CHAPTER 5 LEVI
So's, it were ta her l went first, a hidin' an' sneakin' my way back through the outskirts o' Wall Sina, inta the capital o' Mitras an' back down ta the Underground. After checkin' on my boys ( an' nah, it hadn' all gone ta shit while l was gone - only needed ta settle a couple o' scores with some greedy, ass- cracks, but there would be time enough for that after l seen Kuchel) an' after buyin' some perdy flower smellin' perfume, I went straight ta Kuchel's rooms above the Innkeeper's, but she weren' there. So's I checked the bar ta see if she were workin', but nope, she weren' there neither. Panic began ta rise in me. This weren' right – Kuchel never left either of them two places.
I went ta Bob's 'office', a shit hole – no bigger than a closet, behind the bar that only had enough room for a desk, his chair an' standin' room for one; the place where he did all his accounts an' booze orderin'.
"Where is she ?" l demanded, as l burst in, slamin' the door against the wall as it opened."Where's Kuchel? You're s'posed ta be keepin' an eye on her! If you've done anythin', I'm gonna rip ya a new one!" I screamed.
He rose from his desk, takin' his spectacles off his nose an' placin' them in his pocket.
"Kenny, Kuchel's alright. I promise you. But she's not here and l couldn't stop her. She's nearly a grown woman and I'm not her Pa, I'm not even kin! I tried Kenny, I really did , knowing how upset you'd be. But nine months is a long time, Kenny", Bob explained.
"STOP HER?! Whadda ya mean stop her?! Where'd she go? Why'd she go? What in fuck's name happened?" l yelled at him.
" Kenny, come in, close the door and take my seat. I'll get you a drink", he answered as he moved from behind the desk ta the door, where l stood, and went inta the bar.
"Make it strong", l sneered. " An' top shelf, none o' your cheap shit", l called after him as l wound my way around the desk an' sunk inta his chair. Bob came back with a full glass an' put it in front o' me, leavin' the bottle beside it.
"Look Kenny", he said as he sat himself down on the corner o' his desk. "I don't want to be the one to tell you all this, that's Kuchel's job, but you got a right to be upset and worried and you trusted me and my wife with Kuchel and l want you to know we did our best not to let you down".
"Fine, fine, get on with it", l said, wavin' him on an' swallowin' the whiskey in one gulp. It burned, but the burn was good; helped disguise the lump in my throat an' it took the edge off wantin' ta kill somebody.
"Well, it all started about six months ago. Before that, everything was just like normal; Kuchel did her studies, worked at the bar, took her meals with us or in her room and spent her free time either there or with my wife."he began.
"So's, what happened?", I demanded, pourin' myself another drink.
"Levi happened", he answered dully.
"Who the fuck's Levi? And what the fuck did he do to Kuchel?" l bellowed at him in confusion. My head was spinnin'. I jus' couldn' make sense o' it. I didn' know no Levi. No-one that worked for me went by that name. I wracked my brains – were it some nobody I'd used or bribed tryin' ta get back at me through her? But nothin' came ta mind.
"Well", continued Bob, "like l said, about six months ago, a young man came inta the bar. Must have been about your age, maybe a little younger, say nineteen or twenty. He was a ragged, skinny thing, said he'd been travelling through the Underground, looking for work. Said he came from the east where they'd just shut down the coal- mines after the'd had a major collapse there and his Pa had been killed in the cave-in. Seems he'd worked the mines with his Pa since his Ma died when he was thirteen and it had been just them two ever since".
"Oh, boo- fuckin'- hoo. Let's bring out the violins! What the fuck has this got ta do with Kuchel?" I asked. "I don' care 'bout some slobs hard luck story, Things are rough all over – for EVERYBODY! This world ain' no fairy-tale for fuck's sake!"
"Well", Bob continued, completely ignorin' me. "Well, he, Levi, comes in and orders some food, the cheapest we got and took one of our cheapest rooms for the night and....well....um.. l don't really know what happened. He was telling us his story, just the same as l told you here, and asked about any work in these parts. I told him the Old Grand mine, just south of here was hiring a few months back, that he could try there.
