Chapter 13

Jun arrived early at the tea house the next night, hoping to catch Peter and Kevin in another incriminating conversation, but unfortunately, no one else had yet arrived. Instead, she busied herself preparing for the evening ahead.

But no matter how hard she tried to get her mind off of Ken, Jun found that she wasn't able to. Despite her strong resolution of the night before, she was forced to admit to herself that she had feelings for the Eagle. Of course, it was becoming clear that he didn't return those feelings, and that was what she had to deal with.

She busied herself making preparations for tea and refreshments in the kitchen, and didn't realize how much time had passed until she heard Nick's voice yelling angrily from the next room.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Mr. Frye." came Kevin's voice through the wall.

Jun peered out of the kitchen, taking in the scene in the tea room. Nick, Kevin and Peter were all present, but there was no sign of the other geisha. There was also an old man whom Jun didn't recognize, leaning against the wall at the back of the room.

"Damn me if you don't! My office was ransacked today!" Nick growled, raising his fist threateningly at the two men.

"We had nothing to do with that." Peter said, a little too quickly.

"Of course you did." Nick sneered. "You were looking for the Loronium data. But I know that you didn't find it. And guess what, gentlemen?"

Peter and Kevin looked at each other, their worry evident on their faces.

"The price has just gone up to fifteen billion dollars." Nick said smugly.

"You can't do that!" sputtered Kevin.

"Can't I?" sneered Nick, a dark expression on his face. "You want the information that badly, then you'll have to pay for it. And I can guarantee you won't find it, no matter how many of my facilities you destroy with your 'searching'."

The tension between Nick and the other men was evident. They glared at each other from across the room. Finally, Kevin spoke.

"We don't deal like that, Mr. Frye. You'll have to go elsewhere."

"Fine." Nick smirked. "I will…"

But he didn't get a chance to finish his sentence. His eyes were drawn to a figure standing in the doorway.

"Ivory!" gasped Nick in utter shock.

Peter's and Kevin's heads whipped around, to see what Nick was talking about. Their jaws fell to the floor upon seeing the graceful figure standing before them.

"We… we got rid of you…" Peter stuttered.

"How dare you!" said Ebony. Her voice was low, but it held a level of menace that Jun hadn't been aware that the soft-spoken woman was capable of. What had made her come here, tonight? Didn't she know it was dangerous?

The Swan stood, frozen in place, uncertain of whether or not now was the right time to reveal her presence to the others.

"How dare you!" Ebony repeated, glaring at Peter and Kevin. "How dare you make a mockery of everything I hold dear? How dare you destroy innocent geisha because they get in your way? How dare you treat human life so callously?"

She did not raise her voice, but the venom with which she spoke was apparent to all in the room. Ebony stood, elegant and gracious, every inch a geisha, reprimanding these men like the villains they were.

"And you!" she continued, turning her vicious gaze on Nick, "You stood by, allowing these men to profit from their treacherous actions! You never cared for any of the geisha who entertained you, did you? We're all just playthings to you!"

Despite her diminutive size, it was clear that the wrathful Ebony terrified all of these men.

All, but one.

"We don't have time for this." said the old man, who had, until now, been silent.

Jun regarded the unknown figure for a moment. The man appeared to be in his eighties at least, wizened and bent over with the weight of his years. But his voice was clear and strong, and Kevin and Peter obviously deferred immediately to him when he spoke.

"Mr. Frye." said the old man, approaching Nick. "We will purchase that information from you, for the original price we agreed upon."

"You're out of your mind." sneered Nick, Ebony's appearance forgotten with this new distraction. "I hold the power here, old man, not you!"

"You think so?" the man laughed, then he turned to Kevin.

"Kill him." the man ordered, waving his hand at Nick and stepping away.

Jun froze, uncertain as to whether or not they were bluffing. She didn't want to reveal herself unless it was absolutely necessary. Yet, the information that Nick had regarding Loronium was incredibly valuable to the ISO. Much as she hated the man personally, she couldn't allow him to die.

Yet… she had seen Nick successfully call the bluff of Galactor before. She hoped that he would be able to pull it off again. Certainly, he was acting confidently now.

Ebony stood still as well, not quite understanding what was going on, but unable to tear her eyes from the scene being played out in front of her.

Kevin pulled a gun out of his jacket and stepped over to Nick, holding it to his head with an outstretched arm.

"Give us the information, or die." Kevin said.

"You won't kill me." Nick laughed. "Without me, you will never get your hands on that Loronium. I am the only one who has the information you require."

"We would hate to lose that information, Mr. Frye." the old man said. "But we would rather see you dead, then have you sell it to the ISO."

Nick's face went pale, as he began to understand that the threat was, indeed, real.

"The data is on a microchip!" he blurted.

"Very good." the old man smiled thinly. "Now we're getting somewhere. Where, exactly, is this microchip?"

