Isle of the Turtle Hermit
Chapter 1: Caribbean Paradise
"One, two..." she quietly counted to herself. "Ready, go." With that she took off in a sprint; the door was closing fast. She pushed off with her feet and slid through the narrow gap. The entrance closed behind her but she didn't have long to dawdle as metal spikes started to protrude from the sides. She flipped several times and jumped over the hole in the ground. Immediately as she landed she pulled out her guns. A dark figure arose from the side and she targeted and fired while running forward.
"Oof," she muttered as she tripped over a rock. She barely had time to roll away as a spike came down right where she had been previously. Standing up she fired both her guns. Once the dust cleared there wasn't an enemy in sight. She cautiously moved forward, looking side to side and pointing her guns. Suddenly she heard a noise behind her and she turned around ready to shoot.
"Don't shoot me!" shouted Hilary with his silver tray blocking his face.
"You could have been killed," she remarked putting her guns away.
He let out a big sigh of relief. "That was close," he said.
"You know better than to come in here when I'm training," she said.
His eyes bugged out a little. "I'm assuming live fire?"
She nodded. That made him feel faint. "I think I need to lie down," he said. They both walked out of the training room. "Oh, I almost forgot. There's a phone call for you."
"I'll take it in my study," she said and walked off.
"It's someone named Morrigan!" he yelled after her. She didn't respond.
She spent a lot of time in her study. It contained many of her research books and very comfy couches. It was also a place where she and her father spent many afternoons in. The room had a great big bay window looking out into a lush green scenery from the second floor.
"Hello?" she said through the phone.
"Ms. Briefs?" said the male voice. "I've heard some interesting stories about you lately."
"Oh, and you would be?" she asked although she already knew who it was.
The voice laughed. "Oh, forgive me. My name is Morrigan. You have already heard of me," he stated, not asked.
She remembered the encounter on the boat very well. "There seems to be some static on the line. It's a bit hard to understand you," she set the bait.
"Damn cell phone companies, eh? They promise you crystal clear calls and what do you get. Heh, ha."
"It's not so much static, your voice seems a bit muffled like you are trying to disguise your voice," she said flat out. There was a short silence on the other end.
"Why would I be doing that? You already know who I am," the voice said, a bit of nervousness creeping in.
She looked out the window at the sky; it looked like rain. "Yes, I do, but at the moment I am unsure of your gender," she said with a certain playfulness in her tone.
The caller coughed. "Can't you tell? I'm a male, obviously," he said but it came out sounding like a lame excuse.
"All right. We can play this little game of yours, if you want," she replied. By the sound the other person was not pleased at the way the conversation was going.
"Ms. Briefs, I'm going to cut down to the chase here. The reason that I called was that I am interested in hiring you. There's no reason for us to compete with each other. I think we can help each other in this quest and have both of us reap the rewards of the prize. How 'bout it?"
She thought for a moment. It was definitely a twist in her plan. Never had she expected for Morrigan to propose a joint venture. Of course, he or she would stab her in the back at the last second as all bad guys do in these kind of situations. But to pretend to be on his side for a while would make parts of her trip easier and perhaps she could squeeze some important information out of him, too.
"Fine, but before I fully accept your generous offer I'm going to need all the information you have on this mission so that we're both on the same level," she stated her conditions.
After a momentary pause he answered, "Agreed, but the same goes for you too, Ms. Briefs."
"By fax?" she asked. He agreed and gave her the number. Within minutes both had each other's documents.
"Hilary?" she called for her butler. He came over quickly. "Did you book the flight yet?"
"Yes, you leave in two days to Jamaica," he said.
"I'm also going to need a--"
"--a boat? Already done. The captain's name is Calgary and the ship is called The Sweetness. He'll be waiting for you at the airport. I've also called the hotel and they have a lovely set of native dresses, just your size by the way, waiting for you in your room and a native tour guide who'll journey with you wherever you go as long as the price is right. Did I cover everything?"
She smiled brightly. "Yes, thank you very much."
"Glad to be of service," he said smugly and returned to his other household duties.
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The next day...
Bulma got the results back from the lab technicians. They dated her recent find to within a decade or two. The year came as no surprise but the material it was made out of did. The plate only had trace amounts of bronze, which actually was made of a couple of different elements itself. The compounds were mostly unknown. Most civilizations during that time period regularly used similar mixtures and so it could be assumed that this plate was from none of those societies.
'Maybe it wasn't made a group of people but one person,' she speculated, flipping the plate back and forth. 'Or even a group of people that have yet to be discovered. There's always that myth of Atlantis. No one has found their society yet. But that story was so farfetched, there had to be another explanation.'
