Chapter 3
Bright light followed by freezing cold water. Blaze opens her eyes after laying there asleep on the concrete floor of her cell.
Ash: "Get your ass up now" he orders whilst holding the now empty bucket.
Blaze is escorted by Ash and two other thugs through the halls towards a gymnasium then the showers. She has no idea what time of day it is and feels very disorientated along with a pounding headache.
Ash hands her a towel along with another t-shirt, tracksuit bottoms and clean underwear. "You have ten minutes, we'll be waiting outside here. You need to shower and change your clothes each morning."
Blaze takes the towel and the clothes and enters the ladies shower room alone which contains its own built in shower gel, shampoo and toiletries.
The hot water somewhat helps her headache and it is good to finally have a wash after three days. As she cleans her skin the first thing she notices is the pain in her arms. She rotates her wrists and looks down at the large red circular punctures where the pain is next to her wrists and all the way up to her elbows. She sits down on the floor amongst the steam of the hot water to examine the circles. Blaze understands exactly what they have done. She pushes one palm forward and does everything she can to project her chi but nothing seems to work. It has depleted and will only rebuild once she has some strength back.
Blaze sits there for a moment, running her hands through her wet hair, thinking to herself how am I going to get out of this? If I don't provide the energy, they'll kill me. If I do, I'm stuck here for good because I am too weak now to fight them. Only now, Blaze understands what the fortune teller meant when she said that she will have to battle through the darkness before seeing the light. With that said, this has to be her darkest hour.
Ash opens Blaze's cell door to find her porridge scattered all over the floor. During the last three days all she has had is water. No food means no energy which means no chi.
Ash looks at her pale face and purple bagged eyes "So you're planning on starving to death". She gives him no response as she sits there without using any more of her weakened self.
Ash shouts out for Dr Dham. Within a minute, two other thugs as well as the Dr attend the cell. They hold her up by her arms as Dr Dham examines Blaze's eyes and mouth.
Dr Dham turns to Ash and gives him a nod.
They then take Blaze to another room, probably used as a spare lab in the building. They then sit her down on a chair and tie her up.
Blaze: "No! No, I'm not doing this! Kill me now!" She cries out as she struggles to escape.
She spits at Ash as he tilts her head back whilst the doctor forces a tube down her throat to force feed her. She is quickly silenced as she wheezes and blood pours from Blaze's nose. This is torture, the worst she has ever faced before. Through it all she closes her eyes and all she can think of is giving up and dying. This is possibly the only way she will ever escape.
Suddenly the words: "They'll never own your soul or your chi, remember that" pop into her head over and over again until it is all she hears. It blocks out everything they are doing to her right now. Although Zan had placed Blaze into an induced coma after the smoke inhalation following the lab raid, she remembers everything that Axel whispered in her ear that day as that sentence with his voice echoes in her mind.
Moments pass by before they remove the tube from Blaze's throat yet still the sentence goes on and on in her head. Dr Dham forces her eyes and mouth open to inspect her once again as she feels disorientated and fatigued. Ash's face then appears.
"Sorry darling, now we can take back some more of that power of yours" he laughs. "After today, tomorrow, the day after, all of this will become normal for you".
Once again Dr Dham injects her with a drug that forces her to sleep.
Once again, darkness.
Mr X sits back in a comfortable leather chair with Jet stood behind him as they wait patiently. The beautiful room they are in also consists of a black leather couch and an open bar. It is often used as a VIP room part of the club named Tremor owned by Neo Chaos. What makes this room even more distinctive is the shark tank across the wall at the back of it. But Mr X is not that impressed.
Kevin McBride opens the doors as the bass sound of the other room in the club turns clear.
Kevin: "Sorry to keep you waiting, Saturday night is always the busiest here".
Following him are two women, one dressed in a long green dress with sparkles, the other dressed identically in blue. They are twins and Mr X can tell that they are impressive fighters. The ex Neo-Chaos boss was Tiger who use to provide muscle for the syndicate as well as the drug mules and traffickers. Since he has been dead, others in the group rose up to take over and now it is being managed by twins who Mr X has never dealt with.
Mr X stands out of politeness to greet Onihime and Yasha who ignore him and walk straight over to their chairs opposite him. He observes the twins from head to toe. They are perfectly matched in their slender, alluring figures and beautiful features. From what Tiger previously told Mr X, these two women are incredibly dangerous. They were born here in Wood Oak to an American father and a Japanese mother and have trained in various martial arts and gymnastics since the age of three.
Ohihime who is dressed in green is the first to speak out. Her long black hair, olive skin and green eyes are striking for Mr X. "Let's get straight to the point shall we? I don't like time wasters".
