The second dark ages box.., p.41
The Second Dark Ages Boxed Set, page 41
part #1 of The Second Dark Ages Series
Now he had proof someone was searching the catacombs, but he had not received notification that anyone had been killed. Therefore, his people were down. He reached over to his own controller and tapped in the request to his people.
He received two responses. He thought about this for a second and sent a rare command, one he had taught his people after they changed, but had never used. Only one response came back.
He hoped this worked.
“Let’s make sure we don’t lose this signal, Gerard,” he said as he looked at the video.
“Well, that was interesting,” Michael said as he held up the device.
“You sent the response indicating that everything is okay?” Akio guessed.
“Yes, but it came back with another signal, and I hadn’t lifted that one from any of their minds,” Michael said. “So now he knows that one, if more than one alive, is fake.” Michael dropped the device and crushed it under his foot. “I hate it when a plan doesn’t come together.”
Akio smirked, then turned to listen to the nearest hallway. “Running.”
Michael smiled, then he and Akio were in Myst form. They floated down hallways trying to locate the sound as it echoed through the catacombs.
Japan
“Inspector Hirano,” Yuko pointed to the small video feed her drone was sending to the Inspector’s car, “those gaijin are Wechselbalg.”
The inspector nodded and reached for his own communication device. He picked it up and spoke into it. “Inspector Tabata, this is Inspector Hirano.”
A moment later a voice came over the line, “My apologies Inspector, we’re having a bit of a moment here.”
“If you mean you are firing your weapons at Banri and Choki and a number of Wechselbalg, I would say you are right to call it a moment.”
“We have the superior position, weapons and defenses. We will be fine,” the other inspector replied, annoyed.
“You are going to be dying momentarily if you don’t—” He was speaking when the communication stopped.
“Too late,” Yuko said, sadness in her voice.
“There are more than five up there, Choki!” Daven growled, then he ripped off his shirt. The silver slug that had hit his shoulder hurt horribly. He grabbed a knife and dug it out as he ran towards the building. With the slug gone, he changed into a wolf and joined his brethren.
Akiro Sugita contemplated the other seven people at the windows there on the fourth floor as they fired on the werewolves below. “More firepower!” he yelled, then rushed to the back of the fortified room that was at least half the size of the whole floor. Officer Satow joined him, and they ripped off the cover of the rocket-propelled gun.
“Anyone?” Sugita asked in a hurried whisper.
Satow looked over his shoulder. “No.”
“Damn Inspector Tabata, if he hadn’t changed the plans…” Sugita growled as he flipped the arming on, stood up and made sure there wouldn’t be a backblast problem, and pulled the trigger.
Those outside saw the fourth floor of the building explode outward.
“I think that gunfire is our signal,” Jacqueline said, but a voice in her ear responded, “Stand down, Inspector Hirano is calling the shots.”
“The shots,” Mark answered, hearing Yuko in his own ear, “are being shot already!”
“Nevertheless,” Yuko answered, “we are under the… One moment.”
The line went dead while the pair got up and found shelter behind a large statue. “Damn, that’s a lot of shots.”
The explosion on the fourth floor of the building caught them by surprise. Both ducked behind the statue as debris rained down around them.
Moments later, they could hear new sirens coming in from behind them.
“Mission approved,” Yuko spoke into their ears. “Capital punishment has been authorized.”
“Fuck!” Jacqueline frowned as she kicked off her boots. “That’s the only outcome I was ever taught.”
“That’s kind of…” Mark was searching for a phrase when he finally gave up, shrugged his shoulders, and said, “Michael.”
She turned and grabbed him for a kiss, then winked. “Hell yeah that’s Michael.” She nodded over her shoulder as the wolves howled behind them and the sirens got closer. “What say we go and do unto them as Michael would?”
The female police officer eyed the two from her own force who killed her friends. “You dead dogs,” Sergeant Miyu Tao whispered as she rolled onto her side. Her ribs felt cracked, at the least, from the blast concussion that had thrown her up against the far wall. So far, neither Sugita nor Satow had looked in her direction. She unholstered her weapon and shot twice in quick succession.
Both men dropped, bullets having passed through their skulls.
She coughed up blood and spat it out. Crawling over to the massive opening in the wall, she peeked out and then started shooting. A moment later another of her team made it, and the two lone guns fired down on those below.
“Who the fuck are they?” Choki pointed to the two gaijin who were walking around the statue. Neither looked at all intimidated by the gunfire or bothered by the police vehicles screaming down from the sky.
“What?” Banri yelled. The two gang leaders had taken shelter behind Banri’s car, which was now full of bullet holes.
“The lovers?” Choki said, wondering.
That’s when the woman changed forms and became a walking myth.
“Dammit!” Banri spat. How the hell had Akuryō found a Pricolici to attack them? “She can still be hurt by silver and guns!” he yelled. He was about to turn to Eriko and order her to attack them when he saw the man’s eyes light up in red fire.
Fuck this shit. “Retreat!” he yelled and grabbed Choki. “Vampire!” He pointed back to the lovers, but all he saw was the Pricolici running at the wolves, roaring. He twisted around. “Where the hell did the vampire go?”
