NINE

~ Climax ~


Bryan ran as fast as he could towards the rented car across the street. He entered and eagerly started the vehicle as he heard the sounds of police sirens fast approaching. He quickly put the car in gear and mashed the gas pedal as hard as he could. The car screeched as it pulled off leaving tire marks in its wake.

He raced down the winding streets of Brazil back to the hotel. He needed more weapons, ammo and a change of clothes before starting his search for Nina. He slammed his fist angrily against the steering wheel as he drove; cursing himself for letting her go off alone. They should have stayed together as she suggested. He didn't know where to look for her but, he knew that he must find her quickly before it's too late. He had to. He felt his perpetual generator whir in his chest. He felt slightly uncomfortable; As if he was experiencing déjà vu.

Bryan quickly shook off the negative thoughts that was slowly invading his mind. He inwardly reminded himself to not allow emotions to get the better of him. He growled in frustration as he gripped the wheel. He pressed on the gas harder than before; urging the tiny car to go even faster.

He quickly pulled into the hotel parking lot and parked the car. He got out and dashed inside the buildings and entered one of the elevators. Luckily, there weren't many people roaming around the place at such a late hour to see his blood splattered clothing.

He took out his phone and was tempted to call Nina's cell, but hesitated. It was a bad idea. He believed that it would only result in her captors quickly discovering the device and discarding it. He thought it would be better to have her phone traced, but he didn't know how.

He needed help. He didn't want to admit it and it angered him whenever he had to rely on the assistance of others. He considered it a weakness, but now wasn't the time for him to be prideful. Bryan grunted angrily when he knew who he had to call. He dialed a number and waited as the phone rang.

"Hello Bryan… why do you call at such a late hour?"

Bryan frowned at the sound of his voice. "Lee, things got fucked up over here." He said impatiently as he waited for the elevator to reach his floor.

Lee's eyes widen in surprise as he sat up in his bed. "W-what! What do you mean!"

"We found Jane and tried to rescue her, but things went to shit and Nina got kidnapped."

"What!? You found Jane! Where!? How!?" Lee was shock and astounded to hear all this new info.

Bryan quickly grew annoyed. "Fuck! Lee, I don't have any time to explain! I need you to trace Nina's phone!"

"Alright, alright." Lee said as he got out of bed. "Give me her cellphone number and I'll try to get one of my guys to track it down for you." He said calmly.

Bryan quickly recited the number over the phone and hung up. Lee immediately called one of his scientists and instructed him to trace the number. He sighed tiredly as he waited for the scientist to call him back.

"Lee… what's going on?" Anna muttered sleepily as she sat up in the bed.

Lee looked at her and smiled. "It's nothing." He said indifferently. "It seems like your sister has been kidnapped."

"What!?" Anna said in shock. She suddenly felt concerned for her sister.

Lee was surprised to see her worried expression. "Don't worry my darling, Bryan will find her."


Bryan quickly entered his hotel room. He ran into the bathroom and tried his best to clean the blood from off his face and hands. He then changed into something more comfortable. He only wore his blue militant pants. He made sure to pack ammo and supplies in all the pockets. He quickly gathered all of his things then went into Nina's room and collected her belongings. He had a feeling that they will not be returning to the hotel after this. He exited the hotel and returned to his car then packed the luggage into the trunk. Suddenly his phone rang.

"Lee, did you track it!?" Bryan said impatiently.

"Yes I have. I'm going to send you a map with her location now." Lee said happily. "But Bryan, when you have time, you must inform me on everything that has happened so far. Do you understand?"

Bryan grunted angrily and hung up the phone without giving him an answer. He hated Lee. He was determined to get rid of him after this this mission is through. He started up the car and quickly made his way towards his destination.


Nina groaned as she slowly regained conscious. She felt dazed and her vision was slightly blurry. She wanted to rub her eyes, but discovered that her arms were tied behind her back. She looked around and realized that she was in the backseat of a car. The vehicle was driving down a very bumpy road. Nina winced in pain as the car drove over every bump.

She slowly lifted her head to look out the window. She could hardly see anything since it was very dark outside but noticed that they were driving through a wooded, secluded area as if they were going through a backroad into the middle of a forest.

Suddenly, Nina grunted in pain as her head smacked against the window. She then felt cool metal of a gun pressed against her temple. She looked from the corner of her eye and saw a man seated to the left of her. There was also a man in the driver's seat and another sitting on the passenger's side.

"You've killed many of my men you bitch." The man said heatedly in a thick accent. "Some of them were my good friends." He leaned closer to her while still pressing the gun against her head. Nina noticed that the man was wearing an eye patch. "And now you're going to pay for it." He whispered in her ear.

