Chapter Seven: Machinations
The airship Bald Eagle was a magnificent blimp of steel gray. Its passenger area was truly huge, almost the size of a mountain. Numerous guards stood by, but they wore the uniform of United States soldiers. As they approached the soldiers eyed Ryu carefully, drawing their weapons nearer.
"Sir," said the soldier, "I'm going to need authorization if you want to go any further."
Ryu raised the ticket, and he eyed it. The soldier looked over it in surprise, then nodded. Ayane also raised her ticket, and he examined that. Finally, he took both, ripped off part of them, and handed the other half back.
"Enjoy your flight." said the soldier.
"Thank you." said Ryu. Was it a common occurrence to see fully armed ninja on this vessel? Or were these men merely never surprised. Then again, the US had a remarkable intelligence agency. And they were expected.
He looked to Ayane. "Are you certain this is secure?"
"This vessel is the property of the United States." said Ayane. "Vigoor will not dare to launch any kind of assault against it at this stage."
They scaled the loading ramp into the blimp and found someone waiting for them at the top. She was a brown-haired woman carrying a briefcase. She was clad in a concealing business suit, wore glasses, and had a gun hidden in her clothes.
"Ryu Hayabusa?" she asked.
"Yes?" asked Ryu.
"I'm Special Agent Irene Lew." said the woman. "I'm your contact from the CIA. You can consider me an escort of sorts."
"I don't need one." said Ryu.
"It's a mere formality." said Ryu. "We don't like our guests to go unescorted until they knew the ground. Follow me." She paused. "You know you don't need to wear that mask."
"I prefer it." said Ryu. When not wearing the mask he wasn't in control.
"Suit yourself." said Irene. "Either way, I could give you a tour of this place while we wait for it to take off. If you want."
"I wish it." said Ryu.
He wanted to know the ground.
They had a brief tour of the airship. Ryu paid close attention to all possible escape routes during that time. The engine room had bulletproof windows. But one of them had been subjected to a sloppy and hasty repair job. The rooms were of excellent quality, very luxurious, and he didn't like them one bit.
Soft pillows and ice machines led to weakness of body and spirit.
"Fully familiarized with all the escape routes?" said Irene.
"Yes." said Ryu. He saw no reason to lie.
"Good." said Irene. "Because we have a lot to talk about. In particular the Dark Dragon Blade."
Later they sat in an empty dining room around a round table. Irene was looking across it at him and Ayane, hands clasped together. "The US doesn't usually like to involve itself in the supernatural. Not any more than is necessary, anyway. It's one of the reasons we've been in a cold war with Vigoor for decades. As far as our official story goes fiends don't even exist.
"We suppress all data on their appearances. Whenever we have an incident with fiends, we get rid of them and cover it up."
"Trying to avoid panic?" guessed Ryu. A bliss of ignorance was preferable to true wisdom to Americans.
"Actually we're trying to keep cults from springing up." said Irene. "The ninja clans live in a perpetual state of warfare. We far prefer the stability afforded by keeping things under wraps."
"What are you driving at?" asked Ryu.
Irene took off her glasses, and her green eyes looked at him flatly. "America has been keeping tabs on things. And we're at a point where we may have to escalate the situation from cold to hot.
"We can't afford to let the Dark Dragon Blade become a factor."
"And what do you intend to do about it?" asked Ryu.
"Well, we're contemplating a nuclear strike." said Irene.
Ryu almost flinched. Almost. "What?"
"The last time the Dark Dragon Blade was used by a worthy wielder it led to the collapse of western civilization." said Irene. "Armies of fiends swarmed across the Roman Empire. The wielder was fighting battles in China.
"When that sword grows in power is causes crisis' all over the world.
"You can understand why we're concerned. Some are arguing that a first strike on Tairon might be able to wipe out the Greater Fiends."
"The only thing that will achieve is mass destruction." said Ryu.
When the Americans bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it had been an absolute disaster. Bad enough that they had reduced every other city to ashes with firebombing. But the dramatic display of light awoke many of the fiends. They'd spent years trying to fix the crisis, and the Black Spider Ninja clan had been the result.
"You don't know that." said Irene. "The Dark Dragon blade is supposed to be indestructible, but nobody has tried to destroy it in ages. A couple of megatons of nuclear power might just do the trick.
"Either way, it isn't our first choice.
"We could probably dispatch a team of elite commandos to try and get it back. But even if we succeeded, it would be throwing down the gauntlet to the Vigoor Emperor. So we'd have a war anyway.
"On the other hand, if a ninja of the Dragon Lineage whose village Doku burned down stormed the place. If they stole the sword back… well… it happens. And when they come demanding answers about how he got on our ship we'll just shrug and say 'we don't know.'"
"You have a great deal of faith in one ninja." noted Ryu.
"Oh believe me," said Irene, "Doku is going to have bigger problems than just you. You'd be surprised at just how many people don't want the Vigoor Emperor to get the Dark Dragon Blade. It's given us all kinds of opportunities for chaos."
So Ryu was just one pawn among many. He considered just how likely he was to retrieve the sword by himself. Then just how likely the Americans were to think he'd succeed or even cause chaos by himself. So what would be the best way to cause a distraction?
He looked to Ayane, who looked back. They both realized the obvious. He turned his gaze back to Irene. "Who is your contact in Vigoor?"
Irene shrugged. "The Head of the Secret Police. Gamov." Then picking up a case, she slid it across the table to him. "We should be arriving in Vigoor in about two weeks. I recommend you watch your back, Ryu. Everyone is out for themselves. Everyone."
