Ch.85Chapter 85. Mass Shooting (1)

I dashed off all my resolutions.

All that remained was getting a gun.

Of course, I didn’t expect it to be easy.

“Yeah. Uh-huh. An assault rifle and a handgun? Of course I’ll sell them, man.”

“Y-you’ll sell them?”

“Sure. If you pay all cash upfront.”

“……”

This was much easier than I’d expected.

I thought gun shops would be more cautious after that incident in Ohio.

Anyway, I was able to purchase not only guns but a bulletproof vest too.

With that, all preparations were complete.

Now all that remained was to execute the plan.

Drive the car into school, take out the gun, and kill Weiss and Jake as planned.

‘Just kill those two. Just those two…’

I’m different from other mass shooters.

I’m not a psychopath.

I’m only going to kill those two bastards I have a grudge against, then walk out and get arrested.

Peter repeatedly chanted this in his mind, as if hypnotizing himself.

The road to school was unusually empty.

Driving down the deserted street, Peter put a cigarette in his mouth and pressed the car lighter.

Soon, with a pop, the lighter sprang out.

“Haaah…”

When he touched the lighter to his cigarette, it lit with a sizzling sound.

Exhaling smoke, the car sped down the empty road.

***

“That punk goes to this school?”

“Probably…?”

“Give me a straight answer, you bastard.”

“Agh! Argh!”

The gun shop owner, getting his head smacked hard from both sides, spoke with tears in his eyes.

He had been packing his things, preparing to flee, when the boss sent his men to catch him like this…

Now he was stuck in a position where he had no choice but to find that damn kid.

“Now, calm down and listen. Automatic conversion rifles are illegal in California, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Such merchandise naturally costs more than ten times the price of a regular semi-automatic rifle. But the guy paid cash for that, plus a handgun, bulletproof vest, and ammunition. What do you think this means?”

“Cut the crap and just tell me, you bastard.”

“Argh!”

The gun shop owner had to rub the back of his head and adjust his glasses.

These thugs don’t even know how to think…

“It means he’s filthy rich. Unless he just robbed a bank. So the guy’s a rich kid. Which means he probably attends Saint Catalina School, the only prestigious school around here.”

“How did you come to that conclusion?”

“Huh?”

“He might not even be a student. What makes you think he’s a student?”

“I have my reasons for that too.”

“What are they?”

“His face… looked young!”

“You son of a bitch.”

“Aaagh! Argh!”

A barrage of blows rained down on him.

My judgment is accurate, so why are they acting like this?

Judging by his face, he looked exactly like a delinquent who couldn’t graduate because he’d been held back for three years.

Physiognomy is a science, so I couldn’t be wrong.

“Damn it. We came for nothing. What student? Tell us more about his car instead.”

“Car? It was a red Porsche, an old one. It had suspension on the rear wheels… Do you know what suspension is? It’s when the wheels move up and down, making the car bounce like someone’s having car sex…”

“I know, you idiot. Who do you think I am? Just explain.”

“Sob… And it had car company logos plastered all over it.”

“Logos plastered all over? Why?”

“Must be a trend among kids these days. I see it quite often. Uh… there’s one passing by right now.”

The thugs turned to look where the gun shop owner was pointing.

It was true.

Porsche, Lamborghini, Maserati, Mercedes-Benz…

And even obscure logos like Kia and Hyundai were crammed on it.

That red vintage car…

“Wait a minute. Damn, isn’t that it?!”

It was a red Porsche.

With hydraulic systems on the rear wheels.

“Ahhh…! That’s it!”

“You idiot! You couldn’t recognize it right away when you saw it yourself?”

“Argh! Not my hair!”

The startled thugs grabbed the gun shop owner’s hair and started running.

But it was too late to catch up with the car that had already passed and was moving quickly.

“Argh! Stop!!!”

Whether he didn’t hear their voices or ignored them, the car stopped at the school’s back gate, and soon the barrier lifted, allowing it into the parking lot.

The thugs, panting heavily, barely managed to reach the barrier.

“What’s your business here?”

“Just a moment… huff… huff… Let us in. We need to meet someone.”

“Are you parents?”

“What?”

“If you’re not parents, you can’t enter without an appointment.”

“Ah, yes! Parents! That’s right!”

“……”

The gun shop owner declared confidently.

Both the thugs and the security guard looked at him suspiciously.

“Um… Which student’s parent are you?”

“John’s.”

“John who?”

“You know, John. The tall, cocky John.”

“There are at least ten tall, cocky Johns at this school.”

“Yes! I mean the tallest one!”

“Could you give me the full name, please?”