He was a nice kid, quiet. Good manners, paid without haggling and.. well Kuchel just seemed to take to him. By evening's end , after her shift was over, she was sitting at his table. And though they didn't seem to be saying much, it was like they were in a world of their own and the rest of us didn't exist.
So, anyways, next morning Levi left and Kuchel seemed sad to watch him go, but we pointed him in the direction of the Old Grand mine and told him where to find the cheapest rooms close to the mine, if he got the job. And that was that. I thought nothing more about it, until he came back a couple of days later to thank us, because he'd been hired and found rooms he could afford to rent. The wages weren't good and the rooms were pretty basic, but he was grateful. But you know what l noticed?" Bob asked.
"What did you notice, Sherlock?" I asked sacastically.
"When he walked through that doorway, she smiled. Not big, you understand, but a small smile just played on her lips and her eyes got a little sparkle to them. Come to think of it, he had the same sparkle when he saw her working at the bar.
And that was the beginning. From then on, he would come to the bar after work and he and Kuchel would just sit at a corner table, their heads together, in their own world. As time went on, he took her dancing! Can you imagine Kuchel dancing?! She was happy and he was always a right gentleman, always asked my permission, had her back at a decent hour and never tried anything funny, I swear to you Kenny. Otherwise, you know l would have said no, but she was so HAPPY."
"So's not only did ya do nothin'.... Ya actually encouraged the little runt, while ta jus' stood there fingerin' ya own ass-crack?! Fuckin' Hell!! I trusted you BOB!" I sneered at him."
"Kenny, that's not fair. My wife and l both cautioned her and made her keep curfew. But, she is nearly grown, Kenny, " he replied.
"Yeah, Bob. NEARLY grown! She's not eighteen for another month, yet Bob! An' ya did such a good job that she's out now dancin' 'round the town with this Levi, nobody fuckin' asshole. Fuckin' brilliant Bob! Well I'll jus' stay here 'til he brings her home an' then I'll go introduce myself ta him an' sort this crap out once an' for all!" I stated, pourin' myself another drink.
"Aaahhhh.....well.. you see", Bob began. "That's not really going to do you much good."
"Why the fuck not?" l asked.
"Ummm, because about four months ago, Levi came over for Kuchel and they picked up her things and left. She's gone to live with him," Bob finished.
"She's gone ta WHAT?!" I screamed, as l jumped up, nearly knockin' the desk over an' spillin' all whiskey.
"Whadda ya mean 'she's gone ta live with him? Where? Why?"
"Hang on Kenny. Just hang on. I've got the address right here. You can go see for yourself that she's okay", Bob answered, shovin' a piece o' paper inta my hand.
"See she's okay?! Are you outta your God-fearin' mind?! I'm haulin' her ass back here, toot-fuckin'-sweet!" I yelled as l pushed past him an' out the door.
Livin' with some loser she'd jus' met? What was she thinkin'? Had the world gone nuts? It didn' take me long ta find Levi's room; a shithole in the poorest part o' town, right near the mine so's ya breathed in the soot, jus' by walkin'. The guy at the front desk jus' emminated sleeze. This was not a guy that gave a damn 'bout the goings on of his tenants, jus' the rent. Ya could die in one o' his rooms an' he wouldn' care 'til the money stopped a comin'. An' it weren' the mos' respectable folk that lived there; a combination of whores, racketeers an' the coal miners called this place home.
"Kuchel an' Levi", l barked at him. "Where's their room?"
He smiled, "Oh yeah, that pretty young thing and the the new boy. Yep, she sure is a looker!"
I grabbed his collar, pullin' his face close ta mine. "Do ya know who l am?" l growled.
"Nup, sorry", he answered, as cool as a cucumber.
"Does the name, Kenny the Ripper mean anythin' ta ya?" I snarled, pullin' out Silver Lady.
