A/N: Sorry for the long hiatus folks! Some technical problems have meant I need to replace my laptop, meaning that I'm limited to very restricted access (cautionary tale, fizzy drinks and laptops do NOT mix!). Apologies to anyone I've not replied to as well. I hope to be back online full time in the foreseeable future. Hope you enjoy the chapter!
Serena made her way around the room as the event continued. To anyone else, it would seem to be nothing more than a cocktail party before a major auction, with the lots on display in secure cases. Everyone there was dressed nicely in expensive eveningwear, enjoying the champagne and canapés on offer, and making small talk. Of course, as a result of her briefing, Serena knew this was far from so simple. She knew that everyone here was more than aware that the exhibits on display were not what they were really there to buy.
In some ways it was a little sad that this was all a ruse. As she made her way around the room, searching for the one item she was interested in, she realised that there were some genuine treasures on display. Fine jewellery, sculptures, paintings, all masterpieces worth millions, and yet they were paid only passing interest by the buyers. Somehow Silvers had amassed a collection, the least valuable of which would easily earn six figures, and yet he was essentially giving them away. They only existed to give a legitimate cover to the transfer of cash. The real things people were buying, they would have to arrange for delivery of under the table.
As she made her way through the crowd, she cast a glance over to where Peter was talking with some of the other guests. They had split up to look around the many exhibits to track down what they were looking for, but obviously Peter had ended up caught in a conversation. She was pleased that so far no one had approached her. All she knew about these people was that most of them were either criminals or terrorists. From the style of dress, and their appearances she could make a guess at the rough area some of them were from, but beyond that, she had no idea of the specifics of who everyone was. Her performance with the security guard had given her some space to work with, but she was well aware that she was attracting a few stares. If it wasn't for who these people were, she would have been flattered.
She finally came across what she was looking for. Sitting in a case, around chest-high off the floor was the sword. It looked almost exactly like Stone Cutter, around four and a half feet in length, with a thread bound handle, and a black lacquered scabbard. It sat on a little wooden stand on top of red velvet, with the curve of the blade facing upwards. She took a look inside, and smiled as she read the plaque.
"Whispering Wind, created by Masamune himself." She heard a voice behind her say. She looked over her shoulder to see a man standing behind her in a white tux, with soft, brown hair and dark shades. "It is said that it was once tested on condemned prisoners and was able to fell six with a single stroke before stopping in the seventh man."
He came around in front of Serena and gave her a little smile.
"It looks a little strange though." He told her. "Silvers is storing it upside down."
"It is an impressive specimen." She replied, taking a sip from her glass. "And you're wrong by the way. It is being stored correctly. Resting the sword curved side down can dull the blade over time."
"Alright you caught me, I don't know a thing about swords." The man laughed a little as he looked Serena up and down. She could see exactly where his thoughts were going, but she wasn't here to be hit on. "Of course, it's what it represents that interests me."
"I guess that's the same for most of the people here." She sighed dejectedly. "A Van Goch of sword making and most of the people here would mistake it for a letter opener."
"So you like things like this?" He asked her, arching an eyebrow. Serena just smiled back, finishing her glass and handing it to him.
"I appreciate many forms of art." She told him. "The art of warfare can hold just as much beauty as any other."
"I suppose so." The man replied. "Shall I get you a refill?"
"That would be fine Mr...?"
"Kirk." He answered her. "James Kirk, and yes, I have heard all the jokes."
"I'll bet you have." She said a little sarcastically as he left. She then turned back to the case, inspecting it thoughtfully.
Taking a look at the corners, she could see for starters that the glass was too thick to simply be broken. It was at least an inch thick, meaning that she would need at least a sledgehammer, something that she was sure the security guards would notice if she tried. Looking around the case, she saw a couple of cables on the inside of the case, which she presumed was some kind of alarm system, and as she looked around, the room was covered in cameras. Even if the lots were left here overnight once the party was over unguarded, there was no way that she could get to it unseen. Kirk came back over, carrying a couple of glasses of champagne and handed one to Serena.
"Well, you told me your name, I suppose it'd only be polite to introduce myself." Serena told him. "I'm..."
"Mrs. Felicity Lancer." He interrupted her. Serena looked somewhat confused by the fact that he seemed to know her cover story, and started to wonder if she should be worried. He just gave her a knowing little smile. "In this business, I find it prudent to know who my competitors are. Meetings like this are certainly entertaining for their cosmopolitanism."
"Really?" Serena asked him. "How so?"
He placed a hand on the small of her back, turning her towards a man with tanned skin, and short shaven hair, with a moustache and beard standing in the corner, looking around intensely.
"He's one of the leading buyers for Hamas." Kirk told her, before nodding in the direction of another man, who was talking with Peter. He was also quite tanned, but he was clean shaven, with dark hair that was a little longer, and glasses. He had some distinctive scarring on the left side of his face that looked like he had been very badly burned some time ago.
"Whereas that guy's a former Mossad agent who's become a very active freelancer." He explained.
