Chapter 10
The Condor crouched down low behind the bleachers, out of sight of the excited crowd, but still able to keep an eye on what was going on. It was his responsibility to ensure that President Zabal remained safe. Although Utoland was officially governed by a Prime Minister, the President had a ceremonial position, and was well-known and loved by the people. Zabal enjoyed watching the professional motorcycle races for which his country was famous, and Dr. Nambu was concerned about the President's safety during such a public event. The Doctor had entrusted Joe with this mission.
Of course, the Condor had backup. Ryu was standing by, ready to pilot the God Phoenix, and Jinpei was close as well, ready to act if Joe should ask. Ken and Jun were in the stands, below the Condor's position. They were in their civilian uniforms, blending in with the spectators. Of course, all of this gave Jun the best view of the race.
And in the end, that was really why they were there. Koji Yabane was participating in this race, and they all wanted to keep an eye on the guy.
Of course Jun's motives in 'keeping an eye' on Koji were probably a little more innocent than everyone else's. Joe's still couldn't completely suppress the surge of anger he felt just thinking about the way Jun had defended the guy. It had been this anger that had caused him to slap Jun just the previous evening.
Joe flexed his hand, the memory bothering him more than he wanted to admit, even to himself. The Condor had belted the Eagle more than a few times during a disagreement, and had smacked Jinpei frequently for his smart mouth. Even good-natured Ryu had occasionally been the target of a punch or two from Joe.
But never Jun… until now.
The Condor felt guilty about hitting the Swan. She had needed to be brought back to her senses, but had that actually been the right way to go about it?
It seemed that violence was the only language that Joe Asakura truly understood. He had fallen low enough to be hitting a girl; no matter that this particular girl could dish out a beating almost as well as he could.
The race began, and Koji took an early lead. This was something Joe could appreciate. Motorcycles were not cars, but enough of the same racing principles applied that the Condor was able to recognize and acknowledge the superior driving skills of Koji Yabane.
For a brief moment, Joe almost admired the man.
And then, any fledgling admiration instantly disappeared as Koji threw the race.
To everyone else, it probably just looked like Koji was slowing down. But being an expert racer himself, Joe could see that there was no legitimate reason for it. The motorcycle was undamaged, Koji was uninjured, and neither the track nor the competition had gotten more difficult. There was no justifiable cause for a driver of Koji Yabane's caliber to slow down.
Koji now lagged behind all of the other bikes. He was approaching the President's position in the stands. As he was passing the bleachers full of spectators, Koji's bike leapt off of the racetrack and onto a set of steps ascending up to the President's Box. The crowd screamed in fear as the motorcycle raced through their midst, but the driver didn't pay them any notice.
Koji Yabane was completely focused on President Zabal.
Fortunately for the President, Condor Joe was completely focused on Koji Yabane.
Even as the Condor raced up to a better position in the stands, the nose of Koji's motorcycle opened up, and a large, spinning drill emerged, clearly targeted at the wall of the President's Box. Even as he drove up the steps, Koji pulled out a large rifle, using his feet to control his vehicle. Despite himself, Joe found that he was impressed by the motorcycle rider's degree of skill.
But not enough to let him win.
Steadying his shot with his forearm and taking careful aim, the Condor fired his gun, shooting out the sights on Koji's weapon. It was enough. The Blackbird Captain's motorcycle sailed over President Zabal's box, spraying bullets everywhere. But Koji's aim without his sights was poor, and Joe saw the President being safely bundled away from the hail of gunfire by his security guards.
Koji had failed.
The Blackbird Captain's motorcycle sailed over the top of the stands and out of the spectator area, landing on an access stairway and quickly driving down to the parking lot below. Joe, Jinpei and Ryu ran to the edge of the stands just in time to see Koji being met by a squadron of motorcycle-riding Blackbirds, who trailed after him as he sped away from the scene.
