The Dark Knight

1. Meeting the Knight

‘Hey hold up,’ Lucy said, stopping to catch her breath after running a few meters away, her tight school uniform charade attire was suffocating to say the least

Jerry stopped and turned to look at her, looking around to make sure no one was following them

‘Thanks for what you did back there but it wasn’t that necessary, I had it under control’ she said, panting

‘Really…? so how about we go back there then high schooler?’ he sneered, becoming angry that he had rescued a damsel in distress who was turning out to be an ungrateful one.

The streets were dimly lit so he couldn’t see her face properly to tell her age but from the little he could see, she was no teenager

She glared at him and he returned the glare. This boy couldn’t be more than 18 or 20 years old, but he had the look of a well traversed street boy, she mused

He looked at her closely and his eyes widened in recognition. ‘Hey…aren’t you Lucy…the girl at the bookstore two blocks from here?’ he asked, his voice had traces of excitement

‘That’s correct.’ Lucy replied, beginning to smile, thinking this was a safe friend ‘Oh who are you?’ she asked, squinting at him

‘I am Jerry the guy next door, my pops fixes your plumbing in the basement? I give him a hand sometimes’ Jerry said, still looking intently at her

‘Oh yeah nice…’ she said ‘I am 21 by the way’ raising her brow at him

‘Yeah sorry I called you a highschooler…your dressing deceived me’ he smiled sheepishly

Jerry had always had a crush on Lucy and would sneak in on her to watch her through the store glass panes. He had been doing that since he was 15. She lives in the apartment on top of the bookstore with her Aunty, having lost her parents when much younger

Jerry walked with her back home since it was not far from there and they talked as they went along, unaware they were being followed

‘So why are you dressed this way and what were you doing with that guy there?’ Jerry asked, puzzled

‘You wouldn’t understand Jerry’ she sighed, thinking of Big Joe and the way he had groped her a few minutes ago

He smiled wryly, his eyes lighting up his otherwise rugged face ‘Try me’

She looked at him considering whether he was a friend or foe, his smile convincing her to speak up

‘Well if you must know, I dressed up like this in answer to a call. That guy you rescued me from is a guy I met online on a dating site and I have been asked to dance for his troop every now and then and entertain them. But he owes me money from last time and didn’t pay up, yet he wanted me to do a gig for them again tonight and I refused’ she said, angry all over again

She continued ‘I was going to tell him I quit when he wanted to get rough with me….I guess you showed up on time then’

‘I guess.’ He said, his face darkening when he heard how the guy had treated her

They got to her door and he smiled at her, turning to take his leave

‘Alright then I will leave you now… be safe’ he said

‘Sure’ she replied, entering her building

He watched her go in then headed back to the spot he had seen her, he had unfinished business there. As he turned the corner close to the bar, two men came out of the shadows and walked up to him, Jerry stiffened as he saw them

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Big Joe was laughing and drinking with his friends in the bar; five men, making a racket in the middle of the bar, not caring who was affected.

‘So what happened to the kitten that was to entertain us tonight?’ Gary a loud fellow with pot belly and unruly beards asked in a gruff voice, peering at the waitresses as they passed by

‘Yeah never mind the ungrateful peasant, she decided to quit on us tonight’ Joe answered, irritated

‘Really?’ one of them, Dan, snorted, knowing full well that Big Joe never let this kind of things slide

‘Yeah…’ Joe answered dryly. He was the guy that always set up their fun nights and this particular vixen was his favorite for many reasons but she had crossed the line and it was time to discipline her, he thought

‘Hmm so what are you going to do about it?’ his other friend Ken asked, amused

‘Teach her a lesson that’s what’ Joe said, with a glint in his eyes

‘How do you intend to do that?’ Harold, the gentle kind-hearted friend of his said, alarmed

‘Mm leave it to me, I have my ways’ Joe said, making the other men laugh loudly. His bodyguard came over then and whispered something to him, he nodded and the guard went away and came back a few minutes later with none other than Jerry

‘Jx.’ Big Joe said to him, calling him his official street name

‘Yes boss’ Jerry bowed his head in greeting, and looked at them all, scanning the men’s faces intently

‘Did you see where that girl went to?’ Joe asked him, hiding his anger at the earlier interruption

‘Yes boss’ he answered boldly, making the men stop talking and look at him

‘Why did you interrupt my talk with her even?’ Joe asked, giving full vent to his anger now, seeing they had an audience

Jerry looked around and answered slyly ‘All part of the game boss’ he smirked. He was King of the streets in their minds but protector and knight to those in distress. He knew how to swing this his way