All of the men laughed. Nina said nothing. She only glared at her attacker from the corner of her eye. He looked back at her for a moment before pulling the gun away from her head.

"Just sit tight and don't try anything foolish." The one-eyed man flashed his gun at Nina to get his point across. He chuckled some more then he began speaking with the other two men in their native tongue.

Nina continued to look out the window. She desperately wanted to escape, but felt that she couldn't do it in her current condition. He body ached immensely from the battle she had earlier. She seriously doubted that she could fight these men and run to safety.

She didn't want to admit it, but for the first time in her life, she needed help. It bothered her knowing the only person who can help her was Bryan. She wondered if he would really come to rescue her. Bryan didn't seem to be the type of person to care for others, especially after learning more about his ideology. However, she hoped that he would.

Minutes passed and Nina noticed that the scenery was changing around them. The thick brush was slowly thinning out and she was starting to hear a very distant but familiar noise. The car eventually reached a clearing in the middle of the forest. It was strange. There were no trees around only a wide, open space filled with grass and small plants. The noise she heard got louder and louder as they sped through the field. She quickly realized it was a sound of a helicopter. The aircraft sat right in the middle of the clearing. Its blades spun; it was ready to take off.

The car slowed to a stopped a good distance away from the helicopter. Nina saw a black van pulled up alongside them. A group of men exited the van. The last person to come out was Jane. Nina looked on in surprise.

Jane looked sullen and was hesitant to move. One of the guards shoved her a bit to get her to start walking. Nina watched as a few men brashly escorted her into the helicopter. Minutes later, the helicopter took off and disappeared into the night sky. Nina was infuriated. Jane was gone. They were so close to rescuing her; so close to finding Heihachi, but now she has flown off to some unknown land where she cannot follow.

The three men got out of the car. One of them opened the door and violently yanked Nina out of the vehicle. Nina grimaced in pain. Her body was a mess; she no longer had the energy to fight even if she wanted to.

She and the men walked across the open field to a little cabin. They stopped in front of the door. The man with the eye patch said something in Portuguese. Nina guessed he was the one in charge. After he had finished talking, most of the men dispersed. She assumed they were put on patrolling duty. The rest of the men entered the cabin. The one-eyed man shoved Nina inside.

The cabin was very large and mostly empty, but surprisingly, it had electricity and was well lit. Nina believed it got its power from a generator. A few old pieces furniture decorated the cabin; they looked like they haven't been used for years.

One of the men placed a wooden chair at the center of the room. They forced her to sit and began to tie her arms and legs onto it.

The man with the eye patch stood in front of her and smiled evilly. "So who do you work for?" He asked while gauging the woman's expression. She showed no fear. Nina raised her head and angrily glared at the man.

"Oh?" The man said surprised by her resilience. "Still playing miss tough-girl? We'll see how long that'll last." He said mockingly while the other men in the room chuckled.

"Come on… tell me and I promise that I will not hurt you…" He paused as he looked at her and smile. "…much."

Nina remained silent. She didn't fear this man at all nor will she speak. She continued to give him a deathly stare.

The man chuckled. Then he suddenly slapped Nina hard across her face. He was determined to make her talk no matter what the costs.

Nina grunted as her face stung with pain.

"As you can see, I have no problems hitting women. And trust me, I can do a lot worse." The man said sternly and smiled. He slapped her hard again.

Her face throbbed with pain, but Nina remained silent as fresh blood trickle down from her lip. She looked up at her attacker and smiled mockingly. Her expression angered the man. Apparently his tactics were not getting through to the woman; he had to do something more drastic.

The one-eyed man nodded at one of his men. He left and brought a large bucket of water and a towel from the corner of the room. He set the items down next to Nina. The one-eyed man slowly walked behind Nina's chair and quickly yanked on her ponytail; forcing her to tilt her head back to look up at him.

"You know…" He smirked. "Torture can be cruel… but it's very effective." He said as he looked down at her. One of his men handed him the towel. "Now this tactic…." He yanked her ponytail harder and held the item high enough so she could see. "…It's one of the simplest, but it is also one of the cruelest." He looked down at her and smiled evilly. "Are you sure you don't want to talk? This is your last chance."

He gave her a few moments, but when he got no response he nodded to the thug that stood next to him. The thug draped the towel over Nina's face and picked up the bucket of water. He slowly poured the cold liquid over Nina's face.

Nina began to struggle but the one-eyed man kept her head in place. She couldn't breathe. The wet towel was stifling; it felt like she was drowning and she couldn't bear the sensation any longer.

They continued to pour the water until the bucket was empty. When the water was finished, the thug carried the bucket to a nearby sink and began filling it again.

The eye patched man removed the wet towel and released her pony tail. Nina began to cough and gag as she desperately tried to get some air into her lungs.

