The Wrath of Gigan
By Neil Riebe
Part 1
Chapter 1
Rodan, on occasion, needed to be alone. After the humans gathered the world's kaiju on Ogasawara Island, he felt cooped up with his mate, Rodana, and their five offspring. (Author's note: If you are wondering where the extra rodans came from, read my other story Rodana, Queen of the Sky.)
The humans emplaced barriers in the form of gas ejectors and sonic wave emitters to sequester the monsters to the island. Rodan, Godzilla, and some of the others had already found gaps in the barriers. They came and went from the island at night or during a storm so the humans wouldn't discover the holes in their defenses. The kaiju didn't have to return, but the island offered generous living space, pleasant weather, and peace and quiet. So they "cooperated" with the humans in order to remain one step ahead of them.
As for Rodan, as much as he cherished his mate and his five offspring, who were now rambunctious sub adults, seeing the same faces and hearing the same clucks and squawks wore on his nerves. The stress caused Rodan to pine over old times when he and Godzilla battled Ghidorah shoulder to shoulder.
Once Rodan had reunited with Rodana, Godzilla drifted off and associated with Anguirus. Rodan and Godzilla weren't even friendly rivals anymore. They just weren't in the same sphere, even though they lived on the same island.
Rodan didn't have any concept of what jealousy is, but he sure felt it.
So, as the sun set, and the first stars began to shine, Rodan took to the sky and soared over the Pacific. The cool winds cleared his head.
The Japanese mainland was on the horizon, toward the north. There, smoke billowed from the shore, aglow with angry fire.
Rodan investigated, flying high over the devastation. The fires roared from the oil refineries along the docks. The burning crude filled the air with soot. Scores of buildings lay in ruins, gutted and blackened. The humans were scurrying about like ants around a kicked over anthill.
Further inland, Rodan spotted a peculiar building which resembled Godzilla. The top half had been knocked off and reduced to rubble, but the bottom had the recognizable features of Godzilla's legs and tail. When he touched down for a closer look, he smelt a hint of crushed insects in the ruined building. He couldn't mistake the odor. He smelt it many times when one of the dinosaur kaiju cracked open a kamakiras for food on Ogasawara Island.
Turning from the tower, he found an alarming series of burn marks in the ground. The marks wriggled in a squiggling pattern, as if the soil had been branded with images of serpents. Ghidorah's rays left marks like that.
Ghidorah's footprints confirmed his fears. The golden three-headed dragon had been here, recently.
He also found Godzilla and Anguirus's prints—and prints of one other creature, a biped with a single clawed-toe on each foot. No Earthly being left such a mark. Judging from the position of the prints, the single-toed monster fought as Ghidorah's ally. Another monster from the stars!
Like his extinct pteranodon cousins, Rodan could fold his wings at his sides and walk on all fours. He got down close to the dirt and found blood in Godzilla and Anguirus's footsteps, and none in Ghidorah nor his partner's. This didn't bode well.
Maybe Godzilla and Anguirus lost the battle. Maybe Ghidorah and the single-toed monster were still at large.
For the sake of his family, Rodan needed to be sure.
He took to the air in search of the space monsters. On his way he sensed a high frequency signal. It reminded him of the time when a signal had hummed in his ear and made him fight the humans and destroy their dwellings. This new signal wasn't aimed at him, but someone else.
When he gauged its direction, Rodan swooped in for a landing among the city wreckage near the burning refineries and got back down on all fours. The tone was humming from the ground. Humans fled when they saw him. Some fired guns at him. Rodan didn't care. He sensed a greater danger.
He tore away the exposed levels of a damaged skyscraper, searching for the signal's source. The more he dug inside the building, the louder the hum became. Dust rose up in gray clouds around his feverish efforts. At last he cleared away the bottom floor. Pulling back, he slammed down his claws, cracking the concrete floor, and burrowed into the sub floors.
The signal's intensity increased enough for Rodan to understand the commands it was transmitting. The signal said, "Dig! Dig! Dig to the surface. Grab the object you see in your mind and return to your lair." Rodan also saw the image of what "this" was. The object was a metal container with a circular opening.
He found the container within the sub floors. When he reached for the object, the earth collapsed underneath it. Rodan plunged his clawed fingers into the sinking earth to grab the container only to have a metal spike shoot straight up out the dirt and strike him in the face, nearly piercing his eye.
Shocked, Rodan fell onto his back. The wound on his face prickled, feeling hot and moist with blood.
The spike shimmered with a bluish hue in the waning light. It wriggled in the dirt and then split open, revealing thick conical teeth and a tongue lolling in a slippery film of saliva. The spike was a spear-pointed snout to a giant creature. The monster let out a gravely roar as it started digging its way out of the ground...
Chapter 2
Around the time Rodan left Ogasawara Island, the Japanese firm Mushita Electronics hosted a benefit dinner for the victims who had lost their businesses and homes in the industrial areas along Tokyo's coast. Several days ago Godzilla and Anguirus battled King Ghidorah and Gigan. Their fight left the coast in ruins. Japanese secret service agent, Shindo Yamaguchi, was able to attend the benefit because his partner's wife, Sayoko Kuta, was a leading researcher for the company.
The company's president and founder, Kenzo Mushita, admired Sayoko's work, among other things. She was a beautiful woman. Kenzo proposed a toast at the benefit for Sayoko as the "the loveliest scientist and technician" on his team, and congratulated her with a kiss.
Her husband, Yomo Kuta, didn't appear bothered. Kenzo was ninety-four years old and bound to a wheelchair. The old man had pep, but not enough to worry Yomo.
At any rate, Kenzo's interest in Sayoko made it possible for the whole gang to sit at his table: Shindo and his friend and partner Yomo, and their boss in the secret service, Goro Yamashita.
Japan's most wealthiest and influential citizens filled the ballroom. Glasses and silverware clinked, while the guests droned in conversation under a wafting fog of cigarette smoke. On one side of the room, a live orchestra played Bach's Badinerie.
Shindo didn't smoke, contrary to the popular image of the super spy dangling a Chesterfield from his lips at the Baccarat table. He didn't want a nicotine fit when he needed his wits, although Shindo did carry a lighter. Lighters were as useful as pocketknives and a well-concealed handgun.
He patiently listened to old Kenzo wax on about the war. In 1945, Kenzo's company raced to perfect a radar-guided missile system to shoot down American B-29 bombers. "If the Emperor had held out for six more weeks," he said, "we would've completed our anti-aircraft rockets. Then the B-29s would've been falling from the sky like cherry blossoms."