"Inside of my body." Nick gasped, falling to his knees in fear. Kevin's hand moved with him, so that the gun remained pointing at Nicks' head. "It was the only way to ensure that no one could steal it from me."

"Thank you." smiled the old man, smiling coldly. "Now," he turned to Kevin, "kill him."

"But… I told you where the information was!" Nick protested, as Kevin cocked his pistol.

"And we can retrieve that chip more easily if you are dead." the old man replied icily.

Jun knew that she had to act. There was no other choice but to break her cover. She flew into the room, kicking Kevin's hand, sending the gun flying into the air. The Swan stiffened her fingers, landing a strike on his neck, breaking it with a single blow. She then pivoted on her toes, landing her other foot in the old man's stomach, sending him flying across the room, even as she used the heel of her hand to smash Peter's nose, driving the bone upward into his brain with a sickening crunch.

"Jun!" exclaimed Nick, "You saved me! What…"

"I'm with the ISO." Jun said curtly, deciding to reveal a shortened version of the truth. "I'm here to protect you. We have to get out of here, now." She pulled the shaken man to his feet, moving him toward Ebony and the door.

"Not so fast." the old man was getting up, surprisingly strong for someone of his advanced years. He pulled at the corner of his jacket, and his clothing swirled in front of him for a moment, revealing an entirely different person underneath.

"Lord Katse!" cried Nick, in absolute terror.

"Protect me!" Nick screamed, attempting to hide behind Jun's skirts. "That's your job, isn't it?"

"No," Katse said, his upper lip curling into a sneer as he pulled a gun out of his cape, "I don't think we'll be needing your ISO 'protector'." The Galactor Leader pulled the trigger on the gun, pointing it straight at Jun.

Jun couldn't believe how stupid she had been. How could she not have guessed that Berg Katse was close by? But she didn't have long to berate herself, as a bullet was headed her way. She moved to avoid the shot…

Only to be pushed aside by Ebony. The geisha cried out, and fell on top of Jun, knocking them both to the floor.

Both women lay unmoving upon the tatami mats. A large bloodstain began to spread beneath their bodies.

"Well, it looks like I got two for one!" Katse laughed chillingly, waving his gun at Nick. He pressed a panel in the wall, and a section of the floor drew back, exposing a large, square hole going into the ground.

"Come on!" Katse said impatiently, jamming his gun into the sobbing Nick's back. The Galactor Leader and his prisoner moved into the hole, and the cover retracted, leaving no sign that it had ever been there.

Jun moved quickly, sitting up, and gently rolling Ebony off of her body. A large bloodstain blossomed over Ebony's chest, and the geisha's breathing was shallow.

"Ebony!" Jun sobbed, attempting to stem the blood flow with her own kimono. "Hold on! I'll get you to a hospital!"

"Jun… no time…" Ebony said, gasping for air.

"Yes, we're leaving right now!" Jun insisted.

"No… defeat Galactor… for Ivory…"

Ebony's head rolled to the side, and it was clear to the Swan that she was gone.

"Damn Katse!" Jun screamed, slamming her fist into her thigh. Why had Ebony jumped in front of the bullet? Why had she sacrificed herself?

But inside, Jun knew the answer. It was because, to Ebony, revenge against Galactor was more important, and Ebony knew that Jun was more capable of carrying that out than she was.

Ebony had been more like Joe than any of them had realized.

Jun shed a few tears for her friend, cursing Katse with every word she knew, but then forced herself to clear her mind.

She had a job to do. She would not dishonor Ebony's sacrifice by letting Galactor get away with this.

She had to enter the base, go after Katse, and bring Nick safely to the ISO.

But first…

Jun slipped into the kitchen, then transmuted into the Swan.

"This is G3 to G1." she said into her bracelet. "Katse was at the Secret Garden. Peter and Kevin are down. Ebony…"

Her professional tone slipped, and a sob caught in her throat.

"What happened to Ebony?" asked Ken. Somehow, just hearing his voice, even over her communicator, made Jun feel a little better.

"She came here, to confront Nick… and now… she's…" Jun couldn't say the words.

"I understand." came Ken's response. "We'll be there shortly."

"There is a Galactor base underneath the tea house." Jun informed him. "I'm going in."

"No, G3!" Ken ordered, his tone concerned, "You cannot go in there alone! Wait for us!"

"Nick has been abducted. Katse will kill him to get the information about the Loronium deposits. I have to go now." Jun said grimly, before ending the communication. She turned her bracelet off, so that Ken couldn't contact her again.

She had to honor Ebony's memory, by doing what the geisha had asked. Ken wouldn't understand. The Eagle wasn't about revenge… unless it was his own revenge. He would insist that she wait.

But Jun couldn't do that.

Even if it meant going against orders.

Jun pressed the same wall panel that Katse had, and the floor opened up for her.

The Swan entered the base, the door closing behind her.