Red Steel (Short Chapters Overview)

(Estimated pages: 54 - 60 pages)

- Story starts out with 1st person view. An assault in a local convenience store much like 7-11 in Chinatown, Brooklyn. The Triads are in disarray as they try to subdue the person but fail to as the person goes on it's rampage. A voice tells the Triads comrades to fall back into the storeroom. As they escape through the back, the person continues to chase them.

- The person sees a very dim lit room with a shadowy figure seated in the middle. The floor is covered in a heavy scented liquid. The room sudden lightened up with a faint flickering flame coming from a lone figure near the exit of the room, opposite side of where the person is looking from. The shadowy figure is revealed to be beaten, bloody and broken whilst being tied up to a chair. He tells the person to run for it but is unable to when the lone figure flees through the back, disposing the flickering flame onto the floor. The flame is revealed to be a open-flamed lighter and the drenched floor is actually gasoline poured around the room. Around the hostage is barrels of explosive, flammable materials.

- The 1st person goes absolutely dark as the echoed voice resounds, telling him to "RUN FOR IT!!"

---

- The scene changes to Koji Murasame, waking from a nightmare. Explains that it's been 3 months since that recurring dream kept on haunting him. Covered in bandages and scars he tries to shake the nightmare out of mind but is interrupted by a loud hollow knocking sound. Crawling out, Koji sees "Cue Ball" Jackson, an African American mechanic who tells him to get off his property as he dumps his garbage bag into the open-rental garbage bin.

- Scene changes, Cue Ball is fixing on a lowrider car when a loan shark Lorenzo and his cronies drop an unexpected visit on him. Turns out that his rent price has increased but Cue Ball calls out the little scam they're pulling out. The real reason behind upping the price is so they can kick him off their property and sell the land to an interested company. Seeing how Cue Ball refuses to give up his land, Lorenzo sends out his men to attack him, leaving Cue Ball on the losing side of the skirmish.

- Scene changes back to Koji as he's about to leave the mechanic's yard for good. He then sees Cue Ball, rushing out through the back and barricading the door. Cue Ball pleas for Koji's help but Koji refuses since he's been kicked off his property. Cue Ball tries to forgive him for that and desperately asks for his help. Koji says that he can't help, he's been through so much and fighting is the last thing on his mind that he wants to do. Cue Ball ignores his whining, grabs a crowbar and tells him to strike from the open window at the top floor of the building. Koji leaves the property but somehow feels a sense of guilt.

- Cue Ball returns through the front of the building, ambushing Lorenzo and his men while making a last stand. Lorenzo tries to talk him out of his feeble attempt to regain everything (You've got no one to help you out. What can you possibly do on your own?). Cue Ball corrects him by saying he's not alone and begins to strike. Just in time, Koji appears behind them and takes them out with his katana.

- Lorenzo and his guys are taken out after a rough rumble. With the guilt lifted, Koji leaves the property but Cue Ball stops him saying that he's not leaving without being treated for his wound. Koji's right-side of his lower abdomen is bleeding during the rumble (due to gunshot fired by Lorenzo). Koji treats his wound while Cue Ball proposes a proposition. He gets free accommodation at the mechanic shack in exchange that he becomes his errand boy/muscle man for his business to which Koji agrees. An alliance is formed.

(Estimated pages: 25 - 30 pages)

- Starts off with Lorenzo and his cronies going back to his higher-up, explaining his failure to capture the property from the mechanic. As punishment, his employer shoots him in the head and tells his cronies to dump the body. He then calls all of his men to commence a night raid against Cue Ball.

- Settling in his new accommodation, Koji cleans himself up and wears a new batch of clothes. With Cue Ball working on the lowrider, Koji hears several rustling noises. A window breaks open as a liquor bottle flies over towards where Koji is sitting. Before it lands, he quickly catches and see the bottle lit with a rag on fire.

- The mechanic's shack is under attack! Koji silently alerts Cue Ball about the sudden assault and concocts a plan with him.

- Outside, the goons outside wonders why the it's taking too long for the building to burn. Continuing to throw molotov cocktails, they are suddenly attacked by Koji who somehow sneaked behind them. Inside, it's revealed that the building was burning... only for a short time. Cue Ball immediately doused the open flames with water before it began to spread.