Kenzo made "six more weeks" sound like six more minutes.
Shindo smiled, took a sip of his Chardonnay, and kept his thoughts to himself.
"Tell me, Shindo," Kenzo patted his hand. "Now that dinner's out of the way, why don't you tell me about this body you and Yomo found."
Shindo sized up the reaction from the others at the table, the company executives and their wives. Everyone heard about the body. They didn't know the whole story, but they knew enough to give Shindo hesitant looks. They didn't want the gory details on a full belly.
Shindo shook his head. "I rather not."
Kenzo patted Shindo's hand harder. "Yes, but the circumstances are intriguing. We just had a massive attack on the docks by two space monsters. From what I hear another race of aliens was involved. Now this body. I think we have a right to know if there is a connection."
Kenzo's knowledge about the alien rumor surprised Shindo. He glanced at his boss, Yamashita.
His boss raised his brows and shook his head slightly. He had no idea how Kenzo found out.
But then, Kenzo Mushita was rich. With wealth comes influence and connections.
"Yes," a man spoke, "I would like to hear about the body, too."
The man was Caucasian, tall, with bland features. His eyes had a childlike sparkle. As he approached the table, Shindo noticed the stiffness in the man's mannerisms—not necessarily formal, just stiff.
But what really raised Shindo's hackles was that Celeste accompanied this stranger. Yomo's mouth dropped open when he saw the female mercenary. Shindo looked Yomo in the eye and raised his finger to signal his partner to keep cool. He then greeted Celeste with a smile.
She smiled back, smiling toward everyone at the table. She looked strained. It was more natural for her to smile while putting a bullet through someone's head. Shindo had to admit, though, she did manage to dress nice for the occasion. She looked good, in her own pugnacious sort of way.
Shindo stood and offered his hand to the stranger.
The stranger shook it. "I am Erik Strong."
"Erik Strong...?" Shindo repeated, prompting Strong to elaborate on his identity.
The question confused the stranger.
"Who are you with?" Shindo clarified.
With his arm stiff at his side, Erik Strong bent his elbow enough for his hand to indicate Celeste.
One of the exec's stifled a chuckle.
Shindo said, "I mean, which company do you represent? Are you with a business, institution, a foundation...?"
"No." That was all Erik would say.
"Aren't you going to introduce the lady?" Yomo asked.
Strong turned toward him. "Which one?"
Several people at the table broke out laughing.
Celeste's smile soured into a grimace while Erik didn't show the least bit of embarrassment.
Yomo nodded toward Erik's companion.
Erik introduced Celeste and then grabbed two empty chairs from the neighboring table, sat in one without offering Celeste to sit first.
Celeste took the empty seat, glaring daggers at Erik.
Shindo glanced toward his boss to confirm whether or not if he should divulge the results of their investigation.
Yamashita nodded.
With his superior's permission, Shindo humored Kenzo and this Mr. Strong about the body. "After Godzilla and Anguirus drove away Ghidorah and this new space monster—Gigan—Yomo and I did some intelligence gathering. First, we went to The World Children's Land, where the monsters fought their final battle and met several eyewitnesses. Among them were, of all people, a comic book artist and his girlfriend.
"The witnesses said the space monsters were controlled by extra terrestrials. Godzilla Tower had been the aliens' HQ. The damage prevented us from searching for alien remains in the tower, but the witnesses said the aliens resembled man-sized cockroaches.
"Later, Yomo and I surveyed the damage in the city and found a body, stripped of its skin. We found no clothes or identification. So we haven't yet been able to determine the John Doe's identity."
"Is that good, to take the identification?" Erik asked.
Everyone looked at him strangely.
Shindo couldn't figure this person. If Strong wanted to appear suspicious, he was doing a bang up job. "I suppose, if you're the murderer, that would be a good idea." Shindo put emphasis behind "if you're the murderer."
Erik didn't react. It wasn't that he was putting on a poker face to hide his guilt. Shindo saw past those expressions. No, this Strong just didn't react.
"Anyway," Shindo said to the group, "what was even more disturbing was that Yomo and I couldn't figure out how the perpetrator removed the skin. Forensics said something burned the exposed tissue, but only superficially. Whoever skinned this poor man skinned him with speed and surgical precision.
"At the moment, we suspect one of these cockroach creatures may have survived the destruction of Godzilla Tower, murdered the man in the alley, stripped him of his skin, and may be at large in human guise. The witnesses did say the aliens could disguise themselves."
"I thought as much," Kenzo said.
The mood at the table turned somber.
"What do you plan to do now?" Kenzo asked.
Yamashita picked up the conversation, which gave Shindo an opportunity to search for Satin. If Celeste was here, then Satin would be, too.
"If you'll excuse me," Shindo rose to his feet. He squeezed Yomo's shoulder as he left the table, letting Yomo know he should watch the fort. In other words, watch Strong.
Meanwhile, Shindo searched for Satin. He spotted her up on the landing overlooking the ballroom, leaning on the railing. Excitement pulsed through his veins. He took a breath to clear his head and went up the spiral stairs.
Satin looked delicately stunning in her evening gown, with her long rich, brown hair coiffed. The creamy white skin of her bare arms and shoulders looked sweet enough to kiss.
She glanced demurely at him. Shindo appreciated that she didn't step away when he stood beside her, although this meeting would have to be brief. His career would be in jeopardy if it became known he was seeking a relationship with a mercenary.
They kept their eyes on the crowd below. Shindo guessed Erik Strong hired Satin and her henchwomen to serve as bodyguards.
"It's good to see you again," Shindo said.
She raised a brow at him. "You are pretty nervy, Mr. Yamaguchi, acting personable after gunning down half my gang."
"They fired first. Besides, Celeste forgave Yomo and me for knocking her out."
Satin narrowed her gaze. "What makes you think she forgave you?"
"She didn't shoot us when she came to our table."
Satin laughed. She tried to stifle it. But she laughed.
The room's ambience became cozier.
"How's Faora?" Shindo asked.
"She's fine."
Shindo located Satin's other henchwoman down by the main door, holding a glass of wine, watching the crowd just like Satin.
Satin had exaggerated. Shindo did not gun down half her gang, although Eva did die in a gunfight with Shindo and Yomo, but as Shindo had said, Satin's people fired first. The rest of her gang had been killed either by Godzilla or the henchmen of her former employer, the mad scientist, Chiang Mi Shek. Still, it was a good sticking point.
Shindo wanted to know where he stood with Satin. After Chiang's operation was foiled, it was Shindo's duty to turn her over to the authorities. He didn't do it because she had switched sides to help defeat the rogue scientist. There were times duty and doing what was right didn't coincide. That was one of them.