The gun shop owner gulped.

Whether he’d be screwed or not depended on this moment.

If that kid caused trouble with the guns, he would be ground into chicken feed on his boss’s orders.

“John Smith!”

“There’s no such student here.”

“Damn it!”

His confident answer had missed the mark.

Wasn’t there usually at least one John Smith at every school?

In some crappy school, having two or three John Smiths wouldn’t be strange, but apparently, being an elite school, they didn’t have such a common name.

“I can’t let outsiders into the school. Leave before I call the police.”

“Damn it… You ruined everything.”

“Did any of you even try? At least I tried to become a father at this young age!”

“What’s young about you? Looking at your face, you probably already have grandchildren.”

“……”

The security guard shook his head as he watched the three men bickering as they left.

***

“When you’re finished, place your test paper on the table and leave.”

“……”

The door closed with a thud.

Peter stared blankly at the test paper on the desk.

He had asked to retake the makeup exam.

And Weiss had agreed.

Without any conditions, willingly.

It was a completely unexpected response.

“Graduation… Damn, if I could just graduate…”

If he could just graduate, he wouldn’t do such a stupid thing.

If he could just avoid his father’s contemptuous gaze, he wouldn’t shoot.

Peter pulled up a chair and sat at the desk as if in a trance.

Just when he had given up everything, he was given another chance.

Really seriously.

Peter, who had picked up his pencil with the most concentration ever and looked at the test paper

“Screw this! I’m not doing it!”

He tore up the test paper before even five minutes had passed.

He couldn’t understand what the passages were saying.

He couldn’t even attempt to solve the problems from the start.

Had they increased the difficulty of the makeup exam?

That senile old man had no intention of letting him graduate.

Reaching this conclusion, Peter suddenly felt his blood boil.

“That bastard. That fucking bastard…”

Cursing, Peter kicked open the chemistry lab door.

Just as he was about to head to the parking lot.

His steps halted.

He wondered if he really needed to shoot.

That bastard Weiss was one thing.

But if he could just hear a sincere apology from Jake, it might be okay.

Really.

Ding dong dang dong…

The bell signaling lunch time was ringing.

Peter gritted his teeth and walked toward the cafeteria.

Finding Jake didn’t require much effort.

He always chatted in a corner of the cafeteria.

Soon, he spotted him surrounded by girls.

“Huff…”

He wasn’t particularly excited.

He just wanted to ask for an apology.

“I felt deeply insulted by your insensitive remarks. So please apologize sincerely.”

He just needed to say this calmly.

But the moment he saw the contemptuous look in Jake’s eyes as he looked his way.

“Apologize!”

He lost it.

Before he knew it, Peter had rushed over and grabbed Jake by the collar.

“I said apologize!”

“Ah… uh… well…”

The guy was stuttering like an idiot, unable to speak.

So he’s not perfect either.

He gets flustered when suddenly confronted like this.

Peter felt a little better.

“Whose parent are you…?”

But his expression quickly hardened at Jake’s response.

“What the fuck? Don’t you remember me?”

“You seem very angry, but could you let go of this first so we can talk? Doing this here could get you into trouble. If you let go now, we can pretend this collar-grabbing never happened… ugh!”

He let go of Jake out of sheer disbelief.

Jake simply fell back weakly.

It was certainly an unsightly scene, but not at all satisfying.

He had forgotten me.

He had forgotten my very existence.

I couldn’t even sleep properly because I hated you so much.

Boiling with anger, Peter trembled, his fists clenched.

Bang!

He strode out, kicking the door open.

His head was already dizzy with rage, his vision narrowed.

“I’ll shoot. Damn it. I’ll shoot.”

How much had he spent on those guns?

If his father found out about that money, he’d be beaten to death.

Whether beaten to death by his father or shot to death by the police, it made no difference.

If he was going to die anyway, he might as well die doing what he wanted.

Reaching the parking lot, Peter got into the driver’s seat and slammed the door shut.

“Huff… huff…”

He took out a pipe and, with trembling hands, poured a piece of methamphetamine into it.

Then he slowly heated the bottom with a lighter.

Putting the pipe to his mouth and taking a long drag, Peter widened his eyes.

I’m doing it, damn it.

I’m really doing it.

Weiss. Jake.

I’ll kill them.

I’ll kill anyone who gets in my way.

Even that damn silver-haired kid I made eye contact with earlier.

“Fuck!”

Throwing the pipe aside, Peter immediately went to the back of the car.

Opening the trunk revealed a bulletproof vest, rifle, and handgun scattered messily.

There was no reason to hesitate now.

Peter picked up the handgun first.