A CONFLICT OF INTEREST
Chapter 10: "Confrontation"
A Neo-Sailor Moon fanfic
By Bill K.
The explosion could be seen over a several mile radius of Crystal Tokyo around the palace. One such place with a prominent view was the street just outside of Naru Park. Ves had been sitting on a bench outside the park, mourning lost love. It was a feeling she hadn't experienced since that day Rudolfo had slipped away. It was one she never thought she would experience again.
Instantly she was up on her feet, ready to react. But the sight of the red and yellow fireball coming from the upper towers of the Crystal Palace was enough to stun her into inaction for a few moments. Once her wits returned, Ves galvanized into action. Sprinting for the palace, she transformed in mid-stride.
"Fauna Assimilation, Peregrine Falcon!" Sailor Vesta shouted, drawing the attention of several people out on the street at this late hour. Her body morphed into a falcon and the black bird streaked through the sky straight for the palace.
Landing on one of the Level Four balconies, Vesta found the door on security lock down. Frantically she keyed in her pass code, but the door wouldn't open. Cursing in frustration, the Senshi transformed into a gorilla and forced the door open. Racing inside the darkened palace, her transformation fading, Vesta spotted a shadowy figure down the corridor. Ready to transform into a leopard, Vesta charged the shadow. But when she got close enough to see, she found it was Sailor Juno.
"Vesta!" Juno exclaimed in surprise.
"What the Hell happened?" Vesta demanded.
"Somebody tried to crash an air car into one of the palace towers!" Juno related. "The explosion knocked out all of the power and computers! Ceres and Pallas are checking the north part of this level for intruders."
"There's somebody loose in the palace?" gasped Vesta.
"Yeah! Venus-Sensei said for us to secure Level Four!"
"Got it! Fauna Assimilation, Black Leopard!"
Vesta transformed into an African Black Leopard. While lions and tigers were faster and stronger jungle cats, the Black Leopard was notable for its keen night vision. Telling Juno to follow, Vesta began prowling the south end of Level Four for possible intruders.
"So how did your meeting with Rodrigo go?" Juno asked.
"Pallas told on me?"
"Cere pried it out of her. Did you meet with him?"
"Yeah," Vesta sighed. "He has his life. I've got mine. Don't look like they're going to get to cross very much."
"Sorry to hear that. I was pulling for you," Juno told her. "Well, look at the bright side, Vesta."
"There's a bright side?"
"Yeah. If he was with you, that means he's not Ruiz," Juno explained. "That is if Ruiz is behind this air car crash."
"Yeah," Vesta said, realizing Juno's point for the first time. "Yeah."
Then the message signal sounded on their Senshi Communicators.
"Guys!" they heard Sailor Moon say. "I think the intruder is headed for Pop's computer room! Get down here as quick as you can!"
Instantly Vesta the Black Leopard bounded off, leaving Juno to try to catch up.
Two Palace Guards lay dead and bleeding on the floor of King Endymion's computer room. Invisible in the dark, the blood trail from the point in the hall where their throats were cut led to where they lay. Callously the shadowy man who had taken their lives stepped over them. Guided by the infrared night vision visor he wore, the intruder made his way to the mainframe in the room.
Once it had been his mission to secure the file exposing his identity to the world. That goal was no longer viable. There was too much security around this computer and too many variables with Senshi of all sort running around. The shadow placed an explosive charge on the crystal stud input board in front of him. Realizing he no longer had enough of a window to access the computer, search for the file and retrieve it, the intruder's mission was simplified.
He would simply blow the computer up.
Two more charges were placed above the input panel, on the towering mainframe itself. A fourth was retrieved from the bag over his shoulder. His hand went up to affix the charge to the mainframe, but he stopped suddenly. There was a moment's hesitation.
The hand holding the charge swung to his right, knocking away the arm of the second person in the room, the arm that was reaching to grasp his. The shadowy intruder's left hand came up swiftly, holding the knife he'd used to murder the two guards. It swung, seeking to cut the second person in the room. Missing the moving target, the knife slashed back along the same arc. His opponent retreated several feet while the shadow held his ground.
