It had been a while since Subzero had been in a city. He was not used to it. The noise of the cars was deafening as they walked down the road. They received many a queer glance from passers by. Although the Lin Kuei were one of the most notorious crime organizations in the world, they were only really recognized by the people who were looking for them. The people themselves of Earth were mostly kept ignorant about what went on under their noses. It was never "The Black Dragon" on the news or "The Zeed". Instead it was always "A notorious terrorist group has acted today.
They'd waved goodbye to Tringle just as the sun had fully risen in the sky just on the outskirts of the city. Tringle had further information that he handed them from the grandmaster about the location of this "Jarek". He did so in a manner similar to that of the previous night. They would need to find Jarek since he was the only person they knew who knew how to find Shangtsung's boat. The manuscript told them to go to a restaurant called the "dagger" where Jarek would meet them. Jarek didn't apparently know which day Subzero and his friends would be coming, nor how many friends he'd have so he was going to the restaurant every day. The realization dawned on Subzero that this operation was extremely inefficient. Nothing was really going to plan, and what on earth was Scorpion doing? He was supposed to be dead.
Shangtsung had said that Scorpion wanted revenge. Why was Shangtsung being so good to Subzero? It made no sense at all. Hydro grumbled as they walked down the pavement and every now and again would turn round and tell Wurrow and Kanashi to "shut up". The two of them were making jokes about which of the two men was the real Subzero. It was almost impossible to distinguish between Hydro and Subzero. The similarity in clothing and in many aspects face and voice were astounding. Subzero himself began strongly wishing that he were working with someone else. Why Hydro?
Why Kanashi and Wurrow? Why were those two fools here? Why had he ever agreed to let them go in the first place? He'd lose the lot of them first chance he got on the boat, then they could all make their own way back but then again he had Scorpion still to think about. How much did Scorpion know about Subzero's exploits? Did he know that Subzero hadn't intended to kill him?
They passed market stands and people trying to sell bottles of snake's venom. All kinds of offers were made to them that the four Lin Kuei members did their best to refuse. Following the directions through the crowded streets Hydro pointed suddenly to their destination. The Dagger restaurant, the text was in flowing white lettering that lit up now and again as cheap light bulbs behind it flashed in a neon glow.
Subzero opened it and entered followed by the others. The room was dark and smoky. Fans were whirring slowly above but seemed only to encourage the smoke to journey further round the room. The floor and tables were all wooden. Nobody seemed to be serving. They looked around the room but nobody was around, not sitting in chairs nor standing at the counter.
"Where the devil is he?" spat Hydro irritably.
"Lets take a seat," grumbled Subzero rolling his eyes for a moment with irritation at his colleague's impatience. They sat all four of them on a table too close for comfort. The windows had blinds drawn up almost entirely but for a small gap at the top where you could look out. The smoke began to clear and the air became a little more bearable. Evidently the smoke that was in the air was from previous customers and was not a permanent smell.
They waited and Wurrow yawned. Kanashi slumped and it seemed like too long. Hydro hardly spoke at all but after a long time his impatience got the better of him. He growled and got up suddenly almost knocking his chair back and stormed over to the counter "I may as well get something to eat"
There was a bell on the counter. Glaringly he slapped his hand on it and it made a loud ding of a noise. Subzero anxious as ever looked briefly out of the gap in the window. He expected every time he looked up that he would see Scorpion there ready with his new powers to destroy him. Peering through the blinds his thoughts lingered back to Tringle. He wondered grimly whether the pilot would ever work with him again after their night episode. Then again after this Subzero would hopefully never have to work again. He was through with fighting and killing. He was a retired man and wanted nothing more. Then again the money he had wouldn't last forever. Perhaps it was a good idea that he was doing this job? And then again perhaps the right thing would have been to flee the Lin Kuei long ago never to return? If he had to go to the Grandmaster every year, and the Grandmaster could issue jobs to him like this, would that not mean that the Grandmaster could do the same thing every year? Impose a job on him that he would then have to fulfill or appear to be disobeying the Grandmaster. Subzero's thoughts once again (as they often did) turned back to the idea of assassinating the man. He would most likely gain control of the entire Lin Kuei himself and he damn well knew how he'd hold it. Complete authority, he'd show those bloody arch assassins how to have proper respect for him. He'd turn the Lin Kuei into a real fighting force.
