The second dark ages box.., p.64
The Second Dark Ages Boxed Set, page 64
part #1 of The Second Dark Ages Series
Mark squeezed her waist a little tighter for a moment. “It’s totally cool. I get it,” he told her. “Really,” he added reassuringly.
Looking satisfied that she hadn’t offended him, Ichika put all her effort into moving as fast as she could to keep pace with Jacqueline. The Were had already gone through the door and was jogging down the corridor with her flashlight jumping all over the place.
Japan, Below the Kurobe Dam
“Just through here,” Jacqueline called back two corridors and a narrow passageway later. “Good thing the weasel went out this way before us,” she remarked as she pushed open a final door to a tiny room with nothing more than a vertical ladder.
She shined her flashlight up, examining the ascent, and sniffed the air.
Fresh air, she thought. We’re there.
Just then Mark and Ichika stumbled into the room. The young female warrior looked distraught. “Dead end?”
Jacqueline smiled, a hint of Mark’s geeky cockiness rubbing off on her. “No, a climb to safety.” She looked up and shined her flashlight upward again. Ichika followed her eyes.
Jacqueline shined the light on Ichika’s leg. “How’s that leg doing?” she asked seriously.
Ichika looked down. “Painful, but… How far do you think it is?”
Jacqueline shrugged. “Can’t be that deep. I think we’ve been climbing on those last two corridors. That’s dry land up there.”
Ichika nodded.
Jacqueline pushed her forward to the ladder. “You first.”
Ichika looked at her in horror. “But…I’ll be the slowest.”
“All the more reason,” Mark chimed in, giving her another nudge toward the ladder. “No time for arguments. Got to get this done. The water isn’t far behind us.”
Ichika was in no state to argue. She placed her hands on the cold metal bars of the ladder and started climbing, trying not to telegraph her pain to the others.
Mark and Jacqueline watched like parents when a young child toddled precariously close to a fireplace. When she was a body-length above them, Jacqueline turned to Mark. “Why isn’t she healed already?” she hissed urgently, her air of calm having evaporated.
Mark shrugged. “I dunno. I’ve never done this before, but if I had to guess, she probably needed a bit more blood.”
Jacqueline glanced up again before looking back at Mark. “And you didn’t think to give her some?”
Mark put a hand on the ladder and pulled Jacqueline toward him. “She didn’t want to risk it.”
Jacqueline nodded. “Silly girl,” she said, still anxious and sensing the water coming through the tunnels.
Mark put Jacqueline’s hand onto the ladder. “Up you go. This structure is likely to collapse before the water ever reaches us,” he added, hearing the cracking of concrete several hundred meters away.
Jacqueline looked panicked. “You better be right behind me!”
Mark had a glimmer of humor in his eye. “Yes, ma’am. I’ll be enjoying the view.”
Jacqueline looked annoyed, and then the tension of the situation dispersed. She slapped him gently on his body and started climbing. Mark followed, careful not to catch up too quickly for fear of being kicked in the face with her feet as Jacqueline climbed.
They ascended for a while. Jacqueline slowed down when she caught up to Ichika. Eventually, they reached the surface and found that the grid that had covered over the hole had already been removed. Ichika emerged breathing hard, her face contorted in pain.
She rolled over on the slightly damp grass, catching her breath as Jacqueline and Mark scrambled out.
Jacqueline was on her feet first. “How are you doing?” she asked the little human.
Ichika opened her eyes and looked at Jacqueline’s silhouette against the background light of the moon and the nearby town. “I’ll live.” She smiled weakly. “Thank you for saving me,” she said, sitting up and looking in Mark’s direction too. “Both of you.”
Jacqueline waved her hand. “Don’t mention it. We’re not out of the woods yet, though. Lemme get in touch with Eve, and then we need to get your leg seen to.”
Jacqueline walked away a few paces and retrieved the communicator from her suit.
Tokyo, Undisclosed Alley
There was a chill in the night air, one that Riku was unaccustomed to in this land. Of course, on his travels, he had experienced everything from Siberian winds to tropical climes.
