Chapter 8

A Fate Worse Than Death

Japan Town,
1200 hrs 3 Days later

It was a night like many others before in Japan stars still twinkled in the cloudless sky, the hustle and bustle of common folk in the shadowy streets and shops, all manner of things being bought and sold by customers and merchants alike.

The ordered chaos of Japan Town held no intrest for two cloaked figures making their way through the myriad of shops in the merchant moved with distinct purpose in his steps while the other lagged behind time and time again.

The first man tried to lend his aid to the second figure but his attempt was met with an angry growl and a retort in Japanese

"Unhand me you fool! I shall not be led across the street like a pathetic old man."

The first man took a step back and bowed slightly before replying

"Forgive me Kenjiro Sama, i mean no disrespect but you were supposed to address the clan before your ...'condition' took hold of sooner we get your medicine and return to your chambers the better."

Lord Kenjiro, the Overboss of the Jade Dragons ,the most feared man in Japan Town looked at his long time deputy from eyes bloodshot and baggy from a mixture of anger,insomnia and fatigue.
The words that his deputy spoke annoyed him to no end but they were true, the sooner they got his medicine the sooner he could have relief.

As Kenjiro made his way slowly towards the nondescript shop that was their final destination,he cursed the fates for the thousandth time.
How could it be that now he was at the peak of his power that he could also be so...vulnerable.

Just thinking of himself in such a manner made Kenjiro angry and he cursed the fates again in Japanese.

Kenjiro's deputy halted at the doorway to the shop looking back at him "Kenjiro Sama?"

"Will the medicine be ready?"

"Dr Kojima assured me that your next dose would be ready today, He knows full well the price for failure."

The Deputy held the door open for Kenjiro to enter the shop before entering himself. The interior of the shop was dark...perhaps slightly darker than usual,the shop was empty of customers in expectation of their arrival but Dr Kojima himself was not at the front desk.

Kenjiro desperately needing to regain what little strength he could muster had plopped into one of the scattered customer stools while his deputy went to the front desk and banged angrily on it.

"Kojima! Kojima you insolent worm! Come out here at once and attend to us!"

Kojima's deputy expected to hear the sound of hurried movements from behind the curtain that separated the inner chamber of the shop from the reception area and for Dr Kojima to emerge from within rattling of a string of apologies to him.

That didn't happen.

What did happen is that Kojima's deputy heard muffled noises coming from just below the front desk.
When he stood on tip toe to get a better view, he saw Dr Kojima himself on the floor with his hands and feet securely bound as well as a gag over his mouth.

"What the hell?!"

Even as the words left his lips, his left hand swept back his cloak to reveal a Katana hanging on his hip while his right hand was already reaching for the hilt.

Then it happened.

Two gunshots, from a shadowy corner of the shop behind where Kenjiro himself sat. The first slug blasted a hole through the deputy's right hand ,splaying blood all over the ornate wood of Dr Kojima's front desk and the second slug buried itself his left kneecap.

Kenjiro jolted by surprise jumped up from the stool where he sat, his eyes searching for the shooter while his deputy fell to the floor screaming in agony.

"Surprise!...Hi there boss."

Kenjiro's eyes zeroed in the direction of the voice searching for attacker and found himself staring into a pair of glowing red eyes.
For a split second Kenjiro believed himself to be looking at an ancient creature of Japanese folklore.

"Shin Oni."

The words left his lips before he could stop them.

"Nice try boss...but not quite."

A soft light flicked on from a wall switch and Sam stepped out into the light, gunsmoke trailing from an Arasaka pistol in his left hand.

"Long time no see, Kenjiro don't look too good."

Kenjiro stepped back away from Sam "How dare you! You will suffer for this insolence. Do you realize who i am?"

"Sure i do boss,here have a seat for a sec'... " Sam said in a most conversational manner as he pushed the Yakuza boss back down into another stool "while i deal with screaming boy over here."

A few quick strides took him across the reception area to where the deputy was still writhing in pain. The deputy was making a racket and Sam needed him to be quiet.
He accomplished this by stomping his boot down onto the deputys head, not hard enough to kill but more than enough to knock him out cold.

The deputy's body went limp and quiet.

"Ahh...much better."

Sam refocused his attention on a visibly unsettled Kenjiro.

"Now as i was saying...I know who you are or rather who you're pretending to Kenjiro...big bad Overboss of the Jade Dragons, at the top of your game in Japan Town underworld..."

Sam's voice now had a mocking,cold tone to it.

"But the truth is, you haven't been at the top of your game for a long time, not since your medical condition manifested itself and your downfall began."

Kenjiro's face twisted in a rage "Shut up!"

He scrambled to his feet to were his deputy had dropped his Katana and picked it up turning to face Sam with beads of sweat already running down his face from the effort.

Sam calmly holstered his weapon and continued speaking "You have Muscular Atrophy Kenji, Your body is wasting away.I had a chat with the good doctor over there and after i used my 'people skills' on him for a bit he told me everything."

Kenjiro's face beaded with sweat twisted in a murderous snarl "Die you white dog!"

Kenjiro rushed at Sam with the Katana held high in a two handed grip,aiming to cut Sam in two but Sam didn't dodge.

He didn't have to, for all the speed Kenjiro was able to muster for his attack compared to Sam's cyberneticly enhanced reflexes, Kenjiro might as well have been moving in slow motion.

Sam's stepped into the attack and his left hand shot out,grabbing Kenjiro's right wrist effectively stopping the Katana stroke in mid-swing. In the same fluid movement Sam landed a punch to Kenjiro's stomach with a dull thud.