And yet somehow all that seemed part of the old Subzero. He was no longer keen on the idea. He didn't mind the thought of having to be the Grandmaster, it was the idea of having to make so much effort to get there when the old man would likely die soon anyway. Subzero didn't really want to be Grandmaster. He wanted to get his own life, perhaps settle down somewhere with someone.
"I want service!" shouted Hydro. The words brought Subzero firmly back into the present. He watched as Hydro slammed down the bell several times.
"Aw give it a break!" complained Wurrow "You shut your mouth kid," hissed back Hydro Subzero ignored both of them. He was shattered physically and mentally from the shock of Scorpion and the night journey. He felt unable to complain. He comforted himself merely with the fact that he didn't need Hydro and sometime soon he could bump him off and tell the Grandmaster he'd been run over by a bus or something. Subzero wasn't getting the respect he wanted. He wondered with a twisted grin whether he would have to drill the letters into the man's head.
Tringle was also another person who might have to go. He knew too much and would likely already be spreading rumors. He might even be so irritated that he would go out of his way to kill Subzero. The two of them had never really been close friends. It wasn't that much of a loss if Tringle were to acidently lose his life.
"What do you want?" said a large fat man who came out from a doorway. He had a messy apron on and half closed eyes as if he had just been asleep.
"I want some food"
"Do you have money"
Hydro glared at being asked before being served, "I have a credit card"
"We don't accept cards. Only money"
"I'm going to kill you"
"Hydro!" shouted Subzero standing up, "Sit down right now or get out"
"Don't you tell me what to do you git! I've had enough of you're pathetic authority Subzero. Why should I listen to you"
The room suddenly filled with a hushed silence. Wurrow gasped. Subzero added Hydro mentally to his death list. It could have all spilled over at that moment but it didn't.
The door of the restaurant opened and a young man walked in. He looked from Hydro to Subzero in amazement and at the fat chef who simply gawked.
"Is therea man called Subzero here?" he asked. He had green trousers and black boots. His hair was a thick brown on his head smoothly cut yet strangely slightly dry and ragged. His clothes were mostly dull leather: brown. He had a causality about him that didn't seem to suggest much of martial arts. Even so he looked strong, and easily able to cut a throat in the dark. He looked like the kind of man who could do well in the black dragon.
"I'm Subzero," said Subzero, "And your name is Jarek"
"It is," replied Jarek glancing from one to the other, "Who are these other people? I had not expected so many"
"That there is Hydro, the two men sitting over there are my personal body guards, Tringle and Kanashi. Don't bother remembering their names they really aren't very important"
"Cannon fodder," observed Jarek dryly, "Everybody acts as cannon fodder to an extent. Perhaps in a way I still am. But never mind my personal problems. I know where the ship is going to dock. You'll be staying with the black dragon until then, unless you have somewhere better to stay"
"I would much appreciate your accommodation," replied Subzero.
"Follow me," grinned Jarek, "There's a limo awaiting you outside," he turned briefly to the man at the counter, "Same rules as usual. You know what happens if you squeak"
The man nodded.
Kanashi and Wurrow rose and came forward. Subzero left the room with not even a glance at Hydro who followed behind. Outside the limo awaited them. Jarek opened the door with a grin, like some kind of fake porter. The driver smoked a cigarette and mumbled to himself as they entered. Sitting down the driver put his foot to the pedal and they drove away. Subzero hadn't been in a car for a couple of years now. A limo was an entirely new experience. The interior was dirty, nothing like its original state. The seats had been stained with cigarette smoke, alcohol and what Subzero recognized strongly as bloodstains. Subzero was in a dangerous situation and he knew it. It was possible if the Grandmaster had intended this that he could have Subzero killed at this moment. He cast his eyes over the seats but he couldn't find anything that looked like part of a trap.