But here in Japan? It seemed a little out of place.
If he didn’t know any better he would have thought it was a foreboding that something was coming. Finally, he might fulfill his destiny and play his part in the protection of the Sacred Clan’s relics.
He waited patiently in the alley for his master.
It wasn’t long before he heard footsteps. He observed from the shadows, just in case it was an unwitting passerby who had stumbled into the alley by accident.
The stranger moved toward the center of the alley with a confident stride and stepped into a sliver of light from the street. It was indeed Kuro’s face.
Riku moved out from behind the big metal box and revealed himself.
Kuro remained motionless. “You have news?” he called in a low, controlled voice.
Riku moved closer. “Yes, sir. I have the data.” He produced the dongle and handed it over.
Kuro looked almost impressed despite his attempts at maintaining a formal face. “Thank you. This was good work.”
Riku bowed deeply, relieved to have satisfied his master. “The honor is mine, sir. May the vallitseva tila be upheld.”
Kuro returned the bow, though not as deeply. “Indeed. To the vallitseva tila!” He paused, his face now accentuated by deep shadow. “Your funds will be deposited in the morning.”
Kuro suddenly saw the whites of Riku’s eyes in the half-light. “But sir,” Riku protested, “I didn’t do it for the money.”
Kuro bowed his head briefly. “Yes, but you must understand that by taking the money we indemnify ourselves. You will be more careful about who you inform of our transaction.”
Riku’s eyes looked pained. “I would never betray you. We are fighting for the cause.”
Kuro had slipped the drive into his pocket and now studied the young ninja’s face with compassion. “I believe that,” he confirmed, “but still, we do business this way to ensure long-term loyalty.”
Riku accepted the explanation, knowing that he had no choice in the matter. “I understand. Sir, there is one more thing,” he added quickly.
“What is that?”
“It’s Akari,” Riku continued. He paused briefly, the words catching in his throat. “She didn’t make it.”
Kuro’s facial expression shifted to surprise, followed by sorrow. Then it returned to his polite expressionless default. “I’m sorry to hear this. I know you and she shared a bond of purpose.”
Riku nodded, his eyes glistening with a tear. “Would you…”
“Yes, I’ll let him know,” Kuro confirmed. “Once again, my sympathies.”
Riku bowed deeply before taking his leave of his master. He knew the drill. He was to remain out of sight for several more minutes and then exit via a route other than the alley’s entrance—he had a fire escape already picked out that would take him to the roof. He blended into the shadows and listened as his master’s footsteps retraced their path out of the alley the same way he had just walked in.
Riku stood alone in the darkness next to the pungent odor of the dumpster he had concealed himself behind.
He allowed his tears to fall, finally permitting himself to mourn the loss of his friends.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Ōyama Hospital, Japan, Near Kurobe Dam
Mark and Jacqueline sat in the waiting room talking in whispers and feeling very out of place.
Jacqueline’s tone was one he recognized from his sister—gossip. “From what Akari was saying, they were part of some kind of cult.”
Mark’s eyebrows sprang to the top of his head. “She called it a cult?” He was partly amused by the recounting but was careful not to let on. He didn’t want to have to explain to Jacqueline how cute she could be when she was doing normal girl stuff like gossiping.
Jacqueline tilted her head to one side. “No,” she conceded slowly, “but she sounded like she’d had her brain scrambled by someone. She was spouting all kinds of mumbo-jumbo.”
“Hmm,” Mark said, contemplatively stroking his chin with his finger. “So what does this mean?”
Jacqueline pursed her lips and settled back in the waiting room chair. “It means that Akari and Riku weren’t working alone. It also means that whoever these people are, they now have the locations.”
Mark’s eyes took on a distant look. “Yes, but so do we.”
Jacqueline nudged his arm, pulling him back to the present moment. “What are you thinking?”
Mark leaned forward over his knees, resting his arms on his legs. “I’m thinking that as soon as Yuko and Eve get in touch we should head to China asap.”