She picked up the faxed documents from yesterday. Apparently, Morrigan found another artifact similar to the one she was holding right now in the Mediterranean. The two plates together told the whole story:
? Bring forth the eternal dragon, he who holds the power of the seven mystical orbs. ? But beware of the ancient curse, that block thee way and lead to certain death. ? For although the orbs grant thee one wish, one must prove himself worthy first. ? Seek the turtle hermit for the way, but be warned danger lies ahead.
There were some extraneous markings, which could be numbers or names of places. She would have to study them more at a later time. For now, she took some photographs of the artifact so she can use it during the trip then put it away in a secured spot. Next she went to her room and began to pack.
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A raven-haired woman sat in her office quietly going over the new information on her desk. She sat back in her chair and let out a frustrated sigh. The information she was searching for wasn't in these documents either. But it had to be on that other plate Ms. Briefs held, unless that bitch was holding something back from her. Well, then she would just have to get that plate from her and examine it herself.
They were now partners but that didn't mean she had to play nice. Besides, Ms. Briefs wouldn't have to know it was her doing. She was clever though, maybe too clever for her own good. Already she suspected that 'Morrigan' was a female name. Most of her cronies were too stupid to figure it out or to even think of that. Not even the authorities suspected the truth, which was how she had been able to elude them for so long.
The phone rang. It was one of her many associates on the line. "I have a new assignment for you. I need you to get the artifact from Ms. Briefs, silently," she told him then she hung up. They better not screw up this time, she thought.
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Sometime during the night...
There were no lights on inside the Capsule Mansion. Not even the moon was shining that night. It was so dark that not even a passerby could spot the black figure scaling the perimeter wall that surrounded the main house. He jumped down on the other side and quietly proceeded toward the house. His infrared goggles showed no signs of guard dogs. So far, so good.
He had blueprints to the house but had very little information on what each room was. So instead he decided to use some logic. The artifact would most likely be in the center of the house, perhaps even underneath the house. The plans didn't show any basement but that doesn't mean Ms. Briefs didn't have one; she may just have neglected to tell anyone about it.
Breaking into the house was easier than he had thought, but then again he was a master thief. There probably wasn't a security code in the universe he couldn't break. He entered room after room until he accidentally stumbled onto an occupied one. It was the butler. That gave him an idea.
"Wake-ee, up-ee," he whispered shaking the man semi-violently. Hilary woke with his eyes wide open and a look of panic clearly showing through. Unfortunately a gun pointed at his head prevented him from causing a ruckus.
"Show me where the artifact is," the villain ordered. The two exited the bedroom and began the slow trek down the hallway as the floorboards had a tendency to squeak every now and then. The artifact was stored on the basement floor, unfortunately it was sealed shut and the poor butler had no knowledge of the passcode. "Your usefulness has passed," he explained and clunked him on the head knocking him unconscious. Then he unloaded his pack and drew out his tools.
By casual glance the codebox looked nothing spectacular, a simple 4-number code which could be easily bypassed. He hooked the box to a machine and it figured out the code within seconds.
"ACCESS DENIED," said a computer voice.
"What?!" he exclaimed, confused. His machine was infallible. The code had to be correct. Next he picked up a screwdriver and pried open the box to get a look at the wiring beneath it. It led nowhere. "Damn, she tricked me." The codebox was a fake, a dummy, an illusion...
"I'm afraid this door is voice activated," she explained as she walked up behind him with her guns pointed directly at his head. He felt the cold tip of the guns all too well and thus slowly got up off the floor with his hands raised.
"How did you know I was here?" he asked as he was being led up the stairs to the first floor.
"Silent alarm," was all she said and she raised her arm to hit him on the head but at the last second he moved.
"You won't get me that easy, love," he said tossing a capsule to the floor. It exploded causing a huge billow of smoke to rise. She coughed at the noxious smell and tried to get her bearings. By the time the smoke cleared the intruder was gone. She quickly went back downstairs to check on Hilary. He was okay except for a little bruise on the head. She told him to go back to bed and rest.
Their house doctor came the next day to check on him. He stubbornly refused to be checked on and kept trying to get back to his duties. It was after some fighting and arguing that they got him to sit still long enough for the good doctor to do a thorough check.
"He seems just fine. A little stubborn, perhaps, but physically he's okay, although I would recommend some bed rest but I have a feeling he won't listen to me," said the doctor and left.
"Now, are you going to be okay while I'm away," asked Bulma, who was extremely worried for his safety. She had even gone to the step of calling a private security guard to patrol the grounds at night.
"Don't worry your little head about me. Go and enjoy. I'm sure you'll be in more danger than I," he said and shooed her out the roof and onto the helipad.
"Take care of yourself," she said before the helicopter took off for the airport. They waved goodbye.
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"Uhh," he began.
She stared at him through narrow slits. "Let me guess," her voice low and thunderous. "You didn't get the artifact." He merely nodded. She threw a paperweight at his head. "Idiot!" she shouted.
