Kai (unfinished)

Chapter One - Hobart

KAI - CHAPTER ONE - HOBART

"But you can't leave your nan out here all by herself, how will I look after everything!?" Her unit was warm, the gas heater shuttering in the corner as the biscuit I was holding slopped into my tea; cringing as I tried my best to rescue it with the metal spoon. 
"Nan, since when have you needed anyone? You're barely seventy... for Chrissakes you jog from here to Glebe every morning!" Shit, the biscuit was now a mushy mess, floating to the top of my hot brew.
"Dante, ever since your brother..." I sighed lastingly, rain fell outside as nan continued.
"Don't talk about it." 
"Fine, but let me ask, why would you want to be closer to 'him'? Don't you remember what he did!?" Standing, I took her hands in mine and spoke softly. 
"That happened five years ago, we all know Kai had his problems. But he's lonely, he always was, to me Kai needs someone close, he needs that trust. If the psychiatrists can't find out why he killed mum and dad, maybe I can." She gave a sensitive smile; it showed her age. 
"When I look into your brown eyes and unruly hair; you remind me so much of them... I just want you to be safe Dante." My face burned as she tightened my tie. 

The toast popped, nan smiled as she let go of me, grabbing her earphones as she reached for the umbrella.
"I'll see you off when you get back from work Dante, beep to me if you pass my sweaty behind!" She held back the tears, knowing she'd be able to cry in the rain; god that was depressing, a wave of my hand and the tv switched to life as the front door closed; I changed it to the news. 
"...is the 23rd of July, it's 9:30 am here in Hobart, 6:30 in Perth; I'm filling in for Terry Lang, here are our top stories. The Tokyo Olympics are set to begin this Friday, but some criticism hangs over escalations in the South China Sea..." In my dangerous and troublesome life, I have had a love/hate relationship with the media, almost to the extent you could call it an addiction.
"...and you can watch live coverage of the games on Channel Seven. Now onto some local news, the Brown murder case has been reopened for the fifth time; this marks almost five years since Kai Brown of Byholt, on the West coast of Tasmania murdered both his parents and attempted to consume their bodies in the backyard of his family's idyllic home; in a crime that shook the world, we spoke to Karen Lake who now owns the home..." I turned it off, it was time for work. 

"Fuck!" The car idled as I slammed my head against the hard plastic of the tiny Toyota hybrid's steering wheel, birdsong drifted peacefully outside, grey clouds of lightning flew above; waiting to drop their next dump of fresh rainwater. I jumped outside and ran to our next door neighbour's for jumper-cables, it looked like i'd be late for work again. 

"Mr Brown it is half past eleven, you were supposed to be here a bloody hour ago!" 
"Listen Simon, I had car troubles, you know how it is..." He shifted a little to the right.
"Hobart is not Melbourne or Sydney, it's not Perth..."
"I know but..." My words struggled, how a man half my height could be the overbearer was beyond me. 
"...we do not struggle with mega-highways, need I go on?" 
"Listen it won't happen again, the car idled! What could I have done?" Nothing, that's what. 
"Solar cars don't idle Mr Brown..." He grabbed his files, with a readjustment of his glasses my boss made his way back to his own office; with me in quick pursuit. 
"It's a hybrid." I spoke through gritted teeth. 
"Then see to it you splurge and buy yourself a solar; I'm never late!" And with a flickering sardonic smile, the king of all dicks closed the door in my face, it took a minute of eyerolling for me to take out my tablet and begin working.  

I worked for a draining and unenthusiastic biotechnology company, and when I say that it wasn't anything special, just the only Tasmanian-based corporation researching antibiotics and new forms of disease and crippling viruses; it was the only job I couldn't afford to lose. You see Tasmania is never that directly involved with the mainland, I haven't been to Melbourne since, well since...
"Dan? Dan!?" Jack tapped my shoulder forcing me to jerk awake, my daydream ending. 
"Yeah what?" 
"Mate, you looked like you saw a ghost!" He gave a laugh, the same laugh he gives when we've been out drinking or after he whistles at an attractive girl only for her to give him the finger. 
"I'm fine, just thinking..."
"Not enough time for thinking on this barren island, hey Jen and I were gonna have this Olympics party-kinda-thing this weekend and..."
"You say 'this' a lot Jack." He gave an awkward laugh.
"I guess I do."