He could cross swords with her, and remind her that she owed her freedom to him, but he didn't treat a woman like that. Besides, she knew he should've turned her in. He knew she appreciated it. Otherwise, she wouldn't have let him get this close.
Shindo nodded toward Erik Strong, who was speaking intently with Kenzo. "What do you know about Strong?"
"I see. You're here on business, not pleasure." Satin turned a cold shoulder toward him. She stared at her glass then glanced back at him, and defiantly tossed a loose lock of hair away from her forehead. "Go on back to your table. I don't rat out an employer."
"I'm not looking for information. I'm offering. I have a file on him, rather his people, I should say." Shindo told her that he suspected Erik Strong was one of the cockroach aliens. "The file is not complete, but I can keep you updated. Interested?"
"No."
"No?"
"No," she said again. "Sure, you want me to believe you're doing me a favor, but you're hoping once I read what your people have compiled about him I'll sell him out to you. No deal. I don't care who my employers are or what they're doing. I don't make moral judgments on anyone. I do what I do because I enjoy it."
Shindo was taken aback. He dropped the matter.
"I know you care for me," Satin said. She circled her fingertip over the rim of her glass. "I like that part of you. I do." She glanced up at him. "The world doesn't have much of your kind of caring. But that's only a small part of you. The rest I don't want. And that small part isn't enough to make up for the rest."
Shindo took a step back.
"Here." Satin handed him the glass of wine. "You look like you need this more than me." She checked on Mr. Strong, who was getting up from the table, shaking Mushita's hand. "Anyway, Erik wants to go."
Satin left Shindo standing with the glass of wine.
Shortly after Satin left with Erik Strong and her two compatriots, the sirens came to life. The people below stirred from their seats. The orchestra stopped. A member of Mushita's staff took the stage and said over the mike, "We have just received word that Rodan has appeared over Tokyo. Presently he is on the coast among the ruins of the industrial ward. Please remain calm and follow these instructions on how to get to the shelter..."
Chapter 3
The creature with the spear-pointed snout unearthed itself and shook the loose dirt from its body. The creature resembled an armored dinosaur, except, instead of a dry, crusty surface, the dermal armor gleamed with a metallic, silvery-blue sheen. The armor covered the entire length of the body in bands, with the bands flaring outward along the edges. Little of the creature's gray, scaly hide lay exposed. Just the legs and throat.
The armored beast lumbered about on all fours and bellowed at Rodan, tossing its spike-tipped tail in threatening motions.
Rodan bellowed in return, trying to get the creature to understand it was being controlled. This animal acted as if it lived a solitary existence, because it didn't seem to understand. Over the years, Rodan and the other monsters had learned how to communicate by adding further nuance in their body language and the tones of their roars.
However, Rodan sensed something otherworldly about this being. The armored quadruped wasn't as alien as Ghidorah, yet it seemed to be born of mixed blood, a crossbreed between the Earth and the stars.
The armored monster pulled the container out of the dirt and set it down on firmer ground, and then roared at Rodan, challenging him.
Rodan refused to meet its challenge, so the beast curled back on its haunches and leapt forward, trying to gore Rodan in the belly with its sharp snout.
The winged reptile hopped up into the air and the quadruped plopped upon the ground with a thunderous crash. The concussion shook the dust from the damaged buildings.
Rodan landed several city blocks away and squawked in defiance that he was too nimble for the cumbersome beast.
Regardless, the armored monster thundered down the street, among the ruins, crushing burned-out cars underfoot like eggshells.
Rodan flapped his wings, stirring up torrential winds. Hard fragments of broken concrete and clouds of eye-stinging dust pelted the beast.
The creature skidded to a halt, hunkered down, and enclosed its flaring plates, forming an armored cocoon. The debris deflected off the smooth surface with no effect.
Rodan flew over to the creature and tried to pick the creature up with his feet, but his toe claws screeched against the armored hide as though he were clawing steel. Once Rodan did have a hold of the animal, he found it was the heaviest beast he had ever tried to lift, twice as heavy as Godzilla. As much as he flapped, he wasn't able to get the monster off the ground.
Then Rodan felt a sudden pang in his back as the beast stabbed him with its spiked tail. The notched tip of the tail hooked into Rodan's skin. When the armored monster yanked its tail free, searing pain shot up Rodan's back.
The blow came too close to Rodan's spine. He wasn't taking any more chances, and vacated the field of battle.
Swinging around, the monster clamped onto Rodan's leg with its jaws. Its bite had so much strength. Rodan poked his attacker in the eye with the tip of his wing before the monster's bite could snap Rodan's bones.
Enraged, the monster roared.
Once the armored creature released Rodan's leg, Rodan took off into the sky. He circled the beast from a high altitude. Its armor glinted in the moonlight as the creature circled, trying to keep Rodan in sight. It roared and jumped up in a futile effort to reach Rodan. Clouds of dust and ash puffed around him as it hopped. Eventually, it gave up, grabbed its precious container, and burrowed back into the ground.
Chapter 4
The next morning, Shindo and Yomo accompanied the paleontologist Dr. Yamane to the site where Rodan battled the armored kaiju. They wore filter masks because the firefighters hadn't quite extinguished the burning oil at the refineries. Columns of smoke blotted the sky with a black overcast in an otherwise fine morning.
"These kaiju seemed to be getting smarter," a policeman said during their investigation. "Two decades ago, when I was new on the force, the monsters just lumbered forward, hardly looking to the left or right. They didn't seem to have anything going on up here." The officer pointed toward his cranium. "Now, they squawk and carry on as though they're talking to each other. And the one with the wings—Rodan is it? He was scratching around over there."
The officer pointed toward the Mizuho Bank. Only a portion of the outside walls remained. The foundation of the building was pulverized and in its place was a massive crater filled with loose dirt.
"I'm familiar with the drill," the officer said. "We took pictures of last night's battle and roped off areas where we found footprints." The policeman showed them the cordons. He then motioned for a subordinate to come forward and give Dr. Yamane a business-sized envelope containing the photographs.
Dr. Yamane accepted them with a bow. The police handed over the envelope with a deeper bow to the elderly sensei.
Yamane and his assistants took measurements of the prints made by the new monster while Shindo and Yomo examined the crater. The dirt was too loose at the edge of the crater for Shindo to get close.
"Look what I found," Yomo called out. He rolled away broken bits of concrete and pavement to unearth a glittering piece of skin. "Rodan must've scraped a piece off the monster's armored shell."