She sat back in her chair to contemplate her next move. Obviously Zane had failed in his task. The man was a moron anyways. She thought even he would be able to do this simple assignment but perhaps she had underestimated Ms. Briefs. Pressing a button on her telephone she called for her top henchmen. She had a feeling she was going to need it.
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A dark figure crouched some distance away from the general crowd carefully monitoring everyone's movements. He looked down at the photo and located the person he was searching for. At the moment the person was surrounded by a couple of friends and so he waited. An hour passed and now that person was alone. Quietly he followed behind taking note of every behavior and gesture.
The person apparently decided to take a shortcut through some narrow alleys. The dark figure was trailing behind and once he thought no one was watching he pulled out his silencer and popped the person in the back of the head. The victim never even knew what happened. Immediately after he dragged the body into a nearby dumpster and cleaned up any residual mess.
Mission accomplished.
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The plane trip was uneventful for the most part. The passenger next to her tried to initiate small talk but before that person could open his mouth she promptly put on her headphones and listened to some grunge rock. He quickly got the idea that she did not wish to be disturbed. The plane experienced some turbulence but nothing serious. She had been in worse situations than that.
She remembered couple of years ago when she flew down to Antarctica, the pilot ran into some trouble with the currents and their plane ended up crashing down on the icy ground. Fortunately she had managed to jump out before the crash. The pilot and couple of other passengers did not. She wasn't sure if it was sheer luck or skill that was keeping her alive but whatever it was she hoped she never lose it.
Everyone around her began shifting. They were about to land, she guessed and fastened her seatbelt. She looked out her tiny window and was partially in awe. It had been awhile since she'd been in a tropical environment. The last few places she'd been were an underwater cave, frozen tundra, and Indian snake pits, don't ask.
Reaching up she grabbed her one and only carry-on and slung it across one shoulder.
"Excuse me," someone said as the woman hurried passed Bulma. Unfortunately Bulma couldn't move to the side fast enough and they bumped slightly into each other. The woman dropped a couple of documents.
"Let me help you with those," Bulma offered but the woman violently shook her head.
"No, no. I got it," she replied snatching them up as if they were pieces of gold. That caused Bulma to be a little suspicious. She peered down at the papers but the only thing she saw was the word 'dragon.' The woman was already moving down the line before she could get another word out.
'Could she be somehow connected to this?' thought Bulma thinking of the plate she had just translated.
When she finally got out onto the meeting area the mysterious woman was gone. She looked around and noticed a young man waving at her. He walked toward her.
"Ms. Briefs?"
"Yes," she replied.
He took out his hand. "Nice to meet you. I'm Yamcha. I'll be your tour guide," he announced. She shook his hand politely and asked to be escorted to her hotel room.
"Wasn't the Captain suppose to meet me here?" she inquired as they hailed a vehicle.
The young man explained that the Captain had come down with a slight cold and so he stayed in bed today. She was worried whether he would be able to man the boat but he reassured her that the cold was not serious and that the Captain should be all well by tomorrow. When they reached the hotel he gave her a number where he could be reached and said he would be back later to check on her and give her a tour of the town if she wished.
"Thank you," she said and shut the door. She looked around the room and found a nice spot to sit down. After pulling out all her things from her backpack she set to work. Half an hour later she decided to plug in her laptop for extra information.
First she tried searching for any information on the myth of the turtle hermit but the search brought zero results. A lot of myths around here were spread by word of mouth so it was possible that the story never got written down anywhere. So then she tried deciphering the other marks on the artifact. The photocopies had been blown up to show more detail. The marks could be numbers like coordinates on a map. She tried checking to see if the numbers matched up with any known landmark. Nothing turned up though. Then she thought maybe it was a code or password but that would be hard to verify. After working on it for hours she decided to take a break and get some fresh air.
The hotel had a courtesy vehicle that took her into the heart of the city. Before she had left though she remembered to change her clothes to more native gear. It matched her figure perfectly. She could almost fit in with everyone else except for the fact she insisted on wearing her sunglasses.
"Pretty lady! Pretty lady need pretty necklace!" a shopkeeper yelled out. She tilted her head and walked up to the stall.
With a smile she asked, "So what are you selling?"
He smiled back broadly. "Ah, pretty lady. I have many things, pretty things. You like?" he pulled out a necklace and presented it to her. She wasn't really the jewelry-wearing type but she suppose couple of souvenirs couldn't hurt. She tried it on and asked for the price.
"For you, pretty lady, only 500 American dollars," he said proudly.
She raised an eyebrow. Actually she wasn't an American but she let that slide by. "Here's 10," she said.
"Oh no, but this is fine necklace. Very expensive. Very rare. 100 dollars," he bargained.
She reached into her purse and took out some cash. "Twenty dollars, my final offer," she said. "Plus I want that turtle pin."
He looked back to where she was pointing and paused. "Okay, okay. You hard sell. I have wife and 7 kids. They work so hard to make this," he told her after giving her the pin.