"I can't let you do what you're planning to do," the second person said in a deep, thickly accented voice. "That's too valuable a prize for me."
The shadow's response was to attack, viciously and relentlessly with the knife. His opponent dodged or fended off each slash, aided as well as his attacker could see by an infrared night vision visor. It didn't deter the shadowy intruder. He discarded the charge in his right hand and pressed his attack, using his right hand to try to grasp the elusive man. Around the room they danced, knocking over chairs and desks, focused on delivering and avoiding death.
Suddenly one slash struck home. The second man flinched back, his hands clutching at his face. He staggered back and then fell backwards, tripping over one of the bodies in the room. Without hesitation, the shadowy intruder pounced, his knife high, seeking to end the confrontation permanently.
"Silver Moon Crystal Power Kiss!" rang out from the doorway.
The room was bathed in a pure pink light. The second man sagged with relief, his slashed face no longer hurting him. The first intruder, no longer cloaked in shadow, fell short of his target and landed on the floor on his knees. He looked up and found Sailor Moon standing in the doorway.
"Create a commotion to draw the attention of your opponent away from your true target," Sailor Moon quoted. "Nicely played, Ruiz-San. But you're a little bit late. I already found the photo on Pop's computer." She pointed the Moon Tier directly at him. "Now stand up." Several palace guards lined up behind her to enforce the Princess's wishes.
Jaime Ruiz cautiously got to his feet, his angry glare on Sailor Moon the entire time. The man made a big show of extending his left arm towards her, then turning his hand and opening it, allowing the knife to clatter to the floor. Behind him, the second intruder was pulling himself up to a sitting position.
Too late Sailor Moon noticed Ruiz's right hand was fishing under his coat. The arm swung up rapidly and threw a capsule onto the floor. It broke and suddenly filled the room with a burst of flame and a brilliant blue-green light. Reflexively Sailor Moon and the guards flinched back. And in that moment, Ruiz was on them with the knife he had scooped up off the floor. Sailor Moon felt the knife plunge into her stomach and fell backwards, the strength in her legs flooding away. The three guards behind her surged as one, but each fell victim to the knife. Ruiz turned on a dime and raced down the corridor on his left. As he ran, he pulled out the remote detonator that was in the pouch on his hip. The cover flipped off, revealing the trigger plunger. His thumb sought it out. He would push the plunger and detonate the charges as soon as he made the stairwell.
The stairwell blocked by a single girl in a hospital gown, a sickly-looking waif with shoulder length black hair clinging to the stairwell banister.
As Jaime Ruiz focused on Hotaru and changed course for her, Hotaru caught sight of the knife in his hand. It was coming up in a threatening manner, ready to taste her blood while the blood of Sailor Moon and several palace guards still stained it. Hotaru took in a sudden fearful breath. Her hand extended, summoning her henshin stick, and in a moment knew she could never transform in time, assuming she even had the strength to do so.
And it was away from her mind before she even realized it. The mental bolt, the telekinetic dagger that flew unbidden from her mind at the most unforeseen times, shot across the corridor with the speed of thought. It struck Ruiz squarely between the eyes, knocking him backwards as if he had been shot. The knife flew from his hand and clattered down the marble floor of the corridor. Ruiz toppled backwards and landed on the cold stone floor like a sack of flour. Hotaru stared at him in horror and the man who only seconds ago had meant her end now lay crumpled, his hands gnarled, his face twisted and his eyes staring up helplessly in a blind panic.
"H-Hotaru?" she heard a weak groan from down the hall.
At once recognizing it as her best friend and Princess, Hotaru pressed against the wall for support and shuffled down the corridor as fast as she could. The girl could feel her newly repaired heart thudding in her tiny chest, both from exertion and from fear of what she would find. Down the hall, illuminated by a faint pink light from the orb of the Moon Tier, Sailor Moon lay awkwardly amid the bodies of three palace guards. The white mid-section of her sailor fuku was black with blood. The sight caused Hotaru's legs to buckle beneath her. She tumbled to the floor still twenty-five feet away from her friend.
Grimacing in pain, Hotaru began to crawl on her hands and knees toward the fallen Sailor Moon. Each pace was agony for her, but the girl doggedly continued on.
