The Kudo Knights
CHAPTER ONE: WHO ARE ‘THE KUDO KNIGHTS’?
Episode One:
Thursday 3rd August
It was Josh’s 19th birthday, and he had just passed his driving test earlier that day. His dad had promised him that if he passed, he would buy him a car.
Josh had his heart set on a BMW 325i and told his friends that’s what he was getting. So he was a little disappointed when his dad handed him a key that had FORD written on it, and even more disappointed when he looked outside and saw a second hand 1.1ltr Ford Fiesta.
Seeing the expression on Josh’s face, his dad said, “Hey, it’s your first car son, and I’m paying your insurance bill. Prove to me you can be responsible with this for a year, and we will see what happens on your next birthday”.
Josh’s had moved to live with his dad (name) since his mother died of Cancer a year ago, his dad was a chaufer for high end businessmen and celebrities and got paid a lot of money just to drive people around, he could easily afford the car Josh wanted, but wanted to make sure Josh understood the rules of the road thoroughly first. At least now, Josh finally had his own ride; he could go pick up his friends and drive around town instead of catching the bus.
Thursday Evening 18:00 pm
Josh went to see his best friend Alex that evening to show off his new car.
“Wicked mate, you’re driving now”, said Alex. They looked the car over for all of 2 minutes (not very impressed), then went inside to watch Fast & Furious 8.
It was about midnight when Josh left his friend’s house to head home. He was getting used to the feel of the car, driving at the speed limit, checking his mirrors, adjusting the volume of the radio. He decided to take the A10 home, the speed limit on there is 40mph and there are speed camera’s every two miles.
As Josh proceeded on the A10, he could hear the sound of tuned engines in the distance but getting closer. He was at another set of red lights; he looked in his rearview mirror and saw the bright headlights of cars at the set of lights behind him. As his lights turned green he heard the roar of tuned engines, the whirl of super charges and the whoosh of turbo dump valves, then in an instant he was surrounded by high performance modified cars, for a split second he was transported into a scene strait from the movie Fast & Furious, at least 15 cars cruised by him doing at least 100mph, then suddenly they all slowed down as they approached the speed camera, then as soon as they were out of range of the speed camera boom they were off again. The whole episode was over in about 10 seconds, but Josh felt like he had been with them for 15 minutes, he noticed every car, every driver, every passenger and he took note of the really beautiful girl driving the blue Nissan Skyline that smiled at him as she drove by, he heard the sound of every engine, the note of every exhaust, the tune of every car stereo that flew by him.
That night, when he got home, he could not get this scene out of his mind. Who were these guys? Where did they come from?
Friday 4th August
The next morning over breakfast, Josh’s dad said he was going away for a week on business, (big celebrity name) was coming to the UK and needed a personal driver for the week. He would be up in Scotland until next weekend. “Take care of the place while I’m gone, son”.
Josh and Alex were studying Auto engineering at college together, and along with Ryan, the three spent pretty much all day everyday dreaming about owning their own auto business. Outside of college, they watched football (all three Arsenal fans), played video games, all had part-time jobs and were saving for their first car. But now that Josh had his car there, there seemed to be a little more urgency in the others to get theirs.
Josh worked part-time for KFC, taking orders at the drive-through. Alex, who was also 19, lived at home with his mum and worked as a chef at Pizza Hut, and Ryan, who was 20, worked part-time at Kwik Fit and lived by himself in a council flat.
That evening after college, Josh drove his new car to work, “What’s all this then, you won the lotto”? said his boss in a patronising tone.
“Nah, it’s my birthday present from my dad”
“I didn’t know you were old enough to drive”
“Very funny”
Just put on his earphones and got comfortable in his seat, ready to take orders.
The little red light flashed to let him know there was a car outside the order box
“Welcome to KFC, can I take your order, please”?
“Yeah, can I have a two-piece Colonel’s meal, a Twister, and a Zinger meal, please”?
“A two-piece Colonel’s meal, Twister and Zinger meal, that’s $9.99, anything else with your order”?
“No, that’s it, thanks”
“OK, drive to the next window, please, you can pay there and collect your order”
This is how Josh spent every Friday night from 8 pm until midnight. The job was extremely boring, but he got to eat a Colonel’s meal every night for free. Josh could never grow tired of KFC.
Midnight, Josh handed his headphones over to Brian, who was taking the graveyard shift at the drive-through, “See you next week, Brian”, Josh said as he gave him the headphones.
“What, you’re not coming in tomorrow”?
“Nah, it’s my birthday, gonna do something with my friends, not sure what yet”
“All the best, have a good one, mate, see ya next week”
As Josh walked to his car, he could hear the sound of tuned engines racing in the distance. He wound down his window, and instead of turning left to go home, he followed the sound. Josh found himself back on the A10, but the sound was gone. He drove a little while longer, then turned to go home. As the lights turned green, suddenly Boom, on the other side of the road (in the direction Josh was driving before he turned round) the Roar of high-powered tuned cars screeching away from the lights, it was them, the guys from last night. Josh turned around again, but they were gone; all he could hear was their engines fading away in the distance. Josh drove for about 5 miles, but no sign. He eventually turned around and made his way home again.