She pulled out an extra bill. "Here, 25 and no more."
"Ah, thank you, lovely goddess. May you have blessing from the sky," he said his arms flaying out. She rolled her eyes but still had a bright smile on her face. That was most enjoyable even though she had just been ripped off. The stalls targeted her also but she passed by them without purchasing anything. But one of the stalls on the other end peaked her interest. The man was selling turtle souvenirs. She pointed to one of them and asked what it was.
"That is a charm. Brings you good luck. It's from the actual back of the turtle hermit," he explained. She looked skeptical.
"How much?"
"Very rare," he told her. "80 dollars."
"50."
"65," he said.
"60," she said and he agreed. Although she was probably overpaying the object was intricately carved.
Back at the hotel she hopped into the tub to relax. She held up the turtle charm. The man at the booth told her of the legend of the turtle hermit. The plot varied slightly from her butler's version but still said that the hermit lived on an island off to the east. Supposedly this charm piece came off of the hermit's shell as he was fleeing the village or something like that. The story seemed farfetched especially since after she left he secretly pulled out another one exactly like this one and put it on display. She had gone about and inquired quite a few people about the legend but they basically told her the same thing she already knew. There was a local library around here so she decided to check that out later today or early tomorrow.
Thump.
Her head perked up immediately as she heard that sound. Was someone in her room? She started getting suspicious for what she did could become dangerous business so she always tried to be on alert. Thankfully she had her guns nearby; she wrapped herself in a huge towel and quietly left the bathroom. She was in a short hallway which led out to the living space of the hotel room. From her position she detected a slight shadow moving away from her. Silently she stalked it until a face could be placed with that shadow.
Her guns clicked once and she was ready to fire with deadly seriousness in her eyes. "Ahh! Hold it! Don't shoot!" the male voice screamed.
She didn't lower her arms or lose her focus. "What are you doing in my room?" she asked, her voice low but firm.
"Hey, remember I said I'd come back later to check on you. The door was already open so I decided to check it out," explained Yamcha. The room was a mess, papers strewn everywhere. It seemed she had been raided. Fortunately the 'burglars' didn't get anything important since she was looking at those papers in the tub.
"Uh, could you...?"
She looked at him then put her guns away. Next she went toward the door to check for any forced entry. Yamcha made a couple of strange sounds and turned away.
"Ah, maybe you should get dressed first," he told her, refusing to look in her general direction.
His reaction amused her. "Why do I have the feeling you're blushing?" she teased. She was proud of her body, not that she would go around and show it to everyone publicly but at the moment nothing was even being shown. He was at a loss of words and still seemed ill at ease so she went into the private bedroom to dress.
"Is this better?" she asked him as she came back out. He nodded with a sigh of relief. She was unsure how to judge his reaction. Most men she'd ever met would've jumped at the chance to be near her in just her bath towel. A part of her couldn't help but admire his shyness.
"So what happened here?" he asked. She shrugged. The door was free of any marks or scratches leading her to believe the intruder had an access key or perhaps stole one from the hotel staff. It took the two about an hour to clean up the mess and get the room back to orderly shape.
"How's the Captain doing?" she asked some time later.
"He's doing better. He said he'd be ready to sail as early as tomorrow morning," he told her then changed the subject. "Are you sure it's safe for you to stay here tonight?"
"Why?" she began with bitter sarcasm. "Would you like to keep me company?"
He actually shook his head. That took her back for a moment. She had been sure that was a come-on.
"I was thinking that I would stay outside your door just in case anyone tried to break in again," he explained, unaware of her surprise.
"Uh, that's okay. I can handle myself," she finally said after a somewhat long pause. He nodded understandingly and left her alone. She sat down on the couch; she needed time to think for a second or two.
'He is kinda cute,' her mind said directly. She tried to push those obtrusive thoughts out of her head but the more she tried the more she found herself thinking about him.
"This is just business," she said to herself. "Merely business. Nothing else. Why do I not believe myself?"
Rather than continuing those thoughts she decided to go back out again, this time to the local library. It was just a one-room building, sparsely filled with more reference books than fictional ones. The librarian was a stout, middle age man with dark brown skin slightly wrinkled from being out in the sun. She looked on the shelf where the librarian had pointed out but found that the book was missing. Looking around she noticed another person in the room.
Bulma stepped back in surprise. It was that woman from the plane and she had the book Bulma wanted. Her suspicions grew further. She pretended to browse through the other books while keeping tabs on that woman. Half an hour later the woman left leaving the book on the reading table. Bulma casually went over and sat down.
Looking through the book she found couple of pencil marks. The book itself wasn't very interesting. Most of the facts she already knew but one thing that did seem important was the vague reference to ancient numerology. She quickly jotted down the notes. Maybe these would help her interpret the rest of the two plates.