Jarek himself sounded quite pleasant and talked much of what he had heard of Subzero's past. Hydro for once was quiet and seemed to have realized that in the restaurant he had overstepped the mark. However it would only be so long before he did it again. Subzero knew that and was already thinking about Hydro's removal.
Jarek talked of his own ascension through the Black dragon ranks. He had started off as a soldier in the Special Forces but had betrayed them and many of their secrets to Kano who he was sent originally to spy on. From there he had risen rapidly up the ranks with his fast thinking and demi martial arts. He'd been in street fights, flick knife fights shoot outs and all kinds of things. He was a well experienced scum as far as Subzero could see. Subzero was polite to him but could not squash a strong feeling of superiority over the man. He felt distanced with his already large career, talking to this person who only now was rising up the ranks of the inferior Black dragon. What did Subzero have to do with him?
"I heard you met some of the black dragon on your mission last year," Jarek said suddenly as they were passing a basketball court where children were playing.
"I did indeed," returned Subzero, "I seem to remember a few of them met an unfortunate end"
"You let one live," corrected Jarek, "He told us quite a story. Said you told him we should hire you instead of him"
Subzero chuckled quietly, "I think I might have suggested something to that degree, although nowadays I'm not doing as much work as I used to"
"I may have a little business proposal for you... but I'll talk to you later about that"
Subzero's eyes lit up suddenly and he turned to look at Jarek with a grin, "I may as it happens have one for you too"
The black dragon hideout was by the docks. It was a gritty black looking building. Probably it was once a warehouse of some kind. The interior had been changed to allow bunks and beds presumably not just for Subzero and co but any other thieves and murderers who needed to stay the night on the job.
Plastic office screens that one might expect in an office block had been placed to give some separation to the cubicles; almost as if people might mistakenly go to bed rather than the toilet. Jarek grinned as he took the four of them passed the rooms. This was his main area. He was head of this sector of the black dragon. One warehouse by the docks "Pathetic," thought Subzero to himself.
The man took great pleasure in showing them the rooms. Hydro being the git he was sniffed and took his leave of the party early and retired to his own 'lavatory'. Subzero was glad to be rid of him as he could have some time with Jarek to himself. Subzero forced himself to grit his teeth and listen to everything the man had to say and smile and nod as if he were listening to an old lady tell her life story. Kanashi and Wurrow both looked as bored as sleepy elephants. They seemed as usual to have little concept of what was going on in Subzero's life or indeed politically as a whole inside of the Lin kuei. Like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, it seemed to Subzero that hardly a soul in the entire world would care whether these two men lived or died. The fact that they were with Subzero was the only thing that kept them in the spotlight; an eclipse to make people notice the moon. They moped from side to side and mumbled to each other and Subzero seemed hardly to even notice their tiredness.
"Why are you two still following me?" he snapped turning round suddenly and glaring at them.
Kanashi and Wurrow turned to each other in surprise, "We thought you wanted us to for protection," said Wurrow sheepishly.
"Hardly," retorted Subzero, "If you call a brick on a string protection then perhaps I might be able to swing you in the face of the enemy, now beat it"
"Where should we go?" asked Kanashi "How the heck should I know?" snapped Subzero,
"Since you two were so eager to come with me when Shangtsung showed up, perhaps for once you two can think for yourselves and get your own hides out of this mess"
Jarek tapped him on the shoulder. If it had been anyone else at that moment he would have turned round grabbed them by the neck and frozen their head.
"What?" he said half snarling.
"There is a place for them to stay, if need be I have no problem with them staying here"
"Fine, just get them out of my sight," replied Subzero as if he were talking of a pile of old newspapers.
"You!" said Jarek turning to a bald headed tattooed man coming out of one of the plastic rooms, "Take these two to some spare rooms. No questions asked"
Wurrow glared at Subzero as the two of them were lead away. Subzero hardly even looked at the two as he turned to face Jarek, "You talked of business? Do you have somewhere in this building where the two of us could sit down for lunch? I haven't eaten anything since yesterday morning"
"It would be a pleasure master Subzero," grinned Jarek with a mock bow.