The man began to laugh. "So how do you feel now?" He said amused. "Do you feel like talking?"

Nina's breath was ragged and it took her a moment to calm her breathing. When she did, she looked up at her one-eyed captor and smiled weakly, mocking him again. She wasn't going to talk, no matter what. She won't let this bastard get the better of her.

The man grew angry and impatient. He realized this woman will be harder for him to break, but he was confident that he will do it. He decided that he would no longer play 'nice.'

"Again!" The man yelled furiously. One thug pulled back her hair while another, poured water on her face again. The eye-patched man looked on and smiled as she struggled. He would repeat this process twice more without giving her much time to catch her breath.

They finished pouring the water for the third time. Nina felt dazed and the room spun around her. She coughed and wheezed; desperately trying to breath. She felt like she was about to pass out but the one-eyed man slapped her back into reality.

Nina looked at her captor. He was no longer smiling, he looked dead serious. He took out a small pocket knife with a red handle. He pulled out the blade and began to toy with it a as he paced in front of her.

Nina didn't know what to do. This man wasn't playing around anymore and she definitely couldn't stand to have that cold water poured on her again. She hated to admit it, but he was starting to get worried. She secretly hoped Bryan was coming for her. He had to. She remember him saying he had vested interest in this mission. He will come to help her and they will finish this mission together. She looked at the front door eagerly believing that Bryan would burst through it at any moment.

The one-eyed man stopped pacing and looked at her while still toying with the knife. He noticed her attention was focused on the door. He suddenly laughed in amusement. He was finally getting under the woman's skin. "You want to leave, huh?" He said as he pointed towards the door with his blade and chuckled some more.

Nina's eyes suddenly darted towards the man. Her face furrowed in anger.

"So what will it be now woman?" The man looked at her and smiled. "Are you going to talk?"

Nina was not going to give in to this asshole. She decided to have faith that Bryan was coming. He will come and kill all these bastards. She hoped that he wouldn't let her down. She looked at her captor and laughed weakly, secretly imagining how he would die.

The man was enraged. "You fucking bitch! Let me wipe that smile off your face!" He heatedly stormed towards Nina and quickly drove his knife into her thigh.

Nina's eyes widened. The pain she felt was sharp, sudden and unbearable. Her resilience finally broke and she screamed out loud in pain.

The man laughed at the top of his lungs upon hearing her cries of anguish. "Now that's what I like to hear! It's music to my ears." He said overjoyed by her pain. He twisted the knife while it was still in her thigh and Nina screamed again. The man let go of the small blade; leaving it lodged in her leg. He laughed while he walked over to a nearby desk. He picked up a hammer and slowly returned to Nina. She was wincing in pain as tears started to roll down her checks.

"So do you feel like talking now or shall I continue?" He said jokingly as he played with the hammer. The man waited quietly for her to respond, but his attention quickly shifted when he heard the sounds of screams and gunfire. Everyone in the room was puzzled.

Nina sniffled and began to chuckle quietly to herself. Her prayers had been answered. The one-eyed man glanced at her confusedly. He then quickly walked to a window and looked out at the open field. He saw nothing, but suddenly heard more gunfire and screaming. He figured something odd was going on. He turned around and pointed to one of his men. "You! Go see what's going on." He ordered.

The thug cocked his gun and slowly walked towards the door. The door suddenly slammed open, just when he was about to exit. It knocked the man down hard.

Everyone in the room was in shock. Nina looked up warily towards the door. All of her pain quickly ebbed away and forgotten. A weak smile formed on her lips as she saw Bryan entered the cabin.


Bryan walked into the cabin. He realized the door hit something when kicked it open. He looked down and saw one of his enemies lying unconscious on the floor. Without giving it a second thought, he pulled out his gun and shot him dead.

He looked around the room and saw Nina tied down to a chair. She looked like she was in bad shape. Her hair was wet and slightly matted. She looked like she was having difficulty breathing. But what angered him the most was the knife sticking out of her thigh. He realized that they were torturing her, it infuriated him even more. However, he felt relieved to find her still alive.

Bryan perked an eyebrow when he heard a man yelled something in Portuguese. Suddenly all the men in the room started to attack and shoot at him. Bryan quickly darted out of the way of the bullets. He didn't want to shoot his gun in fear of accidently hitting Nina.

He lunged at a nearby thug and began beating him viciously. Suddenly, all his enemies in the room charged towards him. Bryan pummeled every one of his challengers with ferocity. They exchanged blows until the room almost fell silent.

Bryan knocked out the last man. His enemy collapsed on the ground. He stomped hard on his chest, cracking a few of his ribs. The man moaned in pain before Bryan shot him in the head. All the thugs lay in bloody piles on the floor. Bryan quickly scanned the room with his enhanced vision to make sure none were moving.