Chapter 1: Caribbean Paradise
"One, two..." she quietly counted to herself. "Ready, go." With that she took off in a sprint; the door was closing fast. She pushed off with her feet and slid through the narrow gap. The entrance closed behind her but she didn't have long to dawdle as metal spikes started to protrude from the sides. She flipped several times and jumped over the hole in the ground. Immediately as she landed she pulled out her guns. A dark figure arose from the side and she targeted and fired while running forward.
"Oof," she muttered as she tripped over a rock. She barely had time to roll away as a spike came down right where she had been previously. Standing up she fired both her guns. Once the dust cleared there wasn't an enemy in sight. She cautiously moved forward, looking side to side and pointing her guns. Suddenly she heard a noise behind her and she turned around ready to shoot.
"Don't shoot me!" shouted Hilary with his silver tray blocking his face.
"You could have been killed," she remarked putting her guns away.
He let out a big sigh of relief. "That was close," he said.
"You know better than to come in here when I'm training," she said.
His eyes bugged out a little. "I'm assuming live fire?"
She nodded. That made him feel faint. "I think I need to lie down," he said. They both walked out of the training room. "Oh, I almost forgot. There's a phone call for you."
"I'll take it in my study," she said and walked off.
"It's someone named Morrigan!" he yelled after her. She didn't respond.
She spent a lot of time in her study. It contained many of her research books and very comfy couches. It was also a place where she and her father spent many afternoons in. The room had a great big bay window looking out into a lush green scenery from the second floor.
"Hello?" she said through the phone.
"Ms. Briefs?" said the male voice. "I've heard some interesting stories about you lately."
"Oh, and you would be?" she asked although she already knew who it was.
The voice laughed. "Oh, forgive me. My name is Morrigan. You have already heard of me," he stated, not asked.
She remembered the encounter on the boat very well. "There seems to be some static on the line. It's a bit hard to understand you," she set the bait.
"Damn cell phone companies, eh? They promise you crystal clear calls and what do you get. Heh, ha."
"It's not so much static, your voice seems a bit muffled like you are trying to disguise your voice," she said flat out. There was a short silence on the other end.
"Why would I be doing that? You already know who I am," the voice said, a bit of nervousness creeping in.
She looked out the window at the sky; it looked like rain. "Yes, I do, but at the moment I am unsure of your gender," she said with a certain playfulness in her tone.
The caller coughed. "Can't you tell? I'm a male, obviously," he said but it came out sounding like a lame excuse.
"All right. We can play this little game of yours, if you want," she replied. By the sound the other person was not pleased at the way the conversation was going.
"Ms. Briefs, I'm going to cut down to the chase here. The reason that I called was that I am interested in hiring you. There's no reason for us to compete with each other. I think we can help each other in this quest and have both of us reap the rewards of the prize. How 'bout it?"
She thought for a moment. It was definitely a twist in her plan. Never had she expected for Morrigan to propose a joint venture. Of course, he or she would stab her in the back at the last second as all bad guys do in these kind of situations. But to pretend to be on his side for a while would make parts of her trip easier and perhaps she could squeeze some important information out of him, too.
"Fine, but before I fully accept your generous offer I'm going to need all the information you have on this mission so that we're both on the same level," she stated her conditions.
After a momentary pause he answered, "Agreed, but the same goes for you too, Ms. Briefs."
"By fax?" she asked. He agreed and gave her the number. Within minutes both had each other's documents.
"Hilary?" she called for her butler. He came over quickly. "Did you book the flight yet?"
"Yes, you leave in two days to Jamaica," he said.
"I'm also going to need a--"
"--a boat? Already done. The captain's name is Calgary and the ship is called The Sweetness. He'll be waiting for you at the airport. I've also called the hotel and they have a lovely set of native dresses, just your size by the way, waiting for you in your room and a native tour guide who'll journey with you wherever you go as long as the price is right. Did I cover everything?"
She smiled brightly. "Yes, thank you very much."
"Glad to be of service," he said smugly and returned to his other household duties.
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The next day...
Bulma got the results back from the lab technicians. They dated her recent find to within a decade or two. The year came as no surprise but the material it was made out of did. The plate only had trace amounts of bronze, which actually was made of a couple of different elements itself. The compounds were mostly unknown. Most civilizations during that time period regularly used similar mixtures and so it could be assumed that this plate was from none of those societies.
'Maybe it wasn't made a group of people but one person,' she speculated, flipping the plate back and forth. 'Or even a group of people that have yet to be discovered. There's always that myth of Atlantis. No one has found their society yet. But that story was so farfetched, there had to be another explanation.'
She picked up the faxed documents from yesterday. Apparently, Morrigan found another artifact similar to the one she was holding right now in the Mediterranean. The two plates together told the whole story:
? Bring forth the eternal dragon, he who holds the power of the seven mystical orbs. ? But beware of the ancient curse, that block thee way and lead to certain death. ? For although the orbs grant thee one wish, one must prove himself worthy first. ? Seek the turtle hermit for the way, but be warned danger lies ahead.
