who...umm is..dee..old..man?" Benny asked.
"This guy here, is my luck. I mean this is Lucky. Lucky this is Benny."
The old man didn't seem to have any interest in Benny and just stared
blankly ahead.
Benny gave the two a ride to his Bike Shop. The place was a converted old
warehouse, in the middle of Garfield NJ. There must have been 30 bikes in
there. This was almost an army and Kopko finally got a good night's rest, He
slept for nearly two days and the old man stood watch as the Bike Shop
stayed open all night. Benny who also played bass for his Band "the
Benjammins" also could be heard amidst the sounds of bikes thundering
around downstairs. Dann Kopko slept through it all.
A large group of about 30 Orgs walked in while Dann slept. They all just
took seats and waited until Kopko arose again. One of the Orgs started to
clean this huge gun he had stashed away in a guitar case.
Dann opened his eyes and saw nothing short of a miracle. a roomed filled
with Bouncers and Strippers, specialist and professionals. Most of them he
didn't recognize, but the one with the gun he did. Dave T., who was born to
be a made man. Dann Got up and put on his vest.
Dave spoke, "The report of your death, was greatly exaggerated."
"Yeah what's been happening in my absence?”
"Lil’ Joe has been transformed into a mechanized freak and he has a lot of
his crony robotic freaks hangin’ around him. He’s also perfected the
Atrocitor and has already started to convert most of his forces into
cyborgs. We all live in fear every day. No one wants to be a made man. We
all do our best to hide from him when he starts recruiting for the police
squad. They leave Benny alone and he’s become sort of an underground
railroad that doesn’t go anywhere. I was slated for reconditioning and now
I’m just another wanted man like most of the ones you see here."
"So what do you want me to do?" Dann asked
Dave replied, "Rumors of your arrival have spurred new hope."
Dann looks over at the old man, still at his post watching everything as it
transpires. "Yeah, I was getting the same feelin’ myself."
"Then you realize that you are the only living being that Lil’ Joe has made
disappear that has come back. You are like the second coming."
Dann raised both his hands, "Hold on! I wouldn’t go that far. All I want to
know is are your men ready to die for me, so I can end Lil’ Joe’s reign of
terror?"
The entire room erupted without hesitation, YES!
"Good, the first rule is simple. When you bleed, make them bleed more. Lil’
Joe is mine I want to see his face as I crush the life from his body." Dann
sat back on his bed. "I need a connection, do we have any computers that I
can link from?"
"It’ll be traced."
"I want it to be traced. Now, I have a plan. It’s going to take a genius
computer mind and I can only think of one person."
"Godfatha Dossy is Lil’ Joe’s right hand man. He would have the most the
lose with the Death of Lil’ Joe", Dave T. said with concern.
Dann Kopko thought outloud, "He would also have the most to gain".