"Come on!" the Condor shouted, not about to lose his prey. He jumped off the edge of the four-storey-high stadium, gliding down to the parking lot and the waiting G-2 below him.
"Bombs away!" shouted Jinpei, following suit.
"Oh boy." sighed Ryu, taking up the rear.
Within seconds, the G-2 and the G-4 were in pursuit of the Blackbird motorcycle gang, while Ryu was moving to intercept using the God Phoenix. It didn't take long for Joe and Jinpei to catch up with Koji and his men.
However, it was just enough time for the Blackbirds to arrange a 'welcome' for the Condor. The Galactor motorcycles began shooting rockets from their tailpipes, all of them aimed straight at the G-2.
Hovering in the air, the G-4 was unaffected, but Joe found himself quickly swerving to avoid the oncoming missiles. Snarling, the Condor reached for his gun, then leaned out of his vehicle window to take aim.
The cablegun's bullets intercepted one of the oncoming missiles, causing it to explode harmlessly away from the G-2. The G-4's mouth opened up, revealing the Swallow's laser weapon. Jinpei fired, destroying the remaining rockets being sent toward his teammate.
But no sooner was that threat eliminated than clouds of thick, purple smoke began to pour forth from the Blackbird vehicles. To the Condor, it almost seemed as if Berg Katse's purple cape was being thrown over the G-2 to obscure his vision.
The smoke billowed high enough to obscure the G-4 from the Condor's view, and he worked frantically to emerge from the dusky haze, driving blind and on pure instinct alone.
And now that instinct was telling him to swerve.
At the last moment, Joe realized that it had been this impulse to turn the car that had saved his life. A wall of rock suddenly appeared in front of him, and the Condor was able to alter his course quickly enough to drive with one set of wheels on top of it, at a forty-five degree angle to the ground, before returning to the road. But it was too late.
The Blackbirds were gone.
The Swallow set the G-4 down beside the Condor's vehicle, and a moment later the God Phoenix arrived on the scene as well. Far above them in the sky, the sight of the G-1 was visible among the clouds.
"This is Gatchaman." came Ken's voice from Joe's wrist. "Come in, G2 and G4. Are you guys okay?"
"Yeah, we're fine, but we lost that bastard!" the Condor ranted.
"It's pretty darn tough, Aniki!" Jinpei's voice replied. "What are we going to do?"
"I bet that Koji's heading back to a Galactor secret base right now." the Eagle surmised.
"We've got a bigger problem, guys." Ryu's voice interrupted the conversation. "I haven't seen Jun!"
"Hey, you're right, Ryu!" Ken was taken aback. "Where the heck did she go?"
The Condor had a sinking feeling that he knew exactly where the Swan had gone.
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When they boarded the God Phoenix, the Eagle directed the Condor to sit up front, in Gatchaman's usual seat.
"I need to check something in the weapons systems." Ken explained.
Joe didn't buy it, but he didn't protest as the Eagle took the Condor's chair, while Joe proceeded to the front of the Bridge. Gatchaman clearly wanted some privacy, and the Condor wasn't about to take that from him.
Unfortunately, they didn't have much of an idea of where to go, other than to follow the road upon which the Blackbirds had been traveling. Joe kept an eye out from the front of the Bridge, in order to check for signs of anything unusual.
However it wasn't the Condor's vigilance that gave them their lead. The Eagle's bracelet began to beep with an incoming communication.
"This is G3 calling. G1, please respond! Ken, this is horrible! They're going to kill Koji!"
"Calm down!" the Eagle ordered. "We'll come to help you! Just tell us where you are!"
"I'm at the Prime Minister's mansion." the Swan revealed. "It must be Galactor's secret base!"
"All right. We're on our way." Ken told her. "Don't make any moves until we get there, okay?"
But if the Eagle truly believed that the Swan was going to sit by and wait, then he didn't know her at all.
When they arrived on the scene a few minutes later, Joe wasn't surprised to see Jun racing down the road on the G-3, being chased by a squadron of Blackbirds on motorcycles.