Yamane's assistants bagged the specimen.
After a quick bite for lunch, Shindo and Yomo conducted follow up interviews with the five witnesses who had encountered the cockroach aliens, the comic book artist Gengo and his girlfriend Tomoko, Shosaku and his girlfriend Machicko and her brother, Takeshi Shima. Meanwhile, Yamane and his assistants returned to their lab at the university. At midafternoon, Shindo and Yomo met with Dr. Yamane again at Yamashita's office to give their respective reports.
Dr. Yamane described the armored monster as being a relative of nodosaurid dinosaurs. "The monster has similar limb proportions—short forelegs, long hind legs. You can see by the slope of the back, the hips are higher than the shoulders." With his index finger, Yamane traced the outline of the monster in one of the photographs taken by the police. "The creature's tracks are also characteristic of a nodosaur, with the broad foot pad and stout toes. However, there is one unique adaptation in the forepaws. The unguals, or the toenails, if you will, are elongated for digging.
"As for the body armor," Yamane picked up the clear plastic bag containing the skin sample. "Nodosaur body armor was made of bone. In this specimen, there seems to be deposits of metal as well. You can see the deposits when you raise it to the light." Yamane passed the bag around.
Shindo raised the sample to the light. He could see that there was not just a metallic-blue color, but scintillating bits of red and silver. The fragment was an inch thick and about six inches across, and as heavy as a steel plate. He handed the bagged specimen to Yomo.
"Until I receive the results of our tests," Dr. Yamane continued, "I won't be able to tell what type of metals are in this sample, or how the creature grows such a body covering. Off the top of my head, I guess this animal metabolizes what it can find underground, including veins of iron ore. The blood then collects iron deposits as well as calcium in the animal's scutes. Such a melding of metal and mineral could make this animal more resilient to our guns and bombs than any other kaiju we've faced."
"Can you tell us any good news?" Yamashita asked.
Yamane sat in thought for a moment. "Well, fossil evidence suggests nodosaurs were solitary creatures. This new kaiju may also be a solitary animal, which may be why we have never seen its likes before. It's solitary and rare."
"Let's hope so," Yamashita said.
After Dr. Yamane left, Shindo asked, "What did Erik Strong talk about last night at the dinner benefit? Did he say what he wanted?"
"He would only speak to Mr. Mushita," Yomo said. "They talked technology, stuff that's over my head."
Yamashita shrugged. He didn't understand the tech talk, either.
"I noticed he left shortly before the sirens started," Shindo said. "Strong makes himself appear suspicious, and the uncanny thing about it is that he doesn't seem aware of it. Just like he's..."
"From another world?" Yomo finished.
"Exactly." Shindo sat forward in his seat. "Look, we have had two confirmed extra-terrestrial invasions. The first came from Planet X. The other from an area in space called Nebula Space Hunter M. According to Gengo, the illustrator, and his friends, this second alien species were large cockroaches in human guise. We can cross off the people from Planet X, because they would have no reason to strip a man of his skin. They're humanoid. But the cockroaches would. What if one of them survived after the army blew up the Godzilla Tower. Erik Strong might be our surviving alien."
"That follows," Yamashita concurred.
Shindo shook his head. "No," he said on second thought. "All the witnesses agreed the cockroach aliens acted perfectly human. Erik Strong couldn't be one of them."
"Maybe Strong is a lower echelon insect," Yomo suggested. "He doesn't know how to act, unlike his leaders, who had studied our customs and mannerisms."
"I guess." Shindo didn't sound convinced. "But, what I was trying to lead up to earlier is that Strong may be controlling the new monster. He left just before the sirens went off. And it seems odd that the monster would emerge directly underneath the bank."
Yamashita chuckled. "If Strong comes from a race of people that can cross the gulf of space, I doubt he would use his technological might to steal money."
"True," Shindo conceded. "It's just something I had noticed."
"I agree Erik Strong needs to be watched," Yamashita said. "The problem is, we have to find him. Find him, and we'll probably come a lot closer to answering our questions on who murdered the John Doe, and whether or not the actions of the new kaiju are being controlled. Speaking of Strong," Yamashita addressed Shindo. "Did you see the three women he left the ballroom with?"
"Yes."
"Did you speak to any of them, find out who they were?"
"No," Shindo said. "Aside from the woman who was with him at the table, I wasn't aware the other two might be involved until they exited the ballroom together."
Shindo felt Yomo's eyes bore into him. Even so, he wasn't going to say anything about Satin.
Chapter 5
That evening, Yomo took issue with Shindo for not reporting his meeting with Satin. They were at Shindo's apartment. Shindo could afford a fine house, but with his jet setting lifestyle, home ownership was too much of an anchor.
They sat on the small porch, overlooking the city from fifteen floors up. Despite the setting of the summer sun, the sticky air retained its heat. Dew trickled down the sides of their cocktail glasses.
"If I were a real friend," Yomo said, "I'd tell the chief about your interest in this woman."
"Then don't be a real friend. Be a good, loyal superficial one."
"Do you have any idea what trouble you'll get into if someone else in the agency found out what you're doing?" Yomo's temper intensified. "Do you have any idea of what you'd be accused of?"
"No one knows anything about her," Shindo said.
"Maybe not our agency. CIA, MI-6, any of them might have a file on her."
Shindo shrugged. Behind the scenes, Japan's allies were fair-weather friends. Frequently they asked for intelligence information. Rarely did they provide it.
On the other hand, if they did want to blunt the Japanese secret service's effectiveness, they might disclose embarrassing details about him.
Shindo took his glass from the patio table. He didn't want to think about it.
"If you want to watch someone's back," Shindo said, "watch your wife's. Mr. Mushita has his eye on her."
Yomo tossed his hand at Shindo. "He's just a starry-eyed old man."
"He's a dirty old man," Shindo clarified in a hard tone. "And he has influence to do something nasty."
"He can threaten her career, nothing more, whereas Satin can get you killed. She might even kill you herself."
"Nah." Shindo shook his head.
"What do you like about her?" Yomo pressed him. "Sure, she's gorgeous, but it's not like you couldn't find someone else. Someone on our side of the law."
Shindo took a swallow of his drink. "Kindred spirits, I guess. Two souls hungering for a thrill." He shrugged. "I don't think about why I like one woman over another." Shindo took another draught. "Anyway, Satin doesn't want me. Don't worry."
"Do you still want her?"
"That's confidential. Not even I know that."
"I think you do."
"If I did, that would be confidential, too." Shindo flashed a smile at his friend.