There were some extraneous markings, which could be numbers or names of places. She would have to study them more at a later time. For now, she took some photographs of the artifact so she can use it during the trip then put it away in a secured spot. Next she went to her room and began to pack.
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A raven-haired woman sat in her office quietly going over the new information on her desk. She sat back in her chair and let out a frustrated sigh. The information she was searching for wasn't in these documents either. But it had to be on that other plate Ms. Briefs held, unless that bitch was holding something back from her. Well, then she would just have to get that plate from her and examine it herself.
They were now partners but that didn't mean she had to play nice. Besides, Ms. Briefs wouldn't have to know it was her doing. She was clever though, maybe too clever for her own good. Already she suspected that 'Morrigan' was a female name. Most of her cronies were too stupid to figure it out or to even think of that. Not even the authorities suspected the truth, which was how she had been able to elude them for so long.
The phone rang. It was one of her many associates on the line. "I have a new assignment for you. I need you to get the artifact from Ms. Briefs, silently," she told him then she hung up. They better not screw up this time, she thought.
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Sometime during the night...
There were no lights on inside the Capsule Mansion. Not even the moon was shining that night. It was so dark that not even a passerby could spot the black figure scaling the perimeter wall that surrounded the main house. He jumped down on the other side and quietly proceeded toward the house. His infrared goggles showed no signs of guard dogs. So far, so good.
He had blueprints to the house but had very little information on what each room was. So instead he decided to use some logic. The artifact would most likely be in the center of the house, perhaps even underneath the house. The plans didn't show any basement but that doesn't mean Ms. Briefs didn't have one; she may just have neglected to tell anyone about it.
Breaking into the house was easier than he had thought, but then again he was a master thief. There probably wasn't a security code in the universe he couldn't break. He entered room after room until he accidentally stumbled onto an occupied one. It was the butler. That gave him an idea.
"Wake-ee, up-ee," he whispered shaking the man semi-violently. Hilary woke with his eyes wide open and a look of panic clearly showing through. Unfortunately a gun pointed at his head prevented him from causing a ruckus.
"Show me where the artifact is," the villain ordered. The two exited the bedroom and began the slow trek down the hallway as the floorboards had a tendency to squeak every now and then. The artifact was stored on the basement floor, unfortunately it was sealed shut and the poor butler had no knowledge of the passcode. "Your usefulness has passed," he explained and clunked him on the head knocking him unconscious. Then he unloaded his pack and drew out his tools.
By casual glance the codebox looked nothing spectacular, a simple 4-number code which could be easily bypassed. He hooked the box to a machine and it figured out the code within seconds.
"ACCESS DENIED," said a computer voice.
"What?!" he exclaimed, confused. His machine was infallible. The code had to be correct. Next he picked up a screwdriver and pried open the box to get a look at the wiring beneath it. It led nowhere. "Damn, she tricked me." The codebox was a fake, a dummy, an illusion...
"I'm afraid this door is voice activated," she explained as she walked up behind him with her guns pointed directly at his head. He felt the cold tip of the guns all too well and thus slowly got up off the floor with his hands raised.
"How did you know I was here?" he asked as he was being led up the stairs to the first floor.
"Silent alarm," was all she said and she raised her arm to hit him on the head but at the last second he moved.
"You won't get me that easy, love," he said tossing a capsule to the floor. It exploded causing a huge billow of smoke to rise. She coughed at the noxious smell and tried to get her bearings. By the time the smoke cleared the intruder was gone. She quickly went back downstairs to check on Hilary. He was okay except for a little bruise on the head. She told him to go back to bed and rest.
Their house doctor came the next day to check on him. He stubbornly refused to be checked on and kept trying to get back to his duties. It was after some fighting and arguing that they got him to sit still long enough for the good doctor to do a thorough check.
"He seems just fine. A little stubborn, perhaps, but physically he's okay, although I would recommend some bed rest but I have a feeling he won't listen to me," said the doctor and left.
"Now, are you going to be okay while I'm away," asked Bulma, who was extremely worried for his safety. She had even gone to the step of calling a private security guard to patrol the grounds at night.
"Don't worry your little head about me. Go and enjoy. I'm sure you'll be in more danger than I," he said and shooed her out the roof and onto the helipad.
"Take care of yourself," she said before the helicopter took off for the airport. They waved goodbye.
---------
"Uhh," he began.
She stared at him through narrow slits. "Let me guess," her voice low and thunderous. "You didn't get the artifact." He merely nodded. She threw a paperweight at his head. "Idiot!" she shouted.