"Hotaru," Sailor Moon gasped out, looking pale in the pink illumination. "Don't - - heal me."
"Usa!" Hotaru grimaced as she pushed on.
"You'll," Sailor Moon gasped out, "kill yourself. D-Don't."
"I have to!" Hotaru wailed, tears streaming down her face. Would she have enough strength to do it? Would she even make it to Sailor Moon's side in time?
"No, Hotaru," Sailor Moon grunted, her own pain twisting her features.
Hotaru took another agonizing pace toward her friend.
And suddenly in a swirl of silver, Queen Serenity appeared like a divine spirit. The Queen glowed in the dim light of the corridor. She fell to her knees before the crumpled body of her daughter. Sailor Moon looked up at her anxiously. She watched Serenity bring a hand down, gently covering the wound with her palm. Silver light sprayed out in all directions from under her palm. Sailor Moon sighed with momentary contentment.
Serenity slumped forward, bracing herself on the floor with her two hands. She exhaled deeply in exhaustion. And it was then that Hotaru used up the last of her strength. The girl slumped to the floor in a heap.
"Mom," Sailor Moon whispered weakly. "Help Hotaru."
Before the Queen could answer, a huge Black Leopard entered the hall. Everyone was startled and fearful until the ebon cat shouted, "Princess!" Then they knew it was Vesta. On her heels, the other Asteroids arrived. Ceres had her gloves covered with luminous moss and Pallas had used her "Fiery Incantation" to ignite a curtain wrapped around a curtain rod to provide light. Immediately they ran to the fallen Hotaru.
"Help her, please," Queen Serenity said. Then she bent over Sailor Moon and the pair disappeared in a swirl of silver light. The Asteroids knelt down around Hotaru.
"Hey, Hotaru, you don't look so good," Ceres said as Juno cradled the girl.
"Feel so," panted Hotaru, "so weak."
"Pallas will take you to the doctor!" Pallas exclaimed, handing the torch to Juno. "Beautiful Incantation!"
Lifting Hotaru up with her telekinesis, Pallas headed for the stairwell. Ceres came along to provide light with her coated gloves. Juno got up and went over to the quivering wreck near the stairwell, while Vesta went over to the three fallen guards.
"Hey, Juno!" Vesta called out. "Forget about the medical teams! These three have had it!"
"Princess is lucky he didn't kill her, too!" Juno called back. She looked again at the crumpled shell that was once Jaime Ruiz. "Wow, this guy's going to need a med team! Looks like Hotaru must have done a number on him with her mind bolt. No wonder she was so weak." Juno pulled up her communicator to call for a medical team.
And as she waited for the medical team, a stray scent caught Vesta's nose. The Black Leopard glanced into the computer room. She sniffed again.
"I know that scent," Vesta murmured.
With the situation in the palace back under control, the task of assessing the damage was next. Assembled in King Endymion's office were Serenity, the cats, the Elder Senshi and Chief Nakamura of the CDP. Mamoko was in the Queen's arms, sleeping peacefully. Serenity was looking very tired and drawn, motivating Ami to ease up next to her. There was still no working computers in the palace other than Ami's Senshi computer, but a generator had been brought in to supply the palace with rudimentary power.
"Ami-Chan," huffed Serenity when she noticed the doctor next to her with a hand-held medical scanner, "would you PLEASE get that thing away from me!"
"Serenity, let her do her job!" Rei fussed irritably.
"It's all right," Ami replied calmly. "I got what I needed. As soon as Serenity gets a chance to rest, she'll be fine."
"With all of the sleeping she does, you'd think she'd have enough stored up for a month," muttered the priest. The Queen stuck her tongue out at Rei.
"Yes, um," Nakamura began, eyeing the childish back-and-forth with disdain, "the suspect has been taken into custody. He's in the medical ward at CDP's main detention facility." His frown worsened. "The preliminary diagnosis is that the physical effects - - of whatever the Tomoe girl hit him with - - will be permanent."
"Good," grunted Makoto.
"Mako-Chan," Serenity admonished.