As Mr X opens his mouth to speak, Yasha hands him a cigar and lights it up.
Mr X: "Thank you. I think we all know why I am here and it is fair to say that we can help each other once again".
Onihime says something in Japanese to her sister before she responds to him. "Help each other you say? Word on the streets is the syndicate are dead. Your drugs, your labs, your brothels even that smart club uptown of yours has no funds left. Not to mention you are Wood Oak's most wanted man, Governor? Senator? I'm not sure what I can call you now". She remarks pessimistically.
Mr X pauses then replies "yes, it's true I am a wanted man. But I am wanted because of what I still possess- the most powerful weapon of all". He hands over a folder containing photos of the stored Rakushin and outlined designs for the weapons they are creating.
Jet continues: "In less than six months, we will have bombs capable of wiping out this city as well as others. The authorities here will have no choice other than to give us full control of Wood Oak City. We will be able to launch our weapons anytime from outside if we face a threat. All we ask is for is your organisation to buy us some time, protection and resources as we finish our work. In return, we will pay you with half of the money we make on our product and services. Our next shipment from Mexico is due within three days".
Yasha puts the folder down and looks up at them. "Rakushin is a highly radioactive element. But it is useless without a force of energy to intensify it. And as for your product and services, our men and women are the ones who distribute and provide the same service so why pay us for something we already do on our own?"
Jet laughs: "We can manage, supply and distribute ten times as much…."
Mr X cuts him off. "Please forgive my colleague, he is still relatively new in our organisation but he is a valuable fighter to me and whilst his mouth gets carried away at times, he means well. Our experience in handling business and our contacts abroad will double if not triple your profits. These are also the keys to Mercury Room across the city- the wealthiest club in Wood Oak. Now it's a great place you got here but this gem can be yours too as our down payment for your loyalty".
Onihime: "Loyalty in this business has no price. Why try and offer us something we already have? All you own right now are a bunch of rocks that have no purpose".
Mr X: "I am about to trust you tonight with information that stays in this room. What more loyalty can I offer?"
Yasha nods at Kevin McBride and their entourage to exit the room.
Yasha: "I'm intrigued Mr X, what have you got to tell us?"
Mr X: "We have the source of power that will create the most destructive Rakushin weapons. Both of you will understand what I mean when I talk about the 'princess of the stars' who holds pure energy not passed through bloodline."
Onihime: "Prince of the stars you mean? You are speaking old Yamato warrior fairy tales".
Mr X opens his shirt to reveal the scars on his skin. "Three weeks ago, a fighter called Blaze Fielding who use to work for the police department used her chi to try and kill me. Fortunately she could not control it as well as others and now we have her in our custody. Dr Dham is storing immense amounts of energy as we speak. Our first atomic bomb will be complete by May and a second one by June. With your assistance, all of our businesses will be restored by then before we share control of the city".
Onihime smiles: "Ok then, you have my attention now. Four months and then we wish to see the completed weapon. We will give you the muscle you need on the streets to rebuild your syndicate. It shouldn't be too difficult with the police thinking your organisation is dead but we want half of all takings as agreed, your contacts and half of the city when you succeed."
Mr X smiles: "Consider it a done deal".
Yasha grins at him: "Let's get straight to business then". They chime their champagne glasses as Mr X feels the satisfaction in knowing he has succeeded again in getting what he wants.
#Door knocks#
Jet: "Who is it?" He pulls out his gun before approaching the door of his hotel room.
Onihime: "It's me".
Jet unlocks and opens the door to find her standing with a group of thugs behind her.
Jet feels slightly intimidated as he is alone. "Good morning, what can I do for you?"
Onihime: "It's not you, it's your boss. He is already late for our first breakfast business meeting. The concierge downstairs said he'd be staying in this room".
Jet: "Yeah er, that's just a precautionary measure in case any one comes to the hotel looking for him. He's actually six doors down the hall".
Without saying anymore, Onihime and her men storm casually past some guests in the hall towards Mr X's room.
She knocks on the door but there is no answer. One of the men passes over a key he took earlier from a member of staff and Onihime opens the door.
She is astonished to find her twin sister in bed on top of Mr X. She throws the key card at Yasha's face which cuts her cheek as she shouts at her in Japanese.
Onihime: "Get the fuck up now, business comes first".
Mr X grins at the shocked woman at his door: "feel free to join us one night". Yasha angrily slaps him across the face as he compares her to her sister.
Onihime: "15 minutes and we will meet you both downstairs to discuss business. Do not make us wait any longer!"