The two remaining walked together to what perhaps used to be the managers room long ago. It was an office at the end of the warehouse with a (classic of the situation) low hanging light bulb on a piece of wired string. Jarek sat himself down in front of a small table and Subzero did the same opposite without giving the man a chance to offer it. He somehow doubted that Jarek a Black dragon member as he was becoming accustomed to call these people, would have done so anyway.
"You are a fantastic assassin so I hear Subzero," grinned Jarek "I would give you a sample if it were not for the dire consequences," replied Subzero a little too late to stop his own fowl mouth from saying the intentional words.
Jarek frowned and then sat forward, "Lets get to the point. I know very well that at this moment you're on a mission for the Grand master, and that evidently is where your true loyalty lies"
"No Jarek. I have no loyalty to anyone, neither to god nor to anyone else. I have a certain sense of loyalty to myself, although these days I seem to even be doubting that"
"I'm glad you said that," chuckled Jarek with a flicker in his eye, "It makes things a lot easier. Now that we have that possible barrier out of the way it will be a lot easier for me to get across what we might possible like you to do for us"
Jarek paused waiting for a reaction but Subzero say motionless like a block of ice. Jarek began again hesitantly, "The truth of the matter is, that we have a very powerful member of the black dragon taking part in the tournament. His name is Kano and he is of course a superb fighter. It would be a great shame if he were to lose"
"You want me to feign a defeat? That would be going against my orders Jarek, surely you realize that"
"No, that is not what I want," replied Jarek quietly, "What we want is to help you win the tournament. But ultimately we want the tournament to end up in the hands of the black dragon"
"How can I possibly help you with that?" chuckled Subzero sarcastically, "I'm sure your black dragon company has enough funds to buy this tournament; surely the rich pickings of a mafia like organization such as yours could not have possibly fallen so low"
"The tournament is priceless. It cannot be bought and it cannot be bartered with. Our translators have been reading the manuscripts and we have learned much about the workings of it. The tournament: Mortal Kombat as it has come to be called is a very ancient event, some say dating back to the Dragon King and all that other screwy mythology"
Subzero coughed recalling to himself the events of last year.
"All the rules of the tournament can be changed at any time apart from a few that are set in stone. The reigning champion, who has supreme power over the tournament, runs the tournament permanently until defeated. The champion can change any rule of combat or location that he wishes as long as he leaves combatants on an equal footing. If the champion becomes too old and feels unable to run the tournament any longer then he may hand over the control to another of his choosing. Our mission for you is relatively simple Subzero. We want you to help Kano in any way you can. Kano is being currently pursued by several members of the special forces" "Oh god not those twits," groaned Subzero "I hear you," replied Jarek, "But these certain few have proven a lot more dangerous than the usual lot. The most notorious of which is going to be partaking in the tournament. Her name is Sonya Blade and she is hot on the trail of Kano"
"Do you want me to kill her?" asked Subzero as casually as if he were going to walk the dog "Perhaps ultimately yes, but that all depends on Kano. We're not sure exactly what he wants to do in the tournament. He may need you to assassinate Sonya, he may need you to assassinate others or"
"No," interrupted Subzero, "Stop right there, this is a compound mission. Your Kano could have me doing anything if I agree to this. I'll tell you what. I'll help him within my judgment as much as I can as long as you do something for me"
"I'm listening," grunted Jarek leaning back "This Hydro... he's a stupid lazy arrogant obnoxious fool and I want to get rid of him"
Jarek laughed, "Why not stab him and be done with him over the peer"
"Because I've got a better idea. You may know that I'm not the most popular person around at the moment"
"Funny you should say that. There's hardly an organization I know that wouldn't go out of its way to kill you if it knew where you were"
"Right," chuckled Subzero grimly, "Exactly my point. Now there's only two people in this entire planet stupid enough to continue wearing this blue Lin Kuei garb. The first is me, and the second is that imbecile Hydro"
"Do you want me to have him killed?" inquired Jarek sheepishly "No! Now listen good. I'm going off on this boat and by the rules as I recall I'm the only person allowed on it. These three are just here to accompany me and make sure I don't get done in before I'm on the boat. After that I have to look after my self. Today and up until the boat trip, I want you to let every organization that hates me on the planet know that Subzero is staying in this warehouse with the Blackdragon, everybody! Don't miss anyone out"
"But you won't be..." began Jarek stubbornly "No I won't, but Hydro will. As far as everyone else is concerned he looks like me, talks like me and is probably as arrogant as me. If he's going to die I may as well make it look like we both died"
"I see," sniggered Jarek sitting upright, with a grin he leaned on the desk so that his head came into the light, "A very clever idea. I won't be informing the Special forces you realize or the Red Dragon"
"I don't care about them," returned Subzero with a wave of his hand, "They're one of the few groups at the moment that aren't interested in killing me"
"If they knew you were working for us they might be"
"Don't rub it in," sighed Subzero massaging his temple. Jarek leaned back slowly and observed Subzero crossing his legs.