Saturday 5th August, The Casino:
On his first night alone, Josh invited a few friends around to his house, they played video games, smoked a bit of weed, played more games, then eventually fell asleep. Josh, Ryan and Andy had been friends from high school and were like brothers. They were always up to no good when they got together and always egging each other on to do something stupid.
The next night (still at Josh’s house), Ryan says, “Let’s go to the Casino, come on let’s go out and see what really goes on in that place” It didn’t help that they were high at the time, and so it sounded like a great idea.
They finished off their pizza, freshened up, jumped into Josh’s car and drove down to the Casino. But as they approached, they noticed how plush everyone in the area looked, and how nice the cars were. Then Josh saw her, the beautiful girl in the Blue Nissan Skyline that flew past him the other night, she was pulling up to the casino with two of her girl friends.
“Wait,” Josh said to his mates, I have an idea. He turned the car around and raced home at a blistering 40mph.
“What are you doing man?” his friends asked, perplexed.
“Just trust me, I’ve got to make a good first impression”
They got back to Joshs house and Josh ran inside, 10 seconds later he came back out, “Come on guys, we’re going in this” Bleep bleep.
Josh had the key to his dad’s BMW M3 GTR, zero to 60 in 3.5 seconds, top speed unknown, as the limiter had been removed. This car was his dad’s pride and joy, something he only ever took to the road once in a while.
“Are you mad Josh?” Andy said, sounding very concerned, “Come on now, mate, your dad will kill you if you even get a scratch on this.
“Trust me, I know how to drive, and we’re just going to the casino and back in it”.
He turns the Key, and the whole street seemed to vibrate to the deep rumbling bass line coming from the engine and exhaust.
This was not just a car, this was a master craft of German Technology modified to be a living-breathing animal once the engine was turned on.
As Josh pulled off the driveway way he made the mistake of being too heavy on the throttle and pulled a serious wheel spin. In a panic, he slammed on the brakes, almost giving everyone whiplash.
“Whoa, let me out, mate, you can’t drive this”, both Andy and Ryan complained.
Wait, guys, one minute I’ve got this.
On his second attempt, he just let his foot off the clutch without touching the accelerator pedal, and the Machine gently glided off to a smooth start. They continued to the casino, doing a blistering 20mph, and heads were turning all the way there.
He looked for the blue Nissan Skyline and found a parking space as close as possible (about 20 cars away), then they headed into the casino.
“How much money do you have”? Josh asked his mates,
“£40 is my lot”, replied Ryan
“£84 but I ain’t gambling here mate”
“Ok, guys, trust me, lend me that £40, Ryan, and if you lend me £60, Andy, I promise, win or lose, I will pay you back tomorrow.”
Ryan had seen the girl from the blue Nissan at a poker table and wanted to join in her game.
The Poker Game
There were five people playing 5 card brag: the beautiful girl who drove the blue car, a young man whom Josh recognised as one of the other drivers, an older guy who just looked like an evil villain from a bond movie, a well dressed man in a business suit and a fat guy that looked like he ate all the pies.
“Do you mind if I join you”? Josh asked, looking at the 6th empty seat.
Everyone looked at him. “Sure”, said the beautiful girl, “it’s £50 to buy in and £100 each round”, said the fat guy.
Josh only had the £100 from his friend and £50 of his own. He was about to put everything on the line in one game just to sit next to this girl; he felt scared, but at the same time confident that tonight was destined.
“I’m in”, Josh said, putting his chips on the table.
Dealer: “£50 to buy in and get your cards”.
In order to be involved, you had to buy your first two cards for £50, guaranteeing at least £300 from 6 players in the pot, then the dealer dealt everyone two cards face down and then dealt 3 cards face up. The object was to see who could get the highest hand by combining their two cards with the cards the dealer puts face up. The dealer will place 3 cards face up, then the player has 3 choices, 1) fold if he has nothing of value, 2) check if he has something that could potentially be a strong hand, 3) raise the bet if he has a strong hand or, 4) Bluff, which is to act like you have a strong hand in the hope your opponents fold out of fear.
Josh looked at his two cards, 2 Queens, then the dealer dealt, 4 of clubs, 6 of diamonds, Queen of hearts.
When Josh saw the Queen of Hearts drop, he almost fell out of his chair, but he did all in his power to keep his composure.
Fat man, “check”, bad man, “check”, driver, “check”, businessman, “check”, beautiful girl, “check”.
Josh couldn’t believe his luck, 3 Queens on a first hand and nobody placed a bet, he still had his £100 but decided to keep quiet like he had nothing, “check”.
The dealer dropped the 4th card, a 7 of diamonds.
Fat man, “check”, bad man, “check”, driver, “check”, businessman, “check”, beautiful girl, “check”.
Josh, “check”.
The dealer drops the 5th and final card, the Ace of hearts.
Fat man, “check”, bad man, “check”, driver, “check”, businessman, “Raise £50”, beautiful girl, “see you £50”. Josh “see you £50”, Fat man, “fold”, bad man, “fold” driver, “fold” business man, “two aces” beautiful girl, “I should have folded”.