“Agreed,” Jacqueline said, watching the flow of scrubs-clad medical people move in and out of the double doors at the end of the waiting room area. “And I think there is more we need to understand about this Sacred Clan and why the Chinese want to hold onto their ship pieces.”
She paused. “I wonder if Michael will come…”
Mark looked at her, twisting awkwardly to see her face. “Why?” he asked, a little confused. “Wouldn’t that be less physical diplomacy for us?”
“True,” Jacqueline conceded. She quickly lowered her voice before continuing the conversation, remembering they were in a place of healing. “Not that we’ve been doing too much physical diplomacy since we’ve been here, all things being equal.”
She watched another doctor deposit a chart at reception and then take off again. “I feel better when he is within striking distance. That way, when he goes and gets himself killed, I’ll be close enough to kill him all over again.”
Jacqueline’s tone was playful on the face of it, but Mark could see that her emotions ran deep. He didn’t have any words for her, at least not words that would help the situation. He sat up and slung his arm around her as they waited in the very quiet room.
Eventually, the doctor who had admitted Ichika came back and the pair sprang to their feet. Having changed out of the wetsuits into the overalls they had packed in the Pod’s storage compartment, they were looking semi-presentable, if a little out of context.
“How is she?” Jacqueline blurted as he approached them.
Dr. Goto bowed to them briefly before delivering his diagnosis. “She’ll be fine. She lost a lot of blood, and we have her on a transfusion. We’ll need to keep her on fluids for a little while too. The leg is already partially healed,” he added, his eyes narrowing suspiciously. “I suspect this is because one of you lent her some non-conventional assistance?” He gave them a knowing look.
Mark looked sheepish. Jacqueline looked concerned. “You mean…you know?”
Dr. Goto smiled and nodded. “Diplomat Yuko sends you to my hospital and tells you to ask for me personally. One can only suspect.”
Jacqueline caught a little glimmer in his eye. “You’re not…”
Dr. Goto chuckled. “Oh goodness, no, although if I had been through what your friend had been through, I would be very grateful to have friends like you to heal my injuries.”
Mark sighed and scratched the back of his head. “I’m afraid we were too concerned about overdoing it and, you know—transforming her. We maybe didn’t give her enough.”
The doctor nodded, his face a little more serious. “I think she is glad to be alive, although they have very strict rules in her discipline. She will be able to return to her family with her secret intact. No one will suspect that she was ever healed. The bullet wound will leave a scar and a limp.”
Jacqueline frowned. “What do you mean, ‘strict rules?’”
Dr. Goto moved them away from the reception desk and prying ears. “Yes. They’re not to use substances like vampire blood or artificial healing agents,” he explained. “Anyone found to have used them normally ends up being exiled. And as you know, these disciplines are like family.” He shook his head. “Terrible business really,” he confessed, sadness tainting his eyes.
Jacqueline’s eyes flared yellow. “You mean she might be exiled if anyone finds out we healed her?”
Dr. Goto nodded.
Jacqueline stepped back and looked around, frustrated, before snapping her attention back to Mark. “Should have gone the whole way and transformed her!”
Mark lowered his eyes.
Dr. Goto put his hands out, palms flat, trying to contain the situation. “No, no—you don’t understand. That would be like death to them. They have very strict beliefs. Ichika herself would likely not want to live like that,” he explained, his voice a little agitated, willing Jacqueline to comprehend.
Jacqueline calmed a little. “Really?”
The doctor nodded again.
Jacqueline sighed, still unsatisfied. “Well, I guess there’s nothing we can do then.”
“May we see her?” Mark asked calmly, trying to smooth things over.
Dr. Goto nodded. “Of course. We’ll need her to stay overnight, but by tomorrow afternoon she’ll be ready to leave.” He motioned in the direction of the corridor. “Room 211.”
Jacqueline and Mark thanked the doctor and headed toward Ichika’s room, their outside boots squeaking conspicuously and drawing curious looks from the dainty, polite nurses and medical personnel walking around in their covered slippers.
