Hair still damp, Mika and Raizo returned to the main room only to be greeted by the delicious aromas of Valentina's kitchen. Ivan stood between two of the large metal boxes she'd seen on a pallet aboard the plane. His tall muscular frame bent to the knees as he leaned down over one box. Ivan removed several steaming containers placing them on the nearest table.
"What's this?" Mika asked coming to stand next to him.
"Mother's version of a picnic basket. She always packs too much food but this time it may come in handy. We have to delay our departure, twenty-four maybe forty-eight hours until the heat dies down."
He cracked the lid on a few of the containers then held two out to Gustof and Fazid who'd drawn closer. No doubt lured by the smell of Valentina's cooking. They hesitated slightly before taking what Ivan offered and retreating to where Cheng still sat at Kimiko's bedside. The older boy shook his head at Gustof's offer to share a sad smile marring his adorable face. It was a poor replacement for the one she'd seen beaming down at her through a metal grate when they'd been running for their lives.
Mika caught Ivan throwing Raizo covert glances behind her back. She turned catching him in the act. Cocking her hip, she gave him an inquisitive look.
"Forgive me, Mika. I … was …uh, are you okay?" The massive blonde stammered a rosy blush spreading across his sun baked cheeks. "We weren't hiding it from you. It was just … bad timing."
There would never be a good time for that news, she thought. The shock had sucked the breath from her lungs leaving Mika bitterly cold inside, numb. In the back of her mind, maybe she'd know they were dead but hope had been the fuel that kept her going when she'd wanted to shatter. Hope and Raizo.
"Yes, it was," she agreed giving his arm a reassuring squeeze and smiling up at him.
"Well, we're locked down for the night," Ivan said returning his attention back to warming food parcels.
Mika's eyes strayed back to Kimiko and instantly thought about the doctor.
"Who was…" Mika broke off at the sound of a … bear growling. It seemed to be coming down the hall towards them. A woman's voice rose over the rumbling.
"I said it would be fine if you stayed OFF your feet."
"I am fine. I'm just going upstairs to sit down. I've got work to do."
"Jumping up and down on it is not staying OFF," the woman shouted.
A second later, Alexi came around the corner hobbling from one leg to the other, his right one in some type of boot. A younger version of Valentina dressed in scrubs trailed behind him hands on her hips.
"I will when I get upstairs," Alexi roared hopping while he braced himself against the wall. He managed to make it over to the metal tables where they stood watching.
"Idiot," Ivan grumbled under his breath as Alexi stubbornly trudged on.
"Don't make me call Grandma," she said locking her arms across her chest glaring at his back. Alexi hissed turning on her with a wounded expression.
"You would threaten to rat on your favorite Uncle," he said as if she'd truly hurt his feelings.
She arched a brow up at him. "In a heartbeat," she snarled and they both glared at one another.
Ivan gave an exaggerated sigh and a mischievous smile lit his face as he passed Mika. He walked up behind his brother and quick as a flash scooped him up into a fireman's carry. They could still hear Ivan's laughter and Alexi's inventive swearing long after they'd disappeared upstairs.
"Mika. Hi, I'm Isabella. Grandmother speaks highly of you. She wants you to give a call when everyone's settled," the woman said drawing her into a hug.
"Oh, alright and thank you …Isabella. How is Kimiko?" Mika asked motioning.
"She's doing well. Four stitches to close the cut on her head but her leg is a different matter, looks like a compound fracture which can cause complications. My husband and I will be here for the next two days and we'll keep an eye on her progress."
"Lucky for us you were here," Mika replied.
"Luck had little to do with it. Grandma sent word that the family may need our help so …," she smiled as if the rest didn't need to be said. Mika instantly liked the woman. Isabella began stacking several food parcels one on top of the other. Her resemblance to the matriarch was uncanny. Mika had seen several photos with of Valentina in her youth and her granddaughter could have easily passed for her twin.
"You look amazingly like your Grandmother," Mika complimented.