Satisfied, he walked over to Nina and observed her closely. Nina kept her head down towards the floor. She didn't want to look at him. She suddenly felt ashamed that she couldn't free herself and had to rely on Bryan to rescue her. She was embarrassed that he had to find her in this state; weak, broken and pathetic. She felt like she brought shame to her father and her family's name.

"Your white knight is here." Bryan purred and playfully smiled.

"Oh, shutup!" Nina spat hoarsely, still refusing to look at him.

Bryan perked an eye when he noticed her the knife in her leg. Her wound was bleeding heavily. He knelt down beside her to examine it more closely. "I have to pull it out, you know." He said as he looked at her. "It will hurt."

"Just do what needs to be done." She breathed tiredly.

Bryan gently placed a hand one her thigh while the other gripped the handle of the blade. He looked up at her and waited.

Nina couldn't help but feel slightly uncomfortable at his proximity. He was close to her, too close. The moment felt awkward… almost intimate. She timidly looked at him, and nodded. She tried her best to mentally prepare for the pain that was about to come.

He slowly and carefully extracted the blade. Nina winced and cried out in pain. She suddenly lurched forward; her forehead rested against his shoulder as he did it. Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks for reasons beyond the pain she was feeling.

Bryan tossed the knife aside and squeezed her wound to stop the bleeding. With his other hand, he reached around and rested it on her back as if to console her. Nina quickly pulled away, abhorrently appalled. She was immediately angry at herself for being so weak. For crying hysterically. And most of all… for needing his help. She glared at him completely enraged that he had put his hands on her; that she needed his comfort.

Bryan looked up at her and simply smiled at the prideful woman. He didn't want to say anything to damage her fragile resolve. They were so much alike and for some strange reason, he felt like this experience had bonded them somehow. He then searched his pants and pulled out some bandages and a small bottle of liquor.

"Whiskey?" Nina questioned breathlessly as she watched him open the bottle.

Bryan chuckled. "Yeah, it's a shame I won't be able to drink it, but I need it to clean your wound."

He opened the tiny bottle and poured the alcohol on the wound. It burned and Nina quietly grunted in pain. He then he wrapped the bandage around her leg tightly. After he was done, he took out his knife and began to cut the rope around her ankles.

Suddenly, they heard a noise coming from the other side of the room. Bryan looked in the direction the noise was coming from then he heard it again. He put his knife away and stood up. He slowly walked to where he heard the noise. He approached a group of dead men lying in the floor and noticed that one of them was moving.

Bryan hastily walked towards the man and picked him up from his neck. He brashly slammed his back against the wall causing the man to yelp in pain. The man looked at Bryan in fear. Bryan noticed the man was wearing an eye patch. He glared at the one-eyed man, smiling evilly.

Nina was suprised to know that the bastard was still alive.

Bryan licked his lips and slowly squeezed the man's throat. The one-eyed man looked terrified, he didn't want to die. "Wait, wait!" the man pleaded. "Please don't kill me! I know where Heihachi is, I can take you there!"

Bryan paused. He wanted to kill the bastard, but he offered Intel on Heihachi's whereabouts which will be very useful to the mission. He stood there for a moment while his hand still gripped the man's throat to consider his options.

Nina thought that the one-eyed man was a weak, pathetic asshole. He had no problem torturing and maiming her, but when the tables are turned, he couldn't handle it and wanted squealed so quickly. She hated this man for what he done to her. Nothing would make her happier than to watch him squirm and die.

"Kill him." She muttered. Her voice was laced with hate.

Bryan looked at Nina, he was surprised by her request.

"Kill him." She repeated more sternly.

Bryan studied her. She looked deathly serious and vicious at the same time. It was obvious to him that she wanted this man dead. He figured that this man was the one that tortured her and damaged her pride. The cold-blooded assassin desperately wanted pay backandhe was more than willing to comply with her request.

Bryan returned his attention to the man and smiled wickedly. "Well, you heard the lady." He said flippantly and shrugged.

The man shook his head in protest and tried to beg some more, but he couldn't get the words past his throat as Bryan slowly squeezed harder. He gradually increased the pressure of his grip and both Bryan and Nina watched as the man flail desperately.

They were elated at the other man's desperation and fear. They both smiled evilly and waited to hear the climax. Bryan tightened his grip and an audible 'pop' can be heard throughout the room.

The man's body went limp. His eye rolled to the back of his head and blood began to trickle out his mouth. Bryan tossed the body aside and Nina watched as it slumped lifelessly on the floor. She was pleased that this horrible man is now dead.

Bryan quickly returned to Nina with his knife in hand. It was time to cut her free and escape this place. He was certain that more of Heihachi's men were on their way if they weren't there already. They needed to leave, and quick.