Mark tapped on the door and then pushed it open to reveal a tiny-looking Ichika, who was dwarfed by the hospital bed she was ensconced in.
Jacqueline followed him into the room, her eyes conveying sympathy.
Ichika smiled weakly as they stepped inside and closed the door behind them. “Don’t look at me like that,” she said to Jacqueline, still smiling.
Jacqueline looked taken aback. “Like what?”
Ichika grinned. “Like I’m some delicate little thing who needs taking care of. I’m a warrior! I knew what I was getting into.”
Jacqueline couldn’t help but smile at her spirit. She adjusted her attitude to match as she approached the girl’s bedside and perched on the bed next to her. She held her hand. “I know that, but I’m still sorry this happened to you.” She paused, lowering her eyes to their hands. “If there was anything I could have done—”
Ichika clamped her other hand on top of the hands that held each other. “You did the right thing. I couldn’t have asked for a more dedicated and brave team on that mission.”
She smiled at Mark, who had perched on the other side of her bed, pulling the blanket a little.
“Both of you,” she added sincerely. “Truly. I’m so grateful for what you did to keep me alive and get me out of there. You risked your own lives.”
Mark nodded at her leg. “So you’re all healed up?”
Ichika tilted her head from side to side. “The doctor said I will recover a little more with time, but there will need to be lots of rehabilitation and it will never be as strong as my other leg.” She lowered her eyes, her voice softer now. “Sucks for martial arts and future adventures.”
Jacqueline had already started tearing up. “I know. It sounds like it wasn’t enough—”
“Shhh…” Ichika told her sternly. “This has worked out well. This way I get to return to my grandfather and my training, and I get to live. If I had gone back changed…”
Jacqueline nodded, thinking of how unfair people’s prejudices made everything. A tear escaped from her eye. “I know. The doctor explained to us.”
“Yes,” Ichika continued, her eyes looking brighter now, “but did he explain to you about the power of the mind?”
Jacqueline looked at her, sadness giving way to curiosity. “How do you mean?” she asked, glancing at Mark to see if he understood.
Mark frowned. “You’re going to think your way healthy?”
Ichika was wearing a fully confident smile now. “Yes. With Grandfather’s help, I know I can.”
They talked a little more before Jacqueline moved the conversation to tomorrow’s itinerary. “Right, so we’ll be taking you back to your grandfather then?”
“Yes,” Ichika confirmed. “As much as I’d love to continue this journey with you, I think in my current state I’d be more of a hindrance than a help.”
Mark pulled out his wrist again. “Well, unless you just want to bite the bullet, so to speak, and join us permanently.” His voice was teasing, but for a moment Jacqueline could have sworn she saw Ichika thinking about it.
A split second later Ichika laughed and slapped Mark’s exposed wrist playfully. “Thanks,” she said, “but my place is with my grandfather. And our mission.”
The three shared a few more laughs before the nurse came in to usher Jacqueline and Mark out of the room. They made their farewells and returned to the guest house that Eve had booked them into, promising to return for Ichika tomorrow to take her home.
And help her break the news of the recent events to her grandfather and sensei.
Kuro’s Loft, Somewhere in Tokyo
Raiden jumped to his feet as soon as he heard the footsteps outside the door. “He’s back,” he announced to an almost disinterested Orochi.
Orochi muttered something inaudible, his eyes never leaving his papers.
Kuro entered the room, quietly closing the door behind him and securing the two locks. He turned to Raiden, his face unreadable.
“Well?” Raiden prompted.
Kuro’s face broke into a smile. “I’ve got it!”
Orochi jumped to his feet and made his way across the large open-plan apartment they used as a lair. Raiden, bursting with excitement, couldn’t resist throwing his arms around Kuro. Kuro stiffened and stepped back after a moment, shrugging Raiden off.
Raiden looked embarrassed. “I just… It’s just so exciting.”
Kuro raised one eyebrow at him. “Yes. I see that your time with the younger generation has made you… modern…in your reactions.”