"Pick her up, Ryu." Ken instructed.
"Yeah, once the G-3 is onboard, I'll be able to fire some Bird Missiles." Joe said grimly.
A few moments later, the door at the rear of the Bridge opened, revealing a quiet Swan.
"Jun, is everything all right?" Ken asked. The tone of the Eagle's voice suggested that he was speaking with the Swan about an evening at the Snack J, rather than about her having broken orders to enter a Galactor base without permission.
"Hey, Onechan, I was worried about you." Jinpei admitted, as Jun sat down.
She did not answer, but remained silent as she attended to the duties of her station.
"Let's start the assault on Galactor's secret base." the Eagle ordered, turning away from the unresponsive Swan.
"I sure am ready to shoot those guys some Birds!" the Condor replied.
As the God Phoenix had been coming around, the Blackbirds had begun driving their motorcycles in a circle, and now they were moving so fast that they were nearly a blur. Still, Joe was able to see metal connectors coming out of each bike, attaching each vehicle to the ones in front and behind. Protective shielding rose up to cover all of the drivers, and the bike that Koji was riding took on the appearance of a giant serpentine head.
Side rockets fired, and suddenly the metallic snake was flying in the air, undulating and moving to meet the God Phoenix.
"Oh man, they turned into a giant serpent!" Ryu exclaimed.
"They're trying to make fools out of us!" Joe said angrily.
"Stay cool." Ken advised them both.
Ryu flew the God Phoenix away, attempting to see what kind of defenses this new mecha would have to offer. Within moments, the snake was shooting rockets at the red and blue warship, but these armaments had no effect on the God Phoenix's shielding.
"The God Phoenix can't be destroyed by your little missiles, you dimwits!" Ryu grinned.
"Let's counter-strike with some Bird Missiles!" Joe suggested, reaching for the red firing button.
"Wait!" the Swan cried, grabbing at the Condor's arm.
Joe's anger, which had been directed at the Galactor mecha in front of him, suddenly focused on Jun. What the hell was she thinking? After all of this, she still wanted to protect that damn Koji? There was no doubt that the guy was working for Galactor; heck, they had just seen him become the head of the mecha that was now trying to destroy the God Phoenix!
"Hey, get off of me!" the Condor shouted, pushing the Swan away. "You still don't get it, do you? You're going to get us all killed!"
"That's not it." Jun refuted his assumption. "I want to do it. With my own hand! I want to fire the Bird Missile myself!"
A surge of pride swelled through Joe. This was the Jun he knew: strong and independent, and not about to let Galactor walk all over her. Yet at the same time, a finger of doubt niggled at the back of his mind. What if Jun wanted to take control, simply so she could save Koji? It was a disturbing thought.
Still, Jun was his teammate, and his friend. She deserved the benefit of the doubt.
"Okay then, Jun. Just don't screw up." Joe warned her.
The glass cover over the firing button retracted, and the God Phoenix came around to give Jun a clear shot at the serpent mecha. But before they could get into position, the serpent's head grabbed its tail, and the entire creature began spinning rapidly, surprising the Owl, who gave a yelp from his control station.
Before Ryu could avoid the spinning serpent, it had wrapped itself around the starboard wing, close to the G-4 Bay. From there it spread out to slide along the hull of the God Phoenix, crushing the ship from the outside. Cracks began to appear on the wall in front of the Swallow's station.
"Aw, damn it!" Ken swore. "At this rate, we can't even launch a Bird Missile!"
A whining, whirring noise was heard, and suddenly a sharp, spinning saw blade emerged through the cracks above Jinpei's console.
"Aaaah!" cried the Swallow, leaping back in fear.
"Those saws are slicing up the God Phoenix like a cheap pizza!" Ken shouted.
"Ken, the control lever… it's not budging!" The Owl's face was contorted with his effort to maneuver the warship under these conditions.