Daven turned when he heard the Alpha challenge, his hackles rising. All the wolves turned with him, their attack momentarily forgotten as the roar overcame Daven’s response.
“I ammm the bittchhh yoouu fearrr!” Jacqueline howled as she slammed into the wolves, ripping through them. When she finally stopped and turned around half a block later, she casually twisted the head from the snarling wolf she was holding and dropped the body next to her.
“Everyone focus on that wolf-woman…” Banri’s gurgled last words were lost as Mark pulled his clawed hand out of Banri’s back. “I would have used a sword,” Mark hissed in the dying man’s ear, “but this seemed a bit more enjoyable.” His red eyes took in the people who were now staring at him in fear. “No one,” he screamed, “will target my woman!”
Daven knew it was a lost cause as he raced towards the towering Pricolici, but this was his only hope. Attack her and then sprint away and get lost in the port, hoping that she would stay to fight.
He dashed at her, but she didn’t seem worried. Didn’t even seem to prepare as he feinted a bite to her groin, then went for her hamstring. His muzzle was met with a knee, which smashed cartilage and bone. He bounced to the side but still had enough in him to shake it off and continue his flight towards the port.
Yuko commanded, “Down!”
The car went down. She didn’t bother to let it settle to a stop, but threw open the door and jumped the last ten feet. The disposable dress had already been torn off and the young-looking woman landed, dressed all in black. She pulled one of her personal Jean Dukes out of its holster and casually shot the wolf that was running away in the back of the head.
She had considered shooting it in the ass, but it probably wouldn’t kill the wolf and she didn’t want any to get away.
She pulled the other gun, and then bodies started exploding. No more was she going to be known as the diplomat.
That was the past.
Twice, she didn’t shoot when the Yakuza members dropped their weapons and started to raise their hands, but none of the Wechselbalg survived. Those that she had not personally killed or put out of the fight, Jacqueline obliterated. Within moments, the silence on the street was enveloping. Even the sirens had been turned off. The red lights flickered on the darkened buildings; the sun was almost down.
Jacqueline growled as she walked up to her, and Yuko turned to see one of the police officers looking at her with his hand on his holstered weapon. “If you darrree pulll thatt gunnn,” Jacqueline ground out, “I willl ripp yourrr spine oouut yourrr asssss.”
“Sawa!” Inspector Hirano snapped. “Get your hand off your pistol or I’ll shoot you myself.”
Yuko’s red eyes started to return to normal. “You have two, maybe three alive on the fourth floor up there.” She nodded to the destroyed area.
The inspector snapped out commands as Mark jogged past them calling out, “I’ll help them get up there!”
Yuko nodded and turned to the inspector as she holstered her weapons.
“My stories,” he remarked, looking around before returning his gaze to her, “have always had you as a diplomat?”
Paris Catacombs
Michael and Akio worked out how to use their separate hearing to triangulate better, finding the last Forsaken as he ran down a small hallway that opened into another room. Michael stopped and reappeared as the Forsaken literally ran into the two older vampires.
Nothing but pieces of the body went past them.
The two men turned as one to see the decapitated, armless body stagger before it fell. Michael turned to Akio. “You need to speed up a little. One slice?”
Akio’s eyes narrowed and a small smile played at the edge of his lips.
They looked around. Michael went left, Akio went right. A few moments later, Michael heard, “Door!”
He came back around from his hallway and walked over to Akio.
“You’re right,” Michael agreed. “Door.”
Akio tried rolling his eyes again. “Keep that up,” Michael encouraged. “You can express so much more with body language than you have so far. Your ability to stay as motionless as a mannequin is preternatural.”
Akio didn’t take the bait. “Trap?”
Michael cocked his head and reached up, stopping just before he reached the top. He lowered his hand again. “Probably not.”
“Why?” Akio asked.
Michael jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “I’m thinking the tumbling Forsaken here would have tripped it. He didn’t seem particularly bright.”
Akio thought about that a moment. “What if he was supposed to trip it and catch us in here?”
“Yes, I considered that angle, but gave the other a one-percent higher chance.”
“I’ll go with trap.”
Michael considered the door to the next room and disappeared. Akio heard in his mind, I figured you would.
The room behind the door was very clean. There were still a couple of lights burning. He reached out and felt four small electronic pulses, but nothing that felt like explosives.
He appeared in the middle of the room and waited.
Nothing.
Michael shrugged, walked over to the door, turned the knob, and opened it.
Japan
Yuko considered her answer before replying to the inspector. “I am considered the diplomat. That was the role I embraced in the past.”
“And now?” Inspector Hirano asked.
“Now I’ll be known as a diplomat when I occasionally seek out peaceful solutions compared to others.”
“Akuryō?” The Inspector asked, “or is it Akio?”
Yuko raised an eyebrow. “Well, it is Akio,” she admitted. “Although he might be considered a diplomat now as well.”