She sat back in her chair to contemplate her next move. Obviously Zane had failed in his task. The man was a moron anyways. She thought even he would be able to do this simple assignment but perhaps she had underestimated Ms. Briefs. Pressing a button on her telephone she called for her top henchmen. She had a feeling she was going to need it.
---------
A dark figure crouched some distance away from the general crowd carefully monitoring everyone's movements. He looked down at the photo and located the person he was searching for. At the moment the person was surrounded by a couple of friends and so he waited. An hour passed and now that person was alone. Quietly he followed behind taking note of every behavior and gesture.
The person apparently decided to take a shortcut through some narrow alleys. The dark figure was trailing behind and once he thought no one was watching he pulled out his silencer and popped the person in the back of the head. The victim never even knew what happened. Immediately after he dragged the body into a nearby dumpster and cleaned up any residual mess.
Mission accomplished.
---------
The plane trip was uneventful for the most part. The passenger next to her tried to initiate small talk but before that person could open his mouth she promptly put on her headphones and listened to some grunge rock. He quickly got the idea that she did not wish to be disturbed. The plane experienced some turbulence but nothing serious. She had been in worse situations than that.
She remembered couple of years ago when she flew down to Antarctica, the pilot ran into some trouble with the currents and their plane ended up crashing down on the icy ground. Fortunately she had managed to jump out before the crash. The pilot and couple of other passengers did not. She wasn't sure if it was sheer luck or skill that was keeping her alive but whatever it was she hoped she never lose it.
Everyone around her began shifting. They were about to land, she guessed and fastened her seatbelt. She looked out her tiny window and was partially in awe. It had been awhile since she'd been in a tropical environment. The last few places she'd been were an underwater cave, frozen tundra, and Indian snake pits, don't ask.
Reaching up she grabbed her one and only carry-on and slung it across one shoulder.
"Excuse me," someone said as the woman hurried passed Bulma. Unfortunately Bulma couldn't move to the side fast enough and they bumped slightly into each other. The woman dropped a couple of documents.
"Let me help you with those," Bulma offered but the woman violently shook her head.
"No, no. I got it," she replied snatching them up as if they were pieces of gold. That caused Bulma to be a little suspicious. She peered down at the papers but the only thing she saw was the word 'dragon.' The woman was already moving down the line before she could get another word out.
'Could she be somehow connected to this?' thought Bulma thinking of the plate she had just translated.
When she finally got out onto the meeting area the mysterious woman was gone. She looked around and noticed a young man waving at her. He walked toward her.
"Ms. Briefs?"
"Yes," she replied.
He took out his hand. "Nice to meet you. I'm Yamcha. I'll be your tour guide," he announced. She shook his hand politely and asked to be escorted to her hotel room.
"Wasn't the Captain suppose to meet me here?" she inquired as they hailed a vehicle.
The young man explained that the Captain had come down with a slight cold and so he stayed in bed today. She was worried whether he would be able to man the boat but he reassured her that the cold was not serious and that the Captain should be all well by tomorrow. When they reached the hotel he gave her a number where he could be reached and said he would be back later to check on her and give her a tour of the town if she wished.
"Thank you," she said and shut the door. She looked around the room and found a nice spot to sit down. After pulling out all her things from her backpack she set to work. Half an hour later she decided to plug in her laptop for extra information.
First she tried searching for any information on the myth of the turtle hermit but the search brought zero results. A lot of myths around here were spread by word of mouth so it was possible that the story never got written down anywhere. So then she tried deciphering the other marks on the artifact. The photocopies had been blown up to show more detail. The marks could be numbers like coordinates on a map. She tried checking to see if the numbers matched up with any known landmark. Nothing turned up though. Then she thought maybe it was a code or password but that would be hard to verify. After working on it for hours she decided to take a break and get some fresh air.
The hotel had a courtesy vehicle that took her into the heart of the city. Before she had left though she remembered to change her clothes to more native gear. It matched her figure perfectly. She could almost fit in with everyone else except for the fact she insisted on wearing her sunglasses.
"Pretty lady! Pretty lady need pretty necklace!" a shopkeeper yelled out. She tilted her head and walked up to the stall.
With a smile she asked, "So what are you selling?"
He smiled back broadly. "Ah, pretty lady. I have many things, pretty things. You like?" he pulled out a necklace and presented it to her. She wasn't really the jewelry-wearing type but she suppose couple of souvenirs couldn't hurt. She tried it on and asked for the price.
"For you, pretty lady, only 500 American dollars," he said proudly.
She raised an eyebrow. Actually she wasn't an American but she let that slide by. "Here's 10," she said.
"Oh no, but this is fine necklace. Very expensive. Very rare. 100 dollars," he bargained.
She reached into her purse and took out some cash. "Twenty dollars, my final offer," she said. "Plus I want that turtle pin."
He looked back to where she was pointing and paused. "Okay, okay. You hard sell. I have wife and 7 kids. They work so hard to make this," he told her after giving her the pin.