"Hamas and Mossad?" Serena asked him. "Sounds like a recipe for an interesting evening."
"These affairs are kind of like a United Nations affair. Many of the people here are at war with each other back home, either figuratively, or even literally." He continued as he gestured to a few more people around the room. "Mafia, Russians, Triad, Yakuza, Tong...most of these people have probably tried to kill each other at one time or another."
"And yet here they are making small talk over 500 dollar a glass champagne." Serena said with a little smile, before looking to Kirk, catching a look in his dark brown eyes as he removed his sunglasses. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were trying to scare me off."
"I doubt that would work given what you did in that restaurant." He chuckled. "I'm just thinking that it seems like you might be a little out of your depth bidding here."
Serena didn't know how to feel about that remark. In some ways, she was sure he was just trying to thin out his competition for his own bids, but something was odd about him. She just let out a small laugh.
"This clutch bag is deeper than you think." She told him.
"Oh, I don't doubt you have the funds." He stated as he turned her back towards the sword. "I just think that sales like this have a habit of attracting people who can be, shall we say, poor losers."
He ran a hand across her shoulder, at which she looked at him awkwardly. His touch was soft, and gentle in a way she wasn't expecting.
"I just think perhaps you might want to enjoy your honeymoon." He suggested. Serena just finished her glass.
"Well thank you for your advice, but you'll find my husband and I can take care of ourselves." She assured him. "However, I came here to get a sword, and that is exactly what I intend to do."
As she left to find Peter and take him back to their suite to plan their next move, Kirk pulled out his cell phone and hit speed dial.
"What can you tell me?" He asked. As the voice on the other end relayed some information, he just smiled. "Well that's always a bonus."
It was morning back at the Shiba House, and Mike was woken up rather abruptly as a weight landed squarely on top of him on the bed. He groaned a little as he looked up, his vision still blurry from sleep, but seeing enough blonde curls to presume it was his girlfriend.
"Mike, it's time to get up." She told him. He just rolled over as she let him up, getting out of bed. As he did, Emily backed away a little, hiding her face. "What is it?"
"Boxers." She rushed out. Mike looked down and then back to her curiously.
"I always sleep in my boxers." He told her.
"Well you're not sleeping with Kevin anymore!" She reminded him. Looking to the collection of soft toys in the other side of the room, he smiled as he remembered that they had switched rooms the previous night. He loved the thought that he would be spending so much more time with Emily now that they would be sharing a room. Seeing her starting to turn a little red, he sniggered at her discomfort, coming over and trying to pry her eyes off her face.
"You know you have seen me half naked before." He told her. "It's something you're going to have to get used to..."
"Can't you just wear PJs?" She asked him, turning away from him and beginning to head towards the bathroom. Mike just laughed.
"You know Reece always said that's why he didn't want a girlfriend." He told her. "We're together one night, and already you're trying to change me."
As he went to the bathroom, he stopped as he saw the mirror, starting to check himself out. He was looking pretty good all things considered. He started posing in the mirror, flexing and posturing for his audience of one.
"Well, it's a sight I could really live without first thing in the morning." Emily whined from the bedroom as she started to look out her training uniform.
"Hey, it's no different than my swimming trunks." He reminded her.
"It is to me!" She said, stomping her foot a little childishly. She stopped and thought about it as she realised she had done that. She couldn't remember the last time she had acted like that, she had grown up a lot at the Shiba House, or so she believed at least. She pulled on her trousers, but furrowed her brows as she saw they were a little loose, and slightly long. Pulling them up as high as she could, she tied the inner belt tightly to keep them up, before getting her jacket.
"Alright, I'll do it." Mike sighed as he ran the shower, shaking his head. "If it means that much to you, I'll go and buy some PJs."
"Thanks." Emily said, beaming with delight at getting her own way in their first official room-mate argument. She pulled on her top, but noticed that it too was somewhat looser than before. Unfortunately, they hadn't done the laundry yet, so this was the only uniform available, so just like with her trousers, she just pulled it as tightly as possible, tying the belt to hold it in place as she finally got ready.
"Alright, close your eyes!" Mike teased her as he came out of the bathroom.
"It's alright, I'll just wait in the dojo." She told him. "I'll see you out there."
She made her way through the halls, hearing a conversation a little way off. She arrived in the dojo to find Jayden, Antonio and Kevin all talking in a rather animated way.
She noted something a little different about each of them. Antonio hadn't styled his hair for some reason, and was acting, if anything, slightly more hyperactively than usual, imitating every action he was describing in a highly animated way.
Jayden seemed more or less the same as usual, but she couldn't help thinking that it seemed like he seemed a little sterner and more serious than usual, standing almost at attention even as he was just talking casually with the others.
Kevin's hair, well, he actually seemed to have some, or at least, he had more than usual. His head and hairline seemed noticeably darker as the stubble was a bit longer. She knew that he had gotten into the habit of shaving his head very short regularly when he started taking his swimming really seriously, but it seemed like he hadn't shaved it recently and it was starting to grow out.