This time it was the inspector whose brows raised. Yuko watched the short figure emerge from the trees at the back of the park. She scanned the surrounding area, noticing one of the Wechselbalg Jacqueline had fought starting to twitch. “Inspector?”
“Hmm?” he asked, looking towards her.
“Do you have any silver handcuffs?”
“Of course, but we never use them,” he said. “I have no idea if they will work.”
She put a hand out. “Let me see them.”
The Inspector turned to his left. “Wataru,” he called. “Wechselbalg cuffs!”
A moment later the uniformed officer brought a heavy pair of cuffs and handed them to Yuko, who turned and tossed them to someone on the other side of the inspector.
He turned and was surprised to see a young girl, or short woman, next to him. It took him a moment. “Eve?”
The young woman looked up at him. “Have we met?”
“No.” He held out his hand. “Inspector Hirano.”
“Eve,” she replied and shook his hand. She turned to Yuko. “Where?”
Yuko gestured over her shoulder. “There is a Wechselbalg that Jacqueline left alive.”
Eve nodded and started walking towards the building.
“Um,” the inspector licked his lips, “will she be okay?”
“Eve?” Yuko smiled. “Of course, why?”
“She’s so tiny,” he replied, looking past Yuko.
“Don’t let that fool you,” she said. “She is much stronger than she looks.”
“How do you know those cuffs will work?”
“You bought them from one of our companies,” Yuko confided. “Your precinct didn’t cheap out. There is a number that lets us know the tested strength of the cuffs.”
“So, they will hold a Wechselbalg?”
“Well,” Yuko temporized, “they wouldn’t hold someone like Jacqueline, but they’re good for any of the other Wechselbalg that were involved.”
“I heard that!” a young woman’s voice called and they turned to see a woman breaking off from a group of officers who had at least five of the Yakuza in cuffs. Those had been the criminals around Mark when Yuko had started shooting. “I’m not planning on testing them for you.”
She was coming right at them, and the inspector had to swallow down a bit of fear. Wechselbalg were bad enough, with their ability to change into wolves and shrug off bullets. Here he was talking with a myth; a Were who walked upright.
Not like Yuko wasn’t a bigger myth, actually.
Jacqueline caught up with them and Yuko made the introductions. Once again, the inspector shook hands rather than bow. Yuko appreciated that he seemed capable of jumping back and forth between regional customs.
“Inspector?” a voice called, and Hirano turned around. The young man who had hailed him held out a communicator.
“A moment, ladies?” he asked, and walked towards the vehicle. The two women turned to see a large white vehicle, blue lights flashing, arriving from the city.
“Ambulance,” Yuko told her.
“I was wondering when that was going to happen,” Jacqueline replied. “I’m pissed they held us back so long.”
“You would not have been able to stop the killing among the police,” Yuko said. “Did you know that the police had someone in their midst who would kill their own people?”
“Um,” Jacqueline thought a moment.
“We had doubts, but we didn’t know, did we?” Yuko pointed out.
“No,” she said finally as the inspector walked back to them.
“So,” the inspector asked, “are we all going to forget this occurred?”
Yuko smiled at the all-knowing, all-guessing, inspector. “Not right now.”
“Akio?” he asked.
“Only if someone up in the chain makes a special request, I would think,” she replied.
“Why? Is that what they did when my dad’s memory was wiped?” he asked.
“Nooo…” she said, thinking back to the large research book the inspector had. “That was Akio’s typical method of keeping us hidden.”
“So why won’t he do it again?” asked Hirano. “I have two diary entries where my dad put down he had met you two, then later thought he must have dreamt it.”
There was a scuffle behind them, and they turned to watch. “Let me be!” a male Wechselbalg, handcuffed, yelled at Eve. He stood a good two feet taller than her.
Eve promptly kicked out and smashed his kneecap, then swiped his legs from under him. He slammed to the ground and soon had Eve’s hand pointing rudely right in his face. He tried to bite her finger, and the loud crack of her slap made the inspector wince.
“He will heal in a few minutes like it never happened,” Yuko commented. “Violence is the only mode of communication some Wechselbalg understand.”
“Tell me about it,” Jacqueline agreed.
The next time Eve pulled the man up, he didn’t yell. The three turned back to each other to continue the conversation.
“Where was I?” Yuko asked. “Oh yes. We won’t be removing any of your memories unless those above you care to have it done, and I doubt they will this time.”
“Why this time?” he asked.
“Because we are going to become more active and change a few of our procedures, I believe,” she said.
“Why?”
“Well, I could tell you,” Yuko smiled, then looked around, “but it would need to be someplace a little more private than here, Inspector.”
“I heard that!” Eve called to Yuko. The inspector looked at the ladies. Yuko rolled her eyes. The one called Jacqueline covered her mouth, but from the glint in her eyes she was laughing.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Paris Catacombs
Michael pulled open the door and stood aside. “Do come in.”
Akio nodded and stepped inside. “Someone’s private residence while they are down here?”
“I think so too,” Michael said as they looked around.
“I’ll be damned,” William whispered as he watched the man appear in his video. “You were dead when I got out, I made sure to find out.”