Joe’s demeanor changed and he chuckled ‘Great…. so you know the plan, Bosco here told you yet?’ Joe asked him raising his brow at the guard with him

Jerry nodded, he had been briefed outside by Joe’s two guards

‘Right… so bring her to me, to the tavern at midnight tomorrow. She must not suspect a thing’ Joe warned

‘Yes boss.’ Jerry replied, he bowed and walked out of the bar quickly, suddenly needing some air

He called someone on his way out of the bar

‘Hey Marx..’ he said over the phone

‘Yeah man’ Marx replied

‘We have a job, but it is a tricky one’ Jerry said

‘How tricky?’ Marx replied

‘Double-cross mode tricky’ Jerry whispered in reply as he stood outside the bar in his usual dark corner

‘Hmm I’ll come over, let’s plan this well’ Marx replied

‘Yeah’ Jerry replied and hung up, going to their secret hideout nearby

Jerry met up with Marx a few minutes later and they plotted how to deal with Big Joe and the likes of him that took advantage of innocent girls just to show that they had power

He was going to ensure not only would Lucy his childhood crush be protected but Big Joe and his men will be out of this earth forever and he wouldn’t have even done it directly

Jerry chuckled to himself as the sun rays sipped in through the glass panes. Time to sleep. He went to bed in the wee hours of the morning; he was a nightcrawler and his dark justice was more famed than robin hood sometimes. The gangs trusted him and he in turn played them to dance to his whims. He was sure tonight’s deal will go as planned. His boys will execute as directed.

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Jerry slept till about 3pm then he woke up and got ready to kick off his plans

By 4pm he sent a text message to Lucy

‘Hey my crush…how are you today?’ the text read

‘Hello handsome teenager’ she replied

‘Teenager? Take that back’ he texted back. Even though he was just 20 years old, he was already mature for his age and leading a gang of adults

‘Haha okay…hello my handsome knight’ she texted

That’s better, he thought. ‘So what are you doing?’ he texted

Lucy: ‘Just selling at the store’

Jerry: ‘When do you get off?’

Lucy: ‘Why?’

Jerry: I want to take you on a date

Lucy: A date?

Jerry: ‘Yes…’

Lucy: ‘Oh okay... no can do’ she texted back. Then he called her. She picked up after a couple of rings

‘Alright not a date….Just coffee or something’ Jerry said, in his velvety voice he knew would seal this

‘Coffee in the afternoon?’ Lucy asked, laughing

Jerry was frustrated. ‘Hey woman I want to dine with you tonight, kindly oblige’ he blurted, trying not to sound irritated

‘Tsk tsk….patience in the art of wooing’ Lucy said sweetly, he didn’t respond

After a few seconds she laughed. ‘Okay agreed’

‘Good…be ready by 7pm. Dress hot’ he said, chuckling and hung up

She rolled her eyes. She was no cougar but this guy made her feel hot and bothered with his dark looks and almost wicked chuckle and she was excited to be going out a date with him

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Lucy was ready by 7pm when Jerry arrived to pick her up. She opened the door and saw him looking dapper, dressed in a body hugging V-necked shirt and form fitting jeans, with his muscles rippling through his short sleeved shirt. He trailed his eyes over her short gown that hugged her nicely in all the right places and their gaze locked

He decided to be a gentleman and took her hands in his, placing a kiss softly on the back of her palm.

‘You look beautiful my lady’ He murmured, looking into her eyes, making her swoon

‘And you look very handsome.’ She said, blushing and he nodded, leading her to the car

‘Shall we?’ he asked, smirking

He brought a jeep..? She thought to herself, How could he afford this?

‘Sure...’ she replied, getting into the jeep and he started the car, driving on

‘Where are you taking me?’ she asked hesitantly. She really didn’t know him, just met him and yet had accepted to go on a date, she chided herself, looking at her dark knight

‘It is date night. We will have dinner and then watch movie and then perhaps I’ll get lucky with you tonight’ he said wiggling his brow

She gulped, very forward man

‘Well we will see about that then.’ She said, she was no shy girl afterall so yeah, he could get lucky if he played his cards right, she smiled

‘And that we will’ he said, his voice low and enchanting. She leaned back and enjoyed the ride

He took her to a burger place first and they ordered take away then went to a drive-in movie theater for two hours of laughter and fun

At some point, he placed his arm over her shoulder, bringing her closer to him and she snuggled into him, enjoying his embrace, the atmosphere and the movie

As she reminisced on how he had rescued her, she couldn't help murmur to herself 'my very own Knight in shining armour', Jerry only smiled in response, ready to show her just how knightly he could be