- Koji continues strike them down in the darkness, knocking them out one by one until he faces off with the last of the goons. He makes the thug squeal about the location of their office before knocking him out.

- Night Assault failed. Cue Ball thanks him for the warning and issues the order for Koji to assault their base of operation.

(Estimated pages: 24 pages)

- Cue Ball and Koji arrive at the apartment the next day, ready to deliver retribution. Area around them somewhat resembles close to Carrol Gardens/Bushwick/Prospect Heights, Brooklyn.

- The plan is that Koji will go inside, lone gunman style, while Cue Ball shuts off the building's electricity.

- Cue Ball succeeds in shutting off the electricity but runs into some complications as he his held up by an open firing squad of henchmen. Koji saves him by knocking them all out by the back of his blade. Cue Ball steals two pistols from an unconscious guy and passes one to Koji.

- The plan doesn't go according to plan but both Cue Ball and Koji begin their assault. Going gun-ho and wrecking havoc on the loan sharks. The big boss, the one who killed Lorenzo, begins to flee through the back door. Cue Ball tells Koji to shoot him with the pistol but fails to do so as his shot and misses completely.

- Revealed that Koji's aim with a gun is inaccurate. Way too inaccurate due to his left eye being out of commission and bandaged up. He can't take off the bandages around his face till after 6 months have passed. Till then, he can only fight with a katana. (In short, he's completely useless when he has a gun).

- Cue Ball goes after the boss but gets shot in the shoulder. Koji spots the boss escaping through the back alleyway from the backdoor. Using his katana as a javelin, he lunges the weapon and miraculously get him in the shoulder!

Cue Ball: How the hell did you do that? Thought your aim was ****
Koji: Just luck.

- As Cue Ball "negotiates" about the arrangements of rent payment with the wounded boss, Koji spots a familiar face from his nightmare and tries to chase him down but fails as the suspect gets away successful.

(Estimated pages: 24 pages)

- Koji contemplates about the familiar face and wonders what business he's up to with the loan shark. Cue Ball sets him with another task: Getting the cash off one of his debtors (person who owes money). The location is not too far (actually near the same place where they raided the loan sharks base of operations) so it's easy to get there on foot.

- Koji arrives at the destination and the apartment building. (There's a garbage truck parked near the side of the apartment building and a small cafe across the street). Asks the owner to pay him the cash, only to get pulled into the apartment. The owner is shaking nervously and explains that he cannot repay Cue Ball for the loan due to the fact that he gambled it all away (The guy has an extreme gambling addiction). He says to wait at least 2 weeks till he'll repay the debt. Koji tries to re-negiotate with the gambling addict only for the conversation to get cut short with a knock on the door.

- The owner opens the door to see who it is, only to get killed in a spray of bullet shots. The door opens wide open and the Triads comes in to raid the place. Sensing danger, Koji runs towards the nearest room only to find a 13-year old girl residing inside. The Triads sense his presence and attempts to break down the door.

- Barricading the room, The girl talks to Koji, asking him about the guy and what's going on. It's revealed that the owner was looking after her but was running into money trouble. He turned to gambling but lost everything and is in debt. The Triads are impatient with his long-overdue debt and plans to kill him. Koji tries to think up of an escape plan but has limited amount of time till the barricade breaks open. Feeling that the girl had nothing to do with the owner's gambling problem, he asks for her name. Her name is Yuki Sugimoto.

- The door is busted open. The Triads enter the room guns blazing but finds nothing but an open window. Looking down from the 2nd floor of the apartment, they try to figure out how the swordsman escape.

- Flashback, it's revealed that Koji opened the window, grabbed Yuki and made the leap of faith out the window... and right into the container of the garbage truck, just as soon as the garbage man came back from his lunch break at the cafe. The truck left and the room is busted open.

- The truck makes it to Cue Ball's mechanic shack to collect the waste from the rental dumpster. The garbage man is shocked to find Koji and Yuki inside the container as they climbed out smelling very putrid.

Cue Ball: How the hell did you end up back in the dumps again? I just gave you one easy job.
Koji: You didn't tell me that the job had me dealing with a gambling addict who had money troubles with the Triads!
Cue Ball: Who's the girl?
Koji: She's Yuki and she's gonna be staying with us for a while.