Kenjiro doubled over in pain to his knees and expelled the contents of his stomach on the floor.

"When the symptoms first presented, you ignored it as a passing phase but it simply got you covertly presented yourself for medical examination and your condition was diagnosed."

Sam kept a hold on Kenjiro's right wrist, twisting it until Kenjiro dropped the Katana to the was still on his knees trying to catch his breath.

"You're in quite a fix, the Jade Dragons mantra is 'Strength in Body and Mind' and as the Overboss you are expected to be the living embodiment of that mantra but here you are with a medical condition that was quickly making standing on your own two feet a struggle."

Kenjiro struggled for breath as he stared hatefully at Sam "Shut...up."

"You've been ruling the Dragons and Japan Town underworld by force of terror and threats."

Kenjiro's face twisted in a sneer that was all too familiar to Sam "I will hunt you down like a Dog and cut out your tongue before sunset tomorrow you fool!"

"Yeah...right. Look ,here's the thing boss, you've got some information i need.." Sam produced a Data Tablet which displayed Hiro Nagayama's face "a few nights ago one of your boys cut this poor sucker in half,his name was Hiro Nagayama and He was delivering classified Arasaka Corp Data to the Dragons in exchange for whatever it is that was promised to him. The Dragons are obviously just the hired hand in this little fiasco,but what i want to know is Who hired you to collect the Data Package from Nagayama and silence him afterwards?"

Kenjiro promptly began to rattle of a series of insults and threats in Japanese with as much force as he could muster.

Sam calmly replaced to Tablet back into his Jacket and secured Kenjiros wrist with his right hand while gripping Kenjiros little finger with his left.

"Still trying to play the tough guy huh? i guess I'll have to ask you the hard way."

Sam applied pressure to the finger against its normal range of movement until a sharp popping sound of the finger breaking was heard.

A howl of pure agony wrent from Kenjiro filled the shop but Sam was fully focused on his line of questioning.

"The name Kenjiro...tell me the name of the client who gave the Dragons the contract on Hiro Nagayama."

"A curse on you white dog, you will know the wrath of the Jade..."

Sam applied pressure to the next finger which also broke with a sharp pop.

Another howl from Kenjiro left him gasping for breath, his eyes streaming tears.

"Who is the client Kenjiro? Who is trafficking stolen Arasaka Corp Data?"

Kenjiros mouth worked to form the words of defiance, how he would never break, how he would rather die than reveal anything to the white dog

"I...will..never.."

Sam began applying pressure on the third finger..

"NO!..no!..please, no more."

It was all over, Kenjiro had no more fight left in him.

"Tell me want i need to know, tell me everything."

Kenjiro started talking and Sam made sure he kept kenjiro halted or seemed like he was considering holding something back ,Sam would apply pressure and Kenjiro would begin talking again.

When Sam was satisfied that he had gotten all the information that Kenjiro could give him he released the captive hand which flopped down to kenjiro's side like wet paper.

"There now, see boss? Confession is good for the soul."

Kenjiro still on his knees,with two broken fingers,tears from his eyes and mucus from his nose streamed down his face to mix with his recently expelled stomach contents on the floor

"Now the question is what do i do with you now, hmm?"

Kenjiro remained silent.

"How about i arrange for you to take a nap in the meantime?"

Kenjiro never saw it coming, Sam's boot landed on his face with a dull thud sending Kenjiro flat on his back ,out cold.

Sam stared at Kenjiro's prone form for a few seconds before striding over to where Dr Kojima was bound and released him.

Dr kojima spluttered and coughed as his gag was removed and surveyed the prone figures on his clinic floor with wide eyed dismay.

"By the gods! What have you done?"

"They're not dead...yet. Feel free to give them first aid if you feel like it."

Sam turned from Dr Kojima heading towards the exit then spoke over his shoulder as he disappeared into the darkness.

"If i were you, i would get out of Night City ASAP. Things are going to get ugly for the Jade Dragons and anyone who works for them."

Dr Kojima turned his attention back to the bloodied figures of the Jade Dragon Overboss and his deputy ,feeling torn between administering first aid as the unknown assailant had said or running for his dear life.

Sam reached the outskirts of Japan Town and ducked into the alleyway where he stowed the Mitsubishi.

The Mitsubishi growled back into life as Sam mounted the bike and revved the engine. Sam pulled the USB cord from his Comm Unit and plugged it into his E-brain port.

The familiar E-brain HUD snapped into view and Sam cycled to the CyberOptics option where he isolated the recording of his interrogation of made alterations to the recording,scrubbing out sections which might possibly compromise his mission. The Comm Unit in his hand buzzed as accepted an incoming call.

"Sam, is it done?"

"Yes it is Kaena, got what i needed. I'm uploading a video to you now on the secure link."

[Packaging video file for upload]
[Sending video file..20%..50%..99%]
[Video file sent]

"Ok Sam ,i got it."

"Did you get the list of high traffic Net sites i asked for?"

"yes i did, which one do you want to upload the video to?"

A cold smile formed on Sam's face "All of them."

There was a slight pause from Kaena's end of the line.
"Ok, multiple Net sites selected. Video uploading...Now."

"Stay with the feed Kaena and track it until it hits the Major media cycle, I'm off to wrap up this mission."

Sam hit the gas and the Mitsubishi burned rubber as it sped out of Japan Town leaving the residents totally unaware how much their world would change by the next morning.