Yomo returned Shindo's smile, although concern underscored Yomo's grin.
Elsewhere, underground, the armored kaiju feasted on a pungent, juicy sort of fungi which grew out of the nooks in the walls of Strong's cavernous hideaway. Indeed, Erik Strong was the beast's master. Strong christened the armored monster "Noregon," because the monster was similar to the armor-plated beasts of Strong's home world.
Noregon was receptive to Erik's control signal because Noregon sensed that Erik was from another world. Noregon's kind had evolved from organic compounds brought to Earth by an extra-solar comet. Even though Noregon's ancestors had interbred with Earth's species, Noregon retained an ancestral indifference toward Earth. He never felt entirely at home on Earth nor accepted any kinship with Earth's fauna.
At the end of the Mesozoic, Noregon's kind burrowed deep into the Earth's crust, drank from underground reservoirs and thrived on the plethora of fungi which filled the underground chambers. Due to the lack of a ready source of calcium, Noregon's kind evolved the ability to metabolize iron ore to strengthen their bones, teeth, and armor.
As he ate, Noregon kept glancing at the bank vault he had fetched for Erik Strong. It lay under the glare of the work lights. The vault annoyed Noregon. It didn't belong in his cave. Finally, he stopped eating and lumbered over to growl at it and gnaw on the corners.
Satin and Faora sat nearby on folding chairs with their elbows upon a table, playing poker. They were chucking bundles of ten thousand yen notes from the vault's cash boxes into the pot. Erik did say, "help yourself to as much as you want". So they did.
When Noregon started getting ornery again, Satin turned in her seat and calmed him down with a hand-held transmitter. Its signal soothed him. Soon, he forgot about the vault, and went back to his eating.
Satin set the transmitter beside her winnings.
Faora shook her head. "The things we do for a dishonest living."
Chapter 6
That same evening, the elderly Kenzo Mushita was dozing in his wheelchair with his head canted to the side. His chest swelled and shrank as his breath wheezed through his wrinkled throat.
He had been studying the design modifications for improving the barriers around Monster Island all afternoon. The blue prints lay before him, spread across the glass-topped table.
Mr. Mushita resided in a mansion in the foothills of the Japanese Alps. He traveled to and from his corporate headquarters in the city via helicopter.
While he slept, he was blissfully unaware of the black sedan which drove up to the main gate. The guard at the gate failed to notify Kenzo that he had permitted the car to enter the compound. Two intruders stepped out of the sedan. When his staff tried to obstruct them, one the intruders raised his hand and a signal sounded in their ears. They stood mollified. The two intruders proceeded. Not even Kenzo's in-house nurse had the will to resist the signal. The intruders stepped into the expansive living room. Kenzo faced the glass doors to the veranda on the north side of the room.
In his slumber, Kenzo heard his name spoken. He stirred, snorted, and blinked his eyes open. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he asked, "What is it?"
"You said we should get together sometime. So, I am here."
Kenzo then recognized who spoke. Gripping the control stick to his chair, he turned himself around from the table to face his intruders. As he turned he pulled a gun which he had concealed under the blanket that laid across his lap. "Erik Strong...and Celeste." Kenzo nodded. "I figured you were an alien, Strong. You were an uninvited guest at my benefit, and now you are an uninvited guest in my home. My security should've stopped you at the door both times, yet here you are. Do you mind telling me how you do it?"
Erik looked puzzled.
"He wants to know how we got passed the guards," Celeste clarified.
Erik said, "Oh," and said no more. Obviously, Erik wasn't going to say how he got in here.
Kenzo snorted, and showed some teeth with his sneering grin. "I wish I had a can of bug spray, you cockroach. But I'll see what I can do with this." Kenzo took two shots at Erik's torso. Orange flame boomed twice from the gun's muzzle as the empty bullet casings tinkled on the floor.
Erik's shirt jerked from the impact of the rounds. Two smoking holes erupted. Only a small amount of blood, red blood, stained the fabric around the holes.
Erik stepped forward, raising his hand in assurance. "I am not one of them."
Kenzo sat shocked. His bullets didn't even make Strong flinch.
Celeste hastily took the weapon from the old man's shaking hand and removed the magazine. Even though she wore her black combat fatigues and Kevlar vest, disarming the old man put her at ease.
"What are you?" Kenzo looked frail, vulnerable.
"I am a traveler," Erik Strong said. "I need replacement parts for the anti-gravity drive of my ship. Your company has the most advanced facilities on the planet. Help me build the parts I need and in return I will provide you with knowledge. Knowledge to build ships like mine. Your people will be able to walk among the stars, and they will have your corporation to thank for it. Is it a bargain?"
"N-no," Kenzo stammered. He swallowed to wet his throat. "No," he said again with more determination. "You are the one who skinned that man in the alley, aren't you? You did it so you can look like us."
"Aliens who have such power would not look for help," Erik rebutted. "They would just seize what they want."
"What about her?" Kenzo narrowed his gaze at Celeste.
"She is of your world: flesh of your flesh. Bone of your bone. I hired her for protection."
"Hired? What are you paying her with?"
Erik said nothing, gazing at Kenzo with his impenetrable, passive stare.
"Tell me," the old man insisted, "or there will be no bargain."
Celeste then spoke. "Mr. Strong said you would pay me."
Erik glared at her for interrupting the conversation. Before Kenzo had a chance to notice, Celeste drew the old man's attention by walking across the room. "Erik has no Earthly currency," she said as she examined Kenzo's pictures on the wall. "But considering what's being offered, any executive in the technologies industry would find covering the costs of Mr. Strong's security a minor expense."
Kenzo scowled at Celeste as she studied one of his pictures, the one taken of him with his research team. In the photo, he sat front and center with his arm linked with Sayoko's.
Celeste then turned.
Kenzo was satisfied that she was human, although he wasn't satisfied about anything else.
Erik lowered his hand. "I came here for help. Instead, I am distressing you. I am sorry. I will go. I am sure another firm would be willing to help."
Kenzo jolted upright in his chair as though he had been hit by a revelation. He hadn't considered the fact that a rival company might help Strong. Where would Mushita Electronics be if Toshiba or Mitsubishi went from selling TVs to spaceships?
Still, Erik Strong might be lying. It would be safer to pass him off on a competitor. Meanwhile Kenzo could phone the Defense Ministry, tell them Strong came to the house, and was off to another electronics firm. But, what if Strong was telling the truth? Well, enough of the truth so that someone benefited from Strong's knowledge. Where would Mushita Electronics be? Help Strong, or not—both choices posed risks. Which one was more acceptable?