Josh “three queens”.
Josh’s friends couldn’t believe it. He started with £150 and in his first game won £350 and was now sitting on £500.
Josh continued playing, believing with all his heart that the beautiful girl with the blue skyline was his lucky charm.
In just under an hour, Josh was up to £5,000. That’s when everything changed. A dark bald man with a scar on his face walked up to the table. The Dark man did not ask to join, but just pulled up a chair and made this statement, “The buy in is £1000 and minimum bet £2000 whoever does not like this leave now” The beautiful girl said “that’s too rich for my blood” and was just about to get up, but Josh insisted please stay, you are my lucky charm” Flattered, she left the game but pulled up a small seat and sat next to Josh.
By now, Ryan and Andy had gotten bored with the Poker and were wandering around the Casino. Playing slot machines, video games, they even went to the restaurant and used the last of their money to buy fish and chips. Hours went by, and they had just about run out of things to do.
“Let’s go tell Josh it’s time to leave. Look at the time we’ve been here, almost 8 hours”
As they made their way back to Josh, a huge crowd had gathered around his table.
There was now only Josh, the bad man and the dark bald man left in the game.
“Raise £100,000”, said the dark man. “I’ll see you”, said the bad man, “raise £200,000″, Josh said.
Andy and Ryan just looked at each other, “WHAT”!?
“I’ll see you”, said the dark man, “fold”, said the bad man.
“A full house”, proclaimed Josh. “NO!” screamed the dark man as he got up in anger and took a few steps away, cursing in a foreign language.
“How much money do you have Josh”?
“£650,000 with this win” By now, the beautiful girl was sitting on his lap, and he had lipstick on his face. “Andy, Ryan, meet Suzie, she is my lucky charm.”
The dark man came back, “£100,000 buy-in, £200,000 minimum bet”
“That’s too rich for me”, said the bad man, and he picked up the few chips he had left and exited the game.
“Is that too rich for you to boy?” scowled the dark man in a patronising tone.
“Stop now”, Suzie said in a soft pleading tone, “please stop”
“Just let them deal. If I have a bad hand, I’ll call it a night.”
Dealer: “£100,000 buy-in”. Then, he deals the two cards face down to each player.
Josh looks at his cards, two jacks. The dealer then deals the 3 cards facing up.
Queen of Spades, 10 of clubs, Jack of diamonds
3 Jacks, £550,000 by his side and £200,000 on the table, lady luck sitting on his lap.
“Raise you £100,000”, Josh says with deep confidence.
“Check”, says the dark man
Dealer: Ace of Spades. This gives Josh a full house.
“Raise you £100,000”, Josh says with even deeper confidence.
“Check” says the dark man
Dealer: “Queen of Hearts.”
” Raise you £100,000”, Josh says with even deeper confidence.
A slight smile comes to the dark man’s face, “All in, I don’t think you have enough money to see my hand, young boy”
Josh takes his Dad’s car key and throws it on the table, “This will cover the difference and then some”
“What’s this, you have a car worth £200,000?” laughs the dark man.
“If not more.”
“Where is it parked? I’ll send my guy to see what it’s worth.”
About 10 minutes go by while they wait for the dark man’s guard to come back, then he whispers something in the dark man’s ear.
The dark man looked afraid, “That is your car”?
“Yes”
“But this is not possible, you are a boy, and the Kudo Knights have been a legend for years, that car has not been beaten in a race on the A10 ever, you expect me to believe this is your car.”?
“Andy, take the key, take his gorilla outside and show him it’s my car”, Josh said
Another ten minutes go by, and then they return.
“It’s the key boss, it’s his car”, said the Henchman
“Very well”, the dark man says, “you can see my hand”
Before the dark man turns over his cards, Josh says, “Beat this”, and reveals his full house.
Everyone around the table erupts, Andy hugs and kisses Ryan, “I’m a millionaire”, proclaims Josh.
“WAIT”!? Proclaims the dark man, then turns over his cards
A Queen of clubs and a Queen of Spades, giving the dark man four of a kind…
Dealer: “The pot goes to Dark man.”
Josh just sat there, stunned. “What does this mean?” asked Andy.
The beautiful girl gave him one last kiss on his forehead, then got up and left.
“I will need the logbook for this right now. When you’re ready to leave, my driver will take you home, and you will give him the logbook.”
Suddenly, Josh couldn’t breathe, and the thought of facing his dad.
The Dark man’s guard put his hand on Josh’s shoulder and gripped him firmly, “You are not leaving my sight until my boss has that log book”, he said menacingly.
Josh, Andy and Ryan were led to the Dark Man’s limousine outside, and were then driven to Josh’s house to get his dad’s logbook.
Josh was in tears and began pleading with the Dark man, explaining the car was his dad’s and that his dad would kill him when he found out he had gambled it away.
The Dark Man and his Henchmen just laughed at Josh’s predicament.
They arrived at Josh’s house, “Right, young man, you have 2 minutes to get me that log book, I will hold onto your friends until you get back”.
Josh, now in tears, ran inside and began to search through his dad’s things, but he could not find the logbook.