"Its too vague," he said suddenly, "You could by your Judgment, bugger off and leave Kano to die. Seeing as everyone else hates you, it wouldn't be surprising if your latest actions also give us the same initiative"
"Ok... then you can have my word. If Kano when he returns, is not at all happy with my services then you can personally come and chop off my head"
"And what if he doesn't return?" asked Jarek with a glare of suspicion "Then presumably you will want to chop off my head anyway," said Subzero already pondering the possibility of killing Kano whoever he is, "But why would I want more enemies? Come now Jarek I am not that stupid. To betray one of the few freinds in the underworld I have left would be suicide"
Jarek was silent and gazed up at the lightbulb. Subzero grinned under his mask and tried to show it as much as possible in his eyes. Jarek only looked half convinced.
"What about payment?" he asked with a glance at the clock "Kano and I will decide that. What does he look like by the way"
"A tough man from a tough background. He doesn't shave often so he'll probably have a gristly chin"
"Any scars? This could be just anyone"
"You don't know?" asked Jarek almost horrified "That's why I'm asking. Remember this is the first time I've even thought about doing a job for your organization"
"Most of the right side of his face got blown off. He won't say how. He's had some strange cybernetic eye installed as a replacement. He's always scratching it, and gets headaches as well although he never admits to it"
"That will definitely help in finding him," admitted Subzero sarcastically, "Perhaps if you had not told me I would presume a man with a cybernetic head who happened to have a grizzled chin might not be the man I was looking for"
"I presumed you yourself might be more familiar with the technology," returned Jarek "And why should that be?" asked Subzero looking briefly skywards "Because the Lin kuei as far as I can make out have been buying in tons of illegal 'cyborg' associated parts for the last ten years. I wouldn't be surprised if they had something very revolutionary in mind"
"Thank you Jarek. I shall keep that firmly in mind; the fact that I did not know about this seems to show up something very devious"
"What do you think they're planning on doing"
"I just told you that I don't know. Well then do you agree to the extra terms"
Jarek was silent. He weighed the possibilities of treachery and failure up in his mind. A brief thought came to mind: The death of Kano might even elevate his own position in the Blackdragon. But then again wouldn't it be dangerous for him also to try to lead a chaotic gang that had just lost its leader? And the death of Kano was not a certain thing even though Sonya Blade was after him. If he put Subzero on the case as well he could get rid of Kano for good.
'no,' he thought silently, 'that man has done a lot for me. I owe him something even if he is a right bastard. I'll make this Lin kuei assassin pay if Kano does not return'
"Alright," he grunted after a while, "I'll do it. But I warn you... if Kano for whatever reason doesn't return from this tournament we'll be looking to you for answers"
"I assure you he will," smiled Subzero resting his hands on the table, "When does this ship arrive"
"I'm not allowed to say," replied Jarek, "We can't have anyone boarding you know, only the best fighters. We'll call you when the time comes"
"Does the black dragon work for Shangtsung?" asked Subzero suddenly inquisitive "That relationship," began Jarek slowly, "is a complicated one. Lets just say that Shangtsung and the Blackdragon have certain important connections"
"Secrets, and more secrets. When can I have something to eat"
"Now would be good for me also. Allow me to get someone to arrange something"