The God Phoenix began to plummet toward the ground.
"I've got an idea." the Eagle announced. "Maintain our descent. When we reach maximum velocity, pull up!"
"I'll try!" the Owl acknowledged. "We might as well give it a try, Ken!"
The Swan clung to the Owl, partly to keep her balance, and partly in fear.
"That will be your only chance to blast them with a Bird Missile, Jun." the Condor warned her.
"Our altitude is two thousand meters!" Ryu called out. "Fifteen hundred!"
Everyone was tightly gripping the consoles in front of their positions.
"One thousand… eight hundred… five hundred… four hundred… Oh, man!"
Sweat began to pour down the Owl's face.
"Two hundred!"
"Pull up, Ryu!" shouted Ken. "Pull up!"
The Owl shifted the levers that controlled the God Phoenix's movement, and the blue and red warship shot into the air, brushing by the roof of the Prime Minister's residence, sending shingles flying into the air. The sudden change in force caused the serpent mecha to lose its hold, and it flew off of the God Phoenix, crashing into the mansion below.
"Come on!" Joe encouraged Jun. "Now's your big chance!"
Ryu turned the God Phoenix around, so that it was headed back toward the Prime Minister's mansion.
Jun hesitated only for a second, then pressed the red button that launched the Bird Missiles.
"Koji…" she whispered.
The Swan's aim was true, and the Prime Minister's residence exploded in a fiery blast, bright orange-red flames shooting into the sky. The God Phoenix leveled off, then began circling the area, observing the remains of what had been a Galactor mecha and secret base.
Jun had collapsed on top of the missile launcher. The Swan was clearly distraught over what she had forced herself to do, but in the end, she had done the right thing.
The Condor had never been prouder of her than he was at that moment. Jun had been able to put her personal feelings aside and perform her duty as a Science Ninja; placing her loyalty to the Team above her friendship with Koji.
Joe wanted to say something to Jun, to express his feelings in words. After all, he had been the hardest on Jun over the past couple of days. But something stuck in his throat, and he found himself unable to voice his thoughts.
While the Condor struggled with his words, the Eagle approached the Swan.
"I'm proud of you, Jun." Ken said, pulling her finger from the firing button. But the Swan yanked her fingers from the Eagle's hand, slamming her fists down onto the console in tearful release.
"I just killed Koji…"
Ken's face was frozen in an expression of shock. His posture was stiff, as if he wasn't entirely certain what to do in the face of Jun's reaction.
"I know it was difficult for you to do this, Jun," Joe said calmly, "but you did the right thing."
"Why does the right thing have to hurt so much?" The Swan's eyes filled with tears as she regarded the Condor.
Joe stood up, gently pulling the Swan with him and helping her back to her workstation. The Eagle sat briskly down in his command chair at practically the moment that the Condor had vacated it, almost as if to distance himself from his subordinate's emotions.
Joe himself returned to his usual seat, just as Ken ordered Ryu to land the God Phoenix a few hundred meters from the scene.
By silent agreement, all five members of the Science Ninja Team exited the God Phoenix, transforming to their civilian attire, then walked wordlessly through the woods back to the flaming wreckage that had once been the Prime Minister's mansion, surveying the blaze with their own eyes.
After a few moments, Jun stepped forward, reaching for something on the ground.
Koji's helmet.
Jun picked up the broken helmet, cradling it in her arms as she stared out at the open water.
No one said a word. The other four ninjas hung back, allowing the Swan to have her private farewell with Koji.
When Jun finally turned back, her face streaked with tears, they all retreated into the woods, returning to the God Phoenix.
Ken took the lead, placing as much distance between himself and Jun as he could. Ryu and Jinpei shuffled their feet, staring at the ground as they walked. This left Joe to bring up the rear with Jun.
"Will it ever stop hurting, Joe?"
He had to answer truthfully. Thinking of Lucy, there was only one answer he could give.
"No."