"Oh, yes sir! Sorry sir, I mean no disrespect. It's just that l didn't expect Kenny the Ripper to come into a dive like this. I'm sorry sir", he blubbered as sweat trickled down his face.
"Well, now we're introduced, you'll keep in mind that, that 'Perdy Young Thing' - Kuchel, is my SISTER an' keep your digustin' pig eyes ta yourself - unless you be wantin' me ta take them out permanently!" l finished. " Now, where are they?"
"Room 16, Mr. Kenny Sir. First floor, room six (on the right)".
"Fine, fine", l said, smoothin' his jacket.
Takin' the stairs two at a time, l looked ta my right. Room six he'd said, yeah room 2...room 4.....Ah, here it was, room six.
I knocked on the door an' heard Kuchel's voice ask who it was; light an' happy. Not that scared voice she usually had.
"It's Kenny.... Your brother - remember me?" l answered.
I heard movement behind the door as she shuffled across the room ta open it. She flung it open, with a smile as big as Wall Sina an' hugged me.
"Kenny", she beamed." I'm so glad to see you! Come in, come in! I've got so much to tell you.........an' someone l want ya to meet!" she exclaimed, grabbin' me an' draggin' me inside the small, barely furnished room. She'd done her best, I'll give her that, but all her cleanin' an' the droopin' flowers on the table couldn' make up for the peelin' yella wallpaper, the mould creepin' its way 'round the ceiling an' the broken glass o' the winda panes.
"Yeah, yeah, I know all about you livin like some whore with Loser Levi! So let's jus' cut the crap right now. I'm takin' ya home", l said, grabbin' her hand.
She shook me loose an' stood her ground. "Kenny", she said, her voice shakin' with anger. "How dare you! Who the hell do you think you are, coming here and speaking to me like that?! You just get this straight, Kenneth Ackerman, I'm not going any where with you! I'm staying here with Levi. He's a good man and l love him. And as for 'living with him like a whore', we're getting married as soon as l turn eighteen. How DARE you!
"Married?! Are you out of your mind?! Don' be so naieve, Kuchel. If he wanted ta marry ya, he woulda done it by now. He's usin' ya for his whore!" I snapped back, waitin' for the penny ta drop.
"Of course we're not married, Kenny! I WAS UNDER EIGHTEEN AND YOU, AS USUAL, WEREN'T HERE! There was NO ONE who could give me permission to marry! OTHERWISE WE WOULD BE BY NOW!" she shot back.
"Shit, Kuchel, I'm not gonna LET ya marry this loser! You've gotta be kiddin' - 'a good man'! Hell, he's younger than me an' ya barely know him! What's all this fairy – tale crap? An' if HE'S such a 'good man', then why can't he provide betta than this shit-hole? An' where the hell is he anyway? Leavin' ya alone all night in a dump like this?" I sniggered.
Her face grew dark an' her eyes flashed, like I'd never seen before. Raisin' her voice, she said," Levi has gone to work. Night shift pays more than day shift. And why we live here? Well, that is because, this is what HONEST people can afford.... And as for ' leaving me alone'! You aught to talk! I've seen more of Levi in the past six months, than I've seen of YOU in the past three years! At least l know that he'll come back to me each night when his shift ends. At least with him, l know, though it be covered with soot...his money is clean! Not like the BLOOD- MONEY you bring!!"
She stopped only 'cause I slapped her face. I couldn' think o' anythin' 'cept how hard I'd tried ta protect her, how it'd all gone so wrong, how if it weren' for her, l wouldn' even BE Kenny the Ripper – it coulda been me! I coulda had a chance ta be good an' clean, like Levi.
"GET OUT!!" she screamed. "Get out! I never want ta see you EVER AGAIN! EVER!!!"
I stumbled back, with the force of the hate in her words; tears of anger an' fear an' confusion rushin' ta my eyes as she pushed me beyond the threshold an' slammed the door in my face. I stood there for a moment or two, not knowin' what ta do 'Til all I could think 'bout was gettin', rotten, stinkin' drunk.