"He killed five guards and stabbed my favorite person in the entire universe," Rei added. "And he sent this entire palace into chaos simply to obtain a picture. I'm sorry, Serenity, but it's hard to work up any sympathy for him." Serenity looked down rather than argue.
"How are Usa and Hotaru doing anyway?" Minako ventured.
"Usa is healing," Ami reported, glancing at Serenity, "thanks to some timely assistance. With some reconstructive surgery and a few weeks rest, she won't even have a scar. Hotaru set her recovery back several weeks, but did no permanent damage that I can find. I've put them in the same room in the infirmary. Maybe they'll stay put if they have each other for company." The others chuckled.
"So what took out the lights and the computers?" Makoto asked. "I wouldn't figure a simple air car crash to cause that much damage."
"Ordinarily it wouldn't," Endymion answered. "The Chief's forensics people found fragments of an electromagnetic generator in the cargo bay of that air car. The crash split the shielding on the generator and caused an electromagnetic pulse through the palace and the surrounding area around the palace for a quarter kilometer. Our suspect was planning to use the pulse to permanently damage my computer and its files. And the ensuing chaos gave him enough cover to get to my computer room and make certain. When he found that the computer was still functional, due to the pulse shielding I built into it, he started planting the explosives he brought."
"Charming," scowled Minako. "Reminds me of a record producer I used to know."
"We're still waiting for confirmation on his identity," Nakamura added. "But given his actions, I think it's safe to assume that he's Jaime Ruiz."
"You don't need to assume, Chief," Ami spoke up. "Diana was able to show me the picture Usa found. Apparently someone had taken the composite computer simulation of Col. Ruiz and managed to trace him to his current identity. That identity was recorded and set against the composite in a comparison shot. My assumption is that Col. Ruiz found out about the photo file and attempted to destroy it." She frowned. "I also assume that he probably already dealt with the person who made the photo file. But not before the person managed to send the file to Endymion's computer for safekeeping and potential future public access."
"Why is it every time I listen to her, it reminds me of those science classes I used to sleep through in school?" Minako whispered to Makoto. Makoto nudged her with her elbow.
"Maintenance will start tomorrow morning to fix the damage caused by the magnetic pulse," Luna informed them. "It will mean all computer controls will be inoperable for the next few days. Priority, of course, will be given to tech essential to the infirmary and the palace guards. Please be patient."
"Well, we didn't come out of it unscathed," Endymion summed up, "but we won. Thank you, everyone, for your efforts." He extended a hand to Serenity and she allowed him to pull her to her feet. "And now bed for you, my dear."
"In a little bit," Serenity nodded absently and turned for the door. "I want to check in on Usa first."
The next morning found the four Asteroids at breakfast.
"So the guy Hotaru took out was Ruiz?" Jun asked with keen interest.
"That's what Miss Ami-Ma'am thinks," Palla-Palla nodded.
"Wait until I tell Prime Minister Gomez," Jun chortled.
"And just HOW did you find that out?" Cere asked pointedly.
"Palla-Palla asked her," Palla-Palla replied with some confusion. It wasn't what Cere was expecting to hear. Her startled response sent Jun to giggling.
"Yeah, well they better never let me near him," Ves rumbled. "If he would have killed The Princess, I'd be over there now for a little payback and I don't care how many CDP got in my way." She glanced at Cere. "And don't give me that look!"
"Troll," huffed Cere. Just then a cafeteria worker walked over and bent down to Ves.
"The guard station at the front gate called," she told Ves. "You have a visitor."
"Me?" Ves wondered openly. "Who would be visiting me?"
"Well why don't you go find out," Jun smiled with predatory glee. "Then you can tell us all about it."
"Yeah, like I'd tell you busybodies anything," grunted Ves as she headed for the door. The sound of three giggling girls escorted her out.
Nearing the gate, Ves could see a male figure standing with the guards at the front gate guard station. The closer she got, the more she was certain that she didn't recognize this obviously Japanese man.
"Yeah, you wanted me?" Ves challenged him as the guards looked away.
"Vanessa," the Japanese man said with a Spanish accent, "I'm so glad you're not hurt."
"Rodrigo?" she mumbled in shock.
Continued in Chapter 11