"I'm telling you, he went completely mental, it's the most insane thing I've ever seen!" Antonio stated, looking to Kevin with wild eyes, his voice indicating a mixture of shock and awe, like he was both impressed and appalled at the same time. "He completely wrecked those guys!"
"That doesn't really sound like Mentor." Kevin replied, stroking his chin.
"It was out of sorts, but it did happen." Jayden told him. "I saw it too. He went way too far with those guys."
"I'm sure if he hurt them..."
"Hurt them?" Antonio interrupted sharply. "They'll be on hospital food for the foreseeable future!"
"Wait, Mentor was in a fight?" Emily asked. "I thought he went out with Brenda last night."
Mike arrived, putting an arm around Emily as he joined in listening to the conversation.
"He was with her, but he got into an argument with a stall holder because one of the games was rigged." Jayden explained. "Then all hell broke loose. Brenda stormed off, and he just yelled at her."
"They broke up?" Emily asked, her eyes slightly wide with surprise. "But he seemed so happy."
"After what I saw, I'm not surprised she left." Antonio replied. "If you want my advice, you guys have been getting off lightly. I know I'll not be pissing Mentor off any time soon."
"Heads up." Mike said as Mentor Ji just walked into the room. He was wearing a training uniform, with the Samurai logo on the left breast, but unlike the Rangers' uniforms, his was pure black, with no coloured trim. His hair seemed a lot darker, and he was chewing gum as he came in. He was carrying a shinai, twirling it like he didn't have a care in the world.
"Mentor, what's with the get up?" Mike asked him.
"I decided I'd like to take a more active role in your training today." He told them, looking at them all. "Aren't we missing someone?"
"Mia said she's not feeling well." Kevin told him. "She's still in bed."
"Well, I guess that just makes six." He commented as he gestured them all inside.
"Mentor, did you dye your hair?" Mike asked, gesturing to his hair. Mentor Ji just looked at Mike like he was talking nonsense.
"Do I look like a hairdresser to you?" He asked him.
"Mentor, are you sure you're alright?" Jayden asked him. "Antonio and I saw what happened at the fair last night."
"It was nothing..."
"Mentor, you have to be a little upset, it's only natural." Emily said sympathetically. "I know you liked Brenda."
"Girls come and go." He said with a shrug. "Alright, shall we warm up with a few sword kata? I've been working on one now that I think you'll all find challenging."
As the Rangers all followed him to the mats, Mike just furrowed his brows, nudging Kevin a little and pointing to Mentor Ji.
"Is it just me or does he look bigger to you?" He asked. Kevin just shook his head.
"His kimono does hide a lot." He reminded him. "He's always been in good shape."
"Yeah, he's in shape alright." Mike muttered under his breath as he prepared for the starting position Mentor Ji was showing them. "Maybe we should give Vince McMahon a call."
Back in Monte Carlo, Serena and Peter got back to the honeymoon suite, where she threw her clutch bag onto the bed and sat down, placing her face in her hands and growling in frustration.
"There is no way we're getting the sword here!" She stated flatly.
"Well the stuff he's got is worth a few mil, did you think the hotel would take any chances?" Peter asked her, booting up his laptop. He started tapping a few keys, at which he just sighed. "It's a moot point anyway."
He gestured Serena over, showing her the screen it was the ball room, but she could see security personnel beginning to remove the lots.
"I put a web cam on the plant by the elevators." He told her.
"When did you get a chance to do that?" Serena asked him.
"Well your La Femme Nikita performance with the security guard drew some attention." He told her, before switching to another camera he had planted. "Not to mention the fact that with you walking around looking like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman all night meant that few people were looking at me..."
His words were cut off as she slapped him hard across the back of the head.
"What was that for?" He yelled. "It's a compliment, she was hot!"
"In that film she was a hooker!" Serena reminded him. She rolled her eyes as she started to remove her jewellery and carefully put it away. "So we're going on the ship after all?"
"It looks that way." Peter sighed. "I can get schematics from the manufacturer, and do security sweeps when we get on board..."
"I'd feel safer on the Bounty." Serena put down flatly. "Somehow Silvers has arranged a who's who of the scum of the earth! Can't we just call the FBI or something?"
"Then the sword would be seized as evidence." He told her. "How would we get it from the FBI lockup?"
She hated to admit that he had a point about that. Like it or not, they had to go through with the risky plan of stealing it on the ship and somehow smuggling it off. She just shook her head.
"Mentor Ji and Daisuke are going to owe me so big for this." She muttered. She was about to take off her dress, but remembered Peter was in the room.
"Oh sweetheart?" She asked him. He smiled and turned around.
"So you're taking your cover seriously?" He asked, until she pointed in the direction of the bathroom. He just rolled his eyes and dutifully got up, heading out of the room. "I guess not."
As he went into the bathroom, he closed the door and leaned against it, the back of his head resting on the door and let out a sigh, loosening his tie. She might be nervous, but Peter was truly terrified.