"Fine! Fine!" Kenzo ground his jaw in frustration. "I will help. But listen to me!" He thrust his knobby finger toward Strong. "I have friends. Any sign of treachery, I'll go to them. They'll blast you off the face of the Earth! I am a patriot as much as a businessman."
Erik didn't respond to the threat. He thanked Kenzo for his cooperation and walked out with Celeste in tow.
In the car, on their way back from Kenzo Mushita's estate, Erik reprimanded Celeste for speaking out of turn.
"Kenzo wasn't going to drop the money issue until someone gave him an explanation," Celeste said. She looked up at the rearview mirror to speak to him. She drove while Erik sat in the backseat. "So I gave him one."
"But I already paid you."
"I know." Celeste smirked. "Now I'm going to get paid again."
Understanding lit up in Erik's features. "I wanted you at my side because you appeared to be the most aggressive amongst your friends. I see you are clever as well."
"You're pretty clever yourself," Celeste looked back up at the mirror. "It's probably true that if a group of aliens skinned a human being, they wouldn't ask for help. They'd take what they want. But you're not a group. You're alone. You need to ask for help."
"I performed a simple word play," Erik said as he gazed out the window. "I switched a noun from its singular form to its plural."
"That's not the point," Celeste said. "With human beings, the best place to hide the truth is in plain sight."
Chapter 7
Rodan returned to Monster Island to be sure Ghidorah and the new space monster hadn't gone there. At dawn he found Rodana and the five young ones just waking up.
Rodana clucked at him in a questioning tone. Where did he go? Why did he leave? Did he find anything—anything as in something interesting to eat?
Rodan uttered a grunt, meaning he had gone to the Japanese mainland. The monsters referred to human territory in grumpy sounds.
Rodana did sense his concern about the armored-plated monster, Noregon, and the new space monster. The young rodans sensed his concern, too. They became excited, eager to get into a fight. The only opponents they had faced were jet aircraft, and the fight was so one-sided. The five young rodans assumed all battles ended in victories.
Their mother understood that wasn't always the case. Her brow pinched in worry.
Rodan described Noregon's fearsomeness by the level of alarm he put in his clucks.
Rodana wanted him to remain on the island.
He acquiesced, and caught up on his sleep. Later, he played chasing games with the young rodans.
At night he set off again in search of Ghidorah and the new space monster, but couldn't leave the island. The humans had installed a new sonic emitter to fill the gap in the barriers. The thrumming waves rattled his skull like a jackhammer. Perhaps he could've forced his way through, but his survival instincts wouldn't allow him to push his body to such limits. With no other choice, he returned to the coast.
Rodan searched the entire perimeter of the island and found no gaps. The humans must've done a complete overhaul of their security system against flying monsters. However, they had not installed new gas ejectors on the beaches to restrain the terrestrial ones. That could be his way out. He would ask one of the land-dwelling monsters to swim out to sea and disable one of sonic emitters. Namely, he would ask Godzilla.
By now the King of Monsters should've returned with Anguirus. Godzilla might help Rodan for old time's sake. He might even join Rodan's quest.
Rodan liked that idea.
However, he would have to wait until morning. Waking Godzilla was a mistake you only made once.
Night gave way to morning as the sun peered over the horizon and tinted the waves to look like bobbing rose pedals.
Rodan found neither Godzilla nor Anguirus.
He sought the help of Gorosaurus. Presently, the giant theropod fought in a pitch battle with a kamakiras, one of the giant praying mantises which lived on the island.
Gorosaurus cornered the kamakiras in a jungle clearing. The giant mantis had a choice: run and get its spindly legs gnarled in the dense trees, or fly. Regardless which direction it flew, the insect would be in easy grabbing range.
The mantis chose to stand its ground, trying to hack Gorosaurus with its sharp forelimbs.
As the barbed tibias whistled through the wind, the two-legged dinosaur ducked and weaved. When he saw an opening in the insect's defenses, Gorosaurus knocked the kamakiras into the trees with a double jump kick. The ground shook when he landed back on his feet.
The trees snapped like twigs under the kamakiras's weight. The more the mantis struggled to upright itself, the more it entangled itself in the foliage.
Saliva wetted Gorosaurus's jaws as he clamped his teeth around the kamakiras's head and made a sharp twist. A sickening pop came from the insect's neck, which echoed across the jungle. Slowly, the kamakiras ceased struggling.
Being piscivorous, Rodan became nauseous as he watched Gorosaurus crack open the abdomen to his kill and feast on the innards. But then Gorosaurus was a theropod dinosaur. Theropods were evolutionary cousins to birds. And what did birds love to eat? Bugs!
Naturally Gorosaurus acquired similar tastes.
True, Rodan gobbled up meganeuran larva, as a hatchling. Some of the things he ate as a youngster he would never dream of eating as an adult. Rodan would stick to seafood.
Once sated, Gorosaurus listened to Rodan's request. He grunted his answers. Godzilla and Anguirus never returned, and Gorosaurus had no clue of their whereabouts. Neither could he disable a sonic emitter. He was a poor swimmer.
Rodan flew on and found Manda, the sea serpent, splayed across the rocks under the shade of an outcropping. While the serpent rested, the waves splashed against the rocks he rested upon.
Manda ignored Rodan, which frustrated the massive pterosaur. If anyone could slip into the sea unnoticed and disable a sonic emitter, Manda would be the one. But Manda was too relaxed to budge.
If the big snake was going to be selfish...well, Rodan had an idea.
He gathered his small flock of offspring under the shade of the outcropping, clucking at them that this was a good place to get out of the hot sun. Of course, instead of perching on the rocks to catch their breath, Loki, Hiro, Peep, and Murabu tormented Manda. They flapped about, splashing water on the big snake. They pecked Manda's turquoise scales while they screeched and chirruped. They never encountered a sea serpent before. Their curiosity made them excited, except for Stumpy, who sat like a lump. Only food excited him.
Manda hissed and snapped at the young rodans. To get some peace, he agreed to help. He would slither out to sea after sunset and disable an emitter.
To seal the deal, Rodan batted his wings to scatter his rambunctious young from the outcropping.
Chapter 8
Furious, Kenzo pounded his fist on the arm of his wheelchair. He had the blue prints of the parts Erik Strong required spread out on the table. The papers described only three parts. Two of them interconnected while the third seemed to be a stand-alone piece. There wasn't enough information here to figure out how to build a spaceship.
When Erik and Celeste came to the house, Kenzo accused the secretive Erik of reneging on their deal.
