Part two: The Blood Red River

Tanaka was an asshole, more now than ever.

Questioning him on my own, proved fruitful, if not chaotic. I sent Wolf on patrol that night, claiming that there was no need for the both of us to go when there were more crimes going on. He didn't completely buy it, but did as he was asked. God, I love the power of the vagina.

I must say, Tanaka was quite suprised by my appearence in his hotel room as he disrobed, pulled the shower curtain back, and found me sitting in his unfilled bathtub. As he shreiked and stumbled backward, I rose quickly and grabbed him. We spoke in chinese.

"Hello, Tanaka. Remember me?" I said, letting go of his arm and scooping up his kimono. I brushed the floor dirt off of it and tossed it at him.

"I wondered if that mysterious KnightShade that took out the Pit was actually Ms. Anna Maru," Tanaka said, holding the silk robe in front of his nether regions. "Now I know. How are you?"

"I'm not here to catch up on old times, Tanaka. You know why I'm here," I said as I shook my head. "And for Christ's sake, put the robe on."

"The Black Scorpion, huh? What, have they marked you too?" Tanaka asked as he threw the kimono over his shoulders and tied the waistband. "I shouldn't think they would have. You left before it happened."

"Before what happened? Jesus Christ, Tanaka, Shokonama's dead and I don't know what's going on."

"I know," he sighed, leaning against the sink. "Lon-Fei Cal's dead too. Suffocation. Horrible way to go. I'd hate to see what they've got planned for me."

I was stunned. Lon-Fei Cal was my ex-boyfriend's brother. The uncle to the dead fetus that spurned this mission of vengeance. Another close friend of mine gone, and I ignored his death. That weighed on what was left of my conscience.

"Why are they after you?" I asked, choking back those thoughts for the moment.

"Please, Anna, if you're here, you know why. They're a cult of ninja, I'm former lin kuei. It's really not much more complicated than that. Well, mostly."

"Mostly? Spill it," I smirked, patting my holster.

"Okay, okay. Here's the abridged version," he said, pacing slowly. "Shortly after you and your turncoat friends left the lin kuei, war broke out between the honorless ninja and our clan. We were winning, for the most part, until Oniro discovered a double agent. I do not recall his name, but the traitor was beaten relentlessly and left to die on the battlefield by your dead husband's sister, Min Mei. The lin kuei won the war, and we thought we decimated the entire ninja clan. We were wrong. I found out later about a secret project within the ninja ranks that... improved upon the warriors that volunteered."

"That sounds familiar," I mused.

"Oh, like you never made any mistakes."

"Mine never murdered and mutilated women's husbands."

"Can I continue?" he snapped. I nodded, and signaled for him to go on. "The project, which meant men and women undergoing hormone enhancement and quasi-steroid treatment to augment their fighting capability and raise their threshold for pain, was headed by a man named Wo-Pai Nung. There were six test subjects when the project finally bottomed out. As much as we tried looking for them, the so called 'Project: Black Scorpion' had completely disappeared. Now they've resurfaced and they're taking out those who defeated their clan. Shokonama and Cal were not the first and they will not be the last."

"They take out Oniro yet?"

"Not that I know of."

"Damn. Me, I woulda gotten him first. I still might, now that I think of it."

"I'll tell you where you can find him if you help me," he smiled.

"You're a coward, Tanaka. You're hiding from your enemies, you're begging for help from an another enemy, and you're willing to betray your sensei. What happened to you?"

"I grew up. Like it or not, Maru, the cowards are the smart ones. You ever hear the saying 'the meek shall inherit the earth?' Do you know why? The strong will destroy each other and leave everything to those who won't fight."

I was disgusted. So this is what the great lin kuei had become. Maybe I should let the Black Scorpion destroy the last remnants of the cult. I considered it for a moment, and also considered killing Tanaka myself. As tempting as the latter was, I could use him alive. For the moment.

"Give me Oniro's address, and the address of the Black Scorpion hideout. I know you have both," I said, walking closer to him. "And I'll let you live."

Being the coward Tanaka now was, he graciously agreed and scribbled the addresses on a piece of paper. Oniro lived in New York city, the owner of a hunan restaurant in Chinatown. I had been wanting a piece of the fuck who had ordered my husband killed, and now that I knew where he was hiding, I'd have to take a trip and pay a visit. But that was a project for a later date.

The Black Scorpion, if Tanaka gave me the right address, were residing in an abandoned warehouse in the old industrial district on the lower east side. Wolf and I would have to investigate later, after I met up with him again.

I bid Tanaka adieu and slipped out the window from whence I came. As I slid down the fire escape, I kept thinking about the things the coward told me. Genetically enhanced ninja? Taking five on at once was going to be bad enough, but turn them into Superman and I was really going to be in for some fun.

Although, my thoughts were jarred by the explosion. Then again, so was my whole body. I was thrown from the fire escape and seared by the jumping fireball before I heard the deafening "kaboom." After I landed on the hard concrete and cracked a couple ribs, I looked up to see the hotel building in flames, the strongest coming from the window I had just exited from.

Chalk another up for the Black Scorpion, I thought as I slowly blinked out of consciousness.