"Thank you. Of my Uncles, my father resembled her most," Isabella said smiling graciously as she lifted the stack of boxes. "After I make sure Uncle Alexi is behaving and bring this to them. Those two will tear each other apart without food. We will be moving the girls to the room next to ours so we can monitor Kimiko during the night. Be right back."
Her eyes following the woman as she ascended the stairs, Mika realized Isabella must be Demetri's daughter.
A somber expression replaced Mika's smile as Raizo watched her eyes trail Demetri's daughter up the stairs and out of sight. Raizo could almost read her mind. She was thinking about those lost, Demetri… Lady Ozuno… the survivors. He came up behind Mika hugging her and nuzzling her head into the crook of his neck. Raizo was no good with words but he needed to comfort her.
"It … hurts less … if you concentrate on the ones you can help," he offered.
"I know," she said taking a deep breath releasing it slowly. She pressed a kiss to his throat before pulling away. Raizo lifted one of the parcels still on the counter and held it out to Mika motioning over to the eldest boy. He could hear the kid's growling stomach and his racing pulse. Mika took it and walked over to him. As Raizo followed the racing heartbeat revved. The two younger boys started visibly at his approach and jumped up from their seats to stand at the eldest's side.
"What? What's wrong," Mika asked alarmed. Unconsciously she stood as if trying to shield them but uncertain from which direction the threat would come. No one spoke. Cheng stood hands at his side with his head hung low trying not to meet Raizo's eyes while the other boys threw sidelong glances between him and Cheng.
"Gustof … Fazid …Cheng, talk to me. What's wrong?"
"Mika," Raizo called quietly. She turned confusion and frustration clear on her beautiful face. He held his hand out when she took it he pulled her to stand at his side. After their ordeal, she and the children had clearly gotten to know each other. They seemed to trust Mika and Ivan at least. Maybe an introduction would ease the building tension he felt emanating from the boys.
Before Raizo could open his mouth to speak, Cheng stepped forward one of his own blades in the boy's hand. Holding the blade handle out to him, the boy's heart fluttered in his chest. Its furious beats sounding like a hummingbird's wings beating against a cage. Time and memory warped and merged. Keriko stood before Lord Ozuno a sword firmly gripped in her hand. Defiance burning in her eyes as she stared down at the small blade he held out.
"Make him bleed, Keriko. Failure must be sewn into the flesh."
"I have … dishonored you with my disobedience, …Father," Cheng said quietly.
Raizo felt dread twist his guts into a tight knot at the sound of the old monster's growling voice in his head.
"No child ever showed more promise."
Mika misunderstanding the situation said, "What … no…Raizo, I gave that to him. Cheng, you didn't…"
"You were the son I was waiting for, the one to take my place."
"NO," Raizo barked reflexively startling Mika who jumped. She stared at him with concern while Cheng continued to wait blade held out awaiting his punishment. Raizo took a slow deep breath composing himself and silencing the monster's voice.
"Don't," he made an effort to soften his voice, "call me Father and put that away. You may need it in the future. Now, what are you taking about, Cheng?"
Evidently shocked, Cheng's eyes rose to met Raizo's for a minute before returning to the floor as he sheathed the blade and tucked it back into his pants.
"I withheld the keys when ordered," Cheng answered quietly. Confused Raizo turned to Mika. By the look of disgusted horror on her face, she understood now. Among the Ozuno, disobedience was paid for with blood and possibly death. After a moment, she swallowed a few times then proceeded to tell him about their escape after the building's collapse. When she came to the part about Cheng snatching the keys from her, Raizo wondered if Mika realized she'd worded the sequence of events in such a way as to defend Cheng.
"Why?" he asked returning his attention to Cheng and heard the hummingbird in the kid's chest resume its fight to escape. He didn't answer only dropped his head a few inches lower.
"Why? Why did you endanger yourself?" Raizo wasn't sure why he persisted but felt certain in his actions. Feeling Mika's desire to comfort Cheng, he sidestepped to block her advance. At her frown, he shook his head allowing the sympathy he felt for the kid to show through in his eyes. She pressed her lips together firmly and stayed put.