Then she stood and walked out.
Ryu turned to Ayane. He moved his hand in silent language, and she watched the movement. "When will they move?"
"At the last possible moment." said Ayane with her hands in turn. "The Dragon Sword will be considered a huge threat by Vigoorians. But the Americans will not regard it as anything more than a particularly sharp sword.
"They will use us to distract the Emperor's gaze while they use another proxy." Ayane paused her gestures. "It will be another ninja clan, more than likely. The Black Spider Ninja Clan, perhaps? They have contacts with the CIA as well. Knowing the Americans, however, they will make their own move. Once the city has been thrown into absolute chaos, of course.
"They will then have full deniability."
"And the Dark Dragon Blade will be all the stronger." said Ryu. "Who is Murai's contact?"
"Gamov, of course." said Ayane. "We were aware of this possibility from the very beginning. Fortunately, we have alternative sources of information."
Ryu leaned back in his seat. He put two fingers to his forehead. The airship began to lift off, and they sat there as they were committed. "So, we are a distraction for another attack. Which in turn will be a distraction for a third attack.
"And all of this relies on the assumption that I cannot escape from an airship. One several thousand feet off the ground. While I am surrounded by an army in enemy territory." He lowered his hand and opened the case. Within were half a dozen elixirs of life. A smile went to his lips, despite himself. What he said next was free for anyone to hear. "Are they trying to make fun of ninjas?"
Gamov waited in front of the airship. The honor guard of green-clad soldiers stood to attention as the doors opened. A ramp lowered and out of it marched Lord Doku. The dark samurai held in one hand the Dark Dragon Blade. Just looking at it made Gamov's eyes hurt, but he kept his composure and smiled.
"Lord Doku, you honor us with your presence. We are pleased that-"
"Enough." said Doku. "There is little time remaining to us. Take me to the Dworku Monastery. I would speak with my charges."
And here was where Gamov came to the tricky part. "There is a problem, Lord Doku."
"What is it?" asked Doku.
"They are… they are gone." said Gamov. One wrong move and he'd lose his head.
"What?" said Doku, turning to him. The flames within his body seemed to flare with anger. "What do you mean gone? Were you not assigned to keep them watched?"
Gamov resisted the urge to take a step back. "They entered the Dworku Monastery and simply never came out. None of our observers reported it, and all the entryways were watched. As well as the entire length of the wall."
"Did you speak with the priests?" asked Doku.
"I did." said Gamov. "Illustain said that whatever had happened was surely by the will of the Vigoor Emperor. I think he may have something to do with it, but I am forbidden from interrogating-"
"You have failed me, Gamov." said Doku. "I overlooked your lineage with the understanding that you would be competent. Was that a mistake?"
Gamov gulped. "I assure you, Lord Doku. This will be only a minor hiccup. My men are already combing the surrounding towns for them. They cannot have gotten far.
"We are also working to find and seal the breach."
"You need not concern yourself with that." said Doku. "I already know where it is." He stalked past, but his voice carried back louder. "Find the girls. And do not make a mistake like this again."
"Of course, Master Doku." said Gamov. "There is something you should know, however."
Doku stopped and glanced back. The Dark Dragon Blade gleamed. "What is it?"
"The wielder of the Dragon Sword is still alive." said Gamov.
Doku turned around in full. "…Is he?
"I had thought this blade through the chest would finish him. But I suppose humans can be durable.
"What steps are being taken?"
"I decided that hunting him directly would be an inefficient use of resources." said Gamov. "Instead I have made arrangements for the CIA to give him free tickets to Tairon."
"…Is this an attempt at humor, Gamov?" asked Doku.
"Of course not." said Gamov. "If we sent out troops to hunt him down he'd go underground. And it would be difficult to maintain the masquerade indefinitely. The Dragon Sword is the only possible threat to a fully realized Dark Dragon Blade.
"This way we will know exactly where he will be.
"We need only intercept the airship in midflight and he will have nowhere to run. The Dragon Sword will then will be in our possession. It can then be destroyed when the Emperor comes into his own."
Doku nodded. "Very well then.
"Attend to the Dragon Ninja. I will carry out the search for the sisters myself."
"Shall I put troops at your disposal?" asked Gamov.
"I do not need them." said Doku flatly.
And he walked off.
Gamov had the feeling that Doku knew more than he let on. To an extent, all was going according to his plan. The Dark Dragon Blade required a fitting sacrifice to come into its true power. A mass bloodletting in the streets of Tairon by would-be wielders it would only make it more powerful. So long as Doku could make sure the Emperor kept the blade, he would only be stronger at the end of it.
Still, the serrated blade gave him the chills. Could the thing think? It seemed to be glaring at him.
It didn't matter. Gamov had a task of his own. He distanced himself from the honor guard and raised an untraceable phone. He made a call quickly. "Hello, this is Gamov. I'm calling about that package I sent you."
"Is it ready for pickup?" asked a familiar voice on the other end.
"Almost." said Gamov. "A large portion of the employees will be unavailable to process the package for the next week. They've got another package from our cousin to collect. We'll have to let ourselves in.
"It should be no trouble."
"Understood." said the voice. They hung up.
Gamov smiled. "I do so enjoy the delivery business."
Things were heating up now.
Author's Note:
We're never actually told how Ryu gets on that airship. But considering that he's in a guest room, it makes perfect sense for it to be as a guest. If so, he was allowed past with tickets. But if the Vigor Empire is so tyrannical, surely he'd have been killed right away.
So yeah, complicated explanations ensue. And an opportunity to include Iren Lew comes in.