"You promised knowledge, and all I get is three parts. Three! That doesn't tell me anything about the ship you use. And look at the size requirements." He slapped his hand on the blue prints on the table. "Just how big is your ship, anyway? Where are you hiding it?"
Kenzo's tirades could make any human quake, but Erik, as always, remained chillingly pleasant.
With the corners of his mouth pulled back in his half-formed smile, Erik said, "I gave you the original parts. They are made from an alloy which is new to your industry. That should be worth something to you."
"The original parts are burned. The two that link together had been fused. We can't learn anything. What happened to them?"
"The parts melted after being hit with an atomic ray of intense heat."
"Did another spaceship fire at you?" Kenzo demanded.
Erik didn't answer. He went on to say, "I provided several hundred ingots of the alloy. Didn't you save one for analysis?"
Kenzo snorted. "You provided barely enough of your special metal to construct your parts."
"Then my parts are being manufactured?" Erik asked, sounding concerned.
"We have just finished retooling one of our factories. Manufacture should begin in days. You can expect delivery no later than a week."
"Good!" Erik's worry went away.
"And where do you want the parts delivered?" Kenzo asked.
"I'll send the same truck that delivered the ingots."
"Driven by one of your femme fatales as before?" Kenzo glared at Celeste.
Erik nodded.
"When will you fulfill your side of the bargain?" Kenzo pulled his head back, eyeing Erik skeptically.
"After my ship is ready for lift off."
"That's not good enough. You're parts are coming. You can be sure of that, Strong. So throw me a bone. Give me something to ensure your good faith."
Erik became pleased. "That is why I am here. You have done much for me while I have done nothing for you. So I am going to give you a gift." Erik nodded to Celeste.
She stepped forward and grabbed Kenzo's arm. Kenzo squirmed in his wheel chair as she pulled back his sleeve and laid his frail, wrinkled limb across the table. Kenzo cursed them between clenched teeth. Spittle dribbled from his lips as he struggled. He even screamed for security.
"Your guards won't hear you," Erik said as he walked up and ran his palm across Kenzo's forearm. A red light shined from the underside of Erik's hand. Kenzo howled in pain. Heat sliced through his flesh. When Erik removed his hand, half of Kenzo's forearm was missing. It was in Erik's grip, bone, muscle, skin and all.
Quickly, Celeste wrapped some sort of space-age tourniquet around the cleaved flesh. Blood splattered all over the table and floor. The old man wailed and tossed in his chair. Within moments Celeste sealed the tourniquet, pressed several of its buttons, and the writhing Kenzo Mushita sank into his chair with his head back and mouth open. His liver spots stood out in sharp relief on his pale skin.
Kenzo survived. Survived to suffer nightmares of being torn apart, to wander about as a skeleton missing half its pieces.
When he awoke, he felt mildly sore. The first thing he saw was the ceiling of his bedroom. He became cognizant of being in bed. Pale light from a gray sky shined through half open curtains.
He turned his head and gasped.
Erik and Celeste were there, watching him.
Kenzo pulled back the sleeve to his butchered arm to find it whole. Not only was it whole, the skin was taught. The muscles were strong. In fact, both arms were those of a young man.
Confused, he stared at Erik for an explanation.
Erik motioned to Celeste to give Kenzo a hand mirror.
Kenzo seized it. His reflection shocked him. His face looked to be twenty-one. His hair was thick and black with not a strand of gray. It was like gazing at a ghost from the past.
Erik raised his right hand. "Rise, Kenzo Mushita" he said, as though he were a mad scientist commanding his monstrous creation to sit up from the lab table.
Uncertain of his strength, Kenzo climbed out of bed. He stood with his legs bowed and shaking. It had been years since he was able to walk. He was sure he would collapse on the floor. Yet his legs held true. He shook only from fear. When he realized he wasn't going to fall on the carpet, he straightened his posture.
Indeed, his strength had been restored. He rushed to the full-sized mirror and examined himself from head to toe. He was in his pajamas, but he didn't concern himself about who had undressed him. The important thing was his youth had been given back to him.
"Are you pleased with my gift?" Erik asked. "I used the sample I had extracted from your forearm to create a culture that I could use to revitalize your bones and tissues."
Kenzo jumped and let out a whoop. But...the euphoria faded when Kenzo realized the consequences. His complexion flushed in red. The tendons stood out at the sides of his neck when he confronted Erik in a rage.
"Do you have any clue what you just did?"
Erik remained passive while Celeste smirked. She knew.
"I can never show my face again!" Kenzo shouted. "People will figure out I have had contact with an extra-terrestrial. You know how people fear aliens. They'll think I'm a traitor. They'll think I'm a threat. Like you, I'll have to hide." Kenzo clenched his fists. "But unlike you, I'm going to have to hide for years and years and years!"
"Take it easy," Celeste clapped Kenzo on the shoulder. "You won't lose contact with the outside world. If you need anything, ask. Me and my two partners will be happy to fetch for you anything you want."
"For a fee!"
Celeste shrugged. "Of course."
Kenzo narrowed his gaze at her and then pointed his finger in Erik's face. "You did skin that man. The way you neatly sliced a slab of meat off my arm, only you could've done it!"
"It doesn't matter now." Erik turned for the door. His attitude became dismissive and imperious. He didn't have to be pleasant anymore. Kenzo Mushita was cornered right where Erik Strong wanted him.
Chapter 9
Shindo and Yomo were having difficulties finding Strong. So they got together at Yomo's house to ask a favor of Sayoko. She prepared sukiyaki while they explained.
"Immigration has no record of Erik Strong coming into the country," Shindo said. "He has no known residence. The skinned man was a Caucasian. Erik appears to be Caucasian. Is this a coincidence or a connection? These are things we need to find out, in case he's one of them." Shindo glanced up toward the ceiling as though he were looking up at the stars.
"Strong showed a lot of interest in Kenzo at the benefit dinner," Yomo said. "So we put Kenzo's estate under surveillance. We'd question Kenzo, but our superiors won't allow us. He has too many friends in high places."
"That's why we've come to you," Shindo said. "Is there any chance you could poke around at the company and see if any special projects are in the works? We need to know if Strong and Mr. Mushita are collaborating in some way that would put our national security at risk."
"I'll see what I can do," Sayoko said. "I have a high level clearance in the R & D department. I shouldn't run into too much trouble." She sliced vegetables at the kitchen counter while the beef for the sukiyaki simmered in its juices. Shindo and Yomo sat on mats on the floor at a low table with a couple of tall cans of beer, and a big bowl of rice.