It was dark in my dream. Dark and confusing, lit only by the moon. I was naked, too, but shame did not effect me. Like Adam. I stumbled in the darkness, alone and without cause. There was a woman's voice calling out to me. I didn't recognize the voice but I knew I should. She sounded so loving and distressed, as if she was missing a part of herself and needed me to find peace. There was never any embodiment to the voice.

I remember falling. It is said that in dreams one cannot feel pain. I don't know who said this, but they never experienced this dream. I fell, for what seems like ages, through vines and thorns, scraping...clawing at me. As if I were sliding down an immense rose stem. When I landed, I felt as if I was bleeding out on to the hard ground. As I looked around me, I saw a literal river of blood, more blood than could have ever come from my body. I wade in the red flood up to my waist, not fully comprehending what was happening. The voice grew into a mournful wail, almost inhuman. She cried out to me, but I could never make out any words. My wounds continued to throb and pulse with each agonizing howl. It was as if with each scream, the stinging pain intensified. I tried to move through the river, but the current was against me and I soon got swept up in the undertow.

More pain.

I felt a great swell of pity for the voice. She needed me and I could do nothing for her. I was still adrift in the river, desperate and gasping for air in the swell of blood. I swallowed a mouthful of the red fluid, sputtered and choked. I groped for something to hold on to, to stop myself. I finally grabbed ahold of a rope dangling over me that I could swear wasn't there before. I didn't think too much about it and climbed on.

Then everything disappeared and I stumbled around in the darkness again. I was coated from head to toe in the blood from the river, and it had quite a black tint in the moonlight. The voice, like everything else save for the moon, was gone. I laid down, wearied from my ordeal, wearied from the pain, and wearied from my own personal failure. I remember weeping.

And dying.

I awoke in my bed, being shook slightly by Wolf. He had brought me out of harms way and tended to my wounds before wakening me, but the pain in my side still stabbed into me. I didn't know how long I had been out, but that dream didn't help anything. It was so realistic, so vivid.

So not mine.

It was Wolf's dream, the dream I saw in his head the first night I met him. So what was it doing in my head? So far, I'd been able to barely control my telepathy, but now I'd been invaded by this strange vision. I was at a loss, but I knew someone who wouldn't be. The man who gave me this gift, one of my best friends, Quinn.

But I couldn't worry about that now. Self preservation wasn't as important as tracking the Black Scorpion down. I tried to sit up, winced, fell back, and then tried again. I fought with myself for a moment, and then finally pulled myself together. Wolf offered me his hand, but I stood up on my own.

"Careful," he said, putting his hand on the small of my back gently. "You had one hell of a bump tonight. Care to tell me what happened?"

"They got Tanaka," I muttered, rubbing my temples. My head was killing me. "But not before I got an address."

"Good," he replied. "We'll go tomorrow, after you've recovered."

"No. I think they know that Tanaka was talking to someone. It has to be now or they might not be there when we show up."

"You're in no condition..."

"Look!" I yelled. "I'm not some damsel in distress and I'm not some goddamn shrinking violet! I don't need your protection."

"And I need your honesty, Anna!" he said, matching my volume. "There is more to this than you're telling me, and I want to know why."

"I'm going to find them tonight," I said, holstering my pistol and heading for the door. "With or without you."

"Look, I'm sorry. You're right. I know you can take care of yourself, but can you at least tell me what the hell is going on? How did you know Shokonama? Or Tanaka? What of this ninja?"

"I'll tell you when I get this straightened out," I said as I reached for my whip.

He sighed and looked around. He walked out into the living room, sat on the couch and started pulling on his boots.

"Okay," he called. "I'll go with you. But you have to promise you'll let me in on this little secret when it's all over."

"Yeah," I said. "I promise."

"Hey, can you grab my hairband from the bathroom? I don't want my hair getting in my face when I'm fighting these guys," he said, now standing in the doorway.

I nodded and headed into the bathroom. As I turned away from the door and grabbed the hair tie, I got a flash in my mind again. Danger.

Not fast enough. Before I knew it, the door slammed behind me. I ran to it, turning the knob and pushing my shoulder against it. Something blocked the door from the other side. My rage took over as I pounded on the door.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing, Wolf! Let me out!" I screamed, slamming my already aching side into the door.

"You're in no condition to fight, Anna! This was the only way I could convince you not to go. Now, I'm going to track these guys down for you, and I'm going to take care of them for you. And when I get back, I'll let you out."

I reached for my glock instinctively. Gone. This guy had to have been a pickpocket before he lost his memory. I punched the mirror, bruising a few knuckles as the glass shattered.

"You don't know these guys, Wolf, I do. I don't even know if I can handle them. I know if you go out there by yourself, you'll get your ass handed to you!"

No answer. The slam of a door. I punched the wall this time, and pain shot through my knuckles again. He's such an ass! He's brash, impulsive, spiteful....and now that I actually had time to realize it, just like me. I backed up against the wall and slid down. I sat cross-legged on the bathroom floor.

He was going to get himself killed. As skilled as he was in Jeet Kun Do, I knew there was no way in hell he could take on all five of these genetically enhanced ninja. I harbored no ill will toward him, only worry that he too was going to join those I could not save in the land of the dead. If I had told him everything to begin with, I wouldn't be locked in the bathroom at that moment. I blamed myself. And I was going to have alot of time to think about it.

END OF PART TWO.