She pulled out an extra bill. "Here, 25 and no more."
"Ah, thank you, lovely goddess. May you have blessing from the sky," he said his arms flaying out. She rolled her eyes but still had a bright smile on her face. That was most enjoyable even though she had just been ripped off. The stalls targeted her also but she passed by them without purchasing anything. But one of the stalls on the other end peaked her interest. The man was selling turtle souvenirs. She pointed to one of them and asked what it was.
"That is a charm. Brings you good luck. It's from the actual back of the turtle hermit," he explained. She looked skeptical.
"How much?"
"Very rare," he told her. "80 dollars."
"50."
"65," he said.
"60," she said and he agreed. Although she was probably overpaying the object was intricately carved.
Back at the hotel she hopped into the tub to relax. She held up the turtle charm. The man at the booth told her of the legend of the turtle hermit. The plot varied slightly from her butler's version but still said that the hermit lived on an island off to the east. Supposedly this charm piece came off of the hermit's shell as he was fleeing the village or something like that. The story seemed farfetched especially since after she left he secretly pulled out another one exactly like this one and put it on display. She had gone about and inquired quite a few people about the legend but they basically told her the same thing she already knew. There was a local library around here so she decided to check that out later today or early tomorrow.
Thump.
Her head perked up immediately as she heard that sound. Was someone in her room? She started getting suspicious for what she did could become dangerous business so she always tried to be on alert. Thankfully she had her guns nearby; she wrapped herself in a huge towel and quietly left the bathroom. She was in a short hallway which led out to the living space of the hotel room. From her position she detected a slight shadow moving away from her. Silently she stalked it until a face could be placed with that shadow.
Her guns clicked once and she was ready to fire with deadly seriousness in her eyes. "Ahh! Hold it! Don't shoot!" the male voice screamed.
She didn't lower her arms or lose her focus. "What are you doing in my room?" she asked, her voice low but firm.
"Hey, remember I said I'd come back later to check on you. The door was already open so I decided to check it out," explained Yamcha. The room was a mess, papers strewn everywhere. It seemed she had been raided. Fortunately the 'burglars' didn't get anything important since she was looking at those papers in the tub.
"Uh, could you...?"
She looked at him then put her guns away. Next she went toward the door to check for any forced entry. Yamcha made a couple of strange sounds and turned away.
"Ah, maybe you should get dressed first," he told her, refusing to look in her general direction.
His reaction amused her. "Why do I have the feeling you're blushing?" she teased. She was proud of her body, not that she would go around and show it to everyone publicly but at the moment nothing was even being shown. He was at a loss of words and still seemed ill at ease so she went into the private bedroom to dress.
"Is this better?" she asked him as she came back out. He nodded with a sigh of relief. She was unsure how to judge his reaction. Most men she'd ever met would've jumped at the chance to be near her in just her bath towel. A part of her couldn't help but admire his shyness.
"So what happened here?" he asked. She shrugged. The door was free of any marks or scratches leading her to believe the intruder had an access key or perhaps stole one from the hotel staff. It took the two about an hour to clean up the mess and get the room back to orderly shape.
"How's the Captain doing?" she asked some time later.
"He's doing better. He said he'd be ready to sail as early as tomorrow morning," he told her then changed the subject. "Are you sure it's safe for you to stay here tonight?"
"Why?" she began with bitter sarcasm. "Would you like to keep me company?"
He actually shook his head. That took her back for a moment. She had been sure that was a come-on.
"I was thinking that I would stay outside your door just in case anyone tried to break in again," he explained, unaware of her surprise.
"Uh, that's okay. I can handle myself," she finally said after a somewhat long pause. He nodded understandingly and left her alone. She sat down on the couch; she needed time to think for a second or two.
'He is kinda cute,' her mind said directly. She tried to push those obtrusive thoughts out of her head but the more she tried the more she found herself thinking about him.
"This is just business," she said to herself. "Merely business. Nothing else. Why do I not believe myself?"
Rather than continuing those thoughts she decided to go back out again, this time to the local library. It was just a one-room building, sparsely filled with more reference books than fictional ones. The librarian was a stout, middle age man with dark brown skin slightly wrinkled from being out in the sun. She looked on the shelf where the librarian had pointed out but found that the book was missing. Looking around she noticed another person in the room.
Bulma stepped back in surprise. It was that woman from the plane and she had the book Bulma wanted. Her suspicions grew further. She pretended to browse through the other books while keeping tabs on that woman. Half an hour later the woman left leaving the book on the reading table. Bulma casually went over and sat down.
Looking through the book she found couple of pencil marks. The book itself wasn't very interesting. Most of the facts she already knew but one thing that did seem important was the vague reference to ancient numerology. She quickly jotted down the notes. Maybe these would help her interpret the rest of the two plates.