"Why did you risk their deaths …especially hers," he said pointing to Kimiko.
"I was …selfish," Cheng murmured. "I wanted … to drive …before my end … didn't know if I'd get another opportunity. Forgive my weakness."
Raizo heard Mika's stifled gasp and didn't try to stop her when she went to comfort Cheng this time. Observing Mika smiling affectionately at the teen while stroking his back, he thought back to what he'd been like at Cheng's age. He would have been prepping for his trial mission to complete his training. After Keriko's death, Raizo knew he possessed a heart and knew it died with her. It did not beat. And he did not feel. He never looked forward to …life as this boy had. Cheng had evidently made the decision to take every life experience where he could find them. He'd made the choice to live which made him far stronger than Raizo at his age.
"Wanting to live is not a weakness, Cheng."
Raizo walked past the group to stand next to where the older girl lay. He felt the boys' wariness as he placed his hand lightly over her leg. Closing his eyes, he used his energy to aid and quicken her healing. Opening his eyes, he saw their awed expressions and masked his discomfort by performing the same task to the cut on her head.
"I, myself, am new to 'living' but I have learned the most important part is keeping what you hold sacred safe from harm above all else. They are your reason for being. Always honor them, first," Raizo said meeting the kid's boggled expression. After a moment, conviction gleamed in Cheng's eyes and he bowed deeply.
Mika watched in amazement as Raizo healed Kimiko. She had no idea how he did it but was thankful he could. Mika was still trying to sort through everything she'd learned from Cheng and it turned her stomach. Discipline by blade was obviously normal for the children of the Ozuno. Not far off from her childhood norm during her foster care years. Mika clamped down on that thought and took a deep breath willing the oncoming panic attack away. She got herself under control just in time to give Raizo a reassuring smile as he studied her.
"Raizo … Mika. Maslow got your message. He's on the cam," Ivan called from the top of the step.
Relief shown in Ryan's tired eyes when she and Raizo entered the panel van. It was dark but the electronics provided adequate lighting. Ryan Maslow's image spanned three monitors and he didn't look good.
"You look like Hell, Ryan," Mika said sitting on the stool Ivan offered. Her friend gave a dry laugh.
"Miss you too, kid. Would someone tell me why the only thing left of the safe house in Bangkok is ashes and rubble?"
"What?" She shouted twenty minutes later as Ryan goggled at her throwing his hands up in exasperation. He'd listened to Raizo's account of the RPG attack without a word then Mika told him about Lady Ozuno's death and their escape after the attack. His calm had cracked at her description of the high speed chase.
"What!" he shouted back nearly in an apoplectic rage. He paced back and forth before a rumbled bed and metal nightstand. "You are Queen of the Shit Storm, you know that."
"Okay, now you're trying to offend me," Mika said crossly.
"You couldn't have just left her where she was," Ryan said talking over her head to Raizo.
"No. She would not have stayed put and you know it," Raizo answered him calmly. "And if she had not come, I don't know if all of the children would have made it out, Ryan."
The agent stopped his pacing. Head dropping, he said, "I know. You're right."
He seemed deflated in the wake of his tirade. She noticed the dark smudges beneath his eyes and lines of stress cutting into his cheeks making him appear gaunt. He looked so tired.
"I thought you, being a ninja and all that, would have better luck than I did trying to keep her in Berlin when you were headed to back to the Ozuno," Ryan muttered as if he were talking to himself.
"Well, you should have know better than that," Mika added dryly. Laughing, Ryan turned to the webcam shaking his head and scrubbing a hand over his face.
"Something's wrong. What is it, Ryan?"
"I tracked the order to round up the survivors. It was fucking Jameson. How did I not see that after the Berlin safe house. He set up the damn op, wanted it off the grid. Hell, he was probably the one who labeled those files 'DO NOT FUCKING PURSUE' in the first place."