"Kenzo stopped coming to the office," Sayoko added. "He delivers his directives through his attorney now."
"We've observed changes at the estate," Yomo said. "Armed thugs have replaced Kenzo's staff, and Strong's sedan has been sitting parked in front of the portico for the past week. It looks like he has turned Kenzo's compound into his base of operations."
Then the phone rang in the other room. Since Sayoko was on her feet, she went to answer it. When she did, Shindo heard her gasp. Sounds of a struggle came from the other room.
Yomo shot to his feet and ran to help.
Shindo got up, too, but the patio door opened behind him and a man rushed in and grabbed him from behind. At the same time, two more men rushed in from the front door. One went in the direction Yomo had gone. The other headed for the kitchen, pulled out a small caliber pistol with a silencer, and aimed for Shindo's exposed belly.
Twisting hard in the tight confines, Shindo flipped the man bracing his arms onto the gunman. Both black-clad bodies crashed into the kitchen cupboards. Shindo flung the piping hot juices of the sukiyaki into his assailants' faces.
They screamed, clutching their scalded flesh.
Shindo grabbed the gun and knocked them out with the butt and then headed into the next room. Shooting erupted upstairs.
He rushed up to the second floor and ran into Yomo, who blocked him with his outstretched arm. Yomo was crouching beside the open door to the spare bedroom with his service pistol in hand. The walls sported several bullet holes.
Shindo dropped back behind Yomo, signaled that he was going to make a dive for the other side of the doorway, and did a three count with his fingers. When Shindo retracted the last finger, he jumped across the open doorway while Yomo provided cover fire.
A Heckler & Koch MP5 chattered from within the spare bedroom. Bullets whizzed by Shindo like red-hot wasps.
In his quick dash he saw Celeste shoving a gagged Sayoko through the window to Satin, who was in the next house. The homes in the Tokyo suburbs were so cramped the neighbors could reach out of their windows and shake hands.
Faora and the other gunman took cover behind an upturned bed. She pulled the pin from a smoke grenade.
At the risk of being drilled by a bullet, Shindo reached into the room and pulled the door shut just as Faora hurled the grenade at them. It bounced off the door. Like a pot boiling over, smoke curled up from under the door.
Satin's gang wasn't going to hang around in an enclosed space choked with canister smoke. With their handkerchiefs held over their nose and mouth, Shindo and Yomo burst into the bedroom. The swinging door cleared the smoke for a heartbeat, enough time for them to see the black-clad henchman aim his weapon at them while Faora climbed out the window. Celeste was already in the next building dragging Sayoko with her.
Together Shindo and Yomo neutralized the gunman with a couple of rounds and then plugged Faora. Fortunately for her she was wearing her flak vest, although the impact of the rounds caused her to fall.
When they reached the window, they saw her down in the narrow alley between the houses. While Yomo aimed at her, Shindo locked eyes with Satin in the neighboring house. She aimed her MP5 at them. Shindo pulled Yomo down by the collar as Satin let loose a fierce fusillade. Bullets sprayed overhead, shattering the window and ripping up the windowsill.
When the firing stopped, it was quiet. A moment later a car squealed away from the neighboring house.
Shindo and Yomo rushed out into the street. Faora wasn't in sight. They didn't waste time checking the house next door. The squealing car was obviously Satin's gang peeling away.
When they went to their cars, they found the tires slashed.
"There's a police station three blocks from here," Yomo said, panting for breath. "We can borrow one of their vehicles."
Chapter 10
At his estate, Kenzo sat out on the patio as the sun set behind the mountains. He was so pleased when Satin arrived with Sayoko. Celeste pulled the gag and threw her at Kenzo's feet. Faora followed up from behind with a limp.
"Your money is in the satchel on the patio table," Kenzo said.
While the three mercenaries fetched their cash, he leaned forward and ran his hand across Sayoko's smooth cheek. Shivers of pleasure coursed through him. His old man's lust could at last be fulfilled.
Sayoko drew away. At first she stared at Kenzo in puzzlement, but when she recognized him she gasped, covering her open mouth with her hand.
She got to her feet. "Kenzo? What happened to you?"
"I've been rejuvenated," he said with a leering grin. "Do you like what you see? I'm a sight better than that dopey husband of yours."
"What do you want?" Sayoko demanded. "I've done nothing to you!"
"Calm yourself." Kenzo stood, causing Sayoko to gasp again. She stared at him in horror. She had never seen him get up on his feet and walk. "You're here because I want you here. Erik did this to me." Kenzo spread his arms, presenting his youthful appearance. "He thought he was doing me a favor, but the ignorant sod didn't take into account how people would react if they would suddenly see a brand new Kenzo Mushita. Now I have to surround myself with criminals, because they don't care what I've become so long the money is green. So you're going to make up for it." He pointed at Sayoko. "You're going to be my one saving grace in my seclusion."
Sayoko pulled away from him in disgust. She must still see him as the shriveled up codger who flirted with her at work. Her revulsion angered him. On the other hand, he considered how pleasurable it was going to be to force her to accept him.
"Here, Celeste," Satin said. "An extra ten percent finder's fee." She handed Celeste a portion of her cut.
Celeste declined with a wave of her hand. "He was an easy mark."
"I'll take it," Faora piped up. "Hazard pay for my sprained ankle."
"Easy mark? Are you talking about me?" Kenzo demanded.
"Sure am," Celeste said. "I could tell by the way you hung all over Sayoko in your pictures that if you had your youth back you'd eventually want someone to go fetch her for you."
Enraged, Kenzo stormed toward Celeste. Satin stood in his way. She was several inches taller than he was.
"Cool it, Kenzo," Satin cautioned him. "All Celeste did was keep an eye out for new business. That's no different from what you do. Everyone wants to be young and every guy wants the girl of his dreams. You got both."
Sayoko nearly retched. She rushed toward the patio doors.
But Erik stood in her way. He shoved her back toward the middle of the patio.
"What is this woman doing here?" he asked.
Kenzo grabbed Sayoko's arm. "Strong, I'm not going to spend the rest of my life stuck with this gutter trash. I'm changing the deal. When your ship's ready, take me and Sayoko with you."
"I can't."
"Why not?" Kenzo roared.
"Because I have no ship," Erik said.
"What?" Kenzo became shrill. "Then what are those parts that my factory is building for you for?"
"For me. I fly through space. But I use no spacecraft."
"Stop speaking in riddles! What are you? Where are you from?"
"According to your star charts, I come from the nebula Space Hunter M," Erik Strong said. "I am the monster Gigan."