Chapter 11
Flying over the Island in the late afternoon of the same day Ken observed the scene of the terrorist attack at the resort below him, a few misty plums of smoke rose up from the burned out shell of the small holiday cottage on the beach. Only officials remained at the resort now. Ken figured he had to find a way in without being noticed, a skill he'd spent a lifetime working on.
The something out of the ordinary caught his eye. The scrubland close to a beach on the other side of the resort was flattened, they area looked to be only small. Still it stood out to Ken, something else he'd have to investigate while he was here looking for Joe.
Noticing a small runway not far from the resort Ken began preparations to land his plane…
* * * *
After landing his plane on the unattended runway Ken jogged towards the resort taking cover in the bushes on the side of the road. By this time security and other investigation units had shown up. Some of the officials standing outside were complaining about the way it was handled just after the event, with people being allowed to leave before questioning…The usual afterthoughts and messes that come from chaos.
Silently Ken snuck passed the group and jumped up to grab the top of the high wall surrounding the entrance of the resort. Pulling himself over the edge Ken remembered a time when it didn't hurt to do it. These days he didn't spend most of his spare time working out and stretching to keep the same flexibility that he had as Gatchaman.
Landing in a perfect fighter's stance on the other side Ken automatically looked for danger. Seeing that no one was around he quickly moved towards the main entrance of the building. A peek at the room registrations would tell him if Joe had book in at all, and his room number.
Crouching down Ken started looking through the computer files…The word Locked thwarted him at every turn. Cursing the data base should have known they would have done that after something that they suspected was a terrorist attack to prevent any data being tampered with.
"…I'm not sure, but I can check…" A young man's voice drifted towards him.
Looking behind him Ken noticed the door of a small room slightly ajar, without a second thought he bolted in there before the man rounded the corner and caught him out.
The two men stopped, talked for a few minutes about the investigation and moved on. During that conversation Ken learned a few key bits of information that could come in handy later on. They had some identification results back of the victims. All he had to do was find the report. Just as he was about to leave Ken's foot touched something soft.
A familiar bag hidden under a pile of beach towels caught his attention. He recalled seeing Joe with a bag that looked exactly like that one. Opening it confirmed his suspicions. Joe commander's uniform lay neatly folded inside of it, along with his bracelet.
So Joe had booked in, but not gone to his room. Ken mused. Then he must have gone…Ken stopped mid thought. Could it be Jason that the attackers had meant to kill? Why? He his thoughts ran wild. Three bodies were found…
Ken prayed that the bodies were the attackers- he had to find that autopsy result.
Closing the bag he made a note to come back for it and pushed it further under then towels other items in the small room, and then another thing caught his attention. Small pools of dark blood soaked into the carpet in the far corner.
I bet no one has thought to check out this room. Ken figured studying the patterns of the blood and light splatters on the wall and other bits that made him sick to look at. Swiftly he found some plastic from a shelf and tape and managed to get a sample so he could do some of his own detective work if needed. The blood had to belong to someone who met death in an unpleasant way.
Crouching down Ken peeked through the door to see if he was alone again, satisfied he was, he briskly walked out of the room and down the hall to find a uniform so he could go and have a look at the cottage at the centre of the attack for more clues.
* * * *
Dr Anderson looked intently at the report delivered to him only moments before. Putting it down on the table he chose to watch fish swimming pasted him through the round window of his office.
Should I tell him? He pondered. Dr Anderson had to weight it up, if he told Jason the truth would it potentially cause him more harm than good.
Picking up the sheet of A4 paper Dr Anderson had to make a decision on this news and soon. Something about it didn't add up, and what if it was incorrect…
Picking up the phone he called his secretary. "Lisa, get me autopsies, and now." She's know what he meant by that.
He'd confirm the matches and conclusions and decide from there if Jason needed to have any more grief delivered to him today. He'd already had enough shocks, did a he need blow. Sitting the phone back into its cradle Dr Anderson had some hard decisions to make about how much Jason needed to know about the day's events to keep him in the right frame of mind to start training again and soon. Dr Anderson upon his return to the base unexpectedly found himself being confronted by his bosses about G- Force and its development of an effective team. He'd need Jason and Mark to be on fire when they gave a fighting demonstration in a few days time…Jason needed to be focused, but then he was often at his best when he became angry, a lethal weapon…
He'll tell him about his father's fate at the hands of Spectra, his plane was shot down by the same Devil star ship on his way there…that's all he had to do, tell him his father was killed by Spectra. It would save him complicated explanations that he didn't have any answers for…it served its purpose, and Jason would perform perfectly for him to the extra funding and promotion he needed to become the Chief of security and put the Zark program into action. With that done, Dr Anderson left to go and see how Jason was recovering after being sedated during the trip back to the base.
* * * *
Ken adjusted his loose fitting vest with "police" plastered across the back.
"Detective, this is the report you requested sir." Another officer handed him the sheet of paper.
"Thanks Jeff, look I need a little time to read this over…" Ken indicated to the coffee machine and chair in the office next door.
"Sure, I'll leave you too it…" Jeff left the room, leaving Ken alone to read over the autopsy report. Ken felt his heart rate go up as he read it over and over.
It can't be right- they've made some kind of mistake. Ken thought wildly. After seeing the burnt out building that gave him very little clues in his own investigation. He did however find Joe's black leather jacket on the beach covered in a heap of sand. It was enough to tell him Joe had been there, he must have somehow been caught up in the events that followed…
It worried him even more- being Joe there's no way he would allow any harm to come to Jason. They could be in hiding anywhere trying to find a way to contact him and Jun.
Ken read the words that conflicted in his mind again…
The body of the deceased found inside the burnt out cottage is Joe Asakura…DNA samples have made a positive match….
Ken crumpled the piece of paper tightly in his fists and then slammed it across the room. "He's not dead…" Ken hissed and slammed his fist against the closest wall…"Joe, damn it why do you do things like this…"
It took him a few minutes to calm down enough to leave the room, he had the details of the place were the autopsy was conducted. Ken knew his next moved was to go